"He's not onto us."

Hakim's optimism didn't rub off on me, but at least Stern hasn't called us out yet. I kept glancing around waiting for other ambushes, but I expected a wyvern to show up sooner or later too.

"We couldn't find the lizards, and they found us right when I decided to change the mission." I shook my head, packing up our camp. Only half a dozen soldiers got away from the battle including their captain. If not for the bard's intervention, they would have died there, no exceptions. "Even if he suspects something, he should be thankful for running into us."

"Those weren't the reptiles we looked for anyway." He shrugged, leaning in closer. "Other than the two shamans, they had nothing on them. Attacking their men wouldn't make sense if the Elter controls the big tribes. Think about it."

"I don't know how she thinks." I pointed out. "She sent her servants to die before, but they happened to be stronger than expected."

"We break camp soon, grab something to eat, our next stop will be Sanctuary, but it's a long journey." The captain showed up behind us, and my first reaction was to try and hide. The bard's illusion covered my identity, his ability to bend light proved invaluable. I never thought a perfect, effortless disguise like this could be possible. "Your kid alright?"

"He's fine, he's fine." Hakim laughed at my clumsiness. "Dio's a little jumpy since that ambush, but can you blame him?"

He played it off and considering that I looked like a human child, his explanation was sound. It surprised me how long he could uphold the illusion. Unlike with invisibility, this one didn't need him to stick close. When he got separated during the battle, my disguise lasted.

"Right, sorry about that. We should be safe now, but we'll have to ride well over a hundred miles today, so get ready." Stern said while leaving, and I let out a long sigh. I wasn't cut out for espionage.

"Calm down, Major, he can't see you as long as I'm within a mile from you. And he doesn't have magicules either, we are the real threat here." The bard grinned, patting my shoulder. "I'm useful, aren't I?"

Even though I was much older than him, he enjoyed playing my dad a bit too much. He had only begun his adult life, while I expected to kick the bucket in the next ten years. Or sooner, if things continued like this, my heart couldn't take it, but at least he had fun.

"This wasn't the mission we set out at first." I reminded him with a stark glance, but I didn't know if the illusion face I got from him conveyed my emotions. "Besides, it's one thing how I look and how I sound. During the battle, I couldn't stay idle and didn't act like a child would. Staying alive was my priority. Thanks for the save though, I can't deny that you were useful a little bit."

"You're too kind, Dio." He hollered, which caught the battered soldier's attention. One had his arm tied up, and the other almost lost his hand, their eyes filled with suspicion and displeasure. He toned down his voice, rolling up his fleabag. "Still, I'm not sure if the wyvern delivered your message. I made sure to attach it, and it took off but..."

"They are much smarter than those homing crows, trust me." I waved off his concern, although I couldn't deny my unease about it. "I expect they send someone to shadow us before we reach Nordhaben. But they better hurry if we make the entire journey in a single day."

He remained silent, closed his eyes, then turned his head, as if he stared right behind me. Wishing I had his special senses, I followed his gaze slow and steady and a loud crackle came from the woods.

"I guess you were right about that one." He noted right when I spotted the silver figure hiding in the thick of it. I recognized the wolfman from the wide grin on his face. The bard waved at him, pointing at me without making a racket, and the silhouette disappeared.

"See, Fang is reliable." I let out a sigh, feeling relieved, but still curious. "I didn't see his wyvern though, did you make it invisible?"

"Me? I didn't do anything, but felt a strong presence." Hakim shrugged, nodding his head towards the woods. "If I have to guess, he rode on the Nightmares. I recognize their aura ever since that unfortunate meeting in Lansum."

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"You'll have to tell me what they showed you one day." I grinned, getting up. "Oh, Dad, I must relieve myself before we go."

I claimed it loud enough for the soldiers to hear, but they didn't bother with me this time. I made a run for the forest, excited to see my old comrade again, but Hakim couldn't leave it at that.

"Don't go too far, kiddo. We won't peek, but some critters might bite you deep in the forest." He claimed, his play felt a bit forced.

Once I reached the treeline, I spotted the silver shadow further in and rushed straight for him. The bard was right, I noticed two Nightmares when I got closer, one of them was my colt I got attached to.

"Oh, would you look at that? I missed you, little guy." I approached the horse first to Fang's amusement. I don't know if they could tell I was under the illusion or became tame that they allowed everyone to approach them. But I felt relieved to see them after a few days.

