Leading a convoy felt great. Or leading anything in general. Vreil had never been an official leader before and he was excited to have the chance to test his worth in this field.

Of course, before they departed, Vreil had been introduced to the other diplomats participating in the mission. There were four people in total.

The first one, named Jeffrey, was a man near his sixties who continuously looked bored. The second person was named Linda, and she was a young-looking woman in her forties. The third was Sir Arnold. He had been named a knight by the previous king many years ago and, after Ashter of course, he was the head diplomat of this mission. The last one was Vreil himself, although he had been ordered to stay quiet and just listen to the whole process.

Other than Sting, who was the head of the guards, there were three more guards but Vreil couldn’t remember their names yet, although they had introduced themselves. The guards and Sting were riding small, brown horses, whose bigger brothers were pulling the wagons.

These all sound like the recipe for an interesting trip, but it was actually unbearable.

There was an extremely heavy atmosphere around most of them. The three diplomats, especially Sir Arnord, could not accept that Vreil was the leader of the convoy, even if a temporary one.

Unfortunately, they were also aware of Sting’s story, so they couldn’t relax and drop their guard. The three guards under Sting’s command didn’t seem like anything special so Vreil guessed that, if the former pirate was to betray them, the duty to stop him would fall on himself. Sir Arnold looked like a capable soldier as well, but Vreil couldn't know his sense of duty.

Sting, on the other hand, didn’t appear to care about them at all, and he was usually busy scouting ahead or strengthening his muscles at the side of the road, something that Vreil suspected was to impress Jeffrey’s daughter, Heartilia. They had all been introduced to Heartilia briefly after they departed, and she had been in her wagon ever since. She was a beautiful young girl, around Vreil’s age, with a pale skin colour that made a nice contrast against her natural red hair.

In the front wagon were the seats of Vreil and Sir Arnold. The young Arknas had tried to start a conversation a couple of times, but Sir Arnold answered in one word whenever he could. For example:

“So, you were named a knight by the previous king, Sir Arnold?”

“Yes.”

“Were you close to him?”

“Not particularly.”

“It was a shame he passed away, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was.”

“And now his throne has been taken over by some lazy bum, I hear.” This last sentence was not a question, so Sir Arnold didn’t answer. Oh well, thought Vreil, I can survive without talking to him.

“Hey, Vreil”, Sting shouted as he came back from scouting, “there is a suspicious forest up ahead. I didn’t see anyone, but it is a good place for an ambush”. Vreil couldn’t drop his guard around Sting yet but, since they would be traveling together for some time, they naturally had to learn to work together.

Of course, he had made a mental resolution that if he revealed the slightest hint of anything suspicious, he would attack and kill him on the spot. But because of Vreil’s respect for Sayfire, he had also decided that as long as Sting wasn't suspicious, he would at least try to accept him.

“Got it. Be ready, and so will I.”

Eventually, it wasn’t so much a forest as much as it was a small lump of wood that the road went through. And as they were crossing it, it turned out that Sting’s hunch was correct. While they were in a narrow part of the road, a couple dozens of bandits appeared, led by a muscular tall man. Fortunately, they didn’t appear to have any connections to any of the big bandit clans.

Their leader ordered the convoy to stop and surrender anything precious they were carrying. Vreil considered it for a second, but chances were that they wouldn’t make it out alive if they surrendered. The situation was dire however since, even if they included Sir Arnold, six men would have a tough time fighting twenty-five, especially if they had to protect the others. Moreover, both Sting and Vreil were at the front and there were only two guards protecting the wagons at the back. Vreil knew that this situation was completely his own fault, but there was no time to think about that.

Sir Arnold, on the other hand, seemed to have no such problems.

“You sure seem confident, for a weakling surrounded by protectors that is”, he shouted. “I would like to come over there and cut your head off, even if I had to cut through all those protecting you first.”

“Shut up, old man”, replied the bandit. An experienced bandit leader wouldn’t even sweat at this provocation; yet, this one was not only young, but apparently he took pride in his strength as well. He was growing angry.

