"What do you mean, he escaped?!" Andrea yelled.
"Well, it appears he had access to an artifact from the Second Age, which allowed him to teleport somewhere. At this point he is beyond our reach." Mike replied.
The princess walked over to the railing and gave it a solid kick, before sulkily crossing her arms and staring into the distance. The remaining Tennundian soldiers briefly shifted their gazes to the temperamental woman, before looking down at the ground. All told, they appeared to be demoralized and beaten. Believing that his presence was no longer necessary to keep them in line, Mike had Red let go of the ship and fly alongside it.
Now, all that was left to do, was drop the ship off at the University, sneakily escape in the confusion, and find a way of blending back into the crowd of surviving students to make sure that no one suspected his absence.
[I'm beginning to see why superheroes are always complaining about having alter egos.]
While he was debating on the precise method he would use to achieve all of that, he heard a woman shouting distantly.
"PRINCESS ANDREAAA!" It sounded faint, but grew louder near the last syllable.
Mike looked around. They were still a kilometer above the ground, at the very least. Confused, he walked to the railing where he heard the sound coming from.
"PRINCESS ANDREA! I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU!"
Something moving extremely fast flashed by, and Mike's vision was suddenly filled as a woman in golden armor flung herself in his direction. If it wasn't for the sudden burst of hostile intent, Mike would have been at a loss to respond. He quickly dived to his right, narrowly avoiding a powerful spear thrust which shattered the portion of the deck he'd been occupying just seconds before.
His attacker was tall, roughly 1.7m and dressed in ornate golden plate armor. The center of her breastplate was etched with the royal crest of Almir, a skyward pointed sword between a pair of blue lions on a field of red. A white cape extended from her shoulders giving her a heroic air. Her shoulder length orange hair was tied back in a ponytail.
"Release the princess, you fiend!" The woman said while leveling her spear at Mike.
"Alright." He responded nonchalantly.
"Very well, I will have to make you...eh?" The knight blinked, head tilted slightly in confusion. He took this opportunity to use a quick Appraise.
--------------------------------------------
Leona Albright
Age: 26
Class: Dragoon
Title: Almiran Royal Guard
--------------------------------------------
"Leona! Stand down! That man saved my life!" Andrea called while marching over.
"Ah?" The woman apparently called Leona replied with a slight head tilt. "Ah! Princess you're alright."
She rushed up to Andrea and crushed her in a tight armor-plated hug. "I'm so relieved! When I heard you'd been kidnapped, I stole a courier hippogriff and rushed here straight away."
"Urk! Leona! Let go! You're crushing me again."
"Ah! Sorry, princess."
"I take it you two are familiar with one another?"
Andrea pushed herself free of the other woman, "Yes. Leona here is a member of the Royal Guard, and has been my chosen knight and companion since I was a child. She has been my protector as long as I can remember."
"Indeed!" The golden knight replied before rounding on Andrea with stern disapproval written on her face. "If you had only allowed me to accompany you during your studies, this would have never have happened."
Andrea opened her mouth, ready to deliver a fiery comeback, but hesitated. After a few moments, she spoke in a quiet, depressed voice. "Yes. You are right. I overestimated myself and my abilities, and others paid the price."
"Princess…." Leona muttered, clearly overwhelmed by conflicting emotions.
Now thoroughly feeling like he was intruding on a private moment between two close friends, Mike surreptitiously moved himself towards the side of the ship once more. He hopped up onto the railing, pausing to face the pair. "Well, it seems like you are in good hands, Andrea. I believe it is time for me to take my leave."
She looked over at him in surprise, "Wait! I still don't know your name!"
"I'll be seeing you." He fell backwards off the ship, neatly landing on Red's back, as the dragon flew by.
He glanced back long enough to see Andrea staring after him from the railing, raised a hand to bid her farewell, and directed his mount to find a good place for him to jump off near the city, finally settling for a small sandbar near the northern shore of the bay.
[Thanks for the all the help today.] He message Red while watching the dragon depart. [You were a real lifesaver.]
Just before he was out of sight, Mike heard a loud draconic roar, which his Communication Magic translated as something along the lines of "No problem, boss."
Dismissing his mask and storing his cloak, Mike started making his way back towards the city. Judging from his location, he would have to jump the walls. Luckily, his Air Magic had finally increased in tier, and he was now only a few steps away from being able to fly himself.
He eventually succeeded in throwing himself over the University's walls without being seen, but it was a close thing. The guard had been tripled, likely due to the attack, and he had to time his magic just right. Once he'd reached the lighthouse near his dorm, he could finally relax. It seemed as if he'd successfully completed two of three tasks. Now if he could just reintegrate into the crowd on central campus, all would be well.
Except, now that he thought about it, there were at least three people who knew he'd summoned a semi-permanent flame dragon. The same dragon which had promptly turned the tide in battle and had been instrumental in saving the princess from her kidnappers.
For a brief moment, Mike seriously considered simply leaving it all behind and living in the woods. With his ability to talk to animals, he could probably have a fulfilling life in the wild. However, he would miss the conveniences of city living. Especially the food.
[Oh well, I'll just deal with it, if it becomes a problem.]
By the time he'd made it back to central campus, the cavalry had arrived. Not just figuratively, but literally as well. Mike was forced to dodge as a group of armored knights on horse and dinosaur back rode past, heading towards the walls.
University guards and soldiers wearing the heraldry of Almir were everywhere. Now that the danger had passed, it seemed that they were trying to go overboard on security to make up for their initial blunder. Just to get into the area where the other students were receiving treatment he had to answer a battery of questions.
