Chapter eighteen:

Gavin and Michael have been flying for a good while now heading in the direction they need to go while avoiding the place they can't fly past.

Michael gets the map out of the backpack. He is relieved that Geoff cast a waterproof spell on the bags and stuff so they don't have to worry about them getting wet. He looks at it making sure that they are going the right way. "We are doing good Gavin. Just let me know if you need to land. We don't want to push ourselves too hard."

Gavin gives a nod and continues flying letting Michael take care of the directions to where they are trying to get to. He knows that they could be running out of time as it stands so they really need to get going.

After flying for a bit Michael turns seeing a flash from the corner of his eye. He spots dark clouds that look like a storm. He'll keep an eye on it and hopefully it is going the other way. He doesn't think it'll be too bad though he doesn't want to push Gavin too hard. He knows that they have a bit to travel so they'll need all the energy they can get. He hopes that they'll just be able to avoid said storm.

Lucky for them the storm doesn't seem to be heading towards them.

It almost seems too soon when the sun starts to head towards the horizon.

Michael places a hand on Gavin's neck by his throat in which the other turns to him. "Lets go to the ground." He tells his partner. "It'll be best if we fly during the day. When we can see."

Gavin nods then turns away only to head for a landing. He makes a good landing then lets Michael off. He stays lowered to let Michael get the supplies off of him. He turns to human form once that is done. "I guess we'll set up the tent and take shelter. Maybe even decide on what we should eat."

"How about this. You decide on what we'll eat while I set up the tent."

"Sounds good to me." Gavin agrees to that idea so the two begin getting what they'll need out of the bags. He is glad that Michael is setting up the tent. He doesn't remember setting up a tent in a long time. He does know he used to have tents in his parents backyard as a kid though. He brings his focus back to deciding on the food that they'll eat. He finds a lot of fruit probably since it's an easy thing for not spoiling fast. He checks if they have anything else that they could add to this. He finds a box with some bread in it to keep it from getting squished. He'll start with this.

Soon enough Michael has the tent up then turns to see how Gavin is doing with the food.

Gavin is managing to get some good sandwiches made though he looks really worried.

Michael sits down next to him. "Hey." He greets softly and the other turns to him. He swears that he can feel the worry wafting off of the other in waves crashing against him. "Are you okay?"

"I am worried about Ray and Ryan." Gavin admits to Michael turning back to check on the food. "I mean we only know so much about the whole thing. What if they're being severely mistreated? Like being hurt? They're our friends. And what if to make sure Ray won't be able to reach Ryan to break him free they starve him or something?" He stops his worried rambles as Michael places an arm around his shoulders.

"I am worried about them too. However right now all we really can do is get to the castle and get help." Michael tells him in which Gavin nods his head. "We're really great with flying. I am very sure that we can make it before something too bad happens. Even if they are doing something like what you're fearing I think that we'll get help before it is taken too far." He is glad to see Gavin relax a bit. He helps out with the sandwiches so they can eat before they will rest in the tent.

Jack crouches in the bushes and he can see a barn. He remains in his familiar form for right now. He tries to look for anyone coming or going. He tries to sink further into the shadows silently upon spotting what looks like a patrol is going out. He can see more familiars than there are witches though the familiars almost seem to be in a trance. He doesn't recognize any of them though. Despite this he tries to take in every detail he can while remaining where he can't be seen. He is at a good distance though even from here he can smell a lot of different scents coming from ahead of himself. He can't focus on a single scent as they all seem to just jumble together into one. He turns and is cautious with every step as he leaves that area trying to be as quiet as possible. He knows that hanging around the area for too long means that he could end up where he might be found. He picks up the pace once a good distance away so he can get to where he is going faster. He heads to where Cassandra is sitting waiting for the reports back from Geoff and Jack. He can smell Geoff being the one who is making the sounds of footsteps behind him. He transforms back into his human form.

"How did it go?" Cassandra asks looking between the two as they stop to stand side by side. She goes quiet to let them speak without any interruptions.

Jack is the first to speak between the two. "I watched the barn. I saw a patrol come from there. More familiars than witches. All in their familiar forms. They definitely were under the spell. They seemed to be like in a trance. I didn't dare get any closer. If I did I would have been caught no doubt in my mind. I could smell all sorts of smells. They definitely have a lot of people there. I think that it works as their main area with the mind controlled familiars. I can't tell you much though. The scent was too jumbled together."

"So they're either making sure the area is still clear or they might be seeing if anymore witches and familiars come into the area." Cassandra assumes after ensuring that Jack is done speaking. "I mean. That's how I would interpret that behaviour." She turns to Geoff to hear what he has to say.

"I didn't find much. No one was around the area I looked in." Geoff admits with a slight shake of his head. "I only spotted a few houses. No one seemed to be there and there were bars on the windows. As well as the curtains closed. I couldn't tell you anything about what was inside. I tried to not get too close. Just in case they had some kind of alarm set up. Especially a silent one on my end. I also tried to not stick around for long just in case I unknowingly set one off."

"Hm." Cassandra glances down at this as she hums thoughtfully. "I doubt that they have everything in the barn. Who knows what they have put in the houses to make sure that not everything is in one spot." She looks back up to Geoff meeting his eyes. "And you didn't see any signs of any secret chambers or bunkers?"

"None that I could find." Geoff confirms to her adding a nod to go along with his words.

"Well it is good news to start with." Cassandra stands up. "Let's go back inside my place and plan this out. Maybe we can focus on the houses. There is a chance that they might have less people there. Especially since the barn is where the stolen familiars are." She explains as the two follow her into her home.

"We'll have to make sure that we check for security alarms before we get anywhere near enough to try to get in." Geoff says to himself out loud as he goes through his head trying to think of what spells might be helpful.

"And before we try anything we'll have to make sure that the area is clear of anyone who could sound an alarm." Cassandra adds and the thoughtful Geoff nods. She has them settle down in the living room to plan how they will approach this. "Okay. So I think that we should see when there is less or no people in the area. Make sure we have the spells and everything we'll need. Geoff will be in charge of that since he knows what we'll need better than the rest of us. We will approach one or more homes and take pictures of everything then get out. We will review the photos later back here. It'll be safer than analyzing everything there. Hopefully we can find something helpful and maybe even find a way to stall them from their plans. Or at least know when and how they plan to do what they want to do."

"I can check the area and sniff for any fresh scents." Jack offers sitting up a little as the two turn to look to him. "Then I should be able to have a timeline of when we can hopefully get inside."

"Okay. I will help both of you in whatever way you need me to." Cassandra agrees to this idea then turns to Geoff when he speaks.

"Do you have a spell book about magical alarms? I wanna study up a bit before we try to dive into this mission."

"Actually I do. I have one just in case I needed something to protect my home." Cassandra confirms and glances to Jack. "You can rest and prepare however you need to." She sees him nod in agreement then she leads Geoff to her book collection. She pulls out a brown book with red magical writing on it. "Here it is." She hands it over to him. "Hopefully something in there will be helpful."

"I have a feeling it will be." Geoff sits down open the book to start looking through the pages.

Cassandra looks to her books to see if there is anything else she should grab for them to read up on.