They were alert after that. Phyllon spread out his Gift, trying to catch the people following them, his breath catching when he realised they were far. Torynik looked sharply at that, understanding what that meant. Phyllon gave a small nod in confirmation, nodding slightly ahead of them and behind them, where he had detected other human emotions. It was easier to pinpoint strangers in a forest than in the port, given the lower possibilities of others being present. Torynik understood his gestures, quietly parting from the group to scout ahead in the direction he indicated. Sonaya watched him with narrowed eyes before slowly retreating backwards to attempt to obfuscate their trail.

It was getting too quiet. Too quiet. He slipped his Karivali from its sheath, ready to draw at notice. A rustle at his side and a glint of silver indicated the prince was doing the same. It appeared he was not the only one who caught the movement. They exchanged glances and stood back to back just as the forest burst into activity.

Phyllon felt glad that their attackers had no projectiles, which they would have been hard up against. He found himself at a rhythm as he and the prince as they fended off their attackers.

Phyllon flicked his knives, going fast and under evading as he was taught, receiving as much as he gave. Oh, how it hurt, but somehow, the adrenaline made it less noticeable. He managed to knock the one in front of him and shortly finished the next.

Prince Karriv was doing well as expected, based on what he had seen from his fighting earlier. He was tiring, though, his stamina low after the long hike and fighting. Phyllon darted forward to block a strike at the prince before dodging his own attacker and countering with a kick.

Phyllon turned back to his own fight, wiping a narrow cut with the back of his hand. They were poorly trained, he could see, and yet, by numbers, they could still overwhelm them. It was a hastly put together group, which he suspected was put together just before they departed to the forest. He whipped forward to hamstring an attacker who got close, catching them off guard and gaining a moment's relief.

He was tiring, though he could see that he was still doing better than the prince. He diverted more and more of their attackers towards him, slashing forward with his dagger, warding off any attacks within his reach. The prince was injured and visibly slowing, which was problematic.

Phyllon scanned the surrounding, grim faced, until he felt a familiar burst of emotion from the forest. He looked up, smiling as he saw the signal, ducking just in time to see his attacker slumping with a dart in his neck. There were a few thumps, and he saw some of the attackers around him and the prince collapsing as the paralysis took place. There was a moment of confusion that Phyllon used to press on, quickly disarming the rest before knocking them unconscious with the hilt of his blade.

His adrenaline peaked as he felt someone approaching behind Sonaya, only to calm down as he realised it was just Torynik. He looked around to take stock, slightly confused at what he saw.
were only eight attackers around them, slightly less than what he had sensed before. He saw Torynik come into view, raising his hand to indicate he had caught 4 more, and gestured back to Sonaya to indicate 3. Phyllon relaxed, realising that that was all, and he bent down to recover the darts, careful not to let them touch his skin. He remembered the earlier warning and found his hand touching his bag. He returned them to Sonaya with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged before putting them away, disguised once again.

Torynik secured their attackers, at least the once who were living, with Asmir quietly helping him. As for the prince, he sat a bit apart slightly dazed, staring at his wounds as though he could hardly believe they were there. Phyllon and Sonaya made their way to him, approaching As they would a wounded animal.

"Your highness?"

He looked up, a wild helpless look in his eyes before turning back to his wounds.

Sonaya sighed before he picked up his knife, where he had dropped it before wiping the blood off using leaves.

Phyllon sat down beside him, talking soothingly as he cleaned his own blades and sheathing them. Phyllon felt the wildness of his emotions soothing, as he talked, though he was still a bit on edge.

Phyllon glanced at Sonaya, casually ignoring the prince.

"So... do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you?"

Phyllon smiled. "If that is how you want to go about it." He rolled back his sleeves to reveal the carefully fitted sheaths. Phyllon felt the prince's interest as he tuned into their conversation. "You already know who taught me."

"But I did not expect you to after..."

"I left?" Sonaya shrugged slightly embarrassed. Phyllon sighed, absent mindedly rubbing his second signet ring. "But that wasn't quite it. It was more of... it was more like..." Phyllon sighed.

"You didn't want to." Sonaya said in sudden realisation.

