Lobek looks at the tree line and sees three shadows moving through the bushes; he signs to Lavi to go pron on the ground to stay out of sight. Lavi readies her knife, and Lobek grabs his axe; the siblings are ready to defend themselves from the potential threats. Lobek crawls slowly over to the three, prepared to attack at any moment, looking through the brush and getting a closer look at them. Lobek thinks, 'Shit, three dark elves, this isn't going to be easy.' 

  Lobek waits for a moment for them to pass so he and Lavi can escape; the dark elves are the strongest race of creatures on the content. Maybe if they had six more fighters, they could make it out, but their best option to live is to run away from this kind of fight. The dark elves move past Lobek, thankfully not seeing him and Lavi. Lobek signs Lavi to get up and run back into town as fast as possible. Lobek stands up, and Lavi stands and walks over to him. "We need to move, Laiv; dark elves are in the forest," Lobek whispers to her. She nobs, and then they start running as fast as they physically can. 

  As they sprint away, they can see the sun start setting; they need to hurry back to the town, or else they will get locked out in the wild and be trapped out there with the wolves and the dark elves. 'Why would a dark elf patrol be so close to the town? And why they even be over here this far from the battlefield? The town is a neutral territory; we have nothing to gain from the war.' Lavi thinks as she runs alongside her brother. They reach the gate "shit, they closed the gate," Lavi says, breathing heavily.

  Lobek starts slamming on the gate and yells, "Open the gate, you bastards; you locked two minors out in the wilds." 

  Lavi and Lokeb may only be 17 and 16, but they have shown the most promise in the small academy as warriors and scalers. The guards know if they lock minors out, they need to open the gates and let them in, but if they don't, it's a crime that can land them two years in a cell. 

  A grade opens the gate and yells, "Get your asses in here, you imbeciles." The guard's voice booms through them like a shock wave from explosive magic. Lobek and Lavi move into the town, looking down at the ground and avoiding eye contact with the guard. The guard speaks as they walk off, "You two know better than being last for curfew."

  The two siblings say at the same time, "Sorry, sir."

  "Don't let it happen again, got it," the guard says like a father lecturing his children. 

  The two run off before he can continue with the verbal lashing; they run to the church. The church is also the orphanage where the siblings grow up. They don't know who their parents are; the nuns said their parents were soldiers in the war, and they died fighting for what they believed in. 

  Lobek opens the door to the church and looks around to see if any of the sisters are still out. After taking a good look around, he saw no one is on the church floor. He waves Lavi through, and they swiftly make their way to their bunks. Before they turn in for the night, they sit and talk momentarily.

  "What are the dark elves doing this far south?" Lavi asks quietly.

  "I have no idea, but it's not a good sign for things to come in the morning; we need to speak to the lord about the dark elves," Lobek says. "I believe that was a recon party; they are scooping out the other territories," Lobek proclaims. At only 16 years old, he is a tactical genius. 

  "Agreed," Lavi nods.