The sky resembled a deep black abyss, if it weren't for some visible stars, along with the huge silver moon, appearing to be the only source of lighting in the world.
Slowly, the sound of galloping approached, coming from the darkness that stretched across the dirt road ahead.
The wind hitting Drake's face, along with the sound of his rustling cape moving, gave him a feeling of freedom. A smile widened on his face as he commanded Blackie to speed up his run.
"YAH!"
"INH" In response, Blackie whinnied, speeding up his movement. Allowing his wild spirit to run wild.
Little time had passed since Drake had left the castle, around thirty minutes. Crimson Castle was in a remote area of the Deore empire, at the closest point to the dark lands of Shadow Valley.
There were no towns or passersby nearby, making the dirt road and surrounding plain fill his view. The grassy plains shone as the moonlight reflected off their dew, while the darkness of night seemed to engulf the world around them.
Drake was heading towards White Bone village. They were a people who lived relatively isolated, only appearing in society when they needed to. Recently they sent a request for reinforcements to Crimson Castle, they also sent a request to Viburg, the nearest city, but they have not yet received a response.
The people of White Bone could be considered barbarians, everyone who was born there became warriors from a young age, but due to their wrongly invested efforts over the generations. It made his community a little behind on Mana.
From the reports Dante received, the strongest warrior in White Bone should be at the Intermediate Knight position. Even in such a situation, Dante thought it was a good idea to send his son Drake for training, alone. Drake suspected that there was something more to this expedition, feeling that Dante had omitted information regarding the real situation.
The time has passed.
Taking small breaks and slowing down periodically. Soon, the sun's rays appeared on the horizon, beginning the dawn.
Drake was taking a few detours along the dirt roads as described on the map. Until in his current vision, small trees passed by in a blur in the corner of his vision, while in the distance, a dense forest could be seen.
Currently on the road, pieces of wood, turning out to be carriage wreckage, were expanding in various directions. Dried blood could be seen, spreading as if they had been dragged by something. Drake pulled on Blackie's reins to slow him down as he headed down the only road in front of him.
Thick trees surrounded the entire length of the road, making its surroundings slightly gloomy. Looking in a certain direction, Drake spotted what appeared to be smoke, leaving him slightly apprehensive.
Commanding Blackie to turn away, Drake entered the trees, and it wasn't long before he found the source of the fire. Approaching the strong light source, his vision found a large wood fire. There were few people around it, but they all looked like experienced warriors.
Upon hearing the sound of horse hooves, the warriors placed their hands on their weapons while looking in the direction of the sound.
The figure of Drake and Blackie emerged from the shadows created by the trees, Drake's hood had long since fallen due to the pressure of the wind. Showing his slightly childish features, which contrasted with his eyes that showed indifference.
"Who are you?!" One of the barbarians shouted, wielding his spear towards Drake.
Drake reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, the paper they had sent to Crimson territory.
"Drake Crimson, I came due to reinforcements request" Drake replied.
"We call for reinforcements and they send us a child?" One of the barbarians proclaimed.
"I wouldn't mind if it was Young Master Claude, but who is that?" Another barbarian said.
Murmurs began to sound among the barbarians, who showed discontent with the situation.
"Very well, calm down" A thick voice sounded from among the barbarians.
A tall, strong man showed himself. He appeared to be around fifty years old, just over six feet tall. His hair was lightly gray and short, his light brown eyes showed the confidence that only an experienced warrior would possess.
From his posture, he seemed to be a leader. Approaching Drake, he said.
"Nice to meet you young Drake, I am Kaesir, leader of the White Bone people" his voice sounded confidently.
Drake got off Blackie, then stood in front of Kaesir, raising his head and looking into Kaesir's eyes.
"Pleasure, sir Kaesir"
Nodding his head, Kaesir said.
"Young Drake, are you aware of why you are here?" Kaesir had a suspicious look in his eyes.
"If it's about the monster horde, then yes" Drake said with a thoughtful expression.
With a sigh, Kaesir's hope crumbled upon seeing Drake's relaxed posture.
'Whatever, at least the Crimson answered our call' Kaesir thought.
