Captain Muindis observes from a hilltop obscured by brush and trees as the first catapult projectiles are launched. The Citadel’s ruler, a young fox-like girl, has allowed the siege line to set up without confrontation. It becomes quickly clear why.
The jars of flammable oil smash on a barrier that was invisible until the moment the clay containers reached and smashed against its surface. The oil even runs down the curved dome of energy like it’s a solid pane of glass, yet the gossamer energy looks ghastly and ethereal, like solidified magic itself.
Darner murmurs quietly as he studies the same sight from beside Muindis, “A barrier. It wasn’t present when we last arrived.”
“We weren’t attacking. This must be why Hekate hasn’t bothered to send any troops. Look there.” Muindis points towards a high point on the titanic castle. Dwarfed by the castle’s mountainous size rests several full-size dragons, leisurely watching the ineffective siege. Over 20,000 men and women of the Allied Nations marched on the Citadel, and yet, the dragons are barely interested. It’s like an adult watching a child fail at an innocuous task requiring no intervention.
“The dragons… They don’t see us as a threat at all, do they?”
“No, but if Lady Wenlianna’s airship is everything the rumors say, we may yet see fear in their eyes.”
Darner takes a breath and exhales. No one asks the question they’re all thinking. They haven’t even seen how the Citadel’s defensive forces fight yet, which includes multiple dragons, and they haven’t even sparked the interest of the titanic creatures of legend. Many of them are lounging or basking in the sun, not threatened in the least. They are like a final tournament champion waiting for a challenger to earn the right to face them. Few in the Grand Duchy believe they’ll survive the mission. There are doubts they’ll even be able to find Daniel in a castle so large, let alone extract him. There’s no telling what forces are present in the castle, how numerous they are, and how strong they are. Supposedly, the silent knight that stood behind Hekate is the one who defeated the rumored feldrok lording over the Citadel for many centuries, and both he and Hekate had brought all of the dragons into their service, by all appearances.
One of the dragons flew off before the siege began, but they flew east.
Hopefully, the airship can prove its mettle against its first challenger.
Muindis looks at his infiltration team. There are around fifty of them from various specialist squads of Stalvaltan guards. While not all of them are as close knit as their own squads, they are all proud Stalvaltan battlemages. There are no individual soldiers in the allied kingdoms that can face off against them, and this will be the first real trial of the elite soldiers against the nigh-invincible dragons. The Grand Duke himself had hoped that ten Stalvaltan Guards could take down a dragon with his specialized training regimen, and Muindis has fifty at his disposal for this mission.
He gathers his resolve once more. They’ve come this far. “Let’s move. We need to search for side or back entrances while the siege keeps the attention forward. If they aren’t being attacked, all the better.”
The soldiers nod in agreement, and they continue as planned.
The terrain around the Citadel, much like the Citadel itself, is mountainous, with one of the faces of the castle butting up against a cliff that overlooks the massive lake to the northwest of the castle. There is likely an entrance or exit near the water, since it would be an acceptable escape route for virtually all races, since Dragons can swim, and a boat would be relatively quiet when fleeing under cover of night.
Some of the castle town and wall extends down to the lake as well, meaning they’ll still need to bypass the perimeter of the wall, but it should be less guarded than the siege front for the time being.
The soldiers navigate over the rocky fjord, carefully filing in line and using minimal ground magic to ensure they never lose their footing. Physical enhancement magic strengthens their own muscles, allowing them to climb with much less effort and much greater dexterity. The combination allows them to remain silent and move cautiously, not drawing the attention of any lookouts they may not have seen yet.
As they reach the lake, they regroup, ensuring everyone has made it. With silent, affirmative nods, they quietly enter the water, using wind magic crystals to feed them air as they swim; a device created by Wenlianna during large scale production of the airship parts. Muindis never got to see the airship himself, but the rumors speak of a majestic craft that does in fact sail through the sky, squashing the air superiority of the dragons.
They swim under the surface of the water, staying a little below to avoid noisy swirls. Those with water magic are bringing up the rear, able to accelerate the whole troop through the water with a magic current to help ease the swim.
Soon enough, they reach the shallows once more, and they meticulously regroup. Once together, they each hold their breath, carefully peeking above the top of the water.
