After forcing the second gate open so she will fit, I lead Lizzy outside, once outside I put the saddle on her and secure it. She stands perfectly still and doesn't seem to mind the saddle at all. Having had some experience with horses in my past life I mount Lizzy fully prepared to be thrown.

To my surprise she doesn't even flinch when I mount, and with just a slight squeeze of my legs she sets off at a walk. Another slight squeeze speeds her up to a trot and already she is moving as fast as I can at a run. It only takes me a minute to adapt to her motion and start moving with her.

*DING*

Congratulations! You have acquired the passive skill Riding!

Riding

Level: 1

Agi +2

You can mostly stay on a mount.

'Ha! It's been a while since I gained a new skill!'

Once I am used to the trot I again ask Lizzy to speed up by squeezing with my knees. Lizzy lowers and stretches out her neck as she picks up speed, from that I can tell she wasn't even trying before now. As Lizzy moves to a gallop her speed quadruples, a lot more than I was expecting.

While still nothing compared to the great tiger it is easily more than triple a horse's top speed. With this kind of speed my mobility is going to be greatly improved, and even better Lizzy doesn't seem to be straining herself at all. Meaning this probably isn't her top speed and my weight isn't bothering her.

Just to test her mobility I take her through some turns and then over rougher terrain. She has no problems with any of it, if anything she seems to be really enjoying herself. Thinking that I also realize that I am enjoying myself quite a bit, I haven't taken much time out for myself in a while.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Riding has progressed to level 2!

Riding

Level: 2

Agi +4

You can mostly stay on a mount.

After taking Lizzy all the way around the mountain we return back to the fortress entrance. Lizzy doesn't seem tired at all even after galloping for a little over an hour. To my surprise when we reach the fortress entrance the heroes are there getting their horses ready.

"Wait, where did you get horses? I didn't see any when I arrived!"

Justin says "The area around the mountain isn't suitable for them so we let them loose in a nearby valley."

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"Oh, smart! So what have you decided?"

Justin says "We will return with you and join the rebellion."

"I think that is the best choice given the current situation."

Justin says "We agree, and again, thank you for saving us."

"You are welcome."

Emelia says "Have you seen brother raven?"

"No, I haven't. Maybe he got bored of waiting or saw something shiny."

Emelia says "Could be."

"I'm sure he's fine. He will probably find us on the way."

Justin says "Yeah, let's set out."

At first their horses are scared of Lizzy but Emmy soon calms them down and we head off back towards mother wolf's forest. After galloping with Lizzy, having to match pace with the horses is kind of frustrating. But as we ride we end up chatting about our old world which helps the time pass quickly.

At the first night's camp I tell them the story of my summoning and the events behind it. Over the next two night's camps I tell them the rest of my story. On the fourth day as we near the forest we finally see brother raven.

Emelia says "Brother raven!"

Brother Raven says "Hello, little one. It is good to see you!"

"Hello, brother raven."

Brother Raven says "Ash, it is good to see you too! Congratulations on completing your task. I will lead you to Mother Wolf."

We follow brother raven into the forest, and just as the sun is setting we arrive in the clearing before mother wolf's den. As soon as the den is in sight Silveria rushes across the clearing and enters the den. The rest of us decide to let them be and set up camp on the edge of the clearing.

That night since I have already told my story the other heroes take a bit of time to give me a rough idea of their circumstances. After Emmy tells us hers she disappears into the great mother's den. The rest of us camp outside and don't see her again until morning. The next morning Emmy and Silveria rejoin us and that is when Great Mother Wolf comes out to talk to me.

Great Mother Wolf says "Thank you for saving my daughter and her friends."

"You are welcome!"

Great Mother Wolf says "Now as to your reward, first off I do not plan to help in this war directly. Fighting humans is not something I like to do, they are too weak. It feels like I am being a bully so I try to avoid it."

"I can understand that, I feel the same way sometimes but I have no way around it currently."

Great Mother Wolf says "So instead I am going to give you some information and if you choose to act on it I will send others to help you in my place."

"Alright, that sounds fine to me."

Great Mother Wolf says "I am not sure how much you know so I will explain. Did you know that this kingdom gets all its minerals from a single mine that is located here in the north."

"No, I didn't know that."

Great Mother Wolf says "The mine is worked by slaves, both human and beastman. As far as brother raven could tell there are ten thousand or more slaves, most of them are beastmen."

"That makes sense, humans won't survive as long in bad conditions."

Justin says "How many guards are there?"

Brother Raven says "Between two thousand and twenty-five hundred. It is hard to get an accurate count since they patrol constantly."

"Where is the mine located? Where are the nearest reinforcements?"

Brother Raven says "The mine is only a few hours by horse from the northern wall."

"I've heard the soldiers who guard the northern wall are the best in the kingdom."

Great Mother Wolf says "This is part of the help I offer, when you choose to attack Brother Raven will incite the beasts to attack the wall."

Justin says "In that case the soldiers will be too busy to send reinforcements!"

Great Mother Wolf says "Exactly. I will also give you six bears and two wolf packs to help you."

"This is starting to sound doable."

Justin says "Is this something you want to do?"

"Yes, I hate slavery. Besides, cutting off the kingdom's source of minerals will hurt them a lot. That's not to mention the number of potential recruits for the rebellion."

Justin says "True, I'm sure all of the slaves hate the kingdom at this point."

"I was thinking more that the beastmen have no place to return to."

Rachel says "What do you mean by that?"

"Any beastman that was captured would be an outcast, and outcasts don't live very good lives."

Justin says "So you think we should save them and recruit them for the rebellion?"

"Yes, although I will save them whether they join the rebellion or not."