On the one hand, Henry was relieved that Ash was willing to be involved in a rather unorthodox 'side quest' of counter-trafficking a trafficked fire giant. On the other hand, Ash was too excited and his suggestions were, in Henry's opinion, unnecessarily complicated.

"Hear me out."

"Do I have to?"

"Listen and don't judge until the end," Ash said as he sat across from Henry with a piece of paper between them. He took a pen and began to scribble. "We track them to their base and follow them until we've reached the mountains. I doubt they're going to try to get through one of the major gateways, so they'll likely try to go through the mountains by themselves to avoid being questioned."

"They have a massive iron box with them. It's difficult to maneuver through a forest, what more a pathless mountainside?"

"They have mages. They're not as strong as me, but then again, few are, but they should be capable of clearing a path along the mountains. It's just a matter of leveling the ground and enlarging gaps to get through."

Henry took a deep breath and slowly released it. "All right, but if we waste time and follow them, isn't this just taking us further away from Mons Agre?"

"We don't need to worry about that. The mountains will be relatively secluded, and we can unleash our full power once they're cornered and tired."

Henry squinted his eyes at his brother. "So, are we attacking them from behind?"

"Ideally, we should funnel them into an area that'll be difficult to defend from. Trap them, basically." Ash scribbled a crude drawing of his battle plan on the paper and labeled things with characters.

"Then we have to follow them, but then get ahead of them to prepare the grounds to funnel them into a corner?"

"Yes. Like that time we were catching spiny arctic lobsters. We lured them out of the crevices and into a wire-netted cage using a narrowing funnel that made it difficult for them to escape once they entered the cage."

"That's not the same thing."

"It's similar," Ash brushed off his criticism. "Anyway, once they're cornered, we can barricade them in. The mages will focus on trying to move stone and earth, wasting their magic energy. In the meantime, I'll melt the ice layer of that iron box, allowing the baby fire giant to warm up. When it's awake, it'll be able to get out of the iron box. Even if it isn't, its scent will spread. Then, it's only a matter of time before its parents come charging in. They'll be trapped and have to face at least one fire giant. People will see the smoke and fire coming from the mountains and think a dormant volcano suddenly erupted!"

Henry stared at his brother. "You're making this much more complicated than it needs to be."

"Complicated?" Ash asked excitedly. "Or more interesting?"

The room was quiet for a moment, then Henry reached out, restraining his strength, and slapped the side of his brother's head. Ash let out a cry and rubbed his head where he'd been hit as Henry glared at him.

"If we can do all that, we might as well find the kidnappers' camp outside the town, and use your magic to disable them for two days. We'll hide their bodies in a forest so that they won't be disturbed. We'll steal their horses and the iron box, and bring the baby fire giant back to the lava fields at the base of Mons Agre. Throughout the journey, make sure to keep the ice in the box frozen-"

"But then the baby will be dormant."

"Yes, and if the baby is dormant, it's not releasing a scent which will attract its giant, fire elemental parents. We don't want the fire giants to get far, as the heat coming from their bodies will wither plant life and make it difficult to breathe. And that's from a distance," Henry reminded him firmly. "In addition, the longer they can't find their baby, the angrier they will get. The angrier they get, the hotter they get. The hotter they get, the more dangerous they become. That's without them actually attacking a village; that's just walking past."

Ash dropped his shoulders and let out a defeated sigh before falling back against his chair. "I guess we'll be doing this side quest efficiently."

"All side quests should be done efficiently."

Ash clicked his tongue and crossed his arms over his chest. "Now you sound like a boring monarch."

"A good monarch is boring, it means they're not causing chaos," Henry retorted. He checked the clock and then gazed out the window. They'd only been inside for a few minutes and the smoldering fire light could still be seen in the distance, though it was far less than before. "We have at least seven hours before the sun rises."

Ash pushed himself up from his seat and patted off the non-existent dust from his pants. "Then let's go. If we're done early, we can stop to get some sleep."

"Don't get too comfortable. You saw the size of that iron box. We'll get attention even if we travel off the major routes. We'll only have two days of distance between us and the kidnappers, and we'll be driving that heavy thing. Even with all those horses, we won't be as fast as people on horseback," Henry said as he walked past him to get to his room and toss his things into his bag. "They may catch up to us before we get to Mons Agre. Is there any way to disguise the iron box?"

