Mira and I are soaring across the Weeping Expanse clinging to Rio's legs. This has somehow become our primary method of travel since he's able to fly long distances in a short period of time.
The tower Eudora has lifted into the sky is significantly faster, and is already disappearing into the distance as it heads west for Lotherain. The scroll she gave me presumably translocates everything within a large radius directly to the tower. So no matter how far it's traveled, the spell should get us back there without issue.
"You know, I could never do this with Talos." Mira says. He flies low to peck at her hair in retaliation.
"It's handy," I say, agreeing with Mira. "But other than utility, Rio and I haven't been the best duo when it comes to battle. You and Talos on the other hand are so in sync."
Mira pokes at Rio's belly, causing him to yeowl at us. "It's not about what you two can do separately, but what you can do together. Just like how you and I are so fitting for each other. You knew exactly what to do when we fought Valor. You must treat Rio as an equal, not as a mere familiar."
Despite the jab she took at Talos, her familiar perches on her shoulder and snuggles under her neck. The display of affection between them makes me a little envious. I wish Rio would be more open with me.
"We're nearing your great hollow." Mira points to an oversized tree that extends higher than the canopy around it.
It hurts that we're about to uproot a small chunk of the forest, but it's the only way to get everyone away from danger. As soon as we land in front of my tree, Eileen and Gurk rush out to greet me.
"Mistress!"
Ana waves to me from the door. "Welcome back!"
"It's a lot more lively here than when I first left," Mira remarks, referring to the tavern girl I brought back from Lotherain.
"Wait until you see Cammy," I tell her. "Speaking of which, where is she?"
"Cammy's in her guardian tree. She would probably love to see you," Eileen says.
"In a bit. First I need to know if everyone is accounted for in Ellowyn?" I ask Ana.
She glances in the direction of the demihuman settlement. "I think a group of orcs and kobolds went hunting. You should ask Kati or Clem, they handle the rounds. What's up? You look on edge."
"I need you to go around telling everyone to get back into their homes. We're… let's just say we're going to have a change of scenery," I answer, leaving the rest to her imagination.
"Not sure what's going on, but listening to you hasn't gotten us killed yet." Ana grabs Eileen and Gurk to help her corral everyone inside.
Once they're out of earshot, Mira puts a hand on my shoulder. "If it were up to me, I would take us out of here now. But knowing you, you'll want to find that hunting group."
"Am I being too hopeful?"
Mira offers a weak smile, but an explosion at the eastern edge of Ellowyn robs our attention. We race towards the commotion to see a group of knights battling the orcs and kobolds. Trees have toppled over, set aflame by whatever caused the explosion.
Behind the wall of fire, a duo of knights in decorated armor watch from afar. One of them wields a warhammer and the other a dagger. One look at Mira and I can tell that she's itching to fight.
"There's no doubt in my mind they are Glory and Abstinence. Eudora said we should avoid fighting them if we can," I warn.
Mira sighs. "Fine."
A trio of knights get too close to us. Mira freezes them in place and shatters the blocks of ice encasing them. We're distracted for one second and the knight with the warhammer has disappeared.
We fly out of the way as a looming shadow crashes into where we were just standing. Stone spikes jut out from the ground in the impact.
"Igni vas o'rea!"
"Mortis aceto."
A barrage of fireballs slam into the knight, followed by a pool of death widening around his feet. The figure, who is just as tall as Humility, presses the head of his hammer into the ground, dispelling the magic before our eyes. It's just like when I was battling Humility and Belle, the magic was nullified and never took effect.
Mira puts her hands on her hips. "That's incredibly rude."
"Witches are not human, therefore I needn't show manners." The knight finally speaks. It's an older man's voice, soft-spoken yet authoritative.
"That's even more rude," she remarks, crossing her arms now.
Even though we're engaged in battle, I can't take my eye off the other knight. We were almost pounded into the earth by one, there's no telling when the other will make her move.
I don't know how strong either of them are, but if they're dangerous enough for Eudora to caution us against fighting, then I need to treat this fight with care. One option is to use the translocation scroll now. Taking the knights with us may give us a fighting chance with the others.
On the other hand, their strength seems comparable to Humility than Valor. If they are more than we can handle, then I will have delivered them right to the heart of our base. I don't think Eudora would be happy with that.
"We'll have to find a way to get them away from the vicinity." I suggest to Mira. "I don't want to risk bringing them with us."
Mira nods. "Then I shall lure them away—"
"No! We stick together," I tell her.
"I thought I was the clingy one," Mira chuckles. "Very well."
I hand Rio the translocation scroll. "Take this back into the house and prime the spell. The moment I hijack your vision, drop a magic stone on it. Okay?"
