Jonit pushed himself off the ground and, taking Trey’s proffered left hand, pulled himself to a stand. He located his sword a few meters away using the tracking system and initiated its recall protocol. He reached out his right hand and the hilt of the sword flew smoothly into his grip.

“You doing alright there?” Trey asked as they both turned toward the knights.

“Leg’s a bit banged up, but I should be fine.” Despite the smoke, he could still locate the positions of the four knights. As long as the feed from his helmet functioned, that is. “Can you see through this smoke with that eye of yours?”

“Aye, this here peeper ain’t just for show. In fact, I can see that sneaky feller there” he pointed down the fields to where Haden, the previously unseen knight, was. “fixin’ to come back this way and start somethin’.”

He turned to face the direction of Cardella and called out, “Listen here you troublemakers, I am one of the caretakers of this fine establishment and I won’t have you makin’ trouble for any of my customers.”

Trey paused for a response. All of a sudden there was a spike of magic power and they tensed up. The blue smoke was suddenly pushed apart as if two giant hands had reached in and scooped it to both sides. Now everyone could see each other clearly.

“Now what’s the big idea?” Trey asked.

Cardella gave a slight frown. Or at least Jonit thought she did, he couldn’t really tell. For all he knew it might have just been a trick of the light. “My company and I were simply trying to reach an agreement with this traveler.”

“And that agreement involved throwing him down a hill and lopping off his leg?”

“Wait, you saw that part?” Jonit interjected. “Why didn’t you help out sooner?”

Trey scratched his chin. “I thought you were handling it jus’ fine. That was, ‘til you got knocked in the head.”

Cardella spoke again. “The White Tower has sent, and with your country’s permission, many Knights of the Golden Order to these lands to investigate potential threats to the peace not only of our nation but of our plane as a whole.”

“Really?” asked Trey, “Threats to the peace you say?” He raised his eyebrows pointedly.

“It is our duty, as knights, to identify possible threats to our plane, investigate them, and if needed, eliminate them.” She looked straight into his glowing eye with her own. “As we’ve done many times before.”

“Heh, ya got me there.” He grinned and shrugged. “Horizon’s got its fair share of troublemakers, I’ll grant ya that.”

Grigs, who was standing nearby, snorted, “‘Fair share’ he says.”

“So what about this here feller.” Trey said, sticking his left thumb toward Jonit. “What’s the story with him?”

“Well, we have information that shows he is linked to a possible attack on our plane in the future.” Cardella stated in a concise yet very vague manner. “In order to extract additional information from him, we aimed to take him in for questioning.”

“Izzat so?” Trey looked askance at Jonit. “He didn’ seem that way to me. Where’d you git yer information from and what exactly is this ‘attack on our plane’?”

“Unfortunately that information is classified.” Cardella responded.

“So you’re expectin’ me to believe this man is some kind of wanted fugitive without giving me any sort of proof or explanation?”

Cardella cocked her head, “Well not so much a wanted fugitive, but more like someone to investigate linked to suspicious activity.”

Trey gave her a wide-eyed look. “Well that sure is convincing.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “I tell you what– I jus’ called the authorities a short while ago, they should be here anytime soon. You can sort yer business with them. How’s about that?”

Cardella sighed. “That’s unfortunate, I’d rather not get too many people involved in this.” She closed her eyes for a moment, pondering. Then she spoke. “We’ll retreat for now.” She reached into a pouch by her waist and pulled out a coin.

She tossed it to Jonit who caught it out of the air. “To keep in touch.” She stated. Then she turned and strolled away. The still paralyzed Lute was lifted by an unseen force from Grigs’s shoulders and they both trailed after her. Haden waited, still cloaked from naked vision, down the field on the side and then they were gone.

“Whew, that was quite something huh?” Trey turned to eye Jonit. “You aren’t really some kinda troublemaker planning some kind of an attack on us are you?”

“Uhh not that I’m aware of”, Jonit slumped into a tired stance. “So now what? Are the authorities going to come interrogate me or something?”

“For now, just head on in and see if you can get Leyna to patch you up a bit. She pretty good at that sort of thing. I’ll give the enforcers a report and you maybe need to go in for questioning tomorrow, we’ll see.

“All things considered, I think you did pretty well.” Trey said as he led the way back inside. “Tower Knights are pretty tough. Taking on four of ‘em alone ain’t a task hardly anyone can say they’ve lived through. ‘Specially not against someone strong as that lady was back there. Phew ain’t never seen such raw magic like that.”

“Well, I sure am not eager to try it again.” replied Jonit as he limped after him.

When they got back everything became sort of a blur. Sarith and Leyna fussed over his injuries. The children asked about his fight eyes glowing with excitement. Lizzie seemed to be more interested in what the capabilities of his suit were. Trey alternated between retelling the fight from his point of view, retelling some old war stories and going out to help Juke repair the fence. When word got out about the fight, the other patrons expressed their sympathy for him, some buying him drinks. A few railed against the White Tower loudly pronouncing their grudges causing Sarith to reprimand them for their language and usher away the children. The majority of patrons expressed their approval that he had stood his ground against the knights and many in turn told of their experiences. Soon the mood became somewhat of a mix between celebratory of a “win” and somber with the retelling of the recent events that lead up to the current animosity between the Knights and Horizon. Many drinks were passed around.

