Author's Note: Wow. I thought I was going to crank out a chapter faster than I did. This is a longer chapter compared to the others, so I hope you forgive the delay. :3

Thank you all for sticking with me and enjoying the chapters. I hope I'm not making too many errors in my writing, considering this is my first time doing this. I'm an amateur, when it comes to writing a book and appreciate all the support and feedback you guys give.

Enjoy the latest chapter! :)

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Sitting in front of the gate watching as the shadows growing longer as the sun set, the girl wondered what happened to Kendrolgo. The girl felt frustrated with how his friend, Malera, seemed more concern with her own agenda, instead of thinking about the safety of her childhood friend. Clenching her fists, the girl felt frustrated about how useless she was.

Once the sun had set and Kendrolgo was nowhere to be found, she came to the decision to look for him. Even though one of the Lady of Graces went to look for him, she was worried for him. Thinking about how going out to find him was full of dangers and risks. Knowing that there was no certainty that she would even find where he was, and probably only cause additional problems. She was still worried that he may be injured considering how he hadn’t made it back, especially considering that a Lady of Grace was also looking for him. There isn’t much that she could help out with, even if she were to find him but just sitting in front of the gate didn’t feel right. He had put himself in danger, to protect the two of them and allow them to make it to safety. How could she just sit there waiting?

Getting up, the girl went to one of the guards, who was leaning against the wall looking like he was on break. The guards seemed to switch out, replaced by a new group of guards, periodically during the time she was waiting for Kendrolgo to return.

As the sun set, the gate was closed, by two massive doors swinging in and locked by a large wooden plank that slid into place. It was fairly impressive, and likely able to keep out anything threatening the town. There was a small door, off to the side of the gate that was probably for people needing to leave the town without having to open the main gate. For added security, there was a large slab of stone that looked to slide in front of the door. This was probably for when the town was being sieged and turning that door to being as, near, impregnable as the tall walls surrounding the town. Being in the town definitely gave off a feeling of being safe, without worry about being destroyed, unlike the outpost which was not as fortified as the town was. She didn’t know that much about why this town needed to be so heavily fortified, but seeing the creatures attack them she appreciated the added precaution. Never again did she want to crouch in fear, hiding in some cellar waiting for death to come.

Walking up to the guard, the guard looked at her and asked, “girl, what are you doing here this late? Isn’t there someplace you need to be, getting ready for sleep? A girl like you shouldn’t be wondering the streets at this time.”

“I’m worried for a friend that is outside the walls. I came with a group, after being attacked by monsters.” She stammered, feeling very nervious having to talk to a stranger, even if he was a guard.

Looking at her, up and down her body, the guard shook his head and gently said, “I heard about what happened to you, from the others. It’s truly a horrible thing to deal with, encountering a pack of Daemonises. This may sound harsh, but your friend is likely…” He trailed off, not knowing the words to say.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she put some strength into her voice saying, “I know that he’s still out there. I want to go out there and look for him! He may be hurt and trying to find his way back. Is there some kind of map that I could see, where I may be able to figure out which way he may be?”

“I don’t think that is a good idea, child.” The guard told her, sounding sympathetic to her situation. “It’s dark out there, in the forest. Without proper lighting, you would only get lost yourself. If your friend were still out there, I don’t think he would want you to endanger yourself.” He tried to reason with her, though from the look on her face he didn’t seem confident about succeeding in convincing her.

“Please! I need to at least try! My friend saved me, when he found me in a cellar at the outpost that was destroyed by those beasts!” She pleaded to him, trying desparately to get him to understand. It may be a fruitless attempt, but she knew that she had to try and look for him. How could she just patiently wait here, hoping that Kendrolgo would come back?

Taking a deep breath and sighing, the guard ran his hand through his hair. He looked torn about what she was telling him, and wanting to help her but not knowing what he could do to help. Finally looking as if he came to some conclusion, the guard simply said, “girl, I can see that this friend of yours means a lot to you and considering what you’ve been through…” He sighed again. “Look, I just finished my shift and since no one is waiting for me at my home, I will go out and help you look for your friend. I don’t think I could let a sweet girl like you go out into the wood, all by your lonesome.”

The girl’s face lit up with relief evident on her face. She couldn’t believe how the guard was willing to help her out.

“I need to gather some supplies, so it will be a couple of moments before we can leave. I’m not supposed to be doing this, so I need to let some people know what is happening. No point in more people getting lost out in the wood. It would be better if there is someone that knows where we are going, to bring help if we don’t make it back in a reasonable time.” He told her in a matter of fact tone.