"Nya!" He picks up the scroll with his mouth and flies back to the center of Ellowyn.
The edge of the spell should be somewhere between Glory and Abstinence.
"Fly, Talos!" Mira orders her familiar to attack the lesser knights battling the demihumans. She coats the ground in a sleet of ice and glides past Glory, giving him a salute as she passes by.
He tries to take a swing, but I blast him with more fireballs to take his attention away. I take a wide berth around him, watching Talos dispatch the knights one by one, allowing the demihumans to retreat.
Glory smashes the ground, causing a fissure to open up beneath me. I manage to jump over it and avoid getting impaled by the spikes emerging from the earth. Mira is heading right for Abstinence, and Glory is taking the bait to follow after me.
I condense my ice magic to slice the trunk of the trees around me. As Glory chases me, the trees come crashing down on top of him. Using my boon, nature heeds my call and roots sprout from the ground to entangle him.
A meteor comes crashing down on top of him, but he manages to break free and raise his hammer to dispel the imminent attack.
"Damn it— ah!"
Something hits me from behind so hard, it sends me crashing into a tree. Fortunately, my living clothes protected me from the impact. I get to my feet to try and find what hit me, only to see a wispy projection of Abstinence standing where I was a moment ago.
"How did she…?"
Mira is battling with Abstinence across the way, but how did I get hit? I let myself get too distracted and didn't realize Glory bringing his warhammer down on my head. I cast a protective barrier when suddenly thick roots shoot from behind me to fling him away.
"Don't hurt mama!" Cammy shouts from behind me.
"Cammy?"
Mira appears next to me and draws a line in the dirt with her feet. "Now, Ellori!"
I hijack Rio's vision and watch the magic stone drop onto the scroll. When I release my sight, Abstinence and Glory are charging at full speed, but a pillar of light separates us before they can reach us.
When the light fades, we are in the serene environment of Eudora's forged world. The earth of the Weeping Expanse has embedded into the ground. It's like a microenvironment, one step past the trees and I come into a meadow, Eudora's mansion is not but a few steps away.
Ana comes running in a panic. She picks up Cammy and staggers over to us. "What the hell just happened?"
"Heh. I did say we were going to have a change of scenery." I pat Cammy on the head. She jumps off of Ana and into my arms.
"And who is this little one?" Mira asks, her eyes full of adoration and curiosity.
"Uhh, she's—"
"Cammy!" The dryad answers aloud.
It takes a while to explain everything to Clem, Kati, and the others. Though they were disappointed to leave the Weeping Expanse, they were more than willing to leave the danger behind. Eudora and her witches help accommodate the residents of Ellowyn, and many were as confused and baffled that a child was seemingly the leader of a covenant.
I head down to the underground garden, fearful that anything below the surface didn't come with. Much to my relief, Miuna and everything else had come with us in one piece.
"I don't know what you did up there, but my slime is still shaking. I was so scared down here!" Miuna exclaims as it sees me coming down.
"Sorry, there wasn't any time to explain. We also came under attack so being careful and steady wasn't an option."
"Is that my red slime I hear in there?" Eudora descends the stairs to the underground garden.
Miuna peeks over the tub and panics. "IT'S YOU! AAHHHHHHHHHhhhh… ah.. Wait, you're like half the size I remember you as."
A vein on Eudora's head bulges. "Yes, it's me. Shall I return you to a mindless slime as a reunion gift?"
"I think I want to take my chances somewhere else," Miuna remarks, shrinking into the tub.
"By the way, how much further are we from Lotherain?" I ask Eudora.
"Halfway there. I hope you're ready to do battle against the Kingdom of Juna. Personally, I'm excited to test out this new body."
In spite of Eudora's reduction in size, her magic is still as strong as ever if not greater now that she isn't in persistent agony.
"While I'm confident that we can put up a fight, you should know that Humility and Belle aren't pushovers. Especially with whatever Headmaster Anora augmented them with," I warn.
Eudora grins. "You leave this Humility to me. I have a score to settle with her."
"Do you know Aurelias LaRouge?"
"Know her? She was my captor when I was imprisoned for what I did in High Saquin." She puts a finger to her forehead. "I wonder if she will recognize me as I am now. Anyway, Parabelle is yours to handle. Can I trust you and Mira?"
I nod. "I suspect she's hiding the full scope of her powers, but I'm prepared to face her this time."
"Good. These Virtues that Anora has dubbed them, they make for interesting study material. I should like to make sex slaves of all of them," Eudora says, her lips creasing into a wicked smirk.
Eudora your two lust souls are showing