In the evening of the day before the eventual departure, Landel and Harwin made their way to meet Graftel to discuss few important details one last time.

  It was a rather short discussion as Graftel had already given out most of the instructions earlier on. The captains accompanying them would be mostly responsible for strategy or route selection so the most important duty of the pair would be to just listen to their seniors.

  Graftel concluded the meeting:

  “As you already know that captains Farelen will be accompanying you and the second captain is Viyetral. Gor, you might not know him, but he was in my personal guard during the last war. That man is reasonable and cunning fellow, so you can trust him to be helpful in all kinds of circumstances. Also, Kraft will accompanying you lot, he is the most experienced youngling of the village and is quite talented for his age. The lad's main talent lies in archery. He has proved himself in the battle of authority, and I can confidently say that he can, one-day, be part of the captains. Finally, do you have any questions?”

  “What should we do about Grantal? We can obviously not trust him. Should we kill him on the road and make it seem like an accident?”

  Landel asked without even a single shed of empathy on his face; it was only expected, as he was a natural born killer(swordsman).

  “No need to be impatient, brat. Try to befriend him during the journey, get close to him and extract as much information as possible, but if he makes any treacherous move, you are free to do whatever is necessary.” Graftel answered.

  Harwin was a bit disturbed by how easily they were talking about killing one of their kin. It made him a little worried about his own fate.

  ”Gor, you have awfully quiet for a while. Is something bothering you?” Graftel asked.

  “No, no...Actually, I am not sure about this journey. The elves have made a lot of enemies, so I do not think that it is a good idea to send the only heir of this village on this journey.”

  “If he can not return safetly, then he was simply not worthy of the title or the seat. Landel has yet to prove his wit even if he has proved his sword.”

  “I agree with you but—” He was interrupted.

  “Lady Alisa please join us, no need to act as if you are an outsider.” Graftel said whilst looking at Harwin.

  Alisa followed through with the invitation. She was a bit embarrased — having been caught eavesdropping.

  “What is troubling you?” Graftel asked with a gentle smile.

  “I want to go on the journey with these two. I will try my best to be not a burden and I am an excellent mage — Gor and Landel can attest to that. Please assent to this request of mine.” Alisa said while almost tearing up.

  She was not used to talking with anyone except for Gor and Landel. She had often been neglected from a young age being an orphan. Her grandfather did takecare of her, but he was a busy man, so she grew up with low self-esteem especially around strangers.

  It was not as if none of the others cared about her, but children around her age were usually fearful of her status. The captains and Graftel were scared to let her grow attached to them since most of the elves were warriors and lost their lives on regular basis, which could have left her devastated.

  All of them contributed indirectly. As Landel was the only one with whom she used to play, knowing this, the sword-saint used to let him go off early from the training. Also, Farelen and other captains used to bring gifts for all the orphaned kids in the village; most of these captains were not parents themselves so it was hard for them to understand a child. The only thing the bunch knew were swords, war and death.

  “No need to be so formal. I would have given you permission to go on this journey if it were not so far away. You are by no means a burden, Farelen was singing your praises to me. I know you are capable and that is the reason you shall remain in this village. We require your skill and talent. Secondly, we also need someone else who can inherit the chieftain's position especially now that Landel is my successor, so you are obviously the top candiadate with your skill and wit. If it were not for the concern for your safety, I would have named you my successor.” Graftel half-lied.

  “But what if these two never come back....what if they need a healing spell that only I can cast.” Alisa argued.

  “You have already taught Gor well enough, I am sure that with your teachings in his mind, he will even be able to grow back limbs. No need to worry, these two will return safetly, I will be sending the best of my men with them to ensure that they do not make any stupid mistakes. Does that make you feel a bit at ease?” Graftel inquired.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I…I still want to go with them.” Alisa was on the verge of crying.

  After much argumen,t with even Landel and Harwin stepping in to stop Alisa, all of them finally gave in with Graftel stating:

  "I allow you to accompany them, but you will have to pursue your grandfather yourself."

  Alisa smiled at having won her selfish wish, but the next condition still needed to be fulfilled.

  Harwin was of course concerend for Alisa, but somewhere in the heart, he was a bit relieved as well. She was the first one from the village who accepted him and became his friend. Most importantly, there were also some unfamiliar feelings that he tried to bury deep inside in his heart.

