Rurr—
There was a slight tremble, accompanied by the muffled, grainy sounds of wheels rolling on a cobblestone road.
From the depths of Troan's muddled mind came hushed voices, sifting into his hearing.
Yet, he remained still, revealing no signs of rousing.
"It wasn't unusual for stepmother to do this to Troan when we were younger. At times, when he locked himself in the study for days and refused to come out, she would cast her strange witchcraft on him to make him come dine with us. It was only after he had gorged himself that he came to his senses."
Kaydin's pleasant voice echoed within the seemingly enclosed space.
"It seems like a useful spell for dealing with troublesome kids if you ask me."
Troan could sense the lopsided grin in Wriggler's tone.
"Lurin wasn't spared as well... It was never cast on me, though." Kaydin sighed regretfully. "You might find it odd, but at the time I was a bit jealous and felt exempted."
Kaydin's chuckle came lightly.
"Troan once said in jest that I was already brainless as I was, and that there was no need to cast a puppetry spell on me."
"Well, I don't know about that," Wriggler said with a chuckle. "But I don't think the witch would want to mess with your mother. What's her elemental name again? Phosphorus bird?"
"Phosphorus Angel." Kaydin corrected lightly.
"Ah! Yes! Frightening to envision what she could be capable of! But enough about that, my boss has been shambling around like a puppet on strings since yesterday. Barely saying anything, which wasn't unusual, now that I think about it... How long would this go on?"
"Stepmother said he would come to his senses the moment he stepped onto academy grounds," Kaydin informed.
"Is that so..."
Although, Troan's eyes were closed he could feel Wriggler's scrutinizing gaze on him.
There was silence for a moment before Wriggler spoke again.
"Well, isn't he the most handsome man you've ever seen?"
"Augh! Where is this coming from?" Bevy, Kaydin's guard, asked with a disgusted tone.
"I mean, look! Look at that divine visage, and that artfully messy hair!"
"Back me up. I'm trying to win some points here," he whispered to someone, likely Kaydin.
Troan's face twitched, then he let out a sigh and opened his eyes.
"I know I've been discovered Wriggler, enough with the bootlicking."
Wriggler waved it off and smiled. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't like it, puppet man... It seemed the spell wasn't able to keep its hold over you for as long as was intended. Impressive."
"How long have you been conscious?" Kaydin inquired curiously.
"About a minute or so..." He said, then his eyes surveyed his surroundings.
They were in a luxurious carriage, spacious and well-decorated with golden ornaments. A quaint glass table in the middle sat over a soft red carpet below; on it were bowls of different colorful pomegranates, a jug of wine, and a few silver cups.
A door stood to Troan's left with a window on each side, and three padded benches occupied the remaining three sides of the carriage.
Kaydin and Bevy sat facing the door, while Wriggler and Troan sat at the sides of the door, facing each other.
Above, a spherical crystal ball glowed a warm, yellow light. It was a bluestone for powering runic inscriptions, but at the moment it also served as a source of illumination.
"Where are we?" He asked as he pulled open the curtain of the small window on his left.
It was dark outside.
"The marketplace near the port—we're halfway to the garrison now," Bevy replied, unfolding a map.
"The garrison?"
Troan repeated, momentarily turning away from the window to glance at Kaydin.
"You intend to travel with a Var gate, rather than a steam train?"
Var gates were rare complex constructs that utilized the Navar for transport. They bypass the limitations of space to allow the instantaneous movement of people or things from any part of the realm to another, provided there is another Var gate at the destination.
It required two gates that were expensive to build, even by imperial standards. However, the expense wasn't the limiting factor of these constructs.
It was that Var gates could only be operated by witches.
To Troan's knowledge, the amount of known witches in the realm could be counted on one hand, and this included his mother.
"Is there a problem with this arrangement?" Kaydin asked, raising a curious brow.
"No."
He covered the curtain.
"No, it is a wise choice. That, as well as choosing to leave during the early hours of the morning, when the roads aren't clogged with people and carriages."
Kaydin revealed an impressed smile.
"You grasped the situation quite quickly! As expected of someone once called 'The Progidy' as a child!"
Troan frowned with disdain, a grimace forming.
"...It was a label placed on me by the ignorant." He said, glancing at Kaydin before revealing a dark smile.
"You and I know 'The Rebel' would have been apt for me."
Kaydin was momentarily taken aback, but then he chuckled within his chest and then burst out laughing, Troan laughed along as well.
In between peals of laughter, Kaydin said.
