--- Fort Legrath ---

November 26th, 2025

Sharpe, Rory, Lelei, and Tuka ends up in this room at the fortress.

The first sight he sees is blue energy disappearing around him. Little blue energy bubbles all around them as the spell cancels out.

Right then he rushes forward and lands on his hands and knees. He leans forward and throws up. His stomach feels all twisted and blotted, like eating something spoiled.

"Oh… what the… Oh!" He says as he tosses up again.

"Are you ok Jackson?" Rory asks, poking his back.

"Why is he throwing up?" Tuka asks, leaning over watching.

Lelei, looking over the other side, looking down. "Maybe their bodies can't handle magic like ours can."

"That makes no sense," Tuka comments.

"Well, I read it in one of their books. Your body adjusts and changes to your environment. Since they have not had magic on their world for thousands of years, maybe their bodies do not remember the feeling," Lelei explains her theory.

Rory grabs him by the shoulders and helps him sit down. "Are you going to be ok?"

That was an understatement. He has done HALO jumps before and thrown up once landed but this was a far different experience. Listening to Lelei theory, he assumes native bodies built some natural resistance towards whatever magic radiation is.

He blinks a bit, feeling exhausted for some reason. "Yeah… water. And… secure area." He says as his body adjusts itself.

"Yes, sir," Rory says and looks to the others. "Lelei, see where we are out. Tuka, see if there any bad guys around."

As he regains good vision, he sees Rory grabs his bottle water and helps him drink it.

"You are pushing yourself too hard. This is the third major fight in weeks. Now you have a cut on your back," Rory says.

He drinks the water and sees his body regain strength. After drinking, he rubs his mouth dry with his sleeve. "I had worst Rory."

"Your such an idiot," Rory response, glaring at him. Clearly upset how much he pushes himself. Deep down inside though, it is one of the reasons why she follows and loves him.

He looks past her as she helps him up. "I am ok. Just need a second."

He has found Lelei's insight and point of view particularly useful at times. Impressed how she came to that conclusions, however, how true that might be will have to be figured out later. He knows Rory is right however, there is worked to do.

"We are safe for now. I do not see anyone in the nearby halls. I am going to go check the window," Tuka says.

Lelei is walking around the room, checking out objects. "I think we are in Frayen quarters. All of this looks magical." She then walks over to this bookshelf. "Wow… they look old."

"Book report later Lelei. We have a job to do." He tells her, not wanting her to get lost in her interests.

He reaches down to his vest and grabs his radio. "This is Vanguard-Lead… hello, this is Vanguard-Lead." He looks at his equipment and sees that nothing works. He pulls out his phone and sees if it's ok, but nothing happens.

He realizes that all his electronic equipment no longer works, which means there is no way for him to contact base or the 82nd recon units outside the fortress. The intense energy from the teleportation must have fried everything.

"Shit… this will complicate things," He mumbles.

"Major, you want to come and see this," Tuka says, waving him over.

He takes a breath, gaining his strength and moves over to her location by the window.

Once there, he looks out and sees down below, dozens of people begin crucified. He can hear some cries out and screams for the torture. "I guess they are having a power struggle within the Empire. We do not have a lot of time."

"Assuming she is still alive," Tuka says, her tone showing she is indifferent to Pina lives or dies.

He looks to her and then looks to Rory and Lelei. He can assume they might feel the same way. It was not that long ago that he felt the same thing. He hates to admit it but Krysist was partly correct. His desire to force war created the opportunity for Pina and himself to work closer. While that example was not his direct intention, it happened.

"Ladies look. I know your feelings about the Empire, but I am not a fan. However, you take your allies where they come. This is a chance to undercut the Empire leadership. Whatever our feelings on the Princess, this could be a turning point that could radically turn this war to our favor in the long run."

"Your presence and input have been invaluable not just to our war effort but to me personally. You are free to come and go as you please. I prefer you by my side, but this is the mission. If this is too much you are free to do but this is what needs to be done. Let us roll-out."

He felt like he had to say that. He has to remember that they are not enlisted, they are allies helping our effort here. He needs to make sure they understand why he is doing what he is doing, to maintain that trust.

"Everything is fine Sharpe. We have your back, even though there's blood patch on your back. Come here before you kill yourself." Rory says and walks over, to force him to patch up from Krysist attack.

Lelei walks over, holding this stone.

"What is that?" He looks up, seeing her analyzing it.

