Senakoi was not happy to wake up in a cramped wagon with men all staring at him. There was also a doctor but he was fast asleep. The men were clearly Ikayotan soldiers by both complexion and the armor they were wearing.

Senakoi was a little unnerved, to say the least. He was easily half the size of the broad shouldered men sitting in the wagon. The king just stared at them until one with sandy blond hair laughed at him and his fear. He was average height for an Ikayotan but he was built like a tank. It was easy to see as his armor was made for someone just like that and it seemed to fit him perfectly.

"You're not as intimidating as I thought, Little King," his voice was heavily accented as if he had only been taught Altantian recently. Senakoi was both mildly offended and surprised by the words that left the other man's mouth and it was visible across his face. The other men laughed this time too, only adding to his surprise. Yes, he knew men joked around with each other but he didn't think they'd laugh at a king like that.

"He is quite small," another one, this one a platinum blond, piped up. He was easily the tallest in the wagon, his eyes almost as white as his hair. Senakoi noted that he also had a scar running over his cheek. The scar looked jagged and deep. The king decided not to press about it and just huffed before settling into the corner.

Another man said something in Ikayotan and the others just laughed. Senakoi figured they didn't know he spoke the language and waited for the right time to jump in. He liked to mess with people who seemed to not know how educated he was. The men kept talking about him and one of them finally said something bad enough that Senakoi had to interject.

"I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't say something so vile right in front of me," he said softly. All the men froze. The one who had said it looked like a deer in headlights as his wide eyes just stared back at the king. Not one of them moved. They were all too surprised.

"Always ask if the person speaks the language or not. If they say no, then you can talk about them like they're not in the room," he only seemed annoyed. The men were expecting anger or rage, not slight annoyance. One of them breathed a sigh of relief and Senakoi glared at him. He was not a pushover and they needed to understand that.

The first two to move were the first to talk to/about him. They visibly relaxed when Senakoi sat up a bit more but stayed in his corner. The two were easily the most tame but something was familiar about them to the king. He couldn't quite place them but he was sure he'd seen them somewhere before. The palace maybe? No, that would mean they were Ikyus' guards.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves now. I'm Dmitri, captain of King Ikyus' private guard," this was the platinum blond speaking. He seemed a little drawn back with his words, it was probably just discomfort with the whole situation. Senakoi just nodded before the wagon hit a bump.

Senakoi's head found itself bumped rather harshly into the side of the wagon and he groaned while the doctor next to jostled awake. He looked around, almost like he forgot he was on the wagon before finding a comfortable position and falling asleep again.

"That's Dr Tana, he was up all night treating your guards," Dmitri spoke softly. He must work with the doctor, Senakoi thought. Maybe he was Ikyus' personal doctor. The king looked at the man next to him. He wasn't broad shouldered like the guards so he definitely wasn't a field medic. He was too short and thin to be any good in a fight.

Senakoi was pretty judgemental but he kept his mouth closed unless someone asked for his opinion. He was also a great at seeing if someone could be good in a fight or not. He had hand picked his guard and it was well known that he had assembled various special ops groups that were all very successful.

"What should we call you, little king?" the broad man from earlier spoke. His voice was heavily accented and Senakoi found himself intrigued by how well he spoke Atlantian. Not many people could pick up the complex language and the syllables made consistant sounds so an accent was as likely. Usually only new speaker had a strong accent like his.

"Senakoi is just fine," the king spoke with such a grace all of a sudden, he had evened his voice and it was almost like a song. He honestly didn't care much about what people called him. In Sobana, there was free speech and people called him all sorts of things, usually not his name.

"Alright, Senakoi. The men from left to right, including me are Kili the Archer" Kili was built like a trapeze artist, "Emil, he uses a greatsword," it was the sandy blond. "Ian and Tino are twins. Ian uses a sword and shield while Tino uses a war hammer," Dimitri was the closest to his right but he was still far enough away that they weren't touching at all. Tana was on Senakoi's left, next to Kili.

