Chris woke to someone knocking at his door. Soon he heard that it was Amelia's voice. "Chris, are you awake?"
"Give me a moment", Chris yelled back.
A few moments later he had gotten dressed and went to the door. "You are here early.", he mumbled.
Amelia looked amused by his sleepiness. "It is time to leave. We should make the most of the daylight we have."
Amelia gave Chris some bread and an apple, then she turned around to leave. Chris tried to keep up. "Why the hurry?", Chris said.
"The forest is not a safe place at night and I want to get to the town as soon as possible.", Amelia answered.
When they got to the temple entrance they were each given a backpack with supplies. Chris' backpack was quite a bit larger and heavier than Amelia's. "It seems I will be doing the heavy lifting", Chris jested.
"You wouldn't expect a lady to carry too much, now would you?", Amelia responded with a coy smile.
They started on their journey through the forest. It was a good opportunity to talk and get to know each other better. They spoke of trivial things, like their likes and dislikes. The entire first day went by without anything special happening.
It was dark and the only light they had came from an almost full moon. They had set up a tent and they would sleep in shifts in order for one of them to keep guard through the night.
Chris had the first shift. He would keep guard for 4 hours while Amelia rested and then they would switch. Two hours went by without a problem, but then Chris heard a noise coming from a tree a few meters away. He went to take a closer look and found a large grey wolf. Bigger than the one they had encountered between the shrine and the village, but this time Chris was prepared and battle-hardened.
The wolf lunged toward Chris, but he quickly sent forth a holy orb and the wolf was knocked back by the energy. It was lying completely still on the ground. Chris took a closer look, it was dead.
The rest of the night went by without any further disturbances.
Traveling on the second day was slower as they were both a bit tired. It wasn't possible to get a full nights sleep when they needed to take shifts keeping guard.
Along the way, Amelia told Chris a bit about the history of the Amber Kingdom. It had received its name due to the Amber Forest and it had consisted of the forest and some land around it. Harborton had been known as Amber Hold back then. There had been a Dwarven hold in the mountains to the North that belonged to the kingdom as well. A large fortress to the West had also belonged to the kingdom.
Chris asked about when and why the kingdom fell. Amelia didn't know all the details, but the main reason was the mysterious death of the entire royal family. They had all succumbed to sickness and died within the same year. This had resulted in a power struggle and the kingdom eventually fell. This was over a hundred years ago. Harborton had become an independent town and the region around Amber Forest had gone into decline.
Night came with an even fuller moon and just as the previous night, Chris took first watch and then he switched with Amelia four hours later. The night went by quietly.
The next day, the third day of their journey, they tried to keep themselves motivated by teaching each other songs. This was a good way of passing time along the way and they were able to keep a steady pace.
Chris also started telling Amelia a bit about the world where he had come from. Amelia couldn't even begin to imagine such a world. She was amazed by nearly everything Chris told her.
Night came again and there was a full moon. This would be the last night before they reach Harborton. Chris' watch went by quietly and he switched with Amelia.
Suddenly Amelia heard the howling of a wolf and it was close. Then she heard another. She went to wake up Chris. "Quick, I heard wolves howling. We should prepare ourselves in case they come here."
Chris got up immediately and conjured himself a sabre sword. They stood in the dark for what felt like ages.
Then suddenly, a wolf jumped out from the shadows around them. It was a few meters from Chris and it was snarling.
Shortly after the first one, another came out close to Amelia. She sent forth a holy orb and Chris lunged at the wolf close to him. The wolves whimpered and fell to the ground. Chris' sabre dissipated.
Just as Chris and Amelia let out a sigh of relief, a huge wolf-like creature standing on two feet emerged before them. Another two wolves appeared behind them.
The creature and the two wolves lunged at them at the same time. Chris summoned a large amount of energy into both his hands and slammed them into the ground. A shockwave of energy burst forth and caused the wolves to fly back. The creature was knocked back a bit too, but not as far.
Amelia sent fort a holy orb that managed to take out the creature's right arm. The creature growled and lunged at Amelia with the long sharp claws on its left arm. Chris managed to jump between them and block the attack with a small shield of energy.
Chris landed and sent forth a holy orb that managed to hit the creature right in the chest. It caused a large hole and the creature fell to the ground.
The two wolves that had been knocked away by the shockwave were nowhere to be seen.
Chris and Amelia remained vigilant for a long while after, waiting to see if the night had more surprises in store for them. During this time Amelia told Chris that the creature they had encountered was a werewolf. They were beings created by very dark powers and they were rare in this forest since it was protected by the Goddess. Something was very wrong and Amelia was clearly worried.
The rest of the night was quiet and Chris eventually got some sleep.
Amelia woke Chris for the last day of their journey. They were both tired from the rough night, but they were also eager to reach the town and finally get a good nights sleep.
They marched on and soon the town came into view. Harborton, an old town lying next to the Eastern sea. The town was surrounded by high walls and there was a grand keep sitting atop a hill that could be seen from the edge of the forest where Chris and Amelia were standing now. There was also a tall, but narrow tower. Amelia told Chris that it was the Mages' tower. They could also see large ships on the ocean. It was a truly magical view.