Sculp was already up in the early morning, while Dan fed his horses, Hadrian and Marcus. He rushed to the borders of Cabro, to find the labour for soldiers. It was January 31 - Spring in two months. The fog still moved low through the bushes. Sculp hurriedly ran through the bushes, while wearing his jacket simultaneously.
It turned out that the fault ended after the bushes, into a cliff. The cliff continued into a cave, from which a stream of water flowed down into a pond as a waterfall. And following the pond were wheat farms, and farms meant villages. He saw the houses quite near to the pond. He could reach there by just one means- jumping into the pond.
He jumped into the water without hesitation and SPLASH! The birds flew all around, replying to the splash in the water, but the sounds died down into the trees very soon.
The town mayor wished Dan good luck for him that very morning. But, suddenly he called him to his private room, which had some cups of tea in it. They fell into a conversation:
-"You see Dan, you're a brave explorer. You are fighting hard for us, in exchange for nothing. But, do you know why are you doing this for months without a thought of it?"
-"I haven't even thought about it. Do you know about it?"
"Yes, I do"
-"What is it all about then?"
-"It's about something that's embedded into your body. Any newcomer to Fantalasia will behave according to how they lived for the last three years."
-"Why is it so?"
-"Fantalasia was built by three elder fairies, who had three different elements - fire, the destruction; water, the soul of healing; and wind, the state of war. Every newcomer was decided to be embedded with any two of these powers, based on the past three years of their life along with the respected amount of magic level, and every subject of Fantalasia will have all of the three elements in them, only in different ratios and the corresponding magic level."
-"That's weird."
-"It is, my dear. You must've had the elements of wind and water, based on your past three years of life. Those who get the elements could not experience the other element. But there's a flaw in this method."
-"What's that?"
-"These elements are often too weak. They will surely not help you in defeating the Horn Nemesis"
-"Then what's the solution?"
-"I have a very powerful gem which had been gifted by my ancestors for me years ago. It's in the shape of a compass. I'll get it from my chest."
The mayor went to an old dusty chest which was placed on a small, wooden bench. He opened it a took a compass-shaped lustrous item, which shone in the sunlight. Dan realized now it was daytime in a few minutes, yet he continued to stay there.
The mayor continued:
-"This is known by the name 'The Emblem of the Legends'"
-"Whoa, that looks great."
-"It sounds terrific, isn't it. This emblem gives you the power to defeat Horn Nemesis. This emblem has powers more than all the three standard elements combined, but it gives you luck, only in a few cases. Keep this along with you until the end of the journey. It helps you in many cases. Keep it in the remainder of your temporary home- the fort"
-"I will, Mr Mayor."
The mayor replied with a broad, cheering smile. Dan ran outside of the mayor's office. He went to the horsecart nearby the village gates. The mayor followed him, and so did many villagers. Sculp stood nearby, while Fayette and Camb boarded in.
Dan wished Sculp good luck in finding the labour for soldiers. He had gone down the lake and had spoken to some villagers about this, but they want time to decide.
The chariot moved at a slow pace. The horses gave the cheeriest "neigh". Soon it picked up speed and turned around the corner. It disappeared in the distance.
Dan's first plan is to reach the spruce forest and build a tent there so that they could settle for the night. Their first mission is to survive the first night. The reason I say "survive" is that there are hostile animals and possible traps around there.
The problems started when they arrived at the borders of the forest. The carriage moved normally through the path and crossed the trees. Nowhere of a sudden, an arrow was shot right through Dan's neck. Fortunately, it missed him narrowly. Dan was relieved. He thought it was probably the emblem which had helped him.
But the bigger problem is that they could not find a place to camp in the forest. Dan turned the carriage through narrow, dangerous bends, still not finding a place for camping.
The night was approaching. The three realized they spent the entire day roaming around the forest in search of a camping area. Seems like the emblem didn't work this time.
AT LAST! Dan found an open area between the spruce trees, which grew low grass, which was ideal. The first thing they did was that they covered the area with brambles and thorns around, to prevent the hostile animals. They placed fire torches around for sufficient light. They started by setting up their camp. While they were busy at those work, they heard the howls of wolves frequently. Bats flew all around them. Owls hooted. The three were scared all the time.
Finally, they finished setting up their camp. It's time to cook food. They boiled water over a campfire and added whole carrots, beans, and corn in it, to make vegetable soup.
It was very cold outside, as the temperatures ent negative sometimes, even in March. Dan wore his jacket and rubbed his hands over the campfire. All of a sudden, to their annoyance, it started snowing. It became even colder. Camb could somehow adapt to the temperatures. Dan and Fayette were shivering. Half of the torches went off. luckily the campfire was still burning.
They could hear sheep bleating loudly around them. The bats flew tree to tree around the woods. In the distance, a wolf howled loudly that each and every animal shrieked to fear and the forest became louder.
The soup was ready in a few minutes. Dan and Fayette had the soup, while Camb was given some dog food, which Dan brought by spelling some magic. It took quite a long time for him to produce it, though.
Yet, it's a satisfying ending for their first night, which they had survived successfully, along with the emblem.