Chapter 205: Spirited Away
"General! A spirit has bewitched one of the guards. She's standing in front of the tent!"
The call from outside the tent made Arthur look up from his desk, where yet another letter from a supposed ally demanded his attention.
He sighed tiredly. If a spirit had really charmed its way into his camp, then he should probably go see what it wanted. Spirits weren't malicious by default, but if angered, they could be problematic. Maybe it wanted them to stay out of some area?
Still, it could wait a second. He dipped the quill in alcohol to clean it and tossed some sand on the page. The rest of the letter would have to wait a bit. It was a long shot, after all. All of his more likely allies had already been contacted. The responses weren't amazing, but open rebellion was a pretty hard sell. Arthur wouldn't have listened to many if they had asked him for this kind of support just a few weeks ago. But now? He didn't have much of a choice.
He was lucky that his men were in the same boat as him. That, and they were loyal and disciplined enough to stay. The nobles were a bit of an issue, but it was really a good test for them. The smarter ones figured out what had happened and remained in the company. The fools had left and went to their families for shelter. Arthur honestly wished them luck, but he doubted most of them wouldn't be turned over by those very same families.
With the writing taken care of, he stepped outside the tent and froze.
Arthur could see how Colin and Doug had thought this was a spirit. A young girl wearing an ethereal white dress stood before him, practically glowing in the night. On her feet were thin slippers, and she showed none of the wear of hard travel one would expect this many days from civilization.
Despite all of that, the figure was immediately familiar to him.
///
Bee couldn't stop laughing as she followed Void through the sky. She just felt so free. They spun and twisted through the night, careening across the landscape below.
She could tell that Void could go faster, but it was letting her keep pace. It was a fact that she greatly appreciated. Having someone to share this moment with made it all the sweeter. She knew that she wasn't flying under her own power exactly and that it shouldn't be much different than when Void had carried her, but it was.
Maybe it was the control. That she could choose where she wanted to go and at what pace. Or maybe it was that she truly felt independent. Whatever it was, she never wanted this moment to end.
So they kept flying. Void never gave any indication that it wanted to go back to the castle, and Bee was the furthest thing from sleepy. In fact, each moment only served to make her more excited. As she practiced, her newfound expertise expanded the list of possibilities and maneuvers she was willing to try.
Each time she pushed the boundaries of what she thought possible, her burgeoning love of flying grew.
—
It was with great pleasure that I watched Beatrice enjoy her gift. Thirty minutes and sixteen seconds into her flight, she first attempted a loop. It was clumsy and hesitant at first, and without me to catch her, she wouldn't have made it all the way around without falling off.
Still, even the close call didn't slow her down. A few moments later, she tried again. This was better; I still stayed close, but soon, I had nothing to worry about. Beatrice was zipping around like she had been born in the clouds and developed her own flight subroutines.
I had no particular agenda for this. Instead, I just enjoyed my time hanging out with Beatrice as we trekked about in the sky. Gradually, as we swooped and dipped and dived, we drifted further and further away from the castle. Over the forest, we had more freedom and room to dance in the sky.
Eventually, we began to race. I could clearly move much faster than the carpet. Beatrice created much more drag than I did, after all. Regardless, I kept alongside as she zipped out towards the mouth of the valley as fast as she could. I kept along and delighted in the sound of her whooping and enjoyment as she rocketed away from the castle.
I hadn't really considered what this gift might mean to Beatrice with all her responsibilities in the castle. It was hard for her to be away for long periods of time. When we had gone to save Caleb, my assistance meant it only took her a couple of hours to get there. But getting back took weeks. Granted, that was partially because she traveled with others, but it would have still taken days, at least on her own. And during that time, a lot had happened in the castle.
Sure, Mary and Trent and everyone were quite capable of monitoring the situation and reacting to anything that came up. But I could tell that Beatrice held onto a certain amount of anxiety anyway. She really cared about the people who looked to her for leadership. Plus, when I wasn't around, she was clearly the most powerful person here. If some threat of major proportion were to endanger the castle, she would be the main line of defense if I were not around.
Of course, the only reason she was capable of leaving the castle at all was because of its relatively remote nature. And how hard it would be for any threats to get to the castle. So, leaving it shouldn't be too risky. Still, this carpet changed things. It opened up the whole world to Beatrice. Well, not the whole world, but a larger portion than the castle. She could be gone for a few hours and have traveled what would have taken her days on foot.
