Game Master in Another World

The next day, we woke before first light. I had left Juliana’s body for the night and hadn't slept at all. I quickly realized that when I wasn't actively piloting a physical form, I simply didn't get tired.

When it was time to get up, I slipped back into Juliana’s mind and gently woke her. She rubbed her eyes sleepily.

“It seems I can always rely on my Lord to wake me. Very helpful,” she murmured in a reverent voice.

Toby stirred next to us. He looked incredibly reluctant to leave the warm bed, but Juliana gently stroked his head. “Time to start the day, my dear. We need to enact your brilliant strategy.”

Toby stretched and pulled himself out from under the covers. Juliana and Toby both got dressed. Since his new everyday wear wasn't ready yet, Toby had to put his tailored suit back on. He did look fairly dashing in it, so I certainly didn’t mind.

“Let us have some breakfast,” Juliana declared.

She cast her familiar druidic spell, manifesting three plump, glowing berries in her palm. Toby was far less hesitant this time, popping the magical fruit into his mouth and eating it quickly. Juliana ate one as well.

With our hunger completely satisfied, we set out into the early morning air. It was biting cold and perfectly still.

After fifteen minutes of brisk walking, we arrived at the massive North Gate. True to Charon's word, there were twenty men preparing their horses for the journey. They were all lightly armored and carried heavy messenger satchels. As we approached, they immediately stopped and saluted Juliana.

“Good morning, my fellow compatriots! I will ensure you all make it safely through today,” Juliana announced, her unblinking smile radiating in the gloom.

Several men nodded in stern approval.

An older man wearing slightly more ornate officer's armor approached us. “Good morning, Lady Juliana. I am Captain Grisham. My unit shall be under your command today. What is your current plan of attack?”

I aggressively seized control of our body, our spine instantly slumping into a relaxed, casual posture. Juliana’s ability to strategize was severely limited, after all, and this required military precision.

“I plan to conjure a dense fog,” I replied, dropping her formal cadence entirely. “We can use it to slip past the main blockade unseen. If we meet any direct resistance, we will dispatch them immediately.”

Captain Grisham was clearly taken aback by the sudden, jarring change in our speech and posture. He stood there staring at me for a long moment before clearing his throat.

“Ah. Yes, I think that could work. Now, as for the return trip in three days, we will each be leading a large, slow convoy of supply wagons. I fully expect the enemy to notice us. Therefore, I need all of their nearby forces completely neutralized, ensuring no one escapes to call for reinforcements. Otherwise, we can expect an immediate, overwhelming counterattack on the wagons.”

I nodded grimly. “Understood. I am sure I can slaughter up to a hundred of them to the last man if it comes to that.”

Deep within our shared mind, Juliana’s consciousness violently shuddered at the thought. Systematically executing a hundred people in cold blood to secure a trade route was entirely abhorrent to her divine alignment.

I released control. Juliana immediately raised her hands and began to cast her weather manipulation spell.

The temperature around us rapidly plummeted. A thick, unnatural fog began to seep up from the cobblestones, growing denser by the second. Eventually, the visibility dropped so drastically that we could barely see our own feet.

I could hear nervous murmurs of confusion from the riders.

“Do not worry, men. This will help us slip through the blockade unseen,” Captain Grisham said confidently.

Juliana knelt down and pulled Toby to the side. “I am sorry, Toby, but you will have to stay here within the city walls. I shall return by this afternoon.”

Toby immediately grabbed her sleeve, his voice pitching up in panic. “But I don’t want to be left alone again! What if you don’t come back?”

Juliana’s radiant smile broadened, and she gently stroked his cheek. “Do not worry, little one. There is absolutely no chance I am not returning from this mission today.”

Assured by her absolute certainty, Toby reluctantly let go. He turned and slowly walked back into the city, his small suited figure quickly swallowed by the grey soup of the fog.

We set off through the North Gate in a tight formation. We slowly followed the dirt road, the oppressive mist making it challenging to stay on the path. Everyone traveled in dead silence, desperately trying to prevent the jangle of armor or the snorting of horses from alerting the enemy. Being detected in this chokepoint would make the journey far more dangerous.