As might be expected, Hekate ordered the villagers away from the siege forces; demons and demon kin living in the Citadel’s surrounding town. They are all but living naturally and casually, though.
Muindis makes a few hand gestures, and the squad divides up into much smaller teams, going ashore where they can stay out of line of sight and approach the town. Muindis leads a group of five, with Darner right behind him.
As they stalk cautiously through the town, avoiding being spotted by the demon kin, Muindis spots what he’s looking for.
A goblin.
It’s a female goblin, wearing a simple dress with surprisingly frilly adornments as she walks with a basket. It’s a strange sight, since the goblins Muindis has seen and heard about are savages, often clothed in little more than rags and bloodthirsty flesh-eaters.
He grips his dagger, checking his squad. The last information they had was that Daniel was fed to goblins. Assuming that isn’t true, it could still be possible that Hekate has the goblins keeping him prisoner as a threat of torture. Even if not, they can simply kill her and move on.
Muindis signals the other groups, who are watching him from other positions scattered in the shadows of buildings. They’re using a specialized magic that dampens their presence, especially in shadows, while not burning through their mana as quickly as invisibility magic does. The Grand Duke believed it was better to conserve mana for offense and active defense in battle than to burn it on infiltration where skill and lesser magic can suffice.
Muindis stalks the goblin woman until she’s in a secluded enough position, and he swoops out, scooping her up and covering her mouth as he drags her back, led by Darner guiding him with his hand on the captain’s shoulder.
Once in the alley, they pin the goblin to the wall, pressing daggers to her neck. Muindis whispers sharply, “If you don’t want to die, you’ll stay quiet and answer our questions.” Not that I’m promising anything…
The goblin nods in understanding, her eyes watering. Goblins are considered barely sentient in most cases. Their animalistic behavior often leads many to believe they are simply bipedal animals, but scholars still classify them as sentient for two reasons; they can communicate with words, and they can deceive with sympathy. They may not be particularly smart in most cases, but they can be crafty, and won’t hesitate to feign weakness until they have the upper hand.
Thankfully, they’re incredibly weak on their own, relying mostly on numbers and ambush tactics.
Muindis whispers, “We’re looking for a human named Daniel. He should be the only human in this castle.”
Her eyes widen, and to Muindis’s pleasant surprise, she knows exactly who he’s talking about. “So, you’ve heard of him.”
She nods. “Shek meet! Shek see alive!”
“You speak the eastern language?” asks Darner.
“Yes! Shek learn. Master order. Shek talk to Master.” She looks at the group of five soldiers keeping her hostage for the moment.
“Take us to Daniel. Now.”
“Wh-Why you want?” asks Shek nervously.
Darner hisses, “That’s not for you to know, scum!”
Her eyes water, and she trembles in Muindis’s grip. “Sh-Shek no dangerous! Shek love Master! Shek no want die!”
“Then take us to where Daniel is.”
She hesitates, but nods. Muindis tosses her to the ground, and she hits the ground on her side, sniffling. She cautiously climbs to her feet, looking up at the soldiers. Muindis growls, “If you try anything, our archer will split your skull no matter where you run.” He gestures his head at Halbrond, the ranger specialist in their group.
The goblin trembles, confirming with a nervous dip of her head. She wipes her face and climbs to her feet. She whimpers, “Th-This way. F-Follow Shek.”
The small goblin woman walks wearily, nervously hugging her arms as she leads. Muindis follows in the open, wary of those around them, but they don’t give him a second glance. It seems Hekate hasn’t designated the Grand Duchy as enemies yet, or word hasn’t reached the town.
While Halbrond is the primary deterrent for Shek to try anything, Muindis keeps his own firespell ready to cast.
However, goblins are simple creatures. Shek probably doesn’t care about anything but surviving and being with whomever her ‘Master’ is, which is likely Hekate.
Shek leads him into the Citadel itself, and the true scope of the castle once more hits him. He is truly tiny within the massive halls of a castle that could only have been built for the dragons. Even knowing where they’re going, it could take hours to navigate, depending on where they’re walking. And to avoid drawing attention, they have to move slowly.
Strangely, though, the hallways are empty. There are no golems or soldiers. The knight doesn’t appear, nor does Hekate herself. And, the dragons seem to be all on the roof or the turrets of the castle, watching the siege with little to no interest.
