Immediately, the Royal Guards threw themselves into action. Two of them rode forward on their horses, almost trampling over the twins, and jumped off right next to Varre. They shielded him with their bodies, hoping that the heavy plate armor would protect their liege in case any projectiles or explosions shot out from the fallen deer.

  They had no idea what kind of magic Elvira sensed, or if it was even hostile in the first place, but they weren’t going to take any risks. They were far too well trained for that.

  Another one of the warriors grabbed the monarch’s empty horse. He led it all the way up to his king and helped Varre clamber on top. Then they rode away towards Hakon. Hopefully, the increased distance would provide more safety.

  The captain was already arranging the remaining guards into a defensive formation. This could have just been a diversion, with the real attack coming from somewhere in the woods. Once the king arrived, he was surrounded from all sides, as one of the warriors blew into his horn.

  This was a signal to the others. Forty additional soldiers had traveled behind the hunters. They stayed a short distance away, since they didn’t want to get in the way of the sport, but they would be here within just a couple of minutes.

  Such a number was a force to be reckoned with. Whatever plans the enemy might have made, getting through half of all of the Royal Guards in Logres would be a challenge. They’d need a small army and even then Varre would have enough time to get away towards safety. It would be a bigger problem if the threat was some kind of monster, but even a massive ogre or giant would struggle with these numbers. They’d need a dragon.

  Already Hakon was running dozens of different scenarios through his mind. For now, ensuring the safety of the monarch was paramount. Especially since the true nature of the enemy was still unknown. They had to stay close and carefully retreat back to Ashbourne. But if the worst came to pass and the soldiers had to be sacrificed to allow their liege to escape? How should they proceed?

  Rodger’s manor was a no go. The structure wasn’t particularly defensible and with only a single gate, it would serve as more of a death trap than a real sanctuary. At least for whatever force was strong enough to wipe out fifty Royal Guards.

  The mansion in Lindridge was better, but even that had its limits. The king would need soldiers to defend it and with his best troops lying dead in the forest, perhaps that wasn’t good enough either. Perhaps he should retreat to New Lindridge, the nearby town, and hope that the local guards would supply additional numbers. Though that settlement lacked proper stone walls. Maybe it was best to flee all the way back to Westbridge immediately. Or at least take refuge in one of the larger cities on the way.

  “Captain? What shall we do?” asked one of the soldiers, finally breaking him out of his thoughts.

  “Hey! Are you listening to me?!” Elvira called out. The Court Mage was standing right next to the fallen deer and was frantically waving towards the defensive formation.

  “What is it?” Hakon replied and rode forward slightly, eager to hear what revelations she had found.

  Before she could explain, the reinforcements arrived, piercing through the dense woods in a thundering stampede. Without wasting any time, they spread out through the area. Their sergeants quickly analyzed the situation and barked out orders to their men, but most were already acting on instinct. Their training had prepared them well.

  Some of guards joined the defensive cordon, ready to sacrifice their lives for their liege. Others took up strategic positions, closing up any openings around the servants and other participants of the hunt, using them as human shields to support the formation. The rest stood around the same side they had arrived from, making sure that any enemy attacks wouldn’t be able to close off the surest way of escape.

  “Hakon!” Elvira yelled out and stomped her foot, “control your gods damned men! Will somebody finally listen to me?!”

  The captain shook his head, as if trying to shake some battle trance out of his mind and quickly approached her. “What is it Court Mage?! Are we under attack or not?!”

  “No!” she gestured wildly, “I told you that the magic signature is passive! It doesn’t do anything!”

  “So we’re not under attack?” Hakon glared at her.

  “No,” she repeated, though some of the certainty had left her angry tone, “at least not right now. I need more time to investigate the magic. But I can’t do it with your brutes stomping around all over the place!” she added, trying to find a new target for her frustration.

  “Stand down men!” the captain yelled, raising his hand as another signal.

  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The dense cordon around Varre might have provided safety, but it was almost suffocating. He quickly abandoned the formation and rode his horse towards the cause of the commotion.

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  He wanted to get away from the guards as fast as possible. He was curious of course. He wanted to know what exactly the mage had found that startled her so much and caused all of this chaos in the first place. Even more so, he simply needed a breath of fresh air, away from his tense guards. His heart beat like a drum and he needed a second to let the adrenaline leave his veins.

  He wasn’t the only one. The dogs were barking like crazy, startled by the sudden influx of dozens of new riders. The servants tried to calm them down, probably fearing some sort of punishment more than any unexpected attackers. They had no idea what exactly was happening here, but they probably couldn’t even imagine anything that could threaten such a large army.

  Etty, not wasting any time, ran up to Varre quickly. She was still on foot, so she had to reach up towards the saddled man. Even then, she could only reach his thigh.

  “Are you alright?” the noblewoman asked.

  The king looked down at her and broke out into a laugh. “What the hell just happened here?” he shook his head in disbelief.

  She laughed back. “I don’t know, but I can see that your men don’t mess around!”

