I woke up with Dime pecking my cheek. The big orange sun was rising in the east and I had a mission to accomplish. Dime cooed and I scratched his crown, the eagle bending his head and ruffling his feathers. then he flew to rock and cawed to call my attention. Five geckos were laid side-by-side. A couple dozen meters away, Penny was grazing.

"For me? Aww, you shouldn't."

I had all the pantry of my house in the tent but I wouldn't mind eating fresh meat. I hoped these geckos tasted good. I made utensils out of silicon from the rocks around me. Then I drained the blood, Decomposed the skin, removed the entrails, and cut the meat off the bones. It wasn't a nice job but it would do. I gave Dime the entrails in a bowl and the eagle gladly wolfed everything down. I made a campfire with a sheet of iron as a grill and placed the meat over the metal.

From the bowl of blood, I used my power to remove all the water. I processed the leftovers and stored the elements in their respective containers. I tried to remove things like protein, nucleotides, amino-acids, but failed. I just hadn't enough finesse to Decompose these complex compounds. While I worked, the meat sizzled and I flipped it with my survival knife.

I took a twig in my hand and focused Decompose with the image of glucose. Soon the twig melted into a syrup with debris mixed in. I poured the syrup into a cup and used Decompose to filter out the hydrated glucose. I offered it to Penny and the mare gleefully licked the bowl clean. I removed the meat from the iron slab and ate my breakfast of gamey grilled gecko and sweetened water.

I broke camp, buried the remains, retrieved my iron, and saddled Penny. It would be another day on the road if I were following a road. No. I was riding to my doom. A grim warrior traveling alone with her pets in search of redemption. Was I guilty of anything? I surely felt so even though I couldn't pinpoint my sins. I just felt the burden of being the catalyst of all that chaos. I looked to the north, a few smoke plumes rose from the city. And that smoke didn't come from chimneys or forges. It was too wide, too chaotic. To the southwest, I tried but I couldn't see any dust cloud. In my imagination, an army that big should make a big dust cloud.

I was riding toward forty thousand soldiers. And my plan was to sabotage them in some manner. Maybe steal their supplies. Destroy their water. That much people must drink a lot of water, especially when carrying war gear in this heat. Since we had sunlight, I tied the solar charger to the back of the saddle and hung the battery from one of the saddlebags. I had to charge my devices. Especially the night vision goggles. They would be crucial to my infiltration.

The morning went by without any greater problem. There were no farms in this region and no human presence either. It had a semi-arid microclimate and no water bodies nearby. It was a stark contrast with the lush green grass of the plateau. I could see the Sky-Lord Aerie, yes, I had just named my small mountain and the mountains. No sign of any army.

Noon came and went. I found some fruit that looked like guava and ate it. The fruit was bitter but had a good taste and a thick skin. At least the fruit's pulp was moist. I kept the prettiest ones for planting. It was mid-afternoon when Dime became alarmed. I took my binoculars and saw a group of four riders moving a kilometer or two ahead. They had spears and bows and were obviously part of the army.

I had Dime land on my bracer and guided Penny to hide behind some trees and kept watching them. They were moving back and forth, scanning the terrain. There was a great chance they would come my way. I didn't think I could evade them if I ran away. But maybe I could hide underneath the earth. Decompose away.

I timed my digging speed yesterday. I could dig three hundred meters of a man-sized tunnel in an hour. Penny was wider than me but she was not a big horse. In fact, the horses we had were not too tall. The huge horses we had in our modern time were horses bred for size with modern techniques. Penny wasn't taller than me. I quickly dug what could be seen as a cave entrance facing away from where the scouts were scanning the terrain and hid inside. I kept digging and pressing the silicon to the walls and roof, leaving a floor of naked stone. I also made sure that the walls weren't straight. After ten meters I made a 135º turn and kept going down before doing another turn.

The tunnel was only a few centimeters taller than me. After my adventure in the depths, I really didn't mind cramped spaces. Who was having trouble keeping its cool was Dime. Eagles really don't like caves. I hugged him close to me to make the bird feel safe.

I stopped when the clopping of horseshoes on stone sounded from outside. After turning off the flashlight, I sent a strong 'keep quiet' feeling to my animals and waited.

"Hey, check this out. I think I found a cave."

"Bara-Mamu, remember to check for animal tracks. A big cat could live in that cave. We've seen its tracks already."

Yeah. Who would imagine those army scouts wouldn't look for tracks? Not me, that's who. I fought the urge to facepalm. Fortunately, the terrain was rocky. It would give them a -10 on their proficiency check. If we were playing the 2nd edition.

"Lieutenant, I found horse tracks!"

Which we weren't.

"Where does it lead, Bara-Mamu?"

"Down that valley. The tracks are fresh."