For now, the soldiers keep cautious, most of them stalking after Muindis and Shek in the obscuring shadows of the hallway.
***
KABOOOOM! SKREEE-GLANG-GRRRBOOMMmmmm!
Daniel feels the airship rattle and shake violently as the dynamite explodes, shredding the hull of the airship and forcing its hull to twist and mangle as the shockwave cannon suffers catastrophic damage. Immediately afterwards, more equipment shears and buckles, and metal structure and wooden planks snap and rumble against each other. Gravity seems to decay into nothing as the airship begins falling, and all of its passengers, crew, and boarders along with it.
Daniel ponders his options as he makes sure Hekate and Reignleif are alright. In addition to the mangling metal, shrapnel was flung all over. Thankfully, both of them are okay, though they were startled by the attack.
Hekate cries out, “What was that!?” as she floats with Daniel’s right hand holding her close.
“My explosion magic!” jokes Daniel, checking over Reignleif as she drifts with them, watching his face worriedly.
“You’re explaining later, Daniel!” shouts Hekate.
He assents with a bob of his head. “Reina, can you fly?”
She nods, her wings sprouting from her back. In her human form, she can still fly with all three of them together, but it’s much more awkward and prevents Daniel and Hekate from effectively being able to maneuver, as well as occupying Reignleif’s hands or legs while she’s trying to balance and fly.
While they are currently enemies, Daniel doesn’t want to kill the Stalvaltan soldiers if he can help it. Even in his worst case scenarios, he doesn’t believe Aramellianna wants him dead. She would have him killed if she believed she couldn’t recapture him, but she doesn’t specifically want to lose his technology. In such a case, she’s not explicitly an enemy, though she’s not truly his ally if that’s the case.
That said, the soldiers are following orders, and they can’t win no matter how hard they try. The opponents they’re up against are far out of their league, though Wenlianna definitely made them a contender with a shockwave cannon that knocked Reignleif out of the sky.
“Reina! If you can, I’d like you to stop the airship from slamming into the ground.”
Both she and Hekate look at him in shock. “They attacked us!” snaps Hekate. “They hurt Reina!”
Reina remains silent, but Daniel replies, “I know! Reina, I won’t hate you if you refuse or lie to me that you can’t. But, I’m asking because I want to minimize casualties. I don’t want us to be killers. I wasn’t cautious enough.”
She looks away briefly, perhaps at someone specific; one of the hapless Stalvaltan soldiers clinging for dear life to the railings or other structure of the airship.
Reignleif finally looks Daniel in the eyes and nods. She flies with Daniel and Hekate out of the hole he entered by, navigating through the smoke coming from the destroyed airship as it plummets. The ground is getting close quickly, and Reignleif calls out, “Hang onto me!”
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Daniel and Hekate hug her waist, freeing up Reignleif’s hands as she follows the airship down. She casts a massive wind spell that creates a cyclone with a strong updraft. Daniel has to fight to hang onto Reignleif, but he feels strong hands tighten around his arms. Hekate is using her feldrok strength to keep him in place.
Daniel nods gratefully, and he watches as the airship’s descent finally slows shortly before reaching the ground, and Reignleif specifically softens it to a much lower drop. It still creates a resounding thud, but most if not all of the soldiers should survive, considering Daniel was using low-velocity rounds to try to minimize damage to painful and penetrating, but not shred their bodies to unsurvivable pieces.
Their fates are once again their own, and their airship -specifically its cannon- should be incapacitated for the rest of the siege.
Reignleif ascends, maneuvering in a fancy whirl to position Daniel and Hekate so that they are on her back when she transforms back into her true form. Now, she looms over the wreckage of the downed airship once more. Daniel points, “See those cylinders under the wings?”
“Yes.”
“Those are the engines. Destroy them, and the airship will remain grounded here.”
She gives a nod of her head, swooping down and strafing with her dragon breath at full power once more, lancing through the casings and the magic-crystal-powered jet engines on one side before circling around and doing the same for the others. The disoriented soldiers are only able to muster a couple of attacks, sheltering themselves from the flames as Reignleif swoops by much faster than her casual cruising speed was. As she arcs up through the air, Daniel studies the wreckage. The soldiers are working to rescue the injured and combat the flames with water magic. They don’t have the luxury of retaliating now, lest they be overwhelmed by the flames claiming the wooden hull of the airship. Reignleif cruises at a fair distance, studying the damage, but remaining at a range that will allow her to evade effectively.
