Release That Witch

These days she had no progress with her proposals. The witches of the Witch Cooperation were much more stubborn than expected. Whether it came to the aged Scroll or the underaged Lily, all of her invitations were refused. The only difference was the way that she was rejected.     

Some witches stayed because of Roland, and some decided not to part with the sisters of the Witches Cooperation Association, resulting in a tight-knit group of 10 witches. She had even less will to try at Anna and Nana, the original witches from Border Town. Ashes felt that the magic power of these witches was different somehow, especially Anna's. Standing in front of her, Ashes could feel that her magic power was hard as steel, smooth and dense, standing between them like an iron wall.     

Among the many witches gathered by Tilly, there had been no other witch that made her feel this way. When she asked other witches here about it, they stated that Anna's ability was to control flames, something rather typical. Why she felt that a real barrier existed in the magic power of those invisible flames, Ashes had not a clue.     

The town was also different than the other towns and villages she had seen before. To say it simply, there was a greater vitality. People seemed to have endless activities each and every day.     

From the top of the castle, she had a panoramic view of the entire town. The most crowded area in the center of the town was where new houses were being built. They had split the whole area into small districts, with the houses of each district looking mostly alike. Horse-led carriages were continuously transporting bricks from the north. Masons first dug a dozen or so similar looking pits and then began to build a brick foundation. This construction was surprisingly fast, and in about a day the foundation would be approximately half the height of a man.     

And when Ashes looked to the northeast smoke billowed up into the sky, it was not a result of a forest fire, but because of the work at the brick kiln. There were also a number of sturdy brick towers that had been erected. At first glance, they seemed like piles of lumber from giant red trees.     

On the side of the riverside pier, groups of sailing ships arrived at Border Town daily. From looking at the banners hanging on the masts a majority of the ships had come from Longsong Stronghold. The goods unloaded from the ship almost filled the yard, and around the area guards patrolled holding wooden spears. Unlike most cities' garrisons, they were not alternating between lazy walking and resting, nor were they simply looking for a place to hide and take a nap. Rather, they paced between the pier and the yard, keeping always in a straight line. Sometimes they would also stop to help unload goods from the ships, which was something that Ashes could not recall having ever seen the likes of before.     

[Just what sort of magic power does Roland Wimbledon possess that he can create such enthusiasm in his subjects as they build up this desolate and barren town?] Ashes wondered.     

At that moment, the coo of a bird was heard above Ashes' head. She raised her head and saw a fat pigeon fly down from the sky and land on her shoulder.     

"I finally found you, coo." The pigeon rubbed her cheek.     

"Did Tilly send you?" Ashes took some wheat out of her pocket and tossed it onto the roof.     

The pigeon fluttered past her when it seemed like it suddenly remembered something. "I'm not a bird, coo!"     

"Then just change into a person and then talk to me."     

"Fine, coo." The voice faded and then the pigeon's feathers suddenly swelled out, a white light shining between the gaps in the feathers. After that, the swollen feathers quickly contracted, changing into long, white hair.     

No matter how many times Ashes saw this, she was always amazed. Maggie could change into a variety of birds. Besides the fact that she was a big fat ball in her transformed state, Ashes thought that the ability was nonetheless wonderful. There were times when Ashes would envy Maggie's ability and wished that she had it rather than being an extraordinary with the power of not fearing God's Stone of Retaliation. She would rather be able to travel quickly between two places. That way, each time she wanted to see Tilly, she could just leave and do so.     

"Even though you have the tracking sigil, you were not easy to find." Maggie shook the sticky fluff off of her body. "You were so far away that my magic stone could not receive the sigil's fluctuations. Fortunately, Shadow knew your approximate location, and as I passed over Fallen Dragon Ridge, I got a bit of a response from the stone."     

Other than Maggie's iconic white hair, her most particular attribute was her height. Despite it being clear that she was an adult, she barely came up to Ashes' waist and had the appearance of a young girl. When her white hair flowed freely, it nearly covered her whole body.     

"Has Tilly safely arrived at the Fjords?" Ashes sat down and patted the shingles beside her. Maggie scooted over in a manner similar to that of a bird.     

"She had the safe travel on the Empress, but the second ship was hit by a strong north wind and crashed into the reef. Luckily, no witches were lost. The third and fourth ships are still at sea. I flew over them when I came looking for you."     

"Then that's good." Ashes was relieved. Even though the face of His Highness was abominable, what he said had not been wrong, and the passage from Kingdom of Graycastle to the Fjords was indeed dangerous. The climate of the sea was much swifter and more violent than that on land, and the good weather of a beautiful blue sky could turn into a storm in the blink of an eye. In those overwhelming waves, even her extraordinary magic power seemed insignificant.     

Maggie stated, "Your rhetoric is all the same. Shadow said that you didn't go back with her because you wanted to go to Border Town to win over more witches. Rather than questioning the situation, the first thing that Lady Tilly said was 'That's fine'." She paused and looked around. "The companions, where are they?"     

"They didn't want to leave," Ashes said, sighing. She proceeded to summarize what had happened. "They trusted their lord more than they did me. Furthermore, he's Tilly's older brother."     

"Lady Tilly is willing to accept us, so is her brother... Well, then it seems that there's nothing wrong, coo. That's why you should set out for the Fjord early. Without your help, Lady Tilly will have no way to enact the cleansing plan," Maggie said.     

Ashes shook her head. "I'll leave only after the duel."     

"But you just said, even if you win, the lord won't ask the witches to leave with you, right?" Maggie muttered, "Even with that you want to complete the duel?"     

"If there's even a chance, I'd like to try," Ashes said, calmly. "It's not a big deal to delay the cleansing plan for a few days, but if I can convince even one witch to come back with me, Tilly's power will grow greatly."     

"Alright, then I'll wait here to return together with you. However, there's one more thing. When crossing Fallen Dragon Bridge, I saw a group of about 10 people carrying the church's banner," said Maggie.     

"That's not too many... with that flag, it's probably a diplomatic envoy." Ashes snorted coldly. "I don't believe there's any place around here that the church would send envoys to other than Border Town. Their nose is as sharp as a dog's. But fine, wait until I beat the knight to the ground. After that, I'll tell Roland Wimbledon the news about them. By then, he'll know just how wrong he is."