Spring surrounded us as we left Brightmoor, stretching out over the landscape with budding trees and the promise of warmth. The forests were alive, their branches covered in fresh leaves that whispered in the breeze. Birds flitted between them, calling out to one another, and soft rays of sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting speckle patterns on the path ahead. Rolling plains spread out beyond the trees, waving in gentle hills, with a river winding like a silver ribbon through the fields. The mountains in the distance cut an imposing line against the sky, their snow-capped peaks glinting in the light. The warmth of the sun filtered down through the dense trees of Velandor Grove

The canopy above was so high it seemed the trees themselves were holding up the sky. They called these giant trees the Sentinels of Velandor, and their ancient trunks felt like the spine of the whole forest. Walking beneath them, I couldn’t help but feel small. It was like stepping into a world older than I could imagine, the deep silence broken only by the occasional chirp of birds or rustling of leaves.

We came across an old oak tree, toppled long ago and now coated in a thick layer of moss. I climbed over it first, steadying myself before offering a hand to Sylas. She took it, muttering something about not needing help but gripping my arm tightly all the same. Kael vaulted over with his usual ease, while Mira and Kaldor took their time navigating the obstacle.

Ahead, the soft sound of water caught my attention. A stream cut through the grove, its clear surface reflecting the sky above. Small wildflowers clustered at the banks, adding pops of color to the greens and browns of the forest. Kaldor crouched by the edge, scooping up a handful of water to drink. Mira knelt beside him, her fingers trailing in the cool stream.

“How far do you think this goes?” Kael asked, his voice low but curious.

I shrugged, stepping closer to the water. “No idea. But this place… it feels bigger than it should. Like it’s hiding something.”

Sylas rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. That, in itself, was unusual.

We kept moving, the forest growing denser with every step. Roots twisted into strange shapes, some forming natural bridges, others snaking into a trench that seemed to plunge into the earth. I paused at the edge, peering down into the shadows below. The walls were lined with ferns, and the air carried a cool dampness that made my skin crawl.

“Think it leads anywhere?” Kael asked, leaning in beside me.

“Maybe,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to find out.

“It doesn’t feel… safe,” Mira added, her voice tinged with unease.

Kaldor gave a small grunt of agreement. “Better to keep moving.”

We did, eventually finding a large clearing with a lake at its center. The water was so still it looked like glass, perfectly reflecting the trees and sky above. Birds flitted overhead, their songs breaking the quiet. For a moment, it felt like we’d stumbled into another world entirely.

Kael glanced over his shoulder at Sylas and me, a curious look in his eyes. “So, what was life like for you two before… everything?”

I paused, caught off guard. Kael’s bluntness had a way of throwing me off balance, though I wasn’t sure why it surprised me anymore. Beside me, Sylas crossed her arms, leaning against a fallen log.

“Redmount,” I said after a moment. “It was… a good place. Quiet, but not too quiet. Families looked out for each other. My dad worked as a guard for the village—he’d come home late most nights, always tired, but he never complained. My mom ran a small farm and helped people in the village with healing when they needed it. She wasn’t officially trained or anything, but she was good—really good. People trusted her.”

A faint smile tugged at my lips as I thought back. “And then there was Clara—my little sister. She could brighten up the gloomiest day just by being herself.”

Sylas gave a small laugh, though it was a little softer than usual. “Clara adored him, by the way. Followed him everywhere. It was like she thought Duke hung the moon.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” I shot back, earning an exaggerated eye-roll from Sylas.

“What about you, Sylas?” Mira asked, her tone curious but kind.

Sylas tilted her head slightly, her gaze wandering to the mossy trees. “My dad was a guard too, like Duke’s. They worked together most of the time.” She paused, a faint smile flickering across her lips. “And my mom worked at the restaurant. She was the waitress everyone loved—you know, the one who always had a kind word and made people laugh, even on their worst days.”

Sylas tilted her head slightly, her gaze wandering to the mossy trees. “My dad was a guard too, like Duke’s. They worked together most of the time.” She paused, a faint smile flickering across her lips. “And my mom worked at the restaurant. She was the waitress everyone loved—you know, the one who always had a kind word and made people laugh, even on their worst days.”

My chest tightened at her words. I forced a neutral expression, but my stomach churned. She didn’t know—she still didn’t know the truth. Her father had died in that brutal fight with Arthur, sacrificing himself so I could get Sylas and the others out of the bandits’ camp alive.

I clenched my fists, keeping my gaze steady as Sylas continued to talk, her voice tinged with a bittersweet warmth. I had promised myself back then that I would protect her, that I wouldn’t let her suffer any more than she already had. But now…

I need to tell her.

