Kole and the other Divine Blades have already dismounted their horses, fighting back on steady ground. The Divine Magi are providing support, casting buffs and shields, while a few designated focus on shielding the carriage. Kole bashes his shield against one assassin and smashes his sword’s pommel against their head to stun them before driving his blade through their chest. Another one down, Kole goes on to assist the others. Captain Rerir skillfully cuts down three assassins from his mount and keeps close to the carriage, deterring any assassin from approaching.

“Your Highness, please breathe,” the accompanying attendant in the cabin with Stjarna holds her up. Stjarna’s symptoms are flaring up again, leaving her hyperventilating and sweating profusely. The chaos outside has suddenly triggered her illness, and the attendant Gna, Stjarna’s closest and trusted attendant, is helpless. She’s already followed the instructions and advice of the Court Magus given to her before they left, but the Heiress’ fever has returned abruptly and burning her up from the inside. She’s already been nearly scorched by the Heiress’ strange illness and magic before, and knows that it is happening again.

The crystals set upon Stjarna’s gloves are glowing as she clenches her fists to hide her trembling. The fire in her is blazing, her body scorching painfully and she can only bite out a few words, “Gna, please refrain from touching me.” Gna nods, obediently withdrawing her hands, but hovers them over her, unsure what to do. Even with her hands over her, Gna can still feel the heat, making Gna nervous. The battle outside appears to be intensifying, and the screams of both the assassins and Imperial Knights fill the heavy silence in the carriage cabin.

The carriage begins to rock violently, as if something is knocked and slammed into the side numerous times. Grunts and pained groans can be heard, but neither of them know whether they are from an ally or foe. Gna withdraws her hidden knife and sticks close to Stjarna, prepared to fight. She may be an attendant, but she had also been trained by order of the Empress. The Empress is a person who values skill and foresight. Protective of her daughter, the Empress has ordered for almost all of the Heiress’ personal attendants to be proficient in self-defence and to train every day. Gna is at least a Baron-ranked Cutthroat, so she should be able to buy the Heiress some time to escape if need be.

Kole and a handful of the other Knights are left, having whittled down the other side’s numbers as well. Morale has improved from their situation, but unbeknownst to them, the Knight Captain has already collapsed. His mount is already dead on its side, throat slashed, with their captain bleeding out on his back in a pool of blood. He is barely breathing but his eyes are still fierce, glaring at the figure by him but it appears as if he is paralyzed, not moving a muscle aside from moving his eyes and his chest heaving.

“Captain!” Kole rushes towards the offender. How can the Captain fall? The figure immediately side steps and throws a roundhouse kick. Kole blocks it with his shield and counters with a swing of his sword from the side, but the figure vanishes with a cloud of dense smoke.

A Deathshade!

Kole has never fought one, but they should be no different from the lower classed Assassins. His senses warn him of an approaching attack from the back, narrowly parrying it as the Deathshade reappears with another smoke cloud. The other retreats and repeats the same attack pattern. Each time the Deathshade reappears, more smoke gathers around them until the dark fog is heavily impairing Kole’s vision and even hearing.

It’s too late when Kole realizes he’s been poisoned from the fog. His airways are suddenly clogged and he’s unable to breathe, leaving only a rasping, ragged sound. He only manages to parry another couple of attacks before he’s weak from the lack of breath and is shoved down on his back, the Deathshade’s foot on his chest keeping him in place. The dense smoke clears up, pulled into the Deathshade’s body as if it is part of them and reveals that the rest of the Knights have been defeated. Kole watches with dread as one assassin climbs into the Imperial carriage, followed by the sounds of a scuffle and the cries of the women within.

“Heiress, please escape!” He recognises the voice belonging to the attendant who is always with the Heiress. “Please, don’t-!”

There is the sound of a sharp slap and the thump of a body collapsing. Kole struggles to move, his head hurting as he attempts to force himself, will his muscles to work, but it only backfires as the more he tries, the weaker he feels. The poison is paralyzing every muscle of his body, disallowing him to even let out a sound. Kole fears that the Heiress will be taken, harmed, or simply killed. It would be a devastating blow to the Empire, knowing how loved the Heiress is by not just the Empress but the citizens. He’s sure he would be devastated too, he’s not immune to the compassion the young woman has displayed whenever he sees her. Even though Kole has only interacted with her very briefly through a few words, he has felt the tug of respect and admiration towards the young lady. He can only grit his teeth helplessly as he feels his heart slowing down from the paralysis poison, despair sinking in at the same time.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

But his despaired thoughts are interrupted by a blaze that explodes from within the carriage. A burning mass is thrown out from the interior, showing that it’s the assassin who had climbed in early. He’s screaming and struggling to put out the fire by rolling on the ground but the fire acts strangely, clinging stubbornly not just on his clothes but on his skin and hair. Within minutes, his scream dies off to a pathetic whimper and he’s burnt to a black, charred corpse. The Deathshade and the remaining few assassins who are still standing stay rooted where they are, too stunned by the sudden change of events.

