31 Continued

The young men inside the carriage were an easy target for the charms of the beautiful rogue. The moment she stepped in and had a quick glance she knew Elias was the leader, and so was the target of her play.

Didn't take long for them to be completely bewitched by her. Despite her young appearance she seemed well lived and very cunning.

- "So, Elias…" She said enticingly – "Won't you introduce me to everyone?"

- "Of course, how senseless of me, please allow me to make the introductions"

- "This is Mark, first born of the Stoneridge family and his sister Doris. On my other side, Jonatan the next in line of the Westgate family. And beside Doris, there is Isabel, daughter of the main house of the famous Calamis Family." Said Elias proudly

Vicki made an overly surprised expression – "No wonder you are such famous adventurers" she exclaimed – "To think you have this beautiful ladies on your group and they are also from such prestigious families, you are very lucky Elias" She said bringing the girls to a better mood. They immediately unfolded their arms and smiled with satisfaction upon such recognition.

- "But I think you missed one person Elias… Isn't he also part of your group?" She asked clearly knowing the answer to that question.

Elias promptly answered – "No! That's just a greenhorn that Herger allowed to come along"

Viki looked at Riou who was a step away from her, near the driver. He seemed strangely uninterested in being part of the conversation. Mentioning him, usually evoked a reaction, but to him clearly didn't have the effect she expected, strangely enough it did not pick his interest. Which clearly sparked curiosity in the smart woman.

- "Does he have a name?" she asked everyone, still hoping that Riou himself would take the bait of a more direct question.

The Dracar Hunters looked at each other with doubt, most shrugged turning to Elias expecting answer, but he also didn't know.

Viki looked at Riou, first, she thought his silence could be out of shyness… but taken a second glance while she watched his posture. He was lying down, his eyes have been closed since the moment she sat down beside the two. He had an improvised pillow and crossed legs, clearly in an uncaring position and dismissively uninterested of what was going on.

So she leaned in his direction – "What's your name?" She said with a smile addressing the boy for the first time.

Riou opened just one of his eyes slightly to look at her.

- "Call me Riou" he said closing his eye once again not interested in their conversation.

Elias leaned in too, more to copy Viki stance than for having interest in the boy.

- "That's no way to treat a lady, be more mindful of your words and manners. When someone asks your name you should tell them your family's name" scolded the group leader.

- "Just Riou is fine" answered the boy casually paying no mind to his remark.

Viki was not paying much attention either, she was far more interested in analyzing the strange boy. She started by looking at his clothes with more care. They were common, not only common, they were literally the cheapest clothes there were. She cruised her eyes through them to specific spots where her trained eye knew she'd found something interesting. She spotted a pouch attached to his belt, and judging by the size, volume and shape of the cloth, she knew it was filled with coins and perhaps even a gem or two.

Her eyes sparkled while her suspicious grew. "What is a boy, dressed like this, doing with such amount of money?"

- "Are you ashamed of your name? Or are you a bastard?" Continued Elias intrigued to why he didn't say his family name

Riou smiled to the term – "I wouldn't say that, I just don't have one"

- "He can also be an orphan Elias" said Jonatan entering the conversation

Elias pondered and nodded – "That also explains it" he concluded assuming the boy was an orphan.

Viki who was still looking at Riou finally noticed a necklace, she saw the black reinforced strings and parts of a rune, inscribed in the copper metal, she noticed instantly it was magical as she saw the glint of blue in the rune.

"Elven runes, a magical necklace… he even has one of those" She realized as her suspicious grew by leaps once she saw the boy's possessions.

She squinted her eyes and a devious smile appeared on her face as she leaned back once again.

- "So… Dracar Hunters, what a big name! You must tell me how you got it" She asked Elias while her eyes stubbornly didn't want to leave the boy lying down.

Elias smiled – "Well we chose it ourselves! The Dracar are one of the most powerful beasts in Allard, so we also wanted our name to display our might!" Said the young man

The rogue already knew it but kept on the story to massage their egos a bit more.

- "So why are you on this journey to the north" she asked curiously

- "My father requested us to help Bronach on this travel, also it will help to spread our name" Replied the pompous Leader.

Riou only smiled to himself while listening to such nonsense, holding the laughs while remembering that if Viktor's group had trouble with a Dracar… how would they fare in such a situation?

No interesting conversation went on between the rogue and the group, until the caravan stopped, it was noon and time to rest and eat.

