It was the dead of night. Everything was pitch black. The light from the moon couldn't seem to reach the earth as the fog blocked it out.

What was supposed to be the quietest part of the night was instead filled with the clanking and commotion caused by a group of armored men running about the forest.

Their once shiny and pristine armor was now splashed with mud and caked with dirt as they made their way through the trees.

They made their way to a campsite where more armored men carrying the same insignia of a lion carrying a sword in it's mouth stood guard.

They stood outside a tent waiting patiently for their presence to be announced. Seemingly not caring about the fact that the heat in their bodies was being sapped away as they stood in the pouring rain.

Finally they heard a voice welcome them in "Come in". They walked through the flaps of the tent and immediately took a knee. Not daring to look up one of the men said "Sir! Please punish us for our incompetence!"

In front of them was seated a young man dressed in a full suit of armor. His short brown hair and humble looking face didn't seem to take away from his imposing demeanor.

He looked on at the men on their knees "You couldn't find her?". His voice was ice cold. Hidden within it one could find traces of anger and bitterness.

The men began to tremble "We've searched the forests for hours. We haven't been able to find any traces of her other than the corpses of some of our scouts. Forgive us Lord Gellos."

One of the men standing behind Gellos whispered in his ear "My lord. She was to be presented to the Emperor as a gift from our Holy King as a tribute from the war"

Gellos scowled 'Those damned merchant bastards. I told them to stay away from the cargo! If the Holy King finds out that we lost that woman it will cost us all of our heads'

He thought for a second before speaking "She broke through the restraints somehow and escaped. We encountered the target in the woods but she proved to be extremely dangerous."

He continued "She used the last embers of her life force to cast her savage witchcraft.

We had to use a scroll of Hell's Inferno to defeat her. Do you understand?"

The men understood what their lord was trying to tell them.

A cold glint flashed across his face as Gellos told his men to rise "Go find a woman and bring her back here. The least we can do is bring some ashes back to our Emperor"

One of the men asked before leaving "What of the merchants my Lord? They witnessed her escape as well as our search for her"

Gellos merely responded "It is a tragedy that the merchants were killed during her escape. Make sure to offer their families the appropriate remunerations"

- - -

Meanwhile in a different part of the forest was a peculiar carriage. It raced passed the trees at an astounding speed but it did not have a horse to pull it.

The carriage seemed to move using it's own power. The carriage was unlike any other. It appeared to be made of wood but on closer inspection you could see that it was metal painted to imitate the texture of wood.

It had two large lights in front of it that looked like a pair of glowing eyes. The light stretched out and illuminated the path for the carriage.

Inside the carriage were two men who appeared to be twins in the later stages of life. They had long graying beards. Slight wrinkles on their soot covered faces.

They were dressed in cloth tunics and pants. As well as aprons designed for alchemy. It had many pockets meant to hold a large variety of different sized ingredients as well as bits and bobbles.

They were studying the numerous beakers filled with liquids of various colors that adorned their table. Each with different levels of viscosity as they bubbled and foamed.

One of the men spoke "Looks like the carriage is going to need more fuel Jeffrie" The other man responded "I do believe you are right Humphrie. Let us stop to gather fuel."

The carriage slowly came to a stop. The door swung open as the men made their way off the carriage. They were equipped with light sources that were strapped to their heads "Now remember Jeffrie we just need to gather some fruit. The higher the sugar content the better"

Jeffrie scoffed "No need to remind me Humphrie. I was the one who designed the core of the carriage". Humphrie frowned upon hearing that "Part of the core you mean. I was the one who did most of the work"

Jeffrie waved his hand in dismissal "You cranky old bat. Let us hurry and find some fuel instead of bickering out here in the cold"

As Jeffrie searched the trees and bushes he thought he heard something 'Hmmm? What could that be?' He continued to follow the noise until he made his way to a large tree.

The base of the tree had a space large enough to fit a barrel. Jeffrie approached the tree and peeked his head inside.

