The mountain pass that had been cut away to give access to the north was, as usual with magical earthworks, a thing of absolute magnificence. In another context, I would be awed and amazed. If this were a trade route, or a way for people to visit their friends and families, it would be a truly wondrous construction.

As a roadway for the vehicles of war, it was decidedly less impressive.

Even with the pass cut, the going was hard. Incredibly cold winds gusted through the canyon made by the pass, probably worse still being late winter. I was surprised the kingdom hadn’t waited until late spring or even summer to move, a month or two away at the most, but perhaps the rebellion had grown in winter because it was more challenging for the kingdom to respond. It could be that it was the earliest they were comfortable moving in order to prevent things from getting worse.

The atmosphere was significantly more tense than what I had grown used to in traveling, and our new travel companions were not nearly as amused or accepting of Treepo and Buda. We stuck close to Marshan. I would have liked to go off-path and explore, maybe fight some mountain beasts, but this was not the time for that. The last leg of this journey was rationed and accounted for.

Of course, if a beast came to me, I could at least learn a thing or two from it. So I wasn’t too upset when the convoy up ahead was attacked by a beast as I reluctantly sat back to watch the soldiers engage it.

It was, more or less, a small yeti. Some kind of white-furred snowy mountain primate beast, at least from where I was sitting. Appraisal called it a snowpongo. It was a short battle, one beast against many swords. No one was really worried about it, so I guessed it happened regularly to processions through this mountain pass.

I looked up at the slopes, seeing if I could spot others of a tribe, and had to appraise the mountainside to see them. They blended in expertly, watching us and waiting. I suspected there would be additional raids, maybe in the night.

I heard some soldiers whisper, glancing at me. Clearly, I wasn’t supposed to be here, though also clearly, Marshan didn’t care. Though he had been against taking an apprentice on the road at the start of our arrangement, we understood each other quite well after months of travel together.

Had it really only been months? So much had happened since I left Mirut, it felt like longer. The peaceful and simple days in Mirut had all started to blend together as I grew out of my childhood, but even with so many repetitive days on the road since, every day was full of new challenges and adventures.

Even now, doing something I felt bad about and worried about war, slavery, and the kingdom, I was still having fun doing something new. I was growing and learning.

I sighed. I would have much rather headed south, though.

Camping for the night in the mountains was brutal. I huddled up next to Buda with Treepo hugged in my arms for warmth, and was still freezing. I had finally found snow in this world and forgot how cold below-freezing temperatures really felt.

The soldiers complained too, so at least I wasn’t alone in my frigid misery.

“How many nights before we fully cross the pass?” I asked Marshan in the morning.

“Five,” he said, looking me dead in the eye with a miserable face.

“Ugh.”

* * *

The procession was attacked on the third night by a whole tribe of snowpongos, and I joined in the fray, albeit invisibly, to cut some down for the experience and to collect for study. There were a few injuries, but no casualties. The injured soldiers were bandaged and treated, but not healed. There were no Church members on this expedition.

That led me to appraise all the soldiers I could, seeing what level of skill was on display. Mostly, the group of soldiers was made up of young swordsmen. The kingdom wasn’t pulling out its best for this rebellion, so clearly there was some confidence at play. Some of the soldiers–maybe knights–were older and higher level, and some of the various soldiers and knights had 4-point magic, but never advanced. It was a similar makeup of skills as Horg had, I recalled.

Frowning, I put the thought out of my head. It’s not like I could fault Horg too much for joining the army of his nation if his goal had been kingdom defense. He had clearly also left the army, since he was now working in Mirut with the town guard. I didn’t need to assume the absolute worst about him.

After the many frigid nights on the mountain pass, we emerged on the other side, immediately entering into a large camp of previously stationed men and supplies. It was already growing dark, but at least there were several large fires and some tents for accommodations. The whole camp buzzed with activity.

“This is a lot more than I expected,” I said to Marshan, who nodded with a hard look in his eyes. Then he sighed.

“Well, it’s bigger than us, I’m afraid. All we can do is collect our mandatory fees and head on home. The south will be nicer. You’ll like it.”

I glanced around, realizing that I was seeing a precursor to something bigger.

“I’m going to take a look around,” I said, and Marshan frowned but said nothing.

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Once I was out of his sight, I immersed myself in my usual combination of invisibility and silence, leaning into my stealth skill as well in case there were mages who could see through my magic. I crept through the camp, watching, listening, and learning.

“Some rebels are held up in Freigel,” I overheard from outside a tent, a report from a soldier to some commanding officer.

“How many?”

“Unknown, but no more than a few dozen. It’s a small force.”