"I believe this is how Frayen can use teleportation. This stone acts like one of your beacons. I need to study this when we get back to Alnus," Lelei says.

"Take a second to find something interesting."

He looks around, thinking. "She has to be close by."

"What makes you think that?" Tuka asks, looking back at him.

"If this is Frayen quarters, most likely Krysist quarters will be close by. This is a military installation. High-level officers and support staff stay in a centralized location. Especially in the ancient world fortress like this." He says, thinking on top of his head.

"Ancient…?" Tuka asks, thinking that was funny.

"You will get used to it. They see our world like it is their past. I don't think they know how to label our world yet," Lelei replies.

After Rory gives him a quick patch on the small cut on his back, he stands up and grabs his rifle. "Alright, we stay quiet and do a sweep."

"What about Krysist people? Are we also saving them?" Tuka asks.

He thinks for a moment. "No, we do not have the resources and I do not have contact with command. I don't know the full situation going on here and the longer we stay, the worse it gets. Pina is the primary objective, everything else is secondary or less."

After saying that, he heads to the door and leads out of the room.

---

As Sharpe leaves the room, Tuka looks at the others.

"So, you all are ok with saving the Princess of the Empire?" She asks.

Rory looks over to her. "Of course, didn't you hear his little speech?"

"Yes, but still." She replies, only able to think about what happened to her people.

Lelei grabs this book and puts it in a bag. She then starts walking over to the door but looks to her. "It is important to separate personal feelings when you are trying to accomplish something. As my past masters said, if you allow your head to be clouded, you miss opportunities, and your judgment became fuzzy."

"Also, Tuka. I have more to be guilty of the Empire. I helped set the damn thing up. But I have faith and trust otherwise why are we here. If he and they can look past that, then I will too." Rory says and heads out the door. "Let's go!"

As she watches Rory and Lelei rush out to follow him, she follows behind thinking on what they said.

---

As Sharpe moves forward, he knees down at this intersection in the hall. This place looks far different than the last time.

Last time they were underground, the halls were very tight and shorter. Here, the layout reminds him of the pictures of the castles of the medieval kingdoms.

Up ahead he sees these two soldiers standing guard. They look like they are just talking, laughing about something.

He points to Tuka and signals her to take them out quietly.

Tuka comes up and raises her bow. She has two arrows in her hand, one ready to fire and another right above, ready to reload quickly. It shows that she must learn to be a good sharpshooter during her people's wars.

She fires, the arrow hitting one in the neck. By the time, the other figures out what just happen, another arrow hits him in the neck.

He is impressed by her marksmanship. He gives her a light pat on the shoulder and heads forward.

"Sharpe this is going to work. There are just too many places to search," Rory points out.

He looks to her and then looks away. "We need a talker."

"We’ll let us get one. I can make them walk," Rory says in a devilish tone.

He looks to her and looks away. Her devilish tone in the past scared him but now, what scares him that he has gotten used to it.

He moves forward, looking for a room with hostiles inside.

They all go down a few more hallways. They have seen more bodies and blood everywhere. Down this one hallway, it looked like a small battle or a slaughter.

As they continue, they hear a scream.

Rory stops for a moment.

He looks to her and sees her roll her eyes for a moment. He understands what that means, a soul just passed through her. He hopes that is the last otherwise, she is going to have a moment and he knows he will not be able to control her.

However, that means that had to mean someone is nearby. "Rory was that close."

She bits her lips and nods her head. "That felt good, very close."

He nods and moves forward.

Tuka taps him on the shoulder and then points down this one hallway that leads to this room. "I hear something there."

He gives her a thumbs up but sees a confused reaction to that. "Will explain later. Move." He says quietly.

The four moves down the hallway and get to the door. He now can hear what sounds like three people in the room.

He pulls out a smoke grenade and gets ready to toss it inside the room. Before he doses that he sees a confused look on the girls. "What? You know what it is."

"Yes, but why don't you use Tuka for this?" Lelei says.

"Yeah, I can put them asleep with my magic," Tuka adds.

He looks at both of them, confused. "What? You never told me you could do that."

"I did it many times now," Tuka says, smiling.

He then looks at her, baffled. He has no memory of that, he just thought he finally had some good night’s sleep. "Ah… what do I always say. Communication." He thinks on her spell and points to Tuka. "Do it."

"You're cute when you are mad." Rory chuckles, giving him a wink. Trying to cheer him up a little.

He ignores her and slightly opens the door.

