"Fire! Fire! The Tschäggättä set fire to the Vine-Bear Court!"
Cries of panic echoed through the sanctuary as monks milled about in utter confusion, staring helplessly at the roaring blaze swallowing the wooden timber. Unaccustomed to such crises, they had no idea how to handle a real inferno.
In the end, it fell to Alina—a mere guest—to step forward and bring order to the disorganized crowd. Only after Enya emerged safely from the smoke did Alina turn a worried gaze back toward the flaming halls. Jeanne was still somewhere inside.
"You've come this far, yet you don't even dare to fight?" Jeanne scoffed as she pursued the fleeing silhouettes. "Why don't you tell me who you really are? I'm certainly not buying this Tschäggättä nonsense!"
Hoping to capture one or two alive to unmask their true identities, Jeanne lunged forward.
However, the masked intruders clearly had strict orders to avoid prolonged engagement. As they retreated, they deliberately smashed support beams and brought down structural ruins, creating a wall of falling debris to stall her advance.
Against anyone else, such a trap would have buried the pursuer alive under collapsing timber. But Jeanne simply smashed through the falling rubble, driving forward like a unstoppable siege ram.
As she closed the distance, she caught a clear glimpse of the arsonists: heavily armored warriors wearing beast-skulled helmets. They bore no markings of local Kjerag soldiers, nor did local troops possess such seamless tactical discipline.
"Almost got you..." Jeanne muttered, picking up speed.
SWOOSH!
A sudden gust of wind cut through the hot air behind her.
One of the heavily armored soldiers spun around and pitched a strange, heavy weapon directly toward her. Strangely, the projectile wasn't aimed to kill—it was meant solely to force a split-second distraction.
Jeanne dodged the projectile and locked her eyes on the rearguard. Her brow furrowed as she recognized the unconscious figure hoisted over the soldier's shoulder. "That old man... the Grand Elder?"
In the chaos of the fire, everyone had forgotten about the head of the sanctuary. The intruders were actually abducting him!
"I suggest you halt right there, milady," a muffled voice called out from the lead soldier. "Otherwise, I cannot guarantee this old gentleman's survival. He is fragile, after all; I doubt he can withstand much rough handling."
It was the first time any of these intruders had spoken. Jeanne chuckled dryly. "And here I thought you lot were all mute. Pursued you all this way and not a single one of you dared to let out a peep."
"My apologies," the leader replied smoothly, his grip tightening around the Grand Elder's neck. "Orders are orders. For now, we are merely the mythical Tschäggättä. If not for unexpected complications, I wouldn't be speaking to you at all."
He kept a firm chokehold on the unconscious old man, his voice chillingly calm.
"Let me speak plainly," the leader continued, unbuttoning his tactical vest with his free hand to reveal a compact array of active Originium explosive charges. "If you continue to chase my men or make any sudden move toward me, I will detonate these explosives and take this old gentleman with me."
He offered a faint, icy smirk. "Furthermore, my men have placed additional charges beneath the mountain paths. Milady, you wouldn't want innocent people perishing in this tragedy, would you?"
Jeanne raised an eyebrow, completely unbothered by the dramatic threat. "Did you take a theatrical negotiation course? For a hostage threat, that sounded remarkably flat."
She took a slow, deliberate step forward, her expression impassive. "Besides, threatening me with that old man is a massive tactical error. I'm not a follower of your church. To me, he's just an arrogant old fool."
Jeanne coiled her muscles, faking a reckless sprint to make them believe she cared nothing for the hostage's life, waiting for the precise fraction of a second to strike—
"Is that so? Then you can have him!"
The leader suddenly hurled the limp Grand Elder high into the air toward Jeanne. Before she could react further, he stripped off his explosive vest, dropped it onto the snow, and threw himself backward over the cliff edge.
Jeanne leaped forward and caught the falling Grand Elder cleanly in her arms. Checking his pulse, she noted he wasn't in any immediate danger—merely knocked out cold by a sedative.