“I would challenge all of you right now if I didn’t know you would use hostages.”

“I told you to-“ tried to answer the bandit leader, but Sir Arnold interrupted him.

“Don’t talk, filth. Cowards like you don’t have the right to address me directly.”

“You think you could take all of us on, old man?” the enraged bandit leader stomped on the ground. “Come on, then!”

“First, I want all of you to gather in front of me, so I can be sure you won’t use anyone else as a hostage. I swear on my pride as a man, if you do that, no one from our group will interfere.”

The bandit leader contemplated it. “No”, he concluded. He wasn’t as stupid as he looked after all. “Kill them all”.

“Sting, to the back”, ordered Vreil. Sting launched himself towards the back of the convoy as fast as he could. Sir Arnold ran to attack the bandit leader and the ten thugs around him.

“Vreil, the right. The other three guards, go to the left”, he shouted as he ran. Vreil was immediately attacked by three bandits, but it was quick work for him. He then went through the wagon line and helped the three guards at the left, who were attacked by five people. After he got rid of them too, he ran to the back, where Heartilia and Linda were, to help Sting.

There, he encountered an unexpected scene. Sting and Linda were standing frozen, as one of the bandits had his knife on Heartilia’s throat. Two corpses were lying behind Linda, both of them bandits. At that moment, Jeffrey was coming out of a bush, holding a bloodstained sword. He, too, froze when he saw his daughter being held at knifepoint.

“Don’t touch her”, he told the bandit, trying to be as intimidating as he could be. “If anything happens to her, you are dead. You can’t escape from us.” Vreil tried to go and help Sir Arnold who was facing eleven opponents, but the bandit holding Heartilia told him not to move a muscle.

“Drop your weapons”, he said. “Once the leader takes care of that old man of yours, we will see what we will do with you.” That didn’t leave them much of a choice, so they dropped their weapons as he told them to. “Now we wait”, he said. All they could do was place their hopes on Sir Arnold.

Suddenly, the sounds coming from Sir Arnold’s side calmed down. They were facing the other way so they couldn’t see who had won, but the bandit’s pale face gave them the answer they were seeking.

“They put up a little fight,” said Sir Arnold as he walked towards them, “but they died eventually.” From what they could see, theirs was the only bandit left.

“Give her back to us”, said Sir Arnold, “and we will consider letting you live”.

“SCREW YOU”, screamed the terrified bandit. “You will kill me.”

“We will kill you anyway if you harm her. Surrender quietly, and you will at least have a chance.” The bandit wasn’t stupid enough to surrender, but he didn’t have many options left. He chose to let her go and run to the safety of the forest. He hadn’t made it more than five steps away when a flying knife stabbed him in the neck, killing him instantly.

Linda lowered her hand.

“I don’t like cowards”, she said.

Heartilia had been very calm during this but, now that it was over she ran to her father, crying. “Daaaad!”

Jeffrey hugged her and whispered that everything was ok now, he was here.

Vreil’s perspective had changed now. He had underestimated all three of the diplomats and because he had been cocky, the entire mission, or perhaps even the whole revolution, had been put in danger. He also felt really guilty for misjudging Sir Arnold. Not only did he handle the whole situation very well when Vreil himself couldn’t do anything, but he threw himself against eleven opponents without hesitating. And he defeated them!

One of the guards had died during the attack. They quickly buried him and continued their way.

“Sir Arnold,” said Vreil in the front wagon, “thank you.”

“For what?”

“When they appeared, I couldn’t think fast enough. You saved us, and killed most of them yourself.”

“You are still young”, the older knight replied, part encouragingly and part dismissively. “It would be strange if you could act like that.”

“Would you like to lead us for the rest of the way? I knew you didn’t like me being in charge, but now I can see you were right.” Vreil was beyond embarrassed, but he felt he needed to do this.

