Warnings: None
~Preston's P.O.V.~
I hold my breath in anticipation as the distance between us and the two strangers closes rapidly. I find myself having to fight more than ever to keep my heat down. And this time, it's not because of the fact that I'm sitting in the middle of a massive body of water. As Rob rows us closer and closer, the other four tailing closely behind, I crane my neck to look over his shoulder. Now we're close enough that I can see the features of the strangers. And apparently Rob can too, because he gasps quietly, his muscles tensing. One of them has jet black hair that creates a fringe that sweep over his emerald green eyes. He also has two small, black, ring-like lip piercings on one side of his mouth. The other has blond hair, similar to Lachlan's, but a little shorter. His eyes are a rich brown. Both wear no armour, and both have a small black tattoo that looks like an evoker under their right eyes.
"It's Jasper and Xenos..." Rob whispers in alarm, eyes widening.
"It's who?"
"Jasper and Xenos." He repeats "They're two of the only six mages in our kingdom, and even the entire world as far as anyone knows. Seto is the strongest of the six, and he's the ruler. The other five lead our fleets into battle, and they're all super strong and cunning. Jasper and Xenos are two of those five."
"Of course it is. Because it couldn't just be two random people crossing the ocean. It just had to be two of the most dangerous people in your kingdom." I comment sarcastically.
"Shh, here they come." Rob hushes.
"Robert! Long time no see." The black haired dude greets, waving his hand in greeting.
Jasper and Xenos come to a stop about seven blocks away from the six of us, boats rising and falling steadily on the small waves. I subconsciously reach for my bow, lying beside me in the boat. But Xenos catches me almost instantly.
"We mean you no harm." He speaks, seemingly addressing everyone but letting his gaze flick over to me. "Seto, ruler of the Spell kingdom, has sent us to escort you to him, under orders we bring no harm to you, of course."
"Ha as if-"
"Let me do the talking, Lachlan." Rob cuts in, silencing him with a stare before turning back to the blond one-Xenos I think. "Prove it. How do we know you're not just going to turn on us and kill us out here-when no one is around to watch you?"
He believes the part about this Seto guy sending them to escort us? I trust Rob's judgment, but if he knew we were coming to try and take his kingdom from him, you'd think he'd try to stop us... Not bring us right in.
"If we wanted to attack you, we would have already done it." Jasper states without skipping a beat. "We're at an advantage here, even if were outnumbered three to one. We have magic, you don't. And our magic surpasses and old bow or other long range weapons you could hope to use."
"And not to mention you couldn't risk fighting and maneuvering around because of him." Xenos points out, nodding towards me.
Anger swells up inside me as Xenos smirks. "Hey-"
"Calm down Preston." Vikk murmurs from beside me, "He's trying to agitate you on purpose."
"Aren't you a smart one?" Xenos chuckles, staring at Vikk. "Aren't you that famous assassin? Vikk was it?"
"Ex-assassin." Vikk corrects with a frown.
"Sure. Anyways, enough chit chat. Seto is waiting, so follow us." Xenos announces.
And with that they turn, and start paddling away back in the direction they came. Rob hesitates for a moment, before quickly following them. Behind us I can hear the splash of oars to water as Jerome, Mitch, Vikk, and Lachlan follow. I frown, watching Jasper and Xenos carefully as they proceed without a glance back.
"I don't trust them." I mumble.
Rob shifts slightly, "Neither do I. But Seto is pretty chill, and I don't have trouble believing he actually wants to see us. So because of that, we might as well do what they say."
~~~
"Here we are." Jasper announces as he and Xenos stop before two large doors constructed of purpur blocks. Two end crystals flank the door, spinning and floating as the two cubes constantly twist and turn.
"Now go on, Seto's waiting." Xenos ushers.
With that they push open the doors, admitting us to the throne room. As soon as all six of us pass, the doors close with a loud thump, and I can hear the faint patter of feet scurrying away.
The room we stand in is grand like all the other throne rooms we've witnessed, just as elegantly and fancily decorated as the others. Around the room, bookcases line the walls, filled to the brim with books of all different sizes and colours. Off in the corner of a room, an enchantment table sits with surrounding by bookshelves, small little white symbols travelling from the books to the enchantment table. Near that area a cauldron sits, as well as shelves full of a variety of potions. Some of them I don't recognize. Like a weird completely black one, and a light pink one, with hints of red showing through. And finally, on top a throne made of precious blocks, sits who I can only assume is Seto. As we slowly approach, he stands, giving me a better view of his features.