"I can do a light reflection layer, but won't we look strange with a huge, empty cart drawn by six horses?" Ash asked, following him into the room. "No normal person is pulled by six horses unless they're royalty." Henry paused and raised a brow, looking at Ash over his shoulder. Ash sighed. "You know what I mean. Royalty doesn't normally ride on an empty cart."

"Then instead of making the iron box disappear, can you disguise it as something else?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Figure it out when we see the box to think of something roughly the same size that would make sense to pull with a half dozen horses."

"Such as a house?"

Henry tilted his head back and took a deep breath. "Ash."

"I think it could work!"

Henry slung his back around his body and turned to face him. "Just get your things. I'll bring the horses and inform the manager."

Managers for Snake, Scarab, and Sons often lived close to the tea house, with the exception of the one where they lived in Carthage Harbor. Henry only had to walk a few doors down to inform the manager that there was an urgent notice from someone and so they had to leave.

Their horses were ready in minutes. Henry and Ash declined additional food. Their space preservation bags had more than enough food to last a trip across both continents, and it wasn't just flat bread and preserved meats. There were full, still-steaming dishes that were prepared in Carthage Harbor that could be pulled from their bags.

However, when possible, they ate in towns. Henry didn't realize he was doing this until Effie asked. He couldn't answer why until Nera explained that the few months they had spent fleeing and struggling to find food lingered with them. Now, they will subconsciously hoard food in case they find themselves in a similar situation.

She also told them not to feel ashamed in doing so. They were only acting based on experience, and it was good to support local economies and try local foods. They almost never cooked when they traveled as a family, and also, aside from grilling meat, Nera was a terrible cook.

The two brothers walked their horses to the edge of town, avoiding the area where the structures had been burnt, as there was still some smoke in the air, and there was likely still a small crowd there. Their exit had to be discrete.

They circled around the perimeter of the town, going a roundabout way to get to the road leading out of town, where the kidnappers had entered and left from. Ash looked through a spy glass and frowned.

"They're long gone from town."

"But they couldn't have gone far," Henry said, following the road with eyes from where they stopped on the edge of a farm dike in the distance. "It's likely that they returned to where they were camping, but just in case they didn't...Simir!"

A wave of heat swept over them, but not a single spark nor flame could be seen to the naked eye as Simir moved in the direction of the road.

As they waited, Ash let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "It looks to be at least three or four buildings that are completely burnt down to their stone walls and foundations on the ground floor. Several structures around them were at least partially damaged from stray embers."

"The vegetation here is too lush. It's not suitable for kindling, so the fire giant must've gone straight for the town."

Ash knit his brows together and looked at his brother. "Do fire giants smell wood?"

"I have no idea."

A moment later, Ash blinked as he dropped eyedrops in his eyes to see at night, and then dug through his bag to take out a narrow, leather-bound book. He flipped over it and scanned the pages. "Elementals are sensitive to objects that can be used to give them energy. Water elementals have been known to predict rainy days in advance, earth elementals know the density of the ground, and fire elementals are drawn to anything with dry heat or can be used as kindling, including drought-stricken areas, dry forests, and structures with dried, aged wood and grasses. Huh...." Ash snapped the book closed. "So, it sensed food and literally crawled its way there."

"It's like Effie with her cookies."

A wave of heat reached them in the darkness and Henry sat up straight in his saddle. His eyes narrowed as he heard Simir's voice echoing in his head.

"They're not far and are returning to a camp down the road, then into a dry inlet by the river," Simir told him.

"How long will it take them to reach it and are there farm houses or other dwellings around them?" Henry asked.

"I estimate a few more minutes. Less than an hour at their speed. It isn't far. If a fight were to ensue on the road, and magic was used, then it would be noticeable from dwellings not far from it, as the surrounding land is flat, farm land, giving a clear view of the road."

Henry looked towards Ash with a frown. "They're returning to their camp. Simir says it's by a river and they should reach it within an hour at their speed, at most. Considering road traffic would be visible from nearby homes, we should wait until they're by the river, where they'll be more cover."

Ash nodded. "Then, we should go around them and survey the site; make sure the collateral damage, if any, will be minor."

Henry also estimated they'd be able to get there on horseback. He extended his hand to Ash. "Eyedrops."

As his head was tilted back and blinked to let the liquid spread, he heard Simir once more.