Everyone left the carriage by the back while Riou went out from the front opening.

The terrain changes were slight, plains and small hills until the sight could see, on the verge of the horizon the golden color of the fields merged with the blue sky as vegetation was not too high. Only a few scattered trees here and there could be seen.

Looking back Riou could see what seemed to be some of the city plantations and fields for the livestock to feed. They traveled for half a day and still were inside Brigantium agricultural production.

"Impressive… this city is truly a strategic resource, it can feed an army and its population for a long time in times of war" Thought the boy looking around.

It was still summer, most of the field grass and vegetation were almost golden in color, wild grain plants and dry grass was covering the majority of the land. The few trees scattered in the plains were very tall in had an umbrella shape, only in the far top the branches full of leaves opened up providing a big shadow underneath it.

The road was poorly taken care of, the few stones left were broken and taken by the grass and was mainly of dirt by this part.

Watching around Riou saw the men taking the horses to the grass for eating. Nearby he noticed some gathering water from a small water source that came from within some rocks.

They were putting a fire together with some metallic support to hold a big pot, they clearly intended to cook something in it for the group.

There were some old tree trunks, rocks and plenty of wood around the place where the fire was being started. It was clear to Riou that it was common for merchants and caravans to stop there.

Riou walked a bit away from the caravan and the other people to watch his surroundings, he noticed high clouds in the horizon and even with forcing his sight he could see no signs of an mountain range in any direction. And looking the land, many scattered rocks on the fields of many sizes.

Suddenly Riou felt a movement nearby, as if a presence appeared and was sneakily creeping from behind. He slightly turned his head, first pointing his ear towards it for hearing, and then, turning a bit more to allow the corner of his eyes to get a glimpse of what it was.

He saw the rogue walking very carefully, slowly towards him.

As she realized she had been noticed she dropped the act and walked normally.

He followed her with his eyes until she was beside him.

- "Impressive, there aren't many people who I can't sneak upon" She said slowly while looking very interested at Riou who waited with curiosity for her to continue – "So, what a man like yourself is doing in a caravan to the north?" She said moving closer to him.

Riou was suspicious to her approach but didn't demonstrate, he knew she was not trustworthy – "Why would you have to sneak up on me?" Asked the boy casually, changing the topic while trying to understand what she was after.

She relaxed her eyes and licked her bottom lip – "Old habit" she replied in the same casual tone that Riou used.

- "So?" she insisted in the question to why he was there.

Riou smirked taking a moment for his reply – "I'm just catching a ride to Thanes" he said finally answered her question.

She smiled back devilishly while approaching – "Riou… right? What is your story, why Thanes?" Riou noticed her eyes glancing at his necklace with a strange interest.

He smiled back as if understanding her real intentions – "Just visiting a few friends" He answered looking calmly at her.

She moved around a bit while looking at his necklace – "Hmm, friends you say? Did one of this friends gave you this beautiful necklace?"

Riou smiled even brighter, now convinced of what she really wanted.

- "Yes" Said the boy simply without giving more information.

Understanding he was on to her, she decided a more direct approach.

- "I noticed it was elven necklace… and all of are imbued with different kinds of magic. Does the one you carry have any special effect as well?" asked the rogue very innocently.

– "To tell you the truth, it doesn't do much… it would have no use for anyone else but me in this parts" He said without much care.

She squinted her eyes, thinking and judging if he was intentionally dismissive to hide the powers of the necklace. She resumed her approached – "You are not very talkative, are you?"

- "I'm just not fond of entertaining phony people" he said plainly.

Her eyes widened in surprise for such unexpected, abrasive response. So far he did nothing but to fall out of her expectations in every single turn.

She then looked at him with curiosity.

- "How old are you?" She asked with real interest for once, finally out of her seductress persona.

Riou smirked noticing the change, but he couldn't really answer that – "Take a guess" He said playfully.

She smiled while looking suspiciously at him once again, he was an odd boy and the fact she was unable to read him bothered her greatly.

Despite the fact that he looked like a boy in his tender 15 years, he acted and talked like an older man. He had completely seen through her every move and was even able to notice her approach. Nothing but surprises came of him so far, while all her attempts to approach him seemed to fail.

Deciding to retreat and rethink her approach, she ceased her advances.

"Before we reach our destination, that necklace will be mine..." Thought the Rogue.

