NOVEL FROG Chapter 66: At the Lake
Walking around the lake we found a nice secluded space. There was no direct path to our spot. It was only a small area of grass surrounded by trees, next to the water. It would serve us just fine. I used a tier 7 spell, arcane invisibility, that should make us immune to magical tracking and observation. It would last for 6 hours. Considering that it was early afternoon I would need to refresh it in the evening. The spell did not stop anyone from observing the area we were in, we simply would not show up. We were now invisible for any magical sight but people could still see us with their eyes.
With the precautions in place Lucy immediately disrobed and ran into the water. I watched her fluffy tail until it disappeared beneath the surface. I put my clothes away and followed. The water was a nice cool temperature. It was rather refreshing. While I swam, I noticed some fishes in the water. Was it legal to catch them? How would they taste?
Lucy’s voice interrupted my musings. “This is nice. We should do this more often.”
“Yes, I do like swimming. Water is just very relaxing.”
“True. At least until tentacles show up in your bath.”
I shuddered and quickly looked around. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. “Hopefully they won’t try the same thing again…”
“Do you think someone will use this opportunity though? We are in a somewhat remote location.” Lucy pointed out.
“It did not go so well for them last time. I am more curious if someone will physically show up to spy on us. It could be an opportunity to catch and interrogate someone.”
“If they do, we are totally justified in beating them a little, for peeping.” Lucy said, grinning.
We continued to swim for a bit longer. When we returned to land Lucy grabbed a large towel from her storage. She placed it on the grass and flopped down on it.
“You are not drying yourself?” I asked.
“Nah, the sun will do that. It’s just us here anyway.”
She did have a point. Still, somebody might show up. I dried myself and put on some clothes. Lucy closed her eyes and enjoyed the sun. Meanwhile, my thoughts went towards important things. Like food. I dismissed my earlier idea about fishing. Cleaning and preparing a fresh catch sounded like a hassle. Thankfully my storage contained more than enough other things.
While Lucy enjoyed her sun I built a small camping fire. We were pretty close to the trees but with our magic we would be able to contain any fire, if needed. Wood was plentiful and with a simple spell it burned nicely. Lucy opened one eye to look at my fire and then closed it again. She also gave me a thumbs up.
So, I was thinking about hot dogs. They would be really simple. I had buns in my storage and several different kinds of sausage. I also had mustard. What more could you need? I chose some sausages with cheese inside. After some thought I decided to wrap them in bacon. For a bit of variety I grabbed some chilli sausages as well. I used a couple of arrows from my inventory as skewers. They worked rather well. Of course I made sure that they were clean first.
When the smell of food reached Lucy she finally got up and joined me at the fire. She also put on some clothes. Meanwhile I pulled a barrel of ale and two mugs from my storage. Lucy raised an eyebrow at that. But a girl needs to be prepared. I acquired that from our guest accommodation in the palace. It truly came fully stocked. If they did not want me to loot it they should not have put it there.
Thanks to our magic we could keep the ale in our mugs nicely chilled. “You know, I am starting to understand your obsession with food.” Lucy said while enjoying a hot dog.
“See! Good food makes life a lot better!” I said smugly.
It also helped that my magical body did not gain any weight. At least so far. No longer did I have to watch my calories, or worry about a healthy diet.
After we finished our meal I doused the fire. So far I did not notice anybody watching us. That meant our guards were true to their word and kept out of sight. Actually, considering my high perception they must have stayed really far back.
“Shall we go back? What do you want to do next?” I asked.
“Hm. Let’s go back to the imperial plaza. I bet that fountain is somehow illuminated in the evening and looks even better. Maybe we can sit outside a bar. Then we just wait for Elnora’s people to show up.”
My eyes lit up at the mention of a bar. “I like your idea.”