Chapter 2

Bree walked calmly through the forest; she had been going steadily long enough for the night to begin giving way to sunlight. She had turned her staff into a white ring with a jade gem in it, freeing her hands up for more dynamic movements. The ring itself was on her right index finger.

She looked around in silence, seeing no signs of the forest's end or any markers of civilization, no roads or even an unkempt dirt path; she was half tempted to see if she could use the mobility spell float to make herself fly, but in the end, she was enjoying her leisurely walk too much to put an end to it.

Bree walked on without a care, having already tested that she could use her navigation spell simply by calling out its full name. Using it would allow her to travel without worrying about losing her way back home.

The night had long since ended before Bree finally discovered signs of intelligent life in the form of angry voices. Instead of running, she decided to test her floating spell. She rose slightly off the ground and moved rapidly towards the sounds, stopping just before arriving at the source.

It took her a moment before she realized where the voices were coming from. She looked down at a group of five tiny creatures that could individually fit easily into the palm of her hand, attempting to pull something from a stream.

She watched the hamster-sized creatures as she tried to pin what they reminded her of.

"Ah, yes, they're called Axolotls, if I'm not mistaken." She watched them in silence as they worked away, all five of them struggling to claim their prize. After a moment, she realized it was a fishing net. Inside of it was a single small fish about the size of three of the little Axolotl creatures put together.

Bree was content to watch in silence before the net began tearing and, feeling bad that all their struggles were for not, She moved over the stream still floating and turned the ring back into a staff before whacking the fish out of the water with a simple spin of it that was so quick she barely saw it herself.

The Axolotls had a moment of confusion and panic at the sight of Bree before realizing their fish was now flopping behind them. The 5 gathered around the fish and pulled out what Bree assumed was their version of swords, made of wood and sharpened to a point they all pointed their toothpicks at Bree as they attempted to guard their prize.

Not wanting to hurt them but also not wanting to lose the opportunity to ask them questions about the world, she used her magic to target only their little toothpicks, and with another swing, she barely saw, she cut all their weapons in half without causing even a slight disturbance to the air around her.

4 of the 5 Axolotls dropped their broken weapons and ran into the bushes to hide, but the 5th and largest stood his ground, Bree's guess at his gender was due to the little mustache on his face made out of the same tendrils that were on the side of his head.

"I have no desire to harm you," Bree said calmly. The Axolotl said something, and Bree shook her head before raising her staff. The Jade blade began glowing, and she used an in-game skill that poorly translated the written text of players using a different language: "Universal Translation." The Gem stopped glowing, and she tried again, hoping the cheap skill would work better now that it was based on real magic and not code. "How about now, understand me?"

The Axolotls stared at her defensively. "What are you?" he demanded in confusion before going back to his determined stance, clearly ready to die over the fish. "It matters not. I shall not give up our fish, no matter how large you are you shall not intimidate me,"

Bree looked at him for a long moment before casually spinning her staff at high speeds and piercing the water, turning it back up she presented a fish three times the size of the one behind the Axolotl, otherwise known as a normal sized fish.

"If I truly wanted a fish, I could catch my own," she noted. That said, I don't like fish. Maybe if it was a crustacean of some kind, I'd think about it, but never a fish." Bree spun her staff again, and the larger fish flopped on the ground behind the smaller fish. The four other Axolotls slowly came out, murmuring in shock at the size of the fish.

The Axolotl standing before her looked at the massive fish and then back to Bree, who stared back at him with her ever-fixed expression of a smile and half-opened eyes in silence before he got down on his hands and knees.

"Please, forgive my rudeness, Madame," he begged her.

"Already done," Bree replied in a merry tone. "If you don't mind, I am somewhat turned around and could use some aid in mapping out the surrounding area, in return you can keep the large fish,"

"It would be my honor to help you for such a large bounty," He replied.

"Then, before we proceed, Could I have your name, tiny Axolotl creature?"

"I am Bertram, the Axol-light," He declared as he got to his feet "I am my village's Strongest warrior,"

"That poor village," Bree thought sadly as she looked at the weak creature before her before seeing an opportunity in him. If you would like, I am more than willing to imbue you with great power. All I would need in return is for you to swear eternal fealty to me." Bertram looked at her dumbfounded and took a step back. 

