The moon shined brilliantly into the night sky, the burned leaves coming from the trees who fell down into the ground gave a bad redolence throughout the whole area. It was a misfortune, but luckily, all of the villagers have succeeded to flee the affected area.
Meanwhile, in the southern part of the field, a small house built underneath the bridge. A boy at the same age as Nile can be found reading a book inside the house. He wears a brown shirt with a small weave on its chest that resembles his hair color as well. His facial expression seems to be boring and not that energetic.
While using his time to read a book, a man with a distinct beard opened the door and entered the house. He dropped his bag full of tools including a large pick-ax. He resembles the kid who was reading the book because of their similar facial expression. After that, he takes off his jacket and sat on the couch to remove his shoes.
"Stell, have you heard the news?" The man asked.
The boy's name was Stell. Nile's friend who always came with him to venture the cave outside the field.
"News? About what, father?" He returned the question to his father. It took a while for him to answer Stell's question. After he removed his shoes, he goes into the kitchen to get a cup and drank water. He chugged all of it indicating that Stell's father was really exhausted and somewhat overworked.
"Well, you know that cave that you always told me, right?" He said.
"Yeah, that cave that has a lot of minerals and shiny rocks. Me and Nile always go there to find something cool." Stell closed his book and placed it down on the table while explaining.
"That cave– has been destroyed..." Stell's father relayed the information with a serious monotone sound. He knows that something happened on the cave while he's venturing the woods. Not to mention, almost all villagers know what happened in that area. It's because of that Drake that caused all of the major casualties.
"What? What are you talking about, father? That's impossible. What happened there?" Stell's curiosity grew louder. He doesn't believe what his father is saying at this moment.
"Just a few hours ago, while heading back with the other miners by the horse, we found the Captain of the 1st division there alongside with its large amount of soldiers and magicians. The cave was destroyed and a large dragon came out of it, didn't you notice the trembling earlier?" His father answered.
"Wait... You don't mean? That earthquake I felt earlier, I thought that was just nothing." Stell gazed down as he realized that he missed something important. He didn't know that the trembling he felt earlier was the effects of the dragon coming out of the cave of Deirdre.
"B-But... What about Nile? And his uncle? What happened to the other villagers who were living there? Are they okay? How's the situation?" Stell gave his father unending questions. He didn't respond to it instantly as he closed his eyes while talking to Stell.
"Calm down. Nile and the other villagers are safe, they safely evacuated to the east near the capital. I admit it was something nerve-wracking but I'm just grateful that you didn't go there. I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose you, Stell." His father approached him and gave him a nice embrace. Stell stared on the ceiling with a blank face and came to realize what his father meant.
"Anyway, It's too late right now. Tomorrow, we're going to go there to check on them and hopefully, they're fine. You need to sleep early if you want to see them."
"Oh... Okay!" Stell happily responded. He grabbed his book and opened the drawer to return it. After that, he blows off the candle to turn off the light and rushed through his bed.
"Goodnight, father!"
"Yes, goodnight..." His father responded.
Outside the field, the moon shined brightly again and the stars were visible this time. There was a cold breeze scattering in different places. Alongside that, even though the night sky is quiet, the mists and clouds were looming darker registering that the occurrence on the cave has something to do with it and how the atmosphere drastically changes.
'Nile... I hope you're okay...' Before Stell sleep, he thinks about the information he had received from his father. It's so unnatural for him to hear this news knowing that he ventures that cave every day with Nile before they depart and go home. Stell thinking about it gave him shivers every time. He cannot wait for tomorrow to see what happened in that place.
After a while, Stell's father cast a communication spell outside the house.
"Dear? Are you okay!? I've heard about the situation! Please tell me you're okay!" A woman's voice resonated after he called.
"Yes dear, calm down. How about you? That place you're working on is not that near, right?" He asked.
"Yes, we've been doing some weaving and the ground shook for a while. What about Stell! Is he okay?" Stell's mother was worried as well with how things are now.
"He's fine don't worry. It's a good thing that I told him to stay in the house to wait for me. If I hadn't done that he would be in trouble." He said.
"I'm really really really glad that he's okay! I'm sorry that I cannot go home right now, the shipper wants us to wrap things up before the end of the week. They've been preparing these special clothes and uniforms that we're making for something. I just really hope that it's something important. Anyway, I'm going on now, Dear. We'll meet up on the gates tomorrow." She said.
"Okay... Take care." And the call dropped.
'Special costumes and uniforms? That must be tiring. What are they planning anyway?'
The next day.
"Nile..."
"Nile..."
"Nile! Wake up!" Uncle Martin exclaimed.
"UWAH!" Nile's sudden awake caused him to slide down the slope. He managed to stop it using the rock's friction and after that, he stood up.
"What happened? Why is everyone sleeping outside?" Nile was confused.
The sun has risen once again. The clouds of dust and smogs that are blocking the sky dissipated and they can now see it clearly including the sun. The freshly warmed air breeze scattered around the places gave them a refreshing day.
All of the villagers' whos home got destroyed in the catastrophe slept under the tree and some of them brought some lodging and cover to protect them while sleeping. Nile started to walk on the upper side of the cliff, he saw the view in which the cave can be seen.
He gasped. The cave has a large hole. It's very different from how it was supposed to look like back then. There's no sign of minerals, shiny rocks, some diamonds, and treasures. It's now an abandoned shaft that is destroyed.
On the left side, Captain Lich can be seen casting a spell that takes care of the dragons remain. He' freezing its body so that the bad redolence of it won't emit out.
Suddenly, a footprint sound can be heard.
"Yo, Martin. You're up early..."
It was Captain Lennon.