“We honestly can’t thank you enough for this. If we cross paths again and you can think of any way we can repay you, please don’t hesitate to ask,” The half-elven woman, whose name was apparently Cofaen, said to Ingrid. Tears welled in her eyes as her husband, Osnan, stroked one of the horses’ manes apprehensively.

“I’ve never really been one for horses, are you sure that they’ll be okay?”

Ingrid gave an affirmative nod. “Of course. I talked to them and made sure they’d go easy on you. They’ll follow your directions, and know the way back through the confusing parts,” She assured them, “Alice, have you finished with the map yet?”

“Gimme a minute, trying to cross reference maps with different scales is annoying,” She grumbled from her place in the back of the cart. They really were going through with this. The group had camped out for the night, taking time to rest and for Malori to heal some of the minor wounds on the couple. Ingrid was helping the two get acquainted with the horses while Malori and Kallen separated out chunks of supplies to give them for their trip. By cart, they should only be on the road for a day or two, but they wanted to make sure they had more than that so they wouldn’t be in dire straits the moment they arrived at the town.

Alice was making herself busy by marking the secret road on a normal map, so the couple would be able to navigate their way to the town without issue. She could already tell that they didn’t trust her with it. Rolling her eyes, she put the finishing touches on the new map and hopped out of the cart.

“Here you go,” She deadpanned, holding out the map to Cofaen, who took it carefully. The same millisecond it left her hands, Alice began walking away. The less she had to interact with those two, the better.

“A-And you’re sure she’s trustworthy?” Cofaen murmured to Ingrid, clearly hoping Alice wouldn’t hear.

“You have my word. Like I said, she’s a dear friend of mine. There’s no one I’d rather trust.”

The confidence Ingrid said it with triggered some sort of emotion in Alice that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It was annoying in a way. It middled between positive and negative, and it was clearly a strong one, but any word she could use to describe it seemed to decide that now was a lovely time to completely vacate her brain. Kallen and Malori were currently leaning against the same tree, Malori blushing furiously and taking glances at Kallen as she checked her glaive for the millionth time. Alice scoffed. Did she expect something about it to change in the past thirty minutes since she checked it last?

Ingrid waved at Cofaen and Osnan as they started heading down the road, calling thanks and words of gratitude out behind them.

“Best of luck to you two! Try the dried pig, it’s really good!” Kallen shouted after them with a wave.

“B-Blessings of Carys upon you! May your l-love last a lifetime!” Malori called, sounding slightly less apprehensive than normal.

Alice looked away. Their gratitude wasn’t directed towards her. Giving some cheesy sendoff wouldn’t mean a thing. Honestly, it would just be off putting for the couple.

Still waving and looking behind her as she walked to the rest of her group, Ingrid let out a sigh. “Alright, so it’s a bit of a setback, but those two are gonna be alright I think. Thank you for healing them, Malori.”

“O-Of course! I w-wouldn’t be able to sleep if I just did n-nothing,” She said earnestly.

Ingrid nodded. “Alright. Well, I think the first order of business should be thinking about those bandits,” She said, some of the happiness leaving her tone, “If they’re taking travelers off the street, I don’t think we’ll be able to get past them under the radar.”

Alice’s eye twitched. “This is a smuggler’s road, remember? Those two weren’t travelers, they were bait. This is probably the exact line of thinking they want us to take,” She explained. Why couldn’t they see this? Were they this innocent?

Ingrid clicked her tongue. “I know, I thought about that last night, but there’s also the manner of the angel.”

“I was thinking about that too,” Kallen chimed in, “Aurelia was really strong, and they mentioned the bandits taking the angel down. I don’t think it’s an actual angel, otherwise I doubt bandits would have won.”

It was hard not to be surprised. Mainly because it was the first time Kallen had said something that Alice actually agreed with. She wasn’t too well versed in the creatures that inhabited Celestia, but angels were something obvious enough for someone like her to have a basis on. Even the weak ones were incredibly powerful compared to mortals, it was doubtful that one would have any trouble with normal bandits.

