Treacherous paths often yield the greatest rewards...

Van and Kane had been reading the posters. They were soon accompanied by Benkei, who explained his history in the village and why he was so adamant about not returning. Kane had snickered, holding bath a chuckle. Van, however, was more interested in Benkei’s second statement. He’d turn to the monk, ”It wasn’t like this before? So, this is a continuing epidemic.” Kane had rubbed his goatee, ”I find it hard to believe that bandits would kidnap children. Usually, they’re more into pillaging and looting villages.” As they stood there discussing the cause of the abductions, two children had wandered up to them. They appeared to be twins, identical, despite their gender difference. The young girl was wearing a white skirt, with sandals. Her long blonde hair was tied into a braiding. As for the boy, he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with white pants, also wearing sandals. His hair was much shorter. They were both looking at the three before them, curious to know who they were.

Nir and Stella were with the horses. Stella had been brushing them as they continued to eat. Nir had been speaking with the man who welcomed them earlier. ”I thank you for your hospitality sir. It’s much appreciated.” Nir bowed in respect. “You’re very welcome—Uh—“ The man paused, only for Nir to look back up immediately, ”Nir! My name’s Nir, and this is Stella.” The man smiled, “Well, nice to meet you both. I should have properly introduced myself earlier. My name’s Latom, and I’m the village leader here. The woman from earlier was my sister. Her name’s Neesi.” Nir smiled, ”Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Latom. You have a fine village here. Everyone seems to happy to be here.” Latom’s smile had slowly faded, “Yes, people may seem happy. But—“ He paused, looking back up to Nir with a smile. “We just try to be joyful here! With everyone that’s going on in this world, you don’t want to get entrapped in its saddness. I still can’t believe what happened to Galatia. So unfortunate.” Latom said. Nir had frowned, looking to the ground. Stella had also seemed saddened, terrible memories once again surfacing. ”Yeah, I know. That’s a good way of thinking Latom. But again, I do thank you for everything you’ve done for us, despite us being complete strangers.” Nir said, placing his hand on Latom’s shoulder. “Again, it’s nothing. Besides, you were the third set of visitors within the week. Actually, it’s pretty surprising that we’ve received two sets of visitors within a day.” Latom said. ”Wow! So someone came here just before here? Your village must be very popular them Latom.” Nir replied. Latom had awkwardly smiled, scratching his head. “Not quite! I mean, we’re known for our flowers, but nobody actually comes here to see them. That’s why we usually ship some out to Tanyuk. That’s where we get our sales. But, yes, a caravan had passed through here before you all arrived. They appeared to be military.” Nir had suddenly widened his eyes, pulling his hand back. ”Military!? Did they give a name? Or did they appear to be Galatian forces?” Stella had stopped brushing the horse, turning towards the two men. ”Everything okay?” Latom had been thrown off by the further questioning, and the urgency Nir displayed for answers. “Uh, they weren’t Galatian. I believe they said they were from the Duran Kingdom.” Both Nir and Stella had appeared to be shocked. With Duran having passed through here before them, they were bound to be nearby.

As nir and Stella spoke to the man and his sister benkei would converse with Kane and van lowering his hat more "back then not as much, they were only taking girls these bandit's and it didn't matter the age either but once I arrived I put a stop to their little operation". Benkei would look at the posters "once I returned the girls i ended up with the problem I told you about before and I thought it was the end of that but these pictures seem to have been here a while from ages ago to the most recent time and honestly I don't think it's the work of normal bandits this time".

Van continued to study the posters. If Benkei had dealt with the initial problem, then this was the work of another. ”Well, whoever it is, we can’t help. We’ve got a mission to accomplish ourselves.” Kane had then noticed the two children standing there, ”Hm? Now what are these two up to?” The two children stood there, staring at Kane before Nir had caught up to them. ”It’s time to go! A Duran convoy has passed through here! And it wasn’t that long ago! We can catch up to them! We’ve got to hury!” Nir had shouted, spooking the two children and sending them running off. Both Kane and Van had nodded, running back to the carriage with Nir.

Stella, on the otherhand, had found herself walking to the flower hill. She’d spot Kira and Tobias running her way, followed by as many as twenty men. “Please! Take my hand maiden!!!” Said one. “I must marry!!!! Please, choose me!!!!” Said another. Tobias had been trailing behind Kira, who had been rushing back to Stella. ”Geeet me out of heeeeeere!!!! Pleeeeease!!!! Whaaaaaah!!!!” She shouted, running past Stella. ”Kira!!! I will keep you safe!!! Just—Just slow down a bit!!!” Tobias said, panting as he followed behind her. He too had ran past Stella, leaving the men to stop at the pink haired young woman. “Wait!!! This one’s just as beautiful!!! Please, take my hand in marriage!” They circled around Stella, offering her posh flowers. ”I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’m on an important mission. I don’t have time.” She said, awkwardly smiling before running off.


