Recap - After the deadly duel , Kazar the barbarian leader lost . Other barbarians left quickly but were not pursued on the command of the king. Kazar was greatly injured and lost consciousness soon after the battle ended.
Now - The wizard started healing Kazar despite the fact that he only knew minor healing spells while the king gave orders to fix the wagons. Soldiers setup a perimeter around the road .The young guard too arrived back from his pursuing expedition with the soldiers from vanguard as well as some captives . He walks to the king, bows down his head and says "we got all of them . Some of the bandits were killed when the tried to fight back . Watching their demise others immediately surrender. We already interrogated them but they know nothing of value . Apparently they were all picked up from different places and put in an elite group to go on a high class mission . They just had simple orders : not to let anyone interfere in the fight , from inside or from outside" .
The king nodded and told him to make preparations to depart from the place of incident as soon as the bodies are picked up. The young man goes on his work dutifully and starts to bark out orders and the soldiers started picking up the dead bodies of their fellow companions . The old guard approaches the wizard hastily and says " the king asks for your presence ". The wizard looks up with his dark brown puppy eyes for a moment and then goes back to healing the barbarian. The old guard starts to speak again but the wizard interrupts him and says " give me a minute, I have to make sure he lives. The old guard blurts out in frustration " we know the location of the princess and her life is more precious than his goon ". The wizard chuckles softly and says " you are the one who stepped in to save him and this is what you have to say now! Every life is equal, every soul is precious , but I don't want to start preaching and whatever .I hope you can understand. He got out of his way, like he wanted to help us . Did you not see that his squad left him after he fell. After getting through so much trouble why would the leader tell us anything . There is something more to this than the eye perceives. But we will have to figure that have out later. The wizard kept on talking while healing Kazar . When he was done he subtly changed the subject ending it. "Right now let's go and see the king " said the wizard.
The old guard was dazed by the observation skills of the wizard. He smiled and said " yeah please follow me ". It was obvious where the king was in and the wizard stated his concern in case of another attack. The old guard knocks and the doors flung out.
The wizard notices for the first time that the king was really handsome with a good build. The wagon was huge and stylish and was pulled by four white horses . The wizard and the guard took their seats opposite to the king. The king introduced himself as Darian Bestow and shook the hand of the wizard . The wizard says " my name is Royce Starlin. I am sorry for any lack or violation of your tradition or laws. You know kneeling and bowing kinda stuff. I am not a native of these lands and have came far away from my home. So , I don't know much about it. The king says with his face a little tensed now, " I figured that much but there is something I have to ask of you right now. Will you please, aid me, in saving my daughter. If you do this, I will grant any of your wish as long as it will be in my power.The guard beside the wizard put up a quizzical face because he knew the king since his childhood but never saw him pleading to anyone . He knew that the king was benevolent , brave and cared about people under his reign . After serving a lifetime as his personal royal bodyguard he had never seen him as helpless as he looked right now. The wizard mumbles something about not getting enough rest but then says soothingly "I have already headbutted my way in saving you, so how can I step back right now . Please relay the information you have . Where is she kept? and how do I reach there ? I shall get her back to the safety of your arms once again.
This makes the stress on the king's face to fade away and it gets replaced with the look of pure determination. The king says to the wizard, "while you were still calming down I grab the barbarian out of rage and surprisingly he stated that the princess will be brought and kept in the darktomb of past which is 10 miles east from the siwayan mountains. He takes out a map and pinpoints the mountain and then a section besides it. He says " we will make encampment as close as we can to the mountains where an outpost must still be erect. The barbarian also said that only zeal is able to open the door ,no ordinary human can do that maybe it only works by magic or something . The king then introduces the guard as James Barlosk and his son as Rilestine Barlosk who was second in command of the present forces.The old man beside the wizard says " I have heard of that place in legends , it is a thing of child stories and fable . The books and stories say that only magic can help you find it since anyone else will be strayed from the path from the effects of the spells that protect it. Plus getting in is a total Mystery . People talk about ghosts of the dead guardia of the ancestral siwayan mountains which can make your any wish come true". The King interrupts him by saying "and that's why we need you royce". You will go there with a squad of soldiers led by young riley. Get in there,rescue the princess and the meet us at the outpost. If you guys somehow don't come back before dawn then we will send in reinforcements. Do this royce since you are the only wizard here and I will return the favour hundredfold . The young Guard peeks inside and the king signals him to come inside.After he is updated on the situation , he along with a score of guards and the wizard are dispatched. The body of the troops start moving forward and the other squad begins its own mission.