By my estimations, any traditional army would take at least five days to march through the forest. With our resources and everyone's good work in making a sustainable home, traditional armies probably wouldn't be too much of a threat to the castle for much longer. At least since sieges seemed to be their tactic of choice. It would be their champions and other beings with great power, things on the level of a Lieutenant or significantly less friendly Daedalus.
Just as I finished thinking that, I noticed a strange glow coming from the entrance of the forest. The sun had long since set, and there should have been no light from the smoking rubble of Greg– especially not any that reached this far. It was only a few moments later that Beatrice noticed it as well, and suddenly the fun stopped.
A serious look came over her face, and I couldn't help but agree with her sentiment. All of a sudden, the practice had gone from doing crazy tricks and flying as fast as possible to Beatrice learning to fly stealthily. We increased our altitude significantly as we steadily made our way over to the glowing light.
As we got closer, I was able to make out heat signatures. Hundreds of campfires stretched out in a long, slightly squashed line. Along the rows of fires clustered tents and people. People in armor, wearing helmets and swords and other weapons. What was an army doing here?
It didn't take long before we were hovering above it. Beatrice and I looked down, trying to piece together the situation. Was the castle being attacked? Why would someone have sent an army after us? I had no idea. As far as I knew, no one was particularly angry with us. Maybe Beatrice knew something, but I didn't feel the need to ask.
Whatever they were here for, we needed to take care of it. Quickly, too, before they entered the forest. It would be a real pain to have to find each and every single one of them hidden among the trees if they were in fact hostile. It would be much easier to take care of them here before they entered the forest when they were all on this nice, open plain.
—
Bee looked down on the foreign army with concern. She had hoped that things were smoothed out with the kingdom after the saving of Caleb, but it had always been on the back of her mind that those in power might not approve of being forced to bow to a new god. Especially after Susan's warning about such things.
Not that there was anything they could do about it. The holy might of Void would come for everyone someday. Still, it was a danger to her and her people if some army of elites had been gathered to remove the growing power in the region. However, this was too soon.
Just a little longer, and the snow would have kept them safe through winter. During that time, she had planned to convert more new Devotees and level everyone further. Many of the newcomers with a low level had accepted her offer. However, the ones with more time dedicated to their class were understandably hesitant to switch. Though after seeing the progress everyone else had made, she was sure more would be willing to soon. The rate at which Void's followers grew in levels would have made them a formidable threat, a group capable of defending themselves. The average level in the castle had risen by 7 in just this little time, which was unheard of.
It was obvious what the source of their new power was. Having the god that they worshiped walking amongst them - or, rather, rolling - had given more bonuses than she could count.
Bee guided her carpet slightly lower. Enthusiasm about flight flickered in her chest once more, though she tamped it down for now. The rows of tents grew larger, but she wasn't able to make out any more details than she had been a little further up.
She was pretty certain of her safety if someone spotted her. With the carpet, she would be out of range of all but the best archers, and that was if they could even see her. Even if she was down amongst them, she could probably fight her way out if it came to it. She was ridiculously fast. Of course, she wasn't sure how Void would react if she attacked a bunch of people unprovoked. It was best to avoid conflict and talk if possible.
While she was nervous about the army being right here, she didn't actually know what they wanted. Maybe they were escorting a messenger or some diplomat who came to negotiate with them. That was unlikely, but she needed more information. Bee knew that she could be back at the castle in an hour, days ahead of the army, so it was worth taking time to know exactly what they were dealing with before going to get her people ready.
Bee didn't dare get any lower, though. The light of the campfires was lighting up the carpet of the rug, and if someone looked up, they might notice the rectangle shadow hovering motionlessly above them. It would be pretty hard to mistake her for a bird. So she rose back up in the air, moved over to the edges of camp, and settled onto the ground.
When she got off of her rug, she realized that she might have a problem. The plush carpet was taller than she was on a side, and she hadn't brought any convenient way to carry it. Looking around, she searched for a place to stash it. Before she could stuff it in a tree hollow, though, Void reached out and gently took it from her. As if by magic, it disappeared. Void then rose back in the sky.
Bee felt better now that Void was looking out for her from above. Her master wouldn't leave her without a way home. Right?
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