WINTER'S SWEET EMBRACE

Down at the central plaza, Talia was waiting alongside the sanctuary’s five best warriors – two men and three women, all clad in lightweight, high-mobility leather armor and armed with silver longbows and dual daggers.

As Vincent came into view of them, Talia stepped forward, presenting her squad. "Vincent! There you are! These are the sanctuary’s finest who will be accompanying us tonight."

Four of the elves politely bowed their heads toward him, their faces filled with gratitude, respect, and awe after hearing of his strength at the riverbank.

"It is an honor to fight alongside you," one of the male scouts said earnestly.

However, Vincent’s keen eyes picked up on the fifth member of the squad. Standing slightly off to the side, with her arms crossed, was a female elf with shoulder length raven-black hair and icy pale eyes.

Unlike the others, she remained noticeably distant, cold, and silent as she watched him with calculating eyes that seemed to analyze his every movement.

Vincent offered a friendly wave to the group, deciding not to press the quiet warrior. "Glad to have you guys on board."

With their greetings done, Talia signaled the group. "The sun has fully set. It is time."

Taking a deep breath, Vincent transformed into his divine form. Four of the elven warriors, plus Talia, gasped in unison as his majestic beauty left them completely spellbound.

"Alright, squad," he flashed them a confident smirk. "Lead the way."

With Talia in the lead, the agile elven squad sprang into action, utilizing wind magic to leap effortlessly from branch to branch through the high forest.

Flaring his white wings, Vincent shot up into the starry night sky, flying effortlessly alongside them as they tore through the darkness toward the jagged mountain.

.......

After gaining some distance, the four friendly elves crowded around Vincent mid-flight, filled with warm excitement.

"I still can’t believe how you handled Commander Talia’s ambush at the river! Catching arrows between your teeth? Is that standard training where you come from?"

"Yeah, man! I heard from the others that you dodged Commander Talia attacks without even taking your hands out of your pockets! You made her look like a helpless newbie. That’s amazing!"

Talia’s ears turned bright red, though she kept her eyes fixed on the path ahead. "Focus on the mission, you fools! And stop exaggerating!"

"Ah, come on, she fought pretty hard!" Vincent chuckled. "Give her some credit."

*Tsk* "Hmph."

An icy voice sliced through the lighthearted banter, instantly killing the warm atmosphere. Lifting her chin, the fifth elf dropped a backhanded glare toward Vincent.

"Look at you all, worshipping him like foolish pups at a golden bone. He is an unreliable human brute. Do not let his flashy parlor tricks blind you. Humans only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

The four elves fell quiet as an uncomfortable tension settled over the group.

Vincent simply shrugged casually. "Hey, fair enough. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion."

"It’s not an opinion. It’s a fact–"

"That is enough, Roxa!" Talia snapped her head back at the raven-hair elf. "Save your personal bile for the enemies ahead!"

Roxa clicked her tongue, turning her head away in indifference as the group carried on in silence.

...

Minutes later, the dense forest abruptly ended, giving way to a steep rocky incline that spiraled toward the dark mountain range above.

Coming to a stop on a high branch, Vincent flared his white wings slightly. "I’ll fly up first to scout the path for any hidden bandits or traps."

"Understood." Talia nodded. "We trust your vision and speed."

With a powerful flap of his wings, he shot straight up into the starry night sky.

While waiting below, the four elves turned toward Roxa, furrowing their brows in annoyance. "What is wrong with you tonight, Roxa? The human spared Talia and agreed to help us rescue our young!"

"And you believe his act?!" Roxa’s icy blue eyes simmered with rage. "For centuries, humans have slaughtered our kind, lied to our faces, and bought our young in chains! And those traitors who chose to leave the forest to live alongside them in their corrupt cities are no better! A human is a human. He will betray us the moment it benefits him."

Talia stepped directly into her space. "Remember your duty, Roxa. Personal hatred has no place on this field. If your anger compromises this rescue–"

"Do not worry. I will not let my disgust for his kind compromise the lives of our young."

