They had almost arrived at Werkalin Rinna when Derina finally gave up on his attempts to dissuade Milita. Ioha knew that Derina knew her from before. Milita Argander to him, their princess to Ioha. Given how she had behaved since he met her today, he’d also settle for Milita.

  Ioha spent most of the ride grinning together with the four men from Haldenvale. Derina’s dissuading only concerned bouncing around with a rapier inside an enemy fortification. He caved in on the marriage part almost immediately.

  Ioha’s display flickered once just before they dismounted, proving that quantity could indeed outweigh quality if there was enough of it. A week on horseback yielded one puny point to his riding ability.

  Of course, I sit better in the saddle when we can’t ride more. Poetic justice much?

  “We walk from here.”

  “Are you insane?” one of the Haldenvale men wondered.

  They stood at the treeline of a Wergaist forest, which meant a scattering of trees maybe five hundred metres across. Ahead of them wheat fields, a single road, and a few kilometres away the Wergaist capital clearly visible in the almost morning light. On a hilltop just behind the town, a small castle squatted. The walls looked like they were well maintained.

  “Derina, we can’t attack that. This is Wergaist. They know cats better than anyone else, and they’ll have decent mages.”

  Derina smiled. “I know.” He led his horse off the road. “Follow me!”

  They filed up behind Derina and walked into the forest. Heavy underbrush hid them from the road within a few metres. The vegetation was thick enough to make their horses skittish, and their progress was pathetic. Then a sudden glade with a small hill in the centre. A few steps later, Ioha realised the hill was a camouflaged barn.

  The door opened and a woman in her thirties looked out.

  “Did you get my message?” Derina asked her.

  She bowed. “Two birds arrived.”

  “I sent two.”

  “You’re late.”

  “We had some trouble getting here. Nothing major, but we had to take a detour.”

  She waved them inside and waited for everyone to be seated around a table. “We found them. They’re treated like guests and have a room each in the guest wing.” Mugs with warm consommé arrived on the table. “You sure about this? We’ll lose our people inside.”

  Derina had a taste. “Of course, I’m sure. They’re Almina’s guests.”

  “Derina?” Ioha warned.

  He met Ioha’s eyes. “My bad. That came out wrong. You extract your people from the estate together with the hostage. We’ll be blind for a while.” He sighed. “Just grab the girls and get back here. We’ll go the long route to Isekai after that.”

  “You’re burning the hideout as well?”

  “After they find out four of their staff were my people? Yes. They’ll search everything within walking distance. This place is well hidden until someone starts searching from the treetops.”

  “But that requires flight?” the woman protested.

  Milita looked up from her seat. “You know, if I can walk on treetops, then Derina can as well. Lord Clevasti hired spellswords.”

  “You can walk on treetops?”

  “His fault,” Milita and Derina said at the same time and pointed at Ioha.

  “My fault?”

  “You taught the Canadena girl how to jump on air. Of course, others wanted to learn as well,” Milita said. “You know she won last year's tournament?”

  Ouch!

  “She slaved all the way to the finals, and then she suddenly went fairy tale magic in my face.”

  Fairy tale magic? Magic existed in this world. It belonged to the matter of fact aspects of life. So why? Ah! Seemingly impossible magic belonged in the fairy tales. Magic that broke the known rules, like jumping around in the air, accelerating from one point of nothingness to the next.

  “Canadena has exactly one win against me, and she certainly picked the right duel.”

  So their princess knew how to be irritated and petty. It made her more human. “She trained hard for that,” Ioha offered.

  Milita smiled. “I know. The jumpstones take forever to learn.”

  Jumpstones? Then understanding dawned. They weren’t shields to the cats. They were stones stuck in the air that you could use for moving around.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “And last year’s third and fourth years caught wind of it?” Ioha asked.

  Milita nodded. “Lord Clevasti hired more graduated cats than usual this year. They’re probably teaching his older cats.”

  Something had been nagging on his mind ever since he left Isekai for Spellsword Academy, and the itch only grew worse during his time in the border zone. The children of those in power became adults far earlier in this world than back home. Maybe all children did compared to the lives that lay ahead of them. Back home, kids were still kids in university, even if very few of them would ever agree with that until a few years after they started working.

  Milita was a young woman, not a high school girl.

  “Kids, it’s cute and all with you talking about school, but we’re having a problem here,” the woman who invited them said and dispelled Ioha’s chain of thought.

  Ioha downed his, by now, lukewarm drink. “If needed I can get us all over the walls knowing that two spellswords can guard my flanks. That’s relevant for me.”

  “Over the walls?”

