What is love?

Chapter 5

    No one was ever lucky enough to escape the beast, but they did. As they kept laughing, Dimitri looked at the crack and couldn’t help but think that maybe that old man was right - that the tree would protect him from the evil that he would encounter. But of course, it's still a mystery and no matter the case, they made it through, in one piece.

By the time they came out, the sun had just started to set, so the men started to hike as far from the crack as possible, in case the GateKeeper tried to catch them again. As they hiked through a dense forest, they found a spot in the woods that looked safe enough by distance, as well as their surroundings.

They set up camp as quickly as they could because they knew that the journey down the river was not going to be a short one. It may take a few days, maybe a few weeks. They don’t know the length nor the danger near the river. What they do know, is that from there to the town will not be as hard as they already witnessed, but that doesn’t mean they should let their guard down.

As they began to get some rest, Dimitri took the first shift through the night. As the breeze gently flowed through the forest, Dimitri felt the same feeling he did the night before. The night he met the old man and the pond. He didn’t see any glaring lights, but what he did feel was the same feeling when he touched the tree, but it felt a little stronger as if he was closer. The feeling was still so odd, but it felt more natural. It felt as if he was going the right direction towards the feeling that is burning inside him. As the night went on, he finally finished his shift and fell asleep, letting Luke take over for the rest of the night. When he fell asleep, he had a dream. It was faint, but it was strong nonetheless. The dream showed him watching a woman who was with two kids. The kids belonged to her it seemed, and they belonged to him. He didn’t know these people, but all he could feel was pain. Pain as if he had lost them, was this a vision of the future. A vision of him losing the one he might love, or is this the vision of him not being able to have what his deep desire and wish is.

The night went on normally after the dream and everyone woke up to Edward cooking everyone some fresh steak that they got from the village the day before. It was delicious, well-cared for and it filled them all up to the very brim. As they finished, they packed their belongings and began setting out to the village that wasn’t much further ahead. As they walked, they admired the beauty that the forest endured. It had plants that they had never really seen before or took much thought to.

The trees were big, but not big enough to feel small to them. They were comforting. The animals that lived there seemed to act that way when they wandered around. They never took much thought and seemed safe, even if they were close. Not even an hour after they left camp, they arrived at the river.

The river was foggy, but looked clean and calm. They were able to see the fish at the surface, but they had to stand clear of the water because this river was the home to crocodiles. They weren’t special demonic crocodiles, but even as normal ones they can still be quite vicious if provoked.

“Hey, look everyone, there is a village down the river!” Luke said super ecstatic and immediately found by Emil, “ha ha, maybe they have a boat that can help us down the river.”

They all looked at one another and smiled as they started to walk down the river to the nice fisherman village. Thankfully, the village wasn’t far and they were able to get to it quite quickly.

As they arrived, they realized that they didn't have many guards and seemed open to any travelers. Being respectful, they entered the village and tried to find a boat shop as quick as they could.

As they found one, they started to walk to it, but then were greeted by a nice looking man that seemed quite desperate.

“Oh thank God, this must be a blessing. Please dear Royals, I need your help. I beg sirs I beg.” The man was sweating and looked like he was on the verge of tears, so as the Royal Mercenaries were, Edward replied concerned for the man, “calm down Sir, it’s ok, what is wrong?”
The man tried to catch his breath as he tried to answer, “oh please help me, my son and I went hunting and stumbled upon some bandits, and they are hurting him. They aren’t far, not even two minutes away.”