The horses snorted as the small, inconspicuous carriage moved through the bustling city capital. It had been a week's journey to such a distant place, and more than a few bandits and assassins had tried to block their way. Of course, it had been expected, even with the direct invitation from the neighboring emperor. The entire venture had seemed like a trap from the beginning, but he'd had no say in the matter... nor had he wished to have one.

Zen looked up as a faint brush of wind rustled his long black hair. Part of it was tied back into a lengthy ponytail while the rest stretched all the way down to his lower back. It was perfectly soft and shone as the sun's rays caught it every chance it managed to peek through the looming gray clouds overhead.

He rapped his knuckles twice against the hard wooden seat beside him, alerting his master within that they would be approaching their destination in an hour or so. There was no response from inside the carriage, and he hadn't expected one.

Reaching up, he tugged his dark gray mask a little higher over his nose as his eyes inconspicuously scanned the growing crowd. The sheer amount of people had slowed their two horses to a walking pace, making him uneasy and hyperaware.

They were approaching a bustling market, the noise alone making him hesitate. Many things could happen in such a confined area and his senses would be dulled as the volume rose and the scents of fish and cooked food overtook his nose.

It would be safer to go a different route.

"Forward, Zen," came a soothing, familiar voice from behind him.

He obeyed immediately, refocusing his attention on reaching out with his ability instead of trying to watch so many people with just his one pair of eyes alone. The faintest bit of pressure began to settle against every person and object in the area as he started guiding their horses on their trek through. The pressure would be undetectable to most, but those who had a decent understanding of energy skills would know that someone was presently using one.

It was a very rare type, the ability to control the very air around oneself, and he did not use it often. When he did, however, it was either in very abrupt bursts to permanently dispatch an enemy, or in such a case as they were in now, to be able to sense the movements of everything within a certain distance from him.

He was immediately aware of twenty or so people who were watching them, specifically. Most were off near alleyway entrances or trying to look inconspicuous as they pretended to shop around, but bought nothing before moving on to other, closer stalls.

Licking his lips beneath his mask, Zen rapped his knuckles on the seat again, sensing several of the people he was tracking begin to move closer. He hoped that they wouldn't attack them right there in the market, but even if they didn't, they'd definitely set up ambushes farther down the road.

"How are you feeling about it, Zen?" came the familiar voice in response, drawing a frown to his hidden mouth.

He took a moment to think as the horses plodded along, then tapped his fingernails against the seat three times.

"Unsure of your remaining energy? We could turn back and try to run, but we are out of food and water, and if we arrive late, the emperor will surely fault us. Even if it was his people that had caused our delay time and again," the voice said, always one for understanding situations.

After a few more moments of thought Zen took the reigns in both hands and flicked them at the horses, making the beasts speed up as much as was possible. They would move forward, and he would do his best to keep his master from harm.

As soon as they sped up he felt the group of people he was keeping tabs on begin to act. Three began to rush toward them from different angles, each drawing a weapon of some sort. The seventeen others that had him worried disappeared into the surrounding area, moving out of reach of his ability.

Refocusing, he turned his attention to the man that worried him the most. The one who had loaded an arrow into a bow. Thankfully, he did not hesitate to shoot, giving Zen the chance to focus his full attention on the arrow sailing toward his person before the other two got close enough to worry about.

He swiftly lifted one arm, his long sleeve billowing in the sudden gust of wind caused by such an abrupt action. His fingers snatched the projectile out of the air before he'd even finished turning his head to look at it.

The action drew gasps from the citizens in the crowd that were watching them simply out of curiosity. Now, with an attack on them possible, people began to scatter as they screamed.

Unfortunately, the chaos made their horses freeze, then shift about nervously as they tried to back away from the growing hysteria.

Zen couldn't be bothered to calm them, either, since he'd had to draw his sword as the two others who had planned an attack met him from either side. One leaped up onto the carriage with a massive broadsword already swinging. It clearly wasn't the right weapon for such a small man, and his aim was poor at best, but the damage such a heavy weapon could do wasn't lost on Zen.

He dodged, but the seat he'd been using to drive their vehicle was splintered into pieces, the old carriage they'd bought to try and remain uninteresting and away from attention nearly being severed from the horses with just that one simple strike. Worried that the remaining few bits of wood still connecting them would snap at any moment, Zen focused a large portion of his remaining energy and used his skill to hold the area together.

"Such a pretty young slave. You would do best to leave your master and come stay at my brothel. You would make quite a sum with that face of yours... even with your mask on," the smaller man said as he retrieved his sword, straining with the effort, then swung it sideways toward Zen.

With little room to dodge since he did not wish to risk wounding their horses, Zen narrowed his eyes on the oncoming blade and froze it in mid-air.

The now-sweaty bald man startled with the realization that his weapon was no longer moving, then yelped as its massive weight suddenly dropped, pulling him forward and down with it. Zen then took that moment to dodge on top of the man, stepping on his body as a dagger sliced through the left side of his white and tan robe.

He would have let himself be cut in order to be able to retaliate better, but the scent of poison on the tip of the weapon caught his attention just in time to dodge completely. He found himself a more stable spot to stand on, then noticed the smaller man about ready to swing his weapon again as the dagger-wielding one was already beginning to strike for a second time.

