The dark elf went ahead and crafted a dozen more magic scrolls, half of them being runic arcana bolts while the other half split between charlatan’s wisdom and lesser healing.

“I guess I’ll be going to sleep now.” Quentin spoke up this time as he headed toward his bedroll.

“Go ahead,” the spell weaver nodded as he began to pack away his scribe’s equipment. “I was about to finish anyway.”

“Good night then.”

“Night.” He nodded slightly as he closed the wooden box, fastening the pair of leather straps to bind it shut.

When he was done with that, the youth stood up to stretch his limbs and took a slight stroll around the camp. The sound of the night forest was quite pleasant compared to the refugee-filled towns. The birds' cooing and the crickets' music made the dark elf relax somewhat as they proved that the area was safe for the time being. He sat down beside a campfire, looking up at the night sky and it only had a couple of clouds floating by. Hours went by silently as he guarded the rest of the group. When his time was up, he woke up Fabien to pass the guard duty on to him.

“Already?” the storm knight grumbled. “Fine. Just give me a minute.”

Despite his words, it took a good five minutes for the infernal to properly get to his senses.

“Good night.” Regis said before sprawling out on his bedroll, falling asleep in barely a minute.

“Ambush!” A yell woke up the dark elf, forcing him to grab his bladestaff with his right hand while immediately summoning the arcane shield on his left.

As the spell weaver jumped up to his feet, he found Osmond holding his own arcane shield up to block arrows while simultaneously firing shadow bolts into the forest.

“How many?” Quentin asked as he got up, shield in hand.

“At least three archers,” The pale youth answered as he deflected yet another arrow. “I can’t tell properly because they're in the forest.

“Cover me!” Regis said as the light of his staff’s crystal strengthened while he cast the ‘light flare’ spell, aiming just above the trees where the arrows came from.

A fist-sized ball of light shot forward, stopping above the trees where it flared up with a bright golden light. Several figures were revealed, most of them trying to cover their eyes from the sudden bright light.

“I got this!” Cruz and Fabien said as one, vaulting over the stone wall of their camp.

Regis aimed his staff at one of the archers, a runic fire arrow bursting forward to hit the enemy straight in the face. No screams of agony could be heard as the shot killed the man immediately.

“We need survivors for questioning!” The paladin yelled as he saw his companions reach the small group of retreating attackers.

“Good luck with that,” Valerie sighed as she stepped beside him. “My brother hates it when people disturb his sleep. Especially when it happens with murderous intent.”

“Who are they?” Sophie asked, still somewhat foggy from her rude awakening.

“Hopefully we’ll have someone left alive to ask.” Amanda hugged the sun elf from the side, holding her straight.

Roughly a minute later Cruz and Fabien returned, dragging along a bloodied figure. They threw him over the stone wall before joining the group.

“The others?”

“Dead,” Cruz shrugged. “One burnt to death, another one’s chest melted into goop.”

“How many were there?”

“Six,” the infernal noted as he dragged the bleeding figure up to his feet. “Three archers and three fighters.”

The hooded figure was forced to kneel before his hood was removed, revealing the scruffy face with dark brown hair and eyes.

“Who sent you?” Quentin asked after summoning his domain.

“I...” The man try to say something, but black fumes fumed out from his mouth before he spat blackened blood on the ground.

“Lying is impossible in this situation,” Osmond noted as he looked at the man. “So I suggest you try to speak the truth to spare yourself from the whole choking on your own blood thing.”

“I...” the stranger tried to speak, but the pressure and the black smoke made him growl in pain. “We were sent to scout by lord Vidal.”

“Pretty much what we expected,” Amanda hummed. “I’m just surprised it took them this long to find us.”

“We did move rather fast while on foot.” Fabien admitted.

“And we did have a head start”. Sophie added.

“What was your lord’s intent in sending you after us?” The paladin continued with the questioning.

“You destroyed a valuable source of income for his lordship, so he ordered us to find you, question you and then either drag you back or kill you and take your heads back.”