Of course, there was always the possibility that it was an actual angel. If it was, then they weren’t normal bandits, and they were probably screwed. She tried to always prepare for the worst case scenario, but there was no getting around the fact that if whatever the group ahead was able to defeat a real angel, they likely stood no chance. That was the worst case though, and highly improbable. She struggled to think of a reason for an angel to be here, but she could also hardly think of a reason for one to babysit a peasant child and teach them to fight. Despite how impossible Kallen’s story sounded, the description she gave of this Aurelia perfectly matched the description of a lesser angel.

“So, what are you thinking of doing? I’m sure you got some sort of idea,” She said flatly, looking at Ingrid.

“Well, I kind of wanted to ask the group about it,” She admitted, “I don’t really want to be the sole person making decisions.”

Of course she didn’t. Instead she just went along with whatever the most people wanted to do. Ingrid was very dear to her, but this was something Alice struggled to imagine ever not being irritated by.

“I think we should try and find this angel,” Kallen chimed, “Osnan mentioned them knocking her unconscious and dragging her away, but he said she was definitely alive. We should try to help her!”

“I-I agree. I wouldn’t wish this s-scenario on anyone. We might be able to h-help her escape,” Malori added.

Alice grimaced. She already knew how this was going to end. Kallen and Malori both wanted to help this angel, and that meant Ingrid would want to go along with them. That meant nothing Alice could say would be changing their mind.

“Well, even if she isn’t an actual angel, she could be a powerful ally to have,” Ingrid admitted.

“So we are, and I’m saying this for the third time, yet to get any proper response on it, clearly being baited. Your idea is that we march right up to the people baiting us to try and break out their prisoner on the off chance she’ll give us a hand?” Alice all but snapped. Ingrid seemed a little taken aback by how annoyed she sounded.

“We can’t just leave her there, who knows what they’re doing!” Kallen insisted.

Alice felt her eye twitch. If she heard the sentence ‘we can’t just blank’ one more time, she was going to scream. They absolutely could just leave her there. She had nothing to do with getting to Mattias, and this endeavor was almost certainly going to be far more effort than it was worth.

“Is that the only reasoning you have? We need to keep moving,” She shot back, “We’re already losing days worth of travel time by giving away the cart. We don’t have the time to spend saving angels and fighting bandits! Do I need to remind you that Ingrid’s brother is still missing? Who knows what’s happening to him, huh?”

She saw Ingrid wince in her peripheral vision. It might have been a bit of a low blow to bring that point into this, but what other choice did she have? That was still their objective, and there were times where it seemed like she was more concerned about accomplishing it than Ingrid was.

“Alice, I know you’re trying to help, but we have to deal with problems in front of us too. These bandits, if they’re baiting us, probably aren’t going to just let us pass. If we can break out this angel, maybe she can help us get past them,” Ingrid said. There was an apologetic tone in her voice that immediately sapped some of the fight from Alice. This was hurting her. Every minute she didn’t know where Mattias was, it hurt.

And yet she still tried to justify prioritizing Kallen’s fool’s errand over finding a way for them to get past the bandits. The desperation in her eyes hurt even more. She clearly didn’t want to be having this fight. She wanted her brother back, and this was the way to keep the peace with two of the other three members in a group that was falling apart already. Alice was the reason it was falling apart.

Alice felt a sensation akin to hope leaving. This was going to be the dynamic, wasn’t it. They would travel, Kallen would see a problem in front of them and, because she had the attention span of a goldfish, suggest they deal with it. Malori would immediately agree because she was too busy focusing on a stupid crush than a self preservation instinct, and Ingrid would follow them both because she didn’t want to cause a problem.

