My drake gently settles the palanquin down a safe distance from North Tarenbuam's main camp. The first snow of the winter has just started, and all the enemy soldiers appear to be hunkering down for the winter.

We have just arrived at the border between the north and the south. A few light skirmishes are taking place, but things are pretty quiet overall, it seems no one wants to get caught out in a snowstorm. It kind of has a World War One vibe, with all the trenches and bunkers dug out with earth magic. Pirous explained that South Tarenbaum specializes in magical artillery, which forces the north to play much more defensively than they would like, one of the main reasons for the stalemate at the border.

I snuggle down deeper into my covers, glad that we added the second fire crystal; I am so sorry to everyone who has to go outside and actually do stuff.

My scouts ping me; they have just found the location of the ritual site. While Pirous didn't know the exact location, he had a few guesses, so we just had to travel the front lines until we found the right place. I breathe a sigh of relief when my scouts show me the still living Karnakan prisoners, Sarah would have been devastated if they were already dead.

Switching to the scouts near Enna, I watch as my group of allies prepares for the operation.

My burrowers haven't seen much action, and it took a long time to get one out here, but we wanted to go for a stealthier approach, so it was necessary. The giant worm waits just above ground with its maw wide open, waiting for its passengers. Enna easily enters, followed by several knights, while everyone else hesitates.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Grant laughs nervously, "I meant it when I said I would do anything to save these people but..."

Sarah claps him on the shoulder, giving him a grim smile of comradery, "Not gona lie, I've never been inside one of these and I kind of hoped I never would. But I trust Ren to not let us get eaten, and it really is the best way to safely rescue the prisoners."

"I've been through much, but this is intimidating, even for me." Jet nervously drums his fingers on his hammer.

Grant shuffles nervously, "And are we sure it was a good idea to send Pirous and the Matron into the north by themselves? What if Pirous betrays us?"

Sarah grimaces, "It's a risk, but Ren promised him we would save his family." She lets out a stressed breath, one hand running through her now long blonde hair and her other gripping the handle of her sword, "Our plan is a good one, if everything goes right, we will have a large impact without having to actually do any fighting. General Pirous is one of the highest leveled soldiers in North Tarenbaum's army, without him, they will have a much harder time conquering the south. Depriving them of victims for their ritual will also help, although they might just get desperate and get replacements from their own population."

Jet continues to drum on his hammer, "My understanding of this conflict is still surface level, but it seems you side with the south?"

Sarah nods, "Yeah, the north are slavers and clearly are fine sacrificing innocent lives, it's not a hard choice. Plus, they pressed your people into servitude by threatening your families."

The drumming stops and the orc takes a resolute step towards the worm, "You will hear no argument from me." Jet steels himself and enters the worm.

Grant shares a look with Sarah, "Well, enough procrastinating, I guess." The two humans are very careful to avoid touching the sides of the worm as they finally step inside.

I really don't see what the big deal is, the inside of the worm really isn't that bad, it's like being inside of a hive. At the very least, Sarah should be pretty used to it. Oh well, they will have to get over it. It's going to be a pretty long ride to get to the ritual site, my worms will have to go slow to avoid detection, although I doubt the northerners are expecting an attack from underground.

The Matron and Pirous are going deep into North Tarenbaum to retrieve the General's family. They are far enough away that I can't directly see them, but my scouts are continuously delivering me updates. It's probably stupid, but Enna assures me Pirous won't betray me, the man seems to genuinely value his family over his country and wants them to be as safe and warm as possible. The man is thinking long term, if the north is unable to push south, he won't have anywhere safe to go, signing up with me is the more guaranteed bet.

I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling of my palanquin, watching my numbers slowly tick up. I took the time to flood the plains dungeons with my soldiers since I won't be needing them for an open conflict, and my xp gains have risen significantly.

+500 XP +500 XP +700 XP +300 XP +300 XP +2,000 XP

Congratulations you are level 55! +10 Wis, +3 free points!

New skill unlocked, Summon Magi

Huh, this is another one like Enna. I can only summon one, and the vess will grow with my level. It doesn't sound all that diplomatic, but whatever, it should be able to use magic, something I am sorely lacking.

I sit up on the edge of my bed and lazily flick out a claw, expending all of my mana to bring the new summon into existence.

