Tales Across the MultiBurst

A King's Ransom, Part 2

In which our merry band is attacked by a group of bandits and they save a noble on their way to the God's Mountain.

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It had been a few days, but the group had made incredible progress along the winding trails. During the day they traveled along the route the knight had marked for them and at night they set up camp and rested, all the while receiving updates from the soldiers sent to investigate the neighboring kingdoms. So far they had only discovered that the kingdom ruled by King Joshua was innocent.

It was a peaceful quest, so far.

At present, they were traveling along a beautiful road that passed by a big, glistening lake with dozens of flowers dotting the grass. A gentle breeze blew past every once in a while, always smelling fragrant like flowers.

Shu marveled at the brilliance of the sight, eyes slightly wide with wonder. "Wow... There's so much of Beigoma I've never seen..."

"Same here." Valt chimed, calling his friend's attention. "I'm glad I get to see it with you guys." The corners of the snow elf's mouth turned up into a smile and he nodded once, a silent agreement. "And after we save our parents, we can explore even more of the kingdom!" The Prince cheered.

"Yeah." Shu replied.

"That sounds fun." Kensuke added.

"And hey, maybe you can even show us your kingdom, Shu!" Rantaro said. "I'd love to see the mountains someday."

The snow elf's eyes lit up and he smiled widely. "I would like that... I would like that a lot." His gaze fell, and Shu found himself getting lost in thought. "The temple, the throne room, my home... I could show you it all. Even the ancient mine where my ancestors harvested the crystal used in the crown."

Then the King's smile turned to a frown and he sighed, closing his eyes. The other three exchanged worried glances, but were unsure if they should disrupt Shu's train of thought. They traveled in silence for a bit, then the snow elf's ears suddenly pricked up and he lifted his head.

"Do you guys hear that?"

"... No." Valt admitted.

"You don't hear all those other heartbeats?"

"I don't even hear my own, Shu."

"Oh..." He furrowed his brow, looking around the area. "It... Sounds like it's coming from past the treeline." He murmured.

"GET 'EM!" A voice shouted, startling the group. Burly, rugged looking men and women jumped out of the shadows, surrounding the children on their mounts and brandishing knives and a single, cheap-looking sword. The sword, however, was occupied with keeping a captive in check.

The captive was a boy their age, dressed in a purple, silk tunic with red buttons and matching breeches. He wore a few necklaces stringed with pretty rubies, as well as black gloves with matching boots. He had cream-colored skin, cerulean eyes and long hair that was yellow like the sunlight, tied near the end with a red ribbon. The boy seemed very aggravated with his predicament.

"Well, well, well..." The man- the bandit wielding the sword grinned, revealing yellowed and rotted teeth. "Looks like we struck gold twice in one week. First we manage to nab this noble brat, an' now we get these fancy lookin' kids... We're gonna be rich before the end of the month!"

"Keep dreaming." The noble hissed. "When my father hears about this-"

"He'll pay up, or we'll have yer head on a platter."

"We don't want any trouble..." Valt murmured, looking around nervously.

"Well, it looks like trouble found you, kid!" A woman close by sneered. "Unless you give us those pretties of yours."