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Chapter 9 - The Campsite

I ran as fast as I could toward the camp to retrieve the stone before it was destroyed. All I could do was hope for Shane's safety. Even If he is powerful, in his current state, he would nearly die from a head-on attack. After running for what seemed like an hour, I finally reached the campsite. The site was fairly large in size with many different tents.

However, it looked to be like a mini military base. I started scoping out the camp; then I overheard some of the soldiers passing by talking about something. I positioned myself as close as possible, so I could hear them but not be spotted.

The first Soldier said, "Hey, did you hear about that remnant of that tribe? Apparently, he is still trying to stop us from destroying this forest for the future development of Mr. Pax's Empire." "Yeah, I heard he wiped out a lot of our forces single-handedly," said the second soldier.

"Don't even worry about it; Master Fuse is out there taking care of that runt! Hahaha!" said another soldier walking up. Hearing that, it was my cue to leave. I headed into one of the enemy tents and borrowed a uniform. Then I started sneaking around into the different tents looking for clues to the gem's whereabouts and any other information.

Then all of a sudden, a random soldier started heading in my direction. As I stood there, thinking for a moment what to do it hit me. So, I walked up to the soldier and saluted him and said, "Hey you! I have orders from Master Fuse. He wants the treasure we captured from that tribe's treasury stat. Where did we put it? He thinks it will get rid of that pesky remnant in the forest."

The soldier looked at me slightly confused then replied in the deepest voice I ever heard, "What! Don't you remember soldier? We put it in the Master's tent at the center of the camp. If he wants it, you better hurry, or we all are going to be in trouble when he gets back.

You do remember the last time someone made Master wait for something." I nodded my head with a look of fear in my eyes. "I see you remember now, hop to it before I do the same to you!" he shouts at me. As I took off towards the center of the camp. I ran as fast as possible, but despite that, all I could think about was how if I don't hurry and retrieve the jewel, Shane could be in a lot of trouble. He has wounded so badly already, and if what that soldier said is true, I have no time to waste.

When I reached the tent, a guard was standing outside. So, I walked up to him and repeated the same thing I told the other soldier. He looked at me and replied, "No one enters this tent except the Master." Then he examined me and said, "Who are you? I have never seen you before in my life – Wait, imposter, you are not one my soldiers!" He immediately drew his sword and charged at me. I responded to his advance, and I drew mine and prepared to fight.

He was no regular soldier and was heavily skilled. We fought until I finally rendered him unable to fight and knocked him out. The battle had severely wounded him, and there was a slight chance he would be able to survive. With that, I knew I really needed to hurry. In the background, I could hear a lot of noise and soldiers shouting.

As I got up and rushed into the tent, I brought the soldier in with me and rested him a bed. Then as I was about to search the tent, the soldier comes to and grabs my arm, stopping me. "Please tell my family I loved them." He spoke softly. "I never wanted to do this; they said they would kill everyone if we didn't cooperate with Him." A moment passed, and guard then told me that the gem I was looking for was in the Master's safe.

Afterward, he warned me that if I do not hurry, the rest of the soldiers would reach the tent soon and overwhelm me, and I will not be able to help my friend. With that, I nodded and went to retrieve the gem and anything else I could put them in my bag.

I gathered medicines and food as quickly as possible. When I turned around to thank the soldier for helping me, to my dismay, he had passed. As I prepared for a forced exit, I grabbed some flowers nearby and rested them on his chest and dashed out of the tent.

As I exited the tent as rushed in the direction of the battlefield, some of the soldiers caught wind of me in the camp and sounded the alarms. Soon I started hearing the sounds of many soldiers and militia behind me. I ran through many tents and attempted to hide in some until the soldiers passed. Then after I ditched the uniform, I found a horse tied up by the camp side. I untied him and rushed off.