"Take care of his horse" Kaesir said to a member of his group, turning to Drake.
"Follow me, I will explain the situation on the way" Kaesir said.
Drake nodded and soon began to follow Kaesir.
"We have been suffering from attacks by hordes of these beasts called goblins for seven days... The attacks normally occur at night, forcing us to be active during the days and nights" After a brief pause, Kaesir continued.
"We suffered the last attack just over a day ago, but we're still dealing with the damage and burning the bodies of those who died" Kaesir said as he looked at the bonfire with regret.
In the bonfire, there were charred bodies, both of people and monsters.
The monsters were small, about eighty centimeters to one meter tall, their skin were pale green. Their features were grotesque, sharp teeth and nails could be seen from their charred bodies. Their yellow eyes, even when dead, showed the ferocity of a being driven by instincts.
Upon noticing the grotesque appearance of the goblins, Drake slightly raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. The surprise on Drake's face made Kaesir feel even more depressed, but he showed no reaction
As they walked towards what appeared to be a large wall made of wooden stakes. Kaesir asked Drake.
"Drake, mind telling me your rank?" Kaesir asked.
"I'm currently an Apprentice," Drake replied nonchalantly.
The expression on Kaesir's face froze, he felt like shouting towards the heavens, but maintaining his composure, Kaesir threw his thoughts to the back of his mind.
The village walls soon came into view, the wooden stakes were approximately three meters high, with a large solid wooden double gate. There were two wooden towers, containing archers, on both sides of the gate.
The archers exchanged a few words among themselves, then the gate opened.
Drake's vision filled with small wooden houses. People walked through the small streets that interconnected the small village. The village had around a hundred people, making it relatively small.
Kaesir entered accompanied by Drake, some guards looked suspiciously at Drake, but being in Kaesir's presence, demonstrated that he would not pose a threat.
"You must be tired from the trip, we have a spare room in my house, you can stay there if you want" Kaesir said as he walked.
"Okay," Drake replied, looking around with interest.
After a short walk, they arrived at Kaesir's house. It was a house big enough to accommodate 10 people, maybe 5 if they were the barbarians...
Kaesir approached the door and opened it. The interior was quite ordinary. The living room contained a fireplace, a table with chairs and some simple decorations around it.
"Honey, we have a visitor!" Kaesir shouted.
A delicious aroma touched Drake's nostrils, apparently coming from a room that appeared to be the kitchen. From there, a lady came out, from her appearance she appeared to be around forty years old. Her skin was lightly tanned, she had long dark hair, brown eyes and a muscular body.
She came walking until she was next to Kaesir and ignored him. Looking at Drake she smiled and said.
"Where did you get this cute boy from?" She said, on her way almost squeezing Drake's cheeks.
"Take it easy, he's a Crimson" Kaesir said sighing.
The lady's hands that were pinching Drake's cheeks froze, beads of sweat seemed to drip from her forehead. Carefully removing his hands, she said.
"I'm sorry, sir" She said with a twisted smile.
Drake's expression remained indifferent, he didn't know how to react when she squeezed his cheeks. Letting out a sigh, Drake said.
"Don't worry, just don't do that again. By the way, my name is Drake Crimson, I'm here for reinforcement" Drake said casually.
"Nice to meet you young master, my name is Fenn" She said, trying to sound composed.
"Please, leave the formalities aside, just call me Drake" Drake said.
Fenn cracked a smile when she saw Drake trying to look sociable. Despite being a young master, Drake acted differently from those she had met.
After her brief greeting with Drake, Fenn turned to Kaesir.
"Breakfast will be ready soon, Frey should be finishing her training, go call her" Fenn said to Kaesir, like a commander giving orders to a soldier.
A brief look of amusement passed through Drake's eyes upon seeing their interaction.
Kaesir started walking towards the exit with a low look. Seeing Drake standing near the door, he asked.
"Drake, I'm going to pick up my daughter, do you want to come with me?"
Even though it had been a few hours since Drake's journey began. At that moment, curiosity overcame tiredness.
"Sure" Drake said, slightly excited to be able to observe his surroundings.