As soon as the group secured a good enough location, they immediately prepared firewood to rest up.
In the day time, when it was assumed to be safe, not one of them lost the tension in their hearts.
They all laid quietly on the grass, staring up into the sky, not one of them daring to fall asleep.
Beatrice seemed most affected by the even that transpired during the dark night of these terrifying woods.
She watched the clouds, completely absorbed in her own thoughts, with a solemn look on her face.
How could someone die in such a brutal manner.
She gritted her teeth, a furious expression taking over for barely a second.
Whatever it is that's trying to kill us needs to just show itself already.
Her expression then, quickly returned to her normal cold and calm default.
"Old man Henry, what did Manther mean when he said all that stuff?"
Jacob tilted his head slighty to face the old man while asking this question.
The old man turned his head in Jacob's direction, revealing to the rest of the group a sad expression of grief on his face.
Jacob of course, could not see what they did, so he just stared in the old man's direction.
"Manther… Manther is my grandson."
The old man looked down when he said this, hiding his facial expression from the group. His tone however remained calm and almost flat.
The silence that met his response, he took it as encouragement to continue speaking.
"Me and Manther come from a farm I own, