My energy had been running low after using Smokey Hands so liberally. Not only was it weak due to its ranking but it was also inefficient in energy usage. With no Support Cards that supplemented my energy usage even the small amount of smoke was too much for my young body.

So I had to run from the swarm of bladed winged birds while panting like a half dead dog. Luckily the area just in front of me was a forested section of the Labyrinth so I was able to stop it from being a hundred birds picking at me from all over.

I found a nook in the roots of a tree with plenty of underbrush to stop most of the horde so I dove for it, taking my pack off as I did so I could use it as a shield. I heard the clanking of metal as the birds wings hit one another as they tried to get into my safety hole to slice me to ribbons.

I felt it as they cut through the outer layer of my pack and I even saw a few needle like beaks try to push in from the sides. I was still exhausted, but I needed to do something to stop them from getting through.

I propped up one forearm on the back of the pack to keep it in place then put my face in the crease of my elbow and opened up my other hand as well. Smokey Hands activated and I felt the burn in my eyes as the smoke pooled up around me and hopefully through the cracks in the side of my shield.

Then I activated Cleanse, I localized it to only be the space between my elbow and mouth. I was able to breath non toxic air as I smoked out the birds away.

The attacks on my pack quelled as the birds got away from the area, but I could still hear them in the distance, bladed feathers cutting through the air with a hum.

Then, from somewhere so close it felt as though it was right next to me a deep rumbling growl was heard. The birds fled instantly and I shivered in fear. I felt something brush up against my back. It felt like the arm of some huge monster and I clenched my teeth. The monster arm went around to my leg and I looked down ready to bolt.

It was something that looked like a dark green beaver. It stared back at me with wide fearful eyes and breathed in a deep breath, a breath so deep its gullet looked like a frogs. The beaver exhaled, at the same time smacking its tail against the ground and the deep growl was heard again. It sounded like it should have come from the tiger I had seed the day before.

“You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The beaver flinched and tried to scurry away. I grabbed it by the throat.

—

Despite the horrors of that night and the extremely deep rumbling growl that the beaver continued to make as it was kept in a strong hug between my arms, I slept relatively peacefully. No nightmares, as though they were kept at bay by my anger and desire for revenge.

Once I awoke I continued on my journey. My pack could now carry noticeably less due to the birds ripping a large portion, but because of my wounds from the birds I had to use a lot of the medical supplies anyways. I would have to tie my spare clothes to my sleeping role up top now, but at least I didn’t have to leave behind any essentials.

I took the beaver with me, it didn’t seem to growl as much anymore, saving that for when actual threats were nearby.

It allowed us to move quicker on the trail of the knights, but they in turn were moving quicker due to no longer having to bring the children with them. My heart was in a constant fluctuation as I got closer and closer to the group of knights.

I wanted to just charge in there and slit the Prince’s throat, then kill every one of the knights one by one with my dagger. But I knew that was just a fantasy. They were bigger, stronger, had real combat Cards. I would be killed easier than someone squashing a bug.

If I wanted to kill them I needed to be smarter than them, more ruthless, and throw away any sense of pride or honor. I needed to be willing to risk it all to get to them.

It took me two more days to actually catch up, and I was run ragged by pushing myself so far. Beavs, that’s what I named the beaver, had been able to keep most of the monsters away, but I still skirted around the scariest of them.

That had been another odd thing I noticed as well. While there were still monsters around, the knights seemed to have started hunting them with a fervor during their travel.

It was when I was on a large hill that I finally found the Princes entourage. They were walking through a field below with grass twice as tall as any of them. I could see the prowling forms of lions getting ready to pounce, I didn’t know if they were typical lions or monstrous ones without telltale signs.

Before they could though I saw the distinct form of the Prince take out his sword and do a horizontal swing. All the grass for a dozen yards on the left side of the field fell, as well as the lions, split in half. I had only seen a flash of blue light along with the swing and it had done that.

The knights defended themselves from the attacks on the right, but I noticed that they themselves did not attack, instead they just held off the lions until the Prince arrived and killed them with movements so quick I couldn’t comprehend it.

Once all the lions were dead the knights simply continued on, no harvesting of materials or checking for other danger. That was one thing I could use, they were confident in their power.

I swallowed, seeing the lions cut in half the long way as well as remembering the pile of dead young children left a pit in my stomach. I had said that I needed to be ruthless in order to take out the Prince and his group, but they were already there.