  Finding the conversation awkward from their different height levels, Varre dismounted his horse. Etty immediately came closer and caught him into a hug.

  “That was a little scary, wasn’t it?” she asked as she held him closer.

  “It’s alright now,” he replied, patting her on her back.

  He looked up, curious at what her father would have to say about such a display of affection. Rodger though had far bigger things on his mind than his daughter.

  “Haven’t you done enough, witch?!” he pointed angrily at the Court Mage, “first you spread all this panic,” he gestured at the massive crowd of knights, “and now you won’t even let me finish skinning it properly?! There are rules, you know?!”

  Elvira wasn’t even looking at him. She was kneeling over the carcass, waving her hands above it with hypnotic motions. Already busy inspecting it for more information.

  “I know that someone cast a spell on it,” she replied, keeping her concentration up, “but I’m still not exactly sure what it was. I’m not letting you touch it until I find out for certain.”

  Hakon was kneeling beside her, watching the deer carefully as if he too could spot some hidden trap inside of the animal. Upon hearing her words, he immediately stood back up and started studying the trees, as if trying to detect an ambush coming from the forest.

  “So are we in danger after all?” he asked.

  That was enough to get her to look up. “No! No, it’s… just give me a minute, alright?!” the last thing she needed was to cause another round of panic and stampeding horses.

  The captain squinted slightly, but eventually nodded.

  Rodger wasn’t done though. “The dogs need to be rewarded!” he argued, “as soon as possible. After every hunt we need to skin the deer and give them the organs. They need to feel that they are part of the process and that a nice treat awaits them if they follow their orders. We’re breaking their conditioning.”

  “Hakon, can you please…” Elvira asked, already busy with her investigation again.

  “Lord Rodger,” the captain said, just as eager as her to find out what spell was detected, “I understand your concerns, but we must make sure the carcass is safe before we let you continue. You don’t want us to risk his majesty’s life, do you?”

  The knight grimaced and looked away towards his liege. Fortunately, Varre and Etty had already finished hugging and were coming closer to investigate the situation in person.

  Hakon quickly rushed forward to block their way. “Your majesty, please keep your distance. Until we know exactly what’s going on here, we should leave the mages to their work.”

  “I got it!” Perry yelled out, causing everyone to turn around, “mistress Elvira, it’s the eyes!”

  The Court Mage immediately moved her hands away from the deer’s heart and brought them above the head. The wizards had split their work earlier, with each one focusing their investigation on a different part of the body.

  “You’re right,” Elvira said, “I can feel it now.”

  “It seems to be some kind of seeing spell,” Perry theorized, “could it be transmitting images to another location?”

  “No,” the senior mage dismissed that idea, “it’s passive, like I said. It’s not sending anything out by itself.”

  “Could it be activated remotely?” Jury offered, “the memories could be collected, stored, and retrieved regularly.”

  “It’s possible,” Elvira admitted, “but I don’t think I can investigate that out here, in the field. I need my tools.”

  “So we are safe then? You’re absolutely certain?” Hakon was already looming over her, listening to the entire conversation, as she knelt beside the carcass.

  The Court Mage startled, hearing the voice right next to her ear, but recovered quickly. “Yes, it’s only affecting the eyes. They’re too delicate to implant any explosive spells into them. And too small for that to have any effect anyway,” she finally leaned back.

  Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. Especially Rodger.

  “So I take it I can continue?” he asked.

  Elvira exhaled. “Yes. But leave the head! I need it!”

  “The entire head? You’re sure?” some of the joy dissipated from the lord’s face, “I thought you just needed the eyes.”

  “Just let her have it,” Varre ordered, “there should be enough meat to go around.”

  Rodger frowned, but had to concede the point. He waited for the Court Mage to get up and immediately returned to the carcass, resuming the skinning.

  He probably modified the procedure a little bit. Rather than fully removing the pelt, he focused on the stomach. He cut it open and removed the internal organs, then threw them towards the eager hounds. It broke tradition, but the animals had waited long enough.

  The dogs threw themselves onto the meat and the lord fawned over them for a bit. Then, noticing that everyone was staring at him, he cleared his throat and returned to the cutting process. He quickly finished the skinning and started quartering the deer into smaller pieces. He visibly stopped for a moment before reaching the neck, and then, resigned, started removing it for the wizard’s sake.

  Once the blood finished spurting out of the stump, he passed it out to Elvira. She wrapped the head with some cloth rags and put it into a large sack, tying it to the side of her saddle. One of the servants offered to carry it for her, but she rejected the idea. She wanted to be sure no one tampered with it any more.

  “A little unusual for your first hunt, but I hope you enjoyed it your majesty,” Rodger said, before Etty elbowed him in the side, “Varre! I meant Varre.”

  The king chuckled. “Well, it was certainly eventful. But I suppose we should be heading back. I’m eager to learn more about… whatever it was Elvira found.”

  “I was hoping you’d be more eager about your quarry, but I suppose that’s alright. I’m curious too,” the lord admitted.

  They're well trained and willing to immediately rush in to defend Varre.

  I wonder what theories you guys will have!