The group would soon gather at the carriage, where Latom had been waiting. ”Latom! Thank you for everything! But we need to find those soldiers!!! They’re the ones who attacled Galatia!” Latom had gasped, lowering his head. “What!? If I would have known.....We helped them....Forgive me Nir, we didn’t know!” He said. ”It’s okay!!! But if you can tell us which way they went, that’d be very helpful!” Nir asked. Everyone had taken their seats on the carriage at this point. “They went North-West!!! That’s all I know!!! Please, be careful!!! All of you!!!” Latom had called out. ”We will!!” Replied Nir, with a smile so bright. It was assuring for Latom, who’d wave to his new friends as they rode off in search of this convoy.

As benkei explain everything Kane and van stated there was nothing we can do "so we leave these people to suffer and worry their children?". In that moment nir would come running to the group explaining that a Duran convoy had just last thru this village not to long ago "wait a Duran convoy past through here ?.....that's to suspicions don't you think". He would help everyone into the carriage as benkei would push off the men "sorry fellas these ladies are spoken for !". He would turn to nir "this may be linked to the missing children"

The carriage had been well on its way out of the village; the Duran convoy being the target. ”Missing children? What are you talking about?” Nir asked, turning to opening of the carriage. Stella had placed her hand over her mouth, taken aback by the comment. ”Was this something back in Poshielle???” Kira asked, her face carrying a worried expression. Kane then knocked on the carriage, ”You guys missed it. Back in Poshielle, there were a whoooole bunch of missing child posters.” Kane said, turning back to the path ahead. ”I’m not sure if Duran had a hand in this, but there’s only one way to find out.”

They continued riding down the dirt path, unsure of their direction. Tobias had begun doubting the group’s new task. ”Uhm, sorry, but how do we even know we’re going the right way?” The older man smiled awkwardly, awaiting an answer. ”Believe me, you’ve got two of the best bounty-hunter, eh, assassins, on the team! Van, my boy, you know what to do!” Kane said, crossing his arms and leaning back. Van, who was positioned at the back end of the carriage, had turned his head slightly. He’d sit there, looking up at the sky. ”I’m way ahead of you....” Above was a crow, flying high up over the carriage. It had been soaring in the air, turning its head to gaze upon the land.

”There’s a convoy stationed at a lake about five hundred meters to our West.” The young man said. Tobias had turned to Kane, amazed at the method of gathering the information. ”But how?” Kane grinned, ”I told ta! We’re the best at what we do!” Nir smirked, peering through the opening. ”Am I glad you two are with us! Let’s go Tobias!”

Benkei explained a bit "year or two back I saved that man's daughter's way back from a group of trafficking bandits and then brought them back and I thought it was the end of that but now things to have started up again". As the group followed the trail of the Duran convoy van pointed out they were five meters away "see what are the chances the convo comes through and we see those posters?" Benkei looked at Kane "say the word and I can cause a thunderous roadblock"

”Benkei, did you save Latom’s daughters?” Stella had asked. Kira had leaned in to listen to his answer, ”So you’re a hero then!?” While the two young woman asked Benkei questions, Nir had directed his questioning to Kane. ”Five hundred meters out? I wonder what they’re doing!” He had gritted his teeth. ”We can’t let them get away from us!”

Kane had sighed, ”Don’t you worry, we’ll get them. But we don’t want to just go in attacking them. Once we reach them, we’ll have stalk them on foot. We don’t want them catching sight of us. Got it monk? So no thunderous roadblocks.” Kane turned to Van, ”If I were to take a guess, these guys are taking children from the village and either recruiting them, or even worse...” Everyone inside the carriage had leaned in, curious to know what Kane was going to say. ”What’s worse!?” Kane had smirked, ”Experimentation....”

Benkei looked at stella"yes I did save his daughters but thank God he did not see me or his girls" . Kane warned benkei not to do anything rash as he wanted to tail them quietly "your right I apologise plus the children might be with them ". Benkei would hear him also say that the kids could be used for experiments "wait experiments! How what could they possible do to ki...". As benkei spoke he stopped in his tracks "they could be turned into super solders, secret killers who can blend into society.....like those Duran monsters we fought". He grew angry and clenched his fist.

