Playing "bandit" in the other world, robbing a transport vehicle... At least we're doing it for a good cause!

"Lady Pento-- is it alright if I speak out of line for a moment?" Zephys whispers to me.

"Go for it."

"I... I don't think this is a good idea."

It's the dead of night. We're laying low in a set of bushes overlooking the road that leads to Anson's house, on the lookout for any land vehicles approaching.

I chuckle. "Probably not-- but it beats sitting around doing nothing."

"M-mmm...."

"Besides, we're not going to actually take on Anson-- not today, at least. But if we can at least disrupt their caravan, then that's a few slaves freed right there."

"I- I get that, but are we really prepared to take on a caravan? ...Especially without the assistance from Lord Exgrave and Madame Narce. Maybe if we trained a bit more, then-"

I turn to face her, admittedly a bit annoyed. "I'm tired of waiting. Waiting around for everything to fall into place. You know what happened because of waiting all the time?" I stop myself, realizing I'm getting worked up. "S-sorry. ...sorry." I take a breath, trying to recenter myself. "I just... I want to be more proactive."

Zephys takes a moment to speak, probably flustered by my outburst. "...P-proactivity and impulsive behavior are two different things, though."

I sit on her words for a moment, before sighing. "You're right. Maybe we should head home for now."

She stops me from getting up. "H-hey... I didn't say that." She smiles, trying to psych herself up. "It's just a caravan, right? You're a big scary dragon, I'm a failsorceress, what's the worst that can happen?"

"You're sure about this?" I laugh a bit.

She pauses, her face turning more serious. "I'm tired of being so anxious all the time-- never actually doing anything with my life. It's why I set out on my own-- to find Lord Exgrave, yes, but also to become a better person." She breaks eye contact, looking back to the road. "...I can't deny we're probably making a mistake here, but it's nothing we can't get ourselves out of... probably."

"Exactly." I look to the road, as well.

...

"How old are you, Zephys?" I figure it best to make small talk while we're waiting for anything to happen.

"Oh, ah... 20."

So young-- is it really a good idea for her to be a soldier?

"What about you, Lady Pento?"

"Well, I'm 5 years old now." The irony isn't lost on me. "But, I was 27 in my past life, if that counts for something."

"...Do you feel 32 then?"

I mull it over, trying to figure that out. "Not really? My mind's been trying to adjust to this new body the whole time-- so I guess I feel 27 and 5 at the same time."

Zephys chuckles. "Would it not be 27 and, like, 14?"

"Oh yeah, true. It still feels super weird, though."

"I can imagine, yeah."

...

...

"Oh, look-- there's something."

It's not so much of a caravan as it is... a single van, but still. Time for action.

"Okay, just as we planned." I say to Zephys. She nods, taking out her spellbook.

"Please work, please work..." She performs some complex gestures with her free hand, causing sparkles and crackles to form before a bolt of lightning shoots out in the direction of the vehicle.

The bolt hits one of the front wheels, knocking it clean off and forcing the vehicle to stop. The individual who was driving gets out to examine the situation.

"Yes!!" Zephys pumps her hands.

"Let's go!"

The two of us rush out, making a break for the back of the cart. Zephys struggles to open the door.

"I-it's locked...!" She pulls out her spellbook once more, whispering incantations while she holds her hand over the lock. The lock begins to glow and, after a moment, falls to the ground in pieces.

Opening the door, our suspicions are confirmed. Three individuals sit on the benches, each of their hands tied together with what appear to be magical cuffs. A dogfolk, and two kobolds. Both kobolds are a pale blue; I think I recognize them from the village, actually. Were they off on a hunt while everything happened?

I peek over to see where the driver is-- we've got a tight window of time to get these folk out.

...

Wait, where are they? Did they head over to where me and Zephys were originally?

I turn back.

There they are-- holding a knife to Zephys' neck.

"Z-Zephys...!"

"Make one wrong move and 'yer snake friend gets their neck sliced open!" The human driver screams at me.

I tense up. What do I even do here...? I'm not fast enough to intercept, and I don't know how to cast any spells.

...God I'm useless.

"Just run away like a good little lizard-- unless 'ya want to be sold off, too!"

He cackles, using a free hand to fit a collar onto Zephys. Spectral cuffs manifest on her hands, preventing her attempts at trying to overpower him.

"Now let's see..." He presses a button on Zephys' collar, causing a spectral projection of text to hover next to her-- appearing to list name and biological information. "████ Tailwind, huh? What are 'ya doing so far away from 'yer daddy?" ...I mentally block out her deadname. "Go be a sport and fix the wheel you broke, 'yea? I'm sure ya've got some repair magics." He pushes her in the direction of the wheel, keeping his knife to her back and occasionally taking glances at me to make sure I don't try anything.

She begins casting a spell, light passing from her hand to the wheel. The wheel begins to glow, getting brighter and brighter...

Before exploding in a massive eruption of fire, sending both of them flying and setting the front of the cart ablaze.

I can't tell if Zephys is being a genius or her magic spiked out of control again.

Before either of them can react to what happened, I rush to help the captives out of the carriage-- thankfully unscathed --before flying towards the driver to overpower him.

"Gah--!!"

"Not so tough without your knife, huh?" I press him against the ground, preventing him from getting up. "Now free my friend, dammit! Unless you want to get toasted!"

"Ya' really think yer' scaring me? Like this is the first time I've had ta' deal with bandits?" He struggles to break free from my arms.

"You're doing a real good job of it, here." I chuckle at him. "Like I said, get that collar off of Zephys, or I'll- !!"

He headbutts me, sending me tumbling off of him. Before I can regain my balance, he throws a collar onto me, handcuffs dropping me to the ground.

"Like I said, if you'd just run along like a good little bitch, then I wouldn't be setting you up to be sold off!" He pulls out a remote and presses a button-- causing my collar to electrify. My body convulses and shakes, muscles stiffening as I'm being shocked.

"Ya' know? Maybe I'll keep ya' for myself. I've always wanted to own a dragon~" He crouches over to get my information-- shocking me more when I try to bite at him.

"...Huh. I've never seen this before." The projected information seems to be... glitching out. Not even my name is legible, instead covered up by glitchy, undiscernible shapes. "Well, whatever. It's probably just not built for feral beasts like you. No sweat off my back."

He looks to his cart. "Ya've completely wrecked my vehicle, but that's fine. I've got a perfectly good riding animal right here- gah!" The dogfolk from before slams her cuffed hands onto the man's head, knocking him to the ground. "How dare-" He moves to use his remote again, before one of the kobolds leaps to knock it out of his hands.

"Q-quick... Zephys, blow it up!"

"Yes Lady Pento...!" She quickly begins channeling the spell from before. The man moves to intercept, but the other captives and I are more easily able to overpower him when not under threat of electrocution.

The remote explodes-- much to the man's dismay. We're all still cuffed up, but at least he can't electrocute us anymore.

"Y'all think this is over?!" He throws us off, huffing out of breath. "Just wait until Miss Slader finds out about this, then yer' gonna be praying for mercy when she- gkkhht"

He starts coughing up blood, collapsing to the ground. All of our handcuffs dissipate into nothingness.

"What the...?" I look closer at the man.

A crimson dagger is embedded in his neck. ...As soon as I realize whose dagger it is, it shoots off in the direction of its rightful owner.

"Intercepting a transport of slaves without my assistance, hmmmh? Are you perhaps trying to one-up me?" Crimson asks, approaching with a confident stride.

"W-who is this...?" The dogfolk asks nervously.

"Oh, he's-"

"Lady Pento's finest soldier. ...No offense, Miss Tailwind." He gives a humble bow. "The fearful Crimson Black, at your service."

...Huh? 'Lady' Pento? Before I can say anything, I notice he gives me a wink.

"Apologies for my sudden appearance-- I prefer to work from the shadows."

"Pento..." The male Kobold ponders. "From Poi Village, yes?"

"Oh uh... yeah." I realize who this is-- it's Ele'vale, one of the village hunters.

"Were you sent after us? ...Me and Vek'vale here were tricked-- we thought we were trying to help a child who wandered out from the village, but it was an ambush to capture us."

"Kobolds are unfortunately trending upwards for slavery in recent times." Crimson interjects. "Such deception has become more and more common as a result,"

"How disgusting." I grit my teeth in anger, before sighing. "But no... we were just trying to free any slaves that were on their way to Anson."

"Thanks for that, by the way!" The dogfolk extends a hand to me, which I shake. "I should probably get going, though-- my parents must be worried sick." She waves, before running off. "I'll be sure to spread word of your deeds, 'Lady Pento!'"

"We should be off to the village, as well." Vek adds. "They must all be worried about us too."

...

I don't know how to break it to them.

"...Unfortunately," Crimson speaks for me, "there was a cave-in. An overzealous fool of a human woke up the 'quakebugs'."

"Oh no...!"

"D-did... did anyone survive...?"

I force myself to speak. "...Just me and Mae'poi. Everyone fought to protect each other to the bitter end, though."

"As I'm sure we would have too, were we also there." Ele adds. "Can you take us to her? I'm sure she'll be glad to know some of us are still alive."

"Of course." I look to Crimson. "Shall we?"

"Go on without me, Commander." He walks over to the burning cart. "If you'll allow me, I would like to cover our tracks here-- lest Anson find out something happened."

I nod, "Go for it." Hopefully he doesn't use this as an excuse to go off on his own again.

Walking off with the Vale's, I notice Zephys isn't following us. I ask for the two to wait, and head over to her.

"Zephys? You alright...?"

She's... crying.

