After the fire had died down, Robert and the other members of the party had gone to bed. The night was calm and quiet. All the birds had gone to their nests, and the animals and creatures in the forest had all gone to bed as well. Only the nocturnal creatures shuffled softly through the thicket, but so silently that the only audible sound was the chirping of the crickets. The sky was clear with barely a cloud in the sky. The stars shone brightly and the full moon provided the only light in the forest.

Despite this rest, Leo could not sleep. An uneasy feeling gnawed at her. Robert's words had somehow crept into her head. She had just swept away Robert's doubts a moment ago, but afterwards she had thought about it more deeply. She was not familiar with the court and did not know Siel at all, except for that one meeting at the auditions and then he had seemed like a strict juror who was more than fed up with the performances of the whole series of candidates. She had previously seen Siel's verbal attack as the action of a hot-tempered man who was very loyal to the king. She had deduced from the conversation with Robert that he was not quite the character of a passionate patriot after all. Despite this, it seemed to her that a member of the royal court would hire a mercenary for someone he barely knows, just because she had angered him. Or would he come up with another nefarious plan? The words, "That's the only thing that awaits you, my dear, death!" echoed through her mind.

Leo wasn't the only one still awake at this hour. An unknown figure, dressed in a dark robe, crept among the trees. He was equipped with an arsenal of weapons and tools, including a quiver of arrows on his back, a spear strapped to his shoulder, daggers on either side of his boots, and a long bowed sword in his gloved right hand. It was the kind of figure you should stay as far away from as possible at night, or actually at any time of the day. Silently, the figure crept through the night. Even the metal of the arrowheads didn't make a sound. The figure shuffled closer and closer to the participants' tents. There were 7 tents in total, one for Hector and Pepijn because they were not among the candidates, one spacious tent for the jury that was strategically placed a hundred meters away, a branch hut for the 3 piglets, the tent of Jack and Arian, the mini-tent of Slander and Vlander that looked a lot like a stretched tea towel, a cramped tent for Robert and a separate tent for Leo, because men and women were supposed to sleep separately. The black figure clearly only had eyes for two tents, those of Robert and Leo.

Robert, unlike Leo, was fast asleep. So deep that he didn't hear how the rope was slowly unknotted and the tent cloth was pushed open. It wasn't until the figure dragged him out of his sleeping bag that he woke up startled. Before he could make a sound, a gloved hand was pressed to his mouth and a burlap sack was pulled over his head. His cries were smothered by the sack as someone tied his arms and legs together. Robert, who stopped shouting to conserve his oxygen, now looked more like a glorified pretzel than a king candidate. The pretzel mold was roughly dragged out of the tent. Robert dared to swear that he had hit with his spine and thick stone. Suddenly, he couldn't feel any ground under his body and he was thrown over something. It was warm and wobbled back and forth. He heard screaming and trampling. He couldn't see anything himself with the sack over his head, but he assumed he was lying on a horse or other mount. He wriggled back and forth violently, like a caterpillar that wants to crawl out of its cocoon, hoping to end up back on the ground and thus be able to flee. But his mobility was greatly hampered by the ropes. Robert gathered all his breath and tried to make another sound. There were a number of distorted cries for help coming out of the bag, but apparently enough for Leo to hear him. She opened her tent canvas and saw a kind of black ninja, a roaring path with a screaming bag on it and understood that this was not the intention. She screamed instinctively, "Alarm! Alarm!!' Without hesitation, she sprinted to the trio. Immediately there was a commotion in the camp. Several banners slid open and heads peered into the darkness to see what was going on. Jack Bulton was on edge as usual, and before Leo could reach the dark figure, he gently pushed her aside and made himself as wide as he could.

"Where are you going to go?" grumbled Jack, towering over the figure.

"It's none of your business. I'm just doing my job here, and I'd advise you not to get in my way," the figure replied sharply. His voice was familiar to Jack, but he couldn't bring it home.

"And if I did?" said Jack confrontationally.

"Then I'll have to put you aside," came the reply.

The figure reinforced the straps of his coat and released the spear from his shoulder strap. He demonstratively stuck the tip in the ground for Jack. The half-giant pulled out an axe from the belt around his waist. It was the axe that Jack always carried with him, even when he was asleep. He made sure that he was always ready for battle and then it came in very handy. Jack flexed his muscles to make an initial attack but then caught sight of the figure's spear. The weapon was no ordinary spear. There were a lot of bulges attached to the wooden piece of the coat of arms that could serve different purposes. Jack wondered what use each of the bulges might be and forgot about the axe attack he had originally planned.

"Dàil ùine!" the figure suddenly shouted in a low, almost unearthly voice, and it seemed as if time was slowing down around the camp.

In no time at all, the figure jumped on the spear and used the bulges as steps to make up for the difference in height between him and the half-giant. He made a kind of spinning motion that eventually landed his foot in Jack's face at his highest point. The half-giant was just thinking 'Ah, that's what the bulges are for' when he winced and grabbed his face with his hands. Shortly after this kick, time seemed to speed up again. If the faster had been there, he would certainly have experienced an identity crisis because the confusion was enormous. Jack was spread out in the leaves and mud. The figure hoisted himself onto the horse and with a murmuring pretzel on the back, he aggressively spurred the horse. The piglets, who came hobbling up in matching pajamas, still half asleep, could not believe their eyes. Slander and Vlander ran as fast as their little legs could carry them, anxiously to Jack to check if the giant was still alive. The rest stood as if petrified with confusion. Only Leo seemed to take action.

