AFKverse Pt 4

Killa was jared from his slumber due to the rocky terrain the next time he gained consciousness; he opened his eyes in confusion, momentarily forgetting what happened after the invasion started and opened his eyes to peer around. Sunlight filtered through the canvas of what appeared to be a storage cart, and caused him to shut his eyes again as a small migraine centered between his eyes made itself known. *Where am I?* Killa thought to himself as panic welled up within him. It took his many years of training at the academy to forcibly calm himself down so he may fully assess the situation.

He started with what he remembered last; the sight of his comrades rushing towards him before his vision faded to nothing. *I must have fainted.* Killa mused, keeping his eyes closed he utilized his remaining senses to take in his surroundings. *I am unharmed, so I must be in the care of my men. For me to be in a horse drawn carriage means Mire Town was either deemed unsuitable for my recovery or the time frame for the invasion has been moved forward.*

Bile rose in his throat as Killa recalled bits and pieces of the battle. Mire Town in flames, the many destroyed homes, and worst of all were the corpses of the citizens he was not strong enough to protect. Behind his closed lids he was unable to shy away from their gazes that seemed to accuse him for fault in their needless deaths. Tears welled in his eyes, but Killa held them back as he knew crying would not solve anything or bring back his subjects. *I will get stronger,* he swore to himself, *I will avenge them.*

Not yet ready to face his soldiers, nor be scolded by Hendrik for his reckless actions, Killa continued to take in what he could from behind closed eyes as the migraine had not ceased in intensity at all. He inhaled deeply, noting the strong scent of wet, lush earth and unfamiliar flora. The prince listened closely, making out the sounds of wildlife buzzing and humming with life in a way that was near song-like as opposed to the natural buzzing and rustling of the forest that he had grown accustomed to through their travelling. *We must be nearing Yggdrasil, only Wilder magic has this effect.*

Killa laid in place for a few more minutes, he continued to take deep breaths and check that his bodily faculties were normal. Besides a few aches and pains throughout, nothing seemed broken or in any severe pain; a slight weight on his right arm caught Killa’s attention as it shifted during a particularly rough patch of road. Cracking one eye open, he turned his head to see tufts of pink hair and a sleeping child’s face. Killa smiled at her peaceful expression before shutting his eye again and settled in to get more rest. *I was able to save one,* crossed his mind as he relaxed and sleep took him under once more.

When the prince awoke next, the carriage was at a standstill and sounds of unpacking could be heard throughout what must be a makeshift campsite. In particular, Killa noted the sound of the pots clanging against each other and his stomach made it’s emptiness known with an unhappy grumble. He could hear general garbled mumblings through the canvass of the carriage, but before he could do anything more one of the flaps was lifted and Gwenyth’s face peered inside. When the worried eyes of his cousin met with his own, Killa gave her a small nod of acknowledgement before slowly sitting up, being careful not to disturb the sleeping child.

Gwenyth helped Killa exit the carriage once he reached the back entrance and he was careful to keep his arm around her shoulder for support. She led him to an empty log by the campfire, other soldiers looked relieved to see him from the other logs surrounding the firepit; Killa sent any that were watching him a smile of gratitude for their concern. He noticed that the sun was just barely a sliver above the horizon, marking the end to another day and casting the camp in the shadow before a bowl of warm soup was placed into his hand. Killa opened his mouth to speak and caught the dangerous expression on Gwenyth’s face. Eat first, questions later it was then.

Killa acquiesced to her silent demand, bringing the bowl to his mouth. The moment Killa tasted the stew—which in previous meals had tasted near-unbearably bland but was now delicious—he realized how hungry he was and quickly devoured the entire bowlful. Another was placed in his hand almost as soon as he lowered the first; this time the prince made sure to eat more slowly, wanting to avoid making himself sick from filling his belly too fast after some time of being empty. Hendrik and Gwenyth were seated across the prince, the campfire’s flames casting dancing shadows across their concerned, but relieved faces. Farther away from the fire pit, soldiers were huddled in sleeping bags while the men on watch tried to keep their minds active and stay awake. Killa finally spoke after a few mouthfuls of the second bowl of stew. “How long have I been unawares?”

