It was a few hours before dawn, and Emiel, the large moon, was sinking down below the horizon. Theimi had already set some time ago.
Namyis was sitting on a large wooden crate in an alleyway in one of the outer districts of the city of Gojir. The area wasn't bad enough to be called a slum, but it was definitely run-down. The alleyway was littered with foul-smelling trash, and Namyis had to resist the temptation to use some water magic to give it a good washing out. That would attract too much attention.
But they weren't going to be here much longer. And she'd endured worse. At least there was a clean place to sit this time.
"The other teams are in position," the woman sitting next to her said in a low voice, tapping the telepathic communication device attached to her helmet. "We'll start as soon as the moon sets and it gets a bit darker—another ten or fifteen minutes."
"Sounds good."
Everyone on their strike force could use some form of magesight and was comfortable working in the dark. It was possible that some of their enemies were the same, but it should at least give them some advantage.
The two women waited silently. They were both seasoned professionals, so neither of them were particularly tense.
The other woman's name was Ziryi. Her call name was Darkbolt. She was a sixth-rank lightning sorcerer and was technically a member of the Magic Corps, but she was on semi-permanent loan to the Royal Guard, since she was much better at hunting down criminals than she was at fighting demons or magic beasts.
The reason for that was mostly her physique. She was tiny. The top of her head barely came up to Namyis' shoulders. Like the ice mage, Ziryi had been a child sorcerer and was taken in by the Magic Corps when she was young. But she hadn't been able to manage the standard physical combat training.
She hadn't given up, though. She'd switched to stealth training, which was much better suited to her small frame, and had started studying enchanting, especially trap and barrier formations.
Lightning magic tended to be showy and not suitable for stealth missions, but after years of hard work, Ziryi had managed to overcome that disadvantage and developed the specialized magic style that her call name was based on: a deep purple lightning that was nearly invisible in the dark and was perfect for taking down enemy agents quickly and quietly.
She might not be much good in a fistfight, but if you wanted to break into a criminal base without anyone noticing and capture a target without setting off any traps, she was definitely the best wizard for the job.
Namyis liked Ziryi. The two of them had worked together quite a lot, and they'd always gotten along well.
"It's time," Ziryi said after a while. She jumped lightly down from the crate and stretched. "Let's get ready."
Namyis also stood and stretched her arms and legs for a moment before following Ziryi along the alleyway. They walked carefully and quietly, picking their way around the debris.
At the end of the alley, they paused, peering cautiously around the corner. The building they were targeting was a short distance away—a large house with a high brick wall around it. There were metal spikes on top of the wall, which was normal for a rough neighborhood like this one.
The two burly men standing in the shadows next to the gate were less normal. They were dressed in ordinary clothes and acting casual, but they were obviously guarding the place.
Ziryi looked at Namyis, who nodded. Ziryi tapped her communication device to let Namyis know she was telling the mission leader that they were ready.
Then both of them tensed, waiting for the signal to start. Another team on the other side of the street would be causing a distraction to help them get through the gate.
A moment later, loud barks and snarls came from somewhere nearby. It sounded like several stray dogs had just started fighting, but it was actually a small group of Royal Guard familiars playacting and making noise.
As soon as the barking started, Ziryi dashed out of the alley and toward the gate, with Namyis following closely behind her. Their dark grey combat suits had stealth and silencing enchantments on them, so it would have been difficult enough to notice them coming even if the guards had been paying attention. But both of them had just turned their heads in the direction of the 'dogfight.'
Namyis frowned a little when she saw that. The guards weren't very well-trained. The one closest to the sound should have checked on it, while the other one increased his vigilance of their immediate surroundings, in case the noise was a diversion.
That lack of coordination matched what the Guard's scouts had said about the guards here, and it made their job much easier. But it was still a bit strange for one of the Order's hideouts. They were usually pretty paranoid about security.
Well. The person hiding out in this place was literally a walking explosive. Maybe they didn't want to assign anyone too valuable to guard him, just in case of accidents....
A few seconds later, they came within striking range, and Ziryi held out her hands. Even with her heat-sensitive magesight, Namyis could only faintly see the two small lightning bolts that shot out toward the guards, since Ziryi was able to hide the heat and light from them amazingly well.
