At first, when the mercenaries met up with Maximus they had started to mock and underestimate the frail looking fae, however one glare from Marcus silenced them immediately. He had truly gained proper control of his territory in such a short time. Maximus couldn’t help but feel envious, but this was exactly what they needed right now if they were going to rescue Autumn, Keane, and the fae children trapped in the Draconis Mountains.

With no clear destination, they travelled in the direction of Teber and the border with Caleb tried to figure out some method to use the jabber jewels to track Autumn or Keane’s location. Unfortunately, it seemed whatever plan he had would not work while they were unconscious. Right as they passed by Teber and approached the border, Caleb suddenly exclaimed in excitement.

“I’ve got it! Keane’s awake now,” he told them, “I only have a direction for now, so let’s follow the mountains to the left. I believe there is a pass in that direction as well.”

Between Tethia and Beraud there were two major mountain passes and a third that was so unwieldy and dangerous it was rarely used. That third one was exactly where Caleb had directed.

“That figures,” Maximus muttered with a sigh, “They are likely making use of a little known path to hide their base.”

As they approached the path, they slowed their approach, trying their best to be careful so they were neither heard nor seen. The sight that greeted them on their arrival was far from what they had expected. The fortress the enemy had been hiding had already fallen, or at least any and all guards outside had.

“Keane?” Maximus called through the jabber jewel, “Are you and Autumn alright.”

“More or less,” Keane replied, “I had to release that summon from the tools controlling him and he hasn’t taken any of his anger out on us… yet.”

Maximus did not like the fact that it sounded like things might not stay that way. “I have come with a rescue squad from Merk. Any chance you could convince him not to kill us?”

There was silence for a while before Keane replied. “I had to track him down,” Keane reported, “And I think it is best you all stay out there. We will come out to meet you instead.”

“Stay out here? Why?” Caleb demanded, breaking into their conversation.

“Just trust me,” Keane pressed.

“Wait! Are the fae children alright?!” Maximus demanded.

“I may be an assassin, but I would not stoop so low as to murder innocent children,” a silver haired man said as he appeared before them.

The mercenaries of Merk all readied for a fight, but Marcus was able to convince them to stand down.

“Did you do this, Sir Assassin?” Marcus asked him, gesturing to the fallen guards and broken doors of the fortress.

“Perhaps, but don’t call me that,” the man snapped, “I’m retired.”

One of the mercenaries scoffed. “You can’t just retire from being an assassin.”

The man smiled a toothy and very dangerous looking grin. “Exactly.”

“We need to rescue the prisoners,” Maximus reminded everyone, “That won’t be a problem, will it?” He turned to the man, unable to stop himself from glaring in suspicion.

“Not so long as that kid keeps his end of the bargain,” the man replied, eyeing Caleb for some reason, “You don’t happen to have any food on hand I can eat in the meantime, do you? All this place has is disgusting garbage.”

Great, so not only did they have an assassin with some sort of deal with Keane, they had a hungry one. Maximus rifled through his pack and pulled out the only food he had left, the cookies he had been saving from Cassandra. It was a shame to waste them on a stranger, but a rogue summon was the last person you wanted to offend. Especially one who proclaimed they were a retired assassin.

The mercenaries moved in while Maximus appeased their guest with cookies, but some of them came back out shortly after they entered, looking traumatized. Just what was going on in there? Maximus was incredibly curious but he got the compelling feeling he was better off not knowing, especially with the man’s incredibly smug grin.

“Where did you get these cookies?” he asked, “They are quite tasty.”

“I got them from my friend,” Maximus told him defensively, “You might meet her if you come back with us.”

“I suppose a small delay before my return home won’t hurt,” he mused.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“It likely wouldn’t be a delay,” Caleb informed him, “We might need her help to send you back. Cassandra excels at sending things back to where they belong, even if that fox stops her from summoning anything else.”

“Summoning magic is very annoying,” the man noted, “Is there any way I can prevent being summoned again?”

“Unless they know your name it is extremely unlikely,” Caleb assured, “Do they?”

“Not at all. I would never let such greedy fools abuse my precious gift.”

Again, Maximus got the very strong feeling that he should not ask. The sooner they sent this guy back where he came from the better. Keane emerged from the keep, supporting a somewhat unsteady looking Autumn followed by the mercenaries carefully escorting the rescued prisoners. Since Carson was still very much in charge of Dyment they could not return there. Not yet. That was why they had planned to take a stop in Teber while things calmed down.