“Do you want me to save them, Master?”
“No. You’ve done more than enough. Their fate is their own, now. Thank you.”
She dips her head to confirm, banking to return to their course eastward. Hekate pivots on Reignleif’s back, unafraid of falling, and she smacks Daniel’s chest repeatedly with tiny fists. “You jerk! How could you leave us!?”
“You were successfully teleporting away. I wanted to destroy that cannon. Which reminds me, Reina, are you alright?”
She nods, glancing back at him for a moment with a small smile. “Yes, Mukori. I was caught off guard, and it did hurt, but I will be fine.”
“Will be?” asks Daniel skeptically.
She sheepishly admits softly, “I’m… still a little sore…”
“We can return to the Citadel. This mission can wait. Or, I can…”
“No.” “No!” Reignleif replied first, but Hekate instantly added her objection. “You can’t go alone! You agreed to let us help.”
Daniel pets her head. “And you have. You guys really did save me there.”
“I am capable of finishing the mission, my beloved Master. Thank you for your concern, though.”
Daniel sighs. “Of course. I don’t want any of you to push yourself past your limits.”
Hekate huffs, crossing her arms. “Speak for yourself, Daniel.” Reignleif gives a nod in agreement, scowling lightly over her shoulder for emphasis as she cruises through the sky.
Daniel chuckles. “You got me.” He leaves out the part about feeling more expendable than everyone else. In the grand scheme of things, he’s much more easily replaceable than anyone else he has come into contact with.
Relaxing offense for a moment, Hekate asks curiously, “So, what was that ‘explosion spell’ you used?”
Daniel grins, though his helmet hides his face. “In simple terms, a simple stick of a type of alchemy powder.”
Hekate cocks her head, and as usual, her big ears emphasize the effect.
“A bomb. We called it ‘dynamite’ on my world. Not as powerful as some other mixtures, but easy enough for me to remember what goes into it. Didn’t think I’d have to use it, though.”
“It brought down that airship… Master, you are ever more impressive.”
With another chuckle, Daniel asks, “You think so? I figured I can’t top the one we used against the Devourer.”
“That you always seem to have a solution for every problem is what remains impressive.”
Hekate nods in agreement with the dragon.
Daniel replies softly, “Not every problem. It’s easy to look impressive when you choose the battles you can win. Without the Citadel, I could do very little against the enemies we’re facing. I likely couldn’t have defeated all of you dragons. I had every intention to take down Big Red, but I figured I’d die trying.”
Hekate and Reignleif are both quiet for a moment.
“I’m glad you were the victor, Mukori. Even if there are problems you cannot solve alone, I will always dedicate myself to aid you in any way I can. Happily so.” She blushes a little, smiling over her shoulder.
Daniel smiles and dips his head reverently. “Thank you, Reina”
“Don’t forget me, Daniel!” interjects Hekate. “You’ll always have my support before anyone else’s!”
Daniel chuckles, petting Hekate’s head, which prompts her to hug him. “Yes, yes, Hekate. Thank you very much. I’m glad I can rely on you.”
“Mm-hmm!” She continues hugging him for a little longer, and Daniel studies the ground ahead and far below them. It’s strange compared to flying overhead in an airplane. There are no obvious roads in the way Earth has. There are no points of light drawing the eye, and even large structures are difficult to notice on their own. A few fortresses and their accompanying towns are easy to spot, and Daniel searches carefully.
There. That looks like the river that passes through Mornistae. So, the capital should be… there! Daniel points, saying, “Reina, do you see that river with a castle town a little to the left of our heading? It’s pretty far out.”
Reignleif scans ahead of them. She twitches, “Ah! Yes. Is that our destination?”
“It’s close. We need to head southwest of there.” Daniel follows his own estimated positioning, but he recalls the heavy foliage and landscaping around Aramellianna’s estate, which now that he thinks about it, will make it difficult to spot from the air.
“Should I fly over the capital and head that direction, then?”
“Yes. I can’t see the mansion from here.”