"Hey, Lieutenant, check the walls of this cave. They are made of smooth dark metal."

"Get away from there, Patutu. That's a dungeon entrance. Go inside and you die. These things are full of traps and monsters."

Dungeon... Are dungeons a thing in this world? Or do they call dungeon any kind of ruin? Something to ask my wise elders once I return home.

"Eep."

"Bara-Mamu, mark the location of this dungeon on the map. The commander might want to send an exploration party. Now, check where that horse went, we need to check on it. It could be a scout for Es-Kina."

I heard their horses going away. There was little I could do regarding the silicon walls. I just had to do it that way or the tunnel could collapse. I turned on the light again and carefully moved back to the entrance of my dungeon. I peeked outside and saw nothing. Checked around, nothing. Got out, I saw the four riders going to the west, in the direction I was moving before I saw them. They were going slowly, with one of them on foot looking for tracks. I could hear the echo of their voices but not understand what they were saying.

A silly idea came to mind. Just go to them and demand to see the prince. It was stupid. First, they wouldn't believe me and would probably try to do to me what soldiers of an invading army do when they find a woman. Second, I would have to surrender. Third, I couldn't guarantee Dime and Penny's safety.

I urged Penny to go south and Dime to fly high in a wide circle. The scouts were going west, I would avoid them. It worked for two hours and I forgot completely about the patrol, obviously, those guys were far, far away. It was an hour before sunset that I learned one thing.

Armies use more than one scout patrol.

I was cresting a hill when I met four horsemen, with the same setup as the others I left behind. We stared at each other for a few moments before I waved and smiled at them.

"Hello, guys. Nice weather for a stroll through the countryside, right?"

They exchanged glances and then grinned back at me.

"Yeah, you never know when you will find someone nice," their lieutenant answered. It was easy, he was the only guy with different armor. "What are you doing around these parts, miss?"

My intention was to keep them talking. I called Dime back. I could try to evade them and outrun this patrol. I could fight but then I would probably kill someone.

"I'm sorry it's a secret. If I tell you, I'll have to kill you."

Penny turned sideways and bolted. I moved my hand to touch and store the charger and the battery and took a jockey posture on the saddle. I urged her to run as fast as she could. Penny was grinning like an adrenalin junkie.

Arrows flew before we moved five meters. An arrow hit me on a rib, cracking the bone. Another found purchase on Penny's thigh. I gripped Penny's hair and forced he steel and wood out of her by pulling the iron and then carbon toward me. I repeated the same on me and we kept running.

"Hey! After her!"

Dime was nearby but I told him to keep his altitude. There was no need to show them I had air support. The sky-lord was still helpful from above. I could sense when one of the scouts was about to shoot an arrow and make Penny zigzag as they were about to shoot to throw their aim off. It wasn't perfect though. Another arrow hit my shoulder.

I was dozens of kilograms lighter than a soldier with his gear, Penny shared my healing boon and was at peak physical performance for her breed of horse. Once we were almost a hundred meters ahead of them, I paced Penny to keep the distance the same and started to circle around. One of the scouts broke the chase to climb a hill and blow his war horn. Things were going to get really fun.

"Hey, I'll give all my gold to the one that catches me!" I taunted them.

"Get her!" The lieutenant shouted.

More war horns rang from the south and the west.

"I want to go first!" Another scout wished for his early demise.

I kept goading them and even pulled a Kevin Costner. The fourth rider, the one that blew the horn joined the pack.

"Split up and circle her!" He shouted. "Reinforcements are on their way!"

More arrows flew and I moved to block them and protect Penny. Her wound had already closed, only a bloodstain on her fur told the tale of the shot she took. I got hit by two other arrows, in my calf and hand. The one that hit the hand only pierced halfway, chipping the bone and then falling off.

Penny was displaying uncanny agility. She would move through the rocky terrain as if she was a goat. One of the scouts tried to keep up with her and his horse lodged its leg between two rocks, splintering it and crashing with its rider, pinning the man underneath the animal. The shouts of pain told me that he broke something.

Another scout stopped to help his friend. I used the opening to move past their encirclement and put myself northeast from them.

They moved with more caution now. I slowed down to let Penny breathe. Dime warned me of two more groups approaching. We kept our game for another half hour and then more cavalry appeared over some hills.

"Circle her now. Don't let her escape!" The lieutenant shouted. "She is unarmed. Get that woman!"

I looked behind me to the west. Sunset was approaching. It meant darkness. It meant it would be time to strike. The two groups that approached were not scouts. Their horses were bigger, bulkier and the riders had better gear. The real cavalry then. Too bad they would need another cavalry to save them.

They didn't give up the chase but stopped wasting arrows. I could see they still had some in their saddle quivers so they might be expecting to use them when I lacked mobility. Sorry. My horse is tireless.