“Hmm,” he said, and I wished I could see inside to see if they had a map or something. “All right. Arrange two units to wipe them out, and another to probe Roveich, make sure they aren’t up to anything there.”

I heard the clank of salutes, hands against breastplates, and the tent door shifted. I slipped through while the fabric was still flapping to steal a look at the table inside.

A map was spread out showing the region, troops, and known rebel forces. I committed what I could to memory, and slipped out the tent when the commander turned his back.

Based on what little I saw and could decipher, the rebels were seriously outnumbered.

Not my fight, not my problem.

I walked through the camp, heading northbound, thinking about the lives I could save.

It’s all too big for me. I can’t fight a war.

I came upon a tent with a handful of soldiers inside, a young Velgein woman tied up as they jeered at her.

I can’t take on the whole world’s problems.

I saw one of the soldiers grab her arms, while another reached for her rags. The other soldiers started removing their belts.

It’s too soon. I’m only ten. I’m not strong enough.

Five stone bullets felled the five soldiers, my breathing heavy.

But I’ll have to be.

“Shh,” I whispered, putting my hand over the woman’s mouth and revealing myself. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

* * *

“Rebels are held up in a place called Freigel. Do you know it? If we can get there before the soldiers, we can warn them the kingdom is coming.”

“We aren’t rebels,” she hissed. “We’re freedom fighters.”

“Fine. Do you know where to go?”

“Yes. But my compatriots. They are still being held here.”

“Do you know where?”

“I was taken from that direction, but otherwise, no.”

I cursed. Ok, let’s see…

Focusing my mind, I tried to use my detect skill to sense the people around me. This woman felt slightly different–no magic, maybe–and I tried to notice something similar in the camp.

I shook my head. I couldn’t sense them through all the soldiers.

“All right. Stay quick and quiet. I’m going to cast some magic over us, the soldiers won’t be able to see us or hear us, but don’t touch anything or knock anything over.”

She stared at me. “You can do magic? And… why are you even here? You’re so young!”

“Later. Let’s move.”

We headed towards the direction the woman had said she was taken from, looking for a tent that could be holding prisoners, but as we turned a corner, I stopped short, my eyes wide.

Velgein corpses were piled on top of each other, still bleeding from fresh killing wounds. The woman next to me muffled a sob.

“You filth,” a voice cried out, and we both snapped our heads towards the sound.

The woman took off running, and I cursed, following.

We came upon another group of soldiers, swords dripping blood, with one last chained Velgein man still alive, spitting at them and yelling. The soldiers laughed, staring down at him with airs of superiority and hate-filled eyes.

I saw a sword rise.

It came down on my blade, the metal clanking loudly and recoiling back, the block unexpected. I had leapt in between the two men, and was now staring up at the shock filled face of one of my countrymen.

“Wha– who’s there? What’s happening?” The soldier’s head whipped around, looking for answers, and finding none, turned back to the prisoner and snarled. “What kind of trick is this?”

The woman was talking to the man now, explaining the situation through our invisibility, but glancing down I could see we were leaving footprints. Escape would be difficult, even with invisibility. I needed a plan.

I needed to make them scared to follow.

My brain was firing on all cylinders as I tried to come up with a clean solution.

Damn. This is the best I can come up with on short notice.

I reformed my illusion magic around me, converting invisibility into something else. Bending the light around my hair and eyes, I replaced them with the almost see-through white of the Velgeins, and my eyes a bright yellow. I made myself appear slightly taller, slightly older, and I used sound magic to deepen my voice.

“Back,” I warned. “Come any closer and I’ll strike you down.”

The soldier, to his credit, recovered from his surprise very quickly.

“You and what army, boy? In case you haven’t noticed, you’re outnumbered.”

That was true. I was confident in my sword skills, but these were trained soldiers and proper weapons and armor. I could do something about that.

“How can you fight back, when you have no swords?” I said, with a wicked grin.

My MP took a substantial hit as I poured 4-point magic into an oxidation spell, converting their swords into rust and swirling it up in a ring above me. The soldiers’ faces fell in horror as their weapons disintegrated in their hands. Those that hadn’t drawn yet whipped their swords out to find them already rusting away as more red dust swirled above me.

“This isn’t possible,” the leader stuttered, taking a step back. “Velgeins don’t have magic!”

“This one does,” I said, firing the rust at the men to scour at their skin.

They turned, some screaming as they fled, and I turned back to the man and woman. I had converted the chains holding the men into rust as well, freeing him in the act.

“We have to go, now,” I said.

“There’s no one left,” the woman whispered to the man quietly. He nodded, his eyes filled with sadness and anger.

“Freigel. Lead the way.”