Reignleif agrees, and she closes in her wings, diving to pick up speed and close the distance faster.
“Should we worry about more of those things, Daniel?” asks Hekate.
“The airship?” She nods to confirm his question, and he replies, “We should definitely be cautious, but I don’t know that they would’ve built more without having tested even one against their obvious target. That it can knock a dragon out of the sky is a threat, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt if we can help it. Hopefully, they’ll get the message.”
“Won’t they just make it stronger, then?”
Daniel is quiet for a moment, and both Hekate and Reignleif look at him. “Of course they will,” he murmurs. “But, we can delay that process by getting my phone back.”
Hekate scoots up against him. “I wasn’t accusing you, Daniel. They made that thing, not you.”
“Agreed, Mukori. Everything you’ve done has been with the best intentions. Your former comrades betrayed those intentions.”
Daniel sighs. “That’s easy enough to say, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Reignleif spreads her wings again, resuming a more steady glide as she banks around to head southwest of the castle.
Hekate remarks as she looks down, "Wow… You weren't exaggerating about the east standing no chance, were you?"
Daniel remains quiet. He sees exactly what the feldrok girl is getting at. There really never was anything but Vaergraes standing between the seats of power of the eastern alliance and the dragons that could raze them to the ground in an afternoon.
"Wing drakes and wyverns are difficult to tame, and they are loyal to their bonded master. Humankin have neither the patience nor talent in general to tame them, and thus, have no reliable method of reaching the skies, before that vessel…" Reignleif’s telepathic explanation trails off at the end as disappointment seeps in. It was undoubtedly a point of pride for them.
Daniel gently pats her neck. "You’re still the masters of the sky, Reina. And, even if that becomes doubtful, we’ll make something to restore your status.”
She smiles and nods.
Hekate points, “There! Look!” She points down at the ground, and Reignleif and Daniel both scan below them. “What is it?” asks Daniel.
“There’s a lot of mana there! Like…” She thinks for a second, gripping her magic crystals to show Daniel. “Like these! Bright points of it.”
Reignleif studies again, and her head twitches. “Yes, I see it now, looking for mana specifically. There is a massive concentration of mana coming from a large humankin structure.”
Daniel thinks for a moment, looking back at the kingdom’s capital behind them. He estimates the distance as best as he can, wondering if it’s the right distance. He only made the trip a couple of times, so it’s difficult to be sure, and there is still a lot of foliage where Hekate pointed, so he can’t see any of the distinguishing features of the mansion.
Not to mention, if an asset of the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy had an anti-dragon cannon on its airship, even if it wasn’t nearly as lethal as Daniel’s, he doesn’t want to risk Reignleif taking another hit.
“You two remember what I said about shock drop?”
They both nod, and Daniel says, “We’ll jump then. If they spot you coming down, they might have more of those shockwave cannons, or worse, a projectile weapon that can harm you. Are you both ready?”
“Yes. I will catch you, Daniel.”
“Catch me, too, please! I still can’t fly…” admits Hekate bashfully.
“Of course.”
“Thank you,” replies Daniel. “On my mark. Three, two, one, mark! Let’s go!”
Daniel takes Hekate’s hand, and they jump from Reignleif’s back over the castle, holding hands as they freefall during the long drop towards the ground.
“D-Daniel!?”
“Yeah!?” shouts Daniel over the wind.
“I… Is this… I’m afraid… afraid of heights!”
“And you jumped? Wait… You came on this mission at all!?”
“When you’re with me, I’m not afraid! D-Don’t let go!”
“I won’t.” They keep their hands interlocked, and Daniel studies the ground.
“Sh-She’ll really catch us, r-right? Sh-Should I start the teleportation spell in case?”
“Reina won’t let us down. Hold onto me.”
Hekate closes her eyes and grips Daniel’s hands tightly.
Daniel uses the moment to try to glance up, and he notices a quick flash of wings directly over him. Reignleif swoops in along his left side, looking into Daniel’s eyes. Though she can’t see it, he smiles. “Come here often, Reina?”
She smiles, though she doesn’t know how to answer. She knows it’s a joke, so she won’t answer innocently, but otherwise has no idea what to say.
Instead, she simply takes control of Hekate’s right hand and Daniel’s left, using her wings to slow their descent as they approach the ground. She then lowers them at a much safer speed, but still quickly enough to avoid drawing attention.