 The Skill Bree was going to use was a beast-tamer skill. In the game Pillars of Eternity, the level cap was fifty when the game was first released. After years of service, the cap had been raised to two hundred and fifty, but only with the purchase of all seventeen expansions. Bree had used the first extra hundred levels to max out her mage skills, and with no more mage skills left to learn, the rest had been split into different classes. 

Taming and increasing the power of wild animals and monsters by giving them skills had been the level forty skill in the Beast Tammer tree. At the moment, if things were still the same, she should be able to add twenty levels worth of skills depending on the creature level cap, "You need not answer now," She noted as the silence started feeling awkward. "I will ask again before I take my leave,"

"Ve…very well then," he said, his voice shaky at Bree's sudden offer of power in return for his loyalty. "Come on, boys, we have to bundle up these fish and move out." Bree simply tapped her staff against the ground, and the fish were enchanted with the same spell she was using to float.

"I imagine that should make transport easier," she noted as she turned her staff into a ring. The Axol lights gave her a quick thanks before they began pushing the fish towards their village, Bree slowly following after them.

It took little time to arrive at the Axol-light village. Bree was notified of their arrival when a horn was blown, and a few Axol-lights came to greet them with weapons drawn before Bertram spoke up.

"Hold Brothers, this creature is my honored guest. She comes bearing a giant fish." The promise of a single large fish apparently held more sway over the Axol-light heart than the fear of a large stranger as they greeted her with great haste. The Village itself was about as small as Bree had expected it to be, but even so, she had expected more Axol-lights.

"I can't help but notice there's only seventeen of you," she said. As the entire village gathered at Bertram's call, the tiniest of them all came up to him and greeted him with a hug.

`Madam, allow me to welcome you to our village. Recently, I have also become its chief and strongest warrior,'' Bree didn't immediately reply as she counted the number of small tent-like buildings inside the wooden fence of about a foot and a half in height.

"Your numbers don't match your house numbers," She decided. "Even if all seventeen of you slept in your own individual homes, there are still eight extra houses, and disaster or plague are the only reasons I can conceive of for a village of seventeen to have twenty-five homes in it," 

Bree looked down at them, unable to get to their level, as her floating was the only thing keeping her from destroying their homes.

"Y...yes, we have recently been through many losses," Bertram confirmed with a sigh. As the eldest and strongest amongst the survivors, the roles of Chief and head Hunter-gatherer fell on me," Bree looked at him, then the rest of the villagers.

"May I ask how old you are and how long Axol-lights typically live?"

"I am 23, and our last chief was 79 before she was…" Bertram cut off for a moment. Bree's suspicion only grew. "...before she was lost," Bertram looked up at Bree, who said nothing about the fact that Bertram was hiding something and instead went to her business.

"Anyway, I was promised your aid in mapping the area," Bertram turned to one of his fellow Axol-lights. She nodded before hurriedly making her way to a hut. After a few moments of waiting, she returned with a paper roll. She handed it to Bertram, who, in turn, gave it to Bree.

"This is our largest map," He informed her. "I'm not sure how much help it can be to someone of your size, but our previous chief dedicated her youth to mapping out the original copy, so it should at least cover a fair amount of land for you,"

Bree looked at the small map and pointed at it with her magic ring, "Maximize Size," The Map turned into white light and grew until it was the perfect size for Bree to use. Bree looked at it and chuckled before increasing the height of her flight. She looked at a large rock a little over a Kilometer away that made up the right corner of the map.

With the Axol-light village being in the map's center, she quickly determined that the map covered two Kilometers from corner to corner, not altogether massive, but in the end, far larger than she thought she would obtain from such small creatures. She decreased her height and returned to floating just above the village.

"I give you my thanks," she decided. In return, I would like to repay you. Mind telling me what's been killing your people?" Bertram didn't say anything immediately. He just looked sadly at his peers and then at the small one who was clinging onto him as though she was afraid he was going to be taken away.

"There is nothing you can do," Bertram decided. "Even if I told you, you would either die trying or simply leave,"

"You'd be surprised what I'm willing to go through to pay someone back, and while one large fish might seem plenty to you, to me it's not" Bree replied simply, "so please do tell me," Bertam simply sighed.