Then Tuka moves up and casts her sleeping spell. This bluish mist comes from her hands and it spreads to her targets. There are three men in the room, and they fall over once the spell takes effect.

They storm into the room and secure the area.

"That was very useful." He comments as they start gathering the sleeping bodies. All he can think about is all the times having that ability could have been useful. Both in this world and on Earth.

He grabs what looks like he would be the most t alive man and drops him on a table.

He points to Lelei to shock him awake.

She nods and moves her staff above the man. This small shock comes down and hits the man, forcing him awake.

He swings up, confused about what happened. He grabs the man and rams him back into the table. "Tell me where the princess is. Now!"

"What. No, you are those Other Worlders. What are you doing here?" The man says, speaking defiantly.

Annoyed by this, he grabs his knife.

Before he could do anything, Rory pushes him aside. "I will handle this."

She then looks to the man and smiles. "Why hello there."

The soldier suddenly becomes scared, knowing who it is. "Rory… you are here?"

"You will see," Rory says with a rink. She then looks to him. "Now go, I will take care of this."

He looks at her and can tell she is going to do something bad. Normally he wouldn't let her torture this man but, the situation doesn't allow him to be picky. "Tuka, Lelei, outside. Now."

Once those two walks out, he follows. "Rory, thirty seconds."

Outside the room, they keep an eye out for anyone who walks by, which happened. This goblin walks passed but he assassinated him with his knife, slicing his throat. Tuka used her bow to take out another target on sentry duty.

The door finally opens, and Rory walks out, smiling and all. "I have it." She says, giving the V peace symbol with her hand. "She is in the other tower. There is a shortcut we can take down this hall."

"Roger that. Follow me," He says and moves out.

He starts heading down this hallway with lots of windows without glass. As he runs by, he can see outside. It looks like new troops who arrived here, not just Humans but goblins and more. It seems like they are preparing a counterattack.

As they get to the location Rory said, they get to the end of the hall and enter a balcony.

"The soldier said she is over there," Rory says, point forward.

He sees the building; however, the path is three floors below. There is just a gap between both towers, with another balcony on the other side.

He turns around and looks to Rory. "Rory, throw me over there. Lelei, balance my landing. Once I am over there, Rory. Do not get spotted. Just do a quick look around and see if you see an exit."

Rory grabs him and picks him up. "Are you sure about this?"

"Always, throw me."

He then is tossed over the gap and head to the wall. He is going faster than he expected. This light blue glow forms around him and he slows down. However, he lightly hits into the wall and comes down and lands on the balcony.

He gets up and gives them the ok symbol, showing he is ok.

---

In the main chamber of this tower, Pina is on her knees. Her hands and head are restrained in a stock.

She glances up and sees Taylin and this green pig beast talking. The best looks like a taller version of the one she captured in League Principality.

"Why can't we kill her now?" The pigman says.

"Because she is my bait when the time comes," Taylin says, crossing his arms, annoyed by the pig presence.

"General Herm attack should have happened by now." The pig says.

"Of course, but I doubt he will win. My experience says otherwise with these people. It is good to have a backup plan," Taylin says.

"Fine. But then we kill her?"

"She is a traitor of the Empire, threatening everything I have created. Emperor Zorzal says it and I agree. Anyone who works for the Other Worlders will be purged," Taylin says.

"Taylin, what are you doing? I thought you served the Empire," She says, looking at him.

"I do. But I do it my way," Taylin says back, glaring at her.

"But you are working on these strange things. Everything you built is at risk if my brother is emperor." She says, trying to reach out to him.

Taylin laughs. "Coming from someone who is with the enemy. The Empire has brought stability to this region for generations. These Other Worlders threaten that. You made your choice, and you will pay the price when the time comes."

"But I was trying to bring stability. This war is what's ripping our world apart." She says as the pig kicks her.

Taylin looks at her and thinks. Before he speaks, he looks away, thinking he felt something.

"What is it?" A soldier asks.

He delays his response and picks up his ax. "Nothing. I am going on patrol. This is boring."

"What do I do with her then?" The pigman asks.

"I do not care. Just do not kill or eat her." Taylin answers as he leaves the chamber.

After Taylin leaves, she looks up as she sees the drool drops from the pig mouth. "What are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know. But that isn't for you to know." The pigman says.

She sees him moving his hand down her cheek.

"All you need to know is we have plans for you."

She shakes her head, trying to shake his hand away. "I know, I heard him."

