The two boys quickly arrived at the cathedral and found one black coach and a carriage outside of the cathedral. Behind them was the man in black and red armor and two other people dressed in red cloaks that had their faces obscured, standing behind him.
"Since you are here, let's not waste time. What is your decision?" Jake simply turned to look at his friend, as if he too was awaiting his answer even though he clearly knew it.
"We accept," Timothy didn't waste time with many words as he gave a straightforward answer.
"Haha, I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. If that is the case, let us leave at once, come sit with me," he said, moving to the wagon in front.
"Wait!!!" Everybody turned to see a girl running towards the cathedral with her beautiful maroon gown and laced ankle boots. She quickly arrived, but she didn't go to the boys as expected; she went to the man in armor and knelt down.
"My Lord, forgive me for wasting your time. My Lord, I wish to travel with you. I'll do any job as long as I get to be around them and see their progress," she said hurriedly as she kept her face down.
The two boys couldn't believe what was happening. They were also reluctant to part with her, but there was nothing they could do, so they simply looked at the scene play out without making a sound.
"Do you know this child?" He asked looking at the two boys.
"Yes."
"Do you want her to come with you?"
The two boys looked at their friend who was kneeling, and they both nodded.
"Then she will be your responsibility from now on," the man said as he got inside the coach. Timothy moved forward to go pick her up, but she quickly stood up and fixed herself, reverting back to her elegant self as she smiled at the two boys before getting inside the carriage and sitting down opposite the man in armor. The two boys quickly got in, and Timothy sat beside Ver while Jake sat opposite him, and the coaches started moving.
No one spoke as they made their way out of the city and into the mountains. The man in armor finally removed his helmet, shocking Ver who was now staring at him with wide eyes.
"My name is Finn, you can stop calling me Lord," he said with a light chuckle.
"So tell me, why did you choose to be knights?"
"Well, I'm doing this because of him," Jake pointed at Timothy.
"Strength," Timothy said, looking down.
"What type of strength? Political strength? Financial strength?" Finn asked, clearly amused by his answer.
"Just strength."
"I see," Finn smiled. The coaches made their way through the mountains at a sturdy pace, and surprisingly enough, there was no sign of beasts. It was now past midday, and they had just left the mountain path; they were now in a desert with nothing but a few trees there and there. Timothy and Ver were quietly observing the environment as it was their first time they had gone this far from home, but Jake didn't seem too bothered with his environment.
The coaches made way quietly as they kept on moving east until they suddenly stopped, startling Ver who was now sleeping. The coachman knocked on the door, and Finn stepped out, closing the door. Timothy and the rest couldn't make out what was being said, so when Finn stepped back in, they all tensed up. Noticing their stiff expressions, he chuckled lightly.
"There are ruins up ahead. After they have checked them out, we will be setting camp there."
"Do you want to hear a tale?" He asked slowly.
They all had nothing to do since they were waiting for Finn's men to clear out the ruins before moving again, so they all nodded their heads.
"Very well, long ago, before the great war, the world was vastly different from the one we see now. Dragons and phoenixes ruled the sky, while the ground was ruled by beasts of all manner, and even spirits roamed the world. We humans lived in tribes, namely the Tif'er, Mesa, Khen'ji, Ferho, So'j, and Gulap. These tribes lived in harmony with one another, each tribe respecting the other tribe's territory. But then one night, the beasts of the land went mad and started invading our small tribes, destroying our peace. This lasted for five years as the beasts would attack the tribes only when there was a full moon. So one day, a week before the full moon, the tribe leaders had a meeting to discuss how to deal with this issue. But five out of six leaders showed up; mainly the Khen'ji tribe's leader didn't show up. But the meeting went well, for they had found a solution to their problem," he looked at the three teenagers in front of him before continuing.
"The solution was that they were to each send out their strongest warrior to go to the mountains of Fall and seek out aid from the rumored fallen deity Sega the fallen. The next morning, five warriors left their land of birth to go seek out a savior. On the first night of the journey, they were attacked by a pack of dire wolves, and a warrior of the Gulap tribe died in battle. They mourned his loss and continued their journey for two more days before losing another warrior belonging to the So'j tribe. They mourned her loss and continued on their journey as they could now see the mountain range from afar. They walked for three more days before entering the foggy forest in front of the mountain. They made camp and prepared themselves to spend the night in the forest, as they didn't even light a fire. As they were sleeping, a beautiful voice filled the whole forest with its enchanting singing." The teenagers were staring at him as he stopped.
"Why did you stop?" Jake asked, annoyed.
Finn laughed before resuming.
"The warrior from the Ferho tribe got up and disappeared into the woods. The next morning, the two warriors woke up and were surprised by the fact that one of them was missing. They took off and marked the trees they passed so that they could find their way back. They went up the mountain and finally reached the peak after a day. There was a small cave with skulls at the entrance. As they got closer, they could hear laughter and cheers, which surprised both of them. As they proceeded inside the cave, the cave was small from the outside, but inside it was a different matter. They took the stairs that went down as the laughter and cheers got louder. They eventually reached the bottom, and their eyes couldn't believe what they saw." Finn stopped, leaving them in suspense before continuing.
"All of their clan leaders except the Khen'ji tribe were seated on a long table filled with food and wine. At the end of the table was an old man filled with wrinkles, and in front of him was a golden bowl. They stood there watching their leaders chat and feast merrily. 'Why!!!' the Tif'er warrior screamed, making the whole cave turn silent as the tribe leaders turned to look at them with pity in their eyes. And the Ferho tribe leader spoke, 'Oh look, two made it out alive,' and they began laughing, which made the Tif'er warrior boil with anger. But as he was about to attack, he was held back by his fellow warrior who looked at him with understanding eyes. 'Let us leave.' The two warriors were about to leave when Suddenly, the entire cave fell silent, and one of the leaders spoke, "Where do you think you are going?"
The two warriors continued walking up the stairs without stopping, but when they were about to take another step, their bodies suddenly stiffened, and they couldn't move.