"Rem-remember that time when you read from the Black book against your mother's warning?" Kaydin whizzed, laughing and Troan's eyes widened in alarm.
"You soon began levitating, and got stuck to the ceiling for hours! When she returned, she found the houseguards trying to bring you down with a lasso!"
He guffawed.
Troan cleared his throat with an embarrassed smile, receiving a pleasantly intrigued look from Wriggler and a befuddled one from Bevy.
"We don't talk about the Black book incident, Kaydin." Troan said under his breath.
Kaydin glanced at the others and chuckled. "Yes, yes. Sorry, Troan. I overstepped."
"No matter." Troan waved it off and looked toward the window.
"I spotted five carriages amongst your entourage, I guess Fro's retinue is with your group."
Kaydin nodded.
"Yes, she decided it was a good opportunity to leave with us. Although, she complained you had made her late to the Jubul." Kaydin smiled knowingly. "Though, I could tell she spoke in jest."
Troan rolled his eyes and waved dismissively. "Pay her no mind, Fro knows why she attends the Juble."
Then he glanced at Kaydin and said. "Trust me when I say that she has little to no interest in the Jubul; even if she went on the last day, she fulfills her agenda."
Then without elaborating, he changed the topic.
"What about the entourage's guards? I spotted Lieutenant Ulan and Lieutenant Valerie in their armor, riding alongside the carriages. As for the others, I do not recognize them."
"Oh, yes!" Kaydin exclaimed suddenly and clapped his hands together, looking excited.
"I anticipated your concerns! Mother was gracious enough to send one platoon of elite Argen dragoons, another platoon of royal houseguards, and two wyvern riders, bringing the total to around 90 formidable guards!"
Troan had an impressed look in his eyes.
The Argen dragoons, a cavalry class of soldiers introduced in Xagerios, popularly used to guard the elite members of Mechanis Argen. Each was mounted and armed with sabers, and rune inscribed rifles for short and ranged battles.
Royal houseguards were elite soldiers personally trained by the renowned Captain of the houseguards. A man who almost got the position of House Seasult's First Knight: a title earned by the strongest and most capable soldier of a noble household.
They were capable of fending off enemies with their thick-plated armor, spears, and rune-inscribed shields. Fully armed to lead those whom they were charged to protect to safety.
Then finally, wyvern riders in the sky to provide overwatch.
Troan caressed his chin, thoughtfully.
'I have little to critic against such a force. Provided information of Kaydin's movements wasn't leaked to someone terrifying, like one of Father's enemies, perhaps. I should find no problem escorting them safely to the garrison.
'My presence here should sufficiently discourage most enemies from acting... Unless they were somehow unaware I was here." Troan mused, cogitating over the matter in his head.
"Troan?" Kaydin called.
He blinked, startled out of his thoughts for a moment.
"Yes?"
"Is everything okay? You suddenly grew quiet for a while."
"Ah, pardon me, Kaydin. Do not worry; all is well."
Upon hearing this, Kaydin smiled, picked up a pomegranate, and tossed it into his mouth. He then reclined in his seat, trying to make himself comfortable.
–––
A few buildings down the road, a man watched from his perch on a stairway beside the road. He turned right, observing the approaching caravans guarded by soldiers with torches. He then stood up and approached an alley.
He paused and looked to the left of the alley entrance, where an open carriage topped with a heap of loose hay rested.
A rope emerged from the hay, leading into the dark alley.
Seeing that everything was in order, he entered the alley.
"Are they coming?" A deep male voice rumbled from the darkness, his large silhouette loomed over the other figure in the moonlight.
"Yes, Captain. The information we got from the city guard captain was accurate."
"Good, are the men ready?"
"The men are in position. They'll attack at your command."
"Very good!"
"Captain."
"What is it?"
"They...have a lot of guards. Do you think we can succeed?" He sounded nervous.
"What? Are you having doubts now?! We follow the plan! The explosion will eliminate all the guards at the side of the carriage where the doors are. Then we concentrate the bulk of our numbers there. As long as we kill the Prince, we succeed; our death will be worth it. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
Just as his silhouette turned to leave the larger silhouette placed a hand on the leaner one's shoulder.
"Remember friend, this is for a better future, our children's future! They will honor our deeds this day."
"Aye. I know, Captain." He nodded and walked away, leaving the large figure in the dark.
"The Prince must die, it is the only way."
The large figure's deep voice echoed softly through the alleyway, while a sharp saber being waved ominously across the air caught the moonlight.