Subaru ordered his rebels to go find a long, strong rope and they all dashed off to execute his command.
The ground beneath their feet trembled again but Subaru didn 't even seem to notice.
"Come on, Felt," Subaru said, dashing off toward the Shelf without looking back.
Felt hurried after him.
"Felt!" A voice called.
Felt looked behind her and saw Xiao hobbling after her as fast as he could.
"Xiao!" Felt hissed, looking around to make sure none of the zealous slaves overheard them. "What the hell happened here?!"
Xiao shook his head as they made their way toward the Shelf. "I don't know. I can't fight because of my leg so I was below on the Shelf with most of the others during the fighting. But the eighty or so slaves that Subaru took with him to attack the palace they've… they've changed . "
"Changed how?"
Xiao hesitated. "It's hard to explain. The slaves who fought with Subaru are all… extremely devoted to him. At first, I thought that they were just overwhelmed with being free but… it's more than that, " He said intently.
"Stop speaking in riddles!" Felt snapped, a strange fear gripping her heart.
"I spoke out against killing the slavers by burning them to death," Xiao whispered. "Don't get me wrong, they were cruel and vile people. Killing them would certainly be justified but killing them by burning?! That's torture! We shouldn't sink that low and I told them that. Willa threatened to kill me for my objection."
Felt stopped in her tracks. "Willa?! Willa threatened to kill you?! Tiny, little, I 'm-in-way-over-my-head Willa?!"
Xiao nodded, his expression frightened. "It was no idle threat, Felt. Willa had her sword against my throat and even Baagh, my dearest friend, supported her! I've spoken to at least twelve other people who were threatened or abused when they questioned Lord Subaru's decision to kill the slavers this way. The others are all terrified! It's like the people who fought with Subaru are… crazed ! They honestly seem to feel as though Lord Subaru can do no wrong and that anyone who speaks out against him is some manner of betrayer or motivated by malicious intent! I 've never seen hero worship like this."
A chill ran down Felt 's spine as she remembered Sphinx's warning about Subaru's charm.
Xiao continued, "But as much as this all concerns me, it is secondary right now," He said. "Have you noticed the tremors?"
"They were hard to miss down in the caverns!" Felt said pointedly.
Xiao nodded. "The land often shakes when the volcano is ready to erupt. But I've never encountered tremors this bad before. The city is usually safe from the eruptions but …" He trailed off.
"Wait! Does Subaru know about this?!" Felt hissed. "Then what the hell are we all doing just sitting here and barbecuing some-" Felt gagged again and her scathing words were cut off by a dry heave.
Xiao sighed. "Once again, Subaru told everyone that he would handle the volcano if necessary, and all of his rebels simply took him at his word. None of them even questioned how he could hope to deal with an explosive mountain and they all turned on us when we tried to ask! "
"Holy shit," Felt whispered.
"There's more," Xiao warned her. "Felt, the rebels have all been blessed."
"What does that mean?"
"Literally!" Xiao said intently. "Everyone who fought for Subaru has been granted a Divine Blessing from the world! They claim that Subaru gave it to them!"
Felt stared at him. "That's completely impossible! No one could do that!"
"It's true," Xiao said. "Ask any of them. Willa has been showing off all night. She'll be happy to let you stab her with a knife. She's been challenging all the slaves to try and cut her."
Felt 's eyes widened. "What happens if they do?"
"Oh, she gets cut," Xiao said grimly. "But it's not a very deep cut no matter how hard they try and the blade itself is likely to chip or snap against her skin. The cut gets deeper every time. I suspect that if she doesn't stop relishing in this power, she'll get very badly hurt before long."
Felt 's jaw dropped. "Wait. How-"
Xiao shook his head. "Lady Felt, your friend possesses some strange, powerful magic, the likes of which I've never seen before! I don't know anything about it but I'm certain that it's incredibly dangerous. However, unless you can convince your friend to help us all escape immediately, we may not live long enough to worry about whatever is happening here! Mount Jimuna is supposedly centuries overdue for a truly massive eruption. If we're still here when it happens, we'll be smothered in ashes even if the lava fails to reach us!"
Felt swallowed hard and nodded. "Don't worry, Xiao," Felt said, uncertain of whom she was trying to convince. "I know Subaru. He tends to go kind of crazy when Emilia is in danger but now that she 's safe, he'll get us out of this mess. You'll see."
Xiao sighed. "I hope that you're right," He murmured.
"Whew," Garfiel sighed as he finally reached the Shelf. "Man is it good to be back on solid ground!"
Subaru and Emilia were clutching each other tightly.
"I thought that you were dead," Subaru wept in her arms.
"I'm fine, Subaru," Emilia whispered sweetly, rubbing his back.
"I thought that you were gone forever!" He choked. "Mili, if you were dead, I'd… I'd just want to-"
"Shush," Emilia said, gently rocking him in her arms. "I'm fine, Subaru. We're all fine. Everything is going to be OK now."
Garfiel glanced at Felt and realized that she was staring at Subaru with an expression that he might have almost called fear.
Garfiel cocked his head. "Shrimp? You OK?" He asked.
Felt bit her lip. Her eyes flickered between Subaru and Garfiel.
Finally, she said, "Yeah, fleabag, I'm fine."
Garfiel didn 't believe her for an instant but he didn't have a chance to pursue the matter. Another tremor in the earth shook the plateau.
"Captain, we need to get out of here!" Garfiel said at once. "These tremors are probably a sign that the volcano is getting ready to erupt again."
Garfiel watched as Subaru 's face went pale.
Subaru reluctantly pulled away from Emilia. "No… I think that might be a sign of something even worse…" He muttered.
"Worse?" Garfiel asked incredulously. "What the hell could be worse?"
Subaru dug around in his satchel and pulled out a strange object like a pitchfork head with rings hung around the prongs.
"Garf," Subaru said slowly. "Do you know how deep those tunnels under the city were? If we wanted to clear the rubble, how long would it take us?"
Garfiel scratched his chin. "Don't know exactly, Captain, but I'm guessing it would take weeks. That's how long Brendig's men were working. And we'd have to dam and drain the lake again besides. Why? Are we going to try to take the weapon?"
Subaru had a pained look on his face and he shoved the strange device back into his satchel. "Alright, never-mind. We don't have time to do that so we need to get out of here."
"Subaru," Emilia murmured, "What's going on?"
Subaru took a deep breath. "Alright. We have a lot to do," He said to Baagh and Xiao, his demeanor completely unlike the man who had sat on the throne in the city that night. "I need you two to start organizing the slaves to get out of here. We need to pack food and supplies for the trip."
"Where are we getting the wagons?" Xiao asked.
Subaru gave him a slight smile. "I'll go ask the local merchants if they'd be willing to make a small charitable contribution to our escape. I have a feeling that they'll agree. Baagh, can you double-check on the Iotuns when you get a chance? Last time I looked, they were staying out of trouble and just… staring at that weird obelisk thing but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on them."
"Yes, Master!" Baagh said immediately, snapping a salute.
Subaru gave him a funny look but then he walked off with Emilia, Felt, and Garfiel followed.
Felt glanced back at Baagh with a worried expression but Garfiel just laughed. "It sounds like the Captain has a new fan!"
Xiao watched them leave with a worried expression. A moment later, he saw Willa returning to the Shelf.
"Willa! You're hurt!" Miko said in a near panic as Willa approached her. Miko could easily see that her arm was broken and her other arm was covered in cuts.
Willa waved dismissively. "Oh, this is nothing. Lord Subaru ensured that we won the fight easily. With Lord Subaru leading us, there's nothing that can oppose us! Oh! And Miko, I have the most wonderful news! We're all going to follow Lord Subaru from now on to serve him and help him build his kingdom!"
Miko looked very confused but she seemed largely amenable to her sister 's plan.
Xiao stared at Willa 's exultant smile and he swallowed hard.
As the sun set, Beatrice and Puck hid in the tall grass and stared down the hill at a small town.
"In there," Beatrice whispered, pointing at a small shop with a pie cooling on the windowsill. "That is a mageware shop. Betty can sense the regents inside. They'll have refined pyroxene crystals for Betty and Bubby."