A few days have passed, since Virgil and his group left Galatia. The group would come across a rest stop. It was a single small shop with a large tree looming over it. Shinji would point it out to the rest of the group. They would all look to each other, nodding in agreement. This would be a great place to rest. There were many other travelers as well. There was even a sitting area. It was quite nice actually. It was a particularly, foggy day but even with that, the environment carried a good vibe. Virgil and Biggs would be the ones to get in line to get something to drink and eat for the group. Shinji, Remi, Anna and Koji would all rest at a nearby bench.

They had all diverted their attention to Benkei. Stella was in much shock, covering her mouth with both hands. ”That’s horrible!” Kira had shuddered, fearing the worst. ”Those children were stripped of their childhood! That’s not cool at all!” She’d sink her head into her lap. Nir had remained quiet, finally looking up at Benkei. ”We cannot allow them to do that to the children. That’s if they have children. But we must not forget our main priority.” Nir turned to the side, looking out an opening on the side of the carriage. ”The Oracle....”

Kane had nodded, ”Yup. Yup. Yup. We’re going to make sure we get a scoop on where our lady is, AND save the kids.” Out of all present, Tobias had felt the most uneasy. Leave it to him, and this mission is abandoned to return back to Galatia. He had been trembling as he grasped the reigns. ”D-Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, what if we go into enemy territory and we become surrounded?” Van had sighed, ”Such a coward...” He’d comment.

Kane would look to Tobias, ”I get what you’re saying, but we won’t let that happen. We’re going to do this without them even realizing. If we do happen to get caught, we’ve still got some capable fighters. So don’t sweat it grandpa!” Kane said. ”Grandpa?” Tobias questioned as both Kira and Stella chuckled inside. ”Okay, we’re pretty close. It’s time to park this thing.” Said Kane, directing Tobias to turn into the forest. He’d drive the carriage about one-hundred meters in, stopping at a large tree. ”This seems like a good spot.”

Finding the location to station the carriage, they’d all exit. Tobias would tie the reigns around a tree, allowing the horses to sit and graze on the grass around them. ”You four sit tight now. We shall return.”

Benkei would look at nir as he commented about children "my point exactly but that is what makes children great solders,easier to mold and corrupt to do the hidden of others". As the cart stop benkei ,van, nir and Kane all got off "any plans or suggestions how we should go at this to even confirm our suspicions?".

Benkei had explained the reasoning behind taking children, to which the group would listen intently. He mentioned how children were much easier to manipulate; much easier to mold. This had mortified both Kira and Stella, who no longer wished to even fathom such an idea. Nir had looked down, every second, his disdain for Duran growing much stronger. ”I cannot....I cannot allow such vile humans to continue with such an operation! We have to move quick!” Nir had abruptly moved out, but was grabbed by Kane. ”Listen, I know how you all feel right now. But you’re gonna have to set your emotions aside. Do not be rash here. We screw up, and any leads on The Oracle’s whereabouts are down the drain!” Kane had said.

”Kane’s right Nir. As much as I disagree with all of these plans, if you want this one to work, you’ll have to calm your mind.” Tobias had then turned to Kane, ”What will you guys do?” Kira had then suddenly turned to Tobias, gritting her teeth. ”You guys!? Don’t you mean, we!? Yeah! That’s right, you’re coming too Tobias!” She’d huff and cross her arms, leaving Tobias trembling. ”Y-Y-Yes! I meant, what shall we do?” Kane’d smirk, ”We’re going to sneak up on our convoy, and follow them. I’m sure they’re heading somewhere close. If not, we’ll have to stop them and force some intel out of them.” Kane would punch his palm, grinning. ”Got it! So we’ll tail them. Eventually, they’ll lead us somewhere important.” Nir had begun moving out, with Stella, Kira and Tobias following. ”I guess he’s the leader. C’mon Van!” Kane had followed behind, with Van trailing.

Benkei agreed that their emotions should not interfere with trying to figure out what Duran wanted in near by villages "we stay close enough to track them and gather the information we can but if we see any children what so ever then we take them back ". Benkei looked at Tobias and the girls "do you think we should travel like this in a huge group , doesn't someone need to watch our ride and our supplies ?". Benkei looked at van "what do you plan to do ,wild card".

While the group walked in unison, Benkei had brought up the children once more. Kane had placed his hand on the monk’s shoulder, ”Listen, we need to find their base of operation. If there are children in the convoy, we have to keep our composure and continue following. If they happen to abuse the children, then we’ll make a move.” Said Kane. ”Understandable.” Nir said. They continued walking, with Benkei yet again bringing up another important matter. The carriage would be left behind and unguarded. Would they benefit from traveling together in one group? Tobias would smile, ”Ah. I knew you’d ask about that my boy. Our carriage is a special one. There is a rune that conceals it from any outside presence.” The old man had raised both hands, clapping them together. ”Edih.” Behind the group, the carriage, along with the horses, had suddenly vanished into thin air, or so it appeared. ”What in the world!? I didn’t know about that!” Kira said, as she watched. ”I have activated the rune. It should be safe now.”

