On the 10th of December, year 208 in the Astanian Calendar, Alaric’s group began searching for Liam’s whereabouts using the information they got from Theo.
The snowstorm was still terrible, but they proceeded with the search.
At this moment, the group was resting at a local diner when one of Alaric’s subordinates approached him and reported. “My lord, we found the giant’s daughter. She is one of the women we found in the secret chamber yesterday.”
Hearing this, Alaric was pleasantly surprised. “Where is she?”
“She went to look for her husband after we helped her bury her father’s remains.” The warrior responded.
“Did you send someone to accompany her?” Alaric asked.
“That…” The warrior hesitated, but upon seeing Alaric’s stern gaze, he could only tell him the truth.
“She didn’t want us to follow her. She said that she didn’t want her husband to know what happened in the secret chamber.” The warrior sighed.
Alaric became silent.
He had already fulfilled his promise to find the giant’s daughter. Since the other party was safe, he felt that he shouldn’t interfere with her life.
“Just let her be. We can only hope that she will have a better life with her husband.” Alaric waved his hand.
“I understand. I will relay your instructions to the others.” The warrior acknowledged his command.
“Alright. Bring the boys here to help us in the search.”
“Yes, my lord!” The warrior turned around and left.
Alaric turned his head to the window.
Snow had already covered the road so no carriages could be seen outside. Even the horses had trouble navigating through the thick snow.
Where are you, Liam?
…
The days went by in a flash.
It was already the 31st of December and the weather had momentarily cleared up.
The sun hung high above the horizon and a small portion of the piled-up snow had melted.
Some brave hawkers pulled up their stalls to open for business and their shouts echoed in the quiet streets.
Walking along the streets of Yorvan was a group of warriors clad in winter coats over their leather armor.
“My lord, we have already searched half of Ryvaad over the past few weeks. I think it’s time for us to give up.” Josephus who was walking beside Alaric sighed while shaking his head.
Alaric furrowed his eyebrows and stopped in his tracks. He stared at his cousin and asked in a low voice. “Is that your idea?”
Josephus nervously lowered his head. “Yes. I-It’s my idea.” He replied.
Looking at his cousin’s shifty gaze, Alaric could already tell what had happened.
It seems like my Uncle has gotten tired of this whole situation. He probably didn’t want the others to know about this so he sent Josephus. He doesn’t even care about his son’s reputation.
Thinking about this, Alaric found Josephus quite pitiful.
“Raise your head.” Alaric tapped his cousin’s shoulder, making the latter jolt in surprise.
“You’re right. I think it’s time for us to give up the search.”
Josephus didn’t expect that he would agree so easily.
“It’s time to go home, everyone,” Alaric muttered to the warriors.
Everyone could see that he was reluctant to give up the search.
“We have already done our best. You don’t need to feel guilty about it, my nephew.” Charles walked towards him and gave him a tap on the shoulder.
Alaric stared at his uncle’s smiling face and forced a smile. “You’re right, Uncle.”
“I understand that you are still frustrated about what happened, but there is nothing we can do at this point.” Charles shook his head with a look of regret.
That’s a lot of talk for someone who barely helped in the search.
Alaric sneered in his mind, but he didn’t show it to his face.
“I’ll go and tell the Paxleys about our departure. I’ll also inform them about your engagement with Hershey. In the meantime, you guys should pack our stuff so we can leave at once.” Charles suggested.
“Alright, Uncle. I’ll leave it to you.” Alaric nodded.
He wanted to speak with Hershey before leaving, but he felt that things might be awkward between them because of the recent events.
Charles smiled at him before turning his gaze to Josephus. “Come with me.”
“Yes, my lord.” Josephus nodded.
The two left soon after.
…
Later that day, the group left the city and headed back to North Pine Town.
“Uncle, you should go home first. I still have somewhere I need to go before going home.”
Charles was taken aback by his words. “What do you mean? Are you still planning to search for Liam?” He frowned.
Alaric shook his head. “This isn’t about Liam.” He responded in a calm voice.
Charles stared deeply at him. “And you can’t tell me about it?”
“I’m sorry, Uncle, but I can’t say it.”
Charles was silent for a moment.
Just what is this kid up to this time?
After a minute of silence, he finally opened his mouth. “Alright, but you can’t go there alone. You must bring someone with you.”
Alaric nodded. “I already know who I should bring with me.”
“Since you have already thought it through, I won’t stop you, but you must be careful out there.” Charles reminded, looking like a concerned uncle.
“I will. Thank you for your concern.” Alaric cupped his fists.
He then turned around and called the people who would come with him.
“Sir Arthur, Sir Henry, you two will be coming with me.”
For this trip, Alaric didn’t want to bring too many people with him. After all, he planned to head to the territory of the elves and escort Yvanna back to her home. Bringing many people would only make them conspicuous.
After bidding farewell to the rest of the group, Alaric left with his small team in another direction.
Charles stared at their disappearing figures with a thoughtful expression on his face.
He made a hand gesture and beckoned to one of his subordinates.
“My lord!” A middle-aged warrior stood before him.
Charles told the warrior to come closer and whispered something to his ears.
…
“My lord, where are we headed to?” Henry asked with a serious look. He felt that something was amiss because Alaric was being too secretive.
Arthur didn’t say anything, but he was also curious.
Alaric urged his horse to slow down.
The two veteran warriors immediately did the same to match his speed.
“This matter is very important so you must never tell this to anyone.”
Alaric alternated his gaze between the two before he continued.
“We are heading to the Enchanted Woodlands.”
When the two veteran warriors heard this name, their eyes froze in shock.
The Enchanted Woodlands was a large patch of forest in the extreme north of the Astanian border.
It was a place populated by powerful monsters and fearsome creatures, making it a no man’s land.
Although it was deemed a dangerous place, this huge forest acted as a natural barrier that protected Astania from enemy races who lived beyond the Enchanted Woodlands.
“My lord, that place is very dangerous!” Henry couldn’t let him travel to such a dangerous place.
Alaric shook his head. “You don’t have to worry. We don’t need to enter the forest. We just need to go to the periphery.”
He then nudged the person who was hugging his back and said.
“I think you should introduce yourself now to make them understand what’s going on.”
The two veteran warriors moved their gazes at the vagrant woman whose face was covered.
“Can we trust them?” An enchanting voice drifted into their ears.
It was the first time they heard this woman speak and they were stunned by her voice.
“Don’t worry. We can trust them. They are like family to me.” Alaric nodded in response.
Yvanna hesitated, but she chose to trust Alaric.
She had been with him for almost a month and Alaric never once showed any negative thoughts about her. He was the first human that made her feel safe.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of Arthur and Henry, Yvanna removed the cloth that covered her face.
As soon as the cloth was removed, a devastatingly beautiful face was revealed, but the first thing they noticed was her pointy ears.
“You… You’re an elf!” Arthur’s eyes widened.
On the other hand, Henry already had some idea that her identity might not be so simple, but he never thought that she was actually an elf!
The old Elite Knight stared at Alaric with a questioning gaze. He wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth.
“I know that this may be absurd, but I hope that you two can help me fulfill this task.” Alaric trusted these two.
One was like a grandfather to him and the other was a trusted confidant.
“I will follow you wherever you go, my lord!” Arthur was the first one to express his thoughts.
Henry shook his head bitterly. “I never thought that I would escort an elf at my age.”