248: Watch
Taking my normal position in the back with Sable, I noticed the group had taken more precautions. Currently Hari and Crisplet were up front, with Luis and Milo riding along the sides, with Jen, Liane and myself at the back.
“Milo spoke to Hari about the fern, didn’t he?” I asked with a chuckle as we started moving.
“Yup,” Liane laughed.
“Though I don’t think he’s wrong in this situation,” Jen said.
I understood their concern, and I had certainly come to understand that Hari would always take the safest option where possible, so this made sense. I knew Milo likely wouldn’t be happy, however, as he’d actually need to pay attention and not be able to read like this morning.
As for me! I had my copy of Magical Art of Foraging out and was looking for the fern. Since this book mentioned alchemy ingredients as well as food, it likely should have it.
Or so I thought.
I found the crystal fern. That wasn’t a problem, and it had two entries. One was for a more advanced antidote elixir, which involved removing the hair, drying them, then grinding it down into a powder. The second entry was for a flower that only blooms every three to five years. Apparently, that provided incredible mana regeneration, but you needed to nullify the toxins.
While reading that page, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up again under the scarf. The feeling of being watched. It was exactly the same as when the quill beasts attacked.
Rather than looking back, I simply whispered, hoping Lily was awake.
“Lily, that feeling of being watched is back again.”
It caught Jen’s attention when I said it, as she turned to me. “Right now?”
I nodded, still looking forward. Very briefly, I felt the presence of Lily before it vanished.
“I think Lily is on the lookout,” I said.
Jen let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll wait then. Hari wanted to know when it happened again, but if we break rank now, it might spook them.”
“I can let him know quietly if you’d like,” Liane said from the side.
“Probably for the best, but make sure he knows Lily is looking,” Jen said.
Despite still appearing on her horse, the voice of Liane from further away came back. “Got it!”
Jen looked seriously at me. “Lily will not kill them, right?”
All I got out was a shrug.
I didn’t have a chance to respond before there was a booming crack, like a tree had just exploded, followed by several minor explosions, followed by the unmistakable thud of a large branch falling.
The party was not sitting idle, however, with walls already going up around the caravan, as Hari, Crisplet, and Luis were all rushing towards the back.
“Liane! Stay up front,” I heard Hari command.
Luis appeared first, sword out, covered in fire, while Jen had her bow out. As Hari approached, he stood in front but didn’t try to move forward.
The sounds in the distance continued for what sounded like nine or ten more blows, with some very loud cracks, and what I swear was one of the giant trees groaning.
Before it all went quiet.
“Lily killed them, didn’t she?” Jen said, breaking the silence.
“Whatever it was, it certainly didn’t go down in the usual single strike,” Hari said, his shield still raised.
We didn’t need to wait long before Lily appeared from behind us, using the shadows from the walls, before dumping a body on the ground.
A man, long brown hair past his shoulders, wearing crimson robes. I couldn’t see any visible wounds on him except for a small cut on his head, but the most striking feature was his sword. It, like his robes, was crimson red, and I could see where it would attach on his back. However, right now it was just dumped on the floor next to him.
This sword looked dangerous. It was the best way to describe it. I’d never seen a cursed blade before in my life, but if I saw this hanging up, I would swear it was cursed.
My thoughts were interrupted by Jen, who shouted, “Wait, he’s alive.”
I saw Lily roll her eyes before appearing at my side as Jen was about to rush forward, before Hari stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Stop,” he said firmly.
Jen looked confused before the situation must have clicked. This wasn’t someone who needed rescuing. This was someone who fought Lily.
“That’s certainly Gilain, and he’s evidently been following us. We don’t know he’s not hostile,” Hari said, looking to Milo.
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“I can put him in stone, but we both know how strong he is. It’ll hold him for a couple of seconds at most,” Milo said.
Hari nodded. “A couple of seconds is more than we’d normally get with him.”
Hari stepped forward and kicked the blade to the side, but not openly touching it, as Gilain’s body slowly sank into the ground slightly as rock slowly formed over him, leaving only his neck and shoulders exposed.
Crisplet was currently nearly the size of me in his most intimidating form, while Lily was lying on the ground next to me licking her paw, which I couldn’t help but notice had a tiny red mark on it that only appeared occasionally.
“Are you okay? It sounded like he fought you?” I whispered to her.
There was no immediate response, but she looked up at me before Crisplet let off some sparks, which looked terrifying with this draconic fire form.
“Did he manage to cut you?” I pushed.
Lily didn’t respond, but I noticed that particular paw sank back into the shadow on the ground and out of sight.
Letting out a sigh, I pulled out a bowl along with the corn soup I had made with regeneration, filling the bowl and putting it in front of Lily, not saying anything else as I stored the pot back away.
I don’t know who noticed, if anyone. Everyone was distracted by the scene in front of them, with Jen and Luis keeping the merchants back, while Milo was reinforcing the bindings. Liane had now joined us as well.
