The air crackled with tension. Duke Theron lay slumped on the forest floor, incapacitated by my sedative dart, his guards shouting in confusion and concern. High on the opposing ridge, the Silent Blades, their cover momentarily blown, were already repositioning, the blowgun assassin reloading his lethal projectile. My previous action had bought us precious seconds, but the threat remained.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Objective: Prevent Duke Theron's assassination. Status: In Progress.
Threat Level: High (Assassins still active).
New Dynamic: Eliminating visible threats without revealing your identity.
I didn't have more sedative darts. My only option was to create a diversion, something loud, something convincing, that would draw the assassins' attention away from the Duke and his flustered guards. My gaze swept the dense forest. My eyes landed on a patch of thick, thorny bushes near the edge of the ridge, and beyond them, a steep, rocky decline.
A thought, desperate and audacious, sparked in my mind.
I took a deep breath, focusing my newfound agility. With a sudden burst of speed, I launched myself towards the thickest part of the thorny bushes. I wasn't going through them, but at them. As I reached the edge, I let out a guttural, terrifying roar – a sound that ripped from my throat, raw and primal, unlike anything human. It was a sound I'd instinctively conjured from the depths of my "Disruptor" core, designed to replicate the snarl of a large, enraged beast.
Simultaneously, I crashed into the bushes, throwing my entire weight against them, snapping branches and sending a cascade of loose rocks and earth tumbling down the steep incline below. The noise was deafening, a cacophony of tearing foliage, crashing stones, and the echoing roar.
On the game trail below, Duke Theron's guards, already disoriented by their lord's sudden collapse, spun around, their faces pale with terror.
"A-A bear!" one of them shrieked, pointing wildly towards the source of the commotion. "A monstrous beast! To arms!"
Panic erupted among the hunting party. Their attention was instantly ripped away from the prone Duke. They fumbled for their swords, abandoning their positions around Theron to face the unseen threat.
On the ridge, the Silent Blades, caught completely off guard by the unexpected roar and the subsequent avalanche of sound, flinched. The blowgun assassin, just about to unleash his dart, hesitated, his head whipping towards the new disturbance.
"What in the blazes was that?!" one of them hissed, his voice tight with surprise.
"A beast! Too large for this forest," another muttered, his hand going to the hilt of his blade. "It sounds enraged!"
My distraction had worked. The assassins were no longer focused on Duke Theron. They were looking at me, or rather, at the furious, unseen beast they thought I was.
I didn't wait to see their full reaction. As soon as I had created the chaos, I rolled, half-tumbling, half-sliding, down the back side of the ridge, away from both the hunting party and the assassins. The "Shadow-silk Robes" protected me from the worst of the scrapes and tears, but my muscles screamed in protest.
I landed in a narrow, rocky crevice, obscured by a thick curtain of ivy. I lay still, barely breathing, listening.
Above, the shouts of Theron's men mingled with the agitated whispers of the Silent Blades.
"It went over the ridge!" a guard shouted. "That way! A monstrosity!"
"Fan out!" the blowgun assassin barked, his voice losing its usual cool control. "Find that beast! We cannot have it interfere!"
Their footsteps, heavy and urgent, began to move away from their ambush point, crashing through the undergrowth, following the path of the "bear." They were pursuing my phantom.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Diversion Successful!
Duke Theron's Assassination Averted!
Threat Level: Low (Assassins diverted, Duke Theron secured by his guards).
Quest Objective "Prevent the Catalyst" - COMPLETED!
Reward: Major Timeline Deviation (War Averted), Relationship Gain (Cassian: Significant), New Skill Unlocked: "Primal Roar" (Active Skill: +20 Intimidation, Dazes enemies, High Stamina Cost).
I lay there for a moment longer, letting the adrenaline drain from my limbs. Duke Theron was safe, at least for now. The plot had been truly, utterly disrupted. The war, the catalyst for the Crown Prince's true rise, was averted.
My new skill, "Primal Roar," flashed in my system. I'd literally roared a bear into existence. This world, this System, continued to surprise me.
I cautiously pushed myself up, wincing at the ache in my shoulders. I needed to get back to Viremont. To Cassian. He would be pleased. And the novel... its pages were now truly blank, waiting for my disruptive pen to rewrite its future.
The sound of shouts faded into the distance. The Silent Blades, legendary assassins, were now chasing a ghost. A grin, wide and triumphant, spread across my face.