The path was filled with Vizugmonian warriors, though the majority were young recruits or those with barely a year of service. Wing Leader Gezirr sighed as he considered his command. Most youths chose to become delvers instead of joining the armed forces as part of their mandatory service upon reaching their majority, mainly from the fact that doing so usually meant more Denari in the pocket.

Delving was much more dangerous, too, but then again, they weren’t expected to drill and patrol for months before they could even expect to see action. Most of the time, they were deployed at the Labyrinth forts and expected to kill any devilbeast that escaped. Come the Beast tide, they had to face danger with only a wall, a crossbow, and a spear between life and death. Worse, they weren’t even given the loot. They were given a fraction of what Ivory was worth, but that was nothing compared to earning the full measure as a Delver.

Gezirr looked at his command, an entire Wing, a thousand warriors, as they pursued the Verdanian Elder. It was foolish, he knew. He and the other Wing Leaders had already lost dozens of scouts, and that was with the enemy holding back.

He found it strange that she would do so but considering that he would have been dead otherwise, he couldn’t really complain. He vividly remembered lunging at her across the branches, claws deployed and overlaid with Animus, his Geist, a sabre-toothed lion, materialised behind him. All she did was glance at him and when their eyes met, he felt his Geist shrivel and freeze, turning from a ferocious beast into a lap kitten. Then she slapped him off the branch. He landed in the bushes, scratched, bruised, and bloody, but alive.

Now, they were well into Lucentian terrain. He could smell the swamp when the wind blew in from the east. Waterlogged Vizugmonians make the worst warriors.

Orders from Lardel Keep, from the human Great One, had been to push until they kill or capture her, but Gezirr was sure that if they continued, they’d run into an ambush. He recognised the signs from how the woman baited and drew them in. She could have escaped quite easily. He and the two other Wing Leaders had the strongest Geists and they were mere playthings to her.

The forest had thinned, which meant they could see much farther now. A glimmer of golden light came from beyond the bushes, behind a small rise. It was the Verdanian’s Protective Field. Or her weapon. She was close. Too close.

“Halt!” he called out. The column staggered to a stop, the forerunners stuttering in step, while the ones behind nearly ran into their comrades. “Set up a perimeter. All Talon leaders to me. Call for Wing Leaders Taiko and Haru.”

His warriors rushed to obey his orders, though a few of the younger ones looked askance at him. They weren’t in a defensible position but he didn’t want to press onwards.

A minute later, the other two Wing Leaders walked up to him.

“What is it, Gezirr?” Taiko, an Iona clanner asked.

Haru, a Tigris, glared at him. The tigerman still hadn’t gotten over the fact that Gezirr, a Kutin clanner, had been given command over the combined group rather than either of them. The Iona and Tigris were proud. Too proud, he would often say, though never when one of them was near. A Kutin like Gezirr would never let pointless pride get the better of him.

“We’re near Matahil Isthmus. It’s two longstrides away. I think the Lucenti armed forces are there.”

“Why are you sure?” Taiko asked.

“I’m not, that’s why I suggest we send scouts.”

“Too dangerous and risky,” the lion man growled. “No need to send in person. I’ve some with farsight.”

“I see, use them, if you please.”

“What if they’re there?” Haru growled.

“Then it's best if we don’t walk to our deaths, isn’t it?”

“You would avoid glorious battle?”

“Yes, if it means we die without purpose otherwise,” Gezirr said evenly.

“Coward!” Haru yelled, his voice loud enough to carry.

“Fool!” Gezirr hissed. “Would you also tell our enemy that we’re here?”

“They already know! We have to succeed now or we’ll never have the chance!”

“Do what you want!” Gezirr threw up his hands. “As for me, I’m getting my earth shifters and making a defence line. What about you, Taiko?”

“Hrmmm, “ Taiko hummed. “I will join you,” he said to Gezirr.

“Well, what are you planning then?” Gezirr asked Haru.