"One more thing, Young Master," Simir said. "There are more people in the camp."

Henry narrowed his eyes and tossed the eyedrops back to Ash. He gave his horse a kick and continued to ride along the dike, which had water sourced from the river. "How much more?"

"At least another two dozen."

Considering their strength, it wouldn't be difficult to fight off a hundred people, but they wanted to keep it quiet and avoid attracting attention. In addition, they didn't plan on killing anyone. In fact, Henry didn't even plan on being seen, if at all possible.

"We're looking at fifty people including the ones we saw in town," Henry told Ash. "Do you have enough slips?"

Ash almost looked affronted. "To deal with fifty people? Brother, if you wanted me to use slips on the entire town, I'd still have enough to spare. You're lucky I stocked up on all that mulberry paper."

Henry ignored his brother's self-praise. The horses weren't galloping, but they were still moving fast. Despite going a roundabout way to avoid the main route, their lightness and speed allowed them to reach the river quickly.

Following Simir's instructions, they followed along the river bank, remaining as close as they could to the water to drown out their movements with the sound of the river. The river itself was at least a hundred paces wide and getting in too deep could cause them to be swept out by the current.

"We're getting close," Henry said. "Release the horses. We'll go on foot from here."

Ash nodded and slipped off his saddle. He led both horses to the shore, pointing back where they came. He then waved down the ravens and pointed in the same direction. Without a word, he followed Henry into the tree line.

It didn't take long to see the several fires going and the metal lanterns hung around simple tents. Rough-looking men and women moved around the camp. Just past it, there were horses tied up and an open clearing, likely where the iron box carrying the baby fire giant parked.

Ash took in a sharp breath next to Henry and pointed through the trees. Henry followed his hand and frowned. Guarding the entrance of the nicest tent there were two Ashtari-dressed men with swords. There were a few more around the camp, as well. They were likely escorts of the angry-looking lord who'd gone to town to ensure the baby fire giant was recaptured.

This nobleman was different from Talam, who looked ragged after just getting as far as the border. Talam was sent to "bring back trade". This nobleman was clearly given another mission, and from his guards and his tent, he had the support of the crown.

It begged the question: how many more noblemen like him had been sent to bring back a fire source to reignite the holy fire?

In addition, why hadn't the Holy Order stepped in to assist them? Or could they even do that?

The Holy Fire at the Great Temple was a blessing from the sun goddess. The fire going out was the worst omen Ashtar could get.

Henry held out his hand and motioned for Ash to take a seat and wait. The party that had been in town hadn't arrived yet. It took another several minutes for them to hear the heavy clanking of chains, metal, and the voices of people giving orders.

The massive iron box on a large cart was parked far away due to its difficulty getting through the trees. Several people returned to the camp, chattering away to tell the others what had happened.

"Wait until as many of them are out as possible before you throw your slips," Henry whispered as he leaned towards his brother. "Then, target those inside the tents."

Ash gave his brother some side eye. "Are you saying I need to put a slip on to each person to immobilize them?"

Henry cocked his head. "Isn't that the plan?"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The corner of Ash's lip curled up. "Now who's working harder and not smarter?" Before he could reply Ash began to move back. "I have something else."

Henry couldn't help the slight surge of concern, but it was too late to try to talk Ash out of something. Reluctantly, he followed his brother back to the river. They weren't far from the camp, but Ash crouched down by the river and lined six olive green slips next to the water line. He then stood up, grabbed Henry's arm, and pulled further away.

"What are you doing?" Henry hissed.

"They're water activated and I don't want to get too close to the fog."

"Fog?" From the corner of his eye, he saw a pale smoke coming from the slip that Ash had placed along the water. Henry snapped his head to the side and noticed that the green slips had been lapped at by waves in the river, soaking them.

Like Ash said, the cards were water activated. They seemed to slowly melt, like sugar in water, but instead of turning into a formless, sticky lump, a thick fog appeared like smoke from a fire. It quickly coated the river bank, making it impossible to see the ground as it rose.

Ash stared ahead of him and drew a circle in the air with his hand. With his finger, he drew something in the air; something Henry couldn't make out.

He felt a gentle breeze against his face as a force pushed the fog upriver, and on to the embankment. It rolled towards the camp like a cloud, and before long, they couldn't see the trees, either.