She smiled and turned around. Viki started to walk away slowly, swaying her hips seductively. After a few steps she turned her head just to make sure, and see if Riou was watching her.

He smiled once more when he noticed the look… He couldn't help but laugh a bit by that interaction "it went better than expected, what a strange girl" he thought to himself. And despite knowing she was a cunning trickster he couldn't deny it, she really knew how to be enticing.

At a distance, their interaction had other spectators. Elias, who were the target of the gorgeous woman charms until that moment, observed with envy from afar.

And Herger, that noticing their interaction as well approached Riou as the rogue left.

- "You unlucky bastard…" He said with a concerned voice once he got near Riou, joining him while watching the rogue go – "She seemed to have set her eyes on you now…" Said the Norse turning towards the boy - "You seem to be an intelligent man, so a word of advice… be careful with that one, do not underestimate her charms or you will end up regretting it." Advised Herger.

Riou nodded – "Do you know her?" Asked the boy without taking his eyes of the rogue.

- "Just enough to know better and keep my distance" answered the Norse, tapping the boy's shoulder.

Riou nodded, thanking him for the advice.

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The sun would set soon when they finished looking through all taverns in the city. All they could find out was that a merchant caravan had left for Thanes not too long ago with many young people with them.

The 3 thought about the possibility that Riou could be amongst them, but the lack of an older man accompanying it made them wonder if he could still be in the city.

So deciding to leave no rocks unturned, they went to the castle as a last attempt. If he was no there, then it was safe to assume he had already left to Thanes.

The castle followed the capital's architecture style, but was much smaller and not so detailed or well decorated. The rock on the walls and floor was not as shiny and whited shaded as the capitals. This castle walls had a rough brownish shade to it. And Instead of the purple, a red color was predominant in every corner.

The princess didn't want to bring attention to herself so the group went in using the Lioness influence, going inside without delay and promptly being led towards the war room.

- "My lord, The Lioness is visiting and requires your attention." The guard announced at the war room.

Bhalrom showed a relieved expression while Copperford waved allowing her in.

The 3 women entered the war room.

- "Eileen!?!?" – Was the first thing that was heard, Lilly's voice was loud with the surprise of seeing the princess in the city. Bhalrom quickly noticing the princess frowned and intervened as well

- "What are you doing here?"

Without delay and cutting down any explanations she simple asked – "Is Riou here?" She asked to Lilly and Bhalrom who instantly got even more surprised

- "That damn boy is alive? Ha! Of course he is" Said the surprised knight in a joyous tone.

- "Why would he be here? What are you doing here?" Insisted Lilly approaching the princess

- "That's a long story… we are looking for him" Said the princess indicating Therese and Leona.

Copperford who was not very interested in information about a boy, directly spoke to Therese

- "Well Therese, I don't know the reasons that brought you here, nor do I really care... but since you are here, we will be requesting your help." Said the knight moving towards the table with the region's map.

Everyone's attention switched towards Therese and Copperford.

- "We have high orcs hiding in our iron mine near the city" he said pointing in the map. – "We were devising a plan to try to flush them out, but the risks are too great, the bastards are smart and we will be at disadvantage fighting in a small and tight space"

Noticing Lilly and Serena were about to speak, Bhalrom stepped in before them, joining the conversation – "Yes, now that The Lioness is here, we will not risk sending our last court mages inside a small cave... we all remember what happened the last time" Said The Knight looking at the mages.

- Lilly couldn't agree with that - "This time is different, we could take care of it and..." Said Lilly being interrupted by Bhalrom – "It's a closed quarter fight, the enemy may not be as dangerous as the shadow Fiends, but we can't risk it now that Therese is here" Said Bhalrom clearly concerned.

Lilly seemed unconvinced but refrained from arguing when Serena touched her shoulder to calm her down.

Therese looked at Copperford - "So you want me to deal with them?" She said calmly as if that was a common request.

Eileen looked at Leona with a confused expression, the wolf just answered with silence and quick nod. The princess understood she was not to intervene and just watched the conversation.

The knight nodded turning and walking towards a desk in the back. He grabbed a small pouch of money full of coins and showed it to Therese.

- "If I recall correctly, this should suffice." Therese pointed to Leona with her eyes and the knight threw it at Leona, she expertly grabbed it midair, and quickly attached it to her belt.

- "It will be done" Therese said turning around leaving the room.