They hit another large bump and Senakoi was jostled again, though this time he didn't hit his head. Tana woke with a start and rubbed his eyes to see who was around him. He didn't at all seem surprised by the guards all around him or the king sitting in the corner. Last time he had woken up, he hadn't bothered to look around.

Senakoi was a bit surprised when Tana tipped his head to the side and put it on his shoulder. The contact didn't bother him but it was sudden. He doubted Tana would have done that if fully awake but maybe he just didn't care.

In Sobana, it was common for contact like that but it was usually only with close friends and family. Senakoi was aware Ikayotan culture was much different from his own and he found it interesting that touch strangers was normal. He had been to the capital before and servants would hand things off with a pat on the back or something of the sorts.

"You can tell me to move if you don't like it," Tana mumbled as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Senakoi's waist. Only his brother had ever been so bold to do this but he honestly didn't mind as much as the guards thought he would. The king smiled softly and pet the doctor's head a little. Tana reminded him of his brother but a stable version.

"You're fine," Senakoi actually didn't mind. He usually didn't like to touch strangers but he also didn't like to be forcefully taken from his home. He seemed to be decently ok with each one. The guards were surprised. It was a well known fact that Sobans didn't shake hands or do anything that involved contact with strangers. It was just a part of their culture.

The wagon hit another bump and Tana was kind enough to move his head to keep it from colliding with Senakoi's. The king sighed and wondered how many more holes the wheels would hit. He hoped they would get to cobbled streets relatively soon but doubted that would happen. The journey from Sobana's capital to Ikayoto's was a good month long journey if there weren't any highwaymen or snow storms.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Kili stood in the wagon and drew his bow. It was quite an impressive bow and it was carved with dragons and fairies. The arrow had a black tip on the head and looked as if it had been dipped in poison then the poison had dried onto the arrow.

Senakoi followed his gaze and saw a lone horse on top of the ridge. He also saw the rider clear as day. The man had a bow easily the size of his body drawn back with an arrow notched. He knew it was the archer from his personal guard, Nimix. The man had followed the caravan from the palace and had pushed his way through the brush and low branches on top of the ridge.

Before Senakoi could fully realize what was happening, the arrow flew and hit the middle of the wagon, punching a person sized hole in the floor. Senakoi yelped as the wagon rocked from the impact of the massive arrow and he pried the doctor off of him. Tana was happy to get away from the king. He knew Senakoi could offer very little protection from the archer on the ridge.

The wagon couldn't move any faster due to the horses and men in front of it. Nimix took advantage of that and went to his normal arrows. He shot the coachman, forcing Dimitri to take the reins and calm the horses while Kili was aiming for another shot at Nimix. He let the arrow fly and he missed. Nimix was quick to fire back, pinning his foot to the floor. Kili howled in pain before drawing another arrow and letting it fly.

This one hit its mark and buried itself deep in Nimix's shoulder. The guard screeched as he fell backwards off his horse and landed hard on the ground. He screeched again as it jostled the arrow but he got back to his feet. He stumbled forward before he drew on of his artillery arrows and notched it. He was obviously in pain as he pulled the arrow back.

The wagon was nearing the Narrows, a patch of trail just barely wide enough for a wagon and Senakoi realized what Nimix was doing. He was going to flip the wagon off the edge. Momentary panic crossed his face as he braced himself for the impact that would most likely throw him from the wagon and over the edge. He was hoping he wouldn't hit too many branches on the twenty foot drop but he also didn't want to just land on the ground.

He held his breath as the arrow was cut loose and it felt like it was in slow motion as it spun, flying closer and closer to wagon, ready to knock it off balance. Senakoi decided he might as well make it easier and he was half standing when the arrow hit and the wagon was tipped harshly onto its side.

Senakoi was sent flying, as well as the rest of the guard. Everyone but Kili was still had his foot pinned to the wagon. Senakoi wasn't able to see Kili be torn free and hit his head pretty hard.

Senakoi was slammed against a tree trunk and his vision went black before gravity could take effect.