A few more unsettling people began to appear at the edge of his senses, making him abruptly turn and jump forward in order to kick the back end of one of the horses. He preferred to never harm them, as they were loyal and well mannered beasts, but they were in a dire situation. He would make it up to them later, if he made it out alive.

The horse whinnied loudly and took off with its friend, jolting the carriage, and everyone on it. Zen could have kept himself from falling, but his focus had to be entirely on the area that the broadsword had damaged previously, or the jarring from the horses bolting would have easily splintered the remaining fragile bolds.

Thus, all three of them lost their footing, sending the man who had been in the middle of his attack sailing off of the side. The smaller one with the broadsword had easily fallen, too, but refused to let go of his massive sword, its weight giving him enough of an advantage so that he didn't get thrown off as well.

Zen, having caused the abrupt action, had thankfully prepared for it, too. He ducked at the same time the cart jolted forward, allowing him to manage his fall better. He slammed his right shoulder into parts of the splintered bench, taking the hit over risking falling closer to the other man or going off the side. Pain reverberated from the injury, but he refused to let it phase him because the man with the broadsword had, indeed, taken his chance to catch him off-guard and was already working on swinging his unnecessarily-large weapon right toward his chest.

"Let go, Zen," came the voice from within the carriage.

He did as told without hesitation.

Retracting his power, Zen scrambled backwards into the small window above where he had been sitting to drive as he allowed the damaged floor to be pulled apart by the horse's momentum. The man who had been attacking him was throw off-balance again, making the blade miss completely and go sailing off into the crowd.

Zen was unable to see what happened to him after that, but judging from the yell, then the uneven thumps as their crashing carriage began to come to a halt, he figured that the man must have fallen forward as the damaged carriage broke free from the horses. They wouldn't be bothered by that person again, at least.

He was so focused on returning his ability to the surrounding area and keeping himself safe during the crash that he didn't even notice the arm wrapping around his waist until the carriage came to a complete halt.

"Are you alright, Zen? Shall we disembark?" said the familiar voice next to his ear.

He nodded, then moved to kick open the side door that had, undoubtedly, jammed during their crash. The left door broke off its remaining hinge and went flying off to the side somewhere, while the other one managed to hang on, but just barely, and slam against the damaged side of the vehicle.

Holding his sword at the ready, Zen sent out his ability again as the dust from the calamity settled around them, sensing that a small group had gathered about fifteen feet or so from their carriage. None had their weapons drawn yet, and he sensed none being brandished within the minimal crowd, so he carefully stepped out of their destroyed vehicle and faced the men before him.

They were all finely dressed, clearly having some status amongst them. One, however, seemed to stand out to him. He was the one farthest forward, with a beautifully crafted sword hanging at his side. The man's robe was a silky, light purple with black designs on the bottom left and upper right. It was quite a beautiful garment. One that would cost quite a few taels of silver.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I do apologize for my people's unceremonious greeting. I am the third prince of Han, Yuen Huang, and would like to formally greet our guests," said the man, who's black hair was tied back with one long braid on either side.

Zen didn't care much for appearances... but the man's dark brown eyes unsettled him greatly.

"Good afternoon, prince Yuen. I'm afraid that we had some issues arriving on time," came his master's response from behind him, making Zen calmly step out of the way just enough for him to stop at his side.

Noticing their two horses wandering around far behind the group of men, Zen gave out a quiet whistle, but used his ability to allow it to travel over to the animal's ears. Both beasts immediately turned their heads towards him, while at the same time drawing the other prince's attention.

Both animals quickly made their way back to their masters, dragging their reigns and a few remaining bits of their hitches from the carriage. They eventually came to a stop beside the carriage with a couple snorts before shaking out their coats and waiting. Zen would have gone to calm them, but at the same moment he sensed someone drawing a bow from the very border of his ability. He added a slight bit more pressure from his skill to the tip of the arrowhead right before it was loosed.

It was perfectly aimed at his master, but Zen easily caught it between two fingers, being extra careful to have stepped directly in front of it first.

It was as he had thought, too.

He immediately made a gesture for his master to step away. Thankfully, the man never questioned him when under direct threat. Qi took several steps back as Zen held back a sneeze. He allowed the poisoned arrow to slip from his fingers and clatter onto the ground before turning his attention back to the group before them... just in time to see the other prince hurl a dagger straight into their assailant's forehead.

It was quite a shocking feat, considering that the man had to have been at least twenty-five feet away, and on top of a business's roof.

"Now then," prince Yuen said calmly as he returned a knowing smile to them.

He had not been mistaken. The men who had attacked them previously, and the one who the prince had just killed... had to have been sent by prince Yuen, himself.

"Please, follow me to the palace."

Zen pursed his lips beneath his mask, but when his master settled a gentle hand atop his shoulder, he calmed himself and lifted his opposite hand to tap on the man's four times in slow succession.

They began walking after his master withdrew his touch, but the message Zen had tapped against Qi's fingers had been read loud and clear. The last attack they had encountered had caused an injury or issue that needed treated as soon as possible.

There had been poison on the tip of the arrow... but there had also been plenty on the shaft that was already absorbing into his skin, causing his fingers to begin going numb.