Corvus’s mind raced the entire flight back to the Grand Palace. Roan had elected to return at a much slower pace with his father. At the speed a non-magical horse could travel meant it would be hours until they arrived at the city gates. Another hour at the very least until he made his way through the newly cut jungle paths and to the Grand Palace.

The jungle which had taken hold of Meadow City was… problematic.

Some had thought that the dense foliage would die off. After all, it was spawned by twisted dragon magic and this was a desert environment. However, according to Granite who spoke for the subterranean dragons, the roots had sunk in deep. They had found a source of fresh water filtered by hundreds of feet of sand and other material which had filtered out the salt from the nearby shallow sea.

The upshot was the plants had not withered and in fact continued to thrive. Several parties had cut paths out of what used to be the main city roads. More often than not, a trail cut during the beginning of the day would become regrown completely by evening.

Nobles who had talents of Earth and helped create bridges to help connect ancient city towers to one another. Plant life could be insidious though, and new blooms often ate into and degraded stone.

That didn’t touch on the fact that the strength of the noble’s talents were slowly fading. Petitions to travel back to the Capitol city to renew their magic had been Corvus’s chief complaint from that group. So far he had resisted: Without knowing Daffodil’s location they were a city under threat. It was thin authority, but it had worked so far. Starella had backed him up and none of the high ranking nobles wanted to offend either one of them.

But he knew it would not last for long.

Most of the non-nobles traveled the length of the city aborally, using branches which were as thick as sidewalks. It made for winding, meandering routes since most fruits grew so thickly they could be plucked off the vine… at least they had plenty to eat while they traveled.

None of that would help two horses and their riders navigate the city.

The moment Charm touched down on the roof of the Grand Palace, Corvus was approached by a delegation. Perry, followed by three of the highest ranked nobles in the city. By the dour looks in the nobles eyes and the dark amusement in Perry's, the nobles were coming armed with complaints.

More than once, Corvus had an inkling why the king traditionally held himself so above the rest of his subjects, delegating so many duties to the first and second generation royals.

Normally, Corvus tried to be more approachable than his distant grandfather but today he didn’t have the patience.

He strode toward the group to meet them halfway. “Perry, Roan will be escorting Kale Horseman back to the city. Please send a delegation to cut a path through the jungle. They carry important news.”

Perry’s drawn on eyebrows rose to his none-existent hairline. Nevertheless, he bowed. “As the Prince commands.”

Ding!

You have received a message from Perry.

Trouble?

Corvus gave a slight nod in reply, though he didn’t send a private message back to the other Pathwalker. According to Gwen, he made faces when composing a message.

Lord Gemstone, the highest ranked of the nobles, made as if to approach him. Corvus preempted the man. “What the Horseman has to report will be shared once he arrives. Lord Gemstone, noble Blackstone, noble Monger, you’re welcome to join me in the conference room this evening when he arrives.”

He turned to leave.

Gemstone stepped forward. “My prince—”

Charm dipped her head to put her muzzle directly between Corvus and the nobleman. “What he means is that you are excused.” Her voice dropped into a draconic hiss. “Go. Now.”

Corvus winced. Charm never had trouble asserting herself. As a dragon, she could get away with it. He needed the support of the nobles – especially once the news broke.

But he also needed a few minutes to himself.

Perry ushered the offended and somewhat cowed noblemen off the roof. Once they were out of sight, Corvus permitted himself a sigh. “I could have gotten rid of them.”

“Only after they took up more of your time, and you have little to spare,” Charm said. “Besides, I needed this rooftop clear.”

“Oh?” He looked at her curiously.

“You intend to talk to the demon’s host.”

It was a statement not a question, but he nodded.

“Then I intend to go with you.”

“Have you found a way to shrink yourself?” he asked. The demon and host were currently housed at the bottom of a pit within the bowels of the tower. Charm was much too large to squeeze into the stable entrance meant for large horses much less the narrow hallways.

In answer, Charm activated her human illusion spell. One moment she was an impressive dragon with pearlescent scales and horns just beginning to grow in. The next, the dragon was gone, and a young woman stood next to Corvus. She could have been Corvus’s twin sister, except for the silver white hair. Charm’s illusion wore a similar outfit to Corvus’s own though the shirt and the pants were slimmer.

Corvus looked at her doubtfully. “You can’t send your illusion away from you… can you?”

Because while his senses told him a young woman stood next to him, Charm hadn’t changed shape. She was merely obscured while the human illusion did the talking. Some of the nobles felt better about conversing with her in this form.

Charm’s smile was just a touch too wide. “I have an idea. Do you have a mana reservoir rune?”

Understanding hit. “Oh!” He reached to his belt where he had a variety of small blades and daggers. There was a small set of three, each no longer than his thumb including the handle. Etched on the blade was a basic mana reservoir rune.

Removing one, he used the tip to poke a droplet of blood from the pad of his thumb. The rune flashed into light and his mana reserve fell by a full 200 points.

There was once a time when that would have nearly killed him. Now between his enlarged mana well thanks to leveling, his mana reservoir tattoo and his Second Wind attribute… mana was less of a problem than it had been before.

He would have liked the time to create more tattoos. It was one more thing on his growing list.

He handed the primed blade to Charm. She took it with fingers that didn’t quite feel real.

“I didn’t know your illusion could pick up items.”

She grimaced, which was a universal gesture. “I’m adding my own well of mana. I could use one of my scales for extra mana in a pinch, but I just groomed myself and none are ready to shed.”

He’d be willing to spill much more blood than this to keep Charm from having to tear the scales from her own hide to serve as a mana source. “How fast are you losing mana?”

“I have perhaps…” Her eyes went distant, “a little less than an hour.”

It took a quarter of that to get down the prisoner’s holding cell. “Let’s go.”

****

Corvus was both relieved and irritated that the guards continuously challenged them at check points all the way down. He wasn’t the problem – he’d visited the demon and host several times over the last week – Charm was a new face and the guards instinctively seemed to know she was not as she appeared.

Finally, they reached the demon holding cell.

Or rather, the pit.

It was a deep hole dug out of the ground, lined with smooth stone so that no one could climb out. There was a mechanical crane with a chain harness swung up to the ceiling. That was the device which had dropped the demon in the first place.

The demon was not what interested Corvus. It hadn’t yet talked. Its host, the red headed girl who stood by it, did.

She stood at Corvus’s arrival, smoothing out her tunic before staring up at him with hands lightly clasped behind her back. It looked like a military stance, though the simple linen shirt and trousers were not martial.

The demon, in the form of a skeletal water horse, watched Corvus with unnatural green eyes.

“Hello,” Corvus said. “I trust they’re feeding you well?”

The bones which sat in a pile on the other end of the pit spoke of that. Apparently both the girl and the water horse ate only meat.

The girl scowled and started speaking. Her language was guttural, with harsh, abrupt sounds forming the words. Corvus listened carefully, as he always did, but only caught occasional words. Only enough to guess at a meaning.

She either wanted to help or needed help. And… something about a leader?

His language skill hadn’t increased since he’d attained it. He suspected it only would when there was meaningful conversation passed between the two of them.

He looked at Charm who had been studying the water horse curiously. Sensing his attention, she shrugged.

“It’s a predator, but I am much larger. If it tries something, I can step in.”

“You aren’t actually down here with me,” he reminded her, but they had been at a stalemate for a week. Either he had a breakthrough or he accepted the noble’s recommendations and had the demon and host executed. With the King’s men coming and trouble at the Capitol, time had run out.

Corvus searched for the message he’d received days ago.

Hattrice “Hattie” Patterson has invited you to her party.

Corvus pressed accept.