Several weeks had passed since the battle of authority. Scouts were ordered to disperse all around the forest, even the ones that had never undertaken the task before were now commanded to do so. It was all to find the perfect path which connects one end of the forest to the other without compromising security.

  Several attempts were made during the time by the bandits to reoccupy their lost camp. These were mainly few young hot-headed scoundrels to be precise, but all these forces were swiftly repelled. Sarial, and his men had been ordered to stand by there until further notice, so it was a secure spot for now.

  Harwin had been training under Landel for the time being. He had made improvements, but now his body was almost reaching its limit.

  As for the prisoners that had been captured during the battle, they were executed, and their bodies were hung after having extracted information from them.

  It was a sight that Harwin could still not get used to, but to the elves it was pretty normal. Even children did not mind it much, they would play infront of the bodies without any care.

  All the dead bandits have had their amours and weapons looted as well. These would come in handy later for the venture that Harwin had in mind.

  Graftel had, after the permission from the chief, decided to give Harwin a reward. The choice of the reward was given to him. Though reluctant at first, he had refused, but after must pursuit, he finally requested to have Iquaral assist him in learning magika.

  Previsouly Iquaral had not given him any time of the day. The mage-chief would turn him away as soon as he got near, but now under the command of both the chief and Graf, he tutored him once or twice a week.

  Harwin had not been able to cast the spell at first, but under the supervision of the chief-mage, the problem was identified rather quickly.

  The main trouble was that he was not able to focus his magika to one point, and lost all focus as soon as it poured out of his body. To solve this problem, he was given a small, cheaply made wooden wand of sort. With this new addition, he got a greater control over his magika, and was able to cast some basic level spells. Harwin's happiness knew no bounds, though Alisa was even more excited.

  The lessons continued, and Harwin continued to improve slowly, yet steadily.

  Weeks past quickly, and soon a path was also located. It was near the western side of the forest, which was opposite to the bandit camp.

  Today was the day that it was to be finalized by the chief and Graftel. A grand-council was called upon at noon involving the chief, elder, commander, chief-mage, Harwin and every other important figure in the village.

  “Now that we have found what we were looking for, and also eliminated any threats that were previously faced, it is time to discuss what to do next. As Gor was the one who had suggested this plan in the first place, so it will be up to him to provide us with the necessary guidance for our next steps.” The chief pointed towards Harwin out of the many gathered there.

  This time, however, Harwin was not nervous. He had already been working on the strategy for some time now, he stood up with confidence and spoke:

  “First of all, as I am sure you are already aware, we should clear the path completely of any hurdles. Wagons and carriages will be passing from there so we should get rid of any boulders, tree stems, overgrown roots, and also any trees blocking out the path—”

  “WE CAN NO—” one of the villager tried to speak, but Harwin did not pay heed.

  “I am aware that the forest is sacred to the wood-elves, but if we do not perform this crucial step, all the merchants will have to follow an uneven path which is carries a greater risk than we think. It will also will require much greater man power than we can spare, thus the trees that will be cut are a sacrifice that we have to make no matter what.”

  “That is necessary. Of-course, the forest is sacred so we will try our best in preserving it. The trees that will be taken down will be used in the betterment of the village. It is not as if we have never used it before, infact, it is crucial for our village. Does anyone object?” the chief addressed the room.

  None dared to question the authority of the chief, so he signalled Harwin to continue.

  “During the time that the path will be getting cleared, we will need a small party to go to the nearest city. The purpose is to inform merchants and caravans alike about the service that we will be offering. It will also be a great opportunity to sell the goods that you have produced in the village, or intend to produce in the future. I am aware that you had been wronged by a merchant before, but I am confident in my abilities, and can assure you that you will earn more from this small venture than you have earned during the entire year.”

  Harwin spoke with such confidence which lightened up the entire room. Graf was especially proud as this was his student after all. He continued again:

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  “On top of that, we will also be building small shops around the path where you can display what-ever goods you wish to sell. Every single one of you will be able to make a living via this plan, thus we need everyone’s help to make it work as well.” Harwin put all his propositions forward.

  Only a few concerns were raised which were of minor nature, so they were quickly dealt with. The chief gave the final assent to the whole plan, and it was now officially in the stages of commencing. Now it all depended on luck, and the ability of Harwin to succeed.

  After the meeting was adjourned, Harwin had been held behind by the chief while everyone else made their way out. He did not know the reason for it, but he complied without any protest.

  After everyone had left, the chief finally spoke upon seeing the anxious look on Harwin's face.