Puck suddenly lurched upward as Mimi popped her head up out of the grass, revealing that Puck had been perched on top of her head.
"The mightiest hunter in these grasslands, the Mimi stalks its prey," Mimi said intently. "Inch by inch, the Mimi creeps closer to its natural prey, the unsuspecting blueberry pie!"
Beatrice buried her face in her hands. "Does Mimi work at being this weird or does it just come naturally?" Beatrice sighed.
Mimi beamed. "Mimi works hard every day to be the most uniquely Mimi she can be," She said loftily.
Beatrice started to respond and then hesitated. Is Mimi making fun of Betty or did the sarcasm go right over Mimi 's head?
"The mighty hunter comes on little cat feet," Mimi whispered, prowling closer to the windowsill on all fours. "Creeping closer and closer to her unsuspecting prey that strayed from its bakery shop herd!"
Beatrice grabbed Mimi by the collar of her robe and yanked her back.
Mimi plunged back into the grass, almost dislodging Puck who perched precariously on top of her head.
"Hey!" Mimi protested.
"Pyroxene crystals first! Bubby hasn't been fed in days!" Beatrice said sharply.
Mimi bowed her head, looking guilty. "Mimi is hungry. She hasn't eaten today either," She muttered.
Beatrice made a face. "First we break in and steal the pyroxene to save Bubby!" She firmly declared. "…Then… pie," She allowed.
"Yay! Kitty power!" She cheered, thrusting a hand into the air.
She glanced up at Puck. "Come on, Bubby!" She encouraged.
"Uh," Puck looked very confused. He gamely thrust his own paw in the air. "Pussy power," He declared awkwardly.
Beatrice face-palmed.
"No, Bubby," Mimi said gravely. "That's not right."
"What's not right?" Puck asked.
"'Pussy power' has a different implication," Mimi explained. "Trust Mimi on this. It's not a good slogan for us. It sounds less like a battle cry and more like a proposition."
"Stop corrupting Betty's Bubby!" Beatrice snapped.
Felt followed Garfiel, Emilia, and Subaru up into the city.
"What are we doing?" Emilia asked.
"We're going to have a quick chat with the local merchants," Subaru chuckled. "We're going to see if they might be willing to move some 'cargo' for us back to Lagunica."
"Do we have enough money left for that?" Emilia asked doubtfully.
"Oh, I think that we can offer them something more valuable than money," Subaru chuckled. His gaze wandered off into the distance, "Actually, that's a good point. Now that Sonas is dead, we might as well dig out his treasury before we leave. We could give everyone a few pounds of gold to start their new lives in Lagunica. It'd be only fair since Sonas made all that money off the sweat of their backs. Not to mention that we should absolutely grab the thousand gold pieces that the liar promised us."
Felt bit her lip. Subaru 's acting normal again. It's like that fiery nightmare never happened.
Maybe I 'm being unfair. I mean, he was killing fucking slavers! If anyone deserves to die in agony, it's them.
Yeah, it was a brutal and gross death but even if Subaru went too far, it 's not like it was totally undeserved.
And he thought that Emilia was dead! Anyone could have snapped under those conditions! It 's completely understandable!
…So why can't I get the sight of him burning those people alive off my mind?
Felt shook off her reverie. "We need to move fast, Subaru," Felt said finally.
Garfiel nodded in agreement. "These tremors are getting worse and worse, Captain. I'm worried that the volcano is getting ready to blow its top!"
Subaru hesitated. "Look, whatever is about to happen, I think that we all want to be far away from here before that happens. So we 're going to take care of that right now."
"Whatever is about to happen?" Garfiel echoed in confusion. "What else could it be?"
Subaru gave Garfiel a pained look. He hesitated and then ignored the question. "Come on, we're running out of time."
Subaru led the group into a small, dead-end alley in the city. A group of former slaves stood guard over a few dozen unarmed people who were dressed in well-made but not overly fancy clothing.
"Master," One of the slaves inclined his head at Subaru's approach with an expression of awe on his face.
Subaru frowned, seemingly a bit off-put by this form of address but he ignored it. "I need to talk to these people."
The guards nodded and stepped aside. Subaru walked into the alley followed by the others.
The gathered merchants and shop owners looked terrified at Subaru 's approach. They all murmured toward a short, heavyset man who wore a long purple robe and a purple beret and several hands roughly shoved the man forward.
The 'spokesman' swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Excuse me…err, 'Master,' but what is to become of us?" He asked in a quavering voice. "We had absolutely nothing to do with Sonas's depredations! We are simple merchants and peddlers. We take no interest in politics. And we will happily engage in business with you just as we did with him."
Subaru 's face hardened. "Yeah. And that attitude is precisely how you were involved with his depredations. You were very happy to profit from his forced labor and cruelty without a second thought. This means that you were very much involved in Sonas 's operations. And I'm afraid that you will all need to pay for that," He said grimly.
The merchant 's face turned shallow. The other merchants murmured fearfully to one another.
Subaru paced around the alley with a meditative expression on his face. "I'm not going to lie to you," He said in a somber voice. "Your situation here is extremely grave. Most of the slaves want you dead. It'll be difficult for me to convince them otherwise. And you are all prisoners of war. By Kararagi law, I am fully within my rights to recoup our losses by selling you all into slavery."
The merchants all cried out in dismay, pleading and begging.
Emilia looked stunned. She opened her mouth to protest but she felt Garf 's huge hand squeeze her shoulder. She looked up at the hulking demi-human who gave her a steady look.
Emilia hesitated and looked at Subaru uncertainly.
"Master Subaru!" The lead merchant squeaked. "Please have mercy! Many of us are extremely wealthy! We will happily ransom ourselves if just given the chance!"
Subaru stroked his chin, seeming to mull that thought over.
"Alright, I'll tell you what," Subaru said in the tone of someone acting against their better judgment. "I need to move an awful lot of people from here to the border of Lagunica. You all have wagons to move freight. So what do you say we call this a 'charitable contribution' to the former slaves' wellbeing? You all help me bring them to safety and I just let you all go. Sound fair?"
The merchant nodded fervently. "Entirely fair, Master Subaru! Thank you! We'll prepare to depart immediately if that suits your pleasure?"
"Wonderful," Subaru replied. "Oh, by the way, it's fine to prepare your wagons to depart but remember, the front gates are well guarded so I wouldn't try making a break for it if I were you."
The merchant gave him a weak smile. "We wouldn't dream of it, sir," He squeaked.
"Forgive me, Master, but what about those of us who don't have wagons?" A shopkeeper asked in a trembling voice.
"You can help us gather supplies for the exodus then. Once we reach the border, you can leave too," Subaru said. He turned back to the slaves who were guarding the exit, "Let them out," He said.
The merchants all leaped to their feet and raced out of the alley as fast as they could.
"Subaru!" Emilia hissed at him once the merchants were out of earshot. "Why did you threaten to sell them into slavery?!"
"Framing," Subaru said.
"What?"
"We're on a tight timetable here, Mili. Merchants bargain and haggle the same way that they breathe and we don't really have all day to debate the issue. So I started the conversation by showing them just how bad the situation could go for them if they didn't make me happy. Then I offered them the ability to purchase their lives and their freedom for what is literally just a few days of their time. I was pretty sure that they wouldn't object at that point."
Emilia did not look entirely satisfied by this answer but she let it pass. "Now what do we do?" She asked.
"We get ready to get out of here just as fast as we possibly can," Subaru said. "Mili, you and me are going to see about getting supplies for the trip. We'll need enough food to feed five hundred people and change for a few days before we reach Lagunica."
He turned to Garfiel and Felt. "I want you two to head to the palace and find the treasury. Do some math. I want to find out how much money we're dealing with. We'll take as much as seems reasonable for ourselves and then divide the rest among the former slaves as restitution."
Garfiel and Felt nodded.
"You're going to steal Sonas's gold?" Emilia asked critically.
"Why not? I already killed him," Subaru grumbled. "Seems stupid to quibble about stealing from him at this point. Spoils of war, right?"
Emilia looked livid. "Subaru! That's-"
"Lord Subaru," A voice whispered.
