The Trap has Sprung

"They're here."

Immediately, Heath whistles out with a high pitch. The carriages all open and mages step out. The knights stand in front of them as the mages prepare their spells.

"LIVING FIRE, WE'VE BEEN HAD!"

People stand up from the fallen trees and start sending arrows at the carriages and knights. The knights put their shields up in a testudo formation, shielding the mages. Several weak spells are sent at the group, lighting carriages on fire, sending stones flying at them, and zapping them with electricity. The knights bear the brunt of the attack, a few lucky arrows get into the gaps of their armor, and the spells slam into the wooden shields. A few mages are killed in the attack. Then, a whistle comes from behind the knights.

The knights kneel down as the mages send their spells flying forth. Most mages here sent fire spells towards them, with very few sending water and electricity. The fireballs hit the dead trees with a loud boom, sending splinters flying everywhere. Quite a few of the ambushes get hit by the shrapnel, causing them to bleed profusely. Suddenly, groups of people appear in front of the knights with daggers, short swords, and short spears in hand. However, it seems the knights were expecting them, as they move their shields and slash out as one. Green, blue, purple, red, even white. Several energies slam into the group of assassins, cutting most in half. A few assassins manage to duck in time and attempt to retreat. However, as they turn around, they are cut down by skeletons releasing a slight purple energy from their bodies. As soon as the assassins are cut down, the skeletons turn around and take out their bows. The surviving ambushers start breaking as the skeletons take aim. Then, they loose. The skeletons' arrows pierce the air with a whistle, slamming into the back of any unarmored foe. The armored ones are mostly okay, except for the unlucky few that are hit in gaps either at the back of their knee, or even their neck.

As they run away, Heath steps out of his carriage in full plate armor and starts gathering energy to the halberd in his hands. He takes a stance where the head of the halberd is behind him, glowing slightly. The wind around him starts to swirl as particles start dotting the air around him, being drawn towards the head of the halberd he's using. After a few seconds, the halberd has a crack appear in it. As if that crack is what he was waiting for, Heath steps forward and slashes. A loud popping noise emanates from the head of his halberd as the energy barrels forth. It cites through all of the trees and rocks in front of it, slashing straight through the armored escapists. Heath looks at the head of his halberd, seeing that it's just the frayed end of a burned stick. He throws the staff down and states,

"Anyone who dares target my family shall be cut down like a farmer to wheat."

And with that, he steps back in the carriage after the fires are put out by water mages.

————————

Hiding under a felled log, a young man no older than 16 is clutching his bow while shaking uncontrollably. Tears stream down his face as he remembers seeing his friend beside him being struck by a fireball. His right side is nearly completely covered in blood as he stifles his cries. As he hears a loud popping sound, he hears multiple cries of pain and trees falling. With each tree hitting the ground, the boy flinches, expecting each one of them to be a spell thrown at him. He lets out an audible whimper before covering his mouth with his woolen coat. He hears a man say something about family and cut down as his face turns pale. He hears the sound of multiple people climbing back into carriages and on horses. He slowly starts to relax his muscles as he hears the carriages leave.

After a few minutes that feel like hours, the young man starts to come up from his hiding place. He crawls out from under the tree and looks around. As he looks behind him, for a flash of a second, he sees the figure of a man. Then, he falls lifelessly to the ground.

A dark brown cloaked figure sheathes the knife after wiping it off on the young man's corpse.

"Hulder really couldn't have finished these roaches off?"

A low grumbly voice says.

The man kneels at the body of the young man and reaches into his pockets. After the third pocket, he finds a piece of folded parchment.

"At giants peak there will be a group of carriages. Target the central carriage as much as possible."

The man scoffs,

"Written in Tranian. Figured that cowardly king would've been behind this one. *ptu* Heaters."

The man spits on the corpse as his body starts to seemingly evaporate into the wind.

——————————

In the carriage, Heath and company are celebrating with bottles of Orcish-borth, a popular brand of liquor with an oak-like taste. On the bottle is an image of a green orc with long straight black hair and red eyes smiling with a giant wooden tankard.

"The trap went so incredibly well, I'd almost think we'd fallen into a trap as well!"

Julien laughs heartily as he takes a swig from the bottle. Sage looks a little downtrodden as she says,

"Yeah, it's too bad I wasn't able to fight. I got all nervous for nothin'."

Hulder and Kana both quietly sip on canteens instead of Orcish-borth. Heath nods his head as he looks around with a smile. Then, his face turns a little,

"It's unfortunate that we did lose five mages and two knights today though. They will be remembered. I'll have their names engraved into the forgotten stone in the square."

Julien puts his hands right over left on his belly button and bows his head for a few seconds. Everyone else follows suit. As he raises his head he speaks out,

"Well, today was a success. Though I fear that they'll eventually send assassins again. Sage, I want you to be Atlas' personal knight, Kana I want you to be Alvina's, and I'll have Serana guard Amy.

—--------------------------

A few months later, in a dark throne room, a man is sitting on the glass throne. His white hair flows in the wind as a person appears in front of him. The man grimaces as he sees them,

"So… The deed is done?"

The figure in front of him lowers their head. After a few seconds, the figure speaks with an androgynous voice,

"My liege… They've failed…"

The emperor who was sipping on a glass of fire-whiskey, sprayed the figure with said whiskey. As he spits, he stands up suddenly. He looks at them for a good few seconds before saying,

"H-how many are dead?"

…

A few seconds of silence.

"A-all of them, my liege…"

The emperor of Trania stares at the figure, dumbfounded. He stumbles backward and plops down on the throne.

*crack*

A small crack appears on the foundation of his throne of glass.