Hari’s eyes were firmly on Gilain. Concern was clearly painted across his face.
By the time I turned back to Lily, the bowl was empty, and I noticed the paw she was licking was now proudly on display and no longer in the shadow.
I said nothing. Just smiling, I reached down and stored the bowl as if nothing had ever happened.
In the distance, there was a deafening creak, followed by a loud boom that kicked up dust even where we were standing and shook the ground itself.
This was enough to startle Gilain awake, who sat up, breaking Milo’s stone encasement as if it weren’t even there, but Lily was already on her feet. The pressure was so intense that even I could start to feel it, and I noticed the three merchants rapidly retreating deeper into the stone tunnel.
I was surprised by the group. No one except Luis seemed to falter much at the pressure, with the only noticeable effect on them being a bead of sweat on Hari’s forehead, but that also could have just been the situation at hand.
As Gilain looked around him, he seemed to take in where he was, his eyes landing on his sword that Lily was currently standing in front of.
Reaching up, he rubbed his head. “Your cat is very powerful. I’ll give it that.”
I don’t know what it was about this comment, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Made me feel very defensive.
“Lily is nobody’s cat.” At the same time I said it, Lily let out a deep growl.
“You didn’t kill me, which is nice, I suppose. Well, for now at least,” Gilain said.
He was lifting his legs, the stone covering them shattering and falling away as if he were simply standing up from a light dusting of sand.
“Why are you watching us?” Hari said, finding his voice.
“I wasn’t watching you, or anyone other than the boy and his pets,” Gilain said, turning his attention to Hari.
He was now completely free of the stone but was still sitting on the ground, dusting himself off.
The pet comment just seemed to make Lily angry, but again I repeated myself.
“Lily is nobody’s cat, and certainly not a pet. Perhaps some respect should be shown in your current position,” I said.
I had no idea where the confidence had come from. Even Jen gave me a questioning look, with Liane sporting a ridiculous grin that did not fit the situation.
Gilain let out a laugh, falling onto his back on the ground.
“Fair point. What now? Am I your prisoner?” he asked.
Hari, trying to get control again, spoke up. “At this point, we’d like some answers. You’ve been stalking us, you attacked our party member, and unless I’m very mistaken, you just destroyed a significant portion of this forest.”
Letting out a sigh, but not sitting up, Gilain spoke. “You’re right. I have been following specifically him.”
He pointed directly at me without looking.
“And why are you following our support member?” Hari said.
Luis spoke up as well, removing his hood. “I’d also like to know why the Thelran Conclave is so eager to destroy diplomacy between our nations.”
It was as if Gilain had only seen him for the first time; his eyes went wide before he burst out laughing. “Prince, that makes sense. The agreement has already been breached with the previous assassination attempt.”
My mind raced with questions, but I held back for now.
“So you’re here to make another attempt?” Luis asked.
Gilain laughed again. “No, actually. I refused to kill a child. I was ordered here to observe, in the hope I would see a threat to the nation and be oath-bound to act.”
Everyone stood there stunned at the honesty with which that question was answered. Hari and Luis both looked to be processing the information.
My question, however, needed to be asked. “How can I be a threat to a nation I don’t even know exists?”
Gilain let out another bitter laugh before mumbling, “Six hundred years, and I’m going to die to this?”
“Answer the question,” I said, annoyed.
“It’s not you. It’s your pe—friends. The cat, the dragon, who is the threat,” Gilain said.
“Don’t forget the phoenix, the fox spirit, a mysterious watcher, and the goddess of fate herself,” Liane said with a laugh.
Gilain looked surprised at this revelation. “Then the continent is doomed as well,” he sighed.
“Did you consider that perhaps trying to assassinate him twice was not the best way to protect your nation?” Luis said bitterly.
Gilain looked confused. “Twice? We’ve only tried the once, from the information I have been told.”
Internally, I was screaming at this response. So not only was this person’s entire kingdom trying to kill me, but it didn’t even explain all the attempts.
Hari took a deep breath.
“I think we’d best have a proper discussion then, because you’re clearly acting on very poor information, and I’d prefer to not have two nations destroyed over some foolish actions,” Hari said with all the command in his voice he could muster.
Gilain sat up again, looking over the group.
“Very well. Perhaps you’ll let me have my sword then. I’m at somewhat of a disadvantage in current negotiations,” Gilain said with a smile.
The only response was Lily putting her paw on the weapon and pushing it further away.
“You’ll get it back when we’ve come to an amicable solution,” Luis said.
Hari looked over at Jen and gave orders. “Any chance you could go speak with the merchants and the drivers? This may take some time. Milo, let’s get some houses to talk in, and for the merchants to relax in. Trev, Lily, Crisplet, keep an eye on him while we get things organised.”
My mind was still racing. Why was a kingdom I’d never heard of trying to assassinate me? I had nothing to do with them, and if only one of the attempts was him, what was the other attempt about? Surely it couldn’t just be greed, right?