The Path of the Adventurer

Chapter 31

Days passed by as Wynd and the travelers journeyed to Castle Briarbeth. They crossed the Baldur mountains, the fields of Pran, and the fields of Kingshire before they came to the capital of Briarbeth, Briarbeth City.

When they came to the city, there were no music. No merchants, no crowds, no laughter. Occasionally, people would pass by or enter a shop, but that was it. When the company looked up at the windows, villagers looked down at the company.

"This is definitely not the capital I remember..." Said Erion. "Hell, I even miss the merchants."

"Erion is right." Said Norder. "The capital seems to be preparing for the orcs' siege."

"Ha - I knew you'd get over it, laddie!" Laughed Huffey.

"Speaking of which, whatever happened to the weird magical merchant guy?" Asked Tikana. "I always wonder when we'll ever see him again."

"I actually ran into him when I was at Pelagia. Believe it or not, we're on good terms now." Replied Erion. "He decided to stay in Pelagia after an encounter with the orcs, which would explain his sudden disappearance."

"He's likely understood that the roads nowadays are no place for any mere travelers." Explained Magon. "But I wouldn't be surprised if he met his fate by now."

"Hey! I'm sensing a large concentration of people up in the castle!" Stated Frostine. "This is probably where the army and knights are preparing for battle. And among them, I sense some extremely powerful warriors!"

"We should run there." Erion said. "I'm kind of excited to meet some of our old friends again. Carolin, Thomas, Venetia, they'll be so proud of us!"

"They'll likely be busy training in battle, so we likely won't have time to speak with them." Replied Norder.

"Then we should just train with them! We don't know how long the orcs are going to be here, so it would be wise for us to get stronger during our time here."

"That, we can do." Replied Norder.

"In that case, let's run there now!" Erion said, running ahead.

"Erion, wait!" Shouted Magon. "None of us are elves except you and your mother, remember?"

"Oh, right, haha!" Erion chuckled. "Elven speed!" He ran slower, and eventually the company caught up with him.

The halls of Castle Briarbeth were packed with soldiers, nobles, knights, and even villagers. It was even more crowded than the streets of Briarbeth on the day when Erion arrived to the capital.

"There's too many people." Said Norder as they walked through the first hall. "Finding Carolin and the others will be hard."

"Well, we should still look around anyway." Said Erion. "Why don't we ask that guard over there!" Erion walked over to a guard standing near him and his company. "Excuse me, but do you know where Lady Carolin and the others are?" Asked Erion.

"Lady Carolin is down in the basement with Lady Venetia, Sir Thomas, and Lord Rith." Said the guard.

"Huh? Rith's here too?"

"Yes, they're down in the barracks. You're Erion, am I wrong?"

"Yeah. That's me! Lord Rith is also my guardian."

"Hmm, I see."

"Thanks for the help, sir!"

"Anytime, my friend."

Erion walked back to Magon and the others. "So, what did he say?" Inquired Wynd.

"He says they're in the barracks down in the basement." Said Erion. "Rith is even with them!"