Some of them had been in the “border engagement” which had evidently ended just half a tricenticycle ago. Evidently, what triggered the conflict was an incident when a few of Horizon’s experiments in the capital had gotten loose and made their way across the border. They attacked three White Tower towns along the edge leading to many casualties. There was some speculation about what the experiments were, most believe it was a magic enhancement machine gone wrong resulting in aggressive subjects with uncontrollable power. These sorts of incidents happened every now and again due to the lack of regulations on experimentation in Prismasia, so in a sense, Jonit could see why citizens of the White Tower were suspicious of technology.

In response to the attack, The White Tower launched a full invasion force immediately without any discussion or warning. Their reasoning was that Horizon Inova was either negligent or malicious and these attacks on the White Tower must be stopped no matter what. Many believed these were not accidental at all and were planned attacks to test their response. Meanwhile Horizon was still dealing with their own casualties from the experiments getting loose and was caught by surprise by the border attack.

The casualties were high especially on the Horizon side and the White Tower forces were nearing Prismasia. They would have taken the capital city if not for the Horizon Airships, which had been quickly recalled from all over the continent. The knights had drake riders but those required close range combat and frequently tired out whereas the Horizon airships were ranged and could maintain their positions through refueling and magic supply. These, in turn, were supported by the ranged anti-air weapons they had in the city. Eventually they managed to negotiate peace, but the knights got the better end of the deal because the other countries at the meeting agreed that Horizon was mostly at fault. With the most recent information Cardella told him, Jonit couldn’t help but wonder if the White Tower had made such a drastic move because they were warned of an oncoming mysterious “threat to the world” by the Witch.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

As the night wound on, Trey left to go talk to the enforcers. The enforcers were also sympathetic to Jonit and allowed him to make his report at the station the next day when he recovered. He was given the name of an Inspector Wakefield to follow-up with. They said they would be tracking the Tower Knights and putting out the word, and with that, they left.

It was at this point that Jonit remembered the strange coin Cardella had tossed him. He took it out and held it up. It was more of a palm-sized medallion than a coin on closer inspection. Leyna sat down next to him a bit flushed in the face with a drink for him and herself; her auburn hair was undone and flowed down her shoulders.

“Oh a com medallion.” She said, placing her hand on his arm and leaning in for a look. “Where’d you get that?”

“Cardella gave it to me before they left.”

“Oh REALLY?” She perked up in surprise. “That’s interesting. You can use that to contact her until it runs out of charges, then it disintegrates.” She looked at him questioningly, “What does she want you to contact her for?”

Trey had seen some of his fight with the knights but he hadn’t overheard their conversation so Jonit had been keeping his conversation with the knights a secret from everyone else. But somehow, he felt comfortable letting Leyna know. “Well, she was interested to know about the Princess.” He told Leyna about the conversation with the knights.

“So you think the White Tower might have the Princess? What are you going to do now?”

“Hmm I’m not sure, I will probably try to ask around more, maybe save contacting Cardella as a last resort. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone from the White Tower would you?”

Leyna pondered, “Not particularly. Well I know some, but the ones I meet are usually civilians or low level knights sent on errands. Perhaps Lerot might know better, he seems to be more well connected.”

“Oh you mean the businessman at the stall earlier today? Perhaps I could meet up with him tomorrow.”

“I’ll bring you, I think I might know who the shipwright he was talking about is. Plus if we’re going down to the ocean, we can bring Paern along for a boat ride perhaps. He hasn’t been to the coast in a while and he loves the ocean.”

With the plans made, Jonit continued eating, chatting, and drinking, but the day’s events left him quite exhausted. After an hour or two, he eventually headed up to his room to rest. Sarith had graciously provided a room for him free of charge citing “Leyna is a regular here”. It was a simple room with a bed and desk. Surprisingly it also had its own shower and bathroom. He sat down on the bed. He ran a full systems check to get a feel for the extent of damage he had suffered during the fight. The left leg of the suit suffered the most damage. It appeared to be completely dead. His shield was a bit spotty but should theoretically turn on 90% of the time, but the longer he kept it on, the more likely it would fail. His helmet was relatively good with a few minor visual glitches on the left side.

As for damages to him in particular, he felt like his bones were more or less intact. He probably had a nasty bruise on his leg and he was starting to feel a headache coming on, which could either be too much drink or a minor concussion. Otherwise he felt more or less functional. Perhaps minor bruises elsewhere. He pondered a bit whether he should take off his armor to check when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it to reveal Leyna standing there in a very revealing thin silky light-blue night slip.

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "Oh. Hello Leyna, what are you doing here so late?"