“Around two days My Lord; I would have preferred if we stayed in Mire Town for your recovery but it is no longer deemed safe,” Hendrik responded solemnly, no doubt also recalling the chaos that had destroyed the once quaint town. “We were successful in driving out the Hypogean forces for the time, though there were many casualties due to the attack being a surprise.”

“Where are we in relation to our destination?” Killa inquired, surprised at how long he was unconscious for and pleased that even in his more delicate state he had been able to pick up on important details about their location from inside the carriage.

Hendrik pulled out a map and walked around the fire to seat himself next to the prince and him where they currently were. “Another day of travel and we should arrive at the main entrance of Yggdrasil, a missive was sent ahead to announce our arrival,” he responds gruffly, his face morphing to a frown. “You acted very recklessly in Mire Town. While I can appreciate your valor in wanting to assist, you put yourself in unnecessary danger and could have been killed. Even disregarding the despair this would cause your father and brother, and all those who care for you, it may have made this entire journey and the soldiers who fell to protect you all for naught.”

Killa avoided his eyes, knowing the disappointed look that the head guard would be giving him. “I stand by my actions, Hendrik. I apologize for causing you concern and I only wish I had been stronger to defend in the attack as well,” his resolve strengthened, he looked up to stare confidently into the head guard’s eyes, and was surprised by the proud look he was being given instead. A small smile on his face, the older man nodded, looking back to the map without another word. While Killa knew that Hendrik was unable to voice any kind of approval for his actions, as that may later incur the wrath of the king should he find out.

Killa returned his gaze to the map and with his well-read eyes noticed that the trail they were shown to have taken was a slower and safer one than had initially been plotted out. This was done no doubt with the prince’s recovery in mind; a consideration that Killa much appreciated under the circumstances. Killa gave his two vassals a smile once he realized this, and Gwenyth gave a polite cough to hide her embarrassment at receiving his gratitude in even such a small way. “Do you know who that young girl is? She refused to leave your side while you were unconscious, constantly clinging to your arm,” Gwenyth asked with her cheeks slightly flushed, trying to navigate the conversation to a new topic.

Killa paused to think back to everyone he had seen prior to the invasion before ultimately being unable to recall ever seeing the pastel pink locks prior to digging the child out of the rubble. “Not to my memory, I know at the very least I had never spoken to her; has she not told you anything about herself?”

The archer shrugged her shoulders and replied, “She has refused to speak a word to any of us since we found you in the rubble. I am of the opinion she understands what we are saying, as I have seen her seeming to react to something being said around her or be listening perhaps a bit too intently to others conversations, but that she is too afraid to speak to any of us. Some of our men have heard her speaking to you while you were asleep in a foreign tongue however, so that is merely speculation.”

This tidbit of information caught his interest. *Foreign language? How interesting, perhaps when she awakes I can speak with her and find out where she is from.* Killa mentally noted and filed away under things-to-do. Killa, being the advocate that he is, became interested in the many different languages of the land while he was still a student at the Temple of Ascension. Upon learning his then girlfriend Belinda was an avid learner and could speak in multiple tongues herself and that she enjoyed partaking in casual conversations in whatever other languages others knew, Killa focused his study and became over proficient in reading and speaking the lands’ major languages.

As the night dragged on, Killa and his two trusted guards asked and answered more questions of each other, also discussing strategies for tomorrow. Eventually, the once roaring flames of the campfire died down to smoldering embers before their conversations had filtered to an end. Deciding that it has become too late and they need to turn in for the night in order to have energy for the next morning’s travel, the prince, Hendrik, and Gwenyth said their goodnights and turned in for the night with hearts lighter, and more determination filling them than before. On the outskirts of camp, where the light of the campfire couldn’t reach and outside of the view of the guards on watch, a figure monitored the camp with twitching ears and a tail flicking at the tip in agitation as they watched the prince enter the carriage once more with narrowed eyes.

Morning came far too quickly for Killa’s taste, but he knew the journey must continue. He checked his side to see the young child still asleep, her breathing coming out evenly. *She must be exhausted from all the traveling.* The small child didn’t appear to be the type for frequent or rough travel, she seemed healthy but petite and pale in a way that being in the sun and on the road typically does not allow for.