That left Alice. The one singular voice trying to stick to the task at hand, and the one singular voice trying to go against the group and what they wanted. More than feeling hopeless over the situation, it made her feel angry. If someone was going to be an actual leader of the group, it should be her or Ingrid. Ingrid was the one who actually had the most stake in this, it was her idiotic quest. She should be calling the shots. Alice actually knew how to complete a task, even if it wasn’t her own. She’d be able to seek out Mattias and get him back as quickly as they could.

The only two she would absolutely not want to be making the decisions were Kallen and Malori. Given the way the other two interacted with Kallen, she was the one calling the shots. They were crossing a country and potentially uncovering some sort of grand plot and their de facto leader couldn’t even stick to one objective.

She gritted her teeth, struggling to swallow the anger that was welling up inside her. At the very least make sure it wasn’t directed towards Ingrid. She didn’t need that right now.

“Alright, fucking fine. We save this angel,” She spat with far more vitriol than intended. She didn’t particularly care that Malori seemed legitimately afraid. Good, maybe she’d actually listen in the future if she was. “If you’re so set on this, let’s move. I’m the one making a plan, got it?”

Both Kallen and Ingrid looked at her apprehensively. At least now she knew what it took for Kallen to realize she was annoyed. Ingrid gave a quiet nod. Kallen held up a finger to interject.

“Are you su-”

“Oh let me be clear, that wasn’t an offer. That was a statement. I’m making the plan. Don’t like that? Tough shit, let’s go,” She growled, marching past the three of them. She heard Malori let out a small whimper that just made her want to lash out again. She tried to take a deep breath as she started down the road. Everything had a breaking point. It was a struggle to make sure she didn’t reach her own, but when that sort of response was her best attempt at controlling the amount of anger she felt, it was clear she was getting close. Still, it was better than what she wanted to say.

Just bury it. Bury it and finish the mission. That’s all that matters, She repeated to herself. Those few sentences of her teacher’s mantra on controlling emotions were some of the only things keeping her together. Maybe she couldn’t talk them out of stupid ideas, but she could at least try to make sure that they got out of said stupid idea in one piece.

No one said a word as they traveled up the road. Alice didn’t look behind her, but she could tell from the steps behind her that there was a solid ten feet or so between her and the rest of the group. It hadn’t even been ten minutes and she already felt bad for her outburst. Actually, that may have been a little overzealous. She felt bad that she had done it in front of Ingrid. Had she not been there, she probably would have completely snapped at Malori and Kallen for acting without thinking. She scoffed quietly. That was the thing, they were thinking. That’s why it was an issue.

Stolen story; please report.

Cofaen and Osnan had mentioned that the battle happened on the road further up, but they had run into the woods to try and avoid being seen. It would have been a smart move under normal circumstances, but the nature of them being bait actually worked in their favor. There didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary about them, so in all likelihood they were two useless prisoners. Trading them for a druid, an esper, and a freakishly strong human? They might as well have swindled a dragon out of its hoard.

She made sure to have a hand on her dagger at all times, and her left hand never strayed too far from her pouch of throwing knives. Her ears were pointed out horizontally, making sure to focus on catching any sound out of the ordinary. A highway ambush wasn’t very likely, but the possibility wasn’t zero.

After another half hour of walking, she saw something around a bend. Holding up a hand for the three behind her to stop, she made her way over to the treeline. Continuing to not look behind her, she examined the area. It was a cluster of small, wooden structures nestled into a rocky outcrop. It wasn’t a bad position. Hard to see from the road, but had a good view of it on both sides. Not to mention the incline behind it giving a good path of escape if an actual fight broke out.

“What’s wrong?” Kallen whispered.

Alice grunted in annoyance. “Just stay quiet. Something’s up ahead.”

Thankfully, Kallen didn’t respond. Alice continued forward, slipping into the trees and underbrush. As she got closer, she could make out why the structures were peeking out from their hiding place. Most of them were crumbling, the supports warped and frayed to the point that they looked like they were made of clay. They seemed to have at one point been watch towers where archers could be set up, with a small wooden gate to block off the road if defense was needed. Parts of the gate were burned and demolished, like whatever attacks had happened had hit it directly.