Glancing down at the discarded explosive vest, she verified the charges were real, though whether the intruder ever intended to pull the trigger remained uncertain.
Jeanne walked to the edge of the precipice and watched the heavy armored leader drift down toward the valley floor under a opened parachute. She considered mounting a dragon to hunt him down, then dismissed the idea, deciding to let the local authorities handle their own mess.
Scooping up the explosive vest, she tossed it far into the empty ravine, where it detonated with a dull thud against the canyon walls. Turning back toward the courtyard, she heard the frantic crunch of boots on snow as a squad of guards rushed up to surround her.
Unlike the elite, well-equipped intruders she had just faced, these arrivals were a ragtag local militia, barely wielding proper weapons.
They leveled their spears and blades at Jeanne, eyes wide with suspicion and fear. They cast frantic glances at the unconscious Grand Elder lying nearby, but none dared step forward to retrieve him.
"If this is how you treat someone who just saved your leader, then we have nothing further to talk about," Jeanne said coolly, dusting the soot off her sleeves. "Step aside."
She had intended to explain what happened, but seeing them braced for a fight made her lose all patience. Sure, on the surface it looks like I'm standing over an unconscious leader, but can't these idiots use an ounce of common sense?
"Forgive us, but we cannot allow you to leave just yet," the lead guard insisted, holding his spear steady. "Hand over the Grand Elder first, and we can discuss the rest calmly."
They remained deeply suspicious, entirely unmoved by her words.
"Stand down! All of you, lower your weapons!"
Arctosz came huffing up the steep mountain track, breathing heavily as he pushed through the ring of guards. "Phew... phew... Can't you fools see she has no intention of harming anyone?!"
Turning to Jeanne, the imposing lord straightened his posture, his expression growing dark and solemn. "Lady Jeanne, could you tell us what transpired here? We were only gone for a few hours. How did the Vine-Bear Court catch fire?"
"For a second, I thought you were going to accuse me of setting the blaze and kidnapping the old man too," Jeanne sighed, glancing down at the valley floor.
"That is not a funny joke, Lady Jeanne," Arctosz replied sternly, his jaw tightening.
"If you know it's a joke, tell your men to clear a path!" Jeanne snapped, stepping forward. "Instead of treating me like a criminal, go hunt down the actual culprits who set your sanctuary ablaze!"
Without waiting for his reply, Jeanne strode straight past the guards toward the main courtyard. She had been gone for quite a while, and regardless of how much faith Alina had in her strength, her friend would be worrying by now.
"Out of the way, all of you!" Arctosz barked, roughly shoving the guards aside. "She is an honored guest of Kjerag, not a suspect for you to detain!"
He turned toward Jeanne's receding back, calling out with a heavy sigh, "My apologies, Lady Jeanne. These men are used to locking up anyone suspicious. Today's unpleasantness is entirely our fault."
"I'm not thin-skinned enough to hold a grudge over that," Jeanne called back without turning around. "But if I were you, I'd focus your energy on those so-called Tschäggättä. They're the real threat to your land."
Leaving the chaotic scene behind, Jeanne walked back toward the surviving quarters. Things in this mountain domain are certainly getting interesting, she thought to herself.
"Are you alright?" Alina asked the moment Jeanne stepped back into the open courtyard, rushing over to inspect her for injuries. "Why would you go chasing after armed attackers in a burning building? You don't take your own safety seriously at all!"
"Come on, you know what I'm capable of," Jeanne laughed, hands on her hips with a proud grin. "A little fire and a few masked thugs are hardly a threat to me. Have some faith!"
Jeanne leaned in closer to Alina, lowering her voice as she gestured toward the courtyard. "What is wrong with the people here? The guards outside treated me like a criminal, and the monks inside are still strutting around giving orders like nothing happened. Why are they looking at me so strangely?"
Alina shook her head with a weary sigh, watching the arrogant monks direct local attendants to carry salvaged crates.
"Don't bother with them," Alina murmured quietly. "If there's one thing I've learned today, it's that in this entire order, Enya is practically the only person worth talking to."