There is an old fortress to the West of Amber Forest. It used to be Amber Kingdom's greatest stronghold and was built to defend against the desert kingdom that lies beyond.
The fortress was abandoned after the collapse of Amber Kingdom and fell into ruin.
The Goddess has warned Amelia that evil is stirring in the old fortress.
Chris and Serena will soon set off to investigate and and try to delay the enemy forces for as long as they can.
...
Chris wakes up in a comfy bed next to Amelia. They had a wonderful farewell last night and now it is time to get to work.
"Amelia, are you awake?", Chris says in a hushed tone.
"Barely", Amelia answers while slowly opening her eyes.
"It is time for me to go now. I'll miss you.", Chris says and hugs her.
Amelia hugs him back and holds him tight. Refusing to let go of him.
"Stay with me. Just a few moments longer.", Amelia says while pressing her face into Chris' chest.
After a while, she finally lets go of him. Chris gives her a kiss and prepares to head off.
Chris knocks on Serena's door, or really his door. She soon opens. Fully clothed and ready to head out.
"Hi Chris, I'm ready whenever you are.", she says with a serious expression.
"Alright, we need to gather the guard recruits that will be coming with us. Then we head off.", Chris answers with a warm smile.
Serena's expression softens.
"He actually makes me feel comfortable and safe. At first, I found him terrifying. Especially considering his immense power, but now it is starting to feel good to have someone strong to rely on. I feel like I may be able to trust him.", Serena thinks and smiles to herself.
After gathering the twelve guards recruits, the small scouting party sets off with Chris taking the lead.
The journey will take them several days and they will have to make the forest their home. It is also possible to go around the forest, but that would take even longer.
The party spends the first day talking about what they could do to slow down the enemy forces.
One idea is to create traps and obstacles in the forest.
"While I do admire your spirit, I think it is unlikely that the main force of the enemy would go through the forest. This is even a worry of mine in relation to this scouting mission. If we are very unlucky, the enemy is already traveling around the forest and we will reach an empty fortress. However, my hope is that they are not quite ready yet.", Chris answers the recruit, named Will, that had become very excited about filling the forest with traps.
"Then maybe we can build traps outside of the forest instead?", recruit Will answers with a hopeful expression.
"Yes, but first we need to figure out the enemies most likely path and army composition. Our plans need to be designed specifically to counter the enemy.", Chris answers and the recruits start to imagine what type of beasts and creatures they will have to face.
After a long day of walking through dense forest terrain, everyone except for Chris are exhausted. They stop to rest and make dinner before they start setting up camp. They have brought half a dozen tents, cooking supplies and some tools. The camp is quickly setup after everyone have been reinvigorated by some food and rest.
They all take shifts guarding the camp through the night. The night passes by quietly.
The next day they get up, fix some breakfast, tear down the camp and continue on their journey.
Everyone (except for Chris) are feeling their body ache from yesterday's strain, but they fight on. Their pace is just slightly slower than yesterday. However, over the next few hours the group's pace gradually decreases as they become more and more tired.
Chris notices the group's fatigue and decides that they should add a lunch break to their daily routine. Everyone rejoice at hearing this. Their seeminly inexhaustible leader is actually very understanding of their struggle.
They take a break to eat, rest and have some small chat for an entire hour. Then they carry on with their journey.
The rest of the journey goes smoothly and they soon reach the edge of the forest close to the fortress. The fortress is still a kilometer away, but due to its size and the surrounding terrain being quite open it is in full view of the scouting party.
Everyone is amazed at the size of it and unfortunately it looks to be in quite good shape too. They see smoke rising from several areas around the fortress, but they need to get closer in order to see the enemy forces.