Shole came running, panting as he stopped next to Kage.
“Art, there’s no one,” he said, panic in his voice. “No one, they’re all…” He trailed off at the scene in front of him.
“Is that..?”
Artlem roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He teetered for a moment as if he might fall, before turning back to them
“How…how did this happen?” He half shouted. “We had time! Whoever made it to the throne, Rhoringdall shouldn’t have been able to get a force out here! The possibility of an attack was weeks away!”
Kage and Shole stood dumbly. Shole had no answer, and Kage even less. Whatever the answer, something was at play here that they didn’t understand, but now Kage knew for sure: the symbols on the soldier's breastplates belonged to Rhoringdall. She shivered. Did that mean they were now enemies of the state? She was beginning to wish she had backed out when she had the chance.
They all spun around at the sound of hoofbeats to see Bard riding up.
He pulled to a stop and scowled, eyes on the headless body.
“Achrom,” he said simply.
Shole nodded numbly. Artlem clenched his fists.
“Any sign of Myriessa?” Bard asked.
“No, no sign,” Shole said.
“That’s good. She either wasn’t here or escaped. They’d have no use for her alive,” he said grimly.
“So what do we do?” Shole said.
“First, we get out of here,” Bard said. “There are still signs of soldiers in the area. If we’re spotted we could have a battalion on our hands before long.”161Please respect copyright.PENANAf0FpNHN2Vc
“Good!” Artlem exclaimed. “I’ll kill every last one of them!”
A silence fell over the group
"And you're welcome to do so to any we run into," Bard said, voice cold as ice. "But I don't intent to die for your anger. If you want the current heir to remain unchallenged, feel free to stay."161Please respect copyright.PENANA92MXYjVycK
Kage's gaze shifted from Bard, to Artlem, and back again; Artlem's rage against Bard's unfazed expression.
Artlem closed his eyes, visibly swallowed, and unclenched his fists.
"The bodies-" Artlem trailed off.
Bard's expression softened for a moment. "Right now, there's nothing we can do. But-" He began, and stopped, eyes widening. "Art! Kage! Dodge!"
They didn't hesitate, jumping back as a crossbow bolt thunked into the ground in front of them. From that angle, it could have hit either of them.
Kage turned to where the shot had come from, eyes spotting the shine of soldier's armour behind a nearby ridge.
Bard charged forward, but Artlem was already moving. Sword drawn in a swift movement, he dashed forward over the rubble and ash.
Artlem jumped sideways as the soldier let loose another shot, again plunging harmlessly into the ground. The man began to draw his sword as Artlem approached, but too late.
Artlem's sword flew at a merciless angle, connecting just below the soldier's helmet. Blood spewed in a wide angle, as Artlem spun around, scanning for any other enemies.
Bard, Shole and Kage ran up.
"There wouldn't be just one!" Bard said.
"There!" Kage pointed at the lone rider escaping on horseback from behind one oh the half-burnt tents. He didn't have metal armour like the other, instead wore a black outfit that looked similar to the tough material Artlem wore as a vest.
"Shole, get him!" Artlem shouted.
Shole reached his finger to the dirt and stopped. "I can't! He must have the mark!" He exclaimed.
"Huh? What does that mean?" Kage thought.
"Kage!" Artlem interrupted her thoughts. "You have to stop him!"
"What? How?" She wasn't going to throw her knife at him from this range, there was no point!
"Calligriphics! Do something!"
"Kage, I was going to use "earth" to tear up the ground beneatht he horse." Shole said.
"Ground." She repeated, picturing the character and the stroke order in her mind.
She put her finger in the dirt and began to carve the character, but was fully aware of the eyes on her. "There's no way this is going to work," she thought. "I've never done this outside of practice with Shole!"
She finished the stroke, letting the energy flow into the spell.
The surface of the ground broke in a miniature earthquake, shooting forward toward the escaping rider.
But something in the back of her mind nagged at her, breaking her concentration. She tried to get it back, but it was too late the energy depleted, stopping the attack halfway to it's mark.
"Dammit!" Artlem exclaimed. "He's going to get away!"161Please respect copyright.PENANAhriRLklFcL
"That settles it. He'll be back with reinforcements, and now they know you're here." Bard said to Artlem. "We've got to get out of here."
Artlem glanced one last time to where his father lay. His body was obscured now, by the ruins and uneven ground, but that was probably for the better. 161Please respect copyright.PENANA4DQAoG7cAk
"Let's go." Artlem said simply. But there was a note behind his voice, one that Kage hadn't heard from him before.
The four of them ran back to where they'd left the horses. Kage felt a weight in her chest as she ran, trying not to look at the corpses surrounding her.
She'd messed up, and when it really mattered. She hated her brain, hated it for getting in the way of everything. Now what? They'd be hunted? Somehow she hadn't completely made the connection before. 161Please respect copyright.PENANAA1HEDj9wte
Artlem's clan were the ones leading the insurrection. The assassination of the royal family, Artlem and Shole's talk about them having "time", all the secrecy, and Bard's comments were all fitting together. And if Achrom was an heir, so was Artlem, likely the only other heir besides whoever was running the show.
"We'll keep heading Northeast," Bard said as they saddled their horses. "We'll figure out what's next on the way."
What's next...now Kage had no idea what that would mean.
"Artlem, Shole, you take the lead," Bard commanded. "Kage, you and I will ride further out and keep watch for pursuers." His mission was obvious: protect Artlem.
"Right." Kage nodded. Though maybe they shouldn't trust her with this either.
"Let's go!" Bard spurred his horse forward as Artlem, Shole, and Kage followed suit.
Turning her head as she rode, Kage caught sight of a lone, tattered banner blowing in the wind, royal blue with a simple horse in the center. Even burned and ragged, it still resisted the harsh wind with all it's might.
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