Leona quickly followed her and Eileen was doing the same when she heard

- "Eileen? Where do you think you are going? You didn't explain a thing yet" Said Bhalrom walking towards her.

Eileen without stopping her steps, quickly glanced at the knight by turning her upper body – "I'm sorry Bhalrom, but I don't have time to explain anything now"

Reaching Therese and Leona, the princess asked – "What about Riou? Weren't we looking for him?" She asked confused

Without stopping and going for the exit Therese answered - "Yes. So why do you think I accepted it?" Asked the Lioness to Eileen.

The princess couldn't make a clear idea to why, and kept pondering while they walked outside.

- "We know where he is headed, and if he is not in this city, he is already moving towards Thanes. So why did I accept the proposition?" Said Therese again after a few moments of silence.

Eileen thought but couldn't reach a conclusion. She looked at Leona for help and she noticed that the wolf girl seemed to have the answer by her calm and prideful expression.

"Why? It makes no sense… we should go right now" the princess thought looking at them.

Therese went for the Laughing Boar tavern, the first tavern that could be found when entering the city from the southwest. A man in an apron welcomed them.

- "Welcome to the Laughing Boar, how can I be of service?" said the man in an apron behind a counter.

- "Did you see a boy, 15 years old, messy brown hair and blue eyes?" Asked Therese

The man shook his head - "I don't think so, so many people passed by this past few days… so many faces I can't be sure." He said unsure.

- "Do you have good rooms with bathtub?" She asked.

- "Yes madam, our best room have a private bathtub!" Promptly answered the man.

- "Is it vacant?" She added

- "You are very lucky, it just have been cleaned out from our last guest"

- "Then please, give-me this room and another one with 2 beds." Continued the Lioness.

- "Very well, please follow me!"

The man showed the best room on the house and the another one adjacent to it that was vacant. As the man left Therese looked seriously at Leona and entered the room, the wold quickly followed.

As they entered Therese went for the bed while Leona went for the chairs and table. Eileen following them inside just watched their movements with curiosity. Both seemed like hunters after their pray, walking slowly trying to find something.

- "He was definitely here" Said Leona near the chairs.

- "That means he spent the last night here at least" Said Therese.

Eileen was lost.

- - "How can you be sure?" The princess asked

- "She is from the wolf clan" Said Therese still looking around for any other clue.

Eileen knew that the wolf clan were the best trackers amongst the beastmen. So if Leona was sure, there should be no question about it.

Knowing he was there recently she grew even restless – "If we know he was recently here, now we will be going after him? So why take the request?"

- "You had time to think it over… what was your conclusion?" Asked Therese looking at Eileen.

Eileen tried to come up with an answer but her mind couldn't bring up anything – "I don't know…" she answered

- "Think back, when we were in the capital… how much of a head start he had on us?" Asked Therese.

- "A couple hours maybe…" Said the princess recalling the moment.

- "Could we have arrived in this city any faster?" Asked Therese

- "No… we couldn't" Said the princess beginning to realize something.

- "And yet, he was able to get here, at the very least, a day before us" She said showing the room they were in. "Do you understand now?" Asked the Lioness.

- "That means, if he already had left to Thanes... we will not be able to reach him while on the move" Said Eileen finally putting the puzzle together.

- "So, why it doesn't matter if we accepted the request or not?" added Therese to stimulate her reasoning.

- "Because…" Said Eileen thinking very hard. – "Because we will not be able to reach him on the move... and he probably will stay with Max for a while after arriving there." Said Eileen looking at Therese eagerly waiting for her confirmation.

The lioness nodded – "If he is traveling the same speed than before, we have no chance to catch him on the road... and if by chance he took the caravan, we will have plenty of time to find him as we will be faster... But there are 2 other reasons to take the job, first is the money for the travel and the second is that this is a good opportunity for you to improve" said Therese.

Eileen nodded and finally understanding the reasoning Therese had and how she got to the tavern and room where Riou would have stopped as well – "You came here because it's the first tavern that he'd find if traveling from Longart… and you asked for a room with a bathtub because of what I said earlier about him wanting a bath house in the castle... you knew he was fond of bathing because of that" Said Eileen finally understanding how Therese had gotten there.

Therese smiled faintly - "Very good Eileen, remember to pay attention to the details, apply the prey behavior to your thoughts and follow the tracks." She said to the princess then turning to Leona who was also smiling to the princess – "now let's eat and rest… tomorrow you two will have a busy day." Said the Lioness walking back to the tavern main hall.