The pigman laughs. "No stupid girl. I mean we have plans for you and your family." He then licks his lips as he gazes at her body.

She had to think about that for a moment but then she realizes what he meant. "You bastard!"

Her eyes suddenly open wide as the pig gives her a sloppy kiss. As he pulls back, this slim and drool come off her.

She spits, trying to get rid of the nasty taste from his kiss.

"That was nasty. Get away from me you piggy or I will kill you!" She says, shooting him a glare.

"Let's say General Herm plans fail. It will still take a few days for them to reach us. That is a long time of boredom. I think you no longer need this armor anymore since you are no longer a pretend warrior princess. The General, your father and brother have disgraced you." The pig says laughing, getting excited.

She thinks for a second and then spits in the pig's face. "Screw you. I am not yours or anyone whore. I am a Rose Knight!"

"Feisty. I shall enjoy this. Guard, give me your blade so I can rib off this armor." The pig says, reaching behind him.

She looks at him and struggles, unable to break free from this stock.

She looks back and notices that no one gave him a knife yet. She can see the annoyance on the pigman's face.

"Soldier, I said give me a blade," The pig says as he turns around to face the soldiers guarding her.

As the pigman turns around to face the guards. Her eyes widen with fear and joy at the same time. She sees three guard’s dead on the ground and Major Sharpe standing there, just finishing slicing the fourth guard neck. What scares her is his eyes that is staring at the pigman.

"What are you?" The pig asks, taking a step back, shaking scared.

She watches Sharpe's legs go of the body and lets it falls. He then holds up the blade the pig was talking about, making a statement.

She looks up to the pig. "He is the one who sacked my city and terrified my brother." She says and looks back to Sharpe.

"Pina. Close your eyes," Sharpe says.

Not fully understand what he means by that, she decided not to make him angry and does what she is told.

First, all she can hear is the pig beast begging for its life. Twice now she has seen that the unknown race acts tough and begs for this life later. Right then all she can hear the squeal of the pig and then it is silence.

She slowly opens her eyes and sees him unlocking the stock.

Once she gets free, she rubs her wrists as they are sore.

"We better go and hurry. No idea how long Taylin will stay away." Sharpe says.

She looks to him and nods. She smiles, never expecting that he would come for her. She could not help herself but tackle him with a hug. "Thank you!"

Sharpe stands there, slightly confused. The tackle hurt a bit. He pats her on the shoulder. "That hurt… Get off. We need to go."

She hears that and sits up. Seeing that he is getting up slowly, she helps him up.

That is when she sees the blood and stains over his uniform. "So, you two did fight?"

"Yes. It was one hell of one. But we were ambushed by this man called Herm. He seems like a prick, but we teleported here." Sharpe answers. "Follow me."

"Ok. So, what I the plan?" She asks, smiling.

"Plan… the plan is to rescue the princess and get out of here. Apparently, that never gets old." Sharpe responds as he moves through the halls.

She smiles but thinks about how he said that. "Wait. Do you even know how to get out of here?"

He looks to her and delays his response. "I am working on that."

"You came in here without an exit plan?"

"It is not like I know the blueprints lady. If you want, I can lock you up and try this again later."

She stops herself from responding, seeing his point. "Ok."

---

Rory walks back to where Lelei and Tuka at. "Is he back yet?"

"Nope. Still waiting," Lelei responds.

"Damn…" She says, kicking this pot. "Now I understand how he feels when I don't respond."

"Did you find a way out of here?" Tuka asks.

"No. Not at first glance. This place is like a fortress on top of a fortress. There are too many layers for us to just bust out," She responds.

"Why don't we just teleport out of here?" Tuka asks, looking to Lelei.

Lelei looks to her. "I have no idea where to even begin on that. I just learned this was possible not that long ago."

"Well, he will figure something out. He always…" She says but stops. She bursts forward and goes between Lelei and Tuka, uses her halberd to block this battle-ax.

She looks directly forward right into Taylin eyes.

"I thought you were here," Taylin says.

"Always a pain in the ass you!" She responds, not happy by his presence.

She pushes him forward. Right then this large energy bolt hits him. Same with this arrow enhance with magic from Tuka. Both shots pushed him back, allowing her to hit him with her weapon like a baseball bat.

She lands on the edge, seeing him falls down. She knows that won't be it and he will be back. As long as she is with them, they are in danger. She turns around. "Hey, I will hold him off. Stay here and help Sharpe."

She then jumps down, heading towards him.