The preparations to depart were chaotic, but eventually everyone was settled in with some form of transportation. The pass was a bit uneven but the magic on the carts should make it a smooth ride since they were meant for transporting precious cargo. As for the rogue summon, he decided to travel by foot claiming he could outrun any of the horses anyway.

==========

Cassandra was filled with relief once she heard the report that everyone had been rescued and they were on their way to Teber. It was time to spring the trap she had been preparing for the spy that had likely caused this whole mess, though she was concerned about the news of a rogue summon.

A summon going rogue usually meant that their summoner had died, but the summoner could also just refuse to let them return home or be terrible at summoning magic and lose control. Whatever the case, that summon would be trapped unless they found someone able to cast reverse summoning.

Reverse summoning was usually far harder than summoning because it was so much more precise and mistakes could land that summon in a completely different world or dimension entirely. Cassandra had actually found it easier to comprehend than the vague art of summoning. If it wasn’t for Yuki she doubted she would be able to summon anything at all.

The fox had become even more clingy than before since Autumn’s kidnapping, and now rode around her shoulders like a living white fluffy scarf. Cassandra was now completely confident of his magical nature as she didn’t feel any weight at all. She could barely even tell he was there.

“Are you ready, Yuki?” Cassandra asked, just so she felt like she wasn’t alone in this. Unfortunately the trap she was setting was not something she could confide in anyone. Not even Rena, just in case.

There was no response from the fox, but that was just normal. Alois’s information had been a big help as well. She now knew some key words she could use to test any potential spies. Her first target for her trap would be Tobias himself, and then the servants of the manor. For Tobias, she would speak to him personally, but for the servants she had left a cryptic message in her room, calling out a fellow ally of Gaia in terms that only an ally of Gaia should recognize.

“What is it?” Tobias asked once she entered his office.

Cassandra decided to tick two tasks at once by bringing up business first and foremost. “There has been an incident spanning the territories of my faction and the Draconis Mountains,” she told him, “Maximus will be bringing refugees from Dyment here for a short time.”

Tobias blinked, both confused and alarmed. “From Dyment? You said both of your territories. What happened here?”

“My teammate, Autumn, was kidnapped by traitors,” Cassandra told him, watching his reaction very closely.

“He was kidnapped?! And you are only telling me this now!” Tobias demanded as he shot to his feet, “We need to get together a rescue squad and-”

“Autumn has already been rescued,” Cassandra interrupted before he could work himself up too much. For what it was worth he seemed genuinely surprised about what had happened, but she couldn’t trust that alone. “I am very disappointed, you know? Carson and Simon promised no one would get hurt.”

“Carson? The steward of Dyment?” Tobias asked, “I think you are going to need to explain things to me in more detail. Especially since the only Simon I know is the right hand of the king.”

What? Simon was the king’s right hand? It seemed unlikely he would out the exact position of a fellow spy if he was one. “You know Simon’s position?” she asked.

“Of course I do. He appointed both me and Carson to our positions as stewards,” Tobias told her, “Now don’t dodge the question. What is going on?”

This was all important information but Cassandra grew steadily more convinced that Tobias was not the spy. In that case, she would give him one final chance. “I have no time to explain the situation now,” she told him truthfully, “I have set a trap for the spy in Teber that leaked the information that caused this whole incident.”

Tobias held a hand to his head. “You thought I was the spy,” he realized, “That means Carson and Simon must be the traitors you speak of. You had best have proof to back up such a bold claim.”

“We do,” Cassandra assured. At least for Carson, but he didn’t need to know that. If Simon made a bold escape she would know that Tobias was just an incredible actor, but she would like to trust him for now.

“Is there anything left I can help with?” he asked in a defeated tone.

“Prepare for our refugee guests,” Cassandra told him, “And don’t let on that anything is strange.”

“So do something strange without letting my own servants know I am doing something strange?” Tobias checked with the slightest chuckle of disbelief, “I will see what I can do, Lady Cassandra.”

“Thank you,” Cassandra told him and got to work.

The message she had left was simple. “C is compromised.” Since it was in her room, she was certain that the spy would seek her out themselves, especially since Frost had seemed entirely convinced she was on their side. That meant she had unknowingly fooled that spy this whole time.

Cassandra decided to visit a secluded part of the manor’s garden to be sure she was both alone and easy to ‘coincidentally’ approach. She did not have to wait long, but the one who had approached her was not who she had expected.

“Juliane, did you need something?” she asked, readjusting her position on the garden bench.