"Humans," he said simply, "Your own kind has been killing us." Bertram clearly expected a certain reaction, but Bree laughing clearly was not it.

"My kind?" she asked as she held up one of her hands and pulled on one of her pointed ears. I understand Elves and Humans look alike, but I was kind of hoping the ears were a dead give-away." As Bree laughed at them, the Axol-lights all backed away from her in shock and awe. Bertram's eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of his head as he looked at her ears and heard her decree of being an Elf.

"Are elves real?" he demanded. "I thought they were fantasy, simple fairy tales told by the Demon Lords of old to scare humans away from their Nations!"

"Oh, who knows, maybe they are fake in this world, But I've only just arrived in this world, so there's no way for me to know for sure," Bree chuckled as the Axol-lights continued their panic over her mere existence. "Settle down now, It seems I have a story to tell,"

The Axol-light's attitude towards her had changed from that of a visitor bringing a fish to that of a Goddess offering her protection. They began working themselves half to death, trying to please her every need as she told her story, even going so far as to manually lower part of their little wall so she could sit and talk to them more easily.

 She decided to skip the part of her story that involved her being a human sucked into a Video game and instead played up her part of being a powerful warrior from a now-dead land.

"-and then I found you and thought it would be nice to meet some of the locals of this world," Bree smiled as she took a cup that barely fit in her hand and used her Maximize Size spell to make it big enough for her to enjoy, The Drink was plain water. Still, it had been painstakingly cleaned for healthy consumption and stored underground to keep it cool, so she appreciated that they had willingly given her their hard-earned drinking water more so than the water itself.

"Amazing," Bertram said, the small Axol-light, who Bree now knew to be Bertram's only remaining relative, his younger sister Vivian, still clung onto him with all her might.

"Now then, I've told you my story. Tell me why these Humans have been killing your people,"

"Simply put, we Axol-lights are apparently a Delicacy that is no longer legally allowed to be obtained due to our dwindling numbers. In fact, it is possible we are the last of our kind in the wild. There may, however, still be survivors held in captivity in one or more of the Monster Nations," Bertram shook his head as he looked out at his village.

 "But our kind is still in what you might call the stone age of our race. We have only gained the ability to build our tools and shelter within the last two or three generations, but our size and taste that kept us safe when we were unevolved ferals is now our undoing,"

"Frankly speaking, you don't look all that delicious," Bree noted.

"We are not by ourselves, but when...pickled..." Bertram's mannerisms indicated he didn't understand the words meaning, "we are apparently heavenly in flavor,"

"I do not want to meet, or even see, the creature who looked at your kind and decided the best thing to do was pickle them," Bree decided instantly as she got up. Now, tell me where I might find these humans who have killed your kind." Before they could answer, the sound of the forest was interrupted by what sounded like hooves against the ground.

"Oh, what's this?" A New voice called out, gaining Bree's attention and the Terror of the Axol-lights as a hand-full of horses came to a stop before the Axol-light village, "Seems we have ourselves a lost child," The owner of the voice got off his mount. Bree frowned; while the one who had spoken had several companions on horseback, the speaker was riding on the back of a severely beaten-looking Centaur, his ears low and his eyes filled with exhaustion and hate.

"I don't think that Centaur likes carrying you around," She noted. "It's absurd he hasn't left your service; from the looks of him, he doesn't seem to be treated very well,"

"Aw, ain't that cute," The man said as he held his hands together and said in a sweet baby voice. "She's a monster Wuver," he turned to his men and smirked at them as he shook his head, "Your parents oughta be ashamed, raising a monster lover, probably why they abandoned you in these woods" 

"Are you calling me a child to mock my height? I am not that short," Bree asked with sincere confusion. The Man walked forward, put one hand on his belt, and extended the other hand forward.

"I am Jacob Razzor," he declared proudly. Bree waited for him to continue, but he seemed to think his name was enough to intimidate her.

"Your Centaur looks beyond enraged with you," Bree noted. "Is he being properly fed?" The man's expression was almost comical.

"Um, excuse me, I said I am Jacob Razzor, as in son of Arlow Razzor, the head of the royal guard, serving directly beneath the mighty King Odren. Even a child should know who I am,"

"That has nothing to do with my complaint about the ethical treatment of Centaurs," Bree replied casually. Jacob sputtered and looked at his men before responding in outrage.