Henry extended his hand to touch the fog that appeared as a wall of cloud in front of them, but Ash quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Don't. It numbs the body."

"What?" Henry instinctively took a step back despite being downwind of the fog. He frowned and looked at Ash. "What is this?"

"It's been a long time since I created a new magic slip, so while Hana and I were installing a new debossing press, we discussed making slips with other features. She mentioned something like a smoke bomb, which could be thrown somewhere, detonated, and then sent out a cloud of smoke that could be used as cover for escape."

"All right," Henry's wide eyes stared at him, still containing a bit of disbelief. "But why does it numb the body?"

"The smoke contains toxins from the porcupine jelly fish."

Henry's eyes crinkled up. "The one that has enough venom to paralyze a bull shark?"

"Don't worry, we diluted the toxins," Ash said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's just enough to immobilize a human."

Henry glared. "For how long?" Ash kept his eyes ahead of him and didn't answer. Henry frowned. "For how long, Ash?"

Ash gave him a lopsided smile. "We're going to find out."

Henry clenched his fists at his side to keep from throttling his brother. "Will this even work?"

"Yes. I'm just not sure how well." Henry must've looked annoyed, so Ash quickly held up his arms. "If it doesn't work, and the people at the camp are still conscious when the smoke dissipates, I'll use my regular slips."

Henry let out a small growl. "Can you not test out your latest experiments when we're doing something serious?"

"Well, where else am I going to test them?" Henry sent him another glare and Ash shut up.

Henry turned back to the fog. The cards had disappeared into smoke, leaving nothing behind. "Will this affect the horses?"

"It may make them sleepy, but it's not strong enough to affect large non-humans," Ash replied. "Also, I used six cards. It's slightly more than I estimated to ensure everyone is immobilized, but it shouldn't get as far as where the horses and fire giant are."

Henry could only hope his brother's estimation was correct.

The fog lasted for several minutes, neither fading out nor spreading where Ash hadn't directed it. Twice, Henry checked his pocket watch. Perhaps he was impatient, as less than ten minutes had passed the second time he checked.

Ash kept his eyes on the fog, as if taking careful note for future adjustments. When it began to thin out, he called to his brother. "When it clears up, give it another few minutes Then we can get closer and check."

"If we breathe in anything, it won't be harmful, right?"

"No, once the fog has dissipated, then the sleep aid I added will also have settled for the most part. The amount that lingers in the air is too little to put even Effie to sleep."

Henry took a deep breath. "You added a sleeping aid?"

"It's airborne, so once you breathe in the fog, it'll start taking effect. Hopefully, no one collapsed by the fire." He said it so casually, Henry cringed. He heard Ash counting under his breath and Henry checked his pocket watch.

At the two-minute mark, Ash said it was safe to proceed.

The two wove through the forest, peering through the breaks between trees. The fires were still going and the lanterns still lit the camp, but bodies littered the ground. Along with them were wooden plates, metal utensils, and spilled food. It looked like many had been eating while others were standing guard.

The guards that were standing at the entrance of the nobleman's tent had crumbled to the ground.

"Simir, check the tents," Henry whispered without stepping out into the cleared area.

"Everyone within ten paces of this camp is unconscious."

"Is there anyone left awake?"

"A man was urinating further upstream and the fog did not reach him."

Henry let out a low breath. "Ash, there is a straggler upstream."

"I'll get him. How do you want to deal with the rest of them? Leave them here? Move them? Try to hide them? Take their money?"

"Since they're unconscious and don't look to be getting up any time soon...take their money?" Henry looked at his brother.

"It's hard to travel when you have no money or supplies," Ash said as he shrugged and walked out of the forest.

Henry nodded. "You make a good point."

Henry put out the fires to prevent any accidents, making sure to step around the bodies sprawled out on the ground. He then walked further away to gather six horses to draw the iron box. The closer he got to it, he realized it was much larger than when he'd seen it at a distance.

His lips pulled into a tight line as he looked it up and down. This would attract attention no matter where they went if Ash didn't disguise it.

He heard shuffling and turned around to see Ash arriving with a man flung over his shoulder. He walked past Henry and dumped the man next to the nearest tent. "I didn't use the fog slip, so he may wake up earlier than the others."

"That's fine. As long as we have at least a day or two to put distance between us," Henry replied. He looked back at the iron box. "What can you do to disguise this box?"

