26 The Queen's Journey, pt. 6

Jin rubbed along his pants, just a day after one of the weirdest, but greatest experiences he'd ever had.

Theresa was flashing him a knowing smile the whole time, while Decena kept one eyebrow firmly up during this silent exchange.

Though, with just a day left till they reached Nova, the atmosphere in the cart had turned strange.

Anxious, but desperate.

Ker'Tallen wouldn't stop tapping a finger against his thigh. Mariana had her head leaned almost falling out the vehicle entirely, as if she was waiting for the first sign of civilization to appear.

Even Theresa looked somewhat relieved.

This long journey was finally coming to an end.

"What will you do when you arrive?" Ker'Tallen asked Decena, who sat next to him in front of Jin.

"… There are some people I want to see. But I don't know that they feel the same." Decena sighed.

"Well, in the event that they don't, I'll be there with a cup full of black whiskey to help you out." Theresa added from Decena's left.

"Where will we go?" A shy voice spoke up beside Jin, one he wasn't used to hearing.

"Hm? It's hard to say." Theresa replied, rubbing her chin. "If what the queen has in mind is what I predict, then I imagine Jin's living arrangements will be settled quickly. So will Ker'Tallen's, but yours and Decena's… I cannot say."

The cinnamon-skinned girl hunched over slightly, when she heard those words.

"But," Theresa continued, "I wouldn't mind letting you stay with me for a time."

Mariana propped her head up with the widest smile Jin had seen on her face.

"Es verdad?" She asked, in her native tongue.

"Si, no te miento." Theresa replied, albeit with a forced accent. Mariana looked like she was close to crying. "What about you though, Decena?"

"If all goes well… I don't think I'll need a place to stay." Decena left it at that.

Outside, the climate grew warmer by the second.

We're almost there. Jin thought. He held back the urge to laugh. I can't believe it. We survived. The Griffins, those, what was it? Necromancers. The monster Decena fought. We actually made it out.

Tightening his arm, he felt how his body had changed over time. He'd gotten stronger.

Not just physically, but the last time he trained, Ker'Tallen had noted that it was harder to keep up with him.

He was improving.

If Elizabeth were here, she'd be breaking my ribs with a hug right now. He laughed internally.

"Once we go through this mountain pass, it's a straight shot to Nova." Theresa said.

Jin looked outside and saw how the road elevated into a cliff-like mountain side. In fact, it looked pretty dangerous. For a split second, he wondered whether the two carts were even small enough to fit.

But the view in front of the cliff took all his attention away from the precarious road.

There were structures in the distance, much larger than any he'd seen, grey and regal in a manner he couldn't have dreamed of with small bundles of mist-like clouds hugging its edges.

"Wow…" He couldn't stop himself. Mariana, noting his surprise, looked out as well. Her eyes went wide with a clear glimmer of amazement.

"Ah, yes." Theresa said, as Ker'Tallen went to share the same sight. "That, my friends, is Nova. The capital of Nova Kingdom. The end of our journey." She brushed her silky blonde hair off her shoulders and smiled at her allies.

Just as Jin was beginning to relax into his seat, almost wanting to close his eyes as to allow the remainder of their trip to float by, something hit the cart.

The cart only shook slightly, not terribly affected by the sudden projectile, but it was enough to silence everyone inside.

Another impact, but this time, an arrowhead found itself inches away from Jin's head.

With everyone's eyes fixed on the intruding object, Theresa quickly got off her bench and hung by her right hand, leaning outside, only to pull back instantly as an arrow flew by her head.

"You're kidding." Decena muttered, as she went to do the same. "Griffins!" She called out.

It was like being woken up from a pleasant dream. Jin's hands shook as they had so many times over the past several weeks, and he went to lean outside as well, but Decena held them back.

"What are we going to do?" Jin asked.

"How many of them are there?" Ker'Tallen asked.

"Que está pasando?" Mariana whispered.

Not answering any of their questions, Theresa grabbed the cart's side, and hung out once more.

"I'm going to go warn the queen!" Jin tilted his head in confusion.

Looking outside, Jin noticed how the road grew thinner, and thinner, until eventually, the carts wheels were just a few feet away from falling off the edge and onto a forest beneath the road.

How are you going to do that? We're moving! He wanted to ask, but Theresa didn't give him the chance.

She lifted herself into a twirl, landing above the cart with a thud.

Disregarding his own safety, Jin walked out and leaned to see her.

She was crouched above the carriage, her eyes set on the queen's cart ahead, connected to their own cart by a few combinations of rope and metal.

Arrows were flying in their direction, but with the caravan beginning to curve as it drove along the mountainside, they started to miss.

Taking that opportunity, Theresa started to walk on top the carriage, in the queen's direction.

Every step she took made Jin clench his jaw.

Eventually, she ended up at the edge of their cart, and just a few feet away from the queen's.

She jumped.

Jin wanted to yell out, to tell her to stop, but she was in midair.

And, with a calm fluidity, she landed on the queen's side.

Relief swept Jin like a cold wind as he saw her knock on the queen's cart.