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"We must go after him!" she shouted

'And what about the tests? Young lady, I didn't make a world invention to save an incapable pretzel. We must fetch the king's ring so that I can become famous for Hector Bokduclingstorminshoven!" cried Hector, panicked and triumphant at the same time.

Leo gave him a cold look

"And n-n-of course for the trials," he stammered.

'You can do that afterwards', Arian agreed. "It's hard for us to leave a friend in danger."

Hector beckoned to Pepin, who was crouching at a distance, watching. "Inform the jury about the kidnapping and ask them what we should do." Pepijn nodded briefly and made his way towards the jury tent.

"We can't leave him to his fate," said Madam Haclaire, wide-eyed. She wore a dark red silk nightgown with a boat neck of crocheted roses. The faster rider nodded in agreement. He had a plush clock on his lap that he stroked gently.

Dirrek Waldeman drank a nightly schnapps in his gray dressing gown. 'Isn't that exactly the purpose of the trials? That candidates drop out. If someone had been eaten by a Behemot yesterday, we wouldn't have been able to save him either and we just let Alex Tikker leave. We can really do without that Robert.'

Siel leaned against one of the tent poles, with a face that looked like a thunderstorm. He was still wearing his floeren cape, and for a moment the pace-faster thought that Siel might be asleep standing up.

"What do you think, Siel?" asked Madam Haclaire cautiously.

Siel had set his sights on the Harpies and the almost impassable Eagle Mountains. He estimated everyone's chances of survival to be small. Perhaps so small that the only option to save Yths would be the undeniable help of the King's counselor, especially himself. Or he would influence the final test that someone with little backbone would enter the king's chair. Someone who didn't know how to get things done, insecure, scared, and easy to play. But Siel was not yet sure which of that ragtag bunch was the most vulnerable to his influence. In addition, he had to remain a respectable councillor, someone who had the best interests of people - and other beings at heart. So as much as he hoped Robert would be quartered by the mysterious kidnapper, he had to at least pretend that a rescue operation was being organized

The jury looked at each other in consultation.

'Noble, very noble.', the jury said. "Good. Then we make a small side road. Pepijn, the capital is that we are going to be a bit behind schedule.'

And so the group prepared to start the rescue operation. While Jack was still being cared for, Slander and Vlander immediately started tracing the tracks, something gnomes were very good at. The twins lay with their noses against the ground to catch the smallest details. It hadn't rained in the area for a while, so the ground was quite dry. Footsteps were therefore clearly visible, if you could find them. It also helped that the kidnapper had remarkably large feet, so plants had been trampled and a path had formed to where the horse had stood. That's where the tracking became a bit more difficult. Despite the fact that the horse carried a fairly heavy load with two people on its back, the animal seemed to be quite good at light walking. So they had to act quickly before the tracks were erased.

"I suggest you all come along," Hector said to the rest of the group, who looked on expectantly. 'So we can see this as a kind of mini-test'.

What about Robert?" said Arian. "Isn't it a bit unfair, how can he earn points?"

'Good point', Hector said. "For every hour he survives, he gets points. But leave quickly, otherwise he will get more points than you.' Hector laughed hysterically. Leo increasingly doubted the old man's mental stability.

And so the group, with the gnomes in the lead, set off on a rescue mission. Every hour was now crucial. The figure's plan was unknown, but it didn't mean anything good. Robert was not only a good friend, he was also a person who worked close to the king and therefore had sensitive information. Information that criminals from Salado really wanted to have.

The figure had just gone very far. Robert's floundering had made the journey rather difficult and so he had set up a small camp in a clearing on the bus. There he had tied Robert to a stake. He had also removed the bag from his head.

"What's your big master plan here?" asked Robert of the man. He had not yet revealed his identity.

A final test. Your potential is undeniable, but someone higher up wants to get rid of you. He ultimately wants to take power to himself by sending the winning candidate, just as he sent the king. How do you think the problems in Yths will continue? Because people like him benefit from this.'

"Who are you talking about?" replied Robert. He was clearly taken aback by the figure's words.

'Think carefully Robert, there is only one person who would dare to go that far and can easily get away with it'.

Robert was shocked. "How am I supposed to trust the words of someone who hides his own identity?

With these words, the figure took off his hood. It was none other than the witch hunter, Alex Tikker.

"I'll formally introduce myself again. I'm Alex Manaidsear Uine Tikker. Head of the Organization of Control, Master of Time and the man who keeps everything running smoothly all the time. I'm not so much a witch hunter as a protector of fate."

"Seems like rather sensitive information to just drop," Robert said suspiciously.

"Believe me or not, your fate is set. If you escape here, keep these words in mind. Your rescue mission will arrive in no time. Prepare yourself for a tough fight'.