Burning Soul

“What they left already”; did they prepare well? Will they be able to handle the worst situation if they get stuck in any? Will they manage to fight if enemies attack them suddenly? These questions made his thinking blank. He kept walking in circles with no expressions on his face. After a few seconds due to tremendous traction, he widened his deep eyes and blinked his eyelashes in anxiety as fast as he could.

I'm kind of worried about that region of the forest they are stepping in, I'm sure she will take good care of them but it is still the unknown enemy that I'm worried about.

Anyways, what is the plan for today? Are we leaving right now? Are we waiting for someone?”Milot was rather confused.

It was not too early in the morning but not too late either, he knew that Milot’s father and his companions had left early so that Theodore wouldn't be intrigued by their actions. Now the question was how to proceed with their own mission, the place they were visiting was an old shrine. It was a building or rather a shelter; of a sumptuous character, enclosing relics of a saint or other holy person and forming an object of religious veneration and pilgrimage. It was abandoned long ago and since then it has been guarded by a handful of Sentinels.

The shrine was located in the forest which was a little bit primordial. Centuries-old trees with sprawling limbs guarded the darkness, blotting out any sunlight Their bark was mottled and splotched as if the bubbled soup had been frozen in time on its surface. Clumpy combs of wet moss dangled from their rotten boughs. Underneath the moss, lethal larkspur peppered the mulchy floor. A pungent tang oozed from every sentient being in the forest.

Bewailing sounds ghosted through the trees. Whether it was from victim or victor, only the forest could tell. It was truly a place to make your veins freeze over. Everything considered edible in another forest was nauseating here. It left you with the same, sickening taste of your own blood. It was a forest to be avoided.

In recent days there was no particularly interesting news about that place, it was as if no one was even guarding it anymore. Of course, with the man force needed in running the entire Kingdom, searching abandoned places and shrines were to be overlooked.

The thing that Dimitri told him to look for in the shrine was something he had never heard about, someone must have put it there in recent days or it was too well hidden to be ever recorded.

“Gramps,

For some reason, I don't have a good feeling about this. It feels like something is waiting for us, something very sinister. Are you sure that we three can handle it?

Milot was rather tensed analysing the ongoing situation, his heart skittered and his breath was often getting shooked. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, nudged his face with both his hands and then stroked his hair. He lifted his face up and went near an aperture just to inhale a little bit of fresh air. The continuous thinking turned up in his stomach.

Moving away from the aperture, he started walking in circles folding his hands at the back, thinking about Theo's ongoing conditions, his broken arm, the deep cuts and scars on his whole body, the white and expressionless face, the paining weak body.

The pain which Theo was suffering was like needles that had been dipped in alcohol had been jammed through his skin, like his broken, injured arm had been replaced with ice and electricity wired straight into his spine.

His pain wasn't constant. It changed. It ebbs and flows like the tide. It can be debilitating in one minute, bearable in the next.

Even though Jura cast suppression magic on him the wave of pain would hit him without any warning, he still kept up with a brave face.

“One of us is already losing an arm and it's not feeling up to the task either he's just hanging around with us protecting while attacking isn't really a good thing on me,

What is the purpose behind this adventure?” Milot’s concern was not for nothing, he genuinely knew that Theodore couldn't really be a part of any fight if there was to be any, it would only put his morale even down and make him feel useless more!

As per Dimitri, their main goal from this adventure was to retrieve a particular piece of ancient history that Naomi was looking for. He didn’t yet tell it to Theodore, but ever since they entered Arnor, he had planned to hand it over without any hassle. It's just the unexpected events that happened in the past few days that made it ever so complicated.

“You are right the main goal is to get that thing but you have a secondary mission well!

There’s something that is going on in that location for a while, no Sentinel guards even when they are stationed, the strange aura in the region and…” He took a pause before continuing,

“And?” Milot asked him in a rather low tone

“Something connecting Eric and his uncle to the recent anomalies!” This brought silence over their conversation

The recent events were really a little too sketchy along with the disappearance of Eric in the middle of the crisis and not to mention the way the enemy was able to invade must have been impossible without an insider.

Dimitri wasn’t yet Suspicious of him but Eric’s actions were telling a different tale.

“Anyways, you guys have a lot on you already, leave the thinking to me!

You have this chance to prove yourself and also find the root cause, not to mention being helpful to someone at the same time.” Dimitri patted Milot’s back and reassured him.

As they were talking the sun was already quite visible and the morning due was all but gone, they were standing in the middle of the grand hall of the Royal Palace waiting for Theo and Catherine to come.

They planned to leave after breakfast, a journey without food is never recommended.

It was a morning nothing different but the calm was nerving, the air was heavy and everyone could sense the tension.

After the attack, all meetings were called off and the Council was now in charge of dealing with damages done while the Royalty was held accountable of all. Duvrion and Dimitri were to look into strengthening defence but it wasn’t yet decided.

There was no formal meeting held yet to decide the future actions but by the looks of it, the motion was obviously not in the favour of Royalties.

The only deciding factor was the trust people had in their Plane Guardian, who managed to keep them away from danger since long ago.

As they both stood in a daze, Theo and Catherine came into the hall to greet them, “Good morning everyone!”