The effects were as good as ever, though. With a gasp and a muffled groan, both men collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly.
Ziryi immediately began disarming the enchantments on the gate while Namyis stood watch. They didn't stop to check whether the guards were still alive or not. The cleanup team would take care of that later.
The instructions for this mission were 'sure down.' Don't deliberately kill anyone, since living captives were more useful. But make sure they go down and stay down. If you happen to use a little too much power and the Order member happens to be unlucky...well, too bad for him.
Better than letting him sound the alarm and ruin the operation.
But Ziryi was much better than Namyis was at subduing people without causing permanent damage. That was one reason she was doing the attacking. The other reason was that once Namyis formed the stasis crystal on their target, she'd have to keep maintaining it constantly until the enchantment analysis was done.
With her massive power reserves, that shouldn't be a problem, but...it was best to save her strength where she could. Just in case.
It took a few minutes for Ziryi to analyze and deactivate the enchantment matrix on the gate. While she waited and stayed vigilant for any unexpected movement or sounds, Namyis couldn't help wondering how long it would have taken Ariom to do the same thing.
She didn't doubt that he would be able to do it, of course. He should have much better overall knowledge of enchanting than Ziryi, who only had an artisan-level certification and had exclusively focused on enchantment types that were related to her work. But it was hard to say whether Ariom could beat her in her area of expertise.
Namyis was just thinking of ways she might be able to convince the two of them to have some kind of competition, when Ziryi signaled to her that it was safe to proceed and cautiously pushed the gate open, using a little magic on the hinges to be sure they swung silently.
Namyis pushed her idle thoughts aside. There would be plenty of time to think about how to play with her favorite enchanters later. Now she needed to focus on the task at hand.
They slipped in and closed the gate behind them. There was a small garden area inside, but it was neglected and overgrown.
The scouts had said there would be a few guards patrolling around the property. The two combat wizards used that to their advantage, crouching down in the shadow of a scraggly juniper bush to wait for the patrols to come by. Then Ziryi shocked them into unconsciousness, and Namyis helped her hide them in the tall grass.
When the outside guards were all accounted for, they made their way around the yard, relying on Ziryi's keen senses to avoid any traps hidden along the way, and eventually reached a side door that wasn't in view of any of the house's windows.
After a few more minutes checking for traps and disabling enchantment formations, Ziryi slowly pushed the door open enough to look for any signs of life on the other side. A moment later, she gave Namyis an all-clear sign, and they entered the house.
They found a pair of guards patrolling the ground floor and another pair stationed in the second floor corridor. That was fairly standard for a criminal lair, and none of them seemed to be particularly skilled, so it wasn't hard to take care of them.
There weren't any more traps inside the house, but when they reached the stairway to the third floor, they found a heavy magic barrier blocking their way. But considering who was living on the third floor, this was to be expected.
The barrier was probably more for the safety of the other people in the house, rather than the man inside it....
Ziryi calmly got to work, and about ten minutes later, she'd made a hole in the barrier that was large enough for them to pass through.
They moved carefully and quietly up the stairs and along the hallway and came to a stop in front of a closed set of double doors.
Ziryi tapped her communication device again. She'd been doing that periodically as they progressed through the house, sending updates to the mission leader.
You didn't technically need to tap the device to use it, but it was a common practice, especially on stealth missions like this, to make some gesture to let your team members know you were either sending or receiving a message.
Namyis actually had a communication device attached to her helmet as well, but it was just there in case of an emergency and was turned off at the moment. It caused problems to have too many telepathic devices connected together at once.
Unless Hydra was around, of course. But there was no need to call the field commander over for a small raid like this.
After she finished sending her update, Ziryi started examining the doors. She signaled to Namyis to let her know there were enchantments to disarm. Namyis nodded and took up a lookout position.
This enchantment was obviously more complex than the previous ones. It took almost twenty minutes for Ziryi to finally turn and signal to Namyis that she was finished. Then she eased the right side door open and checked the room.
After a long moment, she turned and made a few more hand signals.
'One enemy. Asleep. Possible traps.'
Namyis nodded to show she understood. Then she followed Ziryi inside and stood still, just inside the door, while Ziryi silently checked around the room for traps. She avoided the large bed standing against the far wall, though, having been warned multiple times during the pre-mission briefing not to use any kind of analysis magic on their target.