Subaru turned and saw that one of the town 's civilians hadn't fled. There was still a young woman with mousy brown hair standing nearby with her hands clasped together in a prayer-like posture.
Subaru frowned. "Hang on. I know you," He said slowly.
"Subaru, this is Ellen," Emilia broke in. "She's one of the women you rescued from the slaver camp and who asked us to free her daughters."
"Oh, right," Subaru nodded. He shrugged. "Well. They're free now."
"Lord Subaru, I've been stuck here since the revolt! No one will tell me anything! Are my daughters alright?!" Ellen begged him with tears in her eyes.
"Oh! Yeah, they're both fine," Subaru assured her. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "We kept Miko out of the fighting altogether. Willa helped fight but she came through alright, just a broken arm. She'll be fine in a few weeks."
Ellen 's face became exultant. "Lord Subaru, could you take me to them?"
Subaru shrugged. "Sure, why not? We need to talk to Xiao about gathering supplies for the trip anyway."
Subaru and the group started to walk out of the alley.
"And what about me?" A woman's voice grated.
Subaru stopped and looked at a merchant who had paused in her departure. Her face was streaked with grim and her clothes were disheveled.
"Rose?" Subaru asked in confusion.
Rose took a deep breath. "What the hell happens to me now?" She growled. "The inn was all that I had! Now it 's worthless."
"Don't worry," Subaru told her. "We're all getting out of here now and we'll all have a chance for a fresh start-"
"A fresh start?!" Rose spat. "I'm in my seventies! What time do I have to start over with?! I spent decades working in that inn! It was all I had! Where will I go? What will I do now?" She demanded. "Join the caravans again? They'd never take anyone my age! I'd be lucky to find a berth in a workhouse! Imagine that? Thanks to you, I'm looking at the Kararagi workhouses where in exchange for a corner of the floor and a bowl of soup every day, I'd work sixteen hours and be beaten for missing quotas as my better option! The reality is that thanks to you destroying the town, I'm going to be a street beggar! It's a brutal life but at least it'll be a quick one!"
Subaru hesitated. "Rose, I couldn't just-"
"Oh, you freed the slaves! Good for you," She sneered. "I never owned a slave in my life but if I'd known that I'd be punished for the slave owners' sins, I might as well have indulged! You burned down my house when you destroyed Sonas's! And I'm being punished just because I had to come back to Girali? What was I supposed to do instead? I didn't have anywhere else to go! I didn't have a choice! At my age, I should be entitled to a little security! Now you've made me a beggar!"
Subaru licked his lips. "We're about to break open Sonas's vaults. There should be plenty of gold to go around," He said awkwardly. "Maybe you could buy a new inn in Lagunica."
"I tried to be a good person in Girali," Rose whispered, turning her face away. "And it wasn't easy. Now, I've lost everything. Thank you, Subaru Natsuki, for ruining my life," She spat on the ground and stormed off.
Subaru looked back at his friends in confusion. "That… She's not being fair, right?" He asked uncertainly. "I mean… what else could I have done?"
"Nothing else," Garfiel said in annoyance. "You weren't going to let all these people stay slaves just for some old bitch's comfort!"
"And even if you did, Subaru," Emilia added. "The endless night means that Rose's inn was doomed anyway. She's just blaming you for things that weren't in your control."
Subaru nodded slowly. "Alright. Let's… just hurry up and make plans to get out of this sewer."
"Come on, Felt, what's wrong?" Garfiel asked as they wandered the deserted palace halls.
"What makes you think that anything is wrong?" Felt muttered.
Garfiel snorted. "Come on, shrimp! I know you too well! I can tell that something is bothering you!" He looked around. "Jeez. Where the hell would the treasury be? And would there be anything left? If I was one of these slaves storming this place, I would have been looting as I went."
"Yeah," Felt muttered slowly. "Kind of weird how little looting and burning happened during the rebellion, isn't it?"
Garfiel shrugged. "Just means that the Captain has a firm grip on the people fighting for him."
Felt 's face grew even more pensive.
Garfiel scratched his head. "Where do you think we should look for the treasury, shrimp?"
"Forget the treasury," Felt sighed. "The treasury is absolutely going to be behind a vault that we'll need Subaru to break open for us. We just need to find a book."
"A book?"
Felt nodded. "Smite was copying down how much we dug up every day and what it was worth. Those reports must be somewhere. We just need to see where Sonas kept his records of how much gold he had. Then we'll have the number that Subaru wanted us to find."
"Alright, sounds like a plan," Garfiel said easily as they walked the halls. "So, you going to tell me what's bothering you or not?"
Felt hesitated. "Garf… Do you think that maybe… some of those slaves are a little… well, a little too devoted to Subaru? "
Garfiel squinted at her. "What do you mean? I mean, they're weird, no question, but he did just free them from the most brutal slavery I've ever imagined. Makes sense that they're doing a little hero-worshiping right now."
"A lot of them are calling him 'Master,'" Felt pointed out.
Garfiel shrugged. "After he released them from bondage. Frankly, I wouldn't be too surprised if they started a new religion! They're just excited about being free again, shrimp, that's all. Right now, they see everything through rose-colored glasses and the Captain is a savior. Give it a couple of days. It'll pass. And then they'll all be screaming at the Captain and demanding that he fix all of their problems. By then, we'll desperately wish for those happy times when the slaves thought that we could do no wrong!"
Felt sighed. "I hope that you're right."
They walked for a minute.
"Say, Garf?"
"Yeah?"
"You like Subaru, right?"
Garfiel stared at her in confusion. "Well sure, the Captain is a top-notch kind of a guy!"
"You bet he is," Felt agreed. "But have you ever wondered if we're… I don't know, maybe a little excessively dedicated to him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Ever since we escaped the Sanctuary and got split up, we've done nothing but try to get back to Subaru."
"Well, yeah. I mean, after we escaped from the Witch Cult, he was the one that was still in danger and we were all safe. So obviously we'd be focused on him."
"No, we weren't, fleabag," Felt reminded him. "We weren't even close to 'safe.' We were convicted of treason, marched off to prison, nearly assassinated, and became fugitives from the kingdom. We were absolutely not OK. Now, a sensible person would have reacted to that whole mess by getting the hell out of Lagunica. Rushing off to Vollachia or Gusteko or someplace where they weren't wanted criminals and worry about helping their friends once they were no longer under immediate threat of capture and execution. We didn't do that. From the time that we left the capitol, our only thought was getting back to Subaru and the others."
Garfiel shrugged. "They're our friends," He said simply.
Felt sighed. "I know that, Garf. And I know that it's completely in character for you to risk your life for your friends. That 's who you are. You're tough and kind and caring."
Garfiel 's eyes widened and his face flushed.
"I, on the other hand, am greedy and cynical and suspicious. I've always thought that most relationships are transactional and that plenty of them end with a knife in somebody's back. And yet, I've been risking my neck to try and help Subaru almost since the day that I met him. You, I can believe are the kind of person who would risk his life to help his friend but me? I know that I'm not that selfless or that loyal! Me doing all of this stuff for Subaru makes no sense! And I know that it's all seriously out of character for me!" She said in a worried voice.
Garfiel gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You know, you're a much better person than you give yourself credit for being, Felt, " He said gently.
Felt froze stock still and Garfiel kept walking down the hall.
Felt shook her head. "You just don't get it, Garf," She whispered.
"How do we sneak in, I suppose?" Beatrice murmured. "Betty lost Mother's Multikey!"
"Mimi will distract the alchemist by entering the storefront," Mimi said. "Mimi will ask for high-purity quicksilver. It takes forever to establish the purity of quicksilver. That should keep him busy while he shows Mimi all the samples."
Beatrice 's jaw was on the floor. "How does Mimi know so much about quicksilver? When did Mimi study alchemy?" She gasped.
"Mimi didn't," She admitted. "But Mimi knows Miss Anastasia's inventory pretty well. Mimi watches alchemists nickel-and-dime Miss Anastasia's people for hours, debating the relative purity. It really makes Miss Anastasia's people mad."
"Can you tell how pure the quicksilver is?" Puck asked.
