“That... that does not sound safe.” Lynn said.

“There really is not much that can hurt us.” I tried to reassure her.

“But we can hurt the baron! There are a lot of ways how we can hurt him! And slaughter his army! Burn down his castle!” Shani added.

Ben frowned. “Slaughtering people sounds evil.”

“No no no! Having a slaughter can be a fun bonding experience, or a family trip. It depends on your targets. If they are bad, or you just don’t like them a lot, it’s totally fine!” Shani explained while nodding her head.

Ben listened intently. Alister and Lynn looked horrified.

“Don’t listen to Shani, she is… elementals might have different morals.” I concluded. “Don’t hurt innocent people. Only punish the bad ones. And the punishment should depend on how bad they are.”

Thessia addressed the parents, who still looked disturbed: “I have only known Amaya for a short time but she is a woman of honour. She is kind to her friends, protective of the weak and merciless to her enemies. Imagine Shani as the embodiment of her wrath.”

I was not sure about that description. Shani was rather carefree, enjoyed fighting and had rather loose morals. She was reliable though, if you gave her proper instructions.

“I am also great for birthday parties!” Shani said. A party hat made out of wind formed on her head. “But the whole wrath thing is certainly my speciality.”

“Anyway, we will be totally fine!” Lucy said. “We will quickly show this baron and be right back!” Lucy lifted Ben from her lap and got up.

I had a feeling that Lucy wanted to show off a little. To show her parents just how strong she had become. I was not sure if blowing up a castle was the proper way to achieve that. But if the baron deserved it, I had no objections.

“Alright.” I said and stood up as well. “Alister, Lynn, it was a pleasure meeting you. We will be back soon. I will leave supplies with our maids. Tonight we shall have a proper feast!”

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Her parents were close to crying again, seeing their daughter leave. Ben looked disappointed that he was not allowed to come. I unloaded some food and drink from my storage and we left.

“Are you alright Lucy?” I asked her once we were on our way.

“Yes. It… it has been a bit overwhelming. I am happy that they are fine. And I have a little brother! A brother I didn't even know about, because of the Empire. I don't know what that baron actually did but we are going to find out. And make sure no family in my village suffers because of him. And then we are going to celebrate!”

“We should have a pool of blood! I bet Ben would enjoy it!” Shani suggested.

“No.” I said. Shani seemed rather fond of Ben. I was a bit concerned about her influence. Then again, we were on our way to maybe blow up a castle. My or Lucy’s influence might not be ideal either. I looked at Lily. Yeah, Ben would grow up surrounded by bad influences…

“My lady, can I ask a question?” Lily asked Lucy.

“Uh, sure. You don’t have to be so formal, you know.” Lucy answered.

“We just met your parents. That means you are young. How… how are you so powerful? They seem to be normal foxkin. I have not felt any real magic from them. Amaya said you are becoming a kitsune. I can feel the power through the bond. Looking at you is… inspiring. Warlocks are not common but I have never heard of a pact changing someone that much. I met one of Lilith’s warlocks once. He was nothing like you.”

Lucy looked at me, I nodded. She was free to share our secrets.

“Well, Amaya is rather special. The warlock bond gives you powers based on your patron. They share a part of their soul with you. It changed me more than either of us anticipated.”

“I am not from this world.” I added. “I only arrived shortly before I met Lucy.”

“I see. Thank you for your trust. Do you think I will change as well?” Lily asked.

That was a good question. We had a bond but that was entirely different from being a warlock.

“Of course!” Shani said. “Becoming the Elemental Knight of an archfey is no small thing. The power of the plane of air flows through you. It will change your body and grant you gifts in time. There is a reason why this is a big deal you know!”

We all looked at the elemental in surprise. It was easy to forget that behind the carefree personality was an ancient being. I had no idea how old she was, but evolving into an elemental lord should have taken a long time.

“I see. How did you meet them, Shani?” Lily asked.

“Ah, a great story! So, here I was bored… I mean super busy doing lord things when I felt a summoning spell. It’s rare that a random elemental lord is called. If the spell does not have a specific target it just sends a polite request through the plane, sort of. Despite my busy nature I decided to have a look. It felt rather intriguing. The spell just smelled right, you know? Like a lovely storm. I just knew this was not some wrinkly old wizard but a fine lady instead.”

Shani pointed at me. Lily listened intently.

“So I appeared in this room with some fancy weaklings. Did not even have to lift a finger. They all cried for their mommies just looking at me. Then we all just strolled outside. Had a nice walk. Lucy was still normal back then. The next time Amaya called it was directed at me. And she had such a lovely battle prepared! Lucy was now a warlock and kicked some butt. I decided then to keep hanging out with them.”

While Lily was contemplating this information we made good time towards the castle. It was located on a small hill and not overly big. Two guards stood next to the open gate. They looked at us curiously but unconcerned.

“I shall properly introduce you.” Lily said and stepped forward.