Avoiding the entire bed he was sleeping on was safest. And it didn't really matter if the bed was trapped, since Namyis was planning to freeze the whole thing at once.
She could take her time separating the target from his bed once the building was secured.
Namyis kept her eyes on the man in the bed while Ziryi scouted out the rest of the room. He was sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to the intruders who had just entered his bedroom. She frowned a little as she watched him.
It was hard to see him clearly in the dark, but he seemed to be just an average-looking middle-aged man. The kind of person you might pass in the street anywhere on the continent.
But he was also...wrong, somehow. Namyis felt strongly that there was something off about that man, even though she couldn't quite tell what it was.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
After a few minutes Ziryi stopped and gestured to get Namyis' attention.
She pointed to a desk standing against one wall of the room and signaled, 'Trap.' Then she pointed at a locked bookcase next to it. 'Trap.' Then at a wardrobe against the opposite wall. 'Trap.' Finally, she indicated the path between the door and the bed. 'Safe. Go ahead.'
Namyis nodded and made her way carefully across the room. She paused for a moment next to the bed, closed her eyes, and took a few slow breaths, focusing her mind.
Then she opened her eyes and let out a rush of magic.
A second later, it was all over. The bed and its sleeping occupant were safely enclosed in a large stasis crystal.
But Namyis only felt slightly relieved. She kept staring at the frozen man, frowning.
Ziryi joined her by the bed. She, too, stared down at their captured target in silence.
"Is this really the right guy?" Namyis asked quietly.
"It should be. I can't scan him with magic to be sure, but he looks the same. I helped with the pre-mission intelligence gathering, so I've seen him before."
"I don't like it. Something feels wrong here."
"I know. It was too easy. I guess it's possible that they weren't expecting your level of stasis magic and were relying on those explosive traps to take out anyone who came sniffing around. But...." Ziryi trailed off and looked around the room. "I guess we'll see what the mission leader says. I'll check the room again while we're waiting for them to get here. It's possible I missed something...."
She did another scan around the room but didn't seem to find anything else. She looked at Namyis and shrugged her shoulders, then started working on deactivating the trap enchantment on the desk.
Namyis waited patiently next to her stasis crystal and watched her, while also keeping an eye on the door and listening to the sounds of the support team approaching. Since Ziryi had already knocked all the guards unconscious, they shouldn't be having much trouble securing the building. But there were a few distant shouts and sounds of fighting. Apparently some of the other people sleeping in the house had woken up and realized they were under attack.
No reason to be worried, though. They had a good team with good equipment. And the most dangerous enemy was already taken care of.
Namyis looked back at the man inside the crystal. Keeping him nice and frozen was the only thing she needed to worry about right now. Whatever strangeness there was about him, she knew Ariom would be able to figure it out.
She just needed to properly deliver the research materials. The genius grandmaster could take care of the rest.
----------------------------------------
"We're not doing a lesson tonight?"
Ki'shiu shook his head. It's better if you rest tonight. You're probably in for another long day tomorrow. You should save your mental energy.
"That last practice was pretty hard...." Thenio sighed. "Ariom said they made it as close to the real thing as they could, so tomorrow shouldn't be any worse than that. But I guess you're right. It's better to be prepared." He looked up at the dream beast hopefully. "But since you still came tonight, does that mean we're going somewhere?"
This was the first time they'd skipped Thenio's magic lesson altogether, but on the nights when he'd been extra tired from his daytime practices, Ki'shiu had kept the lesson short and spent the rest of the time taking Thenio flying to some interesting location. They'd gone to the Pabas Islands the night before last since Thenio was curious about where Amisi had come from. The ocean scenery was amazingly beautiful.
That's right. The air shimmered a little as Ki'shiu chuckled. Is there a place you want to visit?
"Not a place, exactly...." Thenio hesitated. "You can create animals with dream magic, can't you?"
Yes and no. The animals you've seen on our trips so far have been illusions, not actual living creatures. But I can summon a living spirit into a dream if I need to.
"It doesn't hurt them or anything, does it?"
Not if it's done correctly. The summoned creature simply experiences it as a normal dream. Ki'shiu tilted his head, looking at Thenio curiously. Are you asking because there's an animal you want to see?