"No. But Mimi has a lot of examples to draw on for acting like an entitled, demanding customer," Mimi shrugged. "And Mimi can just argue whether there is a basis or not."
Beatrice mulled that over and then shrugged. "Talk about quicksilver's use in gold transmutation, I suppose. This requires exceptionally pure quicksilver and would justify you being extremely choosy about it. Also mention Carlos Fenderberg. He was a mage in the tower who was doing alchemical transmutation research and is likely known here in fact," She said.
Mimi nodded. "Mimi will distract the shopkeeper and Betty and Bubby will sneak in through the window!"
"Sounds good to me," Puck said.
"Don't forget the pie!" Mimi warned them.
Beatrice sighed.
Inmate check that morning revealed that Puck, Beatrice, and Mimi had all disappeared.
For now, since the drawbridge hadn 't been lowered since the last inmate check, the warden seemed certain that the prisoners remained inside the tower and he refused to lower the bridge as the guards tore the tower apart.
Julius flung himself into the search with a frenzy. He took full control of the task and did it to the absolute best of his ability, organizing the guards to search and suggesting several locations that they never would have thought of themselves. He kept them busy searching all day.
Julius knew that one way or another, Miss Mimi and the spirits were long gone and the longer that the guards searched the tower, the better the fugitives ' head start would be.
The warden cast Julius several hard looks but he wisely refrained from any insults or accusations.
The warden understands that without Miss Mimi and the spirits to threaten, his leverage over me has all but vanished.
Still I mustn 't be careless. After Brendig's assassination attempt failed, murdering me would be difficult. Difficult but not impossible. My family would certainly demand a full investigation and any claims that I had died 'accidentally' at this time would be met with great scrutiny and skepticism by any investigator.
I know that the Triumvirate is capturing nobles but they may not dare go further. Once they start killing nobles, their own factions might be pushed into open rebellion.
Is that a line that they would willingly cross?
After a full day of searching, when he was completely certain that the escape had been successful, Julius finally suggested searching the sewers.
As expected, the guards quickly found the broken grate and evidence of the escape.
The drawbridge was immediately lowered and the guards moved out to search the countryside.
Initial reports found no tracks or evidence of the trio 's passing.
By now, Julius had been on his feet for thirteen hours straight and he paused to eat in the barracks cafeteria while some of the guards headed out into the surrounding regions to search.
Julius suddenly became aware of the warden standing directly behind him.
"I don't believe for a moment that those three were able to escape without help," The warden hissed, standing so close that Julius could feel his breath on the back of his neck.
Julius calmly turned around. "I had the selfsame thought," He admitted. "But do you really believe that he could have penetrated the tower?"
The warden frowned, clearly not following Julius 's reply.
"There is only one person who would be motivated to steal the spirits from this tower: Subaru Natsuki," Julius said matter-of-factly. "I'm uncertain why he took Miss Mimi. Perhaps simply to silence a witness or perhaps he has hopes of extorting Lady Anastasia."
The warden stared at him, his face inscrutable.
Julius couldn 't tell if the warden was seriously considering his theory or if the man was just furious at his bald-faced lie.
Nor did he really care.
Julius was certain that one way or the other, the warden couldn 't help but mention that theory in his report.
As far as the kingdom was concerned, Subaru Natsuki was currently everywhere and nowhere. The kingdom concluding that Mimi and the spirits were traveling with Subaru Natsuki would do them precisely no good in attempting to locate them. But it might also discourage them from even trying since, even if they located Mimi and the spirits, if they really were in Subaru Natsuki 's keeping then the kingdom had no hope of seizing them without finding a way of killing Subaru first.
"Hello. Can you help Miss Mimi?" Mimi said in a strangely officious voice.
"I'm sorry, little girl," The alchemist, a stringy old man muttered. He wore a faded purple robe and a purple hat that resembled a nightcap. "But this isn't a candy store."
"Do you think that Miss Mimi is here looking for candy?" She sneered. "Miss Mimi is the apprentice to Carl Fenderberg of Torgon Tower!" She said in an outraged voice.
"Fenderberg?!" The alchemist said in surprise, walking over to Mimi. "What are you doing here, miss?" He said, speaking with much more respect.
"Supplies went missing or were delayed in the tower," Mimi said with a weary sigh. "Master's alchemical experiments are all put on hold until new supplies of quicksilver arrive. Miss Mimi offered to go to the village and inquire about supplies."
Beatrice held Puck in one hand as she climbed into the window, being careful not to knock over the pie. Or to spill it all over her dress.
"Well… Miss Mimi," The alchemist said awkwardly. "We have all kinds of quicksilver available! Err… Tell me, how long have you been Master Fenderberg's apprentice?"
Beatrice landed silently on the floor.
"This will be Miss Mimi's third day!" She said proudly.
The alchemist let out a sigh that Beatrice knew very well. She 'd been doing it regularly ever since she met Mimi.
This will be simple, Beatrice thought. Betty 's magic might be very weak but she can still sense the power in the crystals! Betty will find them easily.
"Tell me, Miss Mimi," The alchemist said in the voice of one who now expects to have a long day. "What… type of experiments is your Master engaged in?"
"Transmutation," Mimi said immediately. "Specifically gold. Master will require extremely pure samples of quicksilver. Do you have any?"
"I…" The alchemist seemed extremely embarrassed. "I have a few fairly high quality samples. Maybe they would serve your needs?"
"Show Miss Mimi," Mimi commanded.
Puck slipped up onto the counter. "I'll keep watch," He whispered.
Beatrice nodded absently while she quietly opened a drawer.
Beatrice reached inside and found a small bag full of a dozen tiny, glowing, crystals.
"What's this?!" The alchemist shouted.
"Ah!" Puck shrieked.
The alchemist scooped up Puck in one hand. From where he stood on the other side of the counter, he couldn 't see Beatrice.
"What about the quicksilver!" Mimi said sharply.
The alchemist didn 't reply, staring at Puck in puzzlement. "What are you?" He whispered. "You're no normal cat! Maybe I should run a few tests…"
'Put the Bubby down!" A voice thundered.
The alchemist looked over the counter and his jaw dropped. Behind his counter, he found a small blond girl wearing a very frilly pink dress. She held a ladle in her hand that she 'd picked up from his lab.
"Who are you?!" The alchemist shouted.
'Put. The Bubby. Down!" The girl rumbled. With each word she said, she smacked her palm with the ladle as if it were the world's strangest club.
"What's…What's going on here?!" The alchemist said in shock.
He looked back at Mimi, his gaze hardening. "You two are working together! This is a robbery!"
The alchemist extended his palm and quickly began to cast a spell.
Beatrice tried to resist the spell but she was exhausted. She felt her arms and legs jerked apart and her body bound in place as the spell took effect.
"I'm going to report you two to Torgon Tower!" He shouted. He glanced at Puck curiously. "I might keep the cat myself. You never know what you could learn-Ah!"
The alchemist hit the ground hard and his hand spastically popped open, letting Puck make a dash for safety.
A small ball of fury had flung itself directly at the alchemist 's face, biting, clawing, and scratching for all that she was worth.
"Ah! Leave me alone!" The alchemist screamed, his face streaming blood from Mimi's tooth and claw marks.
Beatrice felt the magic that was binding her unravel and she gave a shocked gasp of relief as she broke free.
Mimi kicked the alchemist and the man fell into the fetal position, desperately trying to protect himself from an enemy a third of his size.
"Don't you ever touch Bubby again!" Mimi ordered, kicking him again.
"Bubby!" Beatrice gasped, gathering him in her arms. "Are you OK?!"
Puck nodded. "I'm fine," He whispered too quietly for the alchemist to hear.
Bubby doesn 't want the alchemist to know that he can talk, I suppose. If the alchemist doesn't know that Bubby and Betty are spirits, maybe this won't get reported to the tower…
Maybe.
Beatrice checked her pocket for the bag of stones and then climbed up over the counter and headed for the door.
"Mimi! Come on, in fact," She said, darting out the door.
Mimi kicked the alchemist again and then started moving toward the door.
The alchemist lay there, trembling. His eyes brightened in hope as Mimi headed toward the door.