She walked away from the treeline, skirting around to get a better view. As she did, she noticed chunks missing from the rocks, with black solid matter that looked as if it had oozed out of the wounds in the outcrop. Then she saw the bodies.

They were dark elves, wearing about what she’d expect highwaymen to wear, but no weapons. Parts of them looked like they had been incinerated or burned off. It was different from fire, it was far too concentrated. Like a direct beam had burned through vital parts. Those were the lucky ones at least. Two other bodies had been reduced almost to skeletons. Whoever did this was not someone to be trifled with.

She heard the sound of Ingrid gagging behind her. The girl really needed to get used to seeing bodies if this was going to continue.

“I think we found where our angel got her shit rocked,” Alice deadpanned, gesturing to the bodies and melted rock. She started examining the small outpost closer, looking for any sort of valuable or weapon. Something immediately caught her attention, but she could point that out after she checked over the rest.

“I don’t see any bodies that look like an angel,” Kallen muttered, “You think they might have been wrong? Maybe it just looked like she was losing and then turned the tides.”

“I-I guess that could lend more c-credence to it being an actual angel,” Malori added. Usually the esper didn’t seem to mind gore, but apparently something about this was off putting to her given the way she hung back behind Kallen.

“No, this definitely wasn’t a win for her,” Alice started, “Take a look. None of them have weapons or armor. Not to mention, there aren’t any weapons or valuables left here either. This was a planned exit, not a rout.”

She looked over at Ingrid, whose eyes were closed in focus. Alice could already tell she was talking to the plant life. Leaning against a rock, she waited patiently for the druid to finish getting her little report.

“Alice is right, the angel lost. They managed to beat her down, then dragged her away,” She said, pointing up the incline.

Alice looked over at the incline, already having seen the drag marks along the ground. There was one long mark that was clearly something heavy, likely the woman’s actual body, but there were two lighter marks next to it. Alice guessed she would be having to deal with some very filthy wings once she woke up.

“Can your plant buddies tell us anything else? There some sorta base for this lot?” She asked, kicking one of the corpses.

Ingrid furrowed her brow. “I tried, but they don’t want to. It’s hard to explain. I mentioned how plants tend to communicate more through abstract feelings than words, and whenever I tried to ask about what was ahead, all I’d get back was a sort of mental wall. Like a topic you’re scared to talk about.”

Alice frowned. She had never heard of Ingrid getting that sort of response from plants before. What did a plant even have to not want to talk about?

“Alright, guess we’re doing this ourselves,” She grumbled, “Stay behind me, and keep your eyes and ears open for any sort of ambush.”

She didn’t look to see if they nodded or not. If they didn’t want to be careful, then it was their ass on the line. She was confident in her ability to grab Ingrid and get the hell out.

The tracks were easy to follow, once again making it clear to her that this was a gods damned trap, but of course no one else cared about that. She kept a fair distance from them. Close enough to still see easily, but hopefully far enough away that it could buy them a few extra seconds if things took a turn for the worst. It was a slow trek, and she could feel Kallen’s impatience behind her.

Serves her right. She asked to be in this mess, She thought smugly to herself. The trees began to thicken around them, blocking out the beating sun somewhat. At least something was going Alice’s way. The tracks stopped soon after. It was a safe assumption that dragging the angel through the dense woods was more trouble than it was worth and the bandits started carrying her. Even so, there were plenty of signs to continue following. Motioning for the others to stick close, she moved along the new trail.

Another two hours ticked by as Alice continued tracking the group. She had to shoot an angry glare at Kallen a few times, the woman’s antsiness causing her to make too much noise for her liking. It was early afternoon at this point, still plenty of time to take this slow. Noticing the tracks make a sharp change in direction, she looked back at her group.