They’ve already downed all known Magi in the entourage and the Heiress is too ill, so who could have created such a devastating blow?

Suddenly, the whistle of an arrow pierces through the sky and hits right between the eyes of one assassin. More arrows come forth from within the nearby woods and the sound of a raven’s cries ring through the sky.

Reinforcements? Kole feels relief, but they hadn’t been able to call for one, and there had been no contact from their advance scouts. Could there have been a survivor who went for aid? But the aid that appear is not what Kole is expecting.

A massive conspiracy of ravens form around them like a swarm of locusts. They fly and swoop past the remaining assassins, some piercing and pecking at them with their beaks, picking at their flesh. For some reason, the ravens remain clear from all the fallen bodies including Kole. The Imperial carriage is untouched too, with Kole having no idea of the Heiress and her attendant’s current status.

Kole ignores the chaos for the time being and closes his eyes. He pulls on his faith and focuses on an orison, the basic of any trained Divine. His heart, already slowing from the poison, gradually becomes stable as he meditates. His mind clears and his heart stabilizes. Slow, but still beating, hindering the progress of the poison. He collects his faith as he offers his prayer to Dagar and Jord.

His body begins to warm and less numb. The tips of his fingers twitch. Kole opens his eyes. He sees that the remaining assassins and Deathshade are still distracted. Kole presses on and continues to try to move again.

Through the chaos, an expert arrow shoots down the last few standing, leaving only the Deathshade who’s still avoiding both the arrows and ravens using that smokeshifting ability. However, it’s clear that he’s losing stamina. Amongst the ravens, an unidentified figure materializes right by the Deathshade with a plain, wood-handled dagger.

Kole does not recognise who it is. They are dressed in the recognisable style of the Mystics, composed of linen, furs and hide armour fashioned to be light and practical, though one can’t ascertain their gender with the loose clothing and covered face. Decorative and unique floral patterns are printed upon the cloth. A bow and quiver is strapped to their back, making it apparent that they are the one who was responsible for the arrows that killed the remaining assassins.

The Deathshade glares and bares her teeth in a snarl at the Mystic, clearly incensed by the situation. The Mystic gives no response aside from a simple thrust of their dagger. A fight ensues, the clanging of metal against metal audible even with the shrieks of the ravens.

While the other two are occupied, it takes Kole some time and a lot of willpower for him to just turn himself onto his stomach. He desperately keeps hold of his calm and breathing, repeating prayers in his head as he painstakingly crawls towards the carriage. “H-Heiress,” Kole rasps weakly and props himself up onto the side, trying to peek in.

He stumbles into the cabin and sees that Gna unconscious, her head and face bleeding and bruised. Her knife is still in her hands, clear that she had fought her hardest. The Heiress herself is sitting up and leaning against the side but she is not in the best condition. Her eyes are half-lidded and her complexion weak and pale, her mouth slighting agape while panting and sweating. She’s burning to the touch as he’s heard from the gossips, but thankfully not hot enough to keep him away. He dares a tentative touch to her hand and slips his fingers to her wrist to feel for her pulse.

“Thank the gods,” Kole mutters when he feels it. She’s breathing a little faster, but it’s steady and means she’s still alive. He’s checked her and finds her to be mostly unharmed, at least visually.

“You are… the Lieutenant..?” the Heiress blinks slowly and looks up to him. Surprisingly, she recognises him. Her voice is small and soft. Kole responds affirmatively and hushes her. They’re not out of the woods yet. There are still two strangers outside fighting, one an assassin sent for the Heiress, the other an unknown. “You’re poisoned.”

“What?” Kole is startled by her sudden comment. How did she know? Her gaze hardens as she observes him. The weakened Heiress disappears momentarily to reveal a determined but concerned woman. She reaches out and touches his temple. Her touch is hot and the warmth seeps through his skin and spreads from his head to the rest of his body. Kole feels the sudden urge to vomit.

He pushes himself away and hurls, a black, sticky substance spilling out from his throat and leaving a white-hot sensation. His body feels as feverish, and just as he finishes emptying his stomach, the scorching sensation disappears just as abruptly as it had arrived. Kole turns back to the Heiress who’s returned to her weakened state. Her eyes are closed now and he realizes she’s asleep.

Did her touch somehow helped to expel the poison from his body?

Kole shakes his head and refocuses. His breathing is back to normal but he still has to check on the situation. He no longer sees the ravens flying outside nor does he hear any fighting. Taking the knife from the attendant’s unconscious grip, Kole prepares to step out.

The sight that greets him when he steps out however, leaves the Lieutenant speechless.