"Stop here." Victoria poked her head out of the driver's window. She reached out and pointed towards the nearby hill. "That is the fort."
Jasmine glanced back at her. She still didn't know if this woman's word was trustworthy. "Okay."
Elsie lifted her head off of Jasmine's shoulder. "Guessing we need to drop the barrier?"
"Indeed," Victoria climbed through the window. "Pull the carriage alongside that tree. I will handle the barrier."
She jumped off the carriage and quickly disappeared. Jasmine tried her best to keep up with her movement, but she only saw Victoria step forward. After that, she was gone.
Jasmine exhaled harshly. "I swear to the gods, if this is some sort of joke."
"Relax, Jazz," Elsie giggled. "She seemed far more professional just now."
Jasmine shook her head and pulled the reins to her left. They pulled along the tree just as the barrier came down. Jasmine and Elsie were in awe of the magic slowly trickling away. It almost looked like ice melting into water.
"I am serious when I need to be." Victoria had a small smile on her face. "And I did promise to be better towards you."
"Claire also made you promise to apologize!" Elsie perked up. "I think now is a good time."
"I promised to do so after this whole thing is over." Victoria focused on Elsie.
"No harm in doing both," Elsie insisted. She had a smug yet dignified look on her face. She was doing her part to make sure Jasmine was being treated properly.
Victoria shook her head. "Sure. I guess you are right."
"Good." Elsie leaned back and glanced at Jasmine. "Now apologize."
"Jasmine Ellis, I apologize for my earlier disrespect." Victoria bowed her head. There wasn't a hint of sarcasm or deceit. But it was hard to tell with the spy to begin with. "I will not explain why I did so as it would not make up for my behavior."
Jasmine stared down at the bowing woman. Her short, violet hair hid her eyes. Part of her wanted to doubt the spy's sincerity, but another part wanted to accept the apology. Both Claire and Elsie were doing their part to ensure Jasmine was respected. Jasmine let out a deep sigh.
"Thank you, Victoria." Jasmine grimaced. "I really found it more annoying and frustrating than disrespectful. I was trying to understand the situation, and you blew me off."
"I understand." Victoria lifted her head. She glanced back at the melting barrier. "I was concerned you'd be too hard on yourself."
"She was going to be hard on herself either way." Elsie shook her head. "Better to diminish your impact."
"Spoken like a true expert." Victoria smiled. She glanced between the two. "When I first observed your group, I didn't know how it would work. An entire party in a polyamorous relationship seemed like an explosion waiting to happen."
"I thought the same thing when we started." Jasmine shrugged. She glanced at Elsie. "It's somehow worked so far."
"Helps that we are uncontrollably horny." Elsie giggled. She looked up at Jasmine. "And surprisingly not very jealous."
"Right. Not a lot of jealousy and some decent communication." Jasmine nodded along. "We have members we get along with more, and that's okay."
"Except Claire." Elsie tilted her head. "She gets along with all of us super well."
"Interesting." Victoria smiled. "Be careful, though. Most situations like this are smooth in the beginning, but slowly get volatile over time."
"We'll do our best not to," Jasmine replied. She glanced back at the cabin. She had faith in her party members. "Enough about us. Let's get prepared for those enforcers."
"Right, good idea." Elsie smiled at Jasmine.
"From what I can gather, they don't know about me or that you know they are tailing you." Victoria turned towards the barrier. It was almost completely gone now. "So we have some element of surprise. They'll be shocked to find this fort when they do arrive."
"Too shocked to approach?" Jasmine asked as she hopped off the carriage.
"Maybe." Victoria shrugged. "But if they run, I can pursue them."
"Sure. But are they dumb enough to enter a fort that appears out of nowhere?" Jasmine furrowed her brow.
"I wouldn't say dumb; I would say arrogant." Victoria smiled at Jasmine. Her tone was more jovial again. "They severely underestimate you."
"Really?" Elsie asked as Jasmine helped her down. "Even after we killed Astrid?"
"Yes. They likely assume that was more Firewater and the goblins than you all." Victoria stood before the remnants of the barrier. Only a few sparks were on the ground. The defenses were in full effect now, meaning Victoria would have to run ahead. "They also assume Ursa is just a Ravian immigrant, not- Whoops."
Victoria stopped herself before explaining Ursa's exact mission. She didn't know if Ursa had explained her sacred mission, and it wasn't her place, nor did she need to. Ursa would explain once she is ready.
"Right, her axe is special." Elsie nodded and rubbed her chin. "She wouldn't even let Lily examine it."
"It's sacred to my people," Ursa said after exiting the carriage. "Not that I don't trust you all. It's just not my place to explain it."
"Understandable." Elsie smiled at Ursa. Jasmine's words from before were on her mind. So she'd keep her words to a minimum. "Just glad you are here with it."
Ursa nodded and turned towards the fort. Victoria had taken Ursa's arrival as an opportunity to disappear. She was already in the fort disabling the traps for them. It took a moment for the rest of the party to exit the carriage, but they were all staring in awe at the fort.
Samira had a grimace on her face. The magic felt like her own. It didn't sit right with her at all. But the rest of them were examining the place. The condition was far better than expected. The fort was supposed to be ancient, but there was no visual structural damage. It looked like it was built within the last couple of years at most.
"I can't believe this was hidden all these years." Lily tried to examine the magic with her Analytical Eye skill, but was getting nothing. It strained her eyes and made her head hurt. "How was there no record or anything of it?"
"Its magic." Samira grimaced. "It feels like my own. The subtle feeling of coercion…"
Claire grabbed her hand. She looked into her snake-like eyes. "Bear with it for now. We'll leave as soon as we can." Claire watched her narrow pupils widen and her expression soften.
"I will, don't worry." Samira squeezed Claire's hand. "It felt far too familiar, is all."
Lily grabbed her other hand. "We'll be sitting out on the fighting. If it gets too much, just tell me."
"Or me!" Toni called out from the side. "I'll sing a calming song for you."
"Thank you." Samira bowed her head. It really was just an icky feeling for her, but she wouldn't pass up the chance to be doted on. Or listening to Toni sing. "We'll see how I feel when we get inside."
Claire nodded and pulled the lamia along by her hand. She pulled Lily along, and they joined the rest of their party.
"So we just wait for Vicky to get back?" Toni asked.
"Vicky?" Hannah tilted her head. "Since when do you call her that?"
"Um, since she asked me to," Toni replied with a small smile. "Though I wasn't supposed to say that…"
Hannah shook her head. The image of the spy was truly shattered ever since she appeared. All those grueling nights of training with Victoria felt like a fever dream now. She always seemed so cold and distant then, never even smiled. All Hannah could do was mutter, "What the fuck?"
Elsie grabbed her sister's hand, then Jasmine's. 'Jasmine seems a lot better after our talk.' Ana said within their minds. 'And good job getting Victoria to apologize.'
'Thank you, Ana.' Elsie flashed her a smile. 'I'm glad she apologized. Though I kind of wanted more of a back and forth.'
'You always do.' Ana squeezed her hand. She glanced up at Jasmine and smiled at her too. "H-how are you feeling?"
Jasmine smiled at her. "I'm better, thank you, Ana. But you already knew that."
"I did," Ana nodded sheepishly. "B-but it's always better to ask."
"It is." Jasmine chuckled. She glanced at Elsie, "Thank your sister for my better mood. But you probably already did that."
Ana nodded. "I-I did…"
"Alright," Victoria reappeared, cutting off all the conversations. "Guide the horses towards there. Then we'll detach them from the carriage and hide them. After that, make sure to follow me. No straying at all. Got it?"
They all nodded. Victoria was serious, they all could tell.