Once the cardinal flew off with a belly full of berries, Aeldevan, Feyre, and Skamos moved quietly to the edge of their campsite. From there, the smoke from the city was much more visible as it climbed higher and began to block out the setting sun. A sounding war horn from the south snapped them out of their gaze and brought their attention to dust hovering above the trees from the same direction. The army from Everlit was making good time and would be here soon. However, what the cardinal said worried the three friends, and they were sure it was the orcs heading west. What they didn't know was how many would escape before the soldiers arrived and more importantly who might escape, such as Vrazhura.

"Okay, Feyre. Change of plans," Aeldevan said quietly. "I'm going to come with you since it turns out I don't have the materials required for the spell I planned to use."

"Okay then, what's your new plan," the gnome asked as she put on Magra's bag of holding. She used her teeth to uncork the bottle of oil that would make her more evasive and started to apply it as she and Skamos listened to their friend.

"Instead of watching you from here," the half-elf began, "you'll carry me in bird form so we don't get separated. Once we're invisible, Skamos will be the only one who can see us. Once we find Vrazhura, I'll change back and attempt to dispel her amulet. If nothing else, I'll at least be there to back you up with any spells."

Feyre silently nodded in approval as she slathered the thick oil over her legs, the pungent smell fuming off her. "It's probably better you're there since we all know that plans never go as...planned."

"I'll keep an eye on you both and provide support if you need it," Skamos offered as he readied his magic harp, "but I might not be able to keep you both invisible in that case."

Just then, Aeldevan and Skamos's ears perked up as they heard a woman shouting orders near the city's wall. They peered through the bushes and could just make out Vrazhura with several other orcs; she had just sent some southward, no doubt to intercept the army. The two men spun around to let Feyre in on what they saw, knowing this was their opportunity to strike.

As Feyre finished the bottle's contents, Aeldevan placed his hand on her shoulder, grimacing at the slick feeling. "This will help you move a little faster." Feyre's winged boots momentarily glowed, sending a surge of energy into her feet.

"Thanks! With all of these boosts, no one is going to be able to lay a finger on me." She grinned ear to ear, confident in herself.

Once Aeldevan shifted into a bluebird and sat in Feyre's cupped hands, it was Skamos's turn. He gently touched them both, and a wave of vitality and inspiration flowed into them. Gripping his harp, the bard gently strummed the cords to enchant his friends with invisibility. "Good luck," he whispered, watching their translucent forms fly off.

◊◊◊

As Feyre's boots flew her and Aeldevan towards Vrazhura, they both watched for any more orcs that could be nearby. Luckily, it seemed the leader was only accompanied by four of her soldiers, although they were all much more meaty than the others they saw leave. When they were almost sixty feet away, Aeldevan flew from Feyre's hands to signal that he was about to attempt to dispel Vrazhura's amulet.

Knowing it would only take a few seconds for his spell to take effect, Feyre was concerned when she could still see the amulet glowing. She also saw Vrazhura staring in the direction she felt Aeldevan fly towards, and a foreboding shiver suddenly shot through Feyre's body as she watched the woman take a step toward him. As the leader went to take another step, her head snapped towards Feyre's direction and locked eyes with her. Somehow, she was able to see both of them, but she hesitated once she saw Feyre.

"Maybe she thinks there might be more of us around but can only see out to this range," Feyre hoped as she tried to keep an intimidating glower at her enemy despite her surprise. However, that was quickly wiped away when Vrazhura flicked her wrist towards Aeldevan and made him visible to everyone. Feyre's mind raced. "I didn't even get close enough to try to take the amulet or staff, and now all five of them can see Aeldevan." She snapped out of it when Vrazhura spoke.

"Deal with these interlopers," the orc said to her lackeys, gesturing in Feyre's direction as she turned to walk away.

Feyre quickly drew her weapons and flew towards the closest orc, getting in four good slashes before he knew what was happening. He swung wildly, angry and unable to see his target. His longsword managed to catch Feyre's leg, but she was able to evade a heavy blow.

Now visible, Aeldevan no longer had the advantage of surprise. Luckily, he could leave the up-close attacks to Feyre since she seemed to already be taking care of that. Wanting to create some distance between him and the orcs, he moved back farther while still in range to cast spells. He unleashed a storm of ice that covered all but the orc Feyre had just attacked and hoped she wasn't caught in it. Although they were noticeably unhappy about the frost, not even the orcs that took the brunt of the attack seemed phased. As one of them starting running towards Feyre, the other two attacked Aeldevan with a spectral sword and fireball. He narrowly avoided the first but was hit full force by the fire.

Seeing all the mayhem and confident in her men, Vrazhura smirked at her foes before teleporting away in a green flicker. Immediately after she vanished, Feyre finished off the orc she was engaged in with invisible blades. Meanwhile, Aeldevan was pushed further back as he dodged the magical sword while his own spells were repeatedly nullified by the other caster. Out of nowhere, glittering daggers appeared over the owner of the spectral sword just as Feyre's form became visible.

"Cloud of daggers!" Skamos sung, announcing his arrival to the fight.

Aeldevan looked over to his left at his partner with a mix of panic and relief, "Glad you're here, but Feyre's vulnerable now!"

Skamos grimaced at his lapse in judgement and looked at Feyre with concern, but it was too late. Within a moment of becoming visible, the rogue heard a loud and painful ringing in her mind and cried out in pain. The mage closest to her was staring at Feyre with a satisfied sneer. However, he didn't expect the gnome to recover so quickly, and his expression changed as she slashed her scimitar into his flesh.

The other caster attacked Feyre in retaliation, losing focus and missing Aeldevan with his summoned sword. The last orc saw the half-elf dodge the attack and charged at him with spear in hand despite Skamos's raining magical daggers and impaled Aeldevan with two swift thrusts.

As he saw his teammate bleeding out, Skamos shouted at the rampaging orc, "Get the fuck away from him or I'll kill you!" His threat was anything but hollow, as it instantly caused the orc to die on the spot out of fear, his large body collapsing to the ground in a heap. The druid gave him a smile just before both of them were hit by a blast of fire. 

Despite not having her invisibility, Feyre's swift motions and aerial acrobatics allowed her to evade both of the mages' attacks while landing several of her own. Aeldevan and Skamos both tried to lend support by attacking the second mage, but he successfully avoided both. Instead, he turned his attention to Aeldevan and shattered his mind the same way he had Feyre, rendering the druid unconscious.

"You're gonna fucking pay for that!" Skamos shouted across the field, his eyes ablaze. His stare met the mage's eyes as he watched the life quickly fade out of them. Feyre leveraged her feet against the orc as she wrenched her Dwarven dagger from between his shoulder blades until his body landed with a thud in the dirt. Thanks to their tag team effort, it was now two against one.

Skamos's face contorted into a menacing grin as he stalked toward the remaining orc, head cocked to one side. "You're gonna die, but not yet. But you'll wish you did."

The orc mage turned and started to run, but Feyre was faster. "Not today, bitch!" She landed on his back and reached over to stab his chest with her dagger. As she held her scimitar against the front of his neck, she whispered, "You're coming with me." Out of fear and pain, the orc fell forward onto the ground unconscious with the gnome standing on his back triumphantly.