“So much about not making enemies.” Cruz scoffed.

“It’s not like we had much of a choice,” Valerie rolled her eyes. “Since a certain someone blasted their doors open and invited themselves in.”

“I’m not going to apologise.” Regis noted flatly.

“And I’m not expecting you to,” the infernal woman sighed. “We did gain plenty from it, even if we will have to deal with this lord douchebag because of it later.”

“Did he send others as well or just your team?” Osmond asked the kneeling man.

“We were to scout and act if we could, or report back if you looked to be more than we could handle.”

“Seeing how long it took them to find us,” Letty spoke up. “Even if they were successful, it would have taken them days to get back.”

“Which means that we have a couple of days worth of head start once again.” Quentin deduced.

“So what now?” Amanda looked at their prisoner.

“What do you think?” Regis sighed. “We’re not far from our goal and once we reach it, we can fortify it to hold up against some small-time bastard and his goons.”

“We didn’t come here to make new enemies, remember?” The paladin reminded his companions.

“We didn’t,” Fabien agreed. “But now that things come this far, it’s best to make preparations.”

“And then we will go and take down that asshole before he could cause too much trouble for us.” Cruz smacked her fist and palm together.

“What are we going to do with him?” Mary pointed at the wounded man.

“On the off chance of sounding cruel,” the storm knight sighed. “We don’t spare people that tried to kill us.”

“Agreed.” Most of the group nodded in acknowledgement.

“But... fine.” Sophie shook her head as she turned around, not wanting to see what came next.

“Bring him back to the others, will you?” Quentin’s gaze turned serious, proving that he too understood the necessity of not leaving enemies behind.

“We’ll do,” Cruz nodded. “And we’ll also gather whatever is usable.”

“We should get rid of the bodies.” Osmond noted to the dark elf as he left towards the woods.

Regis followed his example, following him to initiate the corpse sacrifice ritual, earning a single red shard sliver from sacrificing the remains of the charred-headed corpse.

“These were ordinary soldiers,” he shook his head. “They might have been idiots or crooks, but they were still just simple people.”

“Soldiers follow orders,” Fabien noted. “Anytime someone is sent out to do stuff like this, they should be ready to die as well. Don’t think about it too much.”

“Sure,” the spell weaver sighed. “There will be a lot more where they came from.”

“All the more reason to get to Thorn Vale.” Osmond stated.

“Enough with the depressing talk,” Cruz grumbled. “Grab their loot and let’s go!”

“She’s right,” the pale youth agreed with her as he grabbed some of their plundered stuff. “We should head back to the others.

“So much about having a pleasant trip,” Cruz scoffed while walking. “Damn rich prick and his goons.”

“We’re not talking about just any rich prick,” Quentin’s voice could be heard as they neared the camp. “Nobles hold power over their territories and they’re supposed to have standing armies.”

“And this Vidal guy really wants to silence us about the monolith.”Amanda deduced.

“That beam of light released by the monolith could be seen from hundreds of kilometres if not more,” Letty noted. “I’m pretty sure that the people of Escroft saw it.”

“If they did, it will only take a day or two until the soldiers of Rust-well Keep find out about it now that the road is clear.”

“They will want to know what caused a phenomenon like that and this Vidal fellow will have to make up something.” Valerie mused between two yawns.

“But nothing remained from that thing,” Mary reminded the group. “Even if we told someone, wouldn’t they believe him instead of us?”

“Matters like these are dangerous,” Regis spoke up. “Even if it’s just a rumour, it could give ground for the other nobles to encroach on Vidal’s territory.”

“And no one wants another nobles’ war.” Quentin said as he stared into the darkness.

“You should try to get some sleep,” the tall blacksmith said as she sat beside the campfire. “I’ll take over the guard duty from here.”

“Works for me,” Fabien shrugged as he lay back on his bedroll. “I need my beauty sleep.”

“Night.” Regis said as he too laid down, falling asleep soon enough.