"Y-you... came back for me?" She sniffles.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

She looks away, not wanting to make eye contact. "People tend to look at me in disgust when they find out I wasn't born a woman..."

"But you are one."

"Y-you think so...?" She looks to me, surprised at my reaction.

"You're like, trans, right...?" I realize I shouldn't assume-- I don't even know if the terminology exists in this world. She nods, giving me a flash of relief. "I see no problem with that. My niece was trans, actually. She's a woman, you're a woman, simple as that."

Zephys rushes for me, practically suffocating me in a hug. "T-thank you thank you thank you thank you...!!!"

"H-hey, maybe n-not choke me to death, please...!"

"S-sorry... heheh..." She sniffles, wiping away tears from her eyes. "I've... just had people react very harshly when they found out. My boyfriend of all people, he...." She trails off. "I don't want to think about him. Let's get going, Lady Pento."

We head off, eventually making our way back to Castle Exgrave.

...Elioxus and Exgrave are opening the door to head out-- stopping when they notice us approaching.

"...Penelope?"

"Pento? What on Arethon...?"

Oh right, I never actually told anyone other than Zephys.

"...Hi." I laugh nervously.

"Explain yourself." Exgrave glares at me.

"I needed to get my mind off of things, so I left to get some fresh air. I had Zephys come along, as well."

Elioxus looks at me puzzled. "And your excursion to get fresh air includes becoming a slave, why...?"

"What? Oh, right." They're referring to the collar. I move to take it off, getting startled reactions from both Elioxus and Exgrave, before the collar comes off properly. "...The person who put it on me is dead. It's just an accessory, now."

"You... killed someone?" Exgrave looks shocked.

"I-I didn't! ...Crim did." The thought of actually killing someone...? I shudder to think.

"Crim...?"

As if on cue, Crimson walks in, looking somehow out of breath despite everything.

"...Ah. Crim." Exgrave bows their head in frustration.

"Greetings again, Lord Commander." Crimson bows before Exgrave and Elioxus, before walking ahead, to open the door for the Vales to enter. "I shall walk you both to the quarters-- Mae'poi should be there as well." They nod, and follow after.

"What-" Exgrave stops, lost in their confusion.

I catch the two up on all that happened.

"...You're playing with fire here, Penelope."

"When I told you about the caravan, I didn't mean for you to actually go after it...!" Elioxus holds their forehead, exasperated.

"...I'm tired of waiting-- I want to make a difference now. I'm ready to conquer this world."

"What delinquency..." Exgrave sighs. "But if you're so certain, then perhaps we can make this work."

Elioxus drops their hand from their forehead to the bridge of their nose, pinching it in frustration.

I look to them, frustration mounting in kind. "I'm not waiting for your awakening-- If we keep waiting, then more Khil'nubs will die. More Vales will be sold into slavery. I'm not abiding by that."

"A woman after my own heart." Crimson walks back in. He bows before me. "You have me in your service."

Exgrave looks at him, unimpressed. He looks as if he would be sweating profusely if he could.

"If I can't change your mind, then so be it." Elioxus smiles, despite everything. "I really do respect you wanting to make the world a better place, don't get it wrong. I just do not wish for you to do anything you'll regret."

"Of course, I appreciate it."

"Now then." That all-too-familiar curtsy. "I should be off-- lest Brysen go looking for me. He's an asshole, but he still cares about me, for whatever reason." He looks to Crimson. "Hmm? Something the matter?"

Crimson seems... sad. "When was the last time we talked together, Lifegiver?"

L... Lifegiver??

Elioxus shifts, unsure of how to respond. "I suppose it has been a while, yes."

"I really did miss you. Ever since you left for-" He stops himself, realizing Zephys and I are still here. "...It is not my business to speak of your past in the presence of others. But still-- it has been too long."

Elioxus walks over to Crimson, pulling them into a close hug. "I'll be here more often-- you have my word on it."

Crimson wordlessly returns the hug.

"What... do you mean by 'Lifegiver?'" I ask.

After breaking the hug, Crimson speaks. "It is as I said-- they are the one who gave me life."

"You mean-- you created Sir Crimson??" Zephys speaks up, eyes practically sparkling.

Elioxus chuckles. "I did. My mentor guided me through the whole process, to be clear, but yes."

"Can... Can you teach me?" She's practically right up against Elioxus.

They wave their hand in amused dismissal. "...I've never been good at teaching others. That, and the process of fashioning an automagia's core is immensely taxing and expensive."

Zephys pouts, folding her arms.

"I really should be off, though." They wave to us, before walking enough of a distance to be able to transform and fly off.

"...Crim."

"Yes, Lady Commander?" They seem amused by my nickname.

"How feasible is it to take on Anson?"

"If we were to come at her directly, it would be immensely difficult. However, if we were to take a more stealth-oriented approach-- perhaps freeing her own slaves in the event any of them can assist..."

"Then...?"

"Then, we have a chance."