Kane had snickered, flicking his nose. ”Well, ain’t that something.” He’d say. ”Now we can stay together.” Stella had said, smiling. ”Not exactly. We shouldn’t stick together during this. We’ll split into two smaller groups. Together, there are too many of us. Possibility of failure and detection will increase.” The young bounty hunter had said. ”Van’s right. We’ll split into two groups and get this done. Once they’re in sight, we’ll decide who goes with who.” The others had nodded simultaneously, walking towards the lake.

Benkei sighed as Tobias mention the ruin securing the carriage "great any other surprises you guys have because I been speechless half the time since you guys came ". As kane lay down the plan the girls seemed happy they would all stick together but van suggested splitting up into two separate groups to not get caught gather better Intel "he is right we know what we are looking for but we need proof and we need to know why they past thru that village in the first place as well as where they are going,this could prove useful to us finding the Oracle".

”Precisely.” Kane had said. They had walked through the forest, arriving at a small cliff that overlooked the lake. ”We’re here.” Nir said, crouching down at the top of the hill. Everyone had followed suit, peering over and watching the convoy below. Four soldiers had been standing outside of one vehicle, with two leaning against the vehicle and conversing, while the other two had been gathering water. Another vehicle was much larger than the other, with a massive crate in tow. ”W-What do you suppose they’re doing?” Tobias had asked. ”Yeah, what are they up to?”

They’d continue stalking the Duran soldiers, unsure of why they were at the lake. ”I’m not sure, but I don’t see any children.” Nir said. ”Could they possibly be inside of the vehicle?” Stella asked, turning to Nir. ”I’m not sure, but we should split here.” Nir had crawled back, ”Stella and Kane, you two are with me. We’ll get a better view from the side. Van, Benkei, Kira and Tobias....You four will have a much more difficult task. You’ll have to figure out what’s inside that crate, and if we’ve got any soldiers in that vehicle.” Both Kira and Tobias had dropped their jaws, ”W-What!? How do you suppose we do that!?” Kira’d suddenly cover Tobias’ mouth. ”Shhhh!!!!!!!!!” She’d then turn to Nir, ”No, but how do you suppose we do that!? You can’t expect us to get anything done! We’ll get caught!” She’d say in a panic. ”Jeez! Calm down girly. You’re going to get us caught.”

Benkei and the group would slowly track the Duran solders. The solders stood their watching the vehicle while the other two went to gather water. Just then another bigger vehicle approached the current solders "now that looks surprising to say the least, maybe a drop off point?". Nir pointed out a crate and wanted to split up to try to gather better information but first benkei group had to figure out what was in the truck and crate "hmmm I'll um be back ". Benkei would disappear from the group put on a disguise of a old traveler heading down to them "hello kind man ,I am just a fellow traveler wondering if you could spare a drunk and food ?".

Before the group could seperate, Benkei had taken it upon himself to act alone. Van had suddenly turned towards him, ”What is he doing!?” Kane had shook his head, face-palming. ”Did he ignore everything we discussed?” Nir had lowered his head, turning back over the cliff to watch Benkei. ”I actually think he’s doing us a service! Now we don’t have to split up!” Tobias had awkwardly chuckled, ”Y-Yes! We’ll see if Benkei’s method works.” Tobiss said. ”Are you kidding me!?” In frustration, Kane had peered over with Van. They had all watched Benkei. ”I hope he doesn’t get caught.”

Below, two of the soldiers that had been leaning against the vehicle, quickly turned towards Benkei. They had grabbed their rifles, “Who are you!?” Asked on the soldiers. The two others at the lake had turned back, to see Benkei. “What brings an old man like yourself down here?” Asked the other.

Benkei would slowly walk towards the men and shake "I am trying to get to the small time over yonder to see my family but these old bones can only take me so far hahaha ". He would sit on the ground looking at them "you think you can help a old man out dear kind sirs I would great appreciate it ". He would hold his staff tight sending misra through it and then through the ground to under the truck.

The two soldiers had turned to each other before looking back at Benkei. “Small town over yonder?” Asked one, who seemed to be rank R-2764. “Are you telling me that you’re from Andel village? If so, we’ll take you old man, but at a price!” Said the soldier, R-2763. “Why don’t we just give him a free ride? He’s an old man.” R-2764 asked. “Why give him a free ride? We don’t even know this guy! If he’s willing to pay, we’ll charge him for a ride.” R-2763 replied. The other two soldiers had returned to vehicle with barrels in hand. They were R-2761 and R-2762. “Is there a problem here boys?” Asked R-2761. “We’ve got this old man here asking for a lift.” Answered R-2763.