Mimi suddenly turned back toward the alchemist who recoiled and fell back into a fetal position.
"You are an awful, awful man!" Mimi screeched, kicking him again.
The alchemist cringed.
Mimi grabbed the blueberry pie from the windowsill. "Mimi is taking this!"
Then Mimi bolted out the door leaving the alchemist, wounded, shocked, and extremely confused.
A few hours later, Subaru was desperately trying to figure out how to fit five hundred people and all the necessary food into a dozen large wagons.
"We're all going to be packed in here like sardines. How far to the Lagunican border?" Subaru asked the merchant in the purple robe.
"About three days," He answered.
Subaru grimaced.
"What's wrong?" Emilia asked.
"The tremors keep getting worse," He muttered. "We need to be a very long was away from here before… whatever happens, happens."
"Master Subaru," The merchant said differentially. "The Vollachian border is only a day from here. We could be over that border quickly."
Subaru glared at him. "Vollachia has a fugitive slave law! They might send everyone back! Especially when they find out that they're rebels."
"I only raise it as a possibility, Master Subaru," The merchant said in a placating voice. "Vollachia most likely would not send any of these slaves back to Kararagi on their own initiative as long as they don't cause trouble. And Kararagi will certainly take months to figure out who the proper owners of these… persons are now that Sonas is dead and for that new owner to file the necessary paperwork with Vollachia to request assistance in the recovery of their lost property. By then, the slaves would have already dispersed and disappeared."
Subaru digested that. "Alright. We'll… hold that idea in reserve."
Felt and Garfiel approached the wagon train. "About twenty-five thousand gold sovereigns," Felt said without preamble.
Subaru blinked. "That's all?" He said in surprise.
"I went over Sonas's bank records. He only kept a small percentage of his wealth here in liquid assets. Most of it was sent under guard to the Bank of Kyo or invested in various holdings."
Subaru started to laugh. "Well. Anybody want to pull a bank job?" He laughed.
Felt sighed. "This isn't really the time, Subaru," She moaned.
"Come on! At this point, we've done almost everything else!"
Garfiel chuckled. "Come on, Captain. How are we going to be splitting this up?" Garfiel asked.
Subaru thought for a minute. "Well, Sonas owes Emilia and me a thousand gold pieces," He reflected.
"Subaru!" Emilia protested.
"Hey! He promised it to us!" Subaru shot back. "I'm taking that as our cut."
"You really are starting to talk like a bank robber, Subaru," Felt said shaking her head.
Subaru put an affectionate arm around Felt 's thin shoulders. "Felt, I just want to say that everything I know about being a thief, I learned from you, " He said gratefully.
Felt slapped her forehead.
Garfiel burst out laughing. "Aw," Garfiel said, to Emilia. "Kind of gets you right here, doesn't it?" He said, putting his hand over his heart.
Emilia gave him a faint smile.
Felt rolled her eyes and pushed Subaru away. "Alright! Now, if the 'Subaru Comedy Show' is over, what are we doing?"
"Like I said, we'll take the thousand-"
"What the hell do you want me to put that in, Subaru? A wheelbarrow?" Felt asked incredulously. "A thousand gold coins won't fit in your pocket, you know! Sonas had some old platinum coins in his hoard. I'll grab you a hundred platinum imperials. Trust me, they'll be much easier to carry."
"Good plan," Subaru agreed. He scratched his chin while he thought some more, "Felt, I want you to find six hundred gold coins."
"And what do I do with them?"
"You split them with Garf," Subaru said.
Felt blinked.
"Think of it as back pay with interest for all of those weeks that I wasn't able to pay you guys," Subaru said shamefaced.
"Wait. I'm getting paid?" Garf said in surprise.
Felt looked stunned. "Uh. What about the rest of the money?" She asked, pushing ahead.
"We'll give all of the slaves fifty gold sovereigns each," Subaru said. "That should give them a nice jump start on their new lives. If there's any gold left over, we'll give it to the poorer civilians that the rebellion displaced," He said, looking at Rose who sat sullenly in a wagon. He sighed and turned his attention back to Felt and Garfiel. "You two grab Baagh and a couple of the others to get the gold moving in wheelbarrows and then put it in kegs for shipping. We'll give the gold to everybody once we cross the border and split up. I don't want anyone distracted during the trip by trying to steal each other's gold."
Felt nodded. "We can do that but we still need you to break open the vault," Felt reminded him. "We never found the key."
Subaru nodded. "I'll go take care of that right now," He said, walking off. "Emilia, please go and tell Xiao to start moving the slaves up here and get them into the wagons. We have to get out of here soon!"
Subaru broke open the vault using Indomitable and then left Felt, Garfiel, and Baagh 's men to deal with looting the place.
He left the palace, trying to figure out what else needed to get done before they fled.
"Subaru! Wait!"
Subaru looked behind him and saw Felt scurrying out after him.
She took a deep breath. "Look. I need to talk to you!" She said firmly.
Subaru frowned. "Sure, Felt. What's on your mind?" He said calmly.
Felt took a deep breath and folded her arms across her chest. "What happened last night?"
Subaru felt a tinge of worry. "Well, we had an uprising and-"
"You know what I mean, Subaru!" Felt snapped, trying to keep her voice down so nobody could hear them.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about how Baagh and all of his buddies suddenly think that you walk on water! That's not normal, Subaru! Not even for you! I know that you had something to do with this!"
Subaru hesitated. He looked around and then pulled Felt away to a back corner outside the palace courtyard where no one would come across them.
"Alright, look," Subaru whispered. "After I left the Sanctuary, I found out that I had… well, a new power," He said awkwardly.
"Is this part of that Authority bullshit," Felt asked. She tried to sound nonchalant but her voice was ill at ease.
Subaru nodded. "Basically yeah. The magic is called Pridebreaker . "
"Sounds like an ominous name," Felt said, sounding unsettled.
Subaru made a face. "I've used it to control mabeasts and to control spirits in the past. This is the first time that I was ever able to use it to control people."
Felt stared at him for a long moment and then swallowed hard. "Well, can you stop using it on these guys? " Felt asked pointedly. "They're creeping me out!"
"I already did," Subaru sighed. "Whatever effect that the spell had on these people… I… I think that it may be permanent," He admitted.
Felt took an involuntary step back. "Subaru! You can't just… force people to adore you! That 's not right!" She added shrilly.
"I know!" Subaru moaned. "Look, I didn't know that this would happen! I didn't even know that it could happen!"
Felt 's eyes widened and she hesitated. "So, you haven't been using this power on… on people back in the capitol?" She finished lamely.
"No! I didn't even have this power back in the capitol! Last night was the first time that I ever tried to use it on people and I had no idea what was going to happen to them."
Subaru thought that Felt looked relieved by this answer for some reason.
"Subaru, just…" Felt licked her lips. "Just promise me that you won't use this magic on folks again, OK? You're better than this. You don't want to have an army of brainwashed zealots."
"No, I don't!" Subaru agreed at once.
"And is this how you gave all these people a divine blessing?" Felt asked.
Subaru hesitated. "They're… related. But I doubt that I can do that trick again anytime soon."
"Why not?"
"Felt, sometimes my Authority… it just kind of takes over," Subaru admitted.
Felt looked extremely alarmed by this possibility. "Takes over ?! "
Subaru nodded. "When I'm really angry or really scared, sometimes the Authority just kind of… turns on and it takes control for a while. That's what happened at the slavers' camp and when I attacked the Gusteko princes. It's… usually a bad thing," He added.
"And that's what happened last night?"
Subaru nodded, shamefaced. "When I thought that you were all dead, I… I guess I snapped," He admitted. "All that mattered to me was making Sonas suffer."
"And all those people that you burned alive?" Felt asked pointedly.
Subaru flinched violently. He took a deep breath and then let it out. "Felt, I… I'm sorry," He said in a small voice.
Felt sighed. "Subaru? 'Sorry' is a poor excuse for barbecuing human beings!"