He was forced to come up with a story where he had been separated from the rest of the students in the chaos, and was chased by a group of enemy soldiers. Eventually, he was able to escape them thanks to his knowledge of the terrain.
Although the guards that were questioning him didn't look fully convinced, they let him through once he showed them his student card.
[Should have just done that from the beginning, I guess.]
He quickly spotted his companions, and was glad to see that they looked uninjured. They were standing a little bit away from the rest of the students, talking quietly. Tal was the first to spot him, waving tiredly as he approached. "Welcome back. Glad okay."
At the elf's words, Sera and Brenden turned to look at him with very different expression. The Oracle looked slightly depressed at the sight of him, but quickly became angry. Brenden, on the other hand, grinned. "Looks like you had a rough time of it."
Mike looked down at himself, and realized that his fancy new clothes had been damaged and dirtied during the long string of fights he'd been involved in. He was also coated in healthy quantity of blood that he hadn't been aware of.
[No wonder everyone was staring at me oddly up.]
With a quick application of Lifestyle Magic, he removed the accumulated blood and dirt, leaving his clothes merely battered.
"Anyway, are you all alright? It looked like you had it under control, but I was a little distracted at the time." He asked.
Sera glowered at him a little. "You're responsible for the dragon, aren't you?"
The other two looked at him curiously.
Rubbing the back of his head. "Well….I was meaning to surprise you all on Saturday. His name's Red, by the way."
Tal gave him an unreadable look, while Brenden chuckled to himself, "I'm surprised, but I really shouldn't be."
Sera reached out at him for a moment, hands bent into claws like she wanted to strangle him. Instead, however, she sighed and sagged in defeat. "That's it. I give up. You are a complete anomaly."
"That's the spirit." Brenden chimed in while slapping her on the back. "The sooner you come to accept it, the easier it will be."
Tal nodded her agreement.
"That hardly seems fair. I'm not that bad, am I?" Mike asked, feeling a little insulted for some reason.
The three of them just gave him a neutral look without answering.
"Fine, whatever. I'm the ridiculous one." He said with mock emphasis.
He noticed that a silence had descended on the area. Looking around he saw that the airship had finally arrived, and was descending into central campus, much to the consternation of the milling guards and soldiers. It was only the sight of the princess standing next to a golden armored woman at the ship's railing which kept them from attacking.
"Looks like the princess was rescued." Brenden commented, "I don't suppose you had anything to do with it?"
"....No comment."
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Count Graveston contemplated the flames of his study's fireplace, while waiting for the last of his messengers to arrive. He'd already burned the hastily scrawled note from Morris, in which he had related rumors of a mass exodus of orcs from the Ash Mountains. By now, that was old news.
A familiar presence had occupied a corner of his study, little more than a slightly darker shadow. The count paid no attention to it, knowing quite well that it was merely here to observe.
There was a knock on the window.
"Enter." Was his simple reply. He didn't bother to watch as a cloaked figure quietly slipped into the room, before falling down to one knee.
"My lord, I bring news." The figure spoke in a rough male voice.
"Speak."
"There have been assassination attempts on all of the royal heirs with the exception of Princess Andrea, who was briefly kidnapped."
The count frowned briefly before motioning for the man to continue.
"We've manage to foil the attacks the First and Second Princes, although the First Prince was critically injured. Due to his location on the front lines, it's unclear whether or not a sufficiently talented healer will arrive in time to save him."
"What of the twins?"
The man hesitated, as if unsure how to respond. "Our resources in the capital are currently limited. Viscount Wendel was able to distract our agents long enough to seize control of a naval airship and launch a multi-pronged attack on the University while they were hosting a welcoming ceremony. In the confusion, Prince Matthew was stricken with a fatal blow, and Princess Andrea was kidnapped."
"So, it was a failure on our part." The count asked with a raised eyebrow.
"…There was an unexpected circumstance. While reports are still unconfirmed, it appears that a Dragonknight Battlemage saw fit to intercede." The man paused again, as if waiting for an incredulous response.
"Oh?"
"He was able to heal the Prince of near fatal injuries, while his mount dispersed the remaining enemy forces. Almost immediately afterwards, he single-handedly launched an assault on the airship, which was carrying the kidnapped princess, and successfully rescued her before vanishing mysteriously."
The count tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Is there anything else?"
"Only that this Dragonknight appeared to be skilled in multiple kinds of magic, made use of at least one spell we have no record of, and yet defeated the majority of his enemies with a sword."
"I see….you are dismissed."
With a nod, the man vanished.
Count Graveston rang a bell that was sitting on a nearby table, which in turn summoned Carlton, one of his trusted butlers.
"What can I do for you, my lord?" The man asked as soon as he'd entered.
"Send a message to the Druids of the Splintered Oak. Tell them I am calling in a favor. The First Prince is in dire need of a competent healer."
"It will be done." Carlton replied while leaving.
The count pondered for a moment, before shooting a sharp gaze at the shadow that had been occupying the corner throughout the proceedings. "It seems you ploy has failed, old rival."
A low-pitched whisper answered, "Has it? Perhaps this is as planned."
"Perhaps." The count replied with a knowing smirk.
The shade gave a dry dusty laugh. "Next time, Serpent. I will show you something grand."
With that it faded back through the wall, and vanished.
The count's arrogant smile faded from his lips, as he pictured the strange, golden-eyed youth which he'd planted in the capital. He considered once again, what secret would be powerful enough to drive Morris back home? What secret would his son sacrifice his freedom and principles to hide?