He wears clothing with different shades of grey in it, and a belt allows strips of white fabric dangle down at the front, back, and sides of his legs. The centre of the fabric is maroon, so much so that the white is more of a border than anything. A necklace hangs from his neck, the same maroon as before in the shape of a creepers face. Warm hazel eyes, soft brown hair, and a white crown like band are visible peeking out from under a purple and dark grey hood. The hood is connected to a cloak that drapes down over his shoulders, just sweeping over the ground but not quite dragging. On his hands he bears shiny metal gauntlets, and metal also appears on two modest shoulder pads as well as different clasps on his belt. He looks young, perhaps a little bit younger than Lachlan who is the youngest of all six of us, and isn't very tall. Maybe around Vikk's height. But he's clearly lean and fit, and carries himself in a dignified way.
"Welcome, I've been expecting you." Seto greets. "Though I had hoped it would've been on better terms."
"Thank you." Rob states. "But... With all due respect, why didn't you try to stop us? You know why we're here... So I don't quite understand..."
"It's simple, really. As crazy as it seems, I'm actually getting a bit bored of ruling. Too much pressure, y'know? So by having you here, one of two things will happen. Either you will gain ownership of the kingdom, giving me much needed relief, or, if I win, you'll have provided me with some sort of entertainment that should of tide me over until someone else decides to take the challenge. Either by force or like this, with a game."
"Oh."
"So, what do you say? Are you ready?" Seto questions.
Rob glances at each of us in turn, and we all give a short confident nod. "Yeah. We're ready."
"Great. Because the game we'll be playing is none other than capture the flag. Though, by high demand from citizens to raise the stakes, there's going to be a small twist. I'll get to that in a bit, but first I'll explain the basic rules. Seeing as your team consists of six members, and this kingdom holds six mages, we'll be facing off six versus six. We'll start in a nearby birch forest, and the stream that runs through it will mark the halfway point-or border, if you will. Both teams will get one half, and a flag will be placed at either end. The goal is to capture the other teams flag and successfully bring it across the stream to your teams side. Now... The twist."
"In normal capture the flag, if you're tagged on enemy ground, you're frozen there and have to be tagged by one of your teammates. But because of the things at stake, and due to high demand, I'm changing that a bit. On enemy territory, the opposing team is allowed to attack you using any means necessary. The defender is allowed to defend and strike back at will, or simply retreat to their side. Killing is not allowed, unless of course someone is disobeying the rules and is purposely trying to kill you. Only then may you fight for your life. Hopefully it will not come to that. Potions are allowed, magic is allowed. And... That's about it. Questions?"
Mitch raises his hand. "So... We can attack each other to try and protect our flags, but we can't kill anyone. The only exception being if we absolutely must to save our lives. Right?" Seto nods. "But what's stopping anyone from trying to kill each other? You can say it's against the rules, but that won't stop anyone from breaking them."
Seto smiles grimly. "Because if the person who breaks the rules, and tries to kill someone lives, they'll be answering to me. Understood?"
Mitch nods sharply.
And for a brief moment, Seto's hazel eyes flash in a glow of purple. I gulp, a sudden anxiety washing over me. If Seto is really as strong as Rob says he is, facing him would be a terrifying experience.
"Any more questions?"
No one speaks.
"Very well. Hang on, I'll teleport us to the arena."
~~~
Question of the chapter:
What do you think Jasper and Xenos are up to? And who is this 'Roxane' they mentioned?
My answer: hint from chapter 41:
"We have no choice to let the Pack challenge Seto, that is for certain. And sabotage won't have a good outcome either. But... If say... We do end up losing the kingdom..."
Jasper leans forward to Xenos, cupping his hand near his mouth as he whispers quietly into his ear. At every word, Xenos finds himself liking this plan more and more, and soon a wide smile is stretching across his face.
"Yes, yes. That will definitely deal quite a blow to them... In fact... I doubt they'll even be able to come back from it."
"If Roxane can play her cards right." Jasper points out.
Xenos nods. "True, but I'm one hundred and ten percent sure she will not only join our plan, but perhaps even improve it."
"Then we'd better hurry. The Pack will arrive shortly, and if we want this to work, we need to contact Roxane as soon as possible."