  “No need to worry child, I merely wish to advise you. I completly trust in your ability, and have no doubt that you will pull off this plan once again, but the villagers do not trust you yet. This is the only time that you will be able to prove yourself worthy. A great number of families have lost someone dear to them in the last battle. I know that you are not to be blamed, but the concensus of the villagers have suggested otherwise. Do not become over-confident in your abilities, and rely on others.” The chief spoke out of heart while Harwin listened carefully.

  “I can asssure—” he was interrupted before he could speak further.

  “No need to explain to me or provide me with assurances. Your plan is great, I am aware of that, but I want you consider your position much more carefully especially now more than ever. We are in the final phase, so I can not allow any oversight at this point in time. That will be all, do think of all I said today.”

  Before he could leave the chief gave a final advice.

  “I also want you, personally, to complete the preparation for the caravan that will be leaving for the city that you mentioned before. Co-ordinate about it with Graftel. Report to me only when you are ready, but if you need any advice, my doors are always open.”

  Harwin left the room. His face was tense which were quickly noticed by Graftel, who had been waiting outside for some time now.

  “What is wrong? Did the chief scold you by any chance?” Graf guessed perfectly which made Harwin a little surprised at this man's intuition.

  “It is written all over your face. Do not worry though, as this happened to me as well when I first took the leadership of the elfin forces, after commanding the first few battles. I certainly led the wood-elves during the war, but he still lectured me when I made any mistake. He might have been worried about you due to the fact that you have changed a whole lot from the first time we saw you. Now you stand a bit more proud which in hindsight is not a bad thing, but considering the severity of the situation, it might be better to look a little more stressed, rather wear a stern expression infront of the old man.”

  Harwin nodded while still looking a bit down.

  “Come on now, no need to look so gloomy. Let us go to the practice-ground. I want to see what that brat has been teaching you all this time.” Graf tried to cheer him up.

  They made their way there together where Landel had been waiting for Harwin already. Upon seeing Graf with him, his face showed signs of agitation.

  “No need to be so alarmed boy. I have only come to see how you have been training my student in my absence.”

  Landel did not speak, but it was clear from his face that he did not want to be anywhere near this man. None the less, he did want to train with Harwin so he did not move.

  “Now then, it would only be fair to check if Gor has the ability to fight against the younglings that have been trained by myself. Most of them are battle-hardened now I can not just select anyone either. Lets see....”

  Graf looked around the practice-ground, and then shouted:

  “YOU THERE! STANDING GUARD BY THE ARMORY, COME HERE!”

  The intended youngling at once ran towards Graftel.

  “You will spar with this young man over here. I want to test the abilities of you two, so get ready. Both of you will use practice swords, as I do not trust either of you with real weapons for now.” Graf laid down the rules.

  The elf was quite confident in his ability. He was sure that he could never lose against a human. Harwin on the other hand was quite nervous, but Landel signaled him to remain calm.

  They got ready, and stood facing each-other — at-least a few yards in between. Both of them awaited Graf’s signal.

  “This is a friendly match so do not try to kill each other.....with that said, begin!”

  The youngling rushed at once upon hearing this. He took the first strike — the fastest and strongest he could manage, but to his surprise Harwin deflected it with ease.

  Harwin had not moved from his place at-all, even after the opponent had closed in a great distance.

  He remembered the instructions, and training of Landel — to wait till the last moment to deflect or dodge the attack, to throw his enemy off balance. In comparison to the strikes of Landel, this youngling’s slash was pale.

  However, Harwin did not counter yet. He wanted to observe his opponent's moves more, as to learn from the experience.

  The youngling frustrated by this sudden development slashed again. This time with more ferociousness and speed than before—

  Harwin again deflected each strike with ease. He felt there was not much weight to the slashes either, so he could deflect them very easily without straining himself.

  The youngling grew more frustrated with this outcome, but he had also used much of his stamina in the first few strikes. Now, his attacks grew slower and duller.

  After sometime of this non-stop deflecting and dodging, Harwin finally striked. The strike, itself, was precise and executed with great speed. He even made sure to not hit the opponent at any vital parts of the body. With a single slash, the battle concluded with Harwin emerging victorious.

  He tried to give a hand to the fallen youngling, but he was outright rejected. His arrogance, and ego were hurt quite abit — mostly due to being defeated by a human.

  Graftel had to interfere at this outcome:

  "Now, now. No need to be so furious, it was a friendly match. Gor had an advantage here as, unlike you, he had not been standing guard since the morning. Return to your post for now, and do not fret over this matter any further."

  The youngling calmed down a-little, yet he still wore an annoyed look while returning back.

  "It seems like little Landel here, has trained you quite well. How about testing your strength against someone else?"

  Harwin stood tall this time. This small victory was a great feat for a man of his background, but then a shocking revelation came:

  "Your next opponent will be myself. Do not hold back unless you want to get injured."