> [Invisible Porter] - 2th circle spell.
>
> Element: None.
>
> Type: Phenomenon.
>
> Classification: Support. Sustained. Harmless.
>
> Target: Touched container.
>
> Enchants the touched container to move as if being carried or towed by a person with average build and move no faster than a normal walking speed. Upon casting, the caster can decide if the container will hover or not. Hovering decrease the spell duration and upkeep interval to one minute instead of one hour. Regardless of mode, the container can never go further than ten meters from the caster or the spell ends.
>
> The dragged container will move on its own across the ground as fast as a person can drag it or move on wheels if it has any, like a wheelbarrow or a small cart. There is no weight limit although the container might not move if a person with average build wouldn't be able to. Heavier or bulky containers might not reach full speed but objects with a single wheel or axle will balance themselves as if held by a person.
>
> A hovering container can up to a meter from the ground. A hovering container cannot weigh more than twenty kilograms.
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They emerged on the other side of the tunnel after five days. Pearl was irritated but she understood the benefits of getting the old smuggler's tunnel done in five days instead of five months. Or years. She instead recalled a section from the litany of Elements. Underworld was Cavern plus Fire. Cavern was Earth plus Darkness. Therefore, the mage-with-two-bodies, an expert in underground construction was the best person to magick the tunnel into being.
As the group approached the end and saw the unmistakably reflected rays of sunlight, Sora sighed in relief. There was no tribe of monstrous humanoids this time on the other side. Only a garrison of Gohar's soldiers. A barricade blocked both the tunnel and the way to the deeper parts of the cave complex.
"Who goes there!" The guard shouted from afar. "This tunnel is closed! Go back at once."
Pearl's lips curled into a predatory smile. The petite Princess seemed to grow by almost half a hand instantly as she let her mirth fuel years of practiced moves and donned her figurative princely regalia. "State your name, soldier! So I can know who to punish for denying the heir to the throne entry to her own domain!" She told with a practiced tone both imposing and commanding, projecting her voice without the aid of magic.
Silence reigned on the other side of the barricade. "Your Royal Highness, Princess Pearl!" He shouted and then they heard the clattering sound of metal hitting stone. "We are just protecting the Realm. Please be merciful!"
Behind him, the sound of more metal hitting stone and some blurb rang down the tunnels before Pearl felt it was time to move forward. She nodded with her head and willed tongues of flame to appear above and to the sides of her head. The flames changed shape and assumed the Royal emblem of Gohar, a gemstone set in the heart of a mountain with a shield, a goat, and a double-headed ax.
Aidan was surprised at how well-executed the spell was. She cast it without a chant or any movement beside the nod. He recalled that the battle-ax meant a disposition to fight, the goat meant wisdom and a wish to solve conflict through diplomacy, the shield that they were ready to defend themselves and protect the Realm while the mountain was the land Gohar claimed. And the lozenge diamond meant honesty and their wealth.
It was very fitting for a land where many claimed dwarf blood, including the Royal family. To him, the only oddity was that the Element of their Royal Bloodline was Fire and not Earth. Maybe the mountain was a volcano?
His musings were put aside as Pearl walked, no, glided forward. Dawn shuddered and forced to keep a fangirl squeal from escaping her lips. Pearl was her role model in behaving like a "real Princess" and right now the girl looked imposing and regal. She could be walking either to a battlefield or a gala with equal probabilities. The group left the tunnel behind the Crown Princess and found the whole garrison kneeling. Most of the guards were looking down, but one with a fancy helmet tucked under his arm was looking forward.
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"Her Royal Highness, Pearl of House Juvela! Welcome home! We are at your service."
"Captain Krolm, we met again," Pearl had a victorious smile on her face. She moved her hands calmly to frame her following words. Her voice mellowed as she progressed. "I am most pleased that a competent commander such as you was designated to garrison this tunnel. Great wealth will flow through it and I was afraid corruption would sap most of it. With you here, I can be at ease. Arise, friend."
Aidan noticed that the captain trembled as he received Pearl's words. The man rose to his feet and saluted, his eyes full of determination and zeal.
