CHAPTER 33 Special Delivery for You

Henrietta

The rope was almost enough to carefully hog-tie every mercenary I'd felled. Except for the boss, who was knocked out mid-animorph and took up as much rope as three of her companions.

I gave up trying to make her fit within what little rope I had, and instead punched a hole through one of the larger crates. It was quick work to shove her through the opening and have Keith reshape and reinforce the wood. She could still use her legs, so I threw her in the wagon first and dumped the rest of the mercenaries on top of her. A few groaned but they were otherwise still below 10% health and unconscious.

It was harder to manage the horses. I just couldn't abandon them … as much as I so desperately wanted to. Keith had let me know that the scouts were half an hour behind me at my pace (or four hours at theirs), and there was no guarantee the horses would still be here if I didn't bring them.

Aaaaachooooo.

"Gods save me. Why am I doing this! ARGH."

Sniffle.

My plan was simple. Load up everything (including the people) into one wagon, then cover the eyes of the four horses, and guide them into the now empty armored wagon. The armored wagon was likely meant for the mercenaries to fall back to in case of a fight. Not that it had helped much against me.

This wasn't my first rodeo. I had a bit more experience pulling horse-laden wagons than most, I assumed, since I often transported the knights mounts back in Drendil.

"Keith," I sniffled and blew my nose into my kerchief. My eyes were watering something fierce, and I had to rub them a few times before I could focus on Hubert. I'd need to deliver the eggs as soon as possible if I wanted to head off the griffin attacks, but it would be nice to check in at the castle on my way past. "Will you be available if I arrive around midnight?"

There was a long pause and no response. "Keith?"

"… No." Keith's voice was strained. "… Sorry."

"Is everything alright?" My heart skipped as I waited longer and longer for his answer. What if an assassin had attacked while he was connected to Hubert? Or the invasion had started early? I could abandon the mercenaries, but even then, it would take a few hours—

"… Just … need rest," he finally answered. "Disconnecting … Hubert."

Magic took a lot out of mages, even arch mages. I could only imagine how many spells Keith had going at any given moment, let alone on top of crafting new automatons for the army and joining me for part of my mission.

Hubert shook himself after his master left, going back to being a construct raven. He didn't seem fazed and shuffled softly on my shoulder as I walked to the front of the wagons. It might be a bit of a bumpy ride for the mercenaries, but the horses were more important.

I carefully stepped into the wagon harness, draping it over both shoulders and carefully tightening the straps. The rest dangled behind me. I wasn't a horse after all—no matter what Mother always said—but that was fine. I was just happy that I'd had Keith clean everything before I touched it. His [Cantrips] were so useful!

With two hitched wagons in tow, I ran back up the Great Road.

"Princesss!" Sithli came forward to meet me at the crossroads. I didn't have the best night vision, so I may have wrecked a bit of the road coming to a quick stop. The horses were not happy.

The lizardman guard was part of the team patrolling from the castle to the front line further south. He met me with ten other lizardkin guards; I only recognized Yulith, a short gray-green lizardkin with a Fu Manchu and a love for butternut rum balls, another castle favorite from Out of This World.

"Sithli!" I smiled at the lizardman. He stared a bit wide-eyed at the whole affair and scrambled to catch my reins as I tossed them at him. I needed the entire affair lifted slightly to better unveil myself of the straps.

"This is Lieutenant Franni," Sithli introduced the leader of the scouts, a tall lizardkin with purple-tipped scales and short red hair.

"Princess." The lizardkin bowed.

"Special delivery for you," I quipped, waving a hand at the two wagons. "I just need to grab the griffin eggs, and then I'll be on my way."

I unearthed the crate that held the eggs from the front of the horse wagon, hugging them to my stomach and said, "Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I need to head out if I'm going to have enough time to get everything done. Though … do you have any snacks?"

"Right here." Sithli handed over a muffin. I freed a hand to take it and unceremoniously shoved it in my face. The lizardman saluted. "Fair-weather travelsss, Princesss."

"Send my regards to your wife!" I finished the baked good, nodded at everyone, then kicked off again. My [Quick Step] was on cooldown, but I could go pretty fast with my stats alone.

I kept my eyes opened for a rest stop along the way and eventually found a small clearing off the side of the road. There was a fallen tree at the far end that would make for a nice windbreak and backrest. I settled in for the night.

The Spring Equinox was approaching, and the nights were above freezing, but still carried a refreshing cold. I kept the chill at bay with a sturdy woolen cloak. Hubert disappeared into the forest.

I checked on everything before I fell asleep.

The three eggs were gray with beautiful blue swirls, and I gently ran my hands over each. My [Mastery] and Perception nineteen were enough to find the heartbeat in each. I worried they would get cold overnight, so I sat cross-legged and tucked the eggs under my shirt. I let my body heat warm them as I wrapped my cloak around my legs and hugged them gently.

It wasn't comfortable, and I didn't mind. I nodded off under the moon and the starlit sky.

Something brushed my ear, and I came awake. Keith was nuzzling my neck. "Keith?"

Pardon me, I meant Keith's automaton was nuzzling my neck. Hubert didn't reply, simply hopping off my shoulder so I could stretch. Clearly, Keith hadn't possessed the automaton again yet, and I blushed at my misunderstanding. And at the absolutely lurid thoughts that followed it. What would it be like to have the real Keith nuzzling my neck? I put the eggs gently back into the crate and grabbed my pack. I slaked my thirst with a swig of my waterskin, ate from a small pouch of dried strawberries, bananas, and roasted nuts, then got ready to head out. The eggs were secure, so I lifted the crate gently and hugged it to my chest.

Hubert flew overhead.

The forest was lush with early spring, and flowers bloomed all along the Great Road that stretched east to west through the Dark Enchanted Forest. I had passed the exit to Keith's castle an hour back down the road, and I would need to travel almost all the way east to reach the dwarven stronghold's turn off.

I could run the entire distance from Baldor's Peak and back again with plenty of time before the griffin attack. And the war wasn't for two weeks, so I thought it fine to slow down and enjoy some sight-seeing as I went.

I walked leisurely down the road for half an hour before Hubert flew down and alighted on my shoulder. "Good morning," he greeted in Keith's dark and comforting voice.

"Good morning, Your Viciousness."

"Ha," Keith said. "How was your sleep?"

I shrugged, careful of the bird and the eggs. "Alright. I'm thinking I'll be out here for a few nights while I return these."

The raven eyed the crate. "I'll send word that you're on your way to the dwarven delegation."

"Thank you."

We walked in companionable silence for a while. I had the feeling that Keith came and went a few times, but I couldn't be sure, so I just waited for him to initiate conversation again.

"Henrietta?"

"Yes, Keith?"

"Chancellor Grimly will meet you at the dwarven outpost at our border in …" Keith hesitated. "Two days?"

"Sounds fine."

"Well." Keith coughed. "Have fun."

"See you when I get back."

The raven nodded with human flair, and then Keith was gone. Hubert took off from my shoulder perch and flew down the road.

He was right; I would have fun.