  Suddenly Harwin remembered something: the divine being, who had brought him to this world and disturbed his dreams from time to time, had also advised him to stay close to Alisa and Landel.

  ‘Maybe this all is his plan after all,’

  Harwin thought — concerned — but there was nothing he could do now, so instead of overthinking, he calmed his nerves for the journey that laid ahead.

  All of them went to prepare for tomorrow, there was no time to waste. All of the necessary details of plans had been shared by Graftel, but they still needed to be prepared themselves for anything that may come their way, now more than ever since Alisa would be joining them on this venture.

  In the morning everyone was already ready for the departure. Last night, the chief and the elders were at their wits end trying to convince Alisa to let go of the thoughts of the journey, but due to her persistence, she finally won.

  Grantal before the party’s departure asked to meet his father for the last time, but he was quickly handed a note by Viyetral who was in turn instructed by Graftel to do so. He said:

  “Your father has already left for the nearest town at dawn-break on order of the sword-saint. I was instructed by the sword-saint to hand you this note. It contains a farwell message from your father. He had tallied it to the chief-commander before leaving.”

  Viyetral said with a sense of trustworthiness around himself. He was a master of emotions. Graftel had not informed Harwin and Landel much about the past of this captain, but he had certainly held a very important position in the Royal army.

  “I can not read.” Grantal declared.

  “That is fine, most of us warriors can not do so. Gor, Come here! This young man would like you read out this letter.”

  Of course, Harwin had been made aware of this small plan already and was standing a few steps away, acting all unaware.

  “I would be happy to.” He grabbed the Letter and read out aloud:

  “Grantal, I am leaving for an important misson to a nearby town. I want you to do the following: adhere to the commands of the sword-saint as if issued by myself. Guide Landel, ‘The Heir Of The Woods’, to venture through this continent and help him meet with the chiefs of the elfian settlements. Train everyday. Follow these order without failing me. We shall meet again soon.”

  “Father is always keeping me in the shadows, but never the less, I have to do my duty...I just wish he could have bid me farewell.” Grantal looked a bit down.

  “No need to worry young blood, you have to prove yourself to your father. He has entrusted you with a very important mission which not even most of the captains have been given. Infact, this small group here is the only one entrusted by the sword-saint himself to carry out this task.” Viyetral reassured him while getting everyone else assembled.

  Graftel, seeing that everything went according to his plan, finally made his way to the group.

  “I see that everyone is in high spirits. I apologize Grantal that you could not meet your father before leaving for this journey. I will make sure to let him know that you received his note and that you were more than happy to follow his commands. I am grateful to you for helping me on such a short notice.”

  Graftel had already thoroughly judged the character of the young man through the reports of the captains. The lad was extremely gullible and did not know much about the ways of this world except for his fighting skills which were somewhat remarkable.

  “I am not worthy of such praise, but I am honoured that you would trust me. I have always looked up to you.” Gratanl was now in a great mood.

  “You are worthy, and you shall have plenty of moments to prove your mantle in this journey, so make me and your father proud. Everyone! Gather around for the final instructions.”

  Graftel was only pulling a facade. He had already discussed all his strategies with the whole group except Grantal:

  "You will be going along with a caravan that is heading to the southern Great-forest. Grantal here already knows everything about the place you will be visiting. You will meeting with the chief of the village and then continue going north from there to the first town. The town is headed by a small council. After meeting them, you will make your way to the remaining Great forests and settlements in between before finally returning home. Now everyone, you have to carefully nagivate your way without making trouble for anyone. Also, it will be best to avoid any conflict until absolutely necessary.”

  Graftel gave the basic travelling instructions and then continued:

  “The chain of command is as following: Viyetral is the head of the group, Gor is his deputy, Farelen is the battle-commander. Landel, Grantal and Kraft, you three are to act as the advisors to Farelen in-case of any battle.”

  Alisa looked a bit down, as she was not mentioned by the sword-saint which he quickly noticed:

  "Lady Alisa is the chief-mage. You lot have to listen to her in matters that are even remotely related to magika. I also expect you boys to be on your best behaviour with a lady in the group, and in the worst case scenario, protect her at all costs.” Graftel gave a warm smile to her.

  “So everyone, the caravan can not wait for much longer. I hope, rather expect, everyone to return in one piece.” Graftel led them to the caravan himself. He bid them farewell from there.

  Only if the the chief-commander knew what this small party would incur in the first few days of travelling, he would have certainly formulated a different plan.