The shadows condense into the form of a vess that stands only a few inches taller than me. The skin is the obsidian color of all of my vess, appearing much gentler than the others though, only becoming harder and more chitinous closer to the tips of the fingers and feet. Small, black horns grow from the head and curl in on themselves, looking rather ram-like, finishing in a point behind the head, like mine. The horns are almost drowned in all of the fluffy, curly black hair that sits on top of the vess' head, ending just above the shoulders. Their figure is soft, although I am slightly happy to find they are flat chested, making me look more mature by default. Wide, red glowing eyes, stare back at me.

The vess grasps the edges of their simple black dress and curtsies, a soft voice greets me, "Lady Renna. It is an honor to serve you."

Wow, is this vess actually… cuter than me? I'm not sure if I should be jealous or relieved.

"Um… Lady Renna?" The vess nervously peeks up at me, they have been holding the curtsy for a really long time now.

"Ah, sorry!" I find my voice, "Rise, please! Do you have a name?"

The vess magi straightens gracefully, "Past queens have called me Hollis."

"It's nice to meet you, Hollis." I beam at my new summon.

Hollis blushes and looks at the ground, fidgeting with the hem of their dress, "Ah, my apologies, Lady Enna is greeting me."

"You know Enna?" I can't help it. I jump off my bed and hug Hollis, they are so fluffy! I drag my new summon back to sit on the edge of my bed, they seem happy about it, but very nervous.

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"Ah… How should I explain?" Hollis settles down, allowing me to pet their fluffy hair to my heart's content, a slight blush stuck on their face, "Lady Enna holds the most authority, after you of course, my lady. I respect her and look up to her. I- I've always wanted to be close with the queen; it is an honor like no other." My new fluffy vess has started fidgeting a lot, so I try to calm them down with another hug, which only seems to make them blush and fidget more. "I-I'm unworthy, my lady!"

"Nonsense!" I instantly deny, "Your fluffiness is very desirable. I would go so far as to say you are the perfect vess to stand by my side."

"My lady?!" Hollis seems very surprised.

"Yeah, I have been lacking in magical capability for a long time now, you are very valuable."

Hollis meets my eyes for a minute before breaking eye contact and muttering, "It would be my honor, Lady Renna."

"Just call me Ren!" I beam.

"...Lady Ren." Hollis seems to be trying their best, but I can tell they are flustered beyond belief right now.

"Good enough." I compromise. "I don't suppose you are good at diplomacy?"

"Uhhh…" The fluffy vess' eyes go wide.

"It's okay." I sigh and wave away their worries, "I'm sure someone will fill that role eventually."

I scoot to the side to give Hollis some space so they can cool down. Returning my senses to my burrowers, I find them just underneath the ritual site. The site itself is just a huge underground chamber, hastily cleared with magic. A good hundred or so cages made from earth sit along one wall, trapping the Karnakan families. There are ten or so guards down there, nothing to worry about really.

My burrowers breach through the side of the chamber and open their maws, allowing my companions to run out. Enna is practically invisible in the low light of the chamber, her claws part the flesh of the guards like paper, leaving behind ten piles of shredded meat.

The rest of my companions are slower to exit the worm, stumbling out and struggling to see in the low light of the few torches. Sarah lights up her sword, pushing away the shadows and giving the Karnakans a good look at their saviors.

There is immediate screaming and panicking amongst the prisoners as they see the nightmarish worms and Enna licking blood from her claws.

Jet, Enna, and the knights leave to secure the entry tunnels while the two humans work hard to placate the prisoners. It might take a lot of convincing to get them in the worms, but I'm sure Sarah can do it, she is a hero after all.

"Goodness!" Hollis gasps, "Those poor humans! How are we going to get them into the burrowers?"

I shrug, "I was kinda going to leave that to Sarah."

Hollis gives me a serious look, "Lady Ren, we likely don't have that kind of time. See?"

There is a strange sensation behind my eyes that I decide to go along with. My vision changes to show me groups of Tarenbaum soldiers rushing down the tunnels towards the ritual chamber. Enna and Jet are easily handling them, but it seems like the whole camp is starting to wake up.

Hollis shakes my shoulder gently, bringing me back inside the palanquin. They give me a concerned look, "If the mages that made the chamber are still around, they could easily make more entrances, then the humans would be in danger. Please, let me help!"

"Ah, sure?" I would like to see what my new vess is capable of.

Hollis grabs my hand and holds it close to their chest, "I swear to you that I will see the humans delivered to safety." Their serious attitude is somewhat undercut by their cute bouncy hair.

My new vess stands up and waves a hand, opening a portal in front of them. The Magi steps through and I continue to watch their movements through their eyes.

Hollis sends me a thought, "It is an honor to be observed directly by your majesty, I will not fail you."

