The forest was empty—deadly empty. Liam crouched behind a one-thick oak tree, and pricked his instincts as he looked up to scrutinize their surroundings with his sharp gaze. Morning sunlight scarcely pierced through the thick canopy, casting abnormal shadows across the forest floor. Beside him, the youngest prince leaned unto a rock, panting, but he was simply too small to breathe well.
Nyx lingered on a low branch, murmuring in thoughts," We have been followed, Master. They are closing in on us."
Liam's jaw tightened. He never thought it would come this fast from the Princess. "How many?"
"At least two squads. Some are enchanted... shadows cling to them, as did those knights in the throne room."
"We're dead. They'll find us," the prince said weakly. "We can't outrun them... not like this."
Liam turned sharply. "Hey. You don't quit now. I didn't haul you out of that dungeon to just watch you drop."The prince hesitated before nodding tiredly. Liam patted him shoulder with forced small, encouraging grin. "You'll rest when we've won. Nyx and I shall handle this. Stay hidden."
The Trap
Liam went through the forest with all the stealth acquired through practice, with Nyx gliding beside him like a silent shadow. The soldiers of the Princess had scattered, methodically searching the area. Liam smirked to himself-perfect.
Pulling out a small Rune Trap talisman from his inventory, Liam planted it into the ground. The moment an enchanted soldier came too close, the rune flared to life, binding the feet of the soldier in glowing chains.
The man roared with fury just as Liam was already sprinting away to use that opportunity to take down two more guards in silence. He displayed a dagger perfectly aimed throgh a gap in their armor, while Nyx took care of the second with lunging claws.
As usual, "efficent," purred Nyx smugly.
Liam faintly smiled: "Not bad; certainly, they will send more. We need something bigger."
Abruptly, the shadows surrounding the forest flickered in an unnatural way causing Liam to have this unsettling feeling of cold.
"Magic. Shadow summoner."
That was when Liam turned sharply. A cloaked figure emerged from the mist, one of the Princess' sorcerers. The thing raised a skeletal staff, chanting in a guttural tongue.
The ground quivered. Dark tendrils rose from the earth, writhing like serpents. "So you think you're going to challenge the Princess and then escape?" hissed the sorcerer. "You will rot here!"
Liam's Counterattack
Liam narrowed his gaze. There was nothing ordinary about this battle: brute force would get him nowhere. Strategy was needed.
Leaning in, he quickly whispered to Nyx, "Distract him."
Nyx sprang into action, coiling into a black whirlwind and dashing into the sorcerer, seeking claws in the tendrils. Taking advantage of the beautiful distraction, Liam slid low across the forest floor and hurled two explosive talismans toward the figure.
That last moment was when the sorcerer looked up, raising his shadowy shield just at the arrival of Liam. But there was no stopping the movement: Liam dashed behind the sorcerer and drew his blade with an aim at the man's back.
In that very last moment, the sorcerer twisted unnaturally, slamming the staff into Liam's side and sending him crashing into a tree. Pain flared across his ribs, causing Liam to groan.
"You're strong... but not strong enough, fool!" spat the sorcerer.
His mind was racing, even as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth over his lip. Think, think.Then it hit him: the rune script.
He untangled the Magic Rune Script from the Tower Store, which had already bought it. He held a faintly glowing parchment in his hands. He hadn't mastered magic yet, but this wasn't a matter of finesse; it was about instinct.
"I don't need to be a sorcerer," muttered Liam under his breath, "just clever enough to hit you with your own tricks."
The sorcerer lunges at him, dark magic crackling into his palms. With an upward motion with the rune script, Liam shouted the first words that crossed his mind.
"IGNIS FLARE!"
A bright explosion lit up from the rune and flooded the area with heat-based energy. The flames gnawed through the sorcerer's shadowy defenses, and he screamed, shattering his staff to ash. The tendrils broke away, and once again, the forest fell into suffocating silence.
Liam fell over panting as Nyx reappeared next to him and said, "Not too shabby for an ahwarrior." Liam smiled faintly. "I'm getting the hang of it."
Turning Point:
Liam and Nyx now found themselves returning to the prince, who stood before them, his eyes filled with awe. "You... you defeated a sorcerer?"
"Only one," Liam replied. "But the Princess will send more. We cannot fight her directly-not yet."
"What to do, then?" the prince asked, desperation flashing for a moment in his voice.
Liam crouched, face keen and committed. "We fight underhanded. She's got her allies by dark magic. If we can expose her spell- prove she's controlling them- we begin to turn people against her."
Nyx added, "It's dangerous. She won't loosen her grip so soon."
Liam grins darkly. "That's why we hit her where it hurts. We start small - undermining her plans, weakening her forces, and gathering anyone still loyal to the kingdom."
The prince's eyes widened in shock. "Do you really mean to start a rebellion?"
"It's not just a rebellion," Liams said, turning to face the light that shone faintly through the trees as he stood up. "It is a war of the truth."
The Twist - As they moved deeper into the forest, however, something caught Liam's eye: an odd mark carved into a tree nearby-three claw-like slashes that glowed vaguely with dark energy.
Nyx froze. "Master ... this is bad."
"What is it?" Liam asked, senses on high alert.
Nyx's voice was tense. "This isn't just a marking. It's a summoning sigil. The Princess isn't just sending soldiers ... she's sending something much worse."
The ground trembled slightly beneath them, and a low growl, guttural and animalistic, rippled through the trees. Liam turned sharply, his heart racing, at the sight of two glowing red eyes watching them within the shadows.
A huge, unnatural creature, twisted and horrific in shape, with a body covered in scales soot blackened, stepped into the clearing.
"The Princess' dog," Nyx whispered inaudibly. "A shadow beast."
There was nothing else to do except tighten his grip on the sword; his mind was already running through all the possible next moves. "Great. Exactly what we needed."
The creature's roar shook all of the trees surrounding the place, a deafening roar that could leave one unable to hear even one's own thought. Liam turned to look at the prince, whose skin was pale as if any moment he could collapse for not being able to withstand the sheer terror.
"Run," Liam ordered. "Nyx and I will take care of it."
Liam's blade shone in the rising sun as the shadow beast lunged toward them.
"Let's see what you've got."
To be continued...