"I know," Subaru moaned. "I went crazy for a while! That's all that I can say. When I thought that Emilia was dead, I just…"
Felt sighed. "Look, Subaru, I get it," She said in a soft voice. "If something happened to Re… To you and Garf or Gramps, I don't know what the hell I'd do. But unfortunately, this isn't just something that we can sweep under the rug with 'Sorry, let's forget about it.' You killed dozens of people last night by burning them alive."
Subaru winced and sat down on the nearby stone wall. "Felt, you do know these were slave owners, right? "
"Yes!" Felt said earnestly, sitting down beside him. "And those people are all better off dead, I really believe that, Subaru!"
Subaru nodded. "But they still didn't deserve to be burned alive," Subaru acknowledged with a sigh.
"Well, yeah. That's part of the problem," Felt replied.
Subaru glanced at her. "Part of the problem?" He asked in surprise.
Felt looked away. "Subaru, you killed bad people in a grotesque way. That's pretty messed up but… what really worries me is that I don't think that the reason you were killing them is because they were bad people. "
"What do you mean?"
"Subaru, last night, you didn't even recognize me at first. You had gone so deep into your… rage that I feel like the only thing that mattered to you was quenching it. And I have to be honest, I feel kind of skeptical that you specifically decided that burning alive was an appropriate punishment for owning slaves."
Subaru shifted uncomfortably. "Felt, what are you-"
"I think that you wanted to burn people alive. I think that you wanted to hurt people and you just grabbed a group of people that you could justify doing it to," Felt said.
Subaru 's jaw dropped. "Felt! I-"
"Am I wrong, Subaru?" Felt demanded. "Please! I really want to be wrong about this! Tell me that I'm making all of this up and I'll believe you!"
Subaru opened his mouth and then hesitated. He slowly closed it again.
Felt stared at him and slowly nodded. "Yeah. I thought so," She whispered.
Subaru bowed his head with a sigh. "So, what happens now?"
Felt rocked back and forth on the stone wall. She stared off into the distance her face looking somber. "I need you to be better than this, Subaru. "
"What do you mean?"
"I need you to be better than this, Subaru," She repeated. "A whole lot of people need you to be better than this. They look up to you. They think that you're a hero. And you are better than this," Felt said firmly. "You're special, Subaru. You're just about the best person that I've ever met. And if you ever tell anybody that I said that, I swear to god that I will find a way to stab you."
Subaru gave a weak chuckle. "My lips are sealed."
They both sat there in silence for a moment.
"Felt, I'm… I'm sorry that I disappointed you," He said lamely.
Felt took a deep breath. "You matter to me, Subaru. I look up to you. A lot of people do. You're different than anyone else we've ever met. You're like… one of the heroes from those old storybooks that nobody believes. But we do believe in you . And I don 't want to see you become like the Archbishops."
"That can't happen," Subaru swore fervently.
"Yes, it can happen!" Felt snapped back. "And I don't want it to happen! I have no difficulty imagining Lye or Capella presiding over that party that you threw last night!"
Subaru took that comment like a slap in the face.
Felt took a slow breath and then let it out. "Just… promise me that you'll be careful. I trust you to control this power more than I'd trust anyone else in the world. But if I'm wrong. If the power is controlling you-"
"You're not wrong," Subaru promised. "I'll be more careful. I know that I've made… plenty of mistakes… and I know that I'm almost certainly going to make more of them but I won't let the power claim me. I'm not going to let it twist me into something like them."
Felt stared at him for a long moment and then nodded. "That's all that I needed to hear," She murmured.
Subaru sighed.
Felt took a deep breath. "So. What's next? You got your magic book, right?"
Subaru nodded, pulling the Book out of his satchel. "We do."
"Can I see it?"
"Sure. But be careful not to open it," Subaru warned her, handing her the slender white volume. "Reading it would destroy your mind."
Felt froze in place as she took the Book.
Felt sighed. "Subaru, I am coming to realize that I am just… really not equipped to live in a world where witches and their artifacts aren 't just relegated to old stories."
"You're not well equipped?!" Subaru asked incredulously, taking the Book back. "What about me?! At least you grew up in a world with magic! This is all brand new to me!"
Felt snorted. "Good point. OK, so we have the Book. Now what?"
Subaru sighed. "Well, we have the Book but we're not really sure where to take it."
"Huh?"
"A witch named Korë told us to bring the Book to the seat of the Od Laguna and that would fix everybody's memories."
Felt rubbed her forehead. "That still feels weird," She admitted. "I mean, I understand intellectually that you're right and that my memories of all our travels together without Emilia are fake but still, it's hard to wrap my head around it."
"Well, it seems like you're going to get plenty of time to get used to it because we don't know where to find the Od Laguna yet."
"So in other words, we have the key that we need but we have no idea where the door is?" Felt grumbled.
"Pretty much," Subaru shrugged.
"Alright. Then what do we do now?"
"We go find Puck and Beatrice," Subaru said firmly. "We find them, wherever they are, and we get them back."
Felt nodded firmly. "Sounds aces with me, Subaru. Last thing I heard, they'd been sent to Torgon Tower along with Julius. Hopefully, he's still keeping an eye on them."
"Yeah," Subaru nodded. "That would be a relief. Which honestly is not something that I thought that I'd ever say about Julius."
Subaru stood up. "Alright. Let's hurry up and get out of here before these earthquakes bury us."
"Yeah. I don't want to be buried alive ever again," Felt said fervently.
"Agreed. Uh, Felt, I do have one question for you?" Subaru asked shamefaced.
"What?"
"Do Garf and Emilia know about…" He trailed off.
Felt shook her head. "No, I didn't tell them. I don't need to tell you how horrified they'd be. It'd break their hearts."
Subaru flinched and hung his head in shame.
"I didn't tell them," Felt repeated. "And I doubt that any of the others would dare to."
"You really think so?" Subaru muttered.
"The rebels seem to be mentally repressing any questionable actions of yours," Felt said. "And the others are afraid that if they bring it up, some of your fans will probably clobber them!" She added meaningfully.
Subaru sighed.
He started to get up but the ground shook with a violent tremor. Subaru hesitated and then he turned back to Felt. "Um. Felt, I think that maybe… I need to tell you something too," He admitted.
"Oh, boy," Felt sighed. "This ought to be fun."
"So, I spoke to a witch cultist the other night," Subaru began.
"The witch cult is here?!" Felt gasped.
"Only one of them, if this guy was telling me the truth," Subaru said.
"What did he want?"
Subaru looked pained. "So… remember how you and Garfiel flooded the tunnels?"
Felt nodded. "Of course. At the time, I thought it was a dumb idea but at least now Brendig can't get the weapon."
"Yeah… about that. According to the witch cultist, there's no weapon. It's actually a monster buried under Girali. It's been there since before the Great Cataclysm and apparently, it's starting to break out."
"A monster?" Felt said in surprise. "And Brendig wanted to use it as a weapon?"
"No… according to this guy… Brendig was hoping to reseal it," Subaru said awkwardly. "But then we interfered with that and… I think maybe the tremors that are shaking Girali…"
"Oh, swell!" Felt shouted. "Son of a bitch! I knew that plan to blow up the dam was a shitty idea! Stupid Garf!"
"I don't think we can tell him about this," Subaru muttered.
"Of course, we can't!" Felt raged. "The big dumb dope would be horrified! So what are we going to do about this?"
Subaru shrugged. "Not much we can do right now," He admitted. "The cultist told me that this thing," He said, pulling the relic out of his satchel, "Might be able to reseal it but now there's no way for me to get access to it. So, I'm heavily leaning towards getting the hell out of here before it breaks loose and then dealing with it when it becomes a problem."
Felt shook her head and got to her feet. "What the hell are we waiting for? Let's get out of here before the monster pokes its head up out of the ground!"
A few hours later, Sonas 's treasury was empty and all of the wagons were crammed full of people, supplies, and gold.
Subaru and Emilia were mounted on Patrasche as they rode down the wagon train, inspecting it. They found Xiao and Baagh in the front with Felt and Garfiel sitting beside them.
"Alright," Subaru shouted, "Let's move out!"
Patrasche led the way out of Girali, leading the train at a steady pace that the wagons could keep up with. The caravan pulled out of the gates, leaving Girali a darkness-shrouded ghost town.
