In the morning, everything is stable again. My parents and contracted wife are gone. Only those who belong here are here. And within that group it's only those alive and well. Compared to the number the mission began with, it's less.
Shouldn't we gain more support? Even if things feel weird, I am sent out to point just as I was the past two days. Will another chaos event happen? Nice to see Lyrie and Vincent alive and well. The rest of the team isn't with us. We have four people I only vaguely know. Trust worthy knights.
"I am glad you were not caught up in the battle with the Strigipsx, Your Highness." Vincent relaxes in the center of the camp. "Lyrie gave me full details of the battle here."
"Were you injured?"
"Yeah. But Her Majesty healed me before we even joined anyone else. Never have to fear anything with her around." Vincent stretches. "Nothing is nearby, so I want Lyrie to show you the outer pace."
"Yes!" Lyrie takes my arm. "Let's go, Thomas. We're going on a trip."
"I am? Are you sure it's smart?"
"Draw Cleaver for us." Lyrie starts me out of the camp.
"Do not draw Cleaver." Vincent tells us before we are surrounded by trees.
Lyrie scans me. "Can you climb trees?"
"Probably. I can try." I look at the nearby tree. The castle walls have to be harder than a tree. A few attempts have me in the tree tops. It's a different view. "How do you move in the treetops?"
"Not with teleportation. I saw William do that before." Lyrie shakes her head. "Watch." She is quick to take specific branches that are close together and are capable of supporting her weight. The quick movement has her going from one tree to another.
This is a fun practice. No one will expect me to be in the trees. Lyrie is slow to explain the hows. Her teaching makes the travel about the woods almost fun. I cannot tell where camp is, though. I need to practice more than just running around the treetops.
"I call it squirreling." Lyrie comments when we land back near the camp. We're on the opposite side from where we started. "Fun, right? When I'm doing it for mission, it has to be seen as serious, but I can't help finding fun in the action. Rare to find someone capable of handling it."
"Told you he'd manage." Vincent watches the area we started in. "Daniel and Ryan are giving a pace as well. Daniel seems to be fine with it. Looks like they'll have an attack, though."
"Of what?"
"Nothing out of their skill." Vincent glances to Lyrie. "Can you go watch, though?"
Lyrie nods and runs off. Silently. My squirreling would've been found by everyone. Hers? Not so much. Will I reach her level of skill? Picking out the right branch was the hardest part. And I'm already heavier than her. I think I'd need a lightweight spell to handle it properly. I'm not Lyrie.
"Thomas?" Vincent turns to me.
"Yeah?" I sit at his side.
"I will wish to draw in Cleaver once he moves close enough. If we don't see him today, tomorrow we're hunting him. We lost too many knights. Cleaver is too big of a threat."
"Capture or kill?"
Vincent eyes me. "If we can capture, that's always the best option, but in this case? Kill is our main thought. Death will be our easiest way to handle things."
Cleaver is easier than a strigipsx by a lot. Those who managed to handle fighting against Cleaver lost quickly to the psychic owl. "Why do you want me joining the hunt?"
"Because your magic can draw it out. I'll ask for the specific spells we know Ryan's older brother used. If nothing else that ritual drew him in. I can get us close enough for him to be easily taken."
"Am I just bait?"
"Bait is probably the hardest job of any mission. You put yourself in a position where death is the highest of the group. Do whatever you need to to stay alive."
William teleported me out of the way before. Put Vincent in my place. Vincent knows how to wrestle and use a variety of weapons. My best place is at a distance. I need to train a lot more. But my parents are keeping me out of the knight's hall. For seemingly good reason. If they were the ones who lead to Mom's attempted assassination, they wouldn't mind setting me up for danger. Those on my side will protect me only so far. They'll push me so I don't lose everything.
What happened when I was a trainee would only double time. Expectations for me will always be high. And everyone will question even if they see it themself. It's a curse on me. A blessing. A pressure to follow me once they get past the second guessing blessing. A blessing many royals end up gaining.
"Did the dragon give that one?" I shake it off.
"What?" Vincent looks down at me. "Did you say something?"
"No. Nothing. Are they struggling with their battle?"
"Nope. I was confident. It wasn't a haphazard monster. Just a warhog who ended up nearby. They get drawn by the harvest too after all." Vincent is calm. "And Lyrie will make sure they handle it." He flinches. "And you'll heal them when they return."
"I will." Not like they're likely to have serious injuries, but a warhog has tusks that it'll use.
"They won't join us on the Cleaver hunt. I'll pick a proper group."
"William will keep me safe. If he can't join, I'll need an even stronger mage."
"He defaults to watching you, so no one would deny that." Vincent glances to where William is reading a book. He's not right on top of me. He's just in my view. "He's working as your tracer. A direct guard and safety piece that no one else can counter."
I think over the idea. There are definitely people who can counter, but I'd call that rare. And if I control the area we're at, I don't see how William can't save my problems. The only issue is when he can access me or pull me out. Al managed that. I was safe though. "A rarity, but there are those who can."
"And I'd suggest those people should join me for a dragon hunt." Vincent moves closer to where the group was. Lyrie drops next to him first. Then I see Daniel and Ryan walk in with blood on them. "Is it more of your blood or its blood?"
"Ha. Lyrie killed it before it got away." Daniel scoffs. "I really suck. I can't believe I qualify as knight at all."
"White knights really don't have much expectation. You're comparable." Vincent lifts Ryan up. I notice the pulse of red on his leg. The slash of cloth. "Let's heal them in a tent. I have a cot in mine."
That's my job. I can heal. It also means I can work as a decent support for any team now. Healers aren't expected in the midsts of battle. I can lead from the back and heal as needed. I should focus on magic that helps as a support. Teleportation and healing are a great start.