Dragon's Tale 107

“Don’t make a noise, and just break the walls and jump into the water if they notice your presence. And do the same if you get the sign. Don’t try to tangle with them,” I warned Xia one last time before I turned back to her. 

I wasn’t supposed to be worried about her safety, as even with her focus on healing, she was a sorceress, and the surprise was on her side. Still, the deck was filled with many dangerous weapons, quite a bit designed for ship-to-ship combat, making them extremely dangerous. 

I much preferred her to just extract herself from the danger. 

“Now, to hiding,” I said, once again letting the transformation spread freely to my body. The scales covered me, creating a defense that was effective against both weapons and magic — one that I had tested extensively at the secret base of House Junia. However, this time, it wasn’t my aim, as during an infiltration mission, I shouldn’t rely on my defenses. 

I needed the speed and the perception granted by the transformation, one that would allow me to weave through the soldiers, trying to stay outside their field of view. The only hope I had was to stay concealed without illusion spells. 

Staying concealed wasn’t an absolute necessity, as I was more than enough to deal with an exhausted sorcerer and a bunch of occupied soldiers. Still, that would mean that their already struggling defense would collapse, and attacking ships would have a chance to close in. 

Immediately adding another two sorcerers to the mix, which was hardly what I needed. 

I took a deep breath as I caught the position of every soldier, waiting for none of them to pay attention toward the stairs before dashing forward. Another repeat, and I found myself on the upper deck, trying to find pick my target. 

Ironically, the ongoing battle made my infiltration much easier than I expected. The number of still-living soldiers was lower than I expected, to the point that it was surprising that they were still fighting. Their discipline was extraordinary. 

The reduced number of soldiers wasn’t the only advantage. Half of the deck was destroyed, with several ongoing fires, the combination of the rabble, smoke, and fire, created an excellent path for me to avoid their gazes as I moved through the deck, trying to find where I needed to look. 

It took less than I expected, as there was a sole room at the back end of the deck, which I recognized as the captain’s cabin, wrapped in several layers of wards to protect it from the damage, pristine despite the ongoing battle. 

Some of the wards were just a part of the ship’s structure, but the others were clearly established after the battle started — some I had felt despite isolation wards meant to isolate the secret hold — which was enough to confirm that whatever they were trying to carry was hidden there. 

I waited a few seconds, hidden in the flames — barely more than a tickling in my current form, though my clothes burning was familiar — until another offensive spell reached the deck, slamming against the wards. 

It wasn’t strong enough to break the wards, but I chose that moment to burst forward and cut the wards with my magic-resistant claws, crouching down in the smokes even as the unlucky captain repaired the wards, too busy to notice my infiltration. 

Breaking the door would have alerted him, but my skills were not only magical, but also mundane, like lockpicking, my claws long enough to fiddle with it, the magical trap splashing uselessly against my skin. 

I burst inside, greeted by a fearful, feminine cry.

One that was distinctly familiar. 

I found myself face to face with Theodora, looking at me in fear. Though, her position was rather interesting, locked in a cage. A very comfortable-looking cage, with a silk bed and a great number of amenities, and she was dressed in a very beautiful yet conservative dress. Even the magic blockers on her wrists looked like beautiful gems. 

Still, she was in a cage. 

Still, the crazy desperation of the secret ship suddenly made sense. They were trying to kidnap someone of royal blood, a political chip that the Republic would have loved to have against them, especially with all the implications of the coup. 

I had no idea whether they wanted to force her into a political marriage, or wanted to execute her showily. Her comfortable state didn’t imply anything but the captain’s intelligence. Even if she were to be executed, she was still royalty, and disrespecting her in any way was not something would others take lightly. 

Her terror was understandable, as I was still transformed. “We should stop meeting like this,” I said with a smile, pulling back the transformation even as I did so. 

“M-Marcus,” she gasped in shock, fear replaced by relief, with a generous dash of fanatic worship. “You’re here to save me. Again.” 

“I aim to please, princess,” I said with a chuckle, glad to have not only an answer to their weird strategic choices, but also a way to make them even more confused. “We can talk later,” I said as I moved forward, letting my claw appear once again as I cut through the bars and the wards. 

“What happened,” she asked. “You looked like a monster.” 

“Just a magical transformation to give strength and magical resistance,” I explained to her, cutting short. Not because I wanted to hide the true nature of the transformation from her, but because the situation was hardly conducive to such an explanation. “Useful,” I added, which was rather clear as I cut through the magic and steel both easily.  

“F-fascinating,” she gasped, though I noticed that her gaze didn’t stay focused on my hand, but dancing on my body — completely naked with my clothes burned in a fire earlier. 

“You’ll have time for a test drive, sweetie, let’s get you out first,” I said with a chuckle, amused by her reaction at the moment of her rescue. “Raise your arms,,” I ordered, and cut her magic blockers, even easier this time. 

Such a naughty princess. 

“What’s the plan,” she said, considerably calmer as I transformed back. 

“How’s your illusion spells?” I asked. 

“Ordinarily, not bad, but after the magical blockers…” she muttered. 

“I don’t need much. Can you cast a shadow that would be moving rapidly underwater,” I said. 

“That much, I can do,” she offered. 

“Good, then hold my back, and be ready,” I said, letting the transformation take hold once more, but held back the moment I felt my back crawling with some weird sensation. I was tempted to push, but it was hardly the time. 

“What’s the plan,” she said as she grabbed my back... 

“Simple,” I said even as I raised my hand, and pushed down, cracking the deck to create a shortcut while also shouting our presence. Could I escape while avoiding their notice? 

Certainly. 

But why should I, when I could use the Republic as the scapegoat for my presence.  

As the deck cracked, I jumped down, finding myself at the same familiar deck, not too far away from Xia’s location. I let out a sharp growl, which not only made me look like a beast, but also signaled  Xia to act. 

She cast a  shield around herself and dashed toward me while I created another emergency exit. Just jumping through the open hatches would have been easier, but if we did that, we would be noticed by the Republic. 

“Flare your magic, as strongly as you can manage, and hold on,” I ordered Xia, then jumped down again, to the bottom of the ship. Another kick, and we started to swim even as the water furiously filled the ship. 

I swam deeper, the weight of the two beauties holding against me negligible. 

When we passed the range of twenty feet, I made a gesture to Xia, asking her to stop flaring. A dozen feet deeper, I gestured to Theodora, who was struggling with the pressure, but not enough to fail to cast the spell, and a large shadow moved toward the Republic fleet. 

Our ship suddenly made a turn, chasing the shadow toward the Republic fleet, hoping to recover their lost princess, unaware that she was delving even deeper. 

My transformation easily blocked the impact, but that much pressure was not safe for Theodora. Or, more accurately, wouldn’t have been safe if it wasn’t for the presence of a Sorceress healer, easily capable of curing any impact before it even started, the battle an excellent source of concealment. 

As I swam away, I could feel the battle getting more and more intense. The Empire thought that the Romans had managed to infiltrate their ship — a Sorceress and her monstrous familiar, even — while the Republic probably thought that, that close to the fleet of the Empire, the lone ship used a magical method to move their agents and the dragon hearts to the other ships, turning into a suicidal charge to put some distance. 

The most beautiful cover for us to stay away from. 

Just with one little side effect. I might have triggered another battle between Republic and the Empire. 

It wasn’t like were fighting for the first time.