What followed was a bit of quiet contemplation. Our new companions had to digest this information. I kept an eye on our surroundings. We could still hear the sound of fighting in the distance but nobody engaged our group.

Eventually Shani’s spell came to an end and she returned to her home plane. She seemed annoyed that Terath was here permanently. I would have to summon her frequently in the coming days.

The earth elemental smiled as Shani disappeared. Watching him made me think. “Could we use Terath as a mount? Lucy, Lily and myself can move rather quickly. I am not sure about everyone else. I suspect Minerva and Iris will do fine. How about you Josef? Alchemy is not a very physical profession.”

“Ah. I have done my share of travelling, but usually I use a horse. And if I am on foot it is certainly at a human pace.”

“I am not a mount.” Terath said.

“So Shani was right, you are lazy.” I responded.

“Outrageous! I am an elemental lord! I am a being worthy of respect, not a beast of burden!”

“It’s fine, I can carry someone.” Lucy offered. “What about Thessia and Elandru? Are you fine with walking? Or running I guess. We would like to travel at a faster pace.”

“Do not worry about me.” Elandru said. “With the power of our goddess I can transform into a better shape for travelling. I can take the form of a stag. I will not be able to communicate easily in that form but I can carry Thessia.”

“Perfect. So if Lucy carries Josef we are good.”

I would not have minded someone riding on my panther form. But it was a bit small for Josef. If Lucy could turn into a horse sized fox that would be perfect. It was her first time using her increased size since the battle. This time my aura was restrained and not boosting her. But it worked nicely.

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Josef admired the beautiful fox and carefully approached. I chuckled. “It is still Lucy, not a wild beast. No reason to be that cautious.”

“Who says I am not a wild beast?” Lucy responded.

“Good point. But you are my wild beast.” I approached to give her some headpats. She even lowered her head so I could reach it. Her fur in this form was very soft.

“You can still talk normally while transformed?” Josef asked. He was clearly in awe.

“Sure. I am awesome.” Lucy responded.

After that Elandru transformed and I took my animal form as well. Then we increased our pace. Soon we reached the gates of the city. They were open and manned by two scared looking soldiers. When they saw our group approach they fled.

“I am surprised that we don’t see any refugees.” I said. I could understand that a lot of people were hiding in their homes. But I would have expected some to leave. Especially anyone who was only visiting.

“There will be plenty after the fighting.” Iris said. “Once the people realise what is going on. And do not forget the recent demon attack. A lot of travellers have already left after that incident.”

“There will be a draft.” Minerva added. “A lot of the poor will end up with a spear in hand on the frontline. And then they get torn apart by some magic they have no hope of countering.”

“How quickly will it spread?” I asked.

“Major garrisons have a magical communication stone. Of course the system could be compromised with traitors. There will be a lot of confusion. Any noble not directly involved will have to choose a side.” Iris explained. “I suspect within a week every big city will at least know about the coup. It will take longer for small villages to hear the news. They might be unaware until the local lord shows up to draft people.”

“We have no reason to visit a big city. Maybe a stop at a small town to get some clothes for our new maids. Other than that we can go straight to my village.” Lucy said.

“Your village?” Josef asked.

“You will see when we arrive.” Lucy answered.

“Maybe we should visit more villages and try to recruit people.” Iris suggested.

“Why?” I asked.

“I highly doubt that the Dominion gave you a fully staffed county. You will likely need more personnel. And if you want a maid knight order we will need recruits. Since it is an elite position not everyone would qualify. We will need a large pool of candidates to find some that are suitable. I would suggest training them as regular soldiers and making an offer to anyone who is talented.”

“It would slow us down considerably if we moved with a larger group. And I doubt the locals would want to come with us.”

“It depends on how bad the war will become.”

“Let’s see what happens.” Lucy said. “I doubt they will believe us. For now I want to get to my village quickly.”

“Yes, let’s go there first.” I said.

And so we left Unitera. Maybe we would be back, with an army.