Sonder climbed the ladder so abruptly that the kobolds stumbled back from the hatch, tripping over each other. Her boots hit the floorboards with a thud.
She didn't look at them.
Didn't look at anything.
Something ugly and frustrated twisted low in her chest. It wasn't rage, not exactly; this was muddier.
The kobolds feared her, and the old one stammered. "W-we didn't lie. We didn't know it wasn't-"
"Move," Sonder snapped.
The kobolds froze, then scurried in front of her as she gestured impatiently.
She pushed them toward the stairwell, moving quickly. Her staff clicked against the floorboards, every tap making the kobolds flinch.
They reached the upper chamber. One of the smaller kobolds hesitated at the door, peering through a crack, listening for anything on the other side.
Sonder didn't wait.
She put her palm against the door, not waiting for them to remove the boards they had nailed it shut with or the objects they put in front of it to barricade it.
She blasted it open.
The force made the kobolds yelp and tumble out into the sunlight, scrambling to their feet.
They hurried down the sloping clay paths. The kobolds glanced behind constantly, as if afraid she might strike them or abandon them.
At one point, the chipped-knife kobold squeaked, "Should we not hide? The wild ones- What if they find us?"
"They'll see us anyway," Sonder said. "Keep moving."
The gate loomed ahead. The kobolds shuddered at the sight of it.
And then, from a rooftop, came a shriek.
More kobolds.
One pointed at them. More silhouettes appeared.
She didn't wait for agreement.
She slammed her staff onto the ground, and a blue circle bloomed beneath her.
The barrier-platform snapped into existence and heaved upward, lifting the four of them fast enough that wind whipped at her hair. The kobolds with her, unsure on their feet, ducked as a fresh volley of arrows whistled through the air.
Sonder thrust her staff sideways. And the air roared.
A spiraling gust exploded outward, catching the arrows mid-flight and scattering them like a flock of startled birds. The gust was so strong it almost knocked a few kobolds off the wall.
But they caught themselves on time.
Sonder rose above the wall, above the sharpened stakes, above the frenzied shrieks.
She exhaled, then forced the platform downward in a fast sweeping arc toward the Chackara lines.
She hit the ground with a thud, the platform cracking beneath her and vanishing.
Chackara soldiers leapt back in alarm, some reaching for weapons. The captain stepped forward, eyes narrowing when he realized who she had brought.
"You return," he said slowly. "And you bring Shemmi with you?"
"They're not like the others," Sonder said sharply. "And I'm not here to argue."
Her anger simmered beneath her skin, but she forced her voice steady.
"I've restrained many of the Shemmi, but they will last less than an hour. If I open the gates for you, and you hurry, you can take most of the city with minimal fighting."
Sonder stepped forward until she was almost nose-to-chest with the captain.
Her eyes blazed.
"You want the city, and I want something someone inside it has. In return for giving you the city, you'll retrieve it for me."
The kobolds behind her shrank, huddling close.
"I also want these kobolds here to be safe."
A long silence followed. Soldiers watched. Kobolds cowered. Sonder stood unyielding.
Finally, the captain gave a slow, wary nod.
"Very well, mage," he said. "Give us what we want, and it will be yours."