"This bard isn't half bad. I wouldn't recognize you." The beastman noted, patting my back. "If anything, you have his face, but somehow even more punchable. So who are these humans?"

"The one with the purple hair is Stern, the new Captain of the Guard, or whatever they call it nowadays." I filled him in on the details, still rubbing the fiery nuzzle of my Nightmare. "And if I'm right, he's also the right-hand man of the Elder. We didn't find those lizardmen tribes controlled by her, but he could be our ticket to Sanctuary."

"Don't worry about those, we ran into them yesterday." He claimed, his eyes serious. "They camped near Baran. Far from the edges of the highlands. Exagus has a knack for this mana sense thing too."

"Oh, they were on the opposite end of Midgard, west, not east. And how many did you find?" I was hungry for all the information since I couldn't extract anything from the humans.

"About three thousand. They could outnumber us." Fang noted, pulling out a hand-drawn map. "Three tribes formed a perimeter at the foot of those mountains near the dwarven capital. They camp inside a large forest and you were right that they didn't want to engage us. They are way out of our reach as it stands now."

"Yeah. And these soldiers raided their settlements to herd them south, slowing us down. The Church Woman planned this well." I nodded, assessing the situation. "It's clear that the Elder doesn't control every tribe, they ambushed her men yesterday. If we didn't infiltrate their ranks, and Hakim didn't blind the reptiles, they would be dead by now."

"You should have let them die then. The Demon Lord was furious." He shook his head, pointing at the map again. "We will advance along the coast the same way we came through, but I don't know how the Lansum people will like that. And our logistics will suffer for it."

"It calls for a disaster. He should wait until we got something useful from this mission." I rubbed my forehead, trying to come up with something, but the wolfman was faster.

"He said he can't wait for you all the time when there is no direct contact. And you keep changing your mind, abandoning missions left and right." His words hit right home, but they had some truth in them.

"Look, Hakim was right after all. You found the Elder's lizards too, what else does he want?" I shrugged, examining the map. "I half expected he'd send you on a wyvern to bring me back. But this is a great opportunity, and it fell onto our laps so it would be a waste not to follow up."

"No, no wyverns for us now." Fang grinned, nodding towards the horses. "If you keep it up like this, he will disband the whole Twelve, but I don't mind. These beauties were ours though, so he allowed me to ride them. And he finally acknowledged Omerta as an ambassador too."

"That is progress." I nodded, relieved. "Any news from Nateaser?"

"Well, this is the thing. I rode there with Bastion first, and guess what? Omerta is nowhere near." The wolfman laughed, his smile seldom genuine. "That witch will be the end of you, I can't warn you enough."

"What? Where did she go?" I raised an eyebrow, getting annoyed at the orc girl. This wasn't the first time she let me down. Fang's grin was widening though, and I suspected the worst.

"They gathered all the magicians and survivors from Avalon's company and went to Baran. To clear the old dwarf's dungeon." He opened his arms wide as if conveying how things got out of hand. "They even took Ember, the sole candidate to fill in for the Champions, and they were gone for a few days now. Avalon and Gorgon got an order to return to the frontlines. Now Bastion is the ambassador to Nateaser and their Neutral League. The ogre, can you imagine it?"

"I'd rather not." I shook my head, feeling the beginning of a headache.

I heard some noise from the clearing and tried to cut short our information exchange. I didn't have to say anything to the wolfman, he dragged the Nightmares out of sight and disappeared too.

"I will relay information between you and Nateaser." He whispered from his hiding place. "From there, the ogre can send some crows back. If anything happens, give me a sign, and I rush in with the colts to pull you out of trouble. Don't overdo your spy game, kiddo."

His last words were pure mockery, but at least he was older than me so I could swallow it. I didn't have time to answer though. I dropped my pants, then pulled them back again as the purple hair poked through the woods. Was he suspecting something, or only worried that I was away for a while? His face didn't reveal anything.

"There you are. Did you finish your business?" He asked. As if it was only my imagination, but I felt like he glanced over my shoulders. Not in the direction where Fang disappeared, but I became nervous regardless. "We're about to ride off, so if you want to eat..."

"Yeah, thanks, Stern Captain." I nodded, fixing my clothing, and following him to the camp. "Sorry for making you wait."