Dominic stood outside of the Halls of the dwarven halls; as he Stelven herb into a smokable roll. Stelven was a plant used mainly by nobles and royals as it curbed anger, great use for those dealing with both people and state.

Milovan walked up next to him, grabbing the rolled herb in his hand, and taking a long drag off of it himself. They stood there looking out at the setting sun over the Maraan Mountains, the bright orange and red liting up the sky like a fire.

"Can you believe that asshole?" Dominic said, grabbing the smouldering stick.

"Hmm? Are we talking about your brother?"

Dominic coughed as he spoke, "Who else? Ever since he became King, he became over baring codsucker."

"This is supposed to calm your anger, not inflame it."

Dominic shook his head, "I know. I know." he leaned against a half stone wall, sighing heavily. "He just decided this all without even consulting me, and it's my life."

"I agree that he should have talked to you. We always knew you were going to have to take on a Shïra, so no use in getting angry over something you had prior knowledge about."

"Milovan, you don't have to live this life; you get to have kids, and if you choose to, could leave the palace life and never look back."

"IS that what you want?" Nicodéme's voice echoed loudly behind the two males. "To leave your family and your people?"

"I never said that! Since when has it become custom for us to listen in on the private conversation?" Dominic stormed off towards the royal carriage, leaving the other two behind.

"Milovan." the King said sternly.

"Yes?"

"You will have the ability to speak freely, but what exactly is going on in my brother's head?"

"Uhm, well, as I said, you are quite an ass." Milovan paused and looked about, "Nevertheless, did you really get a Lupengar from Tanbori?"

Nicodème nodded, "Is that so shocking?"

"You already know that answer; may I ask why?"

"Simple, they were the quickest I could find, and they have no choice in the matter except to accept."

"What do you mean?"

"It is just best you don't ask any more questions." Nicodème, in a calmer but similar fashion to his brother, walked off towards the carriages.

"The Belmonts are going to cause me to go grey."

The ride home from the Dwarves proved rather uncomfortable as the two brothers had refused to look at each other, let alone speak to each other. The same treatment they had given each other on the ride there, just this time now, they both knew why they weren't on speaking terms.

Dominic stared out the window watching the country pass by him, this was his peoples land, his home, and yet at this moment, it felt like it was his prison. He let himself be rocked by the carriage into sleep, his head rocking back and forth. It would be a long trip and would be far into the early morning before they would reach the capital city of Rathe, and then another hour or so to get the Castle.

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It was night when Dominic awoke, the other two men long asleep, leaving him to his own thoughts for the rest of the journey. The moon was bright that night, making everything easy to see. They were nearing the outer wall of Rathe; out here, there were the large farms that provided most of the cities food sources. About three hundred yards or so from the gate was a large thicket area that the road led through, and it was here that the cart started to slow down.

Dominic popped the window and leaned his head out; looking around; he saw no one- not even the driver and the horses had seemed to stop themselves.

"Milovan, wake up" he elbowed his friend hard in the side, causing him to wake up in pain. Dominic covered his mouth and quickly informed him of what happened.

"Stay with the King," he said and stepped out of the carriage withdrawing the blade he kept on his hip as he disappeared into the darkness.

Dominic did similar as he pulled a small blade from his belt, stepping out of the cart listening for any sound that was out of the ordinary. He could hear Milovan's metallic clanking footsteps and the rustling of night animals in the distance.

"Dominic." Milovan's voice was quiet and carried quickly

Dominic quickly made his way over to Milovan, who was standing over something. As he drew closer, he saw it was the driver of the carriage lying in the dirt. Dominic knew better than to ask what happened here; he already knew of the man's fate.

"What was the cause?" he asked, looking down at the body, trying to expect for any wounds that could be seen.

Milovan rolled him over, his face was discoloured, his eyes rolled back, and a yellowish goo pooled out from the corner of his mouth.

"Poison?"

"It seems like it," Milovan nodded, "I don't see why they'd target the driver unless they were expecting that to take action quicker than it did."

Dominic nodded in agreement; he looked around at the area he was in; this was also a decent ambush area. The thickets would clock you from sight and the way the field laid out behind them; it wouldn't be odd to see a horse or mule.

This thought caused him to stand up and look around. A horse or mule... he remembered seeing one about a hundred yards back. That wouldn't usually cause concern, but if you were planning to attack the King's carriage, that might be the perfect plan.

Before Dominic expressed his thoughts, the horses started to stir as if they had been spooked, causing the two men to run to the cart before the animals could take off without them. Dominic was the first to get to the carriage; he ducked into where his brother was, satisfied that he was still there and alive.

"Nico, get up," he yelled, grabbing his elder brother's arm and shaking him awake. "Of you can still use that axe of yours now would be a good time to prove it."

This, of course, would have woken anyone up; Nicodeme was no different. The King's green eyes popped open, staring at his brother. He was in a state of shock for a moment as his brain caught up with him before moving up out of his seat.

"What has happened?" he demanded to know.

Dominic moved out of his way quickly; "The driver was poisoned, and we are expecting an ambush. We need to get up make sure that the area is clear. Milo is already checking on the horses."

"Right," Nicodeme had a look on his face that Dominic hadn't seen since he was a child. He shook it off, and they pressed forward; why would that memory matter now at this moment.

"Where's the body?" he asked, looking about with his guard up, as he was on high alert.

Dominic had him follow him back to where the body was; as Nicodeme was looking at it, Dominic was looking around. He still thought those horses a ways back was suspicious and that they should be moving, but he allowed Nico to do as he pleased for the moment.

"Berban, it's a flower that grows in the north of Juerty. It is a very slow poison; you'd never know that you were poisoned until it was far too late. He could have easily been posioned back at the Dwarves, and it just now is taking effect."

"Is this a hunch?" Dominic asked, "Or something you have reliable proof on?"

Nicodeme didn't look at his younger brother. "You will never forget the thing that you used as a weapon against an entire village." that was all he said about the matter before heading back to the cart. "How are the horses?" he yelled to Milovan.

Dominic followed quickly; his neck hair was standing up on end. "We should start heading out," he warned his brother.

"Keep calm," Nico patted his shoulder, "No one is near, not anymore, at least." they met up with Milo, who was unhooking the horses from the cart. "What are you doing?"

"As it looks like." Milovan said, "Look at the cart, and you will understand why I am in a hesitate to unlatch the steeds."

There were three arrows on the side of the carriage. That hadn't been there when Dominic had first stepped out of the cart. He followed their shafts back to the area of their origin. It was paralleled with the thickest part of the brush. Someone could still be there, and the three men wouldn't know it.

"Then we need to head out." Dominic, this time demanded. Helping Milovan deattach the last two horses. "There is four, one for each of us and one to carry the man's body back into the city."

With the horses saddled and the driver's corpse tied to the fourth horse. Milovan took the lead to ensure that the road ahead was cleared for the two royal brothers he was accompanying. He also brought forward the body that was with them.

The King and Prince of Noaria made their way to the gate, it was a short two-mile ride, but they still had to keep vigilant. The horses were tired; though they knew to be cautious, they choose to save the horses strength for any escape they may need to make.

The sways of the horse were making Dominic lethargic; he knew the moment he got home he was going to pass out. That, of course, would have to wait until they made it back safe.