Chapter 15: The Town on the Brink of War

“The third prince is here?”, Silver who had been summoned by Earl Ribbon answered his call. At his side a slender young man stood with a bored expression, clad in leather armor and with his long black hair tied up in a ponytail. It was Endo, his second in command who the Earl insisted on bringing with him. It had only been a day since Edeus arrived in the town and already, everything was in chaos.  

“That’s right, apparently that’s why sir Edeus is here, he’s going to bring him back to the capital. But things are complicated. He also said that the demons are looking for the prince.”, Earl Ribbon explained, his eyes tired from lack of sleep. "Do you understand the problem we have on our hands?"

Of course, Silver understood. He had been dealing with the crow epidemic himself, it they were really demon familiars it would be almost guaranteed that they had already confirmed the prince location to be in Dorhem.
“I will have everyone in high alert”, Silver answered, hand placed on his heart.

Ribbon nodded, rubbing his tired eyes. "Silver, we can't afford to make any mistakes. Losing the second princess was a mistake I'll never repeat. We have to protect the prince" The weight of their responsibilities weighed heavily on the Earl's shoulders, and he couldn't shake the fear that his daughter, would be in danger if they failed to protect another royal child. The king had been gracious enough to pardon him for his mistake, however, if prince Adrian were to die in his city too, his head would roll on the ground, and what he feared the most, perhaps, his daughter’s would too.

"Understood, sir," Silver replied, his voice laced with determination as he turned to leave the room. Endo followed closely behind.
“So, what’s the plan? We keep hunting crows? I’m tired of eating birds.”, Endo asked, his voice faint and unsteady. He had the bad habit of not modulating his voice properly which made him hard to heard. It got on Silver’s nerves.
“No you idiot, we are way past that point. What we need to do now is protect the town.”, Silver stopped in his tracks, casting a wary glance around to ensure that they were alone. 
“Listen Endo, we can't defend against the demons stationed to the north with our current garrison," he explained, his voice low and urgent. "Now that they know the prince is here, they'll attack without hesitation. We need to come up with a plan, and fast." 
Endo fell silent, his mind racing as he tried to wrap his head around the gravity of the situation. There were people in the town that he needed to protect, and if push came to shove, he was prepared to abandon his duties and get them to safety. But he hoped that wouldn't be necessary.
Silver was known for always having a trick or two up his sleeve, he was sure if someone could get them out of this mess, it was him.

"So, what do we do?" Silver asked, his voice grave and serious. Endo nodded, his demeanor shifting as he adopted a more professional demeanor. 
As Endo adopted a more serious demeanor, Silver couldn't help but smile. It was a marked transformation - in this moment, Endo looked every bit the competent and reliable soldier that Silver knew him to be. If only he could stay like this forever, Silver thought to himself, he would have no hesitation entrusting the safety of Dorhem to him. 

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"Listen carefully," Silver began. "We can't let Edeus find the prince. As long as he doesn't, he'll stay in Dorhem and continue searching. We need to keep him here until the demons attack, so he can help us defend the town. Do you understand?" 
Endo nodded. "I'll have a few men knock on doors and search abandoned houses. He should turn up eventually." 

Just then, a soldier could be seen running through the streets, panting and out of breath. "Sir! Sir!" he called out, finally catching Silver's attention. "I'm here. What's wrong?" Silver asked, stopping the man in his tracks. "Demons, sir!" the soldier panted, trying to catch his breath. "We've detected demons marching towards Dorhem. They'll be here in a day or two!" The news hit Silver and Endo like a ton of bricks. This was exactly what they had feared - there was no turning back now. But at least Edeus was still in town. "Well, never mind that, Endo," Silver said, his voice steady and determined. "Round up the men and prepare the defenses. Dorhem is going to war." 

….

Rodderick woke up and walked downstairs to have breakfast.
As Rodderick descended the stairs, he was greeted by Edeus and Ember already seated at the table, each with a steaming cup of tea in hand. 
"You returned to your room pretty late last night, Rodderick," Edeus remarked as he took a sip from his cup. "I was almost about to go look for you. Did something happen?" 

Rodderick hesitated, searching for the right words. "Well, remember when I said I found the prince yesterday? I went back to look again after dinner, but unfortunately he had moved to a different hiding place." 
Edeus chuckled. "Of course he did. Adrian is a smart kid." Despite the disappointment of the news, Edeus seemed pleased by it, and Rodderick couldn't help but notice the affection in his voice when he spoke of the prince. 

"Alright then, let's get to it," Edeus declared, finishing his cup. "We'll meet back here at midday." The trio then split up, each taking a different section of the town to search for Adrian. Rodderick requested the northern division, citing his familiarity with the downtown area as his reason. The plan was to keep the prince hidden for at least one more day. It should ensure that Adrian remained hidden for at least one more day. 

As soon as they parted ways, Rodderick sprinted towards Adrian's house. The previous night, he had grown close to the prince and had promised to meet him again in the morning. When he arrived, he knocked energetically on the door. A minute later, Barth answered and ushered him inside, keeping a watchful eye for any suspicious activity outside. 

“Morning, Rodderick”, Barth greeted. 
“Morning! Where’s Adrian? Is he still asleep?”.  Rodderick looked around searching for the prince. Despite the closed windows meant to avoid detection, light filtered through the wooden walls, illuminating the space. Now that it was morning and the house was better lit, giving it a less intimidating appearance.

Barth shook his head, “No, he’s upstairs, meditating”.
"Meditating?" Rodderick made his way up the stairs and into Adrian's room, where he found the prince seated on his bed with his eyes closed, legs crossed in meditation. [He's really meditating. I guess I'll wait.] Rodderick thought to himself.

The prince was completely absorbed in his own world, and Rodderick couldn't help but wonder if this was a daily routine for him or if it was something specific to mages. He had never seen Edeus do it, so he assumed it must be something that Adrian practiced on his own. 

Was it perhaps part of the prince brilliance with magic? He had seen him in action back in the inn, his mastery with wind magic fooled even the powerful Edeus. To become so powerful at such a young age he must be doing something right. If meditation helped him become the mage he was today, Rodderick too wanted to give it a go.

Rodderick decided he would try it as well. As he sat on the floor next to Adrian, he realized that this was exactly what he had done when he finally mastered earth magic. He smiled at the realization, feeling as though he had discovered a secret of magic all on his own. [Don't mind if I join you, then], he thought to himself as he joined the prince in his meditation. 

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