TGS - Chapter 47
Chapter 47: Mountain Bandits
The terrain of Solancia was varied. One moment, they were enjoying the expansive river views from a cargo ship; the next, they were met with rugged mountains. The leisurely days of boat travel were finally over.
At present, the caravan was making its way around the mountains, with cavalry guards flanking the front and rear of the convoy in a long line. Once they passed this mountain range, they would reach the next major city.
Lotus sat by the small window of the carriage, her chin resting in one hand as she gazed absently outside.
There were few forms of entertainment in this era. Without modern electronic devices, all one could do when bored was stare into space. At times like these, she particularly missed her phone and the internet.
Suddenly, a light tap sounded on the carriage window. Through the latticed carvings, the Princess, mounted on her horse, leaned in and asked, "My watch is over. You seem a bit bored. Would you like to come out for a bit?"
Lotus shook her head.
Alyuin said, "Alright. I'll go hand over to the next watch, then come back and play a game of chess with you."
The Princess guided her horse out of Lotus's sight to hand over her duties to the next guard on watch.
A short while later, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Alyuin slipped nimbly inside, bringing with her the warmth of the sun.
She retrieved a game board and a small box filled with pieces from a hidden compartment in the carriage.
This board game, called Seshat Chess, was a form of entertainment unique to Solancia. It could be played by two or four people.
All the pieces were shaped like the heads of various beasts. On the board, they captured one another, and the first player unable to defend their "nest" lost the game.
Lotus chose the white pieces, and Alyuin took the black.
The two began to chat idly as they played.
"By my calculations, we should reach Wash the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, and if we make better time, we should be able to arrive before dusk tomorrow."
"Do you still plan to proceed as before?"
"No. Motis and the others have had no dealings with the lord of this city, so we don't know what kind of person he is." Alyuin knit her brows in thought for a moment before placing a deer-headed piece onto an empty space on the board.
Lotus nodded. Two long, slender fingers of her right hand held an eagle-headed piece carved from white jade, which she moved back and forth slightly, as if uncertain of her next move.
Her left hand rested on the edge of the board in a relaxed, natural posture. A red-gold bracelet encircled her fine, pale wrist, exuding an indescribable air of noble elegance and a subtle sense of confinement.
Alyuin lowered her gaze as if studying the board, but her eyes had long since drifted to that hand.
It was her turn to move again. The Princess twirled a piece between her fingers and asked casually, "I just noticed, it looks like there's something engraved on your bracelet. Is it writing?"
Lotus paused, subconsciously twisting the bracelet. The elegant letters on its surface made a full circle with the motion, the final stroke sweeping upward like a slowly unfurling wing.
"Yes, it's my name."
The Princess let out a soft "ah." "Is it the script of the gods?"
"Not quite. It's from a distant land," Lotus said with a small smile.
Alyuin said, "...I see."
She carefully observed Lotus's expression, which held a kind of distant nostalgia that felt untouchable, as if it belonged to a world high above.
"You must be very fond of that land. The script is beautiful. May I learn it?"
Lotus gestured toward the board. "After we finish this game."
"Alright. If I lose, you'll teach me. If I win, I'll learn from you. How does that sound?"
"Very well."
Seeing no difference between the outcomes of winning or losing, Lotus chuckled and refocused her attention on the game.
Just as the pieces were spread across the board, each side having claimed a large territory, Alyuin was about to place her next piece when the tips of her ears twitched. She shot to her feet, pulling Lotus behind her.
With a faint whistle of air being split, a sharp arrow slammed into the exterior of the carriage. The force was so great that the tip wedged itself deep into the wooden plank, its cold point glinting faintly.
Less than a second later, a pained whinny came from the front. The horse pulling the carriage had been struck by an arrow. It shrieked in agony and bolted forward as if mad.
The Royal Guard driving the carriage shouted, "Your Highness! The horse has been hit! It's out of control!"
They were traveling alongside the mountain. The attack was sudden, and chaos erupted around them. With the horse charging wildly, the carriage was in danger of overturning, either from excessive speed or from crashing into the mountainside. If that happened, they would be severely injured, if not killed.
If Alyuin had been alone in the carriage, she would have jumped out immediately. But the goddess was right beside her—
Alyuin made an instant decision. "Cut the harness!"
Before the words had left her mouth, she was at the carriage door like a flash of lightning. Without hesitation, she drew her longsword and began hacking at the harness on one side.
The Royal Guard reacted, swinging his own sword at the harness on the other side. These were battlefield weapons, sharp enough to cleave through enemy armor; the ropes snapped after only a few blows.
Freed from its heavy load, the horse gave a long neigh and suddenly accelerated, charging headlong into the nearby woods and vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
The carriage slid forward on its momentum for some distance before swaying to a halt.
Just as Lotus started to rise, the Princess said quickly, "Stay in the carriage. I'll be right back."
With that, Alyuin leaped from the carriage.
Outside, a melee had already erupted. The Royal Guard cavalry was engaged with a group of bandits.
Most of the attackers were also mounted, clad in non-uniform leather armor and wielding long blades with vicious ferocity. They were clearly formidable opponents.
