We all looked at the holy knight and our trip became much harder. 
“We can disguise ourselves as holy knights and slip in that way,” Aldric suggested.
“Great! But how are we going to do that?” Oda asked, confused.
I sighed, “Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to jump some holy knights out in the field and take their armor”.
“Oh, okay. That makes sense,” Oda replied with a nod of his head.
“With all of the patrols, it shouldn’t be hard finding some knights to mug,” I laughed.
Since we didn’t want to commit crimes right next to the town, we walked away from Moon Haven and hid in a tree for our unsuspecting victims. 
It took a bit of waiting but a party of four knights walked underneath the tree and we literally jumped them. We wanted to make this a quick clean simple action so we wouldn’t damage the armor. The knight I attacked wasn’t wearing a helmet so I was able to bash his face in with my foot. Oda quickly dispatched two of the knights with swift cuts to the neck while Aldric put the last knight in a chokehold. 
With all the knights out of commission, we went about stripping them of their armor and donning the ones that fit us. Now, the armor didn’t fit perfectly but it would do. We all took the helmets and wore them with the visors down to hide our black eyes. 
To help with our disguise, we also procured their weapons. Aldric had an ax, Oda had a short sword, and I had a spear. I’d been taught the basics of how to use weapons, but my teacher focused on hand to hand combat. You could lose a weapon in battle but your hand to hand skills could never be stolen. 
Anyway, with our new disguises, we confidently marched back to Moon Haven. The holy knight who was stationed at the front gates stopped us and started up some small conversation with us. 
“Hey! How was your patrol? Anything out of the ordinary?” he asked while he gave us a small glance. He kept most of his attention on the other travelers that were in line behind us.
Aldric took charge of the conversation, “We saw nothing and encountered only small monsters. Nothing else to report”.
The holy knight saluted us and told us that we should file our report back at the base. We nodded in confirmation and he waved us into the town. 
We quickly found a stall that sold cloaks and other winter apparel and bought supplies we needed. Then we hid in an alleyway and took off the stolen armor. As I was taking off the gauntlets, I thought about keeping them since they were useful for how I fought but unfortunately, none of them fit my hands the right way. I made a mental note to try and procure a pair that actually fit while on our travels. Aldric went about destroying the evidence while Oda and I put on all the winter gear we bought over our clothes. The wool pants and poncho helped to keep my body warm while the cloak was a layer of insulation.
While Aldric was putting on his winter gear, Oda and I kept watch to make sure no one was coming over to check out the noisy alley. Thankfully, due to us being in the market area of the town, the talk and bustle were drowning out the noise we were making. 
With our bodies all covered up, we left the alley and hit up the market stalls once more. Looking at all the wares, we bought what we needed like food and fire starters. We also bought blankets, sleeping bags, and large backpacks.
“Do you think we should purchase some of these fire crystals? They should come in handy when we can’t start an actual fire,” Oda asked as he was inspecting the glowing red-orange crystal. 
“Don’t you need to be able to use magic to utilize them? Unless you’re hiding the fact you have magical power from us, this crystal is useless to us,” I replied while looking at him skeptically. 
Oda frowned, “You’re right, but what if we gain a friend who can use magic? We could have them charge the crystal and then bam! We have warmth!”
With a sigh, Aldric bought one fire crystal to shut Oda up.
As we were passing through the market, I quickly looked at a vendor who was selling armor and seeing the expensive price, I passed on even trying on the gauntlets that were on display. Maybe we could find a blacksmith who could make me some for cheap if we found some good materials.
Once we were done buying everything we needed, the sun was setting. We discussed whether we should stay the night and leave in the morning or if we should leave now.
As much as I’d like to sleep in a bed, I don’t want us to get caught by the many holy knights in this town. Aldric agreed with me and we outvoted Oda so with everything packed up, we headed to the edge of town. 
While walking, we noticed that there were a bunch of holy knights congregating at the town’s edge. Among the crowd was a man who was leaning up against a wall and it looked like he was snoozing. He didn’t seem threatening but he had an unsettling aura around him. 
Upon closer inspection of him, he wore an emblem on his chest that was decorated with holy gemstones. 
I pulled Oda and Aldric to a stop and whispered to them, “Guys, is it just me, or is that man over there by the wall, a holy knight general?”
The two men discreetly looked at the guy I mentioned and then we all turned around and found a café to eat at while discussing what we should do.
While we were eating some spaghetti, we talked about how the holy knight general was here. 
“Should we wait it out until that guy is away from the town exit or should we try and go around the city to the mountains?” Oda asked.
“And waste supplies and energy? I don’t think that would be wise,” I said while thinking. 
“Besides, he will have to move eventually. When he does, we’ll take the chance and go into the mountains,” Aldric mused. “Then once we’re in the tunnels, we should be clear of the holy knights”.
“Sounds good to me,” I said as I was finishing up my food. “So what do you want to do to pass the time?” I asked as I paid for the meal. 
Oda chirped, “Want to just walk around the town?”
Aldric and I looked at each other and sighed seeing the hope in Oda’s eyes. With that, we ended up aimlessly walking around the town. Oda was gawking at everything he saw and I could tell he wanted to splurge and buy everything he saw. Aldric and I kept a close eye on him and our surroundings. So far, no one has noticed our presence and I saw that many people were dressed in the same manner as us. 
After a few hours went by, the guys hung back while I scouted the area to check if the general was gone. Seeing he had disappeared, I signaled to the others that the coast was clear. Then we quickly left the town and headed towards the Lunaris Mountains.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!Important Announcement!!!
For the duration of summer, I will be changing up the post schedule to the following:
Public uploads: Monday and Thursday
Patreon uploads: Tuesday and Friday
So, I will be updating this story 2x a week for the summer!
Can't wait for the next chapter?
Become my patron for as low as $1 a month to gain exclusive sneak peeks and early access chapters! Chapters will be released early on Tuesdays and Fridays.
www.patreon.com/FaerieWarrior