"Subaru, what about the Iotuns?" Emilia suddenly asked.
Subaru shook his head. "Apparently, they have other concerns right now," He said. "I don't know why but they 're just staring at that stupid obelisk as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world! Besides, we should hit daylight when we get away from Girali. They can't chase us then."
He paused. "Wait a second. Is it daytime or is it nighttime right now? I 've completely lost track! How long has it been since we conquered the city?"
"Search me," Emilia shrugged. "I spent all of that time down in the caverns."
"No wonder I'm so tired!" Subaru moaned. "Now that I think about it, I don't think that I've slept in almost three days!"
"I'm not sure how long I've been up either," Emilia admitted. "I'm exhausted! And with this blasted collar around my neck, I can't even access my mana!"
Subaru nodded. "As soon as we get back to Lagunica, that's going to be priority number one: getting the collars off your necks!"
"How are we going to do that, Subaru?" Emilia asked. "Remember, we're still fugitives in Lagunica. And I guess, now we're fugitives in Gusteko and Kararagi too."
Subaru shook his head, almost wanting to laugh at the ridiculous situation. "Well, I have heard good things about Vollachia, " Subaru said.
"You have?" She asked in surprise.
"No, not really," He admitted. "But as far as I know, they don't have any reason to want us dead. That's a major perk for going there right now."
Emilia thought about that. "I'm not so sure that we'd be welcome in Vollachia either, Subaru," She said.
"Yeah, me neither. But we might be able to sneak in there and find a mage to get these collars off you, Garfiel, and Felt. That's our major concern right now because I'm not going to take you three off on a mad scheme to rescue the spirits if you can't protect yourselves!"
"What about all the others?" Emilia asked.
Subaru shrugged. "They're not fugitives. The Lagunican authorities have no reason to give them any trouble. I bet that the Lagunican government will help them get the collars off. They must have to do that for plenty of runaway slaves anyway."
Emilia plucked at her collar. "I wonder how skilled a mage needs to be to get these things off," She wondered.
"Good question," Subaru snorted. "If we need to ask Roswaal to do it then we have a problem!"
They finally left Girali and the endless night behind and saw the stars again for the first time in days. Even now, when they could barely see the Jimuna Volcano in the distance, it felt like they hadn 't left the endless night behind at all. It was already nighttime in the lands beyond as they made their way across the Crumbly desert and stopped to rest south of the Magolya Plateau.
There was no thought of making camp. The slaves had no sleeping rolls or other equipment to use. The former slaves just slept in their wagons while Subaru and the others worked together to bring them all food and water. The merchants rested their dragons every two hours and took snatches of sleep where they could.
During one rest period, Emilia lost track of Subaru and set off to find him.
It didn 't take much effort. She found him standing behind an enormous boulder, surrounded by orange and green spirits.
"No!" Subaru snapped in frustration. "Not like that! No. Look, you want to… What are you doing?!" He asked in exasperation as the spirits zipped around him.
"Subaru?" Emilia called. "What are you doing?"
Subaru glanced at her and sighed. "Well… During the revolt, I made some impressive strides in being able to control the spirits but… now, I seem to be unable to do it again."
"Really?" Emilia asked. "What did you do?"
Subaru shrugged. "Well… I managed to corral a few dozen spirits with Pridebreaker . Then … I managed to get them to change colors."
"What?" Emilia gasped. "You changed a spirit's elemental affinity? I didn't even know that was possible!"
Subaru nodded. "It's kind of hard to explain but it felt like I could… reshape the spirits into other forms. If I needed more wind spirits, I just turned some of earth and water spirits that I had into wind. Or I could make them all earth spirits."
Emilia stared at him open-mouthed.
Subaru shrugged. "Interesting trick, huh?"
"Subaru! Did… did you change them back?"
Subaru frowned. "Um, I'm not sure. Why?" He asked.
"The consequences of disrupting the natural balance of the spirits in a region could be dire. If you add too many water spirits to a grassland, it might become a swamp. Adding fire spirits to a forest might make it dry out into a prairie. You might have made sweeping changes to the region if you modified large numbers of the spirits' affinities. That might even be what's causing the earthquakes."
Subaru swallowed hard. "I'm pretty sure that isn't the case. Besides, at least nobody lives out there anymore."
Emilia nodded. "I guess that's true but you need to be very careful to change the spirits back if you ever do that again."
Subaru snorted. "Don't worry! I'm not having any luck doing any of that stuff again! "
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I bound these spirits with Pridebreaker and I'm trying to use them but I'm having no luck. The other day I was able to make dozens of spirits work together for a common goal-"
"Making any spirits work together is very difficult, Subaru," She advised him. "Even getting a pair to cooperate can be challenging."
"Well, the other night, I had literally dozens all working in concert."
Emilia 's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah! I was conjuring up tornadoes and earthquakes!"
Emilia 's eyes sparkled. "Subaru, that's amazing!" Emilia cried.
"Yeah," He said glumly. "Too bad I can't seem to do it again. I gathered up a group of earth and wind spirits. I can't change their affinities anymore and I can't even make them do simple things! I try to make them move rocks and stuff but they don't understand what I want."
Emilia frowned. "What about making the wind blow? You had some decent luck with that while we were on the island."
Subaru looked awkward. "Um… Well, not so much actually."
"What do you mean?"
Subaru hesitated. "See, I tried getting the wind spirits to duplicate what we did with the nebulae but they don 't seem to get it. I can't convince them to start a whirlwind or even a dust devil. They just keep… blowing wind but they do it in random directions."
"What about blocking the wind like you did during our jump from the island?"
Subaru looked flustered. "Well… I tried that," He admitted.
"And?"
Subaru coughed. "I tried getting them to block the wind that's flowing through that little gap under the boulder but they don't seem to understand me. So… it's starting to feel like maybe our surviving that jump off the island was basically pure luck."
Emilia turned pale and covered her face. "Subaru. Please don't tell me that!" She mourned.
"Sorry."
"Thank you, Lord Subaru," Ellen said with tears in her eyes. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"
"No problem," Subaru said, bringing Ellen and her daughters something to eat and drink during another rest stop. "What are you guys going to do now?"
"Whatever you want us to do," Willa swore in a rapturous voice.
Ellen laughed. "I think my daughter is experiencing a bit of hero worship."
Felt watched from a distance, biting her lip. Ellen is so happy to have her girls back she 's not even noticing how strange Willa is acting.
"I think for now," Ellen continued, "We should go home and try to settle in for a while. It's been a long and difficult road."
Subaru nodded, "I know what you mean. But you shouldn't have much trouble getting back there. We're giving you plenty of money for the trip."
"I'll be happy to come with you if you want, Lord Subaru," Willa said at once.
Subaru looked slightly pained. "Thanks, Willa. If I need you, I'll be sure to let you know."
"Anything!" She swore.
Subaru nodded and slipped away.
Subaru started walking toward where Emilia was feeding Patrasche. Felt followed along.
"Subaru," Felt murmured. "You do realize that this is not normal, right?"
Subaru sighed. "Yes, Felt," He said in exasperation. "It'd be hard to miss. I don't get a lot of pretty young fan-girls."
Felt made a face. "You need to get out into the capitol more," She muttered.
Emilia frowned. "Subaru," She said, sounding deep in thought. "Do you think Willa is pretty?"
Subaru closed his eyes. "Seriously, Mili? We really have to do this now?"
Emilia cocked her head in confusion.
"Yes, Mili, she's pretty," Subaru surrendered.
"I was thinking-"
"No, I don't plan to do anything with her," He continued. "I have eyes only for you."
Emilia stared at him. "That's nice, Subaru," She said flatly. "But I was thinking-"
"Do we really need to talk more about this?" Subaru complained.
"Subaru!" She snapped. "Stop talking and listen!"
Subaru 's eyebrows reached his hairline.
Emilia took a deep breath. "Why is Willa here?" She asked.
Felt squinted at her. "You suggested that we should have left her in Girali?" She asked in disbelief.
"No! I'm asking why was she in Girali in the first place!"
"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.
