Van and the group made pretty good time, all things considered... They were still attacked at least twice on the way towards the fort, but at least they were able to travel at a far quicker rate than what they were doing before.

Van figured he should at least try to make use of this opportunity to enjoy the scenery while he could, but since he had to focus on empowering his summons, what little enjoyment he could get from the sights of the forest was hard to come by. Especially because they had to constantly avoid monster attacks. The forest was very dense with wild and dangerous creatures that saw their group as a nice meal. Some even going so far as to try and chase after them, probably mistaking them for fast food…

Van had thought about storing Isa, Gwen, and Kella in his soul realm while they were riding. It would free up some of his summonses and probably help make them go faster. But he didn’t want the rangers asking questions… it was one thing to tell Yesi that he was soul bonded, another to tell them all that he had a big and strong enough soul realm to accept people riding inside of it…

As they traveled, Van saw strange four-legged creatures like wolves but with peacock feathers for a tail. Birds with dual wings that glowed a bright white. Strange forest spirits, all in different colors and hues watched them from a distance, probably curious about what they were. They even once accidentally found themselves riding on a giant Gargan. They didn't even know until it tried to get up and shake them off! The tree’s on its back swaying back and forth, forcing them to make a mad dash off the beast as soon as possible.

“Well… that was scary…” Van said, the adrenaline pumping through his heart, yet oddly excited for some reason.

The others couldn’t help but agree in amusement. Gargan were peaceful creatures after all unless provoked… This was a first time though for Van to see one this huge… he didn’t even think it was possible for them to get this big…

As they continued to travel, and monsters continued to pester them, they were finally nearing the second fort. Much to everyone's relief… they had made it about a few hours early, which means it was getting dangerously dark by the time they arrived.

When they showed up, the people in the fort were suspicious, but after making sure to check out the group thoroughly, they allowed them in for the night. As the group walked in, they couldn’t help but notice that the fort was on high alert, and for good reason considering everything that had happened so far.

The fort commander then asked them to stay a while and answer a few questions before they went to bed. Taking a few more hours from them until the commander was finally satisfied.

Finally… the group were able to hit the hay and go to bed, sleeping well until morning…

When they woke up the next day, they started to talk about what to do from here on out, talking with the fort commander as well about what new information she might have of what exactly was going on. Considering everything that’s happened so far… Van asking a very important question, such as if they knew where the bandits were now?

“If I knew that I wouldn’t be still here wondering that myself.” the commander said. “All we know so far is that the bandits burnt most of the important buildings down and now we are having trouble with communications with our sister fort… I've already prepared my girls to reinforce them just in case, in fact, I’m sending about thirty of them right now to help them.”

“Wouldn’t that leave you a bit more vulnerable?” Van asked.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. Our fort is a bit bigger than the other one, and we can spare the womenpower. If anything, I'm worried about leaving the fort unintended… I heard that a spy inside the other fort opened up the doors to allow the bandits in, I'm not going anywhere until I know I'm spy free…”

“I see… then… what we talked about before…” Van asked.

The fort commander nodded. “The most I can spare is about a dozen,” she stated flatly. “I don’t want to make the same mistake... The bandits around the forest seemed to have now joined together as one. Meaning I can’t pull any more soldiers away from the protection of my fort without risk. I’m sorry… But! I can provide you with some mounts and wagons for your quick and safe travel to the outpost, and then from there to Bright city. I’ll also send a messenger with you telling Duchess Rosalyn about everything that’s happened. I hope that’s okay with you.”

Van hesitated, still a little worried, but he couldn't force the commander to give them any more without feeling like a spoiled noble… so he simply nodded. “Yes… thank you…” though inwardly he worried about what may happen to them. He was torn between staying and waiting until help arrived, or going now as soon as possible before the bandits caught up. Either way, it was a moot point since everyone was packing their things up anyway and getting ready to leave… not just him, but many other people as well…

His group then worked with some of the soldiers to help pack up the wagons. It wasn’t as nice as the carriages they rode before, but it would have to do… within the hour, Van and Luna were in the wagon, Kella, Isa, and Gwen with them. Yesi and Yassan and the two other rangers were still riding Van’s summons since the fort didn’t exactly have any spare ranger wolves they could borrow…

The soldiers took formation around the large caravan, then the march began and they left the fort. Hopefully to make it safely to Bright city…

---

Karmine was very frustrated. They weren’t able to catch up at all with their prey… worse, they had to stay the night within the woods without any protection. They lost two bandits… no one knows what happened to them…

At least the twenty or so bandits she sent to the tree fort finally were able to join up with them. Adding to their numbers that now totaled almost sixty… making up for the few they lost when they attacked the previous fort, but still not enough to take on the fort that was now in front of them, even if they just got rid of thirty of their soldiers to reinforce their sister fort.