“Wake up Regis,” Sophie shook him slightly after what felt like far too little rest. “Breakfast and tea are almost ready.”

“Tea?” The spell weaver looked at the sun elf puzzled and still half asleep.

“Letty found a couple of flowers and berries that could be boiled into something like a herbal tea. Mary just heated the water and tossed in the ingredients.”

“Sounds good.” Regis yawned as he got up, dusting off his attire before rolling up his bedroll.

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“Breakfast ended up a bit thin,” Fabien said aloud as he worked with the frying pan. “I cooked some of the ham we have left with a little bit of cheese on top of it and some mushrooms. It’s not much, but it should get us going.”

“Smells good.” His sister sniffed into the air.

“So what’s today’s programme?” Amanda asked while packing up.

“More hiking and jogging,” Quentin answered grimly. “Last night made it clear that we have to hurry up and get to Thorn Vale.”

“What if they follow us there as well,” Mary expressed her worries. “They caught up to us once already.”

“The entrance to Thorn Vale is deep in the forest and it’s supposed to be a small break in the mountain wall on the side of this river branch.” Regis explained as he opened his endless tome, making it reveal a perfect copy of the map from the library of East Fork.

“Neat trick.” Osmond noted.

“If we can find the entrance, so can they.” Valerie noted.

“True,” the dark elf nodded. “But it’s supposed to have a wall and a gate from the era of its previous owner. As long as it remains are still there, we should be able to repair it.”

“And then use it to keep out any unwanted guests.”

“Let’s hurry up with the breakfast so that we could get going!” Cruz rushed her companions.

“Sooner or later we’ll have to deal with this Vidal guy if he keeps sending people after us.” Amanda sighed.

“We’ll deal with him after we managed to settle down and get the place up and running.” Quentin stated as he finished his meagre breakfast, washing it down with tea.

Regis finished his share as well, heading over to his sleeping area to pack up before destroying the stone walls of their campsite. He then used terraform to erase any evidence of their camp, going as far as burying the dried-out corpses from the previous night.

“What are we going to do with these?” Cruz pointed at their plundered surplus equipment.

“Should we recycle them for materials?”

“No,” Amanda shook her head. “We’re not hurting for materials right now, so I think we should keep them as it is. Sooner or later we’ll have to get people to live in Thorn Vale, so it’s best if we have some spare equipment to hand out.”

“You want to bring people to Thorn Vale?” Sophie asked her companion with a slight surprise on her face.

“It’s not that I want,” the tall woman shook her head. “It’s more that we need people.”

“She’s right about that one,” Quentin agreed as he pulled on his knapsack. “We won’t be able to hold a settlement with just a few of us. We’ll need people to work the fields and to man other stations as well.”

“We can talk about that once we have an actual place to settle down,” Valerie urged the others. “Let’s get going!”

The outlander warband quickly finished packing up their camping supplies on their summoned skeletal pack mules and headed out along the river once again. Their forced march often broke into slight jogs that lasted between ten to fifteen minutes, pushing themselves even more so than before. Although they stopped thrice to rest a bit during the day, the foot of the mountain now almost loomed over them.

“If we can keep this space,” Quentin said with laboured breath. “We should be able to reach the mountain by tomorrow noon.”

“We’re making good time.” Cruz huffed as she sat down on the rocky ground beside her sister.

“We’ve been running like a bunch of madmen,” Valerie winced as she massaged her aching feet. “I hope it’s worth it. My legs feel like they’re going to fall off.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Osmond rolled his eyes. “You’ve been casting lesser healing on them once every half hour.”

“Should we make camp here?” Regis asked as he looked at the steadily falling sun.

“We might as well,” Cruz spat on the ground. “It’s going to be pitch-black in an hour or so anyway.”

“Alright,” the paladin agreed. “Let’s set up camp here then. Regis, you’re on wall duty. Try to make it large and hard with a couple of looking holes to peek through. We’re not going to take chances this close to our goal.”

“Sure thing,” the dark elf nodded. “It will take a while to set it up though.

