The trees grew together too closely for the large war horses of the Ryukyuujin to fit comfortably between them. Anna was somewhat relieved they wouldn’t be galloping through the forest with the cavalry. It was one thing riding Jarnvaror. His back was too broad to be comfortable, but at least he covered in a few hours what would take anyone else days. At her size, the horses seemed just as wide but moved at a crawl. She decided she was glad they were walking.
In order to avoid angering the Emerald dragon, Peter told Jarnvaror to wait in the camp while they conducted the raid with the Ryukyuujin soldiers. It took Peter a while to convince him. Jarn didn’t seem to like the idea of his riders going into another dragon’s territory without him. He only agreed to stay behind when Peter promised he would shout if they needed him.
It wasn’t long before the wild cats came back with their reports for the king. After talking with them for a few minutes, the king nodded, then looked back at his soldiers and asked for a map of area. When it was brought out, he unrolled it, examined for a few moments in silence, then pointed to a particular point.
“This place matches my friends’ description,” the king said. “They tell me that these raiders are currently settled in and idle.”
“Do they have sentries?” Andrew asked. “Or anything about how their camp is organized.”
“Sadly, my friends are not the most skilled at recognizing human patterns, so they could not tell us much about the organization of the camp,” the king said with a smile. He scratched under the chin of the closest wild cat. “However, they are familiar with the concept of sentries, and they did keep an eye out. They spotted none while they were there.”
Andrew nodded in satisfaction. “Now’s as good a time as any to head out, then,” he said.
“Is it worth trying to surround them?” Lieutenant Ban asked. He was joining the raid as second in command to Captain Yamada. “They will be more powerful than most of us, given the Wisps in their gear.”
“It will be a lot harder for me to protect people from their Wisps’ influence if we spread out too much,” Anna said.
“Yeah, but they might just run away if they see us coming,” Peter said.
“Perhaps you and a small contingent of soldiers could serve as the hammer to our young lady’s anvil?” Captain Yamada suggested to Peter. “You have Wisps yourself, right?”
“Just the one,” Peter said. “I don’t think she could protect your other forces.”
Yamada nodded. “Perhaps archers, then. Hopefully they do not wear their protective enchantments while they rest. Get the enemy to retreat into the larger force protected by Lady Anna and our mages.”
“I think that sounds good,” Andrew said. He turned to look at the Ryukyuujin king. “Shall we?” Andrew asked.
The king nodded. “I shall have some of my friends guide you,” he said. “They know the way, and may be able to get you closer without being noticed.”
Captain Yamada began organizing the soldiers into the two different groups that would be heading into the forest. Almost two dozen were assigned to go with Peter, including two mages. The rest of the soldiers were light infantry, all of whom carried recurve bows. Anna’s force was almost three times larger. Most had heavier armer and spears. Captain Yamada was the tactical commander for the force she would be traveling with, and he brought along only one mage, explaining that he didn’t want to take too many away from the main force.
“I guess we’ll meet up with you after,” Andrew told Anna.
“You’re going with Peter?” Anna asked.
“I figure since they won’t have as much Wisp protection, they could use a bit more of our experience. Maybe I can help Peter put some words to this idea he’s mentioned while we go.”
“It’s coming to me!” Peter said. “It’ll be brilliant!”
“Don’t worry about me,” Anna said. “I don’t plan on getting to close to the fighting. You guys stay safe.”
Andrew nodded, his face becoming serious. “You, too,” he said. The brothers moved off to join the small group of soldiers they would be leading. Anna stood next to Captain Yamada and watched them head off into the woods, following a trio of wild cats. Another group of cats walked up to Anna and Yamada, and yowled at them for attention.
“We’re coming,” Captain Yamada said. Not being a beast tongue, the cats couldn’t understand him, and just made more noise. With a gesture, Yamada’s soldiers fell in line, and they started following the cats into the woods, taking a slightly different path than Peter and Andrew.
Anna marched at the front with Yamada. She’d worried she’d set a slow pace for the soldiers, given her short stride, but the cats set it for her. The fact that they were helping a king didn’t seem to matter to them. They were in no hurry. The cats were small, just over half of Anna’s size, but they looked at everything more imperiously than the dragons. Anna guessed the king was only able to make requests, the same as Peter. She imagined the king might be ignored more often.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
She watched their tails twitch as they marched across the uneven ground of the forest. She didn’t keep track too much of where they were going, allowing most of her focus to switch over to the Wisps. Whispering, she tried to call them up, to let them know what was coming.
As was becoming normal, they responded to her attention, but none seemed to catch on to what she was actually trying to tell them. She sighed.
“Is something wrong, Miss Anna?” Captain Yamada asked.
Anna shook her head. “Communicating with the Wisps isn’t as clear as I would like,” she said.
“Will you be able to call them out for the ambush?” the captain asked sharply.
“Yes! No need to worry about that,” Anna said. “They respond mostly to emotions. The moment tensions are running as high as during a fight, they will come out to protect me and the people around me. But I don’t think I was able to properly alert them to the situation. I’m tired of surprising them with the situation.”
“Does it bother them?” Yamada asked.