"She's pretty," Emilia emphasized. "But we know that Sonas only bought the cheapest slaves he could find. I understand why he would have bought Miko, she's just a little girl, but why is Willa here? She can't have been a cheap slave. A brothel certainly would have been willing to pay more for a pretty teenage girl than Sonas would have."
Subaru frowned. "That's… actually a good point."
"Maybe the slave traders didn't notice," Felt shrugged. "Maybe she was really dirty or something."
"Hey, Captain!" Garfiel raced over to him. "We've got a problem!"
Subaru closed his eyes. "What is it now?"
"Captain," Garfiel said. "It looks like an army is coming from Fusumi and they're coming right at us!"
Subaru 's face hardened. "How far back?"
"Not very far," Garfiel admitted. "We didn't see any infantry close but the liger calvary is coming fast. I counted close to five hundred. They should catch up to us in a few hours."
Subaru hissed. "They must be trying to recapture everyone. We need to get moving. We're almost done with the rest period anyway," He muttered. He raced over to one of the wagons. "Hey, merchant! How far to Lagunica from here?"
"Two days," The man in the purple robe said with a worried expression on his face.
Subaru took a deep breath. "And how far to Vollachia?"
"A few hours," The merchant said. "And I doubt that the Kararagi soldiers would be willing to follow us into hostile territory."
"Subaru, what if the Vollachians try to take us captive as fugitive slaves?" Xiao demanded. He ignored Baagh's snarl of clear fury at him questioning Subaru.
"Then we have a problem!" Subaru snapped. "But first we've got to stay alive long enough to even worry about it!"
Subaru and Emilia rode Patrasche over the bridge across the Tigracy River that served as a border between Vollachia and Kararagi.
The covered wagons followed close behind.
Subaru reined in as soon as they had entered Vollachia. An entire legion of Vollachian soldiers awaited them.
"This looks bad," Emilia whispered.
"Yeah," Subaru replied.
A man in burnished gold armor approached the riding dragon. "I assume that you are Lord Subaru," The man said formally.
"That's right. And you are?"
"General Atesca. I would like to have a word with you," He remarked.
Subaru scanned the legion as he slipped down off of Patrasche. "You didn't really have to bring this whole legion just to talk to me. Which makes me wonder what the legion is for."
"You and your companions have not been captured, Lord Subaru," Atesca said matter-of-factly as the covered wagons poured across the bridge, one by one. "These men are simply here to ensure that those… Kararagi interlopers do not cross the border into Vollachia."
"Uh-huh," Subaru said skeptically.
There came a sound of laughter. Baagh slid out of the wagon followed by Garfiel and Felt. "Atesca! They made you a general?! The Vollachian Empire must be ready to fall!"
"Baagh," Subaru whispered in warning.
Atesca stared at Baagh in wonder, seeming too shocked to be angry. "Baagh? You old war horse. I thought that you fell at Ginnuhive!"
"No," Baagh growled. "I was captured, much to my disgrace. I spent the past six years in bondage in Kararagi until this man," Baagh gave Subaru's back a mighty slap that nearly bowled him over, "Rescued all of us!"
"How did he do that?" Atesca asked, staring at Subaru in wonder.
Baagh laughed again. "Oh, I have a tale for you, old friend. You'll not even believe half of it, " He promised.
Atesca shook his head, seeming to remember himself. "In any event, Lord Subaru, his Majesty wishes to speak to you."
Subaru scratched his chin. "Do I want to speak to him?" Subaru inquired in the tone of a man just asking a logical question.
Felt 's face turned white and she made a wheezing sound.
Atesca 's face paled and he swallowed hard. "His Majesty… speculated that you might ask such a question. And so he is prepared to extend an offer."
"Oh?"
"If you will agree to meet with him, the Emperor will guarantee these fugitives safe passage back to Lagunica."
Subaru 's eyes widened. I expected him to try to take hostages.
"Also," Atesca continued, "The Emperor knows that you seek passage to the Od Laguna."
"How did he know that?" Subaru asked, startled.
"I am not privy to that information," Atesca admitted. "But the Emperor believes that he can offer you assistance in this matter."
Subaru mulled that over. "That sounds like a reasonable basis for negotiations," He admitted. "My only concern is that we have some friends of ours that we need to save first."
"His Majesty is also aware of the plight of your spirits. He wished for me to suggest that if you were to help him, he might be able to help you in this matter. He informs me that these spirits have been imprisoned in Torgon Tower. His Majesty believes he could be of assistance in reuniting you."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Alright then. Sold."
"Splendid, Lord Subaru," Atesca said. "I'll leave your dragon with the groomsmen to prepare for our journey. Are you ready to depart for the Crystal Palace now?"
"Sure. Just let me have a word with the others before we depart," Subaru nodded.
Atesca gave a faint smile. "Yes, of course."
Subaru and Emilia walked over to Felt and Garfiel. Subaru lowered his voice, "Alright, I need you guys to make sure that the others make it safely back to-"
"Hang on!" Felt protested. "We're coming too!"
Subaru glanced at Felt and Garfiel, not looking too surprised. "You're sure?" He asked simply.
"Damn, right!" Garfiel said firmly. "We haven't gone through all this effort to get back together again to just split up now! Besides, if you're really planning to rescue Puck and the Little Bit, you're going to need our help!"
Felt looked at Garfiel with a knowing smirk.
Subaru started to smile. "I have no idea what I ever did to deserve friends like you," He said.
Felt blinked and looked momentarily unsettled by this comment. Then she shook her head. "Anyway… that means someone else needs to bring the slaves back to Lagunica."
Subaru nodded. He walked over to Baagh and Xiao while Emilia, Garfiel, and Felt began discussing strategies to find the spirits.
"What's the plan, Master?" Baagh said at once.
"Baagh, I'll understand if you want to stay in Vollachia but I need someone to make sure that the slaves all make it somewhere safe and get their collars removed."
"Don't worry, Master," Baagh grinned. "I'll enjoy talking to Atesca again but after that, I have nothing planned. We'll get the others to Lagunica safely!" He pounded his chest with one fist.
Xiao gave Baagh a cautious look. "Lord Subaru," He murmured. "Thank you so much for everything that you've done for us," He said earnestly.
"Happy to do it," Subaru said. "Get everyone north of the border and then give them the gold that we divided up and try to come up with a plan to get their collars removed. If there's any leftover gold, give it to the shopkeepers who lost everything in the uprising."
Xiao nodded. "Should be fairly straightforward. I have connections in western Lagunica that should be willing to help us."
Subaru hesitated. "There's one more thing. A personal matter," He said.
Xiao looked curious. "We owe you our lives, Lord Subaru," He said. "What do you need?"
Subaru dug around in his satchel and removed the book on the Great Machine and the Ryuzus that Emilia had found in Echidna 's library. "There is a merchant in Picoutatte named Otto Suwen. This book must reach him as soon as reasonably possible. It is a matter of life and death. Once you 're all someplace safe, I need you to find a way to bring it to him."
"That'll be no trouble," Xiao said at once. "My family does a significant amount of business with Picoutatte. It'll be trivial to bring a book there and deliver it with one of our shipments. I'll see that it's done."
Subaru nodded and handed him the book. "Thank you, Xiao."
"Further orders until we meet again, Master?" Baagh asked reverently.
Subaru hesitated. "Until we meet again, Baagh," He said slowly. "I want all of you to do your best to help everyone return to comfortable and happy lives. They'll need to find places for themselves and put down roots in a life where they can be happy. And that includes you and all the others, Baagh," He said.
Baagh nodded fervently. "Yes, Master. We will not fail!" He swore.
Baagh turned and bustled off to organize the others.
Xiao gave Subaru a strange look. "Lord Subaru, what you have done to them…" Xiao said slowly. "Will it ever… heal?"
Subaru sighed. "I don't know. I don't really understand most of my power. I'm learning about it as I go along. I didn't mean to…" He hesitated, searching for the right words. "I didn't mean to," He finished lamely.
Xiao nodded his suspicions softening into sympathy. "You wield great power, Lord Subaru. I do not envy you the road that you must walk."
Subaru nodded and walked back to the others.
He took Emilia 's hand and looked at General Atesca. "Alright. I guess that we're ready to go now," He shrugged.