“You worry about flattening the ground for us and putting up those walls,” Amanda put her knapsack down. “And we’ll deal with the rest.”

“Do you want fish for dinner, or...”

“We’ll hunt something,” Cruz offered along with Sophie. “I’m going to be sick if I have to eat fish for the third time in a row.”

“Then get to it,” Quentin nodded. “We don’t have much time until it gets dark.”

The war band split up into smaller groups, each having a distinct purpose but the same tight timetable. By the time the sun went down beyond the trees, the camp had a tall granite wall surrounding it, a warm campfire cracking with a pair of rabbits and a fat pheasant slowly being cooked above it.

“Quite the feast.” Regis noted as he looked at the sizzling meat surrounded by the foraged forest plants.

“Once we settled down and have the means,” Fabien hummed. “We’ll have to catch and domesticate some of these pheasants. They make for an excellent meal.”

“We’ll have to get our hands on a lot of things,” Amanda noted. “And a bunch of money and resources.”

“And workforce.” Osmond added.

“That’s going to be the hardest part,” Quentin sighed. “With the wars, and the demons and the undead, people will be the most precious resource.”

“Not exactly,” Valerie argued. “Just think back to Hunor. They said that refugees arrived by boats and ships daily. Those people will have to go somewhere.”

“And any noble that had a village or two destroyed will want them.” Letty added.

“I remember one of the guards talking about the small islands not far from the coast being attacked by monsters as well,” Cruz recalled. “If those got destroyed as well, then their inhabitants would likely sail towards Hunor as well.”

“Do you think it got overcrowded like it was when we were there?” Letty asked from her sister.

“Most likely, but once things settle down, at least those people will have somewhere to go.”

“As long as they’re willing to work themselves to the bone for some greedy noble.” Osmond reminded them of the cruel reality of being a commoner in this world.

“It’s not like we can change how things work,” Amanda sighed. “The best we can do is to take in a couple of people and give them a decent life.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Fabien chuckled. “We need people to work for us and they need a place to live. It’s a simple trade.”

“Can we talk about something a bit more cheerful?” Letty asked as she prepared her plate and cutlery for the soon-to-be commenced dinner.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Something like how we’re going to build up something special with our own hands.”

“We’ll need a couple of places like a warehouse and workshops.”

“Don’t forget about the houses.” Sophie reminded.

“Or the defensive structures.” Quentin added.

“A restaurant or an inn would be nice too.” Fabien noted with Mary giving a firm nod of approval.

“We’ll need a farm and a greenhouse as well.” Cruz added to the steadily growing list.

“The only thing I could add would be a bathhouse.” Valerie hummed as their dinner got cooked finally.

“We’ll have to create proper infrastructure as well,” Regis spoke up. “People will need roads, a sewage system and the means to trade.”

“We’ll likely need a church and a hospital of sorts as well.” Osmond shared his opinion with the others as the food got passed around the campfire.

“So much about the cheerful talk,” Cruz grumbled. “You lot turn pretty much everything into a logistical nightmare.”

“Either way,” Quentin accepted his share of the meal. “We have our work cut out for us.”

The atmosphere around the warband darkened a bit as they all went silent for a moment with only the sound of eating and the campfire keeping them company. The awkward silence was broken by the paladin when he turned toward the dark elf.

“How fast do you think you could set up the teleportation gateway?”

“I have never done it before so I can’t be sure, but I’d say a couple of hours at least, a day at most.”

“That sounds good. Anyway; I’ll take the first round of guard duty as usual.”

“And I’ll go second,” Regis nodded. “As usual.”

“I vote for a bathroom break before Regis completely seals the camp with his stone walls.” Amanda spoke up as she finished her dinner.

“I second that.” Cruz jumped to her feet, followed by the rest of those that wanted to hear nature's call.

Fifteen minutes later the defensive wall around the camp got fully sealed and the outlanders lay down on their bedrolls. Regis barely felt the gentle embrace of sleep when Quentin shook him up to switch places.

