"So, why are you helping them?" Mickey asked in a low voice as they were at the back of the group, heading towards the orb. The sisterhood had fifteen monster stones from the previous day, all of them ranked E-, which meant two hundred points each. They split it up accordingly, with each of the five recruits getting one, Ava, Anna and Bella getting two and Rosie getting the last four. The nine of them were walking at the front, making sure to hide the monster stones, which wasn't hard considering there size. Maria, Mickey and Xavier were at the back, with Mickey helping her to walk. They had also given her five of the eighteen imp monster stones in their bags to help her heal. Hearing Mickey's question, Maria looked at him disapprovingly, but he ignored her as he stood by his question. They were taking a huge risk by doing this, and if they were discovered, they would be executed or worse, bring a lot of unnecessary attention onto themselves from both the guards and prisoners alike.
"We need them to be as strong as possible. Tsubasa is planning a coup, and I need them to help me with the dungeon tomorrow. Plus, they'll give cover to Maria while she trades her monster stones as well." Xavier answered in a low voice and Mickey huffed. They could soon see the orb, and Xavier looked around. There was a lot of prisoners around, although their numbers were slightly less than the previous day, and there were guards all around them as well. The guards that were watching them from the alleyway had also followed them, and were observing them from a distance.
'It seems the Warden has siced his dogs on us. They are most likely here to observe us, so what did we do to tip these assholes off? They haven't found our stash or seen us use the orb to trade, so the only thing I can think of is our attributes. They probably realized that we are a lot stronger than the rest of the prisoners, and want to find out why.' Xavier analysed as he looked at the guards spying on them, through the corner of his eyes. He didn't want to let them know he knew they were following him, or the Warden might just send someone stealthier, maybe even someone with a special ability. Knowing this, he motioned for all of them to sit in a secluded area behind a building, away from the prisoners and guards.
"Don't panic, but there are two guards following us." Xavier said and the ones who didn't know, eyes widened, namely the new recruits. Xavier glared at them, and they immediately controlled themselves, restraining themselves from looking around for the guards in question.
"Why would guards be following us?" Bethany asked, a bit scared
"Oh, I doubt they are following us, but probably these three." Rosie said and Xavier sighed
"Yeah, I think they have noticed that we are a bit stronger than the other prisoners." Xavier said
"Yeah, you think. And I wouldn't say you were a bit stronger, you guys are in a completely different class of your own." Anna said, and Mickey smirked
"So, what should we do, Mr. Extraordinary?" Bella asked, looking at Xavier and his eyelid twitched at the nickname
"We act natural, don't look for them. We go to the orb as planned and we trade the monster stones. I need each of you to position your body in such a way that the guards can't see the monster stones while they disintegrate. Also, make sure to buy something, anything so that the guards don't get suspicious. And please, control your facial expressions, don't look surprised or excited when you see the notification to trade the monster stones." Xavier said, and they slowly nodded their heads. They walked over the four lines leading to the Orb, with their numbers spread across the four lines. Luckily for them, there was only a few people in the lines, some of them took a while to buy what they were looking for and left, which should make their activities seem normal. It was soon their turn, and the first ones were Xavier and three of the new recruits. They nervously placed their hands on the orb, holding their monster stones in hand, including Xavier who had five imp monster stones in hand.
The new recruits visibly tried and succeeded in controlling their facial expressions as the monster stones turned into sparks. Their's disappeared quickly, but they couldn't leave just yet as Xavier wasn't done, and they stood there for over ten minutes. The guards checked what was happening, but when they saw that it was Xavier, they simply snorted and turned back around. Xavier sighed as all of them disappeared, and he nodded his head at them, and they quickly bought a cheap item and left. Xavier bought a leather fire proof beanie for 200 points, and left with a satisfied smile.
This process continued with the rest of them, and the guards didn't even bother turning around after Xavier's group and chose to simply lean against the golden pillars with bored expressions. Mickey finally managed to buy his leather fire proof pants, and he also bought a chest piece like Xavier, but his had a hoody, making Xavier's eyes widen as he didn't see that one due to him stopping at the first fire proof chest piece he saw. He also bought a new, round shield made of enchanted iron, that has [Mystique Resistance]. In total, everything cost him 1,300 points.
"That went smoothly." Bella said with a big smile on her face, as they sat on the ground in a secluded spot. They placed all the miscellaneous items they bought on the ground, such as bobby pins, pens, pencils and empty books, which Xavier thought were useful.
"Yeah, the guards weren't even paying attention." Anna laughed, but she made sure to keep her voice down.
"Well, I'm glad you guys helped us...again. But I have to ask, why did you take such a huge risk helping us?" Rosie asked, looking at Xavier and Mickey.
"Because we need your help." Xavier said