Through the darkness he could barely make out the silhouette of a young women. In her arms was what appeared to be a crying baby swaddled in fur.

The young lady suddenly opened her eyes as she noticed Jeffrie's presence. Before he knew it Jeffrie found his body crashing into the ground.

Mud smeared his face as he could detect an earthy taste in his mouth. He looked up and saw that the young women was carrying the baby in one arm while the other was raised as she stood in stance that was similar to a wild animal waiting to strike.

The young lady had long dark violet hair with sections clinging to her face from the rain. She was dressed in a simple fur tunic and fur skirt.

Her arms and legs were bare along with her feet. Jeffrie was scared but then he noticed that she was bleeding on her side.

Jeffrie put his hands up in an attempt to appear non threatening "Humphrie we have a situation!"

The young woman tried to run after hearing Jeffrie yell.

She managed to move two steps before she had to lean against a tree to support herself. She leaned against the tree as she kept her guard up against Jeffrie.

A few seconds later Humphrie made his way over "What are you yelling for you old-ahhhh!" He was surprised to see the bloodied up young woman.

Humphrie slowly made his way over to Jeffrie as he kept his hands in the air "What in the world have you gotten yourself into Jeffrie?!"

Jeffrie answered "I was looking for some bloody fruit when I thought I heard something. I peeked inside and this young woman was laying inside with a crying baby"

Humphrie took a second look and noticed the baby held within her arm as well as her bleeding side "She appears to be one of the Tribal people of the Wild Plains."

Jeffrie nodded "I can't tell exactly which tribe she's from but she does fit the bill of a Beast Kin"

Jeffries then tried to communicate with her "We don't mean you any harm. If you want we can treat your wound in our carriage"

The young lady didn't seem to understand "Amawei no turoki" She responded in a language that the two men didn't understand.

Humphrie looked at Jeffrie "Any idea what tribe that dialect belonged to?" Jeffrie responded "Non that I know of. It appears she doesn't speak Common. Should we try the Beast kin we learned from the northern Boar tribe?"

Although each of the tribes of Beast Kin had their own dialect there were some that were widespread among the many different tribes.

Humphrie shrugged his shoulders "It couldn't hurt to try". Jeffrie began speaking using the broken Beast Kin he had learned "We no hurt you. Help you. Medicine. Follow"

The young lady was surprised. She put her hand down and began to hold her baby in her embrace. She seemed to have understood the two men.

She responded in the dialect of Beast Kin that the brothers knew "Please. Help baby" She then collapsed against the tree. But even after losing consciousness she kept her baby safe in her embrace.

The brothers ran to her "Let's bring her back to the carriage Jeffrie. We can treat her wounds there". Jeffrie took the fur wrapped baby into his arms "Yes. Let us make haste Humphrie"

The two brothers carried the young lady as well as her baby back to the carriage. They stripped the young lady of her fur clothes in order to treat her wound.

They fed the baby some milk that they had bought from a village a couple days ago. After an hour of cleaning the wound and applying medicine it looked like they were done.

However the brothers were frowning "We cleaned the wound and applied Berbadom extract mixed with ground up Halil root. She should be recovering. And yet her life force continues to weaken?"

Jeffries responded "She must have tapped into her life force during whatever battle she was involved in. I think she has but days left before her flame flickers out"

Humphrie slammed the table before he worriedly turned to the baby sleeping next to them. He was relieved to see that the baby was still sleeping "I bet this was those bastards doing."

Jeffrie nodded in agreement "Church of Light? They should call themselves the Church of slaughter instead. This war has no meaning other than to satisfy their grotesque greed"

Humphrie allowed his gaze to linger on the pitiful young women "It is probably for the best that we begin our journey again. We wouldn't want to bump into any Imperial forces or the dogs from the Church while we are here"

Just as they were getting ready to go Jeffrie noticed that their map was showing a reaction "Humphrie! It looks like some life forces are approaching us. And by the looks of it they must be 2nd ranked knights at least!"