"Listen, you bug-eyed little snot, King Odren love's Pickled Axol-light, so how about you be a good little girl, learn your place in this world, and leave,"

"Ah, you must be the one killing them all," Bree decided, taking great offense to being called bug-eyed. "They asked me to make you stop." Jacob's reaction was to laugh, and his men joined in the conversation for the first time, although it was only to laugh with him. Bree sighed but was distracted from responding to the laughter when the Centaur finally spoke up.

"Such a foolish girl, your heart is in the right place, but you're going to get yourself killed,"

"I sincerely doubt a man who spends his time tormenting the weak can kill me," Bree shot back simply, confusing Jacob and his men.

"This girl is crazy," he said as he followed her line of sight. Little miss here thinks she's talking to my Centaur." Jacob's laughter slowly began dying when he noticed the Centaurs' ears rose at Bree's response.

"You…you responded to me?"

"Why yes, I was responding to you." The Centaur's reaction was enough to convince Jacok that Bree was indeed doing something.

"How could this be?" the Centaur demanded of her as Jacob drew his sword. "What kind of Human can understand the language of the Centaurs at such a young age?"

"Oh, I'm not a human or a child," she said sweetly, placing her hands behind her ears and pushing them forward to show them off properly. "I'm an Elf, and I am not all that young." Jacob took a step back as the look on the Centaur's face turned to one of hope.

"Please, oh creature of legends, Free me from these bonds of slavery. I will give you anything and everything for your aid,"

"I don't really want everything," Bree noted curtly. "Sounds like a hassle, and I can't break a bond that was willingly forged, but if your claim of slavery is true, then I'll try my best to help since the idea of being forced to serve someone without agreeing to it pisses me off greatly," Jacob ground his teeth before chuckling.

"What a great day it is for me," he decided. Father will be most pleased when I hand him an Elf, even if it does have bulbous eyes. I imagine he may even let me have a go at the Scarlet Knight." Jacob licked his lips, visibly lost in some disgusting daydream. Brees' only response was to change her ring to staff mode and tap the ground with it, putting a barrier up around her with the express purpose of keeping the creep from touching her.

"Appraisal," Jacob said as she held out his hand. A green Circle with a triangle in its center came to life around his hand, visibly terminating from a gem on the back of his hand. After a few moments, a female voice came out of the gem.

"Appraisal failed," The voice declared.

"Oh, I've never seen that spell before," Bree held out her hand and raised it to the Centaur. "Appraisal," she said. Nothing visible happened when she activated it, informing her that Jacob was using an item rather than a skill to activate it, but to her delight, the same female voice responded to her spell.

"Flint the Centaur, no notable titles, currently inflicted by the 4th tier Curse Soul Bind; he is bound to one Jacob Razzor." Bree smiled, but her smile only grew as Jacob laughed.

"That Barrier must be anti-magic. There's no other way she could stop my Appraisal," He decided. "A simple ploy like that won't work on me,"

"Flint the Centaur," she said, ignoring Jacob, "I shall free you of the curse binding you to Jacob Razzor, the Soul Bind will be broken" Bree smiled as the cocky look on Jacobs's face turned sower while Flint's desperation turned to tears of joy "My oh my, what seems to be the matter? Did you think a mage would put herself in an Anti-magic bubble?" Bree shook her head. "You must be a special kind of stupid,"

"You…you dare!" He turned to his men and waved his arms angrily towards Bree. "Open Fire! She's small and frail, and her flimsy barrier is nothing." On his word, his men pulled out their Bows and prepared their arrows. Bree waited for them to fire at her, continued waiting, and waited longer still after that as the men who had come to slaughter the weak barely managed to knock a single arrow.

Bree began condescendingly looking at her own wrist; the men were very disorganized, and only one arrow was fired at her in the span of almost thirty seconds; the Arrow flew through her barrier and shattered against her cheek.

"Oh dear," she said with a chuckle as more Arrows were slowly fired and either shattered against her skin or sank pitifully into the ground between her and the ones firing them. "This is quite sad. I'm afraid if I try to attack, I may accidentally kill that fool, and I'm not sure how Soul Bind works, so it might kill poor Flint," Jacob laughed as he pointed his sword at her.