"Your Royal Highness' words are too kind," was all he could reply with. The man became a statue.
Pearl opened her hands with the palms up in a broad and welcoming gesture. "I mean each one of them," She said with a nod. Then, to prove her honesty, she took a step forward and withdrew the left hand as she turned the right-hand palm up before the captain.
The veteran knight swallowed dry and immediately bent his knee. The devotion in his stance was visible. "I am honored, your Royal Highness," He exhaled and carefully reached to grasp the tip of Pearl's fingers. Then he moved his head near her hand but the nearest part was the forehead, not the lips. "We are at your service."
Pearl grinned for a while before re-donning her mask. The Princess was brimming with joy inside.
"Captain Krolm, at ease!" She gently withdrew her hand and waited for him to stand up. Just the fact that she was using his name was a show that the Princess really had him in high esteem. "Allow me to introduce my dearest friend and our honored guest." She called Dawn with a wave of her left hand. "Princess Dawn of Yutis."
She moved forward, her hands crossed in front of her skirt and a smile on her face. Dawn's shoulder-length hair waved
The captain bowed as Dawn approached. "Your Highness, welcome to Gohar. I hope you find your stay pleasant."
The bow was another thing assimilated from the otherworlders' customs.
Dawn didn't offer her hand to him. She didn't curtsey either, as the Captain should have a lower nobility title if any. But she could grasp some of the situations by now. Captain Krolm was probably out of favor with the higher-ups and was sent to garrison the tunnel as some sort of punishment or prank. It could also be a move to make him vanish from sight. A prank that if she read Pearl's intentions well, Pearl was about to set it to backfire spectacularly at the prankster.
"Captain Krolm, it is my pleasure," Dawn nodded with her head and grasped Pearl's hand. "It is not my first visit to Gohar as you might know. I was mistaken with my sister Lumina at that time. I'll be in your care."
Pearl squeezed Dawn's hand to reassure her. It was unusual for Princess to act that friendly with one another and with that was basically a declaration they were equals.
It was in the nature of the heart to succumb to flattery. Imagine a sheltered existence, where one's every whim was fulfilled above and beyond what was required. Where everyone around the central person basically worshipped and pampered, and all one heard was how great and wonderful they were and how everything else was beneath their feet. Such sheltered and spoiled existence had a name. Princesses. And each one of them believed themselves without peers, below only to the eldest Royals of their own family.
What happened then when two of them met? A game of dominance. Hazing. Bullying. The worst in their nature brought to bear as weapons to hurt the other, to bring the other down and estabilish a pecking order. Some of them had wise tutors and nannies that imparted them a semblance of common sense but these were few. That didn't apply to Dawn as she was not even entirely female much less raised as a Princess and Pearl's wanderlust and natural talent in diplomacy led her to have a better understanding. Now, after her ordeals and adventures, it could be said she became worldly.
The two Princesses were glad to stand shoulder-by-shoulder. Even though the two had their ups and downs, now they were, as otherworlders would put it, truly BFFs.
"It will be an honor, your Highness," Krolm answered.
"Commander, this is Lord Aidan, my champion," Pearl introduced the only male in her group. The knight couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he appraised the young man's physique but then he smiled.
"Milord magus, welcome. It is an honor to meet the one chosen by our future Queen to be her champion," Krolm bowed respectfully.
Aidan was surprised at the knight captain's mental flexibility. "The honor is mine, captain," He replied and bowed slightly less than the soldier. "Pearl was my benefactor, she saved my life and I was fortunate to be in a position to repay the favor. These are my wives, Lady Cythrel and Ambassador Sora of the Squirrel-Kin."
The two ladies curtsied. Behind them and next to the animated carts with the luggage, the two maids didn't mind being completely ignored. Besides taking care of Pearl's needs, messing with foreign diplomacy was well above their pay grade.
"This way, please!" The captain pointed to the exit. "I would not dare hold our precious Princess and her guests a moment more than what's needed in this boorish cavern."
"Lead the way, Captain Krolm!" Pearl kindly ordered.