A soft rush of wind signaled Vincent’s return. He descended gracefully, hovering inches above the branch. "Path’s clear. We can move up safely."

Without waiting for Talia’s order, Roxa immediately leaped from the branch onto the cliff face. Utilizing her agility, she dug her boots into tiny foot holds and began scaling the sharp rocks with terrifying speed.

’She could’ve just taken the mountain path...’

The other five elves actually took the path while Vincent glided straight up last. Halfway to the top, he casually zoomed straight past Roxa, smiling at her with a smug smirk as he blew past her.

"Why you–" Roxa dug her boots in deeper and pushed her body to climb faster, desperately trying to outpace him.

But was ultimately unsuccessful. Vincent landed softly on the high rocky ledge first.

A few seconds later, Roxa pulled herself over the lip, panting heavily, her forehead glistening with sweat as she glared daggers at him. The rest of the squad arrived moments later, entirely unbothered having paced themselves properly.

Creeping through the low scrub, the party settled into a dense tree overlooking an illuminated canyon below.

Directly beneath them lay the outer perimeter of the main bandit camp.

Torchlight flickered against rough wooden barriers, and eight bandits were lazily patrolling the perimeter.

Talia scanned the layout, whispering her plan.

"There are eight. The seven of us will silently eliminate one each, steal their cloaks, and use them as disguises to slip inside. As for the eighth... I will ambush him personally and drag him into the brush for a swift interrogation to pinpoint the children’s location. Understood?"

"""Understood."""

"Good. Let’s move."

The squad dispersed into the night shadows like silent ghosts.

Talia dropped from an overhead overhang, wrapping her arm around her target’s throat, stifling his scream before lifting and dragging his thrashing body into the bushes.

Across the perimeter, Vincent glided behind his bandit. Reaching out, he cleanly snapped the man’s before he could make a sound. He then gently lowered the corpse into the dirt. Gazing down at his own hands, a familiar, heavy knot of guilt tightened in his chest.

’Guess after all that training and even yesterday, I’m not used to killing just yet, Nat.’

Deactivating his transformation, he quickly stripped the corpse, slipping into the leather tunic and hooded cowl.

A few yards away, Roxa handled her target with brutal cruelty.

Dragging the man into the pitch-black shadows, she forcefully pulled off his tunic, stabbing him repeatedly in the gut before breaking his neck with a harsh, sickening crack.

Wiping her bloody blade, she cast a murderous glare toward the unsuspecting Vincent before throwing on the stolen disguise.

Not long after, the seven cloaked figures regrouped behind a row of outer supply tents inside the camp.

With a grim look, Talia pulled back her hood slightly. "The stolen children are scattered in iron holding cages throughout the main camp. Their leader is away at the moment, making tonight our best window. Another thing, the bandit confirmed they are selling the children into slavery."

"S-Slavery?! Commander, is slavery not strictly outlawed across the entire continent of Solara?!"

"It is. However, it seems that they are shipping them across the sea to other continents... primarily to the Ebonspire Empire."

Roxa instantly whipped her head around, fixing Vincent with a glare of pure disgust.

"Why are you looking at me like that?! I don’t know shit about Ebonspire’s black market!"

Talia cut off the hissing argument. "We need to scout the interior layout and locate the exact cages before striking. We split into pairs. Five minutes of observation and listening, then meet back here."

"I am sticking with the human." Roxa stood by Vincent, resting her hand firmly on the hilt of her hidden dagger. "I do not trust him for a single second. The moment he smells fishy, he is dead."

"Haaa... Of course you’re with me. Fine. Lead the way."

"Five minutes," Talia commanded softly. "Go."

Vincent and Roxa slipped into the bustling interior of the camp.

The main plaza was a nightmare of lawlessness. Drunken, rowdy men and women roared around a massive central bonfire, tossing bones into the flames and downing flagons of cheap ale.