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The next morning came fast to the tired group. And before the first sunlight shined in the horizon Therese and Leona were already waking Eileen up.

- "Wake up, on your feet Eileen." Said Therese to the sleepy princess who had to take a moment to process what was going on.

The princess then promptly stood up in her sleeping clothes. Leona walked towards the wall and leaning towards it

- "Well, for our request you will have to learn a bit of physical enhancement magic... and as you are already a magic user, it will certainly facilitate and speed up your process of learning. So, for now, forget everything Riou told you about Magic and focus only on what you know for sure, we will go from there as it might be easier for you to learn" Spoke Therese approaching Eileen who nodded in agreement.

- "What is the source of magic?" Asked Therese.

Eileen answered promptly the knowledge she received from the academy – "The element's blessings evoked through emotion"

Therese shook her head while walked from side to side in front of Eileen – "That's not entirely correct, do you know why?" Questioned Therese.

Eileen thought for a moment as she felt Therese wanted a more complex answer than the one she had learned on the academy.

Therese noticing the silence from the princess, just nodded – "Emotion is a great catalyst to bring forth magic, but emotion is nothing without knowledge, that's what you need to learn" She added

The princess seemed confused

- "Take yourself for instance, you are a capable mage so why are you incapable of using magic to enhance your physical traits?"

Eileen quietly listened and answered after a moment of ponder – "Because I lack the knowledge to do so" She answered trying to understand what Therese wanted to convey.

- "Now pay attention, I want you to focus mana into your arm, use the element you feel more comfortable with for now. All I want is to you to hold the mana on your right arm and keep it there… when you can manage to hold it still, don't panic because it will hurt at first, endure it and try to adapt it within your arm… and be careful to not burst your arm in the process" Said Therese very seriously watching the princess.

Eileen didn't understand very well but complied by extending her right arm. Since she was well rounded with all primary elements she chose fire as the most simple to conjure.

She evoked through anger the fire on her arm. She began to feel the heat increasing and the slight pain of burn on her skin began to grow as it intensified.

Therese immediately grabbed her arm ceasing Eileen mana immediately – "Take a step back… do not conjure the element, just call the mana forth" Said the lioness calmly releasing the princess arm.

Eileen tried again… "A step back…" she thought focusing once again… using anger to call forth the fire, the same sensation began to erupt on her skin.

Therese once again grabbed her arm – "Even further back… keep it inside of the arm, don't let it flow out." She added.

Eileen nodded and sighed deeply while concentrating. She extended her arm again and began to focus anger when she heard from Therese – "Go back… go deeper…" Eileen then relaxed once more to begin from the start once again.

"Before fire there is anger, before anger… what lies before it?" questioned herself as she tried once again to call forth mana without using anger.

The retry and error process repeated itself for a while, but Eileen noticed that the surges of pain that gradually began to erupt from her arm changed at each attempt, the burning sensation began to vanish as she tried to put forth only pure mana... then a sharp pain firstly began on the center of her arm quickly flowing out through the skin; This happened a few times which every time Therese reminded her to hold it inside.

The sun was already shining bright while she kept on trying, again and again, and after many failed attempts she took a moment to breathe and recover some of her stamina. She used the time to think.

She calmed herself with a deep breath before evoking less mana directly through her arm's core and entirety.

"Before fire there is anger, before anger... there is mana... the knowledge itself of manipulating pure mana" She realized, quickly putting herself in position again.

She remained calm and tried to brought forth the pure mana she could gather without using emotion as a catalyst. It was a very difficult thing to manipulate directly her mana pool without help.

The small amount she brought forth she quickly tried to maintain it inside her arm by mentally holding it there, constantly. It took but a moment after finally accomplishing that to the princess by afflicted by a sudden sharp pain. She felt as if her arm was about to burst from the inside as the very bone and muscle seemed to be affected. Her face instantly reflected pain she was feeling.

Therese quickly exclaimed – "Release it to your arm! Let it adapt and fill the veins, muscles and bones... Hold it in as it adapts! Remember this sensation and let the mana flow as it wishes within the boundaries you created!"

With her arm twitching in pain, it was way too much difficult to maintain it longer than a few moments. As her arm collapsed, the mana flow within it ceased… she was exhausted and breathing heavily.

- "Almost there... you are grasping now the essence of how it works. When you understand this concept you will be able to call forth more mana. But then more control is needed and more results you will achieve with it" Said Therese walking towards a chair and sitting down.