“What do we do now boss? Those noble brats are definitely in that fort, and I don’t like our odds of attacking them like this…'' one of Karmine’s bandits said, looking at the fort from a safe distance.

“Now we wait for our marks to leave…” Karmine said with a low growl. “They have to eventually… I’m positive they won’t stay until reinforcements come from Bright city…”

The bandit looked surprised. “What makes you say that boss?”

Karmine snorted. “They’re panicked. They probably don’t want to stay a moment longer than necessary. Even knowing the risks… no doubt they are worried about how long the rescue will take to arrive, they, after all, have to go to school… they don’t want to miss the train, even if it’s a few weeks away from leaving… not to mention the fact that a fort was attacked, probably makes them scared that the fort they are in will be to… so they will want to leave before we arrive…”

The bandit looked at her boss as if she was a genius. “But they don’t know we are already here!” looking happy about that. “We can ambush them!”

“If they actually decided to leave…” Karmine said, remaining logical about this. She then told some of her women to scout out the fort, taking the rest to move them in position, just in case her marks decided to actually leave. She then started to give out orders, laying out plans and more and setting ambushes up well in advance and far from the fort’s protection.

Once the plans were laid out, she moved with her bandits, slinking through the shadows and getting themselves ready in case their prey left the protection of the fort. They did not have to wait long for her scouts to report a small caravan heavily guarded with a dozen soldiers leaving.

“Just a dozen? Is this a trap?” Karmine thought a little confused. “Or are they that worried that we may attack the fort?” inwardly smiling if that was the case. Since it would make their job a lot easier. But then she blinked in surprise when another group left right after that, and then another. It seemed quite a few travelers with mercenaries had been staying in the fort as well. And now we're all at once leaving the fort at the same time…

She frowned as things became a bit more complicated once more…

---

At first Van didn’t want to leave the fort without some reassurance that they would be able to arrive at their destination safely. He thought it wise to stay put, but that was kinda taken out of his hand when it turned out there were more than just him passing through Gleam forest.

It turned out there were quite a few nobles and adventurers staying here or passing through. And with the threat of a mass of bandits attacking the fort, they feared something similar happening to them as well.

Here’s what Van didn’t like about that…

He didn’t like it, because it meant that the fort he was now staying in, which initially was well defended, just lost half its womenpower. With all the nobles and their guards, plus the adventurers and mercenaries, leaving... Meaning the fort wasn’t necessarily the safest place to stay anymore, especially with rumors and fears that someone might open the door to let the bandits in…

The dozen or so soldiers weren’t just for him, but for everyone else as well, and were spread out amongst the caravan. There was a huge debate this morning about who got to stay in the middle, the safest place in the caravan, with even a few nobles heavily arguing the matter.

Van was fine with being in the rear and said as much just so as not to get dragged into the fight. Though oddly enough, the second he spoke up the many noble women tried to say it was okay, and that they could share a carriage all together, with him joining them.

Van did his best to get out of it, saying the usual things to get out of a sticky situation such as the fact he already had a wife and a few other things. In the end, he was finally able to slink away after the debate changed to who’s carriage he would be riding in, and left it to them to figure out things that will never happen…

“Hmph! I can’t believe they tried to rope in a married man into their carriage, and with his wife nearby on top of it!” Luna complained as they rode in the rear wagons with what was left of their stuff. “Wearing those stuffy clothing and waaaay too much makeup! Who do they think they are!?” pouting like a child as the wagon moved and jostled her, which ending up forcing her to lean on Van, to which he gladly drew her in for a side hug.

“Don’t worry about it, Luna. They're probably still arguing over who gets me in their carriage even as we speak… and we already left!” He tried to joke, enjoying the feeling of his wife’s smooth and cold skin on his body. The only comfort to be had in the rough wooden wagon, filled with all manner of other cargo that took up far too much room for his liking.

“Hmph…” Luna said again, not entirely mollified but willing to let the issue go.

Van and Luna then traveled in somewhat relative peace, the jostling of the wagon aside. Van would pass the time talking to Gwen, who was riding with them, as well as Isa. Kella, Yesi, and Yassan were outside riding his still very large shadow wolves, much to the eyeballing of the other caravan members.

Surprisingly, things were going very well, and the hours passed by rather quickly as they made good time towards their destination. He could only hope that the outpost provided as much protection as the fort did. Though with his amount of luck lately, it probably didn’t and was just like any other outpost, just a place to protect yourself from monsters and the occasional fog storm. Not people…

Sadly, his fears came true when he heard a BOOM! Shake the road, his heart jumping out of his chest for a second, and Luna practically jumped off the seat herself. This was soon followed by a lot of screaming and yelling as adventurers and soldiers yelled at each other to figure out what was happening and ordered the other to prepare for a fight. Causing some confusion…

Van and Luna quickly moved to look out of the wagon to see what was going on, and soon saw that they were surrounded on all sides by at least seventy bandits, if not more…

If one were to add the soldiers provided to them by the fort, the adventurers that went along with them, and the guards for the nobles that tagged along. The caravan forces numbered around seventy to eighty themselves. Not including the non-combatants.

This meant that the two forces were largely equal, though no one knew what tricks the bandits had up their sleeves… for all anyone knew, the bandits had already planned for everything, after all, they were attacking them right now right?

At first the two sides did nothing other than point their bows at each other, trying to look menacing. That was until a rather large woman revealed herself…

The bandit leader, or perhaps boss… was a tall imposing woman with long legs and an olympian-like build. Even from a distance, Van could tell she was at least half a head if not taller than him, making her the tallest woman he had ever met.

She looked like a bit of a hybrid, or perhaps half-breed, maybe a mix between ghoul and vampire, though he wasn’t sure how that worked. She had very light blue-gray skin and red eyes that looked like they lusted for battle.

She had striking features, with shocking red hair with some black that fell haphazardly towards her back, and carried two large axes in each hand. She looked like a noble barbarian or warrior, emphasis on the noble part, because her skin was smooth and her face and body beautiful, indicating some sort of strong bloodline or lineage.

She wore leather greaves on her legs and armor on her arms, a little on her torso, though she had simple large bands wrapped around her chest, trying to hug down her large watermelon-like breasts. She wasn’t afraid to expose her toned belly, or reveal the compacted muscles on her arms and legs. Yet her body reminded him oddly of a ballerina, or gymnast, indicating that she might be a lot faster and more flexible than she first looked.

Her voice boomed across the caravan, loud and clear, and surprisingly melodious and soothing to the ears. If it weren’t for the fact that she was threatening everyone…

“Alright, Ladies and girls! Hand over all your valuables and males and no one gets hurt!” the tall red-haired bandit yelled, a wry smile on her face, almost as if she knew what was going to happen next and was looking forward to it.

A few of the guards and soldiers drew their swords, some adventurers following suit after some hesitation and realizing that the others were doing the same, already coming to the same conclusion that the bandit boss probably came to, and now shiftly looking side to side for an escape route once things begin.

Just then a noblewoman walked out of her carriage demanding answers and asking who the bandit boss thought she was. Walking up to the red-haired bandit and yelling in her face. Much to no one’s surprise, except the noble herself, she was sucker punched in the face with a straight punch and collapsed unconscious.

“Let’s try that again…” the red-haired bandit said. “Hand over your males and valuables or else!”

The guards and soldiers hesitated, unsure if they should comply or not. It was clear from the aura of the red-haired bandit that she was not to be trifled with. Sadly, one of the noble’s friends didn’t seem to care, she was terrified now and scared, and ordered her guards to protect her at all costs. This started an argument with other nobles, who just wanted to hand over their valuables and be done with it. After all, they didn’t have any males to worry about, unless you count that one in the back of the caravan on the wagon…

Van noticed that things might not be going towards a very good situation for him, and ordered Kella, who was sitting out front, inside the covered wagon with him through their mental connection.

“Yes Van, do you have an idea?” Kella asked, as she quietly snuck into the wagon.

“Yes… sorry about this…” Van then grabbed Kella and Isa and transported them inside his soul realm, much to their and everyone’s surprise. Gwen quickly followed after, unable to react in time. He then turned to Luna but was himself surprised to be rebuffed.

“That won't work on me unless I want it to. Don’t forget, I’m soul bonded to you.” Luna growled, a little angry. “What are you thinking!” she deathly whispered at him.

“Sorry… but this is the only thing I can think of. I may be able to escape if I use my shadows, but not while also having to protect everyone else… sorry…” Van said.

“And what about Yesi and Yassan and the others? What about them!?” Luna demanded.

Van hesitated. “I think I can help Yesi and Yassan, but the fewer people I have to help the better. Please understand.”

“Well, I’m not going!” Luna said.

The two then argued a little bit.

Van tried to beg her to reconsider and understand, trying to explain his reasoning when-

“Boss! I found them!”

Van and Luna stiffened up, unbeknownst to them, their argument deafened them to the fact that the nobles agreed to the surrender of their valuables, except a few who only now started to fight it out with the bandits, while those who surrendered kept their distance from those still fighting it out. Yesi right now was threatening said bandit that found them with an arrow to the face if she didn’t remove herself from the wagon and her charges, not yet wanting to fire and cause a fight, but willing to do so if necessary.

Van and Luna got up, ready to fight, but the bandit quickly ducked away. The two then followed quickly after, taking a look outside to see what was going on, ready to fight. But when they popped their heads out, the red-haired bandit was already there…

“Well well well…” the red-haired bandit said, eyes slightly wide as if a little surprised. “If it isn’t Luna…”

Luna stared at the bandit in shock. “Karmine…?”