Ash stood beside his brother and put his hands on his hips. He looked up at the box that was the size of a cottage and took a deep breath.

"I was thinking about it on the way here. What can I change it to in order to avoid suspicion, and the first thing we need to do is get rid of at least four of the horses pulling it.

Henry turned towards him sharply. "How are we going to pull this thing with just two horses?"

With a matter-of-fact voice, Ash replied. "We make it lighter."

"Make it lighter?"

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It bothered him that to get to Mons Agre, they were going away from Shae. Aside from the time it took to get to the lava fields to return the dormant fire giant, they would need to add another few days to their journey. That was less time to settle down and for Ash to set up their Exhibition presentation.

Despite this, Ash sat on the driver's bench of the large wagon, drinking a fruit slushy from a glass jar, and unbothered.

In the time between leaving town and arriving at the kidnappers' camp site, Ash had established a plan that covered all of Henry's concerns.

First, all fifty-two of the kidnappers were unconscious using a hands-off method that would allow them to go unnoticed. By Ash's estimate, they had at least two and a half days. Perhaps even three. The poisonous fog slips were stronger than he initially planned.

Second, Ash circled the area with an array that would last two days. The array was a series of magic text that skewed the space, redirecting those who would've stumbled into the camp around or even away from it. This kept the kidnappers from being found.

Third, in order to make the load they were pulling lighter, Ash directly wrote a levitation spell on the iron box, a separate one on the cart, and another series of magic text on each wheel. Never mind two horses to pull the carriage, with how light it was, one horse could pull it.

"How did you do that?" Henry had asked as Ash placed slips to keep the layer of ice frozen on each side of the iron box.

"It's a temporary spell and doesn't last long. I need to redo it every few hours, but it will make the iron box and the carriage light by repelling the energy that pulls them down, sort of like two forces pushing against each other," Ash had replied. "But in order to keep up appearances, I the wheels still have to touch the ground, so each wheel and axel are not covered by the spell the rest of the wagon is. The horse is essentially pulling the weight of the wheels."

But what about the visual impact of an iron box the size of a cottage?

Ash cast a disguise spell. They were now dragging a literal cottage.

Transporting a house was rare, but not an absurd sight. Plenty of people moved structures, either whole if they were small enough, or in parts from location to location. Sometimes, wealthy people with too much money bought an exotic looking hut and thought it would look nice in their sprawling gardens, so they'd buy it and then pay to have it moved.

An entire tiny home could be transported from foundation to roof, with furniture and housewares, and sometimes a person, still inside.

Thus, when they passed the outskirts of a few towns, a few folks looked and asked where they were going. A few even complemented the cottage, but did anyone suspect that there was a dormant baby fire giant within?

No.

"If I applied the concept of the fog slips, what else can I have it do?" Ash asked after writing a series of notes in a small book. He raised his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Well, you could've done what Hana suggested and used the fog as a cover."

"It feels like a waste to have it only do one thing," Ash replied with a small frown. "I'm not saying it's not useful, but if a slip can do more than one thing, that would be preferred."

"Perhaps something to cool or heat something?" Henry asked. "Rather than using deep sea slug slime to lower Terry's temperature when she was cursed, a patch that cooled or heated people would be useful."

"Cyrus said the same thing."

"Cyrus would make an excellent magic product doctor."

"That's why I hired him," Ash replied. "I have an eye for talent."

"Well, it would've been nice to have something like that to use," Henry said as he grasped his collar and tugged on it. "We're getting close to Mons Agre. It feels much warmer than yesterday."

Ash scratched the side of his head. "Already?"

"We made it here much faster because of your magic. I thought you'd be proud."

"I am, but I estimated at least another day and a half to get to the edge of the lava fields. Are you sure we're close?" Ash began digging in his bag once more. He took out a map book and began flipping through the pages to get to the country and then region. He then followed a route with his fingers, turned a page, and frowned. "Brother, we're not there yet. I'm right." He looked up and met Henry's gaze. "We should have another day and a half."

"Maybe the season is abnormally warm," Henry said.

Ash closed the map and looked ahead of him. "Brother." He held out his arm and motioned for Henry to stop the horses. "Summon Simir to do a sweep."