Phyllon shrugged an attempt at nonchalance. "It was the best option back then. My father was pleased, though."

"And now?"

"We'll just have to see."

Phyllon could feel the prince's questioning gaze, and Sonaya appeared to be lost in, though, as he observed them. Sonaya fiddled with his pockets and sighed.

"I suppose I trust you both." He took out one of the familiar darts, closing his fingers over it, gripping it tightly. "As you can see, I would not be much in a physical conflict."

There was a slight tensing, reflecting a personal dislike. "Never was much for physical activity, as you can see. Never needed to." He was somehow self effacing as he said that. "But then, it is an important job I have, one where I would be in danger."

"Have you had to..."

Sonaya laughed, though there was no pleasure in it. "More times than you would expect. Drawbacks of being such a young official scribe, some people think you would be easy to push over and terrify." A cloud darkened over his face as he recollected some ill memories.

He offered the dart to the prince, who took it and examined it carefully. "Be careful. It acts pretty fast."

"What does it do?" The prince's voice was a bit gruff, still shaken from his earlier shock.

"Short-term paralysis and loss of conscious.

"Surprise, then."

Sonaya looked at Phyllon quizzically.

"You fight using element of surprise against them. But you must have trained hard to be accurate. How do you throw them so...?"

Phyllom felt a burst of happiness and pride from Sonaya. "Practice. Tried to use blow darts before, but was no good at them. Guns are hardly inconspicuous."

Sonaya moved over to one of the attackers Asmir had secured, checking his pulse.

"Looks like he'll be up in a couple of hours, by his body weight."

Sonaya looked past him, a strange glint in his eye that Phyllon suspected he was only allowed to see.

"But it appears they have spilt Royal blood here. Does that call for capital punishment, your highness?"

There was no way to tell whether the words were said in seriousness or in jest. Phyllon turned around to notice the prince colour before scowling. Phyllon sighed. At least he knew he was alright now.

He indeed was injured, though how that came about, Phyllon could not tell. The prince raised a hand to wipe away blood from his eyes, revealing a deep cut on his forearm. He scowled at Sonaya before looking at the blood on his hands with irritation.

Phyllon glanced at the body before bending forward to feel the warm breath.

"How long do we have to make a lead?"

Sonaya looked at him before looking down.

"Normally, I'd say five to six hours."

"But?" Phyllon prompted.

"He is larger than normal... So I'd say... three hours."

Prince Karriv startled. "Three hours!"

"Four hours tops."

"We should be on the move then." Asmir came up from behind them. He tossed a bundle to Phyllon, who caught it to reveal the bandages. "You should help his highness take care of that. We do not want to attract too much trouble."

The prince scowled and drew his hand towards him. "Trouble?"

"You should let his highness be, Phyllon. Who knows, there might be some predators willing to avoid playing with prey."

Phyllon sighed. "It would be faster if we could handle this before we go, Your Highness. I, for one, would rather not wait till dark."

The prince looked contrite as he allowed Phyllon to tend to his wound. "Thanks," he mumbled. Somehow, Phyllon sensed an apology in his words.

They had all quickly treated their injuries before proceeding with their journey. They parted ways with Torynik, who agreed to stay behind and lead the attackers back to the port where they could be questioned while the others continued on their way. Phyllon tried not to think too much about the logistics of it. Despite being one of his pupils, Phyllon still did not know all his secrets, and he knew better than to pry. Sometimes, it was better not
knowing.

Phyllon was troubled over the ambush, though. Why had he sensed them so late? Were they bandits or a group of secessionists as they had suspected? What was their objective? It was terrifying to think about the potential implications. He was tempted to go with Torynik to find answers but controlled his curiousity. He just had to trust him and continue with the journey.

Phyllon went on ahead, using his Gift to pinpoint their destination. It was strange how the emotions appeared to flicker, almost disappearing into a void at times. There was also something familiar about it, almost like it was someone he knew, one he knew well. He felt a growing suspicion as he thought back on the rumours and the interchanges they had with Torynjk.

Sonaya appeared to be doing better with the prince, their normal bickering having turned to some light-hearted banter.

Phyllon found himself smiling despite all they had gone through so far. It was good to have friends that you could trust to have your back.