  “Yes. Both Derina and Milita can walk on air on their own, so I don’t have to keep them in my range. I can create a small road in the air for the rest of us.”

  “How?” This time it was one of the Haldenvale men who questioned his abilities.

  “Shields. If I can stop you from hitting me, then I can also stop you from hitting the ground. I create shields for us to walk on.”

  “No Haldenvale protector of the line ever…”

  “I’m an Isekai protector of the line. Same same, but different.”

  “Calm down!” Derina’s voice told everyone he’d gotten tired of how the conversation didn’t really go anywhere. “We can get inside. Our people inside can get the hostage out. We can get out, and we have enough combatants to succeed. When we get back here, then what?”

  That was assuming they did get back here in the first place. We’ll get caught before we reach the academy crossroads, and even if we get there, it’s a full day to Isekai. Ioha chewed his lips. Getting in and out might actually be the easy part. “Derina, what about the other side of town?”

  “The Wergaist capital? Then we have the city guards to worry about as well. Plus everyone living there.”

  “But it’s closer to Isekai than doubling back to the academy.”

  Derina gave Ioha an unhappy look. “I know, a third of the distance, but it’s too obvious.”

  “Could we outrun them?”

  “With two of big sister’s guests? They’re perfectly normal city girls who wanted an adventure and tagged along with the caravan.”

  If they only had a fast way to move them. Wait a minute. They had one. “Derina, could you find out if that six-span is still there? Well, and a friendly stable boy as well.”

  Derina looked at the woman who seemed to be in command here.

  She shrugged. “It’s there, and we could prepare it. Castle gates are a problem.”

  Without Almina that was a huge problem. “No one here who can make the gates explode?”

  “Derina shook his head. “Almina is special. There are two more in the capital and maybe another four or five in the entire federation.”

  “Could we wait for her?” That was another delay, but since they lost three days already, she couldn’t be far behind if she only knew where to go.

  Derina and the woman exchanged silent messages. Then both nodded.

  “We still need an escort, or at least someone to delay any pursuit.”

  “Do you have one of those pigeons you can send anywhere?”

  “It doesn’t work that way, but I’m a bird-master, and we have messenger pigeons,” the woman said. “You know someone?”

  “Maybe,” Ioha answered. “Derina, how would you feel if the Wari family ended up owing a pretty big debt of favour?”

  “If it’s a fair deal, fine. I prefer deals to gifts.”

  “Then I have someone I could ask to delay the pursuit.”

  “In Isekai?” Derina guessed.

  “In Isekai. My associates. If they agree to place a mission with the adventurers guild, we should be able to get that carriage all the way to Isekai before it’s stopped. I don’t promise it’ll be easy, but we’ll have a fighting chance.”

  “How soon?”

  “If they agree? Depends on mission rotation in the guild. I’ll have to ask. Anything from one day to one week.”

  “One day?”

  “It’s half a day from here to Isekai. A messenger bird is pretty fast, then hire people from the guild, and they can block the road half a day later.” Ioha shrugged. “That’s a best-case scenario. You need full parties in town today willing to fight against other humans.” After the horrors earlier, Ioha knew how important the part about fighting against other humans was.

  Derina looked at Milita. “Your house will get dragged into this if you stay. This is your last chance to leave.”

  “And miss out on all the fun? If house Clevasti falls, we’re the next lords of Wergaist. Even if they don’t, we’ll become stronger. Lord Wergaist is a pig. His son is a sorry excuse for a human being. I’m staying.”

  “Ioha, ask your friends for help!” Derina sucked in air between his teeth. “You don’t think they’ll settle for money?”

  Ioha shook his head. “Their help won’t come that cheap. Just as you just told Milita, this is your last chance to back out. If I make that call, the Wari house will become an Isekai associate.”

  With a sigh, Derina sat down with his face in his hands. “Damn you sister! You really had to drop all of this in my lap.” He let out a deep sigh and gave Ioha a shaky smile. “Didn’t you hear me, call for help!”

  ***

  Five days later, in the early morning, ten people left the hideout and made for the Clevasti castle. Halfway there, they were met by a party coming in the other direction from the town. The adventurers took all horses and returned inside the town walls, while Ioha led the attackers straight across the field closest to the hill from where old defences shot into the air. They didn’t even pretend to attempt stealth. Half an hour earlier their hideout was compromised and two of Clevasti’s men lay dead in a ditch beside the road.

  A loud explosion from the middle of the town announced that Ioha’s associates had kept their promise, and they all made it safely to the hill. Smattering pulses of auras extended and activated abilities signalled that they had crossed the final line. From now on, diplomacy was no longer an option.

  Over a week late, they had arrived to rescue the hostage.