"Well, only if it's not too much trouble. I told you that Bero was teaching me to ride Ariom's horse golem, right? He said it was fine to learn the basics on a golem but that I really ought to try riding real horses eventually. And he has some on his farm, but Ariom doesn't think it's safe for me to visit there yet because of how many magic creatures there are. So I was just wondering whether it would be possible to ride a horse in a dream."
Ah. I understand. Ki'shiu nodded. Then he paused for a moment, apparently considering Thenio's request. Yes, it's possible. Though rather than a normal horse...I think a slightly different creature might be better for your first attempt.... Yes. I think that place would be a good choice. He knelt down in front of Thenio. Climb on.
Thenio had no trouble getting onto the dream beast's back by this time. He pulled himself up and held on while Ki'shiu cantered a short distance and then leapt into the air, his huge wings carrying them up and out of the forest clearing where they'd been standing.
The dream forest looked a bit different now. It was still covered in mist, and Thenio hadn't found any paths leading out of it yet. But the snow was gone. And after several attempts at deliberately changing the scenery by using his newly acquired dream magic skills, Thenio had eventually made some wildflowers sprout up here and there, so the forest seemed a little more cheerful than it had a couple of weeks ago.
But he still enjoyed flying out of it and watching the trees fade away as Ki'shiu's strong wings carried them up through the clouds and into the sunlight.
When the clouds parted again to reveal a new landscape below, Thenio recognized the Odrin Mountains, which separated Kafron from the rest of the continent. The Drakesil Mountains that surrounded Kamari were an offshoot of the Odrins.
They'd flown over these mountains several times before. Ki'shiu could easily take them straight to whatever destination he had in mind, but he knew Thenio loved flying, so he'd been stretching their nightly trips out to cover more distance.
They cut through the mountain range in a zigzag pattern, passing between the jagged, snow capped peaks. It was summer, but the tallest mountains were high enough that they were white on top all year round. The snow gleamed brightly in the sunlight, contrasting against the dark green of the alpine forests growing further down.
Looking down at the canyons below, Thenio spotted a rocky river and several impressive-looking waterfalls. They'd gone to see waterfalls like those on one of their previous trips. But tonight they flew past them and on through to the other side of the mountain range.
On the east side of the Odrins, the mountains turned into low, rolling hills that were barely visible underneath the vast, dense forest growing on top of them. Thenio recognized this place as well.
"Ket'qe? Is that where we're going?"
That's right.
"Are there horses in...no, wait...." 'A slightly different creature,' was what Ki'shiu had said earlier. "You want me to ride a unicorn?"
Yes. Unicorns are very similar to horses, but they're gentler and more intelligent, so they're usually better-behaved. It should be a bit easier for you than riding a horse.
"That's only if they like you, though, isn't it?" Thenio said doubtfully. "Will a unicorn like me enough to let me ride it? Don't they dislike most humans?"
Ki'shiu actually threw his head back and laughed at that, making golden sparkles light up the air all around them. Believe me, that won't be a problem for you....
Thenio blinked. "Oh."
Apparently unicorns were attracted to chaos magic like other magic beasts....
They glided down and landed in a familiar-looking meadow with a stream running through it. The usual herd of unicorns was grazing nearby. None of them seemed to notice the large creature landing in the clearing and walking over to them. Thenio guessed that meant that they were just an illusion.
Ki'shiu came to a stop near the edge of the group and waved his horn toward a light gold mare a short distance away. Her body seemed to shimmer a little. Then she suddenly raised her head and looked around, focusing almost immediately on the dream beast, then the boy sitting on his back. Thenio could see her nostrils twitching as she scented the air.
There was a moment of silence.
Then the mare tossed her head, let out a happy whinny, and trotted eagerly over to them.
You see? Ki'shiu sounded amused. She likes you already.
"She's excited to see me? Not you?"
Ki'shiu laughed again. Yes, you. Unicorns like me well enough. But they adore chaos morphs.
"Oh...."
Thenio couldn't really argue with that, since the unicorn had reached them now and was snuffling at his leg with obvious enthusiasm. Ki'shiu was a lot bigger than she was, so she had to stretch her neck up to reach. She didn't seem to be afraid of the larger dream beast, but Thenio was clearly the one she was excited about.
