When Syryn checked on Gosan later that night, the man was running a slight fever.

"Increase the dosage of estranise to five times a day," he told the purple masked guard. "Give him an antipyretic if his temperature increases any further. Until we remove the pipe, he will constantly be at risk for infection."

"Your highness," Rei made a bow towards the door.

"Where did you go?" Syryn asked the prince whose complexion appeared to have improved since the binding.

"We were out getting travel mounts. How is Gosan?"

"Feverish but not in danger. Let me look at that arm," Syryn motioned for Riaku's bound arm.

The prince extended his hand and allowed Syryn to look under his wide sleeves. There was no staining or leakage on the top layer of his cotton bandages. Syryn checked Riaku's temperature again and found that he was as healthy as a man with such an injury could be.

"It seems I worried for nothing," Syryn told the prince. "Eat something and rest well."

----

A bright yellow full moon stared down at the cliffside cottage where two avians were on night watch. One of the avians transformed into a large dark brown bird with tufts of red on its wingtips. The bird was a little more than half the size of the man it was. It took to the sky and soared above the tree line that surrounded the foot of the cottage.

Wen did a circuit of the area and returned to the rooftop where Kai, another one of the avian guards, was watching his half of the forest.

The avians exchanged light conversation after Wen transformed back to his human form. Kai nodded at something Wen had said and the avian went back inside the cottage. Only one avian remained yawning as he put on his clothes that had come off while shapeshifting.

Soon after, a gentle knock on Syryn's door roused the sleeping alchemist. His mind immediately went to Gosan and Riaku's injuries as only a medical emergency was usually known to wake a healer up at this time of the night.

"What?" He asked the Green masked avian who had knocked on his door.

"Suspicious movement has been spotted close to our location. The prince requests you to stay alert in case there is a change in the situation, and to stay put in your room if a fight breaks out."

"What kind of suspicious movement?" Syryn asked. Some vacation their trip was turning out to be.

"We aren't sure yet. His highness is already in the forest with Wen and Emi, investigating the movements we spotted."

"What are his guards even here for if he insists on leading a dangerous charge inside the forest that may get him killed?" Red grumbled from the bed. Navi and Milky had taken over his pillow and Lucien was left encroaching upon the edge of Syryn's pillow.

"His highness is aware of his limitations," Fei answered. "Please remain in the room-"

Glass shattered in Syryn's room. The window was destroyed by an arrow that broke through the glass pane and landed at his feet. The shocked occupants of the room turned as one to the arrow which was quickly releasing thick clouds of black smoke from a broken cartridge.

"Grab your things!" Fei ordered. "We're leaving now." Even as he spoke, several arrows landed all over the cottage.

Syryn detected the note of panic in Fei's tone and hurriedly grabbed his satchel. He had already disinfected and packed in everything earlier. "Through the window?" He asked when Fei broke open the window for an exit.

"Yes, hurry!"

Lucien already had his bag around his neck. He scooped up the cats and legged it over to the avian who was waiting with an arm around Syryn.

"Can you bear the combined weight of all of us?" He asked even as Fei securely gripped him around his waist.

"I have to!" Fei answered before he jumped.

Syryn didn't understand why the avians were in such a hurry to leave. What was so dangerous about the smoke? Nevertheless, they dived down together in the arms of the avian whose wings were working hard to keep them from turning into a bloody mess at the bottom of the cliff. While they fell, the alchemist saw smoke curl out of several spots in the forest.

Fei landed far away from where the smoke could reach them. Syryn also spied Rei and another guard touch down not far from them. Gosan was being carried by them, awake but unable to fly because of the valerian root that was depressing his senses.

"Do not let the smoke get near you. If you can, use whatever magic is at your disposal to drive the smoke away." Fei said his part and immediately flew over the smoky forest.

"What's with the smoke?" Red asked Syryn. "They aren't even trying to burn anything down."

"There's a group of assassins that uses smoke in their operations," Syryn told the redhead as Rei noticed them from afar. "The house of shadows. Have you ever heard of them?" It was the first thing he thought of when he looked through his memories for smoke related poisons and magic.

"Yes. Who knew I'd get to watch them in action? I feel lucky. Can't the birds just fly out of the smoke though?"

"Yeah, but they would have thought of something to counter it. Hiring the scarecrows shows just how committed they are to killing him off. Riaku might die today," Syryn solemnly told the redhead.

"Rest in peace."

Syryn threw Red a dirty look.

"What? Do you want to play saviour again? Don't be an idiot. As if you could fight a scarecrow without turning to your demonic powers. And even then, those things don't die unless you've got a weapon that can hurt spirits."

Syryn knew Lucien was right. The logical thing to do was to wait out the assassination attempt and see who won. If they were lucky, Riaku would survive and they'd make it to Nua or face off another attempt. If they were unlucky, Riaku would die and the assassins might decide to pursue their lives as well.

"It's all a waiting game now," Syryn answered. "An injured Riaku does not inspire confidence but I hope he makes it."

"Rei, Gosan, glad you made it out," Syryn told the avians that came to them.

"We're in real trouble this time," Rei ominously informed them. "There's some kind of loop around this place that prevents you from leaving."

"A loop?" Syryn repeated.

"If you try to get out of the boundary that's been set up, you find yourself walking back from where you came out. It's a prison of magic that we can't leave."

"Let me guess, you can't fly up and out of the forest either," Syryn replied, finally feeling true fear for the lives of his companions and himself.

"No."

"Everyones fucked. We're all going to die," Red darkly muttered.

Rei was silent.

"Who would want Riaku's life so bad?" Syryn asked the masked guard.

"I don't know. After defeating the stone claw tribe, we've drawn alliances with the other warring avians. It is hard to tell which ambitious tribe wants the life of our prince."

"But what do they gain from killing Riaku?" Red asked. "What's so special about him that necessitates this much effort?"

Rei hesitated to answer. It was Gosan that enlightened them. "His highness has inherited the legacy of Souma."

"Ah," Syryn answered. "That's why."

"Who is this Souma?" Red asked.

"A very powerful warrior who wore a silver armour that was known to grant him fantastical powers," Syryn explained. "Only a select few avians have been able to draw out the armour's powers so it's a big deal when someone inherits it. Good for Riaku."

"Not so much if he dies here."

"Cowards," Gosan spat out.

"But they're winning," Syryn grimly replied, aware that they would be hunted next. "The scarecrows cannot be killed without a blessed weapon."

The house of shadows was a powerful group that operated independently of any nation. They had no political ties, no agendas, and were only motivated by profit. The location of their base was unknown and their powers were even more mysterious.

From what Syryn had heard of them, the practitioners of shadow magic used smoke as a gateway through which their spirits moved. Their bodies would remain safe at a secret location close to the target, while their mobile spirits attacked their designated victims. These spirits looked like emaciated bodies covered in smoke and thus were named scarecrows. Their method of assassination could be countered in several ways but when they strategically attacked and used the element of surprise, it almost always turned into a successful assassination.

"Does Riaku have a blessed weapon?" Syryn asked the avians. The blade that the prince carried had felt nothing like a blessed weapon. Syryn would have sworn that the thing gave him a wicked vibe.

"No," Rei answered.

"And is there any other way to kill the scarecrow?" Red asked.

"We have to find the assassin's body," Syryn answered.

"That's a lot of forest land to search in," Red replied.

"Yup."

"Riaku might not live long enough for the time it'll take you to cover this forest."

"Correct."

"And we might even get killed if there's more than one scarecrow."

"True." Bullshit had found them good this time.

"Or if there's a guard hiding near the body."

"Most definitely will be."

"Good luck, Syryn," Red told him.