Her gaze swept the area, spotting arrows flying from the woods. One of the Royal Guards, caught unawares, took an arrow in the back and fell wounded from his horse. The bandit he was fighting laughed aloud at the sight and moved in without mercy to deliver the final blow.
Alyuin's eyes instantly turned cold.
Seeing that the Princess had disembarked from the carriage, the volley of arrows paused for a moment, only to be followed by an even denser shower aimed directly at Alyuin.
Alyuin swung her longsword, deflecting the volley. Other guards quickly rallied to her side, forming a protective circle and cutting down any enemy who dared approach the Princess.
Seizing the opportunity, Alyuin unslung her longbow and fired a swift arrow into the woods.
A short scream answered the shot, followed by a commotion in the woods. Alyuin's expression didn't change as she slightly adjusted her aim, drew her bowstring, and nocked another arrow.
It was an unavoidable melody, like the music of death itself.
When no more arrows flew from the woods, Alyuin set down her bow, took up her longsword, and began to carve a path through her enemies.
The bandits were, after all, just bandits. Despite their superior numbers, they were no match for cavalrymen seasoned by years of fighting foreign tribes on the battlefield.
Moreover, the Princess herself was on the field—a woman who had once held the border in check by her own might. How could she possibly fall to a disorganized mob?
Seeing his forces dwindling, the bandit leader grit his teeth. "Retreat!"
He was the first to wheel his horse around, galloping toward the woods on the other side.
This was their territory. The bandit leader knew just how complex the terrain was. If they could just make it into the forest, their pursuers would never be able to hunt them down, no matter how strong they were.
The moment he plunged into the woods, the bandit leader felt a wave of relief.
But it was short-lived. His eyes flew wide.
An arrow pierced his back and exited through his chest, precisely striking the heart that was pounding from the fierce fight.
"Cough... urgh..."
Before he could even raise a hand, the bandit leader collapsed to the ground in unwilling defeat.
Alyuin watched the few scattered bandits flee, loosing arrows at an unhurried pace. As their backs vanished into the trees, she let out a sharp whistle.
Two golden eagles landed beside her.
"Go. Make no sound. See where they run," Alyuin commanded, her voice chilling.
The sister eagles took flight at her command, following the fleeing bandits from a great distance.
Lena asked, "Your Highness, are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine," Alyuin replied. "Tally the casualties."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Motis, search the bodies."
The captain of the Royal Guard understood and led his men to the bandits' corpses.
Once everything was arranged, the cold, stern expression on Alyuin's face softened, replaced in an instant by urgent concern.
The Princess rushed back to the carriage, asking worriedly through the window, "Are you alright?"
Lotus didn't answer.
Her eyes were vacant, and perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but her face seemed a shade paler.
Alyuin's heart clenched. "Lotus?"
The next moment, Lotus snapped back to herself, and awareness returned to her frost-blue eyes.
"I'm fine," she said with a nonchalant smile.
"Are you sure? But just now—"
"I am a goddess, after all," Lotus said with a hint of resignation. "They're waiting for you. Go and see to things."
Alyuin's brow furrowed slightly. "You can tell me, you know," she said in a low voice.
Lotus was silent.
The Princess gazed at her expression, as if trying to read something there. After about three seconds, Alyuin straightened up and walked over to the Royal Guard, who were still searching the bandits' bodies, and the shaken members of the caravan.
Lotus watched the Princess's retreating back, then leaned against the cushions and took a long, slow breath.
She raised a hand to her temple, feeling a faint, throbbing ache linger from moments before.
Earlier, when she saw the arrows flying toward Alyuin, Lotus had acted instinctively. She had condensed water into a cord, intending to wrap it around the archer's throat.
But just as the cord of water began to tighten, a sudden wave of heart palpitations washed over her. A sharp pain lanced through her temples, and she lost control of the water, which dissipated in an instant.
For a moment, Lotus thought the world had frozen.
All sound and movement seemed to freeze, then proceed in slow motion. Only when Alyuin appeared before her and called her name did reality, in Lotus's perception, return to its normal pace.
Lotus was bewildered.
She hadn't been trying to do anything drastic. While taking a human life was no small matter, for a being of her status, erasing a common mortal—a roadside bandit—should have been effortless.
But the reality was that some kind of force had stopped her.
That thing—whatever it was—was preventing a god from killing a mortal. And it had succeeded.
What could override a god? Was it a rule? Some other, similar consciousness? Or perhaps the inherent mechanics of mythology itself?
For now, Lotus could draw no conclusion. She twisted the bracelet on her wrist, filing the questions away in her mind.
The search of the bandits' bodies yielded no useful information.
They carried no special markings, their ages varied, and their clothing was a motley collection. They appeared to be nothing more than a common band of mountain bandits hoping to score a windfall from a passing caravan.
But what ordinary bandits would have the audacity to attack a caravan protected by so many cavalrymen? And why would they specifically target the Princess?
Alyuin stood beside the body of the bandit leader, lost in thought.
Her gaze happened to fall upon her Snowtu Flower amulet, which had been spattered with blood. She paused, then took out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped it clean.
Then, the Princess lifted her molten-gold eyes and gazed at the mountainside before them.
Beyond this mountain lay Wash City.
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