“I’m gonna climb something to get a better view, stay here,” She whispered. Ingrid nodded, motioning for Kallen and Malori to do the same.

Satisfied, Alice stalked ahead. Another outcrop came into view as some of the forest thinned, giving a perfect spot to survey the surrounding area. She looked behind her, making sure that the other three were out of sight. She took a deep breath, then hid behind a cluster of trees and bushes to make doubly sure she was unseen. Slipping out her dagger, she focused on the hilt of it. Gradually, a dull green glow came from under its wrapping in the shape of a gem. A selenite stone. Much like Ingrid and Malori needed their stalves, she needed something to focus magic through. It was a little different for her though. Those two needed their stalves because it made it easier for them to channel magic. Alice needed the stones because it was impossible for her to do magic without them. The other was irrelevant for the moment, she just needed the selenite.

Feeling the innate magic from the gem flow into her, she placed two fingers on the stone, then pulled them away. A green light left a trail from her fingers as she traced a sigil onto herself, before placing them back on the stone. As she did, she felt her vision wobble as light bent around her. Her scarf and clothes began to shift and change color, making her almost meld into the scenery around her. Once the camouflage spell was in place, she moved up the outcrop, bringing her scarf up to cover her face. In her peripheral vision she could see her clothes and boots continuing to shift, changing as the scenery around her did. She had to make sure to stay low to the ground. If she had a blank backdrop, the spell was pointless, as she’d be easy to see anyway.

She scaled the outcrop carefully, trying to not make any sudden movements, lest she draw attention to herself. As the treeline ended, she dropped almost to her stomach, crawling on all fours like a cat stalking its prey. She squinted against the sun as she came to the top, looking out around her. The mountain still towered over where she was, providing a white, snowy backdrop at its greater heights to reflect the sun directly into her eyes. So much for things going her way. In the distance, she found what she was looking for. A large set of wooden walls, tucked away in a hidden section of the slope. A few watchtowers were erected around it, housing two small figures in each. She wished she could make out more, but from this distance, compounded by the sun, it was the best she would get.

It was hard to make out any other specific details about the camp from this distance either, but she had a location now. It seemed to have a few wooden buildings in it, but that was the extent of her observations. Deciding that was good enough, she began to make her way back down, again staying careful not to end the spell too early. She may have been far away, but she didn’t live this long by taking those sorts of chances.

Returning to the same cluster of greenery she had cast the spell in, she held her fingers together and placed them in the center of where she had traced the sigil. Spreading her fingers out to the edges of the sigil, she ended the spell, seeing that vision warping effect again as the magic fled.

Once she was completely sure that there was no more trace of the magic on her, she went back to where she had left the other three. They were hidden in a group of trees nearby, and actually staying quiet. That much was a surprise to Alice, albeit a welcome one. She managed a small smile at the fact that they didn’t seem to notice her. Under normal circumstances, she’d probably try to sneak around them and surprise Ingrid and Malori. The thought made her scowl return.

“They got some sorta camp about an hour that way,” She explained, walking directly up to them, “They’ve got watchtowers and the like, couldn’t really make out how many people. We’re gonna get closer, but I’m explaining the plan now. Got it?”

The three all exchanged looks, but nodded. Ingrid leaned forwar. “Just tell us what to do,” She said softly.

Right, just stab me in the heart with that voice why don’t you, She thought to herself. She didn’t let it show on her face.

“Alright, listen up,” Pulling out her dagger, she traced a small circle in the dirt, tapping it twice. “Once we can see more, this might change. I want some of us,” Kallen didn’t seem to notice the glare she shot her. “To have a basis of a plan beforehand at least. We saw down there that we’re dealing with dark elves, so I’m going in. Malori, Kallen, you two are staying outside. Once we figure out which building the prison is, you’re gonna post up around there.”

