Having finished up the necessary discussions that they needed to have, both Marcus and Lyra decided to get some rest.
They were still quite tired from their earlier fight and had been staying up with sheer will power.
Even Marcus was feeling worn since he had used his full strength for a too long and it had done a number on him.
However, as he set up his sleeping mat right in front of Lyra's bed, she looked at him with a confused expression for a moment before her eyes went wide.
"Wait your going to sleep in here?" Lyra said in a flustered manner.
Looking up at her Marcus could see that her face was going a bit red and that she was a bit uncomfortable with him staying with her.
'Hm, I suppose even though with her two lives she has technically lived for nearly thirty-four years, she has never made it past sixteen, so she still has some insecurities.' Marcus thought.
Still, he honestly did not feel like he would be able to get restful sleep if he left this tent since he could tell that some of the rebels were still hostile to him.
Marcus then disappeared for a moment surprising Lyra before reappearing in his form as Irene, causing Lyra's eyes to go wide.
While Marcus had already told her about his transformation ability. this was still her first time seeing it and it was astonishing to watch him go from a guy to a girl in an instance.
"There that should be better right." Marcus said trying to make Lyra feel more comfortable.
Yet this actually just made her feel a bit at unease, since now it seemed like a total stranger was in her room with her.
"No, it is fine, I would prefer it if you changed back. I was just a little uneasy at first because this is the first time I have slept in the same room alone with a guy."
Nodding his head Marcus switched back and said, "Okay, well good night then."
After that Marcus dropped down onto his mat and passed out like a computer shutting down.
Lyra was actually impressed that he was able to fall asleep so easily, though soon her fatigue caught up with her and she joined Marcus in the land of the sleeping.
…
The next few days quickly went by as Marcus traveled with the rebels as they headed back to their base which was located deep in the wilderness.
Though along the way Lyra had a great idea to make her soldiers start to trust him more, by having him deal with threats like monster and magical beasts.
Marcus also would use his item box to collect and deliver large quantities of water allowing the troops to move faster as they did not have to make as many stops to refill their supplies.
Soon many of the soldiers started to warm up to Marcus as he made their lives easier and was helping to benefit their cause.
Of course, there were still plenty that hated him, since Roxene had killed some of their friends and comrades, but at least no one showed open hostility towards him anymore.
"We are getting close to the base." Lyra said appearing next to Marcus as he was scouting out the area to make sure that it was safe.
"Some of my officers still do not trust you completely and asked me to force you to wear a blindfold so you would not know the exact location of our base. Though I doubt it would actually make a difference, would you mind doing it for their peace of mind."
Shrugging his shoulders, Marcus took the blindfold that Lyra had in her hands and tied it around his head.
After that he was led around in circles for a bit as Lyra put on a show for her more cautious men that did not fully trust Marcus.
Eventually though he felt them enter some type of cave an a few minutes later her heard what sounded like a large rock being moved.
"Okay we are here you can take that off now." Lyra said to Marcus now that they were inside the rebel base.
And as he took off his blindfold, Marcus saw what looked like a small town that was underground.
There were hundreds of tents set up but also buildings carved into stone and people bustling around.
Quickly Marcus' eyes were drawn to a nearby forge where weapons were being made and repaired.
However, what caught his attention next was a tower that was made out of mithril and was situated in the middle of the underground base.
"Ah I see that you have spotted our cloaking device. That magic item keeps any sort of detection magic or divinations from finding this place. Oh, and it is actually the heart of our base where all of the leaders stay." Lyra said as Marcus looked at the impressive structure.
"Now we need to report to the chief, so I can tell him how my squad's operation went, and to introduce you."
Lyra then beckoned Marcus towards the tower where apparently the other rebel leaders were located.
Entering inside, Lyra led Marcus up to the top of the tower where a group of men and women were sat around looking at a map of the kingdom which was laid out on a sturdy wooden table.
"Shroud Squad just reported back that they were successful in liberating the granaries of their contents on Count Musze's estate."
"Yes, but Dimal Squad was almost annihilated when they raided one of the mithril mines under Marquis Dupek's jurisdiction."
"That was an unfortunate mistake in our intel. We had no idea that a grand knight and elite mage were protecting the place."
"Well, at least August Squad succeeded in destroying the mountaineer brigade. Those guys were getting awfully close to finding some of our bases."
"Oh, and it looks like our successful prodigy has just returned."
As Lyra and Marcus entered into the room all of the rebel leaders that were sitting around the table turned towards them.
All of them seemed happy to see Lyra return, though they all looked curiously at Marcus.
None of them knew who he was and other than the chief of the rebels who Lyra had told earlier over a sending stone did any of them know he was coming.
"Ah Lyra it is good to see that you have returned safely. And the man next to you is the one that you talked to me about." The rebel leader said as his gaze turned toward Marcus.
Looking at him Marcus examined the rebel leader and could tell the old man was strong.
He was quite massive being one of the largest people Marcus had ever seen. And while he had graying hair and the air of age about him, he still radiated the aura of someone very strong.
'Hm I would say he is about as strong as Thabon.' Marcus though after looking the rebel leader over.
Even though he could not appraise the man's level, he was still confident in his ability to judge generally how strong someone was by the aura around them, and how threatening they felt.
After a brief moment where everyone was looking at Marcus the rebel leader opened his mouth and said, "Well everyone I would like you to meet our newest collaborator, that Jadzia has brought to us."
Visit freewe𝑏nov(e)l.𝗰𝐨𝐦 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience