The meeting room, where the people Logan had chosen to lead the attack on the bandit group gathered, was nothing special. It looked like a simple meeting room, albeit it had the same fantasy design that she had gotten used to over the years, but despite living in Tyria for a little more than five years, which was the most fantasy land that ever fantasied, Taylor didn't really care for it. Instead, her eyes immediately sought out the men and woman gathered around the table and Logan, as they beheld the map they had put together with somber, or in some cases, angry, faces.

She silently entered the room fully, taking care not to disturb them with the noises she made and walked to the table. She even took the time to give a little wave to the surprised Lieutenant Francis, who was also standing around the map.

Logan looked up from the map, but he didn't stop his explanation. He just gave her a small nod and refocused his attention on the other people present. Most of them gave Taylor a swift side-eye, but the information their Captain was presenting them was seemingly much more important than wondering why somebody like her was present (even with Logan's tacit approval).

So, Taylor simply stopped near enough to hear everything, leaning against her staff, nervously checking her equipment over for any fault, while also making sure she wasn't in the way as several Seraphs rushed around, either carrying equipment or documents.

She was just getting bored and was starting to somewhat nod off when something Logan said jolted her out of her fugue state.

"… so, that's the situation. Questions?"

Another soldier with a serious face slightly raised their hand. Logan nodded at them.

"Do we really need all of us for this, sir? These are just bandits, after all."

"Yes, they are bandits, but they're too close to Divinity's Reach for my liking. So, I want to make sure we take care of them once and for all." Logan grimaced as he spoke. "I don't want to stand before Her Majesty and report that some of them escaped."

The questioner thought for a second, then nodded.

"Understood, sir. Question withdrawn."

"Thank you. Any other?"

This time, a younger man spoke up, with an arrogant look on his face, and a sneer aimed at Taylor's direction.

"Why is this civilian and peasant here?"

Logan's answer could have frozen boiling water.

"That is above your paygrade, Lieutenant. But, rest assured, Lady Vaporblade is here on my invitation, and for a specific purpose." He answered, putting an emphasis on the world, Lady.

"Wait Vaporblade?"

The younger man exclaimed, interrupting whatever Logan was planning to say. The arrogance vanished from his face so swiftly that Taylor suspected he used magic.

"The hero of Shaemoor? Oooooh… now that makes sense!" He fully turned towards her, and gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up, causing Taylor and others to gape in surprise. "Looking forward to seeing you in action, my lady!"

"Okay, that's enough fangirling, Lieutenant!" exclaimed Logan, throwing an apologetic smile at Taylor, then turned back to the group. "If we are done with that, then I can start assigning tasks…"

The young man had at least the presence to look ashamed, but he held himself back from speaking and simply nodded with the others, looking at Logan with undisguised curiosity, with Taylor's presence for the moment disregarded and somewhat accepted.

Logan cleared his throat and began gesticulating above the map.

"We will follow the official route towards the Shaemoor garrison, and we will adhere to every law and regulation applicable. Our official aim is to play war games to prepare for another centaur attack, and I don't want anyone getting suspicious."

Taylor drew closer, making sure she could see the map. Though she participated in its creation, she still didn't want to miss anything.

"The groups will be separating at random intervals from the main battalion, and they would head stealthily to these positions. First group here… Second there…" Taylor listened with the other people without making any noise as Logan outlined the positions, following the coordinates where Taylor knew bandits' scouts would be. After all, they had to make sure nobody warned the bandits of the attack. "Finally, the remaining soldiers will enter the garrison, then sneak out and cover the area from the direction of lake Delevan. Lieutenant Francis, that will be your assignment."

"Understood, Sir!" answered the man, adding a crisp salute.

"Now, let's talk about the details of the objectives I want each group to accomplish. First group, I want you to…"


Taylor watched as the soldiers filed out of the room, some of them talking with each other, some staring at maps that they were given or at the notes they took, while she stood next to Logan. After there were no more ears listening, she turned to Logan.

"So, why is that you left me out of your grand plan?"

Ignoring the indignation in her voice, Logan turned to her and smiled.

"Taylor, my friend, you're not Seraph. You're not a soldier. You do not know how we fight. Including you in this short amount of time would only lead to chaos on the battlefield."

"So, what? I'm going to wait here?"

Logan raised his hands defensively, his smile never leaving his face.

"No, no. Leaving a powerful sorceress behind? Perish the thought!" A little mollified, Taylor just raised an eyebrow. "You will still participate, but independently."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, leave the run-of-the-mill bandits to my soldiers and help me deal with the leaders. Based on the information you've gathered, we will need your strength to deal with them."

"Hmmm. Keep talking."

"There is not much more to say, Taylor. When the leaders show themselves, you and I will engage them, and hopefully, take care of them before they could cause too much damage."

Taylor eyed Logan for a few seconds, then released a sigh and nodded.

"Alright. I understand."

"Thank you, my friend."

Falling silent, Taylor looked at Logan with a crafty expression. The man raised an inquisitive eyebrow, then spoke up.

"What is it, Taylor?"

"How do you feel about earth elementals, Logan?"


Watching as the soldiers streamed out of the barracks and Seraph Headquarters from the shadows was a rather illuminating experience for Taylor. Watching them march through the city, with their gleaming armors, their weapons raised proudly and as the masses cheered them on, was fascinating. They didn't even have an idea why the soldiers were leaving, but they still celebrated them.

From what she had learned about the country's history, it seemed it was well earned. As to the average (and powerless) person living in Divinity's Reach, they were the wall that stood between them and the ravening hordes of monsters that lurked outside of Kryta's borders, hunting for the blood of humans.

She could even hear, as she jumped from shadow to shadow as some of the older people yelled for the soldiers to take the fight to the charr. Shaking her head at the bloodthirsty old people, she continued to follow the column of soldiers.

As for the charr, she hadn't met many of them yet. Understandably, they were rare in Divinity's Reach. It was even a miracle Taylor found a magical dictionary in an antique shop. Her luck was that the merchant thought it was a simple dictionary and sold her cheaply. However, after investigating the book, and recharging the enchantment on it, it turned out if someone touched a word in it the book would read it aloud with the proper pronunciation (hopefully) like something she would find on the internet back on Earth Bet. Additionally, it contained some basic grammar rules, so the few times she happened upon a charr in the city, she sought them out for the quick chat.

The first few laughed the moment she opened her mouth, but after a while, they stopped doing that, to her relief. They still told her she spoke weirdly, but at least none of them fell over laughing like a hyena.

Maybe after they dealt with the bandits, she would take some time to finally travel around Tyria…

Refocusing on the soldiers, looking for lookouts of the bandits, she spotted an old lady walk remarkably fast next to a Seraph. Jumping closer, she used air magic to pick out the conversation happening between the soldier and the old lady from among the roaring of the crowd.

"Tell me, sonny, where're you going all fancy like that?"

"Oh, Aunty Anna! Out shopping?"

"Yes, yes. But I asked something, young man. It's impolite to ignore your elders!"

The soldier chuckled a little, then started talking.

"Fine, fine Aunty! It's not like it's a big secret. We are going to the garrison for some practice."

"Practice for what? Is there going to be a war? Who is attacking?" came the rapid-fire response from the panicking elderly.

The soldier was quick to calm down his apparent relative.

"No, Aunty, there is no war. The bigwigs just wanted to make sure we are prepared if the centaurs attack again. So, we're going to practice for that!"

"Oh! That's good, young man!" replied the old lady with a smile on her face, then clutching her bag, she began walking away from the soldier. "You be good, Alan, dear! I have to go!"

The soldier just laughed and waved after her.

"Bye Aunty! Say hi to grandma!"

Taylor watched as the curious old lady slowed down to a crawl, letting the familiar soldier overtake her, and return to her flock of older ladies, not even wondering why the officer in charge of the soldier didn't reprimand him for breaking formation. The other older women immediately surrounded her, probably demanding for her to share her newly gained knowledge based on the smug look on her face.

Taylor could see at least a dozen similar scenes playing out around the marching soldiers. Meaning, their goal, and plans would be all over the city (and in the hands of the bandits) within half an hour the longest.

Just as Logan planned.

Taylor smirked, then took a last look around, wondering that maybe in the future she would receive the same level of celebration, before finally heading for the meeting spot designated by Captain Thackeray.


Arriving at the cemetery, making sure to still stick to the shadows, Taylor snuck over to the meeting point, where Logan, wearing a ridiculous cloak that in no way hid his impressive figure or shiny armor, was waiting with a few soldiers between several tightly packed and crumbling mausoleums.

Appearing in a burst of speed, she saw the men in hiding tense, and then relax after recognizing her.

"You look ridiculous, Logan."

The soldiers standing behind their captain scowled at her, but Logan just shrugged.

"I'm not here to win a beauty competition. Everything alright on your end?"

Taylor nodded. "Yes, I didn't sense or see anything."

"Good. Then we will only need to wait for the signal, then we can begin."

"Can't wait…" replied Taylor as calmly as she could, trying to hide her pre-battle jitters. She then walked over to the wall of one of the mausoleums and leaned against it. Closing her eyes, she began to meditate, trying to calm her mind and recover the minuscule amount of magic she exerted coming over.

Ever since the battle where Taylor fought with the centaurs, her magical reserves (she felt calling them batteries was rather un-fantasy-like) have been growing exponentially thanks to the amount she used them. Even so, she wanted to make sure that she had a full tank before going into battle. It would be rather embarrassing if a fight only came down to that little magic she used up.

Not that she imagined the bandits would be a particular challenge. After all, in the inn, she wiped the floor with them in seconds. But back then they were taken by surprise, here they will be prepared and fully armed.

She might have been meditating for a few minutes when she was knocked out of her meditative trance by one of the soldiers softly exclaiming.

"Sir, all groups are reporting the clear signal. We are ready to begin!"

Taylor instantly opened her eyes and stepped away from the wall, and began to warm up.

Logan turned around and spoke to the soldier who gave the report.

"Tell them to prepare and do the last check. We start on my signal."

"Yes, sir."

Taylor watched as the soldier raised an actual steampunk-styled radio to his mouth, once again surprising her with the level of technology in this world, when she heard a very familiar sound of flapping wings.

Looking up, it took her only a few seconds to spot a midnight black raven descending towards them. She watched as the raven approached them, and a few feet from the ground it shook itself as if falling apart, black feathers flying everywhere, and, in a second, transformed into the unmistakable form of the gorgeous Countess.

"Captain, Lady Vaporblade," greeted them the Countess calmly. "The bandits are not suspecting anything."

"Excellent!"

"I also made contact with the prisoner. After the attack begins, I will help them escape, then join you…"

"Good to hear, Countess. Thank you for your work," replied Logan.

He was about to turn to his subordinates, presumably to give them the order to send the signal, but before a word could even leave his lips, the Countess started talking again.

"I also took the opportunity to place some well concealed, small explosives at the barricade of the entrance of the main cavern. It will help us gain foothold…"

"A most excellent idea, Countess Anise!" declared Logan, and Taylor could already see in his eyes as he went over and modified the plan they had come up with based on what the mysterious woman said.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally nodded to himself, then finished the movement he started and turned to the soldier with the odd walkie-talkie.

"Start the countdown. Two minutes."

"Yes, Sir."

Taylor watched for a few seconds, as the soldier used the surprisingly modern, yet at the same time antique-looking device to contact other groups, before shaking herself and walking to the nearest clear area.

There she closed her eyes, grabbed her staff with both of her hands. She raised it in the air, holding it there for a few seconds as she gathered her magic and concentration, ignoring the eyes of the others present on her. Then, when she judged herself and her magic ready, she simply slammed the staff down on the ground.

For a second nothing happened, then the ground in front of her began to ripple as if the ground was suddenly transformed into water and somebody had just dropped a pebble into it. Then, slowly, a head-sized white ball made of magic emerged from the turbulent ground, pulsing cheerily.

Not soon after, the surrounding ground and the nearby rocks began gravitating towards it. At first, they were slow, but with each second, they picked up speed, until the mass of earth, rocks, and debris began to take shape in front of the watchers.

The shape, which was of a dog.

A giant dog, bigger than the most massive dolyak Taylor ever saw.

She estimated the elemental was almost five meters long and almost three tall, with its bulky figure covered in diamond-hard rocks that were crisscrossed by insanely hot magma-like veins.

Taylor waited until the elemental took its final shape and stepped closer, greeting it.

"Hey, Flamy! Ready to battle?"

As she began petting the mighty beast, that once upon a time was the size of a small dog, the elemental let out an excited, rumbling bark that sounded like roaring flames and grinding stones with some mudslide added into the middle, while wagging his tail.

"That's Flamy?" asked Logan incredulously as he stepped next to her, still gaping at the elemental. "I know you said he had grown, but this is…"

"Oh, come on, Captain Thackeray," spoke up Anise as she also stepped closer to the dog-shaped elemental, reaching with her hand to pet it. "What else can you expect from a young lady with such talents?"

"You speak the truth, my lady…"

Taylor just shook her head and continued to pet the very happy elemental.

Over the years, as she developed her control over her magic and increased her capacity, so did the size and quantity (and quality) of elementals she could summon. But for some reason, Flamy was the only elemental to exhibit some manner of sentience. While she had learned how to summon elementals for the other elements, they were are simple-minded automatons upon summoning no matter what she had tried.

Sadly, as the dog-like elemental grew, she could summon him less and less as the construct's size would cause chaos no matter where she took him.

But now, here was the chance to let him loose without worrying about what would happen if somebody saw him.

"O-one minute, Sir!" came from the nervous soldier from behind them, who refused to come closer to the elemental, who was currently sitting on his haunches and playing shake hands with the bemused Countess.

Jolted out of his stupor caused by the appearance of the massive elemental beast, Logan shook himself, shucked off his useless cloak, and exclaimed.

"Very well! Countess, Taylor, prepare yourselves!"

Receiving two nods from the women, one with a serene and one with a bloodthirsty smile, and a cheerful bark, he unsheathed his sword, raising it in front of him, executing a quick salute towards the castle in Divinity's Reach, then changing into a ready stance.

Taylor also began circulating magic through her body, while also attuning to water magic, as the cavern, thanks to the waterfall, was full of flowing water and copious amounts of vapor, so it would allow her much more flexibility while strengthening the grip on her staff.

The soldier with the watch began to count down.

"Thirty seconds…"

The time it took for Taylor to glance at the soldier counting down was enough for Anise to vanish, leaving her alone with the soldiers and Logan. She shook her head in wonder and made a note to ask the Countess for tips on how to improve her illusion magic after the battle.

"Ten seconds…"

The elemental next to her stood up, his muzzle pointed towards the location of the entrance, its entire rocky body tensed, the fire in his eyes flaring up even stronger.

"Five…"

"Four…"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"Charge! For the Queen! For Kryta!" exclaimed Logan, and the next moment, a lot of things happened.


The first thing that happened, that the Seraph soldiers, hidden all over the mountainside, in the cemetery and along the road leading towards the garrison, began rushing towards the cavern, while several groups began escorting the captured bandit scouts towards the garrison.

Taylor watched as the first group entered the cave, and based on the sounds coming from there, subdued the watcher bandit before a small detonation shook the area. Steadying herself, she wondered for a second about what happened, before realizing that it must have been Anise detonating the explosives she had placed.

At the same time, the dog-like elemental next to her exploded forward, rushing into the cavern, following her silent command to cause as much chaos as possible. Taylor hoped that the more the bandits paid attention to the giant elemental, the less they would watch out for the soldiers.

Plus, Flamy was a wonderful dog, and he deserved some playtime…

Then she took a deep breath and began rushing after Logan, who was at the helm of the charging soldiers, a magical white light enveloping him and slowly spreading to the surrounding soldiers. The magic was circulating through her body, amplifying her strength, speed, and other attributes, but also enhancing the sound of her heart beating with wild abandon.

This was not like when she was standing before Principal Blackwell, or trying (and failing) to weather the insults coming from Emma. Nor was it like when not so long ago, she stood across from the first bloodthirsty centaur, intent on taking her life.

No, this feeling coursing through her was not because she was reacting to something, it was not because she feared for her life.

It was because she was excited!

Excited to head to a battle where she would be probably the strongest being (aside from Anise and Logan). Excited to show how strong she was, and eager to finally show the world what she was really capable of.

She was Taylor 'Vaporblade' Hebert, daughter of Danny and Annette Hebert, family to Petra and Andrew, Hero of Shaemoor, and hopefully in the future much, much more…


Rushing after Logan and his subordinates, Taylor arrived into the main cavern (ignoring the watcher tossed into the corner, hogtied and guarded by a bemused Seraph) only a few seconds after them, but there was already chaos enveloping the cavern.

Aside from the steady roaring of the waterfall, the entire cavern was filled with the sounds of yelling, crying, cursing, the clashes of swords and other weapons, the sound of bows and rifles and pistols firing.

Around the entrance lay the ruins of the wooden barricade that separated the main cavern from the outside world. Several parts of it were being made use of by the Seraph as they tried to set up a kind of barricade under the constant fire of several bandits, who, from high up, were raining down on them. Thankfully, they were using their shields to protect themselves, while simultaneously being protected by the magic Logan used.

The rest of the soldiers, led by Logan, were in the middle of the cavern, clashing with the well-armed bandits in a chaotic melee. In the background several bandits were crowded around her elemental, as it rampaged through their line, to try to take it down, with not much success.

Oh, and everything was on fire.

The tents, where she saw people resting during her infiltration, the wooden platforms, support, and several storage boxes were alight with flames, emitting copious amounts of smoke. Worried that the smoke would displace oxygen, instead of attacking, she began using her magic to quickly put out all the fire she could see. Though she still took time to summon a few ice shields to protect herself and the soldiers around her as they were building from the hail of arrows, bullets, and other non-magical and magical projectiles.

Upon taking care of the nearest flammable objects, Taylor began taking a more careful look around, looking for an appropriate target. She didn't have to look far, as Taylor immediately spotted Johnny, his previous spotless and fancy clothes in tatters, covered in soot and other dirt, fighting with Logan with the help of some of his 'friends'. They weren't doing well, as she could see Logan barely breaking a sweat, keeping up with them as he continuously barked orders at the Seraph around him.

She was about to head off and put out a few more fires, as she saw nobody really needed her help, though it was suspicious how of the ringleaders Taylor could only see Johnny, but with the absence of Anise, she wasn't really worried (the few bandits around the cages fighting the air confusedly marked her passing very well), when she spotted another familiar face.

Up high, on the highest platform, next to the arrow-flinging bandits, was the enraged face of one Della. Who was also coincidentally aiming her much more impressive than the trash the other bandits were using and probably enchanted rifle at Logan.

Before she could yell out a warning, or even conjure a shield to protect the Captain, a shot rang out and hit the man square on his chest. Thankfully, the only thing it achieved was that the white magical effect covering him and the Seraph dimmed a little, before returning to its previous strength. To add insult to injury, Logan didn't even look away from the foes before him. He simply exclaimed, somehow knowing that Taylor was paying attention.

"Taylor! Sniper!"

Taylor yelled back in the affirmative, but it was lost in the cacophony of the battle. Then she refocused her attention on the platform from where the shot came, looking for Della. After the first shot hit Captain Thackeray, she vanished, but after a few seconds, Taylor still found her amidst another group of bandits, this time aiming at another officer, probably deciding that she couldn't take out Logan.

Raising her hand, she focused on the obnoxious woman and waited until she carefully raised the rifle, looking into the scope, and took aim. At that moment, Taylor let loose an incredibly powerful but small Vaporblade spell.

The blade of water mist flew true, and a second later separated the female bandit's hands from her arms, while also bisecting her rifle. It took Della an entire second to realize she didn't have hands anymore, before she fell back on her ass, looking with round eyes and her mouth open, screaming in pain at her stumps as they were ejecting blood at a prodigious rate.

Taylor squashed the rising bile in her mouth, at the realization of what she had done, telling herself it was much better than killing the bandit outright, then trying to clear the sight of the blood gushing from the woman's stumps she turned away and began looking for new targets.


For the next few minutes, the battle settled into a rhythm.

In the background, Flamy's roar shook the cavern as he ran around and harassed the bandits, while in the middle Logan with his soldiers was slowly and methodically were taking down Johnny's men. Taylor was simply shielding people from the ranged attackers while returning the fire and taking out bandits with each of her shots. Though she aimed to disable, nevertheless she still killed a few of the bandits.

All the while making sure that any fire that cropped up was smothered immediately, while also assisting the evacuation of the wounded or the prisoners. While Logan's magic was powerful, the farther someone was from him, the less they were affected by it, so there were still a lot of wounded Seraph.

Taylor took down another archer, then frowned in thought.

Where were Ted and Blaise?

She barely talked to the pyromaniac, but even so, she was hundred percent sure that the man wouldn't want to be left out of a battle like this. And Ted…

Based on how easy it was to rile him up, this entire attack would have blown his top in seconds…

So, where were they?

Did they actually try to escape?

Taylor was spared of the need to investigate their whereabouts because several things happened in quick successions.

First, Logan finally decided to end the farce of the fight and struck Johnny down with a mighty swing of his sword. This resulted in the bandits near the fight yelling out in alarm and taking several steps back as if they were trying to either reorganize their lines or trying to decide if they should surrender or not. However, the choice was taken out of their hand as at the same moment, an earth-shaking, inhuman roar shook the entire cavern.

For a moment Taylor eyed the roof, watching as dirt and small rocks began falling, looking for any sign that it would cave in and cursing the fact she could only attune to one element, as being capable of using earth magic at the moment would have been rather useful, then she returned her focus trying to find the origin of the roar.

She didn't have to look long, as Ted, wreathed in eldritch red energy emerged from the thinned water vapor covering the other end of the cavern, charging with reckless abandon over the bridge, smashing into his own subordinates and waving his giant warhammer over his head like a madman.

Upon further observation, Taylor could see that his eyes were empty of any rational thought, as if his entire being was consumed by rage. At the same time, she could see some kind of residue on his face.

Probably some kind of magical berserker drug…

Logan, spotting the berserker charging towards a group of soldiers released some kind of shout which conjured a pulse of sliver light aimed at Ted, who without changing his facial expression turned on a dime and instead of the terrified soldiers headed for Logan, raising his hammer high above his head, making his intent to squash people to bloody pulp very clear.

If that wasn't enough, the berserker's loud roar was followed by a burst of demented laughter.

Taylor looked up from her contemplation about how to stop the rampaging Ted, as she had sensed some kind of magic around the man, and while turbulent and chaotic it provided him a degree of magic and physical resistance, and beheld as Blaise, with an arrogant yet elated look on his face walked out of the mist.

His previous coat seemed to have been discarded, and he was wearing only his pants and shirt. However, on his torso, there were several glass containers affixed, each of them filled with some kind of liquid.

Taylor didn't need any kind of magical ability to tell that those chemicals were either flammable or explosive or both. Both of his hands were raised high. In one of them, a fist-sized, sizzling ball of flame hovered while the other held several walnut-sized spheres with red lights blinking on them.

Then his face split into a mad grin, and he begins to laugh out loud, throwing his head back, while Ted kept wailing away at Logan, blind to everything that was happening beyond his need to destroy, as the Captain keeps the berserker at bay with his shield and sword.

Seeing the demented man, both the remaining bandits and the Seraph distanced themselves from him, hoping to not get caught in whatever crazy explosion the guy would cause, then continued their battle. Ignoring the weird, situational unity between the bandits and the soldiers, Taylor focused on the man, and raised her staff, and began to gather her magic for one decisive strike to take him out.

The moment she began charging her magic, Blaise's face snapped back from his demented laughter, and he instantly fixed his crazed eyes on her.

"YOU! If you strike me down, then the entire cave will come down with me! And you will burn! All of you will burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! HaHaHaHAHAHA…."

Taylor watched as the man, who was obviously a card short of a full deck, trailed off into laughter, and frowned. If he had set up some kind of dead man's switch, then indeed, she couldn't simply take him out.

Then, without stopping his laughter, the flame in the pyromaniac's hand came alive and flew towards a group of soldiers. Taylor absentmindedly raised her staff and conjured a simple ice shield to block the fireball, while her thoughts still revolved around figuring out how to take the man down.

This stalemate, with Blaise flinging fireballs or similar projectiles at everybody, even his own subordinates while Taylor easily countered them, all the while Logan was dealing with the enraged Ted, lasted for a while.

Unfortunately, her arsenal was geared towards taking out her enemies, not at restraining them peacefully, so she was rather limited at what she could do. Taylor was even about to try to figure out if she could use some mist to choke the man until he fell unconscious, when a familiar feminine voice sounded in her ears.

"He was bluffing. But the glass is fragile…"

Smiling, Taylor said a quiet thank you under her breath to the invisible Countess, and reached out with her magic, and gave a silent command. Then she calmly continued to block the fire raining down from the madman, keeping an eye on the situation.


It took only a few minutes for Taylor to set up everything as she liked it and also to get into an advantageous position while Blaise kept yelling, ranting, and laughing, only interrupted by Ted's incoherent roars of rage.

"You burn! You burn too! HAHAHAHAHA! Everyone burns! We all burn!"

Ignoring the crazy person with too much explosives, she reached out once again and gave a command, while gathering her magic for a minor spell.

She then watched as the Flamy carefully sneaked up behind the pyromaniac.

The man, unaware of the giant elemental behind him, kept throwing fireballs while aggressively gesticulating with his other hand that held the solid explosives, while the containers sloshed around on his torso.

Taylor waited until the hand that held the bombs was raised high, then gave her last command out loud.

"Now, Flamy!"

Despite the sound of the explosions, demented laughter, insane roars, the clash of weapons overpowering every other sound, the people still somehow heard Taylor's shout and as one they turned towards her.

Then came a shriek of pain and the laughter abruptly vanished.

Looking over at the fire mage, Taylor could see Flamy standing above Blaise, his massive mouth clasped around the raised hand of the man. Then there was an audible crunch, and Blaise was left staring at the burned stump of his left hand in shock.

He didn't have a lot of time to deal with the pain and surprise, because the moment the bombs were swallowed by her elemental, Taylor let loose her prepared spell.

The thin icicle flew at incredible speeds and found its home in the man's skull almost instantly.

The man still had the energy to blink in surprise, but then he collapsed like a marionette that had its strings cut. Thankfully, Flamy was behind him, and following Taylor's instructions, caught the man's collar with his teeth, lowering him carefully to the ground, preventing the fragile containers from shattering.

Now that Taylor had taken care of the crazy pyromaniac, she turned towards the middle of the cavern, where, amidst the rubble and smoke and bodies, Logan danced around the berserker.

"Logan! Get some distance!"

Hearing her shout, Logan didn't reply, but instantly his shield shone with otherworldly light and a pulse of magic originating from it threw the berserking bandit boss away from him. Then he took a few steps back, his shield and sword still raised, ready for everything.

Ted was only shaken for a second by the throw, but that was enough for Taylor to unleash a barrage of blunted Vaporblades at the bandit. She could have sharpened them, but she had no need to dice the man up. Plus, if she killed him, then any intelligence they would be able to extract from the man would be lost.

Without missing a beat, the spells rained down on the hammer-wielding bandit, stopping him in his steps, yet the eldritch aura suffusing him stopped most of their effect. Though Taylor could see the blades having a minuscule effect, which resulted in bruises and small wounds appearing on the man.

Suspecting that the magical resistance effect granted by whatever effect Ted seemed to be 'suffering' under would block her spells, instead of trying to finish him off with one spell, she went with quantity over quality, refusing to believe that the effects lasted forever.

And as she continued pelting the giant man with her Vaporblades, while soldiers and bandits with mouth agape, Taylor could see clearly as the aura decreased bit by bit, leaving the man with bigger and bigger wounds, until with a quiet crackle the aura vanished. With it, the feverish rage also left the bandit's eyes, leaving them empty, and their body bruised and bleeding at places.

For a moment he stood there, the ground torn up around him from when the blades made of mist exploded against the aura, gaping at her, as if not understanding what happened. Then he looked down at his own body, then his eyes rolled up and fell over. With the only sign of life the irregular rise of his chest.

Taylor, seeing this, reined her magic in and looked around.

Logan was sitting on the ruins of several boxes, panting heavily, drenched in sweat, and looking at her with a crooked smile on his handsome face. The soldiers and bandits were still gaping at her and the body of Ted, while the waterfall, uncaring of the battle that had taken place, roared along merrily, carving out the rock under it, bit by bit.

Knowing that they had taken out all the ringleaders, Taylor made eye contact with the nearest and burliest bandit and declared in a loud voice:

"Surrender!"

The bandit visibly swallowed and threw down his weapon. The clang of the weapon as it made contact with the hard rock of the ground echoed around the cavern, attracting everyone's attention. There was a beat of silence and the remaining bandits followed the first one's example and began throwing down whatever weapon they were wielding.

"I surrender!"

"On the Six I swear…"

"By the Gods, please be merciful!"

"I give up!"

Ignoring as the soldiers began moving to restrain the surrendering enemy forces, Taylor calmly walked over to Logan and offered one of her hands to the exhausted man.

"Come on, Logan, we aren't finished yet!"

The man looked at her hand, then at her, then with a grin, he clasped her extended hand and heaved himself up into a standing position.

"You are, indeed, correct, my young friend! Let us go and deal with the criminals!"

Then he stepped forward, his fatigue forgotten, heading towards one of the officers in charge of dealing with the captured bandits, with Taylor following him a few steps back.


Taylor was sitting once again in Logan's office, this time even more exhausted than after her infiltration mission, as she, Anise, and Logan were discussing the final results of the operation. Or, as the soldiers were already calling it, the Battle of Beggar's Burrow.

"… with this, after the cleanup, we can use the cavern as a depot for the Seraph, or even as a warehouse for the city."

"Probably better to use it to support the Shaemoor garrison than use it for the city, as it is outside of the walls. It would be virtually useless in case of an attack."

"You are indeed correct, Countess. I will raise the issue of remodeling it to Her Majesty."

"I shall give my words of support then…"

"You have my thanks. But enough about that, how about we talk about our young hero?"

"…ha?" said Taylor eloquently, who was spacing out as a subject that she didn't care were being discussed as her only thoughts were about finding her way back to her own bed and to sleep for a week. She didn't really expend as much magic as she did back when the centaurs attacked, as since then her reserves had grown, and the bandits were much easier to deal with, thanks to the support of the Seraph.

Logan, seeing her odd reply, just chuckled and turned to Anise.

"What do you think, Countess? How did our young friend fare in this operation?"

The perpetually calm woman raised her omnipresent wine glass, elegantly sipped it, and gazed at Taylor with a thoughtful look, while Taylor fidgeted nervously.

"Young lady, you were efficient and smart in your use of magic, and were great at adapting to the situation. However, your arsenal of spells is seriously lacking." Before Taylor could even open her mouth and defend herself, Anise raised a hand in a placating manner. "However, I'm aware you're mainly self-taught, so I shan't be holding it against you." Taylor nodded in acceptance, then quirked an eyebrow wondering where Anise was going with this. "Thus, in recognition of your meritorious actions and talent, I shall personally sponsor your education. You shall receive the finest education a mage could want in Tyra, and maybe beyond…"

Taylor looked back at the woman gaping at her.

"What?"

"Congratulation, Taylor!" chimed in Logan, with a proud smile on his face.

"What?"

Instead of answering, Anise gave the befuddled Taylor a smirk and turned to Logan.

"With that done, we still have to deal with the last issue."

"Indeed," replied Logan seriously, reaching for his sword as he stood up. "What do you suggest? Interrogation would take too much time…"

"A simple illusion would solve the issue, I think…"

"An illusion?"

"Yes, my dear Thackeray. An illusion," answered the Countess, still sipping her wine. "Serentine is more than likely to either bust the ringleaders who know of her or to take them out before they could blab. So, we simply don their likeness, and wait until she approaches them."

"Would she fall for that?"

"She is in a rush, so there is a big chance she will…"

Taylor watched the two of them discuss the subject while turning over the words Countess Anise said to her not a few seconds ago.

Sponsoring her education?

After receiving her monetary reward for her actions in defending Shaemoor from the centaurs, she did some research to see what it would take her to attend one of the prestigious schools in Divinity's Reach where she could learn more about the elements, magic, and Tyria. But every school that taught even a little more than the absolute minimum, were only for nobles.

And even with her granted title, she was only a little above peasant, so her chance of attending any of the institutes that she had her eyes on was nonexistent unless she could find a sponsor.

But the only person she knew who had that kind of connection was Logan, and she didn't really feel like imposing on the older man for this. They were friends, yes, but she doubted they were that good of friends…

And now, here was her chance.

Happy beyond belief, her turmoil about the people she killed momentarily forgotten, she vowed to make the best of this chance. After all the knowledge she could acquire this way, could be the key to her return to Earth Bet and her father…

"Are you ready, Taylor?"

"Huh?"

She looked up to the visage of Johnny, who had spoken to her with the voice of Countess Anise. After a momentary panic, where she had to suppress her instinct to lash out at the bandit, she realized what she was seeing.

While she was daydreaming, Anise and Logan finalized their plans, and Anise began applying her illusions to them.

Logan, looking like a beaten-up Ted, was on the other side of the room, looking into a mirror with a critical eye.

"You made my nose extra big, didn't you?"

"Oh, shush, you big baby, it's just an illusion."

The Countess then turned towards Taylor, ignoring the grumbling coming from Logan.

"You will be the sniper woman, all right?"

"Sure!"

Hearing her agreement, Anise simply raised her hand and calmly snapped her finger. Causing Taylor to feel magic rush towards her. She closed her eyes, trying to sense what the magic was doing, hoping to replicate it later, while the magic enveloped her like some kind of feather-light blanket.

Upon opening her eyes, and looking down on her body, she could see that she was dressed exactly like she had described Della looking like, to Anise. Looking back at the Countess in the disguise of a bandit, she couldn't help but admire the woman. From what she had read from her book about illusions, maintain three illusions with such a complex detail was extremely hard…

"Amazing…"

"Thank you for the compliment, my dear girl," replied the woman with a warm smile, then the smile transformed into a scowl. "Logan, stop looking at your face. It's time to go!"

"Fine, fine, but I still say you made my nose too big…"

Taylor stood up from her seat and watched as Logan and Anise, softly bickering about the details of the illusion, walked towards the door. She released a deep breath, using it to calm her racing heart, then steeled herself with a thought that it wasn't long before she could rest and followed them.

"Hey, guys… wait for me!"