It didn’t take him long to find the squad. He crept closer. The moonlight shone bright enough to observe them. They wore the green fatigues that marked them as part of Estrid’s holy army. Nice to see not all of them had taken off once Estrid had been captured. Good news, except he didn’t recognize any of them. Quiet and watchful with weapons in hand, they appeared to be on alert.

Pulling magic, Kerrick transformed to normal. Not wishing to scare them, he backed up a few yards before crunching through the fallen leaves. He spread his hands wide so they didn’t skewer him on sight.

With plenty of warning, the squad hid and then surrounded him as soon as he walked into their “trap.” One man hung back. Kerrick spotted the sergeant strips on the man’s sleeves.

“I’m on your side,” Kerrick said. “Prince Ryne sent me.” Not exactly true, but close enough. He explained about the blockade. “We need to clear a path for our soldiers.”

The eight men and two women looked to their sergeant when Kerrick finished.

“You certainly know an awful lot about the mission,” the sergeant said. “Who are you?”

“Prince Kerrick.”

“Really? We heard he died fighting the northern tribes.”

“You heard wrong. Look, Sergeant...”

“Vic.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“I’m not risking my squad. If that blockade is there like you said, a dozen of us aren’t going to make a dent.”

“We only need to clear one section,” Kerrick said.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Vic asked. “As soon as we strike, the whole line will turn on us.”

“I’ve a plan.”

The sergeant laughed. “Good for you. Let us know how it works out.”

Expecting resistance from the man, Kerrick encouraged the vines growing on a nearby tree to snake toward Vic’s head. “There’s a section of the wall that’s not as closely connected to the others due to a dried-out creek that makes a deep dip in the terrain. My plan is to take out that section and replace Cellina’s soldiers with yours.”

“You’re mad. One shout and we’re done.”

“Then I’ll make sure they won’t make a sound.”

“You?”

“I’m a forest mage.”

“Okay, I’ll play along, Prince Kerrick. Just how—”

The vines looped around Vic’s mouth and head, making an effective gag. When the man tried to use his weapon, the vines circled his upper body, trapping his arms. Half his squad rushed to help, but they were soon entangled, as well.

Before, Kerrick would have expanded all his energy to make those vines move. One perk of being a forest mage. However, now using his magic to look normal drained him.

A sword point pricked Kerrick’s neck.

“Stop it now,” a woman ordered.

Kerrick inclined his head. “I’m simply demonstrating my plan.” The vines retreated, freeing the soldiers.