"You fool, surrender now. You have no hope of beating me in this deadlock,"

"Idiot," Bree decided before turning to the Axol-lights, watching from afar. "What say you, Bertram, would you be willing to swear your loyalty to me on your soul in exchange for power?" The look Bertram returned was not the same as when she had asked him in the forest. Now being offered the chance to beat those who had taken his friends and family, he looked determined as he got onto his hands and knees and lowered his head.

"I Swear my Fealty to you, Lord Bree, I swear to you on my soul to serve you to the best of my abilities," Bertram lowered his head and Bree moved her hand, a magic circle appeared in her palm and shot a beam of white light at him. Bertram turned into a white silhouette, and Bree tapped her staff to the ground; he turned into pure light and flew into the air, landing before her and reclaiming his shape. She then held out her hand and began speaking.

"Maximize Size, equip basic gear, equip basic weaponry, assign basic skills, assign skill points, Efficiency level two, Strength Level three." As Bree spoke, Bertrams' Silhouette began growing in size. Jacob and his men watched in shock and began moving away. 

As Bertram continued to grow he ended up surpassing the size that Bree had thought he would end up as, she watched as he became nearly twice her size, resulting in him being bigger than even Jacob and his men. After a moment, he stopped growing, and Bree estimated he was fairly average high for a human. Then his body began warping, changing from being slim to muscular; his arms and torso increased in size, his legs got ticker, and his tail longer.

"Oops, it seems all his potential flooded into Efficiency and Strength." Bree took this as a reminder to give her next follower more than two skills, as Bertram was equipped with the most basic of materials: cloth pants, a tunic, and a one-handed iron sword. The light faded away, and he blinked before looking at himself and visibly startled at his size.

"I'm massive," he cheered out as he flexed his bulging biceps, his mustache, now larger but still made of the same tendrils as the ones on the sides of an Axol-lights head, brisling as he did so. "And I'm stacked!"

"Retreat!" Jacob practically screamed out. Bree responded by raising her hand and using a spell.

"Capture Mounts," She declared; the horses of the men and Flint the Centaur turned into light and were sucked into Bree's hand; the light became a crystal ball, the horses and Flint appearing in it.

"Bertram, for your first task as my underling, dispose of them but only incapacitate Jacob; don't kill him.

Bertram stopped flexing his muscles and pointed his sword at Jacob, who was trying to save face. He had his men pick themselves up and gather in front of him.

"Very well, Mistress Bree, in your name, this task will be done!"

Bree watched silently as Bertram approached Jacob's men, dwarfing them all with his size. They all drew their swords and stood at the ready while Jacob turned tail and attempted to run, only to come up short when a barrier burst to life before him and blocked his path.

"Oh, it seems my weak barrier helped after all," Bree chuckled, changing her expression from a merry smile to a mocking smirk. "But in all seriousness, you will not be leaving my sight until this Centaur is freed from your grasp,"

"That Centaur is mine by right," Jacob yelled back at her, anger and fear etched into his face. "He was a gift from my late mother; return him to me immediately!"

"Oh, you can have him back once he's freed. I'm sure he's eager to thank you for all the care you've shown him. Bertram, please begin." Bertram let out a booming sound of pure joy and proceeded to swing his sword at the men. The dull blade did little damage, but Bertram's massive size sent them all flying into the trees.

"This is for Elder Kamil!" He cried out, "And for all who died trying to save her!" The Fight was one-sided as Bertram dropped his sword; upon hitting the ground, it turned into light and returned to Bree's Inventory space. 

Bertram picked up one man in each hand by their legs and wielded them like weapons as he proceeded to beat on the others with them. After making sure they wouldn't get back up, he slammed the two he held into separate trees with all his might and let them fall to the ground with little care as he cracked his knuckles.

"I can sense your power," Bertram said as Jacob's swords began glowing with runes. "Or, more appropriately, I can sense your swords; I shall take it and present it to my new lord as a thank you for the powers she has bestowed upon me!" The Sword gained a red Aura, and Jacob took a fighting stance.

"This sword has slain beasts more powerful than you," Jacob spat back before swinging at Bertram, who used his arms as shields. The Sword hit his arms, and he struggled to push it back.