She turned to Eileen who was still catching her breath and exclaimed – "Again! You will not stop until you grasp the concept of the skill"

Eileen breathe deeply and once again extended her arm… despite her exhaustion, her resolve was not shaken.

Therese and Leona said no praise words towards her, as they expected no less from a warrior as themselves.

- "This is far too different from what Riou explained... he made it sound much more easier, he never mentioned any pain involved" Said Eileen smiling, remembering his words.

Therese smirked - "That's why I told you to forget what he said... I'm not saying he is wrong or right, but this is not an easy feat and requires a lot of resilience. Otherwise you'd see this technique much more frequently"

Eileen agreed with that remark... She knew she'd need that technique if she ever intended to win against Riou in a duel.

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Riou was sitting down near the fire watching them preparing the stew.

Riou observed the men while they were peeling some roots and few vegetables in a big pot filled with boiling water.

- "The first army used to do the same thing, but they never peeled this roots… or anything to be honest, they just tossed everything inside the pot." Said Riou watching them.

- "This is a common recipe when you are on the move" Said the man continuing to peel the roots

- "See, I told you we didn't need to peel anything…" Said the other one complaining on having to work.

- "Shut it, it taste better when you peel it." Concluded the first one.

Another men came in and sat down opposed to Riou

- "Ho, you mean Allard's first army? That First Army?" he asked intrigued.

Riou nodded.

Suddenly Riou felt a figure approaching quickly, it sat down beside him very closely, in the same trunk he sat on. It was Viki who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Riou looked at her and moved a bit to the side to leave some room between them. She smiled innocently, clearly just wanting to listen to the conversation.

- "So, how do you know the first army?" Asked the other man.

Riou changed focus from Viki to him while keeping some awareness of her movements, before he continued to talk

- "I've trained and marched under them for a while" Said the boy

- "What? You are too young to be part of the First, they'd never allow such young recruit" the man replied with a doubtful smile while poured everything he peeled inside the cooking pot.

- "I never said I was part of it, just trained with them for a while" corrected Riou

The other men started to gather around as they overheard the conversation.

They were all Norse men, with light skin and blond, red and light brown hairs. They seemed to know very well about Allard armies and famous people.

They were all dressed in leather armor and heavy cloth, few had pieces of chainmail in their armor on their chest, clearly to protect vital points. Most of them carried long swords and ring shields and a few others swords and bows.

– "What? Are you telling me you know Bhalrom? Because only he marches with the First, so you want me to believe you personally know the Cruel Knight Captain of Allard?"

Riou smiled – "In a matter of fact, I do, and believe it or not, he is a nice guy"

Laughter erupted from the group – "Hahaha! The strict knight captain? The same one that created the hell like trial to join the first, is a nice guy?!" said one of the men sarcastically.

- "So you are 'almost' a son of the first!?" Said Herger sitting down on a rock near Riou. – "Was that the reason you were in Brigantium? The City was full of soldiers, many of them had the first's emblem"

- "Yeah, followed them here for the battle, but since I'm not officially part of it I'm not bound by any oath." Said Riou with a clever story to explain why he is not with the army.

- "I see… luckily I heard nobody had to fight, that mage was something else" said Herger impressed with the mage's action.

- "Boy, you were with the soldiers' right? On the walls, you must have seen what happened! Tell us what you saw there" asked one of the more excited men gathering the attention of the others that also wanted to know.

- "Well, I was not in the first ranks you know… all I remember was the sound and the tremors" Said Riou slowly, trying to think some of the stories he thought most of the people would be talking about.

The men nodded in a single motion, as if every one of them remembered feeling the tremors and hearing the sounds that echoed that day.

The conversation was abruptly interrupted by one of Herger's men who came quickly towards him. Everyone silently watched the man walking quickly. He leaned down and whispered a few words in his ear.

Herger nodded looking towards him and got up from his seat. – "Lunch will have to wait, we are expecting guests"

All the men stood up gathering their weapons. Herger waved to the Dracar Hunters calling them to join the main force.

On the back from where the caravan has come, some dust was being raised, it appeared that a few horses seemed to be approaching quickly and the dust of the dry road was rising up.

Riou noticing Viki seemed restless, he looked at her as she was still near him. Her usual easy going expression seemed extremely concerned while she looked towards the direction of the approaching horses.