“Hi.” She looked at him for a moment then said a bit breathlessly, "Didn’t you get banged up during the fight? I came to see if I could help out a bit."

“Well I’ve got a few bruises, but overall I think I should be ok.”

“What about your leg? I saw you limping.” She replied with a bit of a worried look.

“Oh that was just my suit.”

“Maybe I can take a look at that. I’m pretty good at restorative magic.” She responded a bit quickly. “Can I come in?”

Jonit blinked. “Oh sure.”

She closed the door behind her. Somehow it felt she wasn’t just here to look at his injuries.

“Let me see your leg.” He sat down on the bed and lifted his heavy left leg onto a chair. Leyna floated a lantern over to get a better look. “Hmm, well in order to do restoration magic, normally you would have to fully visualize the pieces to put into place.

“But I know a shortcut.” She said, flashing him a smile. “If you show me the other leg, I can use that to form a blueprint to mirror over.” He lifted his other leg up so they were both resting on the chair.

“So… How does magic work? Exactly?” Jonit asked tentatively. “Where I’m from, we have absolutely no magic.”

“Really?” Leyna looked shocked. “I mean I suspected, but I figured you were just hiding your magic force somehow.”

She looked thoughtful, furrowing her brow. “Well magic is something… sort of like a hand that you can use to move things. But the hand can be many hands or a big or small hand depending on what you want to move.” She placed her hand on both his legs for a moment. “Can you take off your armor? Your actual legs make this a bit difficult to do. And I don’t want to accidentally mess up your legs by trying to fix the armor with your legs still in them.”

“Well I’m not wearing anything under this.” Jonit responded.

“I don’t mind.” Leyna cocked her head and stared directly at him with her deep blue eyes.

Jonit couldn’t help but laugh at her boldness. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and gave him a blank stare. “Well I can be naked too if that makes you feel any better.”

“Oh I think… that won’t be necessary. But I mean if you want.” Jonit responded a bit flustered. He stood up and turned away. He initiated suit disengagement protocol. His suit expanded opening up along the back revealing his pale muscular back down his buttocks to his legs. His left leg got stuck a bit so he had to bend over and fiddled with it a bit.

He turned back. Leyna’s sleek sky-blue night slip was down by her feet. He could see her fully exposed in front of him. He felt something rise up within him. And outside him as well. She was studying him almost in wonder with a light playful smile on her face. Her gaze went down and lingered.

“Well then.” She said after a moment, pointedly ignoring the sexual tension. “Put your suit up on the bed”

The suit was a bit heavy, but the material made it much lighter than it could have been. Leyna came over next to him and leaned over the suit, brushing his shoulder with hers. The lantern floated over. Her skin was sun-tanned in contrast to his paleness. She placed both her hands on the leg pieces again and closed her eyes. Her hands began to glow and soon after, the suit legs did too. She furrowed her brow a bit and the left leg piece began creaking, dents started popping back into shape. After a couple of moments, it stopped. The left leg hummed to life.

“That is very impressive.” Jonit said, it was his turn to be in awe. The suit leg looked almost new.

“Ok. Now let me do you.” Leyna said, almost businesslike, though she flashed him the briefest of smiles at the double entendre. Jonit lifted the armor and placed it at the corner of the room before sitting at the foot of the bed. Leyna kneeled on the ground in front of him brushing her hair to one side. She lifted his right leg up first, then his left, running her fingers over his ankle and shin. There was a dark discoloration forming along his outer knee and calf. “Mmm yeah your left leg is quite bruised. Hold on, this might feel a bit weird.”

She closed her eyes and her hands started glowing again. On his right leg he could feel a warm gentle sensation wash over him, with a prodding feeling every now and again. On his left leg he could feel the same except with small tingles and pinpricks as his vessels closed up and realigned. He could feel her soft breath on him as she worked.

“Ok, I think I did well enough, any more and the risk of messing something up outweighs the benefits.” She moved her hands up his thigh. “Now let's give you a more thorough check-over”

“Why naturally.” He said, smiling at her audacity. She slowly moved up his leg, her gaze lingering once more before moving up to his tight abdomen. She ran her palms across it noting its firmness and fixing minor bruises as she did so. By the time she was at his chest she was leaning over him squeezing his pectoral muscles. She was so close he could smell her, a faint light scent almost like cinnamon. He was sticking straight up and was worried he was going to brush against her.

Suddenly she was straddling him, she held his head in her grasp and looked straight into his pale green eyes as she healed a bruise on his left temple. Waves of gentle heat washed over his skull sending shivers down his spine. She was so very close. The lantern floating behind her head cast a shadow on her face causing her deep blue eyes to glow in contrast. He could feel her soft thighs around his. Her breasts pressing against his chest. Her supple abdomen pressing against his erectness.

“All done.” She whispered.

“Are we though?” He said with a hunger in his eyes. He pulled her in for a kiss. It started gently but she went in deep, pressing her mouth to his. He leaned back onto the bed, pulling her on top of him.

The lantern dimmed and floated lazily to the corner before being dropped haphazardly on its side.