The light blinded Armand. When he could see again, the blue sky was around them. Unfortunately, instead of green grass beneath them, it was empty air.
They were hovering in the air, the ground a hundred feet or so under them. Almost immediately, they started falling. The children, seemingly in shock, did not have time to scream.
"Ah, damn." Seraphine swore for the second time today. Because of the Deathstalker, she was forced to activate the teleportation early. The difference in elevation between the cave and the outside threw her coordinate calculation off. Without hesitation, she snapped her fan shut.
"Lebegni!"
In a split second, their free-fall halted, and they floated just in time before they touched the ground. Armand gracefully positioned himself and landed on his feet before catching two of the children - Diana and Ron.
Emma, being older, managed to land on her small feet, albeit a bit unsteady. Seraphine descended elegantly, with three children on her arms and back. Armand breathed a sigh of relief.
"Armand!"
He took a look around and realised they were close to the cave's entrance. He could see Flint and Darryl running towards him. In the distance, he could see more people standing around, two of them seemed to be the Archon's younger knights, Sir Regulus and Dame Ardent.
Flint arrived first, noting the children hugging him.
"The children..."
"They are unharmed."
Flint exhaled in relief.
Darryl followed, looking delighted that Seraphine and Armand seemed unscathed. Seraphine smiled at him and tussled his hair.
"Is everything okay here, Darryl?" Seraphine put down the children, who did not seem keen on letting her go.
"Yes, lady! Well.. Sir Kingsley came back with some injury, but he's resting now. He should be okay!"
"I'm glad to hear he came back safely."
"Darryl!" A sob came from the group of children. Lia, who had been holding Seraphine, ran towards Darryl. The older boy looked elated and opened his arms in a big hug.
"Lia! I'm so glad you're safe!" Children from slums often went missing, with no one caring for them. So Darryl was overjoyed to see her coming back safely.
Seraphine, Armand, and Flint smiled as they watched the two children reunited. Then Flint turned towards Armand and Seraphine, his expression serious.
"People have caught wind that we're here. The parents of the missing children are here, and the missing knights' family, as well as some reporters and backup support from the Magistrate."
"Backup support? Who called them?"
"I don't know. Sir Kingsley sent a message when he came back, but I doubted it arrived that quickly."
"Hm..." Armand pondered the situation. On one hand, this many people meant that the Order of Exile would be hesitant to attack them, unless they wanted to air out that they were behind the kidnappings. On the other hand, this had turned into a more complicated state of affairs. He turned towards Seraphine. He knew that she would be eager to get back to the cave as soon as possible, even with the Deathstalker looming around. He was also afraid that the Order would find a way to erase the evidence before they could inspect it.
"Seraphine..."
But she clicked her tongue. "Technically, I'm a rogue mage. I don't think the Magistrate would like that advertised very much, wouldn't he?"
"Ah..."
All mages had to, technically, register with one of the seven Mage Towers: Ivory, Onyx, Scarlet, Azure, Verdant, Terra, and Golden Tower. Without official registration, they were considered 'rogue mages', who did not have the best reputation.
Her message was clear: she would not lend a hand in a press-related matter.
Armand sighed. Flint was a mercenary, a profession that also did not have the best reputation within society. Out of the three Archon's knights that went on this secret mission, only one went inside the cave, but came back injured. It seemed that he, as a Holy Knight Commander, would need to be the spokesperson. But as it had not been an official request from the Magistrate, there might be a diplomatic issue, especially as he himself was on a 'secret' mission from the Temple.
He was weighing his options when he noticed a man walking towards them - surprisingly, it was the Magistrate himself.
"Lord Commander." The Magistrate saluted him. Armand returned the greeting.
"Glad to see you and Lady Seraphine unharmed, and also the children..." He seemed to be overcome with emotions. "You have my gratitude, Lord Commander. I'm in your debt."
"I played little role in it, Lord Magistrate. Lady Seraphine contributed the most. Without her, we wouldn't be here."
Seraphine glanced at him, tilting her head.
"Well, that's true."
Half-expecting that response, Armand just smiled. Magistrate Frederick was stunned for a moment by her response, but then laughed heartily.
"Of course! Lady Seraphine, please let me express my gratitude again. Anything you need from now on, as long as it's within my capability, please let me know." Frederick put his hand across his chest.
Seraphine gracefully accepted the gesture.
Armand turned towards Frederick. "Magistrate, the people..."
"Ah, yes, let me handle it. Also, the knights...?"
With a heavy expression, Armand shook his head. Frederick's face fell. Watching this, Seraphine retrieved a small, plain box from her subspace storage and handed it to Frederick.
"This is..." The Magistrate opened the box carefully. Inside were items that could be used to identify someone, from a pendant locket to an embroidered handkerchief. For a moment, his face contorted in pain. With a voice full of emotion, he spoke.
"Thank you, Lord Fontaine, Lady Seraphine. You've gone beyond what I expected of you." The old man took a deep breath. "If you don't mind, I will invite you to the Citadel after this. But for now, I will need to sort some things out."
"Of course, Magistrate." Armand nodded. "By the way, how did you know to come here?"
Frederick smiled faintly as he closed the lid of the box. "As always, Anya of Dohara knows a lot of things."
Looking over the children, he smiled gently and crouched down. "Children, do you want to come with me? Your families are waiting over there." He pointed towards the group of people in the distance.
At first, the children looked unsure. They glanced at Armand and Seraphine, seemingly hesitant to be away from them. But as they urged them on with a smile, all of them except Lia, who was holding Darryl's hand, followed the Magistrate obediently.
The group watched from afar as the children screamed in joy as they were reunited with their families.