“There’s less than twenty of them,” Haru muttered. “Very well, if you two won’t commit your forces, then I won’t sacrifice mine.”

Gezirr smiled.

”You realise that we could get court-martialed if we fortify instead of attacking?” Taiko said.

“Better that than dead.”

_______

“They’re not pursuing,” Yuriko observed.

“Why hesitate now?” Akko muttered. “They’ve been after us for the past couple of days.”

“We’re close to Matahil,” Rhox said. “Maybe their farseers saw Elder Otlaca’s group.”

“What do you want to do, Elder Yuriko?” Akko asked.

“Let’s meet with Otlaca.” Yuriko decided.

“Yes, Elder.”

The terrain was relatively flat, with a few low rises and ridges. The forest had thinned out, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any trees. There were a few widely spaced apart and if Yuriko couldn’t jump more than a dozen paces across, then she wouldn’t have been able to use the trees as a path. Well, that and she could glide in the air by using her Anima. That meant she stood out like a beacon, but the point had been to lure them towards Matahil anyway.

The landbridge between the swamp stank. There was a paved road through it, but it was narrow. A single carriage or wagon could use it, but not two abreast. There was a wide band of dry earth beside the road though, just that it was soft and turned to mud whenever it rained. As it was in the latter half of the Season of Air, it rained often.

When they got to Matahil, Yuriko couldn’t see Otlaca and his army. It wasn’t until they had walked for more than an hour that they finally found them, or rather, someone rose up from the swamp water and nearly made her scream in surprise. The Buwak warrior looked like a log!

“Elder Yuriko!” he hissed, “Elders Otlaca and Irseso bid you follow me.”

He started to wade into the swamp water. The other members of the Fang shrugged and walked down into the water.

It wasn’t until the rest of them were in the swamp that they realised that Yuriko was still standing by the banks.

“Elder?”

“I’m not going to walk into swamp water!” she hissed.

“Er…” the Lucentians exchanged glances.

Well, she wasn’t! Not only was it filthy, stagnant water, she wasn’t dressed for it either. And, and! Mud! And frogs! She could see them jumping all over! Ick!

She folded her arms across her chest.

“If they want to talk to me, have them come up here.” She glared at them defiantly.

“Yes, ma’am,” the Buwak scout sighed.

Akko and the others shrugged.

A few minutes later, Otlaca arrived. He was walking on top of the water, Animus glowing on his feet. Irseso had actual wings on her back. They were just a bit wider than she was tall and looked like dragonfly wings. And they also glowed with Animus.

“Elder Yuriko.” Both of them gave her a short nod.

“Elders Otlaca and Irseso,” Yuriko greeted evenly. “I didn’t expect to see you both again so soon.”

“Indeed, it is our honour and pleasure that you are here with us now,” Otlaca said with a wide smile. “But let us hurry. The Vizugmonians will arrive soon.”

“Ah, no. That’s the problem.” Yuriko said. “They’ve halted just outside of the isthmus.”

“They have?” Otlaca’s scaly eyebrows rose high enough that Yuriko thought it would go over his head. “Oh, Ancestors.” He muttered before he turned to Irseso. “Please ascertain their position.”

“Aye.” The woman nodded and shot up to the skies.

“What are your plans?” Yuriko asked.

“Well, I hoped to ambush them as they passed here, but it looks like they didn’t take the bait. I’ve intelligence that there is another army, nearly five thousand strong, back in Lardel and they are headed inland. We’ll need to wipe this one out otherwise we’ll either be pincered or overwhelmed.” He shook his head. “Ah, let us to the temporary camp first.” He started walking across the swamp.

Yuriko watched his feet and how he used his Animus to stand on the water’s surface. Unfortunately, it probably had something to do with his Facet and it wasn’t something she could directly copy. But maybe if she spread her Anima to her feet and spread it wide?

Or you could glide from treetop to treetop.

‘Ah, right.’

