The prince didn't like the silence. It was unnatural and it made his stomach do loops. He didn't know what was going on, he didn't know if his knights were even still alive. It was a good thing that he didn't see anyone running from the trees ahead of them. They were in a small clearing, the path cutting it in half. He had taken his sword up in his hand when the twins disappeared into the trees earlier and now he gripped it with such force that his hands shook and his knuckles where white. His amber colored eyes scanned the forest for any sign of life and he caught the faint outline of something a few shades darker than the surrounding blackness. It moved before standing still.

His heart began to race and his hands shook. What had he been taught to do during a situation like this? He had no time to think as an arrow flew by his face, the feathers scratched his cheek during their passing. Triver's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. It was like his vocal cords refused to work. The prince knew that if he stayed still any longer the marksman would get a direct hit. Then suddenly the prince was flying through the air. The horse under him reared up, an arrow sticking from its chest. 

He had hit the ground harder than he had expected. The wind was knocked from his lungs and he gasped for air. Triver rolled onto his belly, nose down in the dirt, trying to catch his breath when something landed close to him. It was an arrow and it had been dangerously close to the prince. 

"Come." Ser'deni gripped Triver's hands and pulled him into a crouching position. There was a bit of blood on her face and he looked back to see that her horse had fallen as well. Her priority was the safety of the prince. The man would run out of arrows soon enough and then he would be easy pickings, or so she thought. The final arrow landed a few inches into Triver's side and the man fell to the ground. He let out a cry of pain before twisting to clutch his side.  

The shadowy marksman grinned from his spot. "Got him." They would be easier to rob now, the woman didn't look quite strong and he doubted that the man would be able to fight. His poison dipped arrows always won. The poison was imported from the north and it was highly prized due to its paralytic effects. He disliked seeing his prey die so easily. Their struggle was what made his heart race with excitement, robbing them was only an added bonus. He slipped his bow over one shoulder before drawing his dagger; perhaps he could have a little bit of fun with the woman before he killed her. Her companions were as good as dead; there was no one else to help her. 

Ser'deni gripped the arrow as close to Triver's body as she could before pulling it out. She clamped her hands over his wound as the blood began to trickle through her fingers. Triver groaned and tried to wriggle away from her hands but his body felt sluggish and tired. "You better not die on me, brat." Ser'deni hissed at the prince as she began to heal him. She couldn't take the effects of whatever poison had been on the arrowhead but she could control his bleeding. 

The bandit’s grin grew wider as he approached the woman from behind; he smelled the winged beast before he seen it. The smell of rotting flesh made him gag. The winged beast circled overhead, giving warning caws before diving down. The man had narrowly missed the sharp claws of the putrid beast. There was blood mixed with dirt in his mouth as he scrambled away from the bird. It dove again; this time its talons embedded themselves in the soft flesh of his upper arm. He screamed in pain as the bird began to rise higher into the air. Whatever this best was, it was certainly stronger than he had initially thought. 

This bought her some time to focus all of her energy on the prince and his wound. Her brow furrowed as the flow of blood grew less and less but by no means was the woman able to heal him entirely and the poison was still in his system. Her birds wouldn't last much longer; she lacked stamina when splitting her magic into two very different areas. Rean was the best mage of the king to utilize two or more forms of magic at a time without tiring as easily as the others. No doubt the other mages would be on the hunt for Inaris as well. 

With the blood stopped, Triver let out a small sound that she took as a thank you. The vulture was still having its way with the man - dropping him from various heights before picking him up again and repeating the process. The birds were far smarter than most realized, she simply controlled them on tight leashes but given enough space to do as they pleased they showed their true worth. When Ser'deni was unable to keep the contract open with the vulture, it simply faded into a white light. The broken body of the man lay in the middle of the path. He was still alive but badly injured. 

The woman rolled Triver onto his back before smoothing his hair away from his forehead. She still had no idea where the twins were. They needed to take Triver to a healer as soon as possible; there was no way she could do much more on her own to help him and if one of the twins was also injured then she couldn't help them either. "Daryn! Daelyn!" The mage shouted as she tried her best to move Triver to a safer spot. Her movements were sluggish and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. 

Triver stirred a little bit. "He...y." He tried his best to grip the woman's hand but with the poison in his system his grip was weak. Triver was tired but he knew that he couldn't go to sleep.