"I believe that," Bertram replied with a mocking tone. "The sword does seem to be doing all of the work, although I doubt anything powerful has died to it while it was in your hands, but have no fear; my new lord will fix that very soon,"

"Oh dear," Bree said, holding the orb so that the Centaur could see the fighting. Bertram might be in a bit of trouble. It seems looks and personality don't matter if you have a magic sword." As Bree pondered how to aid Bertram without hurting his pride, she felt something tugging on her robe.

She had no way of knowing how long they had been trying to get her attention, and she looked down at the small Vivian, who had separated from the rest of the cowering Axol-lights and was firmly trying to get her attention.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly.

"Lord Bree," Vivian said as she mimicked her brother's words and movements as best as she could recall. I swear my feasibly to you, I swear on my soul to…to serve you as best as I can." Bree blushed at the tiny creature trying so hard to serve her and corrected her.

"You have to swear on your Fealty to me honey, not feasibly,"

Bertram slid back from Jacob, who rushed him and swung his sword; Bertram changed tactics and punched the blade, hitting it mid-swing. He could hold it back while using his free hand to punch at Jacob, who jumped away from him and swung his sword.

"Razzor Rain!" He cried out as several copies of his sword blade materialized and shot at Bertram, who knocked them out of the air. Knowing Bree and his village were behind him, he hit all but three. Two fell short, and the third hit him in the gut; it failed to cut into him, but it knocked him off balance enough for him to fail to move out of Jacobs's way as he jumped and kicked Bertram in the face. Bertrams' feet ripped into the earth as he slid to a stop, breathing heavily.

"This is bad," he decided. "He's trained with that sword and uses it well, whereas I'm still trying to get used to this new body," Bertram was still trying to figure out how he would beat Jacob when a white light stole his and Jacob's attention.

"Maximize size," Bree declared as a second Axol-light began growing in size "Equip basic gear, equip basic weaponry, assign basic skills, assign skill points, Keen Eye-level one, Magical Minajory level two, Maximize Mana level one, Greater Magical ability level two, lesser Mana drain level two," The Axol-light before Bree grew far less in size, growing just tall enough to be at Bree's waist, instead of a tunic and pants she was given a gray cloak and a dress, and replacing the sword was a white staff with a blue orb on its end, The Light went away and even after the transformation Bertram recognized who it was.

"Hi, Berty," Vivian said happily with a wave "I'm big and strong now too," before Bertram could properly react to his sister's new form he saw Jacob raise his blade at her and Bree.

"Razzor rain!" he cried out; Bertram rushed to her aid only for Bree to tap her staff and suck the magic attack up with little effort, making it clear to both Vivian and Bertram that this was more her having them test out their abilities than it was an actual fight.

"Now remember Vi," Bree said sweetly. "You're a Support class; your job is to make your brother stronger, faster, and heal his wounds. I recommend trying Strength one."

"Right!" Vivian said confidently before tapping her staff and pointing it at her brother. "Strength one!" She called out. Bertram was covered in a blue aura, and she felt his power skyrocket. He Flexed his Muscles and cried out.

"Lord Bree, I thank you for honoring my little sister and me by allowing her to serve you alongside me!" Bertram turned to Jacob, who once again used Razzor rain. Bree sat down on the grass as she reverted her staff to ring mode. After getting comfy and ensuring Flint could still see, she whispered to Vi, who called out loudly.

"Speed two!" Bertram's blue aura grew brighter; as it did so, he felt the world slow down around him. He easily intercepts the attack and smacks them all out of the air before they reach their target." Jacob takes a step back and attempts to swing at Bertram, who is on him before he can even finish saying his attack name.

One fist digs into Jacob's stomach while the other hand snatches his sword. The attack sends Jacob into the Barrier, where he sticks like a fly on flypaper. Bertram turns on a dime and rushes to where Bree is sitting, kneeling and offering the sword to her as a prize. Vivian turns off her magic and, after tripping due to trying to rush to her brother's side, kneels with her brother.

"You honor us with your gifts," Bertram declared. "Please take this prize as your own, my lady," Bree put her ring hand on the sword, and its enchantment was sucked into her ring, resulting in the blade crumbling to dust.

"Thank you. I'll make good use of that enchantment." Bree picked herself up and walked past them towards Jacob, who was trying to free himself.