Weapons were scattered carelessly over wooden tables and stacked along the perimeter were heavy iron cages containing terrified children of various races – beast-kin, humans, and young dwarves.

Seeing the caged, weeping children, Roxa’s body began to tremble violently as her blood reached a boiling point. She took a step forward, completely ready to snap and start butchering every bandit in sight until Vincent subtly reached out, grabbing her upper arm and nudging her back behind a wooden crate.

"Calm. Down. If you blow our cover now, we lose the element of surprise, and they’ll use those kids as meat shields. We can’t save them if we get caught."

Roxa gritted her teeth so hard a tiny drop of blood welled on her lip. "I know..."

Pausing beside a large tent, Vincent raised a hand to signal quiet.

Faint, unmistakable noises echoed from inside – the slapping rhythm of skin hitting skin accompanied by the dramatic, high-pitched moaning of a woman.

"... ah... ah~! Faster... harder~!"

Standing outside the tent flap were two bandits, lazily leaning against wooden spears, taking swigs from a shared ale jug while waiting for their turn.

"Man, that fucker is taking forever in there. Whatever, plenty of liquor to go around."

"Hey. You hear about the special stash the boss locked up in the mountain cave prison?"

"The elven kids? Hell yeah I did! Boss said selling elven children to foreign nobles is gonna net every guy in this camp a life-changing fortune! Though, the boss was pissed about that royal white-haired bitch escaping from the lower dungeon last night. Left a bunch of our guys dead. Imagine the ransom we could’ve got..."

Having acquired the location, Vincent gave Roxa a subtle nod, signaling it was time to retreat.

But as they turned to leave, the flap of the tent burst open, ushering the two bandits to slip inside and take their turns.

A foul-smelling, half-naked, intoxicated bandit stumbled out, reeking of booze and sweat.

Staggering forward, his muddy eyes locking onto Roxa’s hooded figure. He reached out with a filthy hand and slammed his palm onto her shoulder, pinning her against the wooden crate.

*Hic* "Hey there... pretty girl. Never seen you around the camp before... Why don’t you and I step into my tent and have a little... fun, huh?"

Roxa’s eyes flashed with murderous malice. Beneath her stolen cloak, her thumb pushed her dagger an inch out of its sheath, fully prepared to slice his throat from ear to ear.

But before she could, Vincent stepped in.

Shifting his posture, he adopted an obnoxiously loud demeanor. He threw an arm around Roxa’s shoulders, pulling her in close.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your horses, pal! I already paid her a hefty lump sum to spend the entire night! She’s booked! So keep it moving, hah!?"

The drunk bandit blinked his muddy eyes in confusion, looking at Vincent’s arm, then at Roxa. "Ahhhhh fuck off then, you lucky bastard!"

Shoving Vincent aside, the drunk stumbled away, muttering curses into the night.

The moment the bandit vanished, Roxa slapped Vincent’s hand off her shoulder, turning her head to glare daggers at him.

"Touch me again, human, and I will sever your hand."

"Yeesh. You’re welcome."

With that, they regrouped in a tight circle behind the outer supply tents, exchanging their findings.

"The cages in the main plaza hold human, beast-kin, and dwarven children," one female elf reported quietly. "It is true that the leader isn’t here, but we couldn’t find a single elven child."

Talia gritted her teeth. "That bastard I interrogated lied to me."

"They are not in the main camp," Roxa interjected calmly. "They are being held in a secluded mountain cave."

"Understood. Excellent intel. Vincent, can you handle the mountain cave? You possess the speed and flight to breach the higher cliffs without alerting the lower guards."

"Already on it. I know the general layout of the place anyway."

"Good. The rest of us six will launch a silent ambush here in the main camp and rescue the other children. Roxa, you accompany Vincent to the mountain cave and secure the elven children. They are bound to be scared when they see him. With you there it should be fine."

"Understood, Commander."

With the plan set, the party split into two – Talia and her four warriors slipping deeper into the camp shadows to launch their assault, while Vincent and Roxa turned toward the winding path leading up into the mountain caves.