Anna shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s sort of the problem. None of our communication is all that reliable, except for their ability to share emotions.”
“I see,” the captain said. “Communication is the most valuable weapon in a battle. I don’t like relying on allies who’s ability to speak is so impaired. Then again,” he added, giving a meaningful look to the cats walking in front of them. “Sometimes we have to take what we can get. By all means, keep trying to let them know. If it doesn’t work, then I trust what has worked before shall serve for us again.”
Anna nodded. She tried again to communicate the situation to the Wisps. She focused on her sense of anticipation, hoping they would understand what it meant. She thought it got through a little. They were confused, though. Halcyon’s responded with worry, and Anna wasn’t sure if it was really clear enough.
They had plenty of time on their trek through the woods to try. By the time the cats stopped, allowing the soldiers to fan out and decide on their positions, they’d been walking for half an hour.
Anna wasn’t sure what she could see through the trees. She thought there might have been something of a clearing up ahead. She looked at Yamada for an explanation. In response, the captain gestured once more at the cats and spoke in a low voice. “They were told to take us close to the camp and help us avoid any sentries. We plan to wait until the others launch their surprise attack before we charge in.”
“How will we know when they do that?” Anna asked, keeping her voice low to match his.
A wry smile touched the captain’s lips. He reached up and tapped his ear. Anna nodded her understanding.
After waiting a few minutes, she frowned again. “Are you sure we’ll hear it?” she asked.
“Yes,” Yamada replied.
“Why is it taking so long?” Anna said. “I don’t think it’ll be good if the Wisps come out before we start, and I think the tension is getting to me.”
“We are between their camp and the main army,” Yamada explained. “The ambush will come at them from one of their flanks. It will probably take a little longer for our companions to get into position.”
“Even though they left first?” Anna asked.
“Even though they left first,” Yamada confirmed.
Anna turned back to look through the trees. If she strained her ears, she thought she could hear the sound of people up ahead. These would just be the ordinary sounds of the Wisp Stealers in their camp. Men milling about, preparing meals, tending to their equipment, and so on. She strained, listening for the first cry of surprise or the clang of swords. Halcyon’s influence came over her, and she felt her breath slow.
A cracking noise disturbed the forest from up ahead, and Anna jumped. She’d expected to hear shouts before anything else. The sound was more like that of a spell. Of course the Soldiers would begin the ambush with a larger strike. It would make more of an impact.
After the sharp sound, there was shouting, along with another snap or two. The forest seemed to muffle the sound, rather than making it echo, and Anna wasn’t sure how far away the fight would really be.
Knowing the fight was going on, Anna felt herself fill with resolve. She wanted to make sure the surrounding soldiers were protected. This the Wisps understood. After a moment, they rushed out of her bracelet, spacing themselves out among the soldiers, bobbing in the air like blue lanterns.
“Hold,” Yamada hissed as some of the soldiers started to move forward once the Wisps were out.
“What are we waiting for?” Anna asked.
“To tell if the enemy runs in surprise or fully engages,” Yamada replied, eyes fixed on the trees ahead. “If they decide to engage, we want to get as close behind them as we can without being noticed. If they break, then it matters much less.”
“How long are we waiting?”
“A moment or so more.”
The captain waited, listening to the sounds of the fight. He frowned. “They are engaging,” he said. “This is odd.”
“That they would stand and fight?” Anna asked.
Yamada shook his head. “I haven’t heard the sound of our mage’s attacks for some time now,” he said.
Anna blinked, then realized the snaps had stopped. “What does that mean?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Yamada said. “Men, move forward. Move with caution.”
The force began creeping through the woods again, moving slowly in a wide semi-circle, closing in on the Wisp Stealers encampment. Anna felt herself growing more and more tense as they went. She was staying back now, with Captain Yamada and several other soldiers in front of her, and their group’s mage off to her left.
The clearing seemed to appear suddenly. Anna could see the fighting through the trees, though from her position with all the men in front of her, she couldn’t make out any details. It looked like a mob all gathered together, which seemed like a bad sign, given how many archers were in the strike force.
“Charge,” Yamada said. His voice was low, but it carried to those around him, who dashed into the fray, followed by their companions on either side. Anna followed them. She didn’t run, not planning to join the actual fighting, but to keep all the Wisps close enough that their influence wouldn’t be diluted.
As she broke through the trees, she saw what had actually happened. Most of the strike force appeared to have been wiped out. Peter was still leading them, holding back the empowered bandits as the soldiers fought with the short swords they kept at their sides, their bows discarded. She couldn’t see Andrew.
But what worried her even more was the man floating twenty feet in the air over the clearing, laughing like a maniac surrounded by five glowing yellow orbs. Arrows spun in an orbit around him, and every so often he would flick out his hand, sending one or two to make pinpoint strikes into the soldiers. Any arrows that were launched at him in return seemed to be caught in whatever spell he had holding the others.
His gear was no different from the other raiders, Anna noticed. She thought that must be why he hadn’t been recognized before. Still, it was clear Captain Yamada had been wrong. The raiders did have a mage who seemed more than ready for combat.