Killa carefully shifted himself so he was able to sit up without waking her; he noticed that sometime in the night she must have cuddled up against him for warmth. He exited the carriage and noticed his men already dressed and preparing for the day ahead. The ones that saw him gave the prince a quick salute, which Killa acknowledged and the men went back to the preparations. They would surely be on the road soon, Killa took the opportunity to locate his armor so he may be well prepared to meet the Elders of the Wilders.

“We are just outside the Wilder’s territory line,” Hendrik announced to his men, slowly adjusting the straps of his towering shields as he led his team cautiously, “we will be crossing the border within minutes and need to remain vigilant,” he added, harkening back to his training and experience with dealing with Wilder’s in previous situations. While Wilder’s were normally peaceful and pacifistic by nature, Hendrik knew this to not be this call for all of them. He could distinctly remember a few fierce Wilder warriors he’d previously encountered. In particular, he recalled a battle he had with an elven male with two swords who seemed to control the elements of wind and ice themselves.

The veterans of the troop all raised their shields slightly higher in preparation, no doubt all thinking about their own past battles with Wilders. As a whole, the company marched slower and was sure to surround Killa to prevent any surprise attacks to their lord. Their cautious approach was rewarded when one guard parried a bolt that was aimed at the prince’s head.

“Formation Tetsudo!” Hendrik ordered and multiple guards crowded closer to surround Killa and raised their shields accordingly; this effectively enclosed him in a wall of shields and protected him from additional long-range attacks. The prince peered through the small gaps between the shields to see what was happening so he could be prepared to formulate an additional strategy should the situation change.

More bolts were shot from above rapidly, all from different angles and positions within the trees, which forced the men to move accordingly. Killa felt a pit settle in his stomach; something was wrong about this. He quickly realized that the bolts were driving them in a specific pattern, but before Killa had a chance to warn his men about this the ground crumpled underneath them. Their protective formation crumpled as they fell into the unknown assailant’s trap, though it thankfully did not involve any kind of maiming devices at the bottom leaving them relatively uninjured but .

Dust and debris slowly dispersed through the air from the force of their tumble into a five foot deep pit, from the sound of it, many others had suffered a similar fate though they were unlucky enough to be stuck in deeper holes that they could not climb out of. After he stood up and checked to see that the others in the pit with him were relatively unharmed with a few sprained ankles or wrists from the fall, Killa noticed a hooded figure lurking near the top of a tree with a crossbow aimed at his head. A bolt was let loose while Killa could do nothing but freeze; it was only deflected thanks to a quick save from Hendrik’s Sacrificial Shield ability at the last second. Gwenyth’s Lighting Arrow ability charged the air around her as she released an electrically charged arrow toward the branch that the attacker was standing on.

With an unnatural amount of grace, the enemy jumped and dodged the arrow, twisting in midair and landing with an almost feline litheness. The crossbow in their hands was discarded for a pair of daggers pulled from beneath their dark green cloak as they lunged towards the prince. Henrik had managed to secure a position between the two and stood his guard against the initial onslaught of slashes and kicks, but he would not be able to hold once his ability timed out. With a final kick from the assailant, Hendrik was knocked back into a tree with his towering shields falling to his side.

Gwenyth, seeing her father was out of commision, quickly notched an arrow and aimed to fire. The attacker however was clearly skilled and well prepared; seeming to sense this incoming attack, they used their cat-like tail to fling a hidden throwing knife towards Gwenyth with barely a glance. The unexpected projectile grazed Gwenyth’s right cheek and caused her to lose focus, her notched arrow released and thud into the trunk of a nearby tree. The attacker returned their focus back on Killa, twin daggers poised to strike.

They paid no further heed to the bow-woman, and Killa watched with wide eyes as Gwenyth swayed a moment, her face confused, before she fell to the ground. He realized that there must have been poison on the throwing knife’s blade, and when the attacker took a step closer to him his gaze snapped back to see them preparing to lunge for him. He maintained eye contact as their steely blue eyes flashed dangerously.

“Barelle! Nein!” A young voice reverberated through the small battlefield before the aggressor went through with their final strike, and Killa was shocked to see the young girl he had saved fly out of the carriage and into her arms. The rogue suddenly stopped their balance faltering enough that the hood fell back revealing two cat ears and distinctly feminine features. Her ears twitching, the woman looked at the pink haired girl and sighed in relief, hugging her tightly.

“Tasi.”