”Is he okay down there?” Stella asked. Everyone had their eyes on Benkei and the four soldiers. ”Appears so. They must be questioning him. Hopefully, he’s able to fool them.” Kane continued to shaking his head. ”That idiot. I can’t believe he did this.”

Virgil and the others had been enjoying the food as well as the tea from the rest stop. With the way things were you, it was hard to believe that only a few days ago, Duran had just attacked Galatia. “This tea is sooo good!” Anna couldn’t contain herself. Even Biggs would join in. “How did they make it so sweet!? This is the best tea ever!” It was simple actually. The tea they drank wasn’t the traditional tea. Adding milk, honey and sugar in the mix, the tea had created a brew sweeter than normal.

“Did ya hear? Galatia was up in flames just a few days ago.” A man said to another.  Virgil perked his head up, listening in. They were on the same bench as the group, facing the other direction. The two would continue their conversation. “Yea! It was big news! Everyone knows about it now.” “It seems Duran was the culprit.” “You’re kidding! That means there’s gonna be war.” “They’ve been under the radar for some time. Who would’ve thought they would attack Galatia of all places.” “Actually, a buddy of mine in Poshielle said that Duran would be coming by.” “Really!? Are they in league with DuraN then?” “No way! Poshielle is an unclaimed territory.” They two men had stood up, heading for the shop. They’d continue taking on the way but Virgil already had the information he needed.

The young silver haired boy would smirk. “Hey guys.” The rest of the group would give him their attention. “Looks like we’ve got a lead.” Remi would widen her eyes. “Really? So where are we headed?” She would say with a most interested look. “We’re going to Poshielle.”

Benkei would smirk as the the guards would try to haggle him "if you can not take me it is all right I will manage on my own,I mean no harm dear friends ". Under the truck the earth would spread around around the engine creating a come like structure so when on command would destroy it. Benkei sat their as he ready himself for the worse encase he would be had "well I have taken enough of your time I shall go if anything here a bit of change for your troubles sirs ". Benkei would smirk as the change was laced with metal from his staff that could track and feel vibrations.

The four soldiers had looked down at Benkei. They seemed to be annoyed by his presence; well, at least three of them. R-2764 genuinely appeared to be interested in helping him. But alas, he was outnumbered by his comrades. “Just get the hell out of here!” Said R-2763. “Make your way back yourself. We don’t have time to take you.” R-2761 said. “But we will take those!” Said R-2762, snatching the coins offered by Benkei. They’d walk away, laughing and entering the vehicles. “So long!” Said R-2763.

”Oh no! Did they take Benkei’s money!?” Kira had questioned, turning to Nir. ”Not exactly...” Kira had looked puzzled. She didn’t quite understand what had transpired. ”That bastard. I can’t believe he actually managed to pull that off.” Kane said with a smirk on his face. ”Wait, what’s going on?” Kira questioned, confused. ”Kira, Benkei formed those coins using his Misra. I’m assuming those coins will be our way of tracking them down.”

As the solders stood their they had denied benkei of his request and even took all of benkei money he had offered them without a service "or dear me" benkei stood their shocked as they got in their vehicle's and drove off leaving him behind in the dust as he fell back. Benkei waited a bit untill they drove off a considerable distance to finally take his disguise off and meet up back with the group. He could tell they were all shocked and impressed and someone what confused as to what just happened "never doubt me comrade's as their is always a method to my madness" he held up his staff and pointed to the rings at the top of his staff as they all were pulled towards the direction of the where the solders had left as they were drawn to the coins they had taken from benkei.

The six above, had watched as the convoy had drove off. Benkei had been left behind by the Duran soldiers, which was expected from men like them. When all was clear, Benkei had returned to the group. He was met with praise. ”Brilliant my boy! That was brilliant!” Tobias had said. ”You did great Benkei.” Stella added, with a bow and smile. ”Yeah, that was cool Benkei! I thought you were a goner for a second!” Said Kira. Nir had approached Benkei, placing his hand on the monk’s shoulder. ”You did good Benkei. Now we’ll be able to follow them.”

”Yeah, let’s hurry up and tail them before they get too far. Van, keep your eyes over us. In case we’ve got any unexpected scouts. Let’s move!” Kane had said, jumping over the small cliff. The others had quickly followed behind. ”Lead the way Benkei!” The group was now after the Duran convoy, making sure to trail them from a distance.