Hekate refuses to open her eyes, even after her feet are on the ground, and Daniel teases, “Hekate… We’re safe now.”
“Shh. I’m focused on holding your hand.”
Daniel looks at Reignleif, who has yet to let go of his other hand. She blushes, looking away for a moment as she shrinks into the high collar of her dress and mantle.
He sighs, simply relaxing with them for a moment. It doesn’t sound like they’ve been spotted, and so, there’s plenty of time for Hekate to calm down.
After she is able to restore her composure, Hekate opens her eyes. “We’re on the ground.”
“I said that ten minutes ago.”
“Shut up! Don’t bully me. I confessed my fear to you because I trust you.”
Daniel smiles, petting her head gently once he can extract his hand. “I was scared, too.”
“Y-You were?”
“Mm-hmm. But, if I panicked, it’d have been even worse for you, right?”
She blushes, looking down sheepishly. “Y-Yeah…”
“Now then, Reina, how are you feeling?”
Reignleif, now in her humanoid form, cocks her head. “I’m unharmed, Master. I’m not afraid of heights.”
“Are you still sore from the shockwave?”
“Oh… Um… I’m… I’m alright. If I can’t go further, I’ll let you know.”
Daniel hesitates, but he decides to leave it be for now. Reignleif is still a powerful dragon, so she could easily annihilate the entire estate if she wanted to. The problem is whether or not she’ll return unharmed. Unlike the Dragon Lord and his brother, she’s not a bloodthirsty battle-junkie. If anything, she seems like the kind of person that would close herself off in her home and get by on snacks and books.
“Don’t push yourself, Reina. Now that we’re here, Hekate can get me back to safety.”
Hekate nods proudly with her hands on her hips. “Mm-hmm!”
Reignleif gives a prideful nod as well. “Yes, my beloved Mukori. I won’t allow myself to be harmed.”
He nods, satisfied, and the three begin to sneak towards the mansion.
Once they can see the mansion, Hekate and Reignleif cast stealth spells on themselves and Daniel. They aren’t invisible, but the spell does a good job of deflecting attention away from them, similar to strangers on the street. An extremely attentive guard might notice something out of place, but it should prevent them from being spotted as long as they’re subtle about their movements.
Daniel can’t draw Nemaisol for now, lest he disrupt the spell. It would be handy to have it as a sort of interception shield for any surprise magic attacks, but he might as well start shouting that he’s present if he does draw it.
They sneak through the wall using magic, restoring it before anyone can find the hole. From there, it’s relatively simple to get into the mansion, so long as they avoid the guards.
Daniel leads the way as they stalk through the mansion.
Footsteps approach, and he silently signals for them to duck into a nearby room. They stand by silently as they wait for the individuals to make their way past.
Hekate hums softly. “Don’t flirt with them, Daniel.”
“What are you even talking about?”
She points at him sternly with a glare, laying her ears back for emphasis. She shakes her finger to reiterate, cocking her head and widening her eyes suspiciously.
Daniel sighs. “Must’ve been Yani and Mae.”
She gasps. “So! You do know them!”
She bats on his chest with her fists, and Daniel sighs. “I have no idea who it was. Can we go?”
She frowns up at him, crossing her arms.
“I won’t flirt with anyone. Not even you.”
She smiles, but then her face resumes her glare just as quickly as Daniel steps past her to investigate the hall once more. Hekate whispers, “H-Hey!”
Reignleif remarks softly, “This mansion is rather elaborate.”
“The Stalvaltan Grand Duchy is one of the wealthiest families in the Kingdom of Mornistae. If they’ve been successfully selling diamonds, they’re likely the wealthiest family in the east, if not the world.”
The other two nod, though Daniel isn’t looking at them. He’s cautiously listening and searching around for anyone else.
It has been a while, but Daniel recalls the path well enough. They reach the wing of the mansion where Wenlianna’s lab is, and he peeks through the door quietly. There isn’t anyone hustling about, so perhaps Wenlianna isn’t present.
He checks behind him, and Reignleif and Hekate both nod. They can each hear far better than he can, so they’re confirming that they’re in the clear.
Daniel quietly opens the door and sneaks inside.
What he finds surprises him.
***