Five miles out, Thalesia was but a speck in the distant green plains. The wind no longer carried the saltiness of Thalesia's ports and the blue skies were clear of white clouds, allowing the sun free reign over the lands. Horse hooves and the churning of wood rumbled against the dirt road. In the back carriage, exhaling with a grin on his face, Alden stretched out his body.

“Ah~ now that was intense, huh? What a start to this adventure! I must thank the lady from the guild. She recommended you, you know?” His voice was as carefree as ever.

Leor squeezed the reins. So it was Rose. He was thankful for the recommendation but he’s not going to forget that depiction she gave.

Alden nudged him with his elbow and smirked. “Couldn’t resist saving a beautiful damsel like Miss Ceri, huh?”

Ceri fiddled with the tips of her locks. Her cheeks turned a light pink, but Leor remained quiet. He did not think the remark deserved a response, he kept his eyes on the road, scanning the environment with his ever-stoic glare.

“I apologize for Lord Alden’s behavior. He’s quite — talkative, but I assure you, he means well.” Ceri sighed, trying to break the silent tension of the carriage.

A chuckle broke through Leor’s lips. “We can agree on the ‘talkative’ part”.

The three shared a brief laugh before Leor started trailing back to silence. To be frank, he’s at a loss for words. The only people he had meaningful chat with was Gerald and sometimes Rose if she weren’t busy. Other than that, he’d only utter words when the situation demeaned necessary. Luckily for him, it was then, small rumbles vibrated the carriage, growing louder and louder with each passing second. They eyed each other, hoping that one of them would give a suitable explanation, but none seemed to have any answers. It wasn’t until the sound drew closer that Leor could decipher the noise. Runners. His heart pumped twice as fast at the thought and he whipped the horse into a sprint.

“Alden, take the reins!” shouted Leor. The power in his voice moved Alden without question. He scrambled to the coachman seat and snagged the reins from Leor.

“What is it?” Alden said, trying to juggle his eye between the road ahead and the commotion behind.

“The Stallions,” said Leor as he unsheathed Ikazuchi from his back. “They came faster than I thought”. Did Afzal call them? Was he wrong about Afzal’s pridefulness? No… he’d be too embarrassed to admit he lost to a Purblight. They must have just heard the commotion and chased after them once they exited the city.

Ceri poked her head out of the sheets that covered the carriage and searched the road behind them, but nothing was there. “Where? I don’t see anything.”

“Not there,” said Leor. He tilted her head up and pointed at the sky. “There.”

A squadron of guards on horseback soared the skies. The Runners’ translucent body made it look like the guards were gliding through the air. Sunlight peered through their skin, bending the light as it passed through their bodies, and streaks of water trailed in their path. This was what Leor feared, trying to outrun those damn things. They galloped through the air with the speed of a river coursing downstream. It was only a matter of minutes until they caught up to the caravan.

The lead cavalryman raised his sword to the sky, the others behind him followed suit, and they swung their blades down in unison. Following their command, the Runners cocked their heads back and whipped them forward, shooting out arrows made of water from their mouths.

Leor pulled Ceri back into the cart and stood before her. He swung his blade across his body multiple times with blinding speed, deflecting the incoming projectiles — many missed their mark and impaled the dirt road — but there were simply too many for Leor to handle on his own. A well-placed arrow pierced his left shoulder. Wincing in pain, Leor stumbled back with disdain on his face. Now he really wished he prepared better for this mission.

“Alden, keep heading straight. On my signal, we’re going to ditch the cart!” Leor shouted over his shoulder.

Alden gave no response. His eyes fixed on the road. Leor took the lack of commentary to mean he understood his duty. Even a fool knows when to be serious, Leor thought.

“Sir Leor, are you okay!? Shouldn’t you take that out?” Ceri asked, rushing to his side and eyeing the wound.

“N-no”, grunted Leor, twisting his body with his sword arched behind his head. “That’ll make it worse”.

“What are you doing!?” Ceri said, yanking his arm down to no avail.

Leor looked at her in confusion. To him, it seemed obvious what he was planning. “I need to stop them or we won’t get away”.

She pulled harder on his garbs as if to impede his aim. “You can’t kill them! They only wish to carry out the duty they were given”, pleaded Ceri. Her voice was stern yet warm, but it was her eyes that weighed heavy on Leor. It’s been awhile since he saw eyes that carried such concern for others. Not since his late mother.

Her distress was unnecessary but amusing. Leor wasn’t planning to commit murder anyway. If he did, he would not be able to return to Thalesia and repay Gerald for all he’s done. “Relax. I’m only going to disable their steeds”, reassured Leor with a slight grin as he refocused his aim on the convoy, judging the distance between them. This should be close enough.

“But —“

“Don’t worry. They’re not alive anyway.” Leor said coldly. The contempt bled through his words. Like when a drunken man slanders his adulterous spouse. He might as well have cursed the Gods’ invention.

Leor hurled Ikazuchi at the horsemen, penetrating the sky like a javelin. He kept his arm raised as if tethering his blade to his hand and guiding it through the air like a kite. The Royal Stallions squinted at the shining silver darting towards them, unable to make out what the projectile was until it was too late. Ikazuchi sliced through the front Runners, severing their heads from their bodies. Their horse-like forms curled into itself, into a blue luminescent crystal as though being swallowed by it. Then, the leading horse riders plunged towards the ground. Surely, they would’ve met their demise if not for the rear guard who nosedived after them, swooping them up before splattering on the road. Luckily, it went as Leor planned. He snapped his hand to his chest and Ikazuchi flew back into his left hand.

“What are you doing catching it with your injur —'' Ceri yelled before being silenced by the absence of the impalement in his shoulder. Her fingers lined where the arrow used to be and found his coat soaked with blood and water.

“That hurts, you know.”

Surprised, Ceri quickly pulled her hand back and apologized with her head bowed. She searched her person. A remorseful expression loomed on her face. “Sorry, Leor. I gave my last potion to the creepy guys at Thalesia.”

“It’s fine.” Leor grunted as he tore a piece of carriage-cloth and tied it snuggly around his wound. A burning cold zapped his shoulder each time the cloth circled over the puncture. He turned to see if the Stallions were still on their trail. Once they were out of sight, Leor placed his hand on Alden’s shoulder. “Stop the cart. We’ll be heading into the Edgewoods from here”.

The cart came to a halt and the party scrambled off the carriage with their belongings. There was no time to lose. Leor did not want the Stallions spotting them entering the Edgewoods. He motioned them to enter the forest before him as he made his way to the horse. He brushed its mane and looked into its eyes.

“Thank you, friend. I wish you a safe journey, but I need you to do us one last favor.” Leor whispered. He slapped in on the rear, startling it to gallop onward. He entered the forest and took the lead with a regretful look. “Come, that should buy us time to get deeper into the forest”.