As hard as it was to believe, Kaseya and I were actually able to walk mostly fine the next morning even without the aid of restorative magic. We made even better time than the previous day, actually, though I did have to deactivate my ring after only a few hours. Containing my own libido was difficult enough without hers amplifying it, and we did need to move fairly quickly if we wanted to reach the bandit's stronghold by nightfall. Assuming it was real and not a hoax, anyway.
The map led us more or less in the right direction, and Kaseya's tracking skills filled in the gaps when necessary. We passed the North Road around noon, though we didn't spot any travelers or caravans. The boot prints in the nearby forest were still fresh, however, and based on their number alone I was fairly certain we had found the right trail. A few hours before nightfall, my suspicions were confirmed.
Unfortunately, so were my biggest doubts.
"That's not an outpost," I whispered. "It's a bloody fortress."
Based on the description from the bounty, I had expected a ramshackle wooden fort built into the side of the mountain, not half of a damn castle. End to end, the walls stretched at least a hundred yards, though the size worried me far less than the battlements and the twin watchtowers. Even from here I could see at least nine men on the walls, and for all we knew there could have been fifty more inside the actual keep and courtyard. The only remotely encouraging sign was that the stone was old and crumbling, but it was probably more than sufficient to repel an assault from anything short of heavy siege equipment or powerful magic.
"I thought you said there were dozens of small mining villages along the edge of the mountains here," Kaseya said, leaning down in the grass next to me.
"According to the map, there are," I said. "Their militias wouldn't have a chance in hell against fortifications like this. Then again, a patrol of knights wouldn't have a chance against fortifications like this, either."
I slumped behind the knoll and swore under my breath. I hadn't expected this to be as easy blasting a few thugs and recovering the stolen cargo, but this had devolved from "dangerous" to "suicidal" in record time.
"Based on the tracks we found and the fact that these men haven't attempted to rule any of the villages, I doubt there are more than fifteen or twenty warriors inside," Kaseya said, her eyes narrowing in thought. "You shouldn't be so concerned. If we wait for the cover of night, we should be able to—"
"We could be outnumbered twenty to one for all we know," I interrupted. "I don't care how dark it gets—we're not overcoming those odds."
She frowned. "They are merely brigands. You are
moshalim
, and I am a trained amazon warrior. They will not be able to stand against us."
I sighed and rubbed at my temples. Last night I had found her earnest self-assuredness charming, but it had suddenly become a liability. "Look, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but we have to be realistic. The two of us can't—"
"I am as skilled with a bow as a blade," Kaseya interrupted. "Once I remove the sentry in the eastern tower, your magic can propel me up onto the wall. I can easily eliminate their other spotters and catch the rest in their sleep."
I paused and studied her silhouette as she squinted out towards the fortress. I didn't need to reactivate my ring to know that she wasn't just blustering. She was fully convinced that she could sneak inside the fortress and discreetly murder a few dozen men in their sleep. My mind flashed back to a few years ago when Valuri and I had shared almost the exact same argument about an underground base filled with local gangsters. I was the one who constantly ran the risk of overchanneling the Aether and destroying himself, but apparently fate thought it was a good idea to repeatedly pair me off with beautiful, deadly, suicidally-confident women.
"Getting you up onto the wall would be easy, true," I admitted, "but I'm not just going to let you take on an entire fort full of brigands by yourself."
"It is the only way I can guarantee your safety," Kaseya told me. "If I am overwhelmed, you will still be able to escape."
"Just because you pledged to serve me doesn't make you expendable. If we're going to do this, we'll do it together."
"If that is your wish. But whatever our strategy, you should allow me to bear the brunt of the risk."
I couldn't help but shake my head and grin at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Last night I had been holding her face-down in the dirt while I savagely fucked her ass, and now, barely half a day later, she was perfectly willing to charge into an enemy fortress and die on my behalf. It was ludicrous beyond reason. And yet here we were.
"Before we do anything, we should get a closer look at their numbers and defenses," I said. "We can't risk approaching on foot, but there's a chance I can scry on them from here."
Kaseya turned to face me. "I did not realize you had mastered such magic."
"I haven't, which is why I don't know if it will actually work," I said. "As a friend of mine used to say, I know a little about a lot of things. Sadly, in the real world that doesn't seem as useful as knowing a lot about a few."
I closed my eyes and stretched out through the Aether. In my mind's eye, I could see the field surrounding us almost like I had become a leaf on the wind, but moving my field of view closer to the fortress proved even more strenuous than I'd anticipated. I felt Kaseya stir next to me, and after a few moments she pressed her forehead against mine.
"I am no sorcerer," she said, "but the
moshalim
on Nol Krovos often find that physical contact aids with their concentration."
"All right," I whispered. It didn't make any sense to me, but I wasn't about to push her away for no reason. The flowery scent of her hair—how did it always smell so damn good?—greeted my nostrils and did actually help me relax.
It took a few more minutes, but I eventually I managed to stretch my senses all the way to fortress. Other than the nine sentries on the battlements, I only sensed a handful more inside the actual keep. They were all haggard and half-starving, and their weapons and armor were clearly scavenged and/or stolen. I made a mental note of the structural weaknesses in the stone and the locations of all their potential light-sources...
"All right," I said, opening my eyes. "There are fewer men than I thought, and they're not equipped particularly well. I'm a little surprised they managed to steal cargo from guild wizards, honestly."
"Do you know if the supplies are still here?"
"If they are, they're probably inside the keep. I can't stretch my senses that far." I paused. "They certainly don't look like they've received any kind of massive payment. I bet they're still waiting for their buyer to show up."
