Chapter 48

Before they left the cave, Daya offered Rhobart and Ayla fruits for the rest of the journey.

"Rhobart, remember the blessing I gave you thirteen years ago!" Daya yelled after the King. "And if you encounter a lonely snow elf in your journey, send him to me! I already feel lonely with you two leaving me."

When Kerra hissed, Daya laughed, "Three, not two! And Rhobart, kiss her already!"

Ayla couldn't stop herself from giggling when Rhobart groaned.

The King and the princess traveled all morning, getting closer to the Hammer clan with each step.

Hours later, the King looked at some trees and frowned.

"We will take a shortcut to get to the Hammer Clan faster," Rhobart said, looking at Ayla.

"Alright. But I hope it is not dangerous," she said and laughed.

"It's a path between two mountains. Normally it is not dangerous, but sometimes goblins will try to attack travelers who are foolish enough to get close to their cave."

Goblins were small humanoid creatures with green, leathery skin that offered some protection against weather and weapons. They were very agile and preferred to live in warm caves, close to roads.

Goblins were cunning and intelligent enough to rob lonely travelers of their food and horses. Equipped with clubs and sometimes old armor, they surrounded their victims and overwhelmed them by attacking from all sides at once.

It was late afternoon when they finally made it to the passing. The mountains were very tall and very close, and the passing wasn't very large.

"There's a little camp further down the passing. We will stop there for the night," Rhobart said once they entered the passing.

They walked for a while down the passing before Ayla thought she heard some women screaming.

"Rhobart? Do you hear that?" Ayla asked while looking around.

"I'zoratxu!"

"Rhobart?"

The King unsheathed his sword and looked up while guiding Runner to walk slower.

A loud screech made Ayla look up, and to her horror, she saw three harpies flying above them.

"Take your dagger out, Ayla. I will try to kill them as fast as possible, but in case one attacks you, use that dagger as I showed you," Rhobart said.

The harpies attacked Rhobart at the same time, using their strong legs that had sharp talons.

Kerra hissed as she prepared to attack the harpies.

Rhobart let go of the reins while he attacked the harpies.

A harpy moved behind Rhobart, and Kerra jumped, knocking her to the ground. Before the harpy had a chance to react, the snowcat ripped open the throat of the creature.

Rhobart attacked the remaining harpies with his sword, but they flew away fast. The King prepared for a new attack as the harpies launched at him faster than before. One of them got close enough to cut deep into Rhobart's right shoulder. Warm blood ran down his chest.

"Rhobart!" Ayla screamed, but Rhobart didn't look at her.

Before the harpy could fly away, Rhobart caught one of her legs with his left hand and buried his sword to the hilt in her chest. The creature screamed while she flapped her wings once, then twice.

As Rhobart threw her body to the ground, the remaining harpy attacked him. Kerra jumped, but the harpy got away.

The King moved his sword to his left hand as he looked at the harpy. But to his horror, the creature launched for Ayla.

"Ayla! Look out!"

Ayla's hand shook hard as she lifted the dagger in the air to defend herself. But before the harpy could get close enough, Spirit turned around fast, almost throwing Ayla out of the saddle in the process, and hit the harpy in the chest with his back legs. Ayla heard a loud crack and, moments later, another.

Spirit turned again, and Ayla saw that the harpy was lying dead next to the base of one of the mountains.

Then she looked at Rhobart. He had his left hand on top of his wound.

"Rhobart! You are hurt!"

"I am fine. We need to get to the camp!" Rhobart said.

"But–"

"We need to get to the camp and build a fire. Then I can tend to my wound. We are close anyway."

Ayla knew that once Rhobart made a decision, he stuck to it.

"Fine! But we need to hurry. You are bleeding a lot," she said.

It took another five long minutes to get to the camp. All this time, Rhobart became quieter and quieter. Ayla talked to him the entire time to make sure he didn't fall asleep.

"When I was seven," Ayla started talking, "I remember my father invited another King and his son to come to our castle. My mother dressed me in this beautiful white dress, but I forgot about the visit, and I went to catch dragonflies. When I returned, my dress was dirty, and my hair were a mess. My father was so mad, and I hid behind my mother. And then the son of that King laughed and said that I was the most filthy princess he had ever seen. Do you know what I did that night during dinner?"

"What did you do?" Rhobart asked in a voice so low it scared Ayla.

"I took my slingshot out and threw my food at him with it. It got all over his hair and tunic."

Rhobart chuckled, "Sounds like something you would do. What happened next?"

"My father was livid," Ayla said, "but it was worth it. You should have seen the prince's expression–"

Ayla tried to remember the prince's face or name, but she couldn't. She felt a sharp pain, and when she stopped thinking about it, the pain stopped.

"That's strange," Ayla said. "I can't remember him or his father."

"Tell me something else," Rhobart said.

When Runner stepped over a rock, Rhobart grunted.

"I like to read fairytales where Paladins rescue princess," Ayla said fast, hoping to distract Rhobart from the pain, "but I like to imagine that I am the Paladin that rescues the princess."

"Why?"

'Because no one came to save me. So I imagine being the one to save the ones that needed help,' she thought.

Before Ayla could think of an answer, Rhobart pointed with his left hand, which was all covered in blood, to the passing. Ayla looked to where Rhobart pointed and saw that at one point, the passing turned wider, and a little camp was next to one of the mountains.

When they got close to the camp, a band of seven goblins came running towards Runner.

"Getaway, Ayla," Rhobart said before falling from the horse.