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The figure reveals himself as Zalith, who looks around with a watchful eye in the same manner as his servant. He is unrestrained, the sight of which surprises me after yesterday’s events. He dons training gear of some sort, its fabric loose but thick.
Looks like it’ll give more protection than his usual garments, so at least there’s that.
“There’s the Prince!” I exclaim, pointing his way.
“Vippera’s with him, too, as well as his parents.”
The tyrant naga waves to the people with a warm smile. It infuriates me that these people take a liking to her, as do Zalith’s parents. It baffles me how they believe a stranger over their son. Are they that concerned with political relations?
All around me, people start going crazy.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a good hunt!” says someone nearby.
“From a royal figure, too! Never thought I’d bear witness to one in my lifetime!”
The guards withdraw completely from Zalith as he prepares himself. As he gets ready, his eyes glance up to meet mine as if he knows exactly where I am standing. Theatrically, he winks at me.
Vippera follows his line of sight as her eyes come to rest on me, the fire in her eyes turning into a blaze now that she’s spotted me. For a moment, she hesitates as if unsure whether to call the guards on me. Clenching her fist, she remains still, perhaps not wanting to draw attention.
If there was any dead giveaway that Zalith and I are affiliated, his wink was it. At this point, I don’t care if she knows about me. A small part of myself even feels snarky about it, knowing Zalith chose me over her.
Still, she is the least of my worries as I direct my focus back to the situation at hand. The crowd goes silent as Zalith braces himself and gets into position, getting onto all fours.
Without warning, he springs forth like an animal set loose from a cage, dashing at lightning speed. He zooms past us, at which point mages step forth from the crowd. They move simultaneously, moving their arms in sync as they hurl a spell at the sky.
There comes a bright flash as a rectangular shape appears, displaying a view inside the forest just as Zalith enters the tree line. It’s as though each one of us is in the forest with him. I turn to Slyth.
“I’m going to get as close to him as I can.”
“Okay, I’ll stay put here,” he replies. “Remember to stay aware of a buzzing sensation in your hand, that’ll be my signal for when the assassins are near and for you to do your thing.”
“Will do.”
With that, I break away back to the rear of the crowd, moving quickly towards the forest without drawing attention. There stand guards near its perimeter, for no one else is allowed to enter, so I go as far as I can while remaining within the confines of the crowd.
It’s too dark in the woods for me to see anything but the magic in the sky shows Zalith wandering through the trees, moving slowly and with caution. Each move is graceful and calculated.
Just then, one of the mages faints, putting an abrupt end to the viewing. The crowd bursts into a chorus of boos as guards rush over to the fallen mage. Just then, I feel a buzzing sensation within the palm of my hands.
The assassins must be attacking Zalith!
I ground my feet into the grass, closing my eyes as I mutter a protection spell to myself. I guide the magic as it shoots into the ground, causing a light vibration around me, no one notices because of the commotion.
I visualize forming it around Zalith, hoping the magic finds its way to protect as he fends off the attacks. I stay there for a few minutes as the crowd starts pestering the guards, some even demanding to be let into the forest.
Just when it seems like a riot is about to start, someone shouts out.
“Look! It’s the Prince, he returns!”
I stop casting my magic just as Slyth joins me.
“What’s happening?” I call out.
“I can’t see, let’s push through!”
Fighting our way back to the front of the crowd, I’m fearful I’m about to come across Zalith’s corpse. What I see catches me off guard, for Zalith stands there dragging two assassins by their legs along the ground, both of whom seem barely conscious.
“You did it!” says Slyth.