Henry furrowed his brows and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Ash scanned the horizon around them. It wasn't completely flat, but undulated, with a few particularly large mounds where lava had piled and cooled further away. "There aren't any trees or vegetation higher than my knee here...." He looked at the ground and climbed down the wagon's driving bench to stomp his foot on the soil. "These are settled lava flats." He raised his head to look at Henry. "The lava flats are like a barren strip around the active lava fields and volcanoes of Mons Agre. They're far enough away from the geothermal activity, and far north enough, that it doesn't get too warm this time of year."

Henry stared at his brother, understanding Ash's silent question.

If it wasn't warm because of the natural climate, why were they sweating?

"Simir! Sweep the area! Ash, reinforce the ice in the iron box-"

A heavy thud sounded, shaking the wagon. The movement fought against the carefully balanced spell, causing the wagon to let out a loud creak as the iron box pressed down against it. Henry jumped in his seat. He could've sworn he heard some wood splinter.

Ash raised his arms and climbed up the side of the wagon. He began writing the magic scripts once more, but another thud shook the wagon and he was almost knocked off the side.

"Brother! I think our little friend is awake!"

"Can you still freeze it so it can go dormant?" Henry asked as he gripped the reins to try to calm the horses.

Another bang sounded, almost tilting the iron box off the wagon bed. It slammed back into the wagon bed, nearly crushing Ash's hands as he tried to hold on in order to complete the magic text. He let go quickly and jumped back, swearing as he landed on feet.

"It's not supposed to need a fresh freezing spell until tonight!"

"The heat likely sped up the thaw."

"I got that!" Ash threw several slips at the iron box. Henry could sense several bursts of energy as the slips hit the sides of the. The thudding and clanking from within died down and the iron box was still.

Wiping his brow once more, Ash climbed on the sides of the wagon to draw on the magic text. Henry could hear the ice refreezing in the gap between two layers of thick metal.

Once Ash completed the seals on four sides, he waved for his brother to come down. "What is it?"

"Did you hear any wood splitting earlier?" Ash asked. "We should check the wagon."

Henry frowned and secured the reins before jumping off the driver's bench. "The last thing we need is for the wagon to break." He knelt down beside each wheel, carefully pressing along the sides and listening for stress points that were ready to give. He made a complete circle around the wagon. "It looks all right. We only need it for another day and a half."

Ash kept his eyes on the wagon, but nodded. "Let's hope it holds up. It hasn't been carrying much wait for a few days, but that sudden drop when the iron box fell back down is alarming." The two brothers climbed back on the driver's seat.

Henry untangled the reins and wrapped them around his hands. He gave them a smooth shake. "Go!"

The two draft horses they'd kept shook their heads and snorted, but pulled forward. Their heads bobbed up and down as they walked.

Ash let out a breath of relief and leaned back against the driver's bench. "Thank good-"

A crack was heard along with splintering wood before something broke beneath them, snapped upwards, and hit the bottom of the wagon. Immediately, the wagon dropped to one side. Ash shouted and grabbed on to the side of the wagon as Henry pulled back the reins to stop the horses from moving.

They slid down towards Henry's side as the front right wheel was ejected outwards and tumbled to a stop a few paces away. The wagon jerked to a stop, but bounced as it balanced itself on three wheels.

The two held their breaths and waited for any other movement. Another broken wheel, the wagon bed breaking in half, or the creak of the iron box as it swayed from the movement of the wagon.

Nothing else seemed to make a sound. Ash closed his eyes. He let out a low, measured breath he was holding in. "Maybe we can fix-"

Another loud crash was heard as they were suddenly thrown forward. The wheel on the left side folded up, completely cracking under pressure.

The horses cried out and pulled against their reins. Henry gritted his teeth and released the reins. If the horses got loose, he didn't want to be dragged with them.

"Get off before the box crushes us, too!" Henry pushed his brother away and climbed out. Ash hurried to follow him as the metal box loomed over the driver's seat. The two brothers didn't stop moving until the distance between them and the brown wagon was several paces. They turned around and Ash winced.

The wagon and the iron box were tilted forward with the front of the wagon on the ground. From the looks of it, the back wheels might also fold in at any moment. Even if the two back wheels held up, the wagon was ill balanced and they wouldn't be able to use it at all.

"At least the iron box-'

"Don't!" Henry cut him off. "Don't say anything else." He shot Ash a glare as he walked forward. He quickly unhitched the horses and led them further away to keep them from being caught in an accident if the iron box tipped forward.