After what seemed like hours of tense walking, muffled voices drifted through the mist ahead of us.

“I can’t see a damn thing in this fog. How are we supposed to stop anyone passing through at this rate?” a voice grumbled.

“Just stand in the middle of the road. They’ll bump right into us if they try to pass,” a second voice replied.

Juliana smoothly drew her scimitar. She darted forward with terrifying, silent speed, practically bumping chests with the first guard.

“Halt! No one may pass! I’ll give you one warning: turn back or be killed!” the soldier shouted in a panic.

Through the mist, I could barely make out the shape of the man wildly brandishing his sword in our direction.

Juliana simply flicked her wrist. She cast an entangling spell, and thick, thorny roots violently erupted from the dirt, immediately binding the man's arms to his sides. Without missing a beat, Juliana swung her blade. A clean arc of steel flashed in the fog, followed by the wet, dull thud of the soldier's severed head hitting the ground.

“Hey, Albert? Who’s there?” the second voice called out nervously.

Juliana lunged toward the sound, her free hand already preparing the next incantation. The moment the second guard’s silhouette appeared in the mist, she repeated the exact same brutal combination. Roots erupted, steel flashed, and another body crumpled.

The riders continued forward in total silence, their horses carefully sidestepping the bleeding corpses.

As we moved on, the shadows of buildings began to loom in the fog. We were passing through a rural village, clearly commandeered as the Forlinth blockade's base of operations. We weaved through the structures agonizingly slowly. We could hear the muffled voices of soldiers eating breakfast just a few feet away inside the taverns and homes, oblivious to our presence.

Just as we reached the far edge of the village, we nearly collided with the back of another patrolling soldier.

Hearing us, the man spun around. His eyes widened. “Intruders! Quick, ring the bell!”

He turned to run, but Juliana was faster. She pointed her finger at his iron breastplate and cast Heat Metal. The man's armor instantly began to glow a blinding, cherry-red. He let out an agonizing, bloodcurdling shriek and collapsed to the dirt.

Hearing the heavy, panicked footsteps of a second guard dashing toward the warning bell, Juliana sprinted into the mist. We caught up to the man just as his hand brushed the rope.

Juliana cast her entangling magic again, violently slamming him against the wooden post in a cocoon of roots. She stepped close, her expression serene, and drove her scimitar directly into his heart.

“I am sorry, child,” she whispered sweetly into his ear. “But my Lord Geoff has ordered your death.”

Leaving the blade in his chest for a brief second, we returned to the first soldier. Captain Grisham’s retinue had already mercifully dispatched the screaming man, but the horrific sound and smell of him cooking inside his own armor was sickening.

We pushed on. Eventually, the unnatural fog began to thin. The blue sky broke through, and the landscape opened up into the sprawling countryside. Looking back, a towering, impenetrable wall of grey cloud completely enveloped the village and the road behind us.

Captain Grisham let out a long breath, wiping sweat from his brow despite the chill. “Well, Lady Juliana. I greatly appreciate your assistance with getting us this far. We shall see you right here in exactly three days.”

Juliana smiled warmly, entirely unbothered by the blood on her hands. “Certainly, Captain. I look forward to making your acquaintance again. May the Solvarn bless your journeys.”

The riders spurred their horses and galloped up the road, branching off into the countryside to spread the word. With the first phase of the mission a complete success, we just needed to get back to the inn.

Juliana gracefully waved her hand, dismissing her weather spell. We watched as the massive wall of fog slowly began to dissipate under the morning sun.

“Do you enjoy flying, Lord Geoff?” Juliana asked aloud.

I took control for just a second to smirk. “Yes. It is rather fun.”

I handed the reins back. Instantly, our bones snapped and twisted, our perspective plummeting terrifyingly close to the ground. Juliana peered into a nearby muddy puddle, admiring our new reflection. We were a tiny, inconspicuous brown sparrow.

With a flutter of wings, we took off into the sky, heading straight back toward the city walls. We flew high above the village, safely avoiding the chaos below. Glancing down, I could see that our handiwork had been discovered; tiny, armored men were running around like kicked ants, frantically and vainly searching for the assassins who had already vanished into the sky.

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