Decena pulled him back in before he saw her enter though.

"We have to do something."

"W-What!? How?" Jin asked.

"Your bow, where is it?" Decena asked.

Things clicked into place, and Jin quickly looked for his bag, crunched into a corner along with the others.

He walked towards it, shaking and moving side to side as the carriage's rhythm became chaotic.

Underneath his sword and his dagger, he found it.

"Shoot them!" Decena urged, she didn't need to tell him twice. Though, a small logistical problem presented itself. If Jin tried to lean out without holding anything, he'd fall into the precipice resting beside them.

"But, how am I going to see them?" He gestured to his right, and Decena seemed to comprehend.

"I'll hold you, Ker'Tallen, help!"

With a nod, the reptilian stood and grabbed onto a part of Jin's shirt. Decena grabbed onto the other side and gave him an encouraging nod.

Surprisingly, a small hand clasped itself onto the back of Jin's belt. He looked down and saw Mariana's desperate eyes looking back at him.

Breathing in deep, he readied an arrow and let his momentum fall onto the open air. As they said they would, his companions held him back, keeping him from falling even as the cart itself rumbled and tried to throw them off with him.

However, now that he could see the enemy forces, the last thing on his mind was retaliation.

Several black carts, almost a dozen, each one decked out with spikes and a strange golden sigil, were staring back at him.

To the sides, beastmen carried their own bows, launching them at Jin as soon as they saw him.

Even as they attacked, Jin couldn't respond, for he had seen something far more shocking.

Leading them, standing next to their front chauffeur, was a wolfman larger than anyone else he'd seen.

He had to have been eight feet tall, and his black-coated arms were as thick as tree trunks. A scar ran down the side of his face, passing next to a single, determined red eye.

The visage shook Jin to his core.

"What are you waiting for!?" Decena yelled. He shook his head and tried to steel his nerves.

One second later, he held an arrow pointed at the wolfman leading the black vehicles.

Letting it go, the wolfman smiled as the arrow flew wildly, missing its mark.

Jin scolded himself. As an arrow flew by his head, followed by several others, he understood he had to make every second count.

Especially as these enemies were getting closer.

The sun shined on his face, warming his cheek as he let another arrow fly.

Again, he missed, but this time, the arrow got closer.

Confidence began to find its way into Jin's heart, and with that small victory, he locked onto the frontmost cart.

Before he could shoot again though, an enemy arrow went in his left hand, which he was holding out in front of his head.

Crying out in pain, he reflexively let his bow go, dropping it and watching it disappear quickly as the cart moved forwards.

"Shit, shit!" He cried as the others pulled him back in.

"Theresa isn't here to help right now." Decena noted to herself. Immediately, she snapped the arrow in half, and grabbed it by the arrowhead. "Sorry." She said, before sliding it out of Jin's hand.

It was the most painful thing that had ever happened to him.

He screamed, a sound that was muffled by the caravan's growing speed.

With the arrow out of him, he held back tears.

An orange spark flew by their cart, and Jin heard what sounded like an explosion to the back, away from them.

Distracted, he looked back outside, first to the enemies. One cart had fallen off the cliff side, burnt into a crisp.

He looked over to the queen's cart, and saw Theresa holding her arm out, extended in the Griffin's direction.

When Jin understood what she had done, an idea appeared in his mind.

He looked back at the Griffins, noting that they had about six horses leading the first cart, where that monster of a man stood, taunting him.

Jin reared his uninjured, right hand back, and pushed it forward, releasing a [Fireball].

The only part of Jin's faculties that hadn't improved on this journey, was his magic. Regardless, he didn't need to kill the horses, just annoy them.

He missed, but he reared his hand back and tried once more.

Each [Fireball] cost around 30M, Jin had 120M in total. Having launched two already, he was at 60M.

And he felt it, as his muscles grew sore, like he'd been exercising this entire time.

Still, he had to try again. Theresa was still casting spells, but they needed her to be at full force should this fight continue past the mountainside.

So, aiming his hand at one of the front horses, Jin squinted and breathed in deep.

He pulled back, let another [Fireball] go, and hoped for the best.

And it worked, as he heard a horse neigh painfully.

Looking up, he saw how, although he hadn't seriously injured the animal, it did force the enemy caravan to slow down.

Just in time seemingly, as they were starting to pull out of the mountainside.

Green replaced the warm cream-colored dirt, and from here, all Jin could see ahead was tall grass, and the object of their mission waiting patiently.

No forest, no oasis, no lakes. Just plains and Nova.

As the caravan began to speed up, Jin felt like they had already won.

The closer they'd get to the capital, the closer they'd get to potential help, he understood.

But, just as he began getting his hopes up, once again, something happened to bring his thoughts back down to reality.

A metallic-like screeching rang out ahead.

In front of the caravan, on the plains they were headed for, several blue vortex-like entities appeared out of nowhere.

Jin saw Decena silently gasp, immediately, he understood what was happening.

"Impossible…" He muttered.

It had to have been a joke.

But sure enough, several large forms started taking shape.