"Brother, if we can't move the iron box any further, why don't we just leave it here?" Ash asked. "We'll unlatch the box and let the ice layer melt. It'll wake the baby up, it'll release its scent, and its parents will find it."

Henry ran a hand down his face. "What if the baby starts crawling in the wrong direction and ends up near people, inadvertently leading its parents to those people?"

Ashe looked back at the box and hesitated. "Then...what if we allow the ice to melt and let the baby release its scent for a bit before refreezing it?" He paused and looked down. "Although I don't know if that's good for the baby fire giant."

Henry's chest rose and fell as he grappled with what to do. After a few moments he sighed. "In the end, the baby on its own can do more damage. We need to keep the baby here. If we can't keep refreezing it, we can try to contain it."

"Brother, if it wakes up, that iron box is not going to hold them," Ash told him. "Then what about creating a pit to put it in?"

"We're going to need a bigger pit." Ash rolled up his sleeves. "Since moving the iron box is difficult, I'll sink the ground around it. We need to get the horses further away first."

"I'll lead them away. You get started."

Ash nodded and Henry collected their horses as well. He pulled the horses away from the route. They called it that, but it wasn't a proper route that was often traveled on. They were just following a mark on a map that led to Mons Agre.

Most people in their right mind would not trek to an area with fire giants.

He heard a low rumble behind him and looked over his shoulders. The horses fidgeted, but Henry calmed them.

The ground around the wagon suddenly dropped. Ash was a few paces away, kneeling on the ground and with a hairpin pressed against the ground. Henry could feel a dense energy around Ash as he focused on sinking the ground slowly and within a limited area. The speed of the sinking was clearly controlled, slow and gradual to keep it smooth.

Soon, the corner of the iron box began to disappear into the ground. Ash continued to flood his energy into the earth. If the baby could break out of the iron box, then it could use it to climb out of the pit, so the pit had to be several times deeper.

Henry turned back to the horses and patted their heads to reassure them.

"Young Master, they are coming." Simir's voice suddenly echoed from his head. Henry perked up. He thought he didn't finish summoning Simir because of the sudden crash. He also didn't feel the usual burst of heat, but perhaps he didn't notice it.

"Who are they?" Henry asked.

"The-"

A whistling sound cut through the air, making the hairs on the back of Henry's neck stand on end. He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a low growl of frustration.

"I didn't need this right now." The whistles were the sound of arrows. "Raiju! Intercept the arrows!"

Electricity filled the air, making the two draft horses jumpy. Henry released their reins and immediately, they bolted. His and Ash's horses simply walked away, as if they were so used to the scenario, they knew that all they had to do was step aside and wait it out.

A flash of light burst in front of him and a thunder wolf appeared. Raiju didn't greet him and instead shot bolts of lightning into the air.

Somewhere in the sky, the lightning collided with the arrows, creating flashes of light and rolling cracks. Burnt shards of wood and some melted metal dropped to the ground, but none a single arrow reached them.

Henry reached for his spyglass and raised it up. A small cloud was rapidly approaching from a distance and as Henry adjusted the lens, he frowned and lowered his arm. "Ash! The kidnappers are coming."

"Oh, come on! I don't need this right now!" His brother's irate voice shouted back. "I told you we should've taken their money!"

"We didn't have time!"

"And now they've caught up! The pit isn't deep enough!"

"Wait on the pit and help me take care of them first!"

"Young Master, it's not only the kidnappers." Simir's voice sounded uncomfortably apologetic.

Henry took a deep breath and readied himself. "What else?"

A low rumbling sound came from the opposite distance. Henry's brows shot up as he snapped his head to the side.

The horizon in the direction of Mons Agre wasn't flat. It was lumpy with various mounds of all sizes from the way the lava had cooled. Henry stared in partial horror as a few of those mounds moved.

"Are you kidding me?" Ash cried out with frustration. He had turned his head to the rumbling sound as well. The ground seemed to shake as the noise swept over the lava flats.

Flames shot up in the air from in between humanoid-like joints as lumbering hulks of lava rock rolled to one side and began to stand. Henry found his head tilting upwards as he watched two fire giants taller than a ship's main mast rise from the ground in the distance.

Their eyes were holes made of a dark red gem that seemed to contain fire within. Slowly, their heads turned and those dark red gems settled on him and Ash.

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