Kibbles was asleep on my lap as my legs begun to feel numb from the amount of travel we had done. Although it made me sigh in relief that we had made it to the halfway point the movement from the caravan was starting to make me motion sick.
"Wen do you think we could we stop for a break?" I said as I looked over at Wen who was reading a book.
He looked over at me from the top of his book and nodded before putting is hand out the window and making a stop motion with his hand.
"Halt" A soldier's voice called from the front of the carriages.
" We can't stop for too long young master. We should get back as soon as we can, although the roads seem clear for now there is no saying that spies or some rogue spirit beasts will not appear." Ki said quietly.
I nodded in response as Ki opened the carriage to allow me outside. We had stopped right by a beautifully vast farming area with a pond that was used to feed livestock. We must have taken a different route to the one that Sora and I had first taken.
[ Sora…]
I sighed in my heart and stretched my legs.
I looked around to see all of the soldiers were taken out provisions from their backpacks before sitting down near the caravan to eat.
[ They must have been feeling pretty tired walking next to horses.]
Wen had taken out a blanket from one of the carriages and placed in on the grass before inviting me to sit down. I think he was enjoying toying with me as I got various looks from the guards.
None of them were aware that I was a man. I thought about what they would do if they found out their lewd stares were pointed at general Reo's grandson and tried to stifle a laugh.
Ki had come to my side carrying a plate of snacks and some water. I looked at the snacks and found them to be quite unusual. The pastries themselves were all clear except for the centre that seemed to be a sort of jam.
I took a bite and found them to be very sweet.
"What were you giggling about?" Ki whispered in my ear.
I took another bite of the snack, chewed, swallowed and then explained my passing thought. Ki too had to stifle a laugh. I felt a stare on my back and turned around to see a guard staring in my direction. I assumed it was Ren and wondered if he felt left out.
I said to Wen in a feminine voice "have a guard sit closer to us. I am worried about the stories of bandits you were telling me Wen Wen" before pouting.
I swear some of the soldiers who had taken their helmets off had blushed. Ki took a big breath it she too must have noticed.
[ Dumb Dumbs!]
Wen seemed to catch on to what I was doing and called the guard who had been staring at us from behind. He stood up proud and tall holding a sharp blade that the auction house had lent him. It looked very masculine as he strolled over with his face covered.
"You having fun Yuna, my dear?" Wen had called to me in a flirtatious tone.
It took me a second to realise that Yuna was my code name until I could get out of this damn girls clothes and nodded my head to respond.
[ They will all pay for this]
"Please don't tease the young madam too much" Ki said is a disguised voice.
"Oh are you are a very protective hand maiden, is it perhaps a hint of jealousy?" Wen said cheekily in response.
"I am just a poor girl of lowly status. I'm much more suited to a guard then someone of your status sir, please do not tease me either." Ki as pitifully as she could.
I tried not to choke on the cake I was eating as I watched Ki and Wen swap words like daggers piercing back and forth between them.
Ren looked over at Ki's direction a few times before staring back off into the distance. Ki and Wen may not have noticed but I certainly did.
"Sir guard, please test this cake for poison" I said quietly offering Ren a cake.
Honestly, I had felt bad for Ren as he was the only one not in the carriage and he must have been sweating from all that gear. I may have hated wearing this attire but it was better than swimming in my own sweat.
Ren slightly lifted up a panel on his helmet and the cake disappeared in a single bite.
"No poison Yu..I mean madam." Ren said correcting himself.
I could hear the clip clop of hooves coming from a little while away and all the guards in the caravan stood up with swords drawn as Ki, Wen and myself all looked over to follow the noise.
It was a single ride covered head to toe in traveling gear.
They were racing faster and faster as they road by and screamed " BASKAHOUND! A BASKA HOUND IS COMING!"
Ki's face paled as we looked over at the rider.
" ALL TO ARMS!" Wen shouted.
A few of the guards had moved the caravan quickly off to the side of the road as a roar was heard in the distance. The make and female guards assumed a formation around where Wen, myself, Ki and Ren were standing.
" What is a baskahound?" I whispered quietly as I looked over to the spot where Kibbles was napping inside the caravan.
" Rank 5 spirit beast. If it really is a baskahound we are in for a hell of a fight but where did it come from?!" Ren said under his breath.
" Do not let Kibbles into the open. It may be a trap." Ki added in a whisper.
" AWROOOOOOOOOO!" A piercing howl came from behind the rider.
It was a pointed ear dog, with a long snout and sharp teeth, it was mostly covered in fur near its head but as you looked at it's behind it had a long snake like tail which was covered in sharp scales.
It jumped up into the air and nipped the back of the spirit beast that the rider was on.
" Ahhhh!" the rider screamed as it was thrown off the horse.
The spirit beast that the rider was on looked like a a big yellow chicken, however at this moment half of its leg was missing as it squawked wildly.
In a few short seconds the baskahound swiped the mount with it's sharp tail and the riders mount was suddenly headless.
" Nooo Nooo Noo! Stay back!" The rider said as he watched his mount get devoured.
The rider was on his bottom and sliding his legs back before turning around and running.
" That idiot" Ki said under her breath.
" What do you mean?" I said as I looked over with a racing heart.
" Baskahounds are nearly blind they hunt using vibrations, sound and smell" Ki said calmly.
Wen heard what Ki had said and used a sort of sign language to inform the soldiers that were guarding the caravan.
We all looked over unmoving as the spirit beast took a few more mouthfuls of the dead mount before flicking a forked tongue in the air and flicking its ears around.
It focused on the rider that was fleeing at full speed towards us and used it's powerful tail to push off against the ground for speed.
" We have to help that rider!" I said quietly.
" It's too late" Ren said and shook his head.
The spirit beast jumped up on the rider like a cat hunting a mouse and within a few seconds the rider was dead and half eaten. I watched on in horror and did my best not to lose my lunch.
Wen made a few more hand signs and the guards without moving starting chanting some spells.
A flurry of fire, water and wind attacked rained on the baskahound without end.
Whoosh!
Baang!
Crack!
Sounds of the elements hitting the baskahounds thick hide were heard followed by the smell of iron and singed hair.
The baskahound who still has some pieces of meat in its mouth yelped before spelling the air again. Although the hound seemed injured it was still able to fight and ran towards us.
[ So tough! ]
" Ren guard Yuna, I will guard Wen. Let the guards do what they can to kill the beast" Ki said suddenly grabbing Wen's hand.
[ Just what is their relationship? ]
I was suddenly hoisted up like a princess from Ren as he lifted me to the cart that I was sitting in to begin with.
I looked behind Ren's shoulder to see able bodied guards were fighting in highly coordinated teams, taking turns to distract while the other teams attacked.
Ren' placed me inside a carriage and signed to Wen and Ki who had taken a second carriage and charged towards the direction of my grandfather's estate.
I hoped that Kibbles would be okay with Ki and Wen in their carriage. I looked on as Kibbles poked his tiny head out from Ki's arms as we sped away.
The spirit beast must had noticed the sound of the carriage and ignored the humans in front of it leaping high up in the air and landing just a few meters behind us.
The carriage was bumping up and down as if it it was hitting every rock on the ground, we sped off past the guards and I watched them melt off into the distance the Baskahound not to far behind us.
I held on the the ceiling to brace myself as the charging of feet became closer and closer.
" YUNA HOLD ON!" Ren called from under his suit of amour.
Suddenly the Baska hound cried as an arrow was shot from the behind the Baskahound.
I saw a green haired person wearing full blue amour and a mask coming up from behind.
" No way it couldn't be…" I said under my breath.
[ Sora ?! ]