An agreement between Maleen and Rudolf has been formed. Maleen said that Arthur was far away from the Dark forest and would soon be home with the girl. Hearing this, of course, Rudolf didn't feel worried, and he returned home to Howa's cave to wait for his son's arrival.
This time, Rudolf felt much calmer than before. He also walked casually to Howa's cave even though he hadn't met Arthur yet. The life he bet on the old witch is not a joke. He knew Arthur, as a Jotun, would always win, especially against a weak girl like Gilda.
Arriving in the Dark Forest, Rudolf saw an unusual scene. Volka paced back and forth on the forest's edge, thinking about something he couldn't control.
"Volka!" called Rudolf from a distance.
"Mr-Mr. Odolf?! You're back?!" Volka feels surprised to see Rudolf's arrival. But, although the smile grew on Volka's face, the dark lord's gaze could not lie if he was feeling sad.
"What's the matter, Volka?" asked Rudolf with a frown on his forehead.
"Master, thank goodness you came. Honestly, I can't control the situation in the Dark Forest right now," Volka retorted. His tone sounded agitated with full of doubts.
"What's the matter?! Just say it!"
"On one of the Jotuns was injured while trying to enter the village of Tanee, Sir. I don't know how it happened. It all happened very quickly," Volka said with guilt evident in both eyes.
"Who's that?!"
Rudolf ran directly towards Howa's cave to confirm the situation without lingering. Sure enough, the Jotuns were swarming someone who seemed panicking, seeing that blood spots were everywhere.
"Get out of the way!" exclaimed Rudolf.
"Rudolf, are you back? Behold, Rudolf! Look at my son!" cried aunt Kara hysterically as she held my half-conscious child by the hand.
"What happened to your son? Why could it be like this?"
"Can you take him and help treat him first? I'm afraid my son can't be saved," Kara's aunt said softly.
Rudolf nodded in agreement with Aunt Kara's request. He took the child to a particular room for the Jotuns' treatment at the end of the cave. The room is occupied by an old Jotun named Maurie. Maurie is a Troll who can heal anyone who is sick. Over fifteen years, Maurie became Rudolf's confidant in curing the disease. However, Maurie rarely came out of the cave. Due to his old condition, she prefers to be in her room while several Jotuns take turns delivering her food and drink.
"Maurie, help him. He's dying!" exclaimed Rudolf as he laid down aunt Kara's son.
Maurie nodded slowly. She strolled towards aunt Kara's son with a wooden stick that she used to help her walk. Maurie's vision has been lost since she was born to earth, aka blind. However, she inherited her medical talent from her late father, who was also influential.
Maurie's shaking hand crept over the Jotun child's body. She didn't touch it directly, but several times the child groaned in pain.
"Stop it, Maurie! It hurts!" the child said softly.
"Calm down, I'm treating you."
Maurie then stopped her sense of touch to detect the child's pain. She then turned around and walked towards the corner of the room where he kept a few bottles and a bonfire on a pot of clay filled with liquid.
"Is he ok?" asked A restless Adolf.
"You can wait outside if you can't wait. Let me do my job," Maurie replied in a calm tone.
Rudolf then waited outside the room full of worry, including Kara's aunt. He looked very panicked as he walked back and forth with sweat pouring down his forehead.
"Kara, what happened to your son?" asked Rudolf as he waited.
"Rudolf, believe me... don't just leave us like you just did. At present, the condition of the Dark Forest is not doing well. Yesterday, I saw Emmett and other Tanee villagers observing our forest. They will be attacking soon. When I was observing the humans, all of a sudden, my son caught up and ran towards them. I couldn't catch up with him until I passed through the woods out of fear. I had warned him not to run far, but still, he left until I couldn't control it. That was when one of the humans saw my son's presence and tried to attack him. I could only watch from a distance yelling at his name, and the man beat him. Fortunately, they didn't bring arrows. Otherwise, maybe my son is dead," Kara's aunt said, accompanied by a faintly audible sob.
"This is a danger. They have dared to attack us directly."
"Yes, you're right. Only we can take care of our kind, Rudolf. Therefore, I ask don't leave for no more reasons. I know we're looking for Arthur, but we're here to need a leader."
"When it comes to Arthur, he will go home soon. I apologize to you if this all happened because of me," Rudolf said, feeling guilty.
Soon, Maurie walks out of her room and up to Rudolf and Kara's aunt.
"Maurie, how is my son's condition?" asked Kara.
"I don't understand. Why didn't you take your child to me to be treated quickly? Why is it only now after Rudolf's arrival?" asked Maurie irritably.
"I-I just too freaked out. Besides, I didn't know that Rudolf was coming," Kara's aunt replied with her gaze down the ground.
"You know what? If it hadn't been Rudolf who brought your son here, even a little late, your son would have died."
"Then, what's his current state, Maurie? He's fine, right?" asked Rudolf curiously.
"He'll be fine. It's just that he needs time for the recovery period. So I have prepared a potion for him and he should drink it every day until he recovers. I have also treated the injuries on his body with mashed leaves," said Maurie.
"Thank goodness. Thank you very much, Maurie. You've always helped my family."
Meanwhile, Kara meets her son, who has begun to regain consciousness.
"Rudolf, I need to talk to you about the humans and us. Do you have time?" whispered Maurie in her voice so that no one couldn't hear but Rudolf and himself.
"Of course, we can talk on the side of the cave. Other jotuns are busy scattering for food, so there's no way anyone can bother us," Rudolf retorted.