Enigmas

The carriage rocked back and forth, and Hilia gasped, stabilising herself. She looked at the man before her, her eyes changing as she saw an irregular-shaped ball of light within the man. She frowned in concern when the ball of light was smaller than she expected, and the ball of light changed from white to red.

The life force of any living being is supposed to white, no matter what. If their life force is red, it could only mean…

"Yoan! This man is poisoned but he's still alive! I can't cure poisoned wounds, I can only cure physical wounds!"

"What?! But I clearly saw grandmother curing a poisoned man in the past, why can't you?"

"I...don't know how to!"

An arrow teared through the carriage and it barely missed Hilia. She screamed, glancing around in alarm when she spotted someone's life force among the trees.

"Yoan! It's a person shooting at us, within the woods! I see them!"

There's only one of them?

"Switches places with me, Hilia! And can you somehow calm this horse down?"

Hilia frowned at those words.

Calm the horse down?

Suddenly, a thin layer of bubble appeared around the carriage and Hilia popped her head out of the carriage, startling Yoan.

"Hilia?"

"I just need to touch the horse! To calm him down!" She said, Yoan already growing accustomed to her mystical voice whenever she was in her priestess form.

Yoan skillfully switched places with her, "Hilia, you have to do this quickly, otherwise, the horse might just lead us straight off a cliff!" He warned, retreating back to the carriage.

"I know, but the barrier won't last long either!" She responded, projecting her spiritual energy to her hand, placing it on the horse's body.

The horse tensed up, feeling a sense of warmth and tranquility washing over him. The horse's breathing becoming stable overtime and gradually, it began to calm down. Hilia smiled, patting the horse gently, meanwhile, Yoan observed the surroundings carefully, trying to pinpoint the perpetrator's location.

In the distance, hidden among the trees, an arrow shot out and landed on the barrier, instantly being deflected. Despite knowing the barrier was there, Yoan dodged instinctively and he narrowed his eyes, gauging the attacker's location.

Another arrow flew out and Yoan widened his eyes, discovering the exact location. He reached for the bow, only to realise he forgot something important.

...I bought the bow, but I didn't buy or make any arrows.

He groaned to himself, shaking his head.

"Uhhh, Yoan! I don't know how to command a horse!" Hilia hollered back, holding the reins in her hands. However, she was clueless as to what she should do with it.

Oh, just great.

"Hold on!"

At that exact moment, the barrier wore off and Yoan noticed it, seeing another arrow headed their way.

Alas, it wasn't aimed at Yoan, but at Hilia.

"Hilia! Watch out! To your right!" Yoan warned, panic welling up within him.

Hilia turned her head, horror evident in her eyes, she knew she couldn't avoid the arrow in time. Suddenly, something flew past, hitting the incoming arrow, stopping its momentum as it landed on the gravel path.

Another arrow?

Yoan furrowed his eyebrows, relieved yet cautious.

"Hah!" A chorus of voices said after one another, catching Yoan's attention.

Dozens of hooves hit the gravel path, causing the gravel beneath them to swirl and Yoan noted a platoon of troops heading their way. Amongst the troops, he noted one of the man riding the horse in the centre, swiftly aiming his bow at the trees, and at the exact location where Yoan knew the attacker was at.

He released the arrow, and Yoan observed its smooth course towards the trees.

"Ugh!"

A woman dropped down from one of the trees, the leaves rustling noisily. She had an arrow stuck in his shoulder as she clutched at it, her face concealed by a cloth.

"Ahhh!" Hilia let out a frightened scream, and Yoan gasped, pushing the curtains away.

"Yoan! The horse is going out of control again!"