210 Platitudes and Plateau's

One week later :

Loutiel seethes as he and his 'mercenary army' lose the False-Familiar's trail again. His tracking spell indicates that he and his group had hopped back on their dragon and fled further east two hours ago, giving him and his unmounted army no chance of catching up. Not to mention, the injury on his back kept flaring up, the stitches almost continually ripping due to how deep and long the cut is, as well as its positioning over his back muscles...

This past week had been an effort in utter frustration for both he and Matilda, chasing Michael and his group proving far, far more difficult than many had anticipated... Not only because of how fast they were, but because they were flying in and around the Germanian border, preventing him from bringing his full army to try and capture them.

While Germania might be at war with Albion, that didn't mean they wouldn't attack Tristain if Loutiel extended his forces too far into their territory. The Germanian's were never known for their peacefulness or rationality, they'd be very eager to capture him and throw him to one of their fighting pits if they got the chance.

This wasn't the only problem however, Princess Henrietta had ordered them to stop their search, ordering their forces to come back and defend the territory against Gallia... Loutiel disobeyed these orders, using his own wealth to bribe the Tristain soldiers to his side... Plus, it helped that none were eager to be on the front lines against Gallia... In their eyes, chasing a couple kids and an elf was preferable to dying on a battlefield against impossible odds.

Fortunately, things were looking up for Loutiel and his army. Judging by his enemy's movements, he had a fairly good idea of where they were headed... A couple miles into Germanian territory was the great desert, and just on the outskirts of this was a huge plateau, one with sheer cliffs that looked over everything for miles around... Gandalfr probably thought they wouldn't pursue them there, so Loutiel was happy to elucidate him to the contrary.

Sure, they did have to kill some patrolling Germanian men, but you couldn't craft a ritual circle without the blood of innocents... Most of the time. So he continued onwards until they reached the cliffs, his tracking spell revealing his target to be on the plateau.

"Come! We must scale this and prove to the traitor and the demon who rules these lands!" Loutiel shouts, looking to Matilda who huffs as she begins to create makeshift stairs out of stone in the cliff face, allowing most of the army to follow.

The sun was beginning to dip low by the time Loutiel and his army reached the top of the plateau, unfortunately, their enemy was already aware of them... Michael, Tiffania, Charlotte, and Illococoo were standing atop a rocky outcropping a good distance away from Loutiel and his army.

What surprised Loutiel though was the strange door behind them... It was like a mirror that displayed the Aurora Borealis, better known as the Albion Lights. That wasn't all, however, from it, multicoloured lightning occasionally crackled, licking the ground and air nearby but doing no visible damage.

Michael grins at Loutiel as he plays with and flips the Fairy Trinket in his hand. "I know you can hear me, you white-haired bastard." he says with what some might call an inside volume. He knew that Loutiel's mastery of the wind would allow him to pick it up, however, as Charlotte could do much the same. "I hope you've had as much fun chasing us as I have tricking you to run in circles. But I think our game is done. I don't know what'll happen to you or the rest of this world, but I'm pretty sure you're all fucked. And while I do want to kick your teeth in, I should be fine knowing that you'll die a long and painful death. I hope to never see you again, Loutiel, Matilda, but if we do, I promise that'll be your end." he states.

Loutiel's eyes widen as he relays his words to Matilda, the girl scowling as she focuses on Tiffania, who, while looking somewhat downtrodden, seems fine with leaving her anyway. "YOU TREACHEROUS LITTLE BITCH! IS THIS HOW YOU REPAY ME-URGH!" she groans as her oath takes effect, literally pulling the magic from her body temporarily.

Tiffania frowns, knowing by Matilda's gestures what the girl meant, even if she couldn't hear her. She was conflicted but knew who her friends were. Knew who needed her more. Knew who matters more to her. Knew what she wanted in this life. "I'm sorry." she simply says before turning to Michael, "Can we go? I don't think you should taunt them anymore..."

Michael nods, "Yeah, I just wanted to have the last word... It's a guy thing." he shrugs at the peculiar looks he was getting sent. "Ah, one more thing..." he starts, not believing he'd almost forgotten. He turns and raises his hand high, giving the middle finger to Loutiel, Matilda, and their army. "Go fuck yourselves!" he shouts before quickly linking arms with the others as they jump into the World Gate.

Loutiel's eyes almost roll out of their sockets as he sees this. He grits his teeth and summons as much magic as possible, using the heavy desert winds as a conduit as he launches a huge tornado straight at the door... Only for it to fade from existence not long after the group jump through it. "NO!" he shouts, dropping to his knees in exhaustion, knowing that his plans were more likely doomed now. He'd failed to kill Gandalfr, betrayed Tristain, betrayed Gallia, invaded Germanian lands... HE WAS FUCKED!

At least, it wasn't only him however. He glances to his side to see the now sobbing Matilda who was slamming her fists into the ground below, utterly mortified that she'd forever be bound by oaths she and her family had sworn... SHE'D BE FORCED TO WANDER THIS LAND TIL SHE DIED SEARCHING FOR TIFFANIA!

Their army just watches dumbfounded as their leaders break down. This continues for an hour, until the group notices from the top of the plateau a small Germanian army headed for them... Loutiel's tornado must've attracted their attention...