By the way he explained everything, she felt reassured about the chances they would find Kendrolgo in the woods. She watched as the guard walked away from her, in the direction of the guard tower. Upon reaching the tower and explaining, from the way his hands were gesturing, some of the guards looked at her with sympathetic expressions. The many torches lighting the area only helped to make the situation more depressing. The guard looked like he was finish talking to the others, and began walking down the stairs and coming towards her. There were two more guards that were following him, with grim determination on their faces.

“These are some of my friends, who wanted to come along.” Gesturing to the man on his right he said, “this woman here is great at tracking, which we’ll need even more so in the dark. With her, we will have a better chance at finding your friend.” Tapping the man on his left, with his knuckles, he said, “this man is better than me in a fight, more so with a sword in his hands. If there are any more of those creatures out there, he will definitely improve our chances if we need to fight our way out.”

With tears in her eyes, the girl was only able to say, “thank you!”

Waving one of his hands, dismissing the gratitude, the guard signaled that it wasn’t necessary for such feelings.

“We’ll try to help you find your friend. Our job is to protect those in need.” The woman told the girl. Even dressed up in leather armor and wearing a helmet, the girl could see that she was very beautiful with kind eyes. She just nodded her head, afraid that she would just start crying in front of them.

Gently placing her hand on the girl head, the woman simply said, “it’ll be alright. You need to be strong for your friend.” Looking at the other two guards, the woman said, “we should probably get going. If her friend is injured, we will need to hurry.”

Nodding their heads, the other two guards made their way to the small door next to the main gate. Reaching the door and going through it, they took out torches for themselves and began to light them. The flames seemed to make the forest on either side of the road appear darker. There was definitely an ominous feeling, as if the trees were hiding some dark secret. With the flickering of the flames, the shadows being cast onto the forest made it seem as if there were creatures scurrying between the trees.

“Could you lead me to where you last saw your friend?” The woman asked the girl, as the girl walked through the door and after the guards finished lighting their torches.

The girl walked in front of the guards, leading them to where she last saw Kendrolgo. She was feeling slightly anxious walking down the road during the night, and kept glancing at the forest, half expecting to see the creatures jump at them. As they walked further away from the town, the darkness seemed to engulf them.

“I can see the tracks the Lady of Grace left behind, when she took off several hours ago.” The lady behind her mentioned. “We were informed that the Lady of Grace was, likely, already in the forest looking for your friend. I don’t know what we could do in help in addition to having a Lady of Grace.”

The girl looked behind her, as she continued to walk, at the woman and asked, “why did you guys come, knowing that there was already someone searching for my friend?” Bewilderment was clearly evident in her voice. She didn’t understand why they would help her, though she did appreciate it, and finding out they knew about Lady Amela was already looking for Kendrolgo made everything more confusing.

Tilting her head, the female guard seemed to considering her words carefully. “I don’t think finding your friend would have taken as long as it has. If your friend is still alive, then he would be heading back to where you saw him. Those trained in the Order are also very capable, so even if your friend was lost she should have found him already. Who know, maybe they are one their way as we speak, but something just seems off considering how many hours have gone by. Braen, the one you talked to first, also seemed to think it was odd. He agrees with me in thinking they should have been back.”

“The fact that there were two Ladies, and only one of them went out to search for your friend, makes me think that this shouldn’t have been as time consuming, as it has been.” Braen agreed with the woman.

They continued to walk in the dark, following the road. This was not a casual stroll, considering the feelings of tension radiating off the guards. From what the girl was told, the guards didn’t think this was routine and the sounds of their boots hitting the road wasn’t making too much noise. The guards were being cautious, which made her want to emulate their actions and try to make little noise when she walked. The place she last saw Kendrolgo ended up being around half an hour. Compared to when she was last here, being on a wagon, and the slow pace at which they were walking, it took a decent amount of time.

“I see where your friend started to go into the forest” The female guard stated once they found the footsteps of Kendrolgo and followed them on the road. Kneeling on the ground, the woman traced her hands on the footprints of what must have belonged to Kendrolgo. Scattered around them were the prints of the Daemonises, chasing after him into the woods. “Honestly speaking, now that I see the number of tracks left behind by the pack of Daemonises, I don’t know if your friend would have survived the encounter. Even we would have trouble chasing fighting these numbers…” She trailed off, not wanting to state the obvious.

Sudden sounds of branches cracking surprised them and they all quickly look up. The guards reached for their swords, getting ready to fight whatever was coming towards them out of the darkness.