Sir Arnold stared deep inside Vreil’s eyes, and the young man watched the knight’s guarded expression melt into one of approval. “Yes, I don’t like lady Sayfire’s decision to put you in charge. But I understand her reasons, and I agree with them.”

He laughed, and clearly most of the tension between them had eased by now. “Besides, orders are absolute. And they say that you are in charge.”

“As you say, sir”, Vreil smiled back.

“I could, however, give you some advice every once in a while.”

“Yes, sir, I would very much appreciate that.”

“Very well. First advice: Always be wary of the situation of the whole convoy. Pretend there is an ambush waiting at every turn of the road and leave no openings. For example, back there you should have had Sting guard the back of the convoy and the other guards split between the front and the back. We only have three wagons, so we don’t need to cover the sides. And right now, when we are on a road with average visibility, what should we do?”

“Have the guards scout the whole area from high places?”

“Hahahaha”, Sir Arnold laughed. “See? You have it in you. I have a feeling the rest of the trip will be a breeze. That is, until we reach the Dark Area.” His eyes darkened at those last words.

“I have heard some stories about the Dark Area, but what exactly is going on there?” he asked. And then he added quickly, “if you don’t mind me asking.”

“The Dark Area,” began Sir Arnold, whose previous coldness seemed to have dissolved with the wind, “is a place of danger. Only its edges have been mapped, while the rest is considered unexplored territory. No one sane dares to set foot deep inside, and of those who do, very few come back. It is a place full of mysteries and magic, and monsters that surpass all we have seen so far. Once, I set foot there, and the things I saw are still haunting my mind. Huge men, over four meters tall, with two heads and four arms. Snakes thick as trees, and many hundred meters long. Cyclopes, humanoid beasts with one eye who can split rocks in half with their bare hands. Swamps that stretch as far as the eye can see, full of ghosts and spirits.

Even the insects that fly around carry diseases that can make your skin fall off and your bones melt by themselves. And in the caves of the mountain that lies in the center of it all, who knows what horrors lie in wait. Of course, I haven’t seen all of those myself, but I have heard about them from companions of mine that I trust.”

Vreil felt a shiver run down his spine as he heard of the place they were going to cross. “And why are we going through a place like that if it is so dangerous?”

“For three reasons: First, this diplomatic mission to the elves is not official. We cannot go through their borders, they won’t let us pass. We are revolutionaries, after all, and some of us are quite well-known. Second, the Dark Area is not like that everywhere. Throughout the years, we have discovered some routes that contain very little danger, so little that our convoy as it is could probably make it through unscathed. And third, even if something really dangerous were to cross our way, Ashter will be with us”.

“Ashter?” Vreil blinked. “Is he really that strong?”

Sir Arnold looked surprised. “I had heard that it was Ashter who brought you to us. Did I hear wrong?”

“No, it was him. I have heard something about him being an immortal, but...” Vreil scratched his head. In truth, vice-admiral Velros’ words, back on Justice island, had revealed hints of Ashter’s strength, but Vreil wanted to know more.

“Then you didn’t know? Being one of the few immortals around, Ashter is by far the strongest wizard in our whole kingdom; even the magicians of the royal court wouldn’t stand a chance against him. There are tales about his strength, all the way to the Northern kingdom. He is one of the few beings in all of the history of the Land of the Six Kingdoms that has actually ventured into the mountain Death, in the middle of the Dark Area, and come back alive. According to stories, it was there he discovered the secret of life and magic, it was there that he became an immortal.

He ages much, much slower than the rest of us do, and he possesses the ability to make the world obey his will, which only two more people in the whole Land of the Six Kingdoms possess. Not even most immortals would dare to slight him! He was also an old man back when I was born. So don’t worry about anything. Whatever comes our way, he can handle it.” Sir Arnold finished his words, and Vreil could feel the admiration in the knight's voice.

I was next to a man like that for so long and I didn’t know. What a strange world we live in. Vreil thought. And then, I will definitely surpass him. I, too, will conquer that mountain. He felt his ambition churning. A new target was set for Vreil.