They had now twelve riders. The one that stayed behind must be taking the wounded back to camp. It isn't optimal as I wanted no report of me to reach their camp but I can live with that.

"Hey, are you Prince Marduk's men?" I shouted at them!

"Yes, you village wench," One of the heavy riders answered. "If you are good in bed, you might have the honor of servicing him."

"I heard he's a eunuch," I replied. "So I won't serve anyone!"

Another five minutes. I was moving away from their camp but they didn't seem so worried about the darkness. Above, Dime saw no more riders coming our way. Good. Only the guy that is retreating with the wounded man. I don't know what he did to the horse.

Darkness came and Penny became wary of moving too fast. I had a good advantage so I slowed down and took the flashlight and the night vision goggles. The riders lit torches and kept moving after me. The mountain range to the west helped make it dark faster and I could finally fight back.

I had to time the night. The worst thing would be for dawn to come and expose me halfway through my infiltration. I took my phone from storage and placed it in my pocket.

I focused. I wound need to guide Penny with my own sight. Our bond developed greatly but this would be our trial by fire. Yeah, they didn't try to burn me yet. I turned the flashlight off and stopped. I could hear the riders carefully moving. Nobody wanted to break a leg. I turned on the goggles and slowly moved Penny around. She could heal. Let's go.

Not all riders had torches. They were alternating.

"Where is she?"

"Did she vanish?"

"Don't be a fool."

"Silence idiots. I can't hear her over your babbling!"

The ones at the edges had torches. I lined Penny up and moved. I leaned forward to see the path ahead and send the mental image to her. We went slowly. Strike and dash.

"Hey!" The soldier shouted when I entered his torch range. I spurred Penny to gallop. She complied. He waved the torch my way. I reached with my left hand. A green glow appeared in my visor as the torch overwhelmed the sensors. I flipped the goggles up and caught the torch, Decompose on full power away from my hand to push the carbon away. The torch crumbled and I leaned my burnt hand to strike the saddle. Carbon off. The leather snapped and I slammed the horse's romp at the same time I made Dime do his loudest call from above.

I could sense Penny's fear and she knew it was Dime. The man's horse ran off into the darkness and the saddle snapped. Penny also dashed away and the soldier fell on his back unceremoniously. I turned on the flashlight so Penny could see ahead and we moved as fast as we could.

"Shit! She got Karamas!"

"Ambush! It's an ambush!" Form up a circle!"

So much for taking them one by one. I still had my tricks. Half a dozen arrows flew my way, guided by the flashlight. I turned it off and banked hard to the right. Night vision again. The soldiers gathered their horses in a circle, romp to romp and Karamas was limping toward the circle. His horse was coming back.

Smart beasts. Loyal too. Penny whinnied in agreement. An arrow flew from a skittish archer.

"Run back to the camp and call for reinforcements. We might be surrounded. They are using bird calls to communicate. It is an ambush!"

Two riders with torches broke and ran. I let them. That makes it nine.

"What is the matter, boys? Afraid of the dark?" I taunted them.

"Show yourself, witch! We do not fear your dark magic!"

I cackled, imitating Nanna. "We shall see, we shall see..."

I moved. Two arrows. Missed.

I could see their faces. They were scared. Damn Andrews. You had money for this baby but couldn't get us a drone.

I moved closer to them. Bows were following the sound of Penny's hooves.

"Don't shoot unless you have a clear shot. We are low on arrows."

"Thanks for the info!"

Another arrow. I blocked with my hand and yelped in pain. Still better than the body or leg.

The limping man reached the group and moved past the horses to stay in the middle of their formation. I hope it stinks.

"I can't see her!"

The torches were killing their night vision. Maybe I could help. After my hand healed, I leaned backward, stretched my hand past Penny's romp and summoned my phone to take a photo of them with the flash. Five arrows flew, Penny trotted forward and I retreated my arm.

"I'm out of arrows, sir!"

"Last arrow!"

"I don't want to die!"

They lit up more torches. Now all but two of them had torches.

"Show yourselves, cowards. We might die today, but we die with honor!"

My hand healed enough and I summoned one of my incendiary balls. As we tested with the thug, it isn't enough to kill. But I know it will make them crap themselves. I moved slowly to get them in reach and threw the latex ball in a softball throw. it arched, the latex dissolved and the phosphorus burned once the oil spread, causing that nice spark shower as the fine aluminum and magnesium shavings ignited.

"Ahh! Fireball!"

"Sorcery!"

"Run for your lives!"

Their formation broke. Of the nine, three horses reared, four dashed ahead, each one with their torches. The last archer stayed in the formation, his horse well-trained.

"Come back here, you idiots!"