"Let me go!" he demanded, his voice cracking and fear etched into his face. "My Father, Arlow Razzor, will destroy this countryside if I don't return home as scheduled. Stay away!" Bree looked at him, then turned to Vivian.

"Sweet little Vi, I want you to break the Soul Bind on Jacob and Flint. If I did it, this poor sod would die, and Flint might perish along with him," Vivian walked forward nervously, and Bree whispered the spell to her, having used her new appraisal spell during the fight to find the breaking spell.

Vivian held up her staff and repeated the spell "Unbinding Spell of Faith." A magic red chain came to life, going inside Jacob and traveling inside the sphere in Bree's hand. After a moment, the magic turned golden and shattered into nothingness.

"Wonderfully done," Bree said, patting Vivian before holding up the orb. "Release mounts." The seven horses and Flint returned to the world, and Flint walked to Bree and kneeled.

"Please don't swear your fealty," Bree pleased before Flint could speak. "I would feel bad for you to sell your freedom so soon after achieving it; if you'd like to thank me, do so by enjoying your freedom. I'll happily accept your fealty should our paths cross again in the future,"

"Very well," Flint replied, "I shall respect your request and enjoy being free for the first time in over a decade," Flint walked over to Jacob, who was screaming empty threats at them all and trying to force Flint to obey him, One punch to the face from the Centaur knocked Jacob out cold, and he picked him up.

"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to repay you?" Flint asked.

"Well, I would like a bit of your magical essence if you don't mind," Bree replied. "I'm interested to see if I could turn these Horses into Centaurs," Flint and Bertram's faces made her chuckle, Vi having already run off to tell the other Axol-lights the fighting was over.

"I shouldn't be surprised," Flint decided. "Take what you need," Bree lightly patted Flint's horseback and, after a second, smiled as her ring began glowing for a moment.

"All done, thank you," Flint shook his head with a smile.

"No, I thank you, Lady Bree," His eyes turned bright Green, and he declared, "Follow her lead if you please," before turning around and sprinting into the woods, Jacob firmly in his grasp. Bree turned and found the Horses all looking at her.

"Oh, good. I was wondering how I would tempt them into joining me," Bree walked up to the horses and proceeded to speak to them.

"Hu," Bertram said in surprise as one of the horses nodded to her. "Seems she can speak to just about anything." He watched as one of the horses kneeled to her, and she turned back to Bertram just in time for Vivian to return to his side.

"Seems I now have a loyal horse, along with six stragglers. I'll see if I can't turn her into a Centaur when I get home,"

"Oh," Bertram quickly knelt before speaking, "Lady Bree, if you would be so kind, please allow me some time. I would like to help my brethren find a better home to hide from the humans,"

"Oh, that's easily done," Bree said with a smile. I do not need so many Axol-lights...hm, no, I suppose you're not light anymore. I need to pick a new name for you, but regardless, I do not need them. I will give you my express permission to offer them what I offered; they may join under you. You can make them strong now, though they will be weaker than you and your sister."

Bertram looked to their own hand, still marveling at how big he now was, and then at his sister before nodding and turning to his village; the rest of the Axol-lights watching him from the pitiful gates he had thought looked so mighty as a child.

"Brother and Sisters, swear Fealty to me and my sister, and together we shall enter a new age, one without fear of humans, one with power, one where Lord Bree will rule up on high!" There was an instant cheer from the remaining fifteen Axol-lights, who bowed to him.

"We Swear to serve beneath you, Chief Bertram and Lady Vivian," The Axol-lights all turned to light, and Bree held up her ring hand. As they now all worked for her, their village was now hers as well; she sucked the village up into a crystal ball and quickly gave Bertram new followers all basic clothing once they had all evolved into whatever species it was they now.

Bertram began having them all line up in what he called the Evacuation marching order, and Bree took the opportunity to hand the village off to Vivian.

"Once you find a good place, simply say Maximize Size and throw it on the ground. The spell changes the size of things to be used comfortably by the spell user, so the village should grow to match your new race size. Worst case scenario, the houses might be a little snug." Once Vi confirmed that she understood, Bree raised her staff.

"Alright, everyone, It'll be a few hour's walk, and I'll need someone to keep track of the horses so they don't lose their way. Please follow me so I can lead you to your new home.