Sarah and Grant have already opened all the cages and gathered everyone in the center of the chamber. Saying the humans are reluctant to get into the mouths of my giant worms is an understatement. It seems like an argument has broken out, a few of the Karnakans seem to have strong opinions about our plan.

My fluffy vess taps Sarah to get her attention and curtsies to her, "Hello Sarah! My name is Hollis, and I serve Lady Ren."

The Hero briefly looks surprised before turning serious, "Right, good. We need to get these people into the worms."

Hollis nods seriously, which just looks cute, and casts a spell over the humans. One by one the Karnakans close their eyes and fall asleep. The Magi then levitates the sleeping people into the worms.

Grant picks his jaw up off the floor, "Okay, that works."

Sarah ruffles Hollis' fluffy hair, "Good job, Hollis. Thanks for the help."

The Magi blushes and looks down, "Um, we should hurry. The earth mages have started digging new tunnels and will be here in a few seconds…"

Whatever Grant was about to say is interrupted by an explosion of earth behind him. Before he can get buried, he is levitated up and thrown into a worm while a shimmering barrier springs into existence to block the rest of the rock. A few new entrances have been added to the chamber along with several very angry looking mages chanting and waving staves around.

A man runs out of one of the tunnels, sword glowing red with the use of a skill. He blinks out of existence and reappears instantly behind Sarah, sword halfway to her neck.

The sword is repelled with a flash as Sarah's golden raiment covers her body. The Hero turns on the man and meets his red blade with her golden one, the blades clash and sparks of divine energy further light up the chamber. The challenger doesn't back down, he draws a dagger and throws it at Sarah, using the distraction to lunge for her side with his sword.

Sarah lets her raiment deflect the dagger, surprising the man and easily parrying his blade, returning a strike of her own that cleaves a bloody gash across his chest.

"Um, Sarah!" Hollis' voice sounds strained, "We may need to finish this soon. I was only just summoned and wasn't able to gather very much mana."

The enemy mages are throwing everything they have against the Magi's barrier. A barrage of jagged stone spears shatter against the shield, followed by a gout of flame and a spike of ice. I can sense Hollis' mana reserves are really low, oops, I maybe wouldn't have let them go if I knew that. Fortunately, I can feel Enna returning to rectify the situation.

My caretaker appears from the shadows behind the first group of mages, tearing them to shreds. She quickly disappears and repeats the process with the next group. The group after that are a little more prepared, and Enna is rebuked by a blinding golden light as soon as she appears. She hisses and is stunned long enough to get pierced by a huge stone spike, pinning her to the wall.

My fluffy Magi holds out a hand and clenches it into a fist, snuffing out the golden light. With a flick of their mana, the stone spear is dissolved, freeing Enna.

Instead of relentlessly attacking, Enna disappears into the shadows again, rising up next to Hollis. Her wound is rapidly closing, but she is injured all the same, dripping a thick, black blood.

Sarah's golden blade turns aside the red one in an impressive martial display. The two humans seem to be on even ground. The attacker briefly backs off; a red pulse of energy brings his dagger back into his offhand. His voice is gravely and dark, "Who are you?"

Sarah takes the time to center herself, holding her sword in a defensive two-handed grip, "A hero." She says simply.

"Ah." A look of understanding crosses the man's face as his eyes briefly dart towards the empty cages. "A Karnakan hero?"

"Blackroad, actually." The Hero lets her lips curl into a smirk.

"Blackroad?" The confusion is evident on the man's face. He doesn't seem stupid though, I can almost see him trying to put the pieces together as he looks at my vess. "Can we expect future hostilities from this Blackroad?"

"Maybe, probably not, unless things change. Mostly, we just want these people." Sarah lazily shrugs a shoulder.

"I see." The man's face is tight, "It will take Lord Josh a few more minutes to get here, I don't think I can stall you that long." He admits with a scowl, "If you can leave, I suggest you do so. I'd rather not lose any more men; this is already a disaster."

"Wait, Lord Josh?" Sarah lowers her sword, "Is he a summoned hero?"

"It isn't for me to say." The man gives up nothing, although I am terrible at reading people's faces.

"Fine." Sarah's blade shines brightly for a moment, allowing her to cut the words 'meet me at lake east of here' into the ground, in English.

Sarah nods and slowly backs into the nearest worm, followed quickly by Enna and Hollis. Another worm is currently picking up Jet and the knights. The Tarenbaum soldiers stand at the ready, but don't make any moves to intercept as the last of my burrowers retracts into the earth and collapses the tunnel behind it.

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