I sent Penny after one of them. I knew I was at risk of being shot but I could take one arrow. I came from behind, the man screaming and flailing his torch. I entered the light and the arrow flew. It hit my right shoulder. I pushed the arrow out and leaned hard as if I was wounded. Penny paired with the horse and I grabbed the saddle. Decompose and one less horseman. the man fell down with a crunch, the torch rolled a few meters. He wasn't moving.

Damn.

I moved away from the horse and circled to the next rider, that was trying to control his mount. The horse reared and he dropped his torch. An easy mark. I moved next to him, my right arm still useless and his saddle was also gone. He slipped and fell. His horse moved a step forward and kicked him mid-fall. I moved away to the next panicking rider.

"Damn, you idiots. Fall back! Fall back!"

I had to go around. I focused on the olive oil and Decomposed it into methane inside the condom balloon. It inflated so I would need to throw it near them. The thing had some buoyancy but not much.

Oh. I should throw it downwind, of course. I checked the breeze's direction. I had to circle around them, and it gave them time to regroup. Seven. I entered their torch range and threw the balloon. It flew and dissolved fast enough to allow the phosphorus pellet to move without hitting the membrane. It ignited and burned the methane, creating an ephemeral cloud of fire that reminded a swamp's will-o'-wisp. And the flare this time flew straight ahead at them.

Several horses reared. The ones facing away kicked the man in the middle and bolted. One buckled and tried to dislodge his rider that was trying too hard to rein in his mount.

A torch hit the man next to the bearer and burned him. He punched the torchbearer and a fight between the two broke out. I lifted the night vision, spun around, and charged the archer. He had wide eyes when he saw me with another incendiary. I threw the pellet in his direction and he instinctively shot the phosphorus. The shower of sparks blinded him, but I had invulnerable eyes. I leaned down as Penny ran past him and grabbed his ankle, Decomposing for carbon. I broke his stirrups and part of the saddle. Then I lifted his leg, throwing him off-balance.

I wasn't strong enough to lift him enough to throw him off-horse. I looked behind me and I saw I also wrecked his quiver.

Then I looked ahead and saw a sword swinging at my neck. The lieutenant. I gritted my teeth and focused on Iron. Please work. Please work. Penny started to turn left to put some distance between us.

The sword splashed before my neck, the tip bending down and away, solidifying after it got away from me. The lieutenant was trying to figure out what happened when I ordered Penny to kick him. She did. One hoof hit the man's leg, the other the horse near the saddle. The lieutenant's horse ran out of control and he dropped his torch to control the horse... I moved ahead to get out of his range and turned around to assess the situation.

There were some torches on the ground and now with no more ranged weapons, I could go into the second stage. This is not my final form, hahaha.

I commanded Dime to swoop and take the torches away. Or better yet, throw them at the riders.

"She melted my sword!" The lieutenant shouted.

"It's a bloody fire sorceress, what did you expect?"

"Form up. Don't go after the horses. She will melt your saddles anyway."

The men were joining in a group. Dime picked up a torch and quickly tossed it. I was afraid it would burn his feathers but I saw the flames fluttering down and away from him as he moved. Then I remembered Brandon said sky-lords had wind magic.

The torch flew and struck the men. They screamed and ran but didn't catch on fire.

I had enough playing with them. It was time to really freak them out. I moved away from them as Dime kindly returned their torches. I waited for him to return to me, I didn't want him to be flying for what I was going to do next. I got down, shaped an acoustic dome two meters across, placed the speakers in the middle and fired the loudest I could without distortions. Rossini's William Tell Overture flooded the valley. The finale only.

"They are over here! Charge!" I shouted.

I could see the unrest settling.

"A huge army approaches!"

"It is a night attack! They are using the music to keep their troops marching together in darkness!"

I wish I had some coconuts. Oh, well. The soldiers started to toot their war horns like madmen while the song went on. I could see lights beyond the hills in the distance. It seems I kicked the proverbial hornet's nest.

I stored my devices, jumped on my horse, picked up my eagle and fled the scene. The soldiers didn't stop calling for aid. I stopped and recorded their horn calls. It might be useful later. I could hear the roar of at least a hundred horsemen coming from the east. I moved south.

It will be a fun night. All I have to do now is to go around their camp and find their supplies. I rode with Dime perched on my bracer for about two hours. There were some picket groups moving on the outskirts, but the roar of horses galloping and men shouting made it easy to slip by for a single rider in pitch darkness.

I finally crested a hill and saw their camp. It was huge. I didn't even need the night vision to see. Large bonfires lit up the entire camp. A Pavillion was in the center and next to it several wagons with large barrels, bales of hay, and sacks of grain. Next to the wagons, some game carcasses stretched on frames. Soldiers were strewn around in circular patterns but no tents. To reach the supply train, I would have to move to the heart of their camp.

Worse yet, the ruckus I caused meant the camp was in high alert.

Time to Bugs Bunny it.