The thought weighed heavy in my mind. I couldn’t keep this from her forever. She deserved to know what happened, to know the truth about her father’s sacrifice. But every time I thought about saying it, the words lodged in my throat. Not here—not now. I’d find the right moment soon. I had to.

And then Kae’s voice pulled me out of the chaos I had created in my mind

Kael raised an eyebrow, leaning against a nearby tree. “So, you two were neighbors?”

“More like partners in crime,” Sylas quipped, smirking.

I groaned, shaking my head. “That’s one way to put it.”

Sylas’s grin widened. “Oh, come on. You loved it. Remember the time we tried sneaking into old man Ferin’s orchard to grab some apples?”

“That was your idea,” I pointed out, though I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped. “And we both got caught.”

“You’re welcome for the excitement,” she shot back.

The others chuckled, and for a moment, the tension of the forest seemed to ease, the memories of Redmount grounding me.

Sylas sighed softly, her voice barely louder than the rustle of the leaves above. “I miss them. My mom and dad. Even if we didn’t always have much, home was... safe, you know? Just simple and warm.” Her smile faltered, and she wrapped her arms around herself, as though trying to hold on to a memory that was slipping away. “I used to think I’d see them again someday, but now...”

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The others fell quiet, their footsteps crunching softly on the forest floor. The air felt heavier, the distant chirping of birds doing little to ease the weight of her words.

Just ahead, Kael laughed, pointing out a trail of broken branches and holes scattered through the ground. “What happened here? Looks like a monster tore through it!”

Kaldor scratched his head, glancing at the damage. “Yeah…that might’ve been me.”

Everyone turned to him, expressions somewhere between shock and amusement. I grinned, nudging him. “So this was your doing, Kaldor? Trying to bring down the whole forest for training?”

He chuckled sheepishly. “What can I say? Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.” He shrugged, smiling at the memories of long hours he must have spent here.

Sylas raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Didn’t anyone teach you to leave the forest standing?”

“Oh, he tried,” Kaldor replied with a mock-serious look, pointing at a tree ahead “And I learned a lot from these trees, even when they gave me a few bruises in return.”

We all laughed, picturing Kaldor clashing with the forest itself in some kind of one-sided battle. But just as the mood lightened, Kaldor’s expression grew serious.

“There’s more to Velandor than you might think,” he began, lowering his voice. “This place is beautiful, sure. But it’s also dangerous.”

Something about his tone made us fall silent. “Dangerous?” Mira asked, glancing around, her voice quiet.

Kaldor nodded. “Velandor Grove is home to…dragons. Earth dragons, specifically.”

My eyes widened with excitement, while everyone else looked more nervous than thrilled. “Earth dragons? You’re serious?” I asked, barely able to contain my grin.

Kaldor’s gaze hardened as he continued. “They’re smaller than other dragons—about three meters tall and five meters long, with a wingspan around six meters. But they travel in packs, and they’re fiercely territorial.”

Sylas leaned forward, frowning. “You mean, like, actual dragons? Just roaming around here?”

“Yeah,” Kaldor said, crossing his arms. “I once stumbled across a whole group of them. They’d built makeshift nests out of old bushes and branches, with piles of treasures scattered around them.”

I tried to picture it: the glint of coins and gems among the earthy nests, guarded by small but deadly dragons. “That sounds…incredible,” I said, feeling my pulse quicken.

“Or terrifying,” Mira interjected, eyes wide. “Dragons are bad enough alone, but packs of them? No, thank you.”

Kaldor glanced at her with a smirk. “You’re not wrong there. They’re no joke. If they even think someone’s close to their nest, they’ll attack without hesitation. I was lucky to slip past them without waking the whole pack.”

Kael shivered. “I can’t believe you’re still so casual about it. Dragons are practically walking disasters.”

The others murmured in agreement, but I couldn’t shake my excitement. “I think it sounds amazing. Imagine seeing them, even from a distance. Just once.”

Kael shot me a look of disbelief. “Duke, have you lost it? You’re talking about creatures that could tear us apart with one swipe!”

But Kaldor was nodding, as if he understood. “It’s something, alright. And there’s a lot you can learn by observing them if you’re careful. I trained here partly to try and pick up on their movements. They’re stealthy, and if you pay attention, you can learn a lot about sensing threats before they’re even visible.”

We continued on in a thoughtful silence, and I found myself looking around a bit more carefully. Even though it was bright and open, knowing dragons were nearby made Velandor Grove feel like it was holding its breath.

As we walked, the conversation drifted between us, lighthearted and hopeful, a welcome contrast to the tension we’d all been carrying.

