Rebuffing the pursuers

Before them the scenery that showed a forest rippled and then changed. A barrier that enveloped a patch the forest appeared, inside the barrier there was a small serene clearing, through it light shone warmly on the ground and the sole occupant of the clearing, a cozy wooden cabin.

All the soldiers watched had widened eyes at this marvelous scene, they had never actually heard of such a mystical thing.

Arnand however had an extremely solemn expression on his face. He unfortunately knew what this meant. This was the abode of a spell caster. And an extremely strong one, a grand mage one at least.

Meanwhile inside the cabin Ravena had a helpless expression as she tried to answer Reign's excited questions about witches and magic. She was of course a bit happy that Reign didn't react negatively to the fact that she was a witch but even then …

Suddenly they both heard a resounding bang tear through the sky. They both started in shock.

Ravena felt the runic barrier she had set up ripple with a disturbance and identified the cause of the loud noise. Someone had attacked her barrier.

A feeling of rage immediately rose up in her, despite her kind and laid back appearance, witches were not actually kindhearted people. They could erupt with overwhelming might and rage if provoked.

She turned to Reign who was trying to get to his feet and held him down. She gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Stay here and rest, I know what the disturbance is. I'll take care of a few pests and come back."

Ravena made her way out of the small room and opened the door to the cabin. She stepped out and approached the gracefully approached the barrier where the soldiers stood.

She fixed her gaze on Arnand, evaluating his aura

"Did you attack my barrier?"

Arnand too was assessing her, he could feel the strong aura of a grand mage emanating from her. in fact it was even stronger than his, it felt close to the peak of a grand mage.

Arnand figured that he definitely engaged her in a fight, he was likely to lose. Besides it was practically suicide to fight a spell caster in their domain.

A prepared spellcaster was a totally different animal compared to a spellcaster out in the world.

Arnand bowed politely toward her, a picture of good manners, "we are sorry madam for disturbing your barrier. I am Arnand, head commander to Baron Wagglia. I am hunting for a fugitive and the tracks led to your abode. I wonder if you may have seen anyone around these parts."

Ravena saw the hunter and the wolf and quickly made a connection that they were definitely talking about Reign, he was the only other person around anyway.

She felt even more disgruntled, and her mood was exceptionally poor as she scowled at them. "No. and we haven't settled the account over you attacking my barrier."

Arnand looked at Ravena's scowling face and quickly got that they were definitely unwelcome around. Meanwhile Reign had finally managed to muster enough strength to manage to stand.

He made his way towards one of the windows and peered outside. He saw Ravena talking to a couple of soldiers outside, however his face blanched when he noted the color of their attire.

They were the soldiers he had been running from; they had actually tracked him down to this place. He quickly limped around the room, searching for his sword, intending to venture out and join Ravena in resisting them.

Mirage's voice rang out in his mind, "Hold your horses, Going out there won't solve anything. In fact it will make it worse. First of all, that witch is a third tier being, maybe even more. She can wipe out those soldiers without breaking a sweat. Second, they won't really fight her, they know she is strong but if you go there they may leave and come back with stronger forces, so stay put and keep calm."

Mirage's words hit Reign's heart like a tsunami, a wave of unwillingness rose from his heart, fueled by his own feelings and a part he had taken to calling his dragon self. this time though he managed to rein in his impulse.

Her words were extremely unpleasant to heat for Reign, but they made sense. Every fibre of his being resented the fact that someone else had to clean up his mess, but he really didn't want to mess up and implicate both him and Ravena for his pride.

Outside, Arnand saw that his enquiries were getting nowhere and the lady seemed to be getting more pissed, so he hastily issued an apology and withdrew his warriors. Unless he was willing to attack and fight it out with the spellcaster he wouldn't get an answer.

He could only go back and report to his lord. His men weren't surprised to see him order a retreat. They could feel the formidable aura from the lady. None of them wanted this smoke.

Ravena watched the soldiers retreat and decided not to attack, she preferred to continue her peaceful life out here in the woods. She made her way back into the cabin and found Reign waiting for her. He had an apologetic expression on his face, "I'm sorry, madam Ravena. I actually brought you trouble."

Ravena smiled at his contrite look, she found it a bit cute. "It's nothing, they retreated anyway. Could you tell me why a baron's soldiers are hunting you?"

Reign looked at her blankly, he hadn't even known that the soldiers belonged to the baron. Could that kid he offed be a baron's son? Oh man, he had really brought some great trouble on himself.

He looked at Ravena hesitantly and wondered what to tell her. He couldn't tell her that he had been teleported form another world to a dragon's den and finally to a battlefield. Right? She would think he was crazy

He narrated his story from the battlefield, saying he had been fighting as a mercenary in a war and accidentally killed the baron's son which was why the baron was after him. Ravena sensed that there was more to the story but she didn't push. She only huffed in contempt, "if he didn't want his son to die then he shouldn't have sent his son to the battlefield. That guy is a real shame to true nobles. Dont mind him, he cant raise any wave"

She then gently guided Reign back to bed, "Rest and heal. Your body needs it. "

She put him in bed, laying him down gently, her hands glowed with a magical shine for a while and Reign couldn't help but feel a sense of sleepiness hit him. As soon as his head hit the pillow he faded off to sleep.