"All right, all right..." he said, still feeling a little incredulous. He reached down to pat her nose. "Step back for a minute so I can get off, okay?"
He wasn't sure if she knew what he said because they were in a dream or because unicorns could really understand human speech. Either way, she obediently moved a few steps away and waited while he jumped down from Ki'shiu's back.
When he was standing on the ground, she immediately came forward again and started nuzzling his face.
"Hey, that tickles!" Thenio laughed and reached up to stroke the silky hair on the bridge of her nose.
The unicorn nickered softly and then held still to let him pet her, apparently enjoying the attention.
Thenio heard Ki'shiu moving behind him, and turned to see the dream beast wave his horn again and conjure up a long wooden bench with riding tack and a set of grooming tools laid out neatly on it. There was also a silver bowl full of small red and yellow apples.
That should be everything you need. You should groom her before you put the tack on. Golems stay clean in their shed between uses, but horses and unicorns will be out grazing and rolling on the ground. So you need to clean the dirt off first.
"Even in a dream?"
You wanted to experience the real thing, didn't you?
"Oh. Right. I guess I did...." Thenio knew he'd said that, but he hadn't expected Ki'shiu to actually go to the trouble of making his prospective mount dirty just for the sake of realism. "Uh...I've never groomed a real horse before, though. Or a unicorn...."
That's fine. I'll help you.
Following the dream beast's instructions, Thenio brushed the unicorn's coat, combed her mane and tail, and cleaned out her hooves.
He could understand now why Ki'shiu thought it would be better for him to start with a unicorn, rather than a horse. Since he was doing everything for the first time, his movements were slow and awkward. But the unicorn seemed to understand what he was trying to do and was very cooperative and patient. He showed his thanks by rewarding her with an apple from the bowl after he finished each step.
Finally, it was time to put the saddle and bridle on. This part was easier, since it was almost the same as tacking up Ariom's golem.
"Has she even been trained to carry a rider?" he asked as he tightened the saddle strap. "Don't unicorns just live wild in the forest?"
Not entirely wild. They're usually allowed to roam free, but unicorns are very precious to the Forest People, so they watch over the herds. Most unicorns are used to interacting with people, and many of them have been trained for riding or pulling carts. I made sure to bring in a trained one.
Well, that was probably to be expected. He'd been thorough enough to put mud on her legs and tangles in her tail, after all....
"Okay, then." Thenio patted the unicorn's neck. "I'm going to get on now, all right?"
She tossed her head a little and then stood very still while he climbed into the saddle and got settled.
"Good girl." He patted her again. "Well, so far, so good. Let's try walking a little."
He nudged her forward, and the two of them set off across the meadow at a gentle walking pace.
----------------------------------------
Ki'shiu stood quietly at the edge of the clearing, watching Thenio riding the unicorn. It had taken him a few minutes to get used to steering a living creature, rather than a mechanical one, but now they were working well together and seemed to be having fun.
Good. That poor boy could certainly use a little more fun in his life....
As he watched them, the dream beast's ears suddenly twitched, and he turned to look into the forest.
Two figures were standing in the shadows, far enough back that Thenio wouldn't notice them.
"It's all right if we watch for a few minutes, isn't it?" one of the figures said softly. "It's been a long time.... We won't let him know we're here."
"It's fine. I know you've been worried about him, too." Ki'shiu looked at the other figure. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed one of your unicorns."
"Of course not. I know you won't hurt her. She seems to be having a very pleasant dream."
"Yes, they both look like they're enjoying themselves," the first figure said with a soft chuckle. "Thenio seems to be doing well. I'm glad. If there's anything we can do to help...."
"I know." Ki'shiu lowered his head. "Thank you, Peqeran. Ciresi. I couldn't do this without the two of you."
"There's no need to bow your head like that," Ciresi told him gently. "You've helped us so much already. We're happy to do what we can to help you, as well. Besides...it's wonderful to see him smile like that again...."
Ki'shiu turned back to look at Thenio, who had a broad smile on his face as the unicorn jumped lightly back and forth over the stream. He shouldn't have practiced jumping yet during his riding lessons, but he kept his seat perfectly, as though he'd been doing it for years.
"Yes," Ki'shiu agreed, very softly. "It really is wonderful...."
The three of them fell silent, watching contentedly from the side while the boy and the unicorn played together.