She mentally mapped her path across the trees. The trees nearby didn’t have much in the way of branches. They were mostly tall and narrow. What branches she could see were so thin that they would snap under her weight. Well, she could use them as springboards.

Focusing on her Anima, she took a running leap from the dirt and spread her Anima between her arms and legs, then condensed it such that it would catch the wind. It wasn’t solid by any stretch, but if she squished it, it was enough. It worked when her Anima had been weaker. Now that it had grown to twenty-five inches beyond her skin, it was easier.

Ironically, they wound up back on the isthmus. They simply cut across the swamp water where the landbridge curved. The road was blocked by a stone wall with a wooden palisade above it. The poles had been sharpened to a point at the top, but from her vantage point, she could see a walkway just behind it where crossbowmen could shoot from.

“Couldn’t we have stayed on the road?” Yuriko complained.

“Yes, but we dug some pits and trenches across the road.”

“Huh.”

Yuriko wondered if the Vizugmonians could simply wade into the swamp, but then again, that would leave them incredibly exposed. They entered the fortifications through a sallyport. The interior of the camp was much like what she saw in the Labyrinth. They mostly used tents as shelter.

Otlaca led her into the largest tent and inside, was served tea and rice balls. No beer, ale, or wine, this time. She, er...she wasn’t sure if she appreciated that or regretted it. Oh, Ancestors, she’d grown fond of sweet wine.

Bad. That was bad!

It barely affects you. Damien snorted in her mind, You’d have to drink the entire barrel now to grow tipsy. That’s why I love drinking spirits instead of wine. It's a much better kick. Ah, of course, after a while, those stop working too. Not that I chased drunkenness, you know. It’s a nice chaser before doing it…

Yuriko hurriedly censored him before she could fill her mind with images she certainly didn’t want to see. She sighed and sipped her tea. It wasn’t warm enough. Frowning, she channelled a bit of Animus into her hands with a heat Intent and slowly brought the tea back to an acceptable temperature. But when she sipped, it became too bitter instead.

“Elder Irseso should return soon,” Otlaca began, “but in the meantime, here.” He pulled out a canvas purse and placed it on the table.

Clunk.

Yuriko hesitantly reached for it and looked inside. Golden coins reflected the lamplight.

“What’s this for?”

“For your services,” Otlaca said simply, “in helping secure Lucenti’s interests.”

“How much is there?”

“A hundred gold leaves.”

“One hundred thousand Denari,” Yuriko said flatly. It was enough for passage to the next plane, but since she missed the one that came in Viterra, she’d have to wait at least another Season.

“There’s more if you would continue to help us.”

Yuriko leaned back with a sigh. She wanted to take it, but she somehow felt wrong doing so. Still, it wasn’t as if she had other means to earn coins.

Ah, blood money. Easiest kind there is to earn. Damien’s tone was sardonic. Well, take it, since he offered.

‘Your words don’t make it any easier to take,’ she thought furiously.

What, you’d rather loot the dead?

‘I suppose not.’ With a grunt, she took the purse and said her thanks.

Otlaca nodded with satisfaction. At least, until Elder Irseso burst into the tent.

“They’re building entrenchments,” she said with a glare. “It looked like they didn’t take the bait.”

“Ah, merely a small setback. No other forces nearby?”

“None that I could see.”

“Well, then, it looks like we’ll have to go whittle them down. As long as they don’t have an Elder to protect them, well,” Otlaca grinned, his fangs exposed and gleaming, “They’re nothing but walking corpses.”

Yuriko kept her silence while the other two strategized. Otlaca mainly talked about eliminating the army within reach before they marched back to retake Lardel Keep. Irseso was cautious and wanted to hunker down.

As for her, Yuriko couldn’t help but feel that she’d just signed a deal with Chaos, and it wasn’t a good feeling. Damien, the bloodthirsty pervert, was rather eager for battle, and it only added to her feeling of wrongness