She looked up, making sure everyone was following along. Malori furrowed her brow. If she was thinking of a question, she clearly didn’t think it was important enough to share. It was annoying.

“When we give the signal, and by that, I mean something is probably exploding, I want Kallen to break through the wall and make a beeline for us. Malori runs support to make sure Kallen doesn’t bleed out or something, and we try to meet halfway and fight our way out. This angel seems to be able to handle herself pretty well, so she’ll probably be able to help. Any questions?”

Ingrid held up a hand. “Where am I going to be during all of this?”

“I’m having you come in with me,” She said, “I need some sort of backup for if shit hits the fan in there. Get a mask on your face and some dirt on your forehead and around your eyes, no one’ll be able to tell you’re not one of them. Oh and it goes without saying, you can’t wear your armor. It’ll be pretty damn obvious if a druid is walking around in there.”

The elf visibly deflated as she was told once again that she couldn’t wear her armor, but didn’t argue. It wasn’t an unreasonable request given the task, but she supposed that just made it worse in a way.

Sweeping away the small diagram she made in the dirt, she stood back up, “Alright, let’s go. Stick close, keep quiet, and keep on a lookout. None of this is gonna mean shit if we get caught before we’re even close.”

“A-Alice?” Malori spoke up.

“What,” She deadpanned.

The esper cowered back slightly, clutching her robes. “A-Are you alright? You seem very a-anxious, and angry-”

She stopped short as Alice gave her an icy glare.

“I’m not in the mood for this right now, so let’s stick to that ‘keep quiet’ thing I just said, yeah?” She growled, earning a small whimper.

No one else said anything as Alice led them through the woods towards the camp. She was thankful for the quiet, considering that stupid voice in her head wouldn’t shut the hell up. She really was being hard on Malori and Kallen. It was hard to help it though. With everything being dictated by Kallen’s whim the pressure seemed to be on her to make sure they didn’t die horribly. Malori’s nonexistent willpower only compounded the issue. And Ingrid…

She bit her lip. Every harsh word in Ingrid’s direction was something she regretted. Why couldn’t she just keep her shit together for once? As agonizing as the next hour was, it wasn’t nearly as agonizing as the thought of having to talk about everything.

Up ahead, she could see the trees thinning out and motioned for the group to stop once again.

“Stay here again, I need to get a better look,” She grumbled before marching off. Once she was hidden from sight, she recast the camouflaging spell. There weren’t many places around to get as good a view as that outcrop, but she was able to locate a small rock spire that jutted out from the trees.

Keeping the spire between her and the camp, she climbed it and examined her surroundings. There was a wide expanse of open land around the walls that was almost certainly going to make the approach harder. Her heart sank. The entire camp was put together in a large semicircle with a cliff at its rear. Said cliff had three watchtowers on it, and virtually no tree cover. Even if they approached at night, these were dark elves. It might as well have been broad daylight. Trying to drop in from the cliff was an impossibility.

She took a deep breath. First things first, she needed to find the prison. Or at least some sort of building that they would be using to hold the angel. It was hard when every building looked nearly identical aside from two large ones at the center. Given the abundance of windows, they almost certainly weren’t being used to hold her. They were probably living spaces.

Scanning the camp for the umpteenth time, she noticed something. In a building close to the east wall, she saw the door open and a dark elf with a spear walk out. She barely caught a glimpse of it, but there was definitely a cell inside it. It wasn’t a great basis, but it was something.

She could pinpoint whether or not that was the one when her and Ingrid were in, but first she needed a place she could stick Malori and Kallen until it was their time to move.

With that addressed, there was no more ignoring what was right in front of her, making her sick to her stomach. The towers were set up too perfectly. The camp was constructed in a position where it would be easy to see any potential invaders skulking up with ample time to warn the rest of it. Simply sneaking up was out of the question. If she wanted to get herself and Ingrid in, there was only one way it was going to happen.

Ingrid was going to find out about her magic.