They have only been marching for a few hours now, yet the mood of the expedition was strange. They were marching to battle, yet snickering could be heard from the hunters regularly... If you looked closely at Berg's face, you would see a suppressed smile, Titus and Ferlin seemed strangely interested on the grass at their feet and would not look up, while Chris... Well, his face was red, he did his best to hide it but it was just so obvious..

It all started a few days ago. Chris had originally planed to send Berg as the leader of the expedition. He would be in charge of battles and negotiations. But as the days went by, he understood one thing about Berg. He was intelligent and honest, but he was not shrewd. He would do great against the Kunalls, but he would be out of his elements when it came to recruiting the refugees.

So Chris decided to join the expedition, it was better that way anyways, he needs experience as a leader, he needs to know more about the world. He had never even seen a Kunall yet. But he was a normal man from the modern world, how fit could his body be? He was an engineer that spent most of his days in front a computer, on his spare time he would play videos games and read novels.

There was no way he would be able to do a forced march and follow those trained hunters. The trip should take them one day, but how long would it take if he joined? Two days? Three? Or maybe more?

They had two horses and just one cart... The cart was already full and in bad shape, it creaked under the weight of the goods. So he could not use it. He wasn't going to sit on top of sharp arrows and poison anyways.

The horses had to drag the cart without rest, even Chris would not be as shameless as endanger their provisions by exhausting the horses with his extra weight. There was no time to catch and tame another horse either...

After sharing his worries with his adjutants, Titus suddenly spoke: "Lord, I might have a solution. I will take care of it. I will bring your new mount right after we leave!"

Chris was so relieved that he did not even question Titus: "Great, I'll leave it to you then!"

And now that they were away from the village, Titus took a little detour and came back with the Sun King's mount! The majestic Equus Asinus! Also know... as a donkey.

Titus' face was red, it seemed he was embarrassed just by standing next to the donkey.

"L-lord... We have no extra horses unfortunately, but we found this donkey a few weeks ago and we tamed it. M-my daughter usually plays with him, but he is quite strong." It seems Titus could not even look his lord in the face.

Chris couldn't even react, he was still looking at the donkey, his stare was vacant, his mouth still open from the surprise...

Titus continued:"H-his name is Dalahan..."

Chris finally came back to his senses [Dalahan? Isn't that too cool for a donkey?]

Ferlin smirked as if he had guessed Chris' thoughts,"Titus had read the legend of 'Dalahan The Dragon killer' to his daughter the day before finding the donkey. And she got to name him."

Berg could not hide his smile, while the hunters tried to hold on the best they could.

Chris had veins poping on his forehead. [What is this Titus? Is this a new kind of bullying? Or is this a new play? I am not into that you know! And look at that donkey's face! Is it mocking me?]

The donkey finally looked at Chris and turned his head "pffftff".

Chris [And you! You bastard, are you saying you prefer playing with girls than old men huh? What about me? Think I want to associate with you!]

Chris finally accepted to ride the donkey, it seemed neither of them were happy with this and it took quite some convincing. The donkey was so small that Chris' feet almost touched the ground, it was clearly a better fit for children. Chris pretended everything was normal, but even given how shameless he was... his face still turned red.

And thus, the Sun King and his mighty steed went to battle!

But with this the mood got considerably lighter and the march progressed very fast. Ferlin and the hunters knew the area, so they made sure to avoid the territory of dangerous beasts. They still had to defend the convoy, a few times, some wolves were attracted by their provisions and a giant buffalo seemed to take a liking to Dalahan and chased him and Chris for a while.

They had already marched most of the way when it was time to set camp. That night Chris slept very well, he wasn't even woken up by the wolves howling and the fighting noises. Luckily the hunters had no trouble dispatching them.

The cook distributed food to everyone and the march resumed.

It was almost noon when the scout came back to the main group and stopped them. The refugee camp was just ahead. Chris immediately gave the order to setup camp.

Once everything was setted, Chris asked Titus to send scouts to spy on the Kunalls and to alert him when they were less than an hour away. Titus arranged a two-man team. They left with the two horses once they were sufficiently rested. They didn't need to fear the Kunalls if they had mounts, as Kunall never used any. Even if they were spoted they could at least run away!

Chris left for the refugee camp around 3PM. He was accompanied by Berg, Titus and 20 hunters. Ferlin remained at the camp in case something happened.

The first thing Chris noticed were the partially built wooden barricades. He was impressed, they worked fast, efficiently. He was also surprised as they dared to build. [Aren't they afraid of the consequences? Or are they taking a stand against the Kunalls? Not good, this might complicate things.]

Chris was both glad and worried. This would make them harder to recruit, they probably had a good leader or they were tired of fleeing. But if he succeeded in recruiting them, he would have strong fearless subjects. Building his first city in three weeks would not be a dream anymore.

"Pfftttff" Dalahan complained. Chris' worry made him tighten his grip on Dalahan.

"Sorry little gu-" Chris suddenly remembered he was riding a donkey! To a negotiation! His image would be destroyed! He immediately jumped down and handed the rains to an unwilling Titus. [Ah! Serve you right!] He thought.

Chris and his men were welcomed in the camp by the guards and were guided to the chief's tent. He noticed everyone had stoped working. They were nervous. [Looks like they probably had trouble with other human groups...]

Chris looked around and saw no construction projects other than the current barricades, everyone was still living in tents. But he was pleased to see horses, caravans, carts... He could even hear a hammer rhythmically hitting metal. [They have a blacksmith!]

"Stop!" A guard stoped them once they reached the center of camp. He walked in front of a tent and said : "This is the chief's tent! Beyond here no more than 3 people are allowed! No weapons allowed either!"

Berg frowned and looked at Chris "Sire, this is too dangerous, let me go alone!"

Chris answered, "We have to show we are trustworthy. And besides look at them, I see nervousness, I see some fear, but no hostility. We should be fine. Let's go!"

The tent was really big, there was enough space inside to 10 people, easily. He could see many books and leather scrolls piled on the ground. He felt as if he just walked in a library.

A calm and beautiful voice grabbed his attention "Welcome. I am Mia Fabeln. How should I address you?"

The voice belonged to a young woman, if he had to guess he would say she was around 25 years old. She had long black hair twisted into a side bun, her eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel, her face was calm, almost cold, she had no superflious accessories. She was a little smaller than Chris, but her confident posture made up for it. She looked directly at him while waiting for his answer.

Chris almost froze, but then immediately got his bearings back. He then said:

"Bergy. Change of plans" The strange thing was that his lips almost didn't move, yet the sound reached Berg's ears.

"..." Berg let a sigh escape his lips. He too had a better understanding of his new king.