“It’s your turn.”

“Damn.” The spell weaver grumbled as he rubbed his eyes before sitting down beside a campfire.

It felt eerily quiet despite the light noise of the rushing water of the river beside their camp. The dark elf just sat there, staring out of his head, listening to the slight noises of the forest until his time was up and he could finally switch places with Fabien. Sleep came easily and the night rushed by fast, a slight kick into his boots waking him up.

“Breakfast is ready.” Cruz noted as she woke him up.

Regis first sat and then stood up, stretching his numb arms before slumping down to the barely burning campfire. A strange and unexplainable melancholy crowded the group as they silently ate their breakfast before packing away their belongings and heading out once again. Hours of walking went by with occasional small talk and jogging, but the strange and baleful silence that started in the camp kept following them like an unwanted tag along. The mountain became larger by the hour, the trees growing in size and the river becoming more turbulent as they neared their goal. By the time the sun reached the top of the sky, the sight of the mountain’s foot became clearly visible ahead of them. It was as if someone had cleaved into the mountain wall with a heavy blade, leaving a small ravine through which the river flowed into the forest. The warband marched forward relentlessly, the sight of a broken and collapsed gate greeting them when they finally reached the mountain. Something broke apart the wall that could have been about ten metres tall once, a faded and overgrown road leading through it and into the forest on their right.

“I guess this is it,” Quentin finally broke the eerie silence. “The gate to Thorn Vale.”

“More like the wreck of Thorn Vale.” Osmond sighed. “This is going to take a while to fix up.”

“It’s enough if we can fix it up to the point where we can get through,” Valerie noted. “We can finish it once we’re inside.”

“Time to mend this sucker.” Cruz said as they walked close enough to the roubles to touch some of the broken sandstone blocks.

They all went ahead and cast lesser mending on the destroyed structure, not seeing any real difference after the first round. Only after half an hour did the broken stones begin to slowly roll back towards the wall that once protected the entrance of Thorn Vale.

“Remind me why we didn’t simply climb over the rubbles?” Fabien looked at his sister in hopes of an explanation.

“Because if we did that, we’d leave our backs open to anyone sent after us.” A wall like this should stop most people from following off.

“The wall alone won’t be of much use without guards,” Osmond sighed. “The sooner we can get some people to work for us, the better.”

“Just focus on fixing the damn thing!” Cruz scoffed as the broken pieces slowly slid back into place one by one.

An hour or so later most of the wall and gate were back to normal with only a few larger chunks missing.

“And in we go.” Valerie said as they entered through the still-broken reinforced gate that was both large and wide enough to let a cart similar to theirs through with plenty of space left on both sides.

Once on the other side, a seemingly long abandoned path greeted them that led forward with the small river on its left side. The road itself slanted slightly uphill, preventing them from seeing what was on the other end of the long walk. They spent nearly another hour spamming lesser mending on the wall and meditating to regain their spent arcana while the oppressive feeling around them slowly but steadily kept growing. When the last stone fragment slipped back into its original place and a completed wall looked back at them with a closed gate and a lowered metal grate above the river, the outlanders could finally breathe up somewhat.

“Let’s get going,” Amanda helped up Sophie from the ground. “We better find shelter before the sun goes too far down.”

“Do you think we can reach the home of the former lord before it gets dark?” Letty asked, but she only received an uncertain head shake from the others.

“It’s hard to tell,” Quentin answered. “It might be close to the entrance of the valley, or it could be at the other end of it.”

“Only one way to find out.” Regis noted as he began to walk, the others following him after fixing up their equipment.

The warband walked along the small path carved into the mountain beside the river, hoping to reach their goal as soon as possible. When the rocky walls finally split open half an hour later to reveal the valley, the outlanders froze in place as the ominous and oppressive feeling that had been following them washed over the group. They stood at the entrance of Thorn Vale as a unified thought ran through everyone’s mind.

“Well, shit.”

End of Book 2