Kael glanced over at me, his expression thoughtful. “You know, once we’re finally back… I think I’d like to work with my uncle. He’s been short on hands at the smithy in Steelcrest ever since I left. I will also resign from being an assassinator, I’m tired of killing, just be a blacksmith for the rest of my life.”

I grinned. “Your uncle’s going to get the best assistant he’s ever had, then. Bet you’ll be crafting swords sharper than anything we’ve seen out here.”

Beside Kael, Mira piped up with a determined glint in her eyes. “Greyvale needs more people looking out for it. After all this, I think… maybe I’ll join the town doctor with ny healing magic, or even open a small kindergarten. I didn’t realize until now just how much we need to be prepared for what’s out there.”

Mira’s resolve made something twist in my chest; her vision of protecting others reminded me of my own family, and how I had to get back to them.

“I want to learn more,” Sylas said, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. “Not just about magic and the basics I’ve started, but about everything that will help me protect my family. I’ve realized that if we’re really going to keep the ones we love safe, we need strength, but we also need understanding. I want to be ready for anything that comes next. After that, I want a wealthy, handsome husband who will beat me in a fight and be loyal to me. I will live with him until he dies and carry my loyalty towards him until the very end”

She spoke with a quiet, firm conviction that I’d never seen in her before.

“It might be impossible because no one will be able to beat you in a fight if you go all out” I teased her and found her smiling at me

Then Kaldor shifted, he gave a pensive expression as he considered his own future. “As the second son of the beastkin patriarch, there were never expectations on me to lead,” he said, his voice steady. “My older brother has that duty. But this experience has taught me how important it is to stand up for our clan’s honor. I don’t want to just sit back and watch things unfold—I want to protect our home in my own way. When I return, I’m going to speak with my father about how I can serve our clan’s people directly. I’ll make sure our lands are safe, just like my ancestors did.”

There was a depth to Kaldor’s voice that I hadn’t heard before. He wasn’t just talking about returning to a role; he was thinking about how he could make a difference. I realized then that we weren’t the same group that had been taken from our homes. Each of us, in our own way, had found something more to fight for.

I nodded, feeling the weight of all our shared experiences. The life we’d had before all this felt so distant, and yet, the hope of returning to those futures kept us moving forward. But there was still something bothering me, gnawing away at the back of my mind.

I slowed, eventually coming to a stop, and the others paused, looking at me with curious expressions.

“Doesn’t it feel… off to anyone else?” I began, gathering my thoughts. “All I remember is passing out that night we were taken. But it’s like we were transported halfway across the continent in no time at all.”

Mira’s brows knitted as she considered this. “Yeah, I didn’t think about it too much before. But I remember fainting only once, and now we’re practically a month’s journey away.”

Kael frowned, looking disturbed. “That… shouldn’t be possible, right? They would have needed days, maybe even weeks, to bring us here, not a single night.”

“Exactly,” I said, relieved they were following along. “There’s something else to this. I think we might’ve been moved using teleportation magic.”

They stared at me in shock, and I explained quickly, “I read about it in one of my mother’s books. Teleportation magic isn’t something just anyone can use. It needs a specific set of enchanted scrolls, drawn with magical ink and designed to link two locations. You stand on one, activate it, and you’re transported to the other in seconds.”

Kaldor’s eyes widened, his tail swishing with unease. “You’re saying the bandits had access to that kind of magic? That’s something powerful. Not the kind of magic lowlifes would get their hands on.”

Kael crossed his arms, a troubled look settling on his face. “Someone powerful must have been behind them, then. Someone who could give them access to rare magic like that.”

The realization sank in, each of us absorbing the possibility that we weren’t just victims of random bandits, but pawns in some larger scheme. A heaviness settled over the group, our cheerful talk of future plans now tempered by the shadows of what had happened to us.

For a moment, we fell into silence, the quiet broken only by the crunch of gravel underfoot and the chirping of birds above. Then Kael spoke up, trying to lighten the mood.

“If we found one of those scrolls ourselves, do you think we could teleport home?”

I shook my head slowly, half-smiling at the idea but knowing the risk involved. “We’d need both scrolls, Kael, and there’s no way to know where one would lead if we used it. We could end up even farther away.”

Mira sighed, glancing at the sky as if seeking answers. “I guess we’ll just have to do things the hard way. But at least we’re moving forward.”

I nodded, glad for the sense of determination we shared. But just as we were settling into the pace of the journey again, a piercing scream split the air, followed by a loud explosion that shook the ground beneath our feet.

We all whipped our heads in the direction of the sound, exchanging glances as alarm rippled through us. Instinctively, we reached for our weapons, senses heightened by the echoing noise.

“That came from just over that ridge,” I said, already moving forward, feeling the others fall in step beside me.