Several high-level warriors were deployed in different places on the border. All of them had one trait in common, that of being absolutely trustworthy.

Their mission was as simple as it was mysterious. They were to pose as normal adventurers of the area’s level, adventurers who had gone there to fight. It was necessary not only for them to blend in but to go unnoticed.

The ultimate goal was to locate and protect an elf named Goldmi, who was traveling with a huge lynx, and whose description they had. They were not to interfere in her path, they were not to prevent her from fighting, but they were to prevent her from dying at all costs. They would even help if needed, while keeping a low profile. Avoiding, except in extreme cases, being discovered. Especially by her.

Some thought that she was someone important. Perhaps the royalty of a neighboring country, or close to a powerful nobleman. That if she died, they could lose valuable help from her backers.

Others thought that she was the daughter of one of the higher ups, so they felt somewhat indignant by that mission. Among them was a level 60 mage, who was posing as a level 35 healer, with a pair of healing spells and an attack one. She hid her most powerful weapons, the ones she could use infrequently in that area, since the mana wasn’t very dense there. So, she would need time to recover what would be spent with her most expensive spells.

Her appearance was somewhat strange, like a cross between an elf and a plant, for she was precisely that, a drelf, daughter of a dryad and an elf. Coincidentally, she was the niece of another dryad named Melia, whose name Goldmi had heard more than once from Eldi’s mouth.

Maldoa sighed as she entered the outpost, one of those precarious wooden forts, and one of the places where that presumed spoiled and overprotected elf was most likely to appear.

In fact, it was true that the elf enjoyed the favor of the highest command, even beyond. If they knew that she was a friend of the fairies, more than one of those adventurers would have had a hard time believing it. They would have assumed it was a joke.

But it wasn’t even the relationship with the fairies the real motive, but what it represented, the hope of flipping this war over, of fighting back, of ending enemy generals. It was a hope that they couldn’t risk losing. Not when the fairies themselves had recognized her.

Kroljo was sitting in front of Jralon. If they had been the only two there, they would have gotten into a fight to the death. They hated each other. However, there were other shadows there, representatives of various areas, and many of them hate each other too.

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These shadows couldn’t fight there either. Not only did they fear that other enemies would seize the occasion, but Father was presiding over the meeting, even though he wasn’t physically there. In his place, there was Warkmon, a vampire, one of Father’s servants.

“Several immature shadows and four adult shadows have disappeared. Jralon, some of them were yours. What do you know?” asked the vampire.

“There’s no doubt that it was Kroljo doing! No one else could’ve done it!” he accused, while exploding with anger.

“How dare you! You’ve been the ones who’ve been conspiring!” the aforementioned faced him.

The two of them crossed accusations. They were truly convinced that it was the other’s fault, and ignored their own conspiracies, the ones that hadn’t succeeded.

Warkmon sighed, it was always like that. Of course, if those shadows didn’t have those personalities, they couldn’t have led them to their cause, they couldn’t have converted them.

“Does anyone have any proof? Any trace? Any clue?”

“Well, no. But they killed everyone. Who else could do it? The others are far away, and fairies can’t get that far inside. I know that Jrevlo was following some living beings, they sure wanted to keep them for themselves,” Jralon argued.

“Living beings… What kind of?” asked the vampire, before Kroljo could intervene.

“I don’t know, just that there were two,” the shadow shrugged, somewhat surprised by the interest of Father’s envoy.

“Kroljo?”

“I don’t know anything about those living beings. I sent Droxdlir to investigate, but he disappeared. It must be Jralon!”

Warkmon frowned. He wasn’t going to get anything out, but he was pretty sure they hadn’t killed each other underlings. They couldn’t have contained a condescending look, or avoided taunting their enemy.

What worried him were those two livings beings that had appeared shortly before the disappearances. He knew he had to inform his master as soon as possible, in case it wasn’t a mere coincidence.

He feared that they were some of the surviving Guardians, who had found a way to fight, who had found a way to use the Flame to face them. Maybe it was just speculation, but it was his lord who had to decide.

However, first he had to get on with this meeting, and get as much information as he could.

“Unusual troop movements? Something out of the ordinary? Has any more shadow disappeared?”

“One at zone seven. A confrontation with a fairy. We don’t know what happened to her,” reported another of the shadows.

The vampire dismissed the incident. It wasn’t out of the ordinary. He just hoped the fairy had also succumbed.

The rest of the meeting were reports of troops, attack plans, possible traps for the living, movements of their enemies ...

He pretended to pay attention and care, and even gave them some words of encouragement and praise. However, he knew that the current situation was one of a difficult balance to overcome.

They needed to find something to break the balance, but, for now, it wasn’t easy. The positive part for them was that their enemies couldn’t advance, much less recover lost ground.

So, they let those shadows and corrupted beings do. Those were pawns who had been seduced by promises of power and revenge. They hoped the shadows would do something useful. If not, they were a good distraction.

The important thing for them was finding the Flame, but they had lost track of the survivors, of those who had escaped their lord. Of those who had supposedly betrayed their lord.

It may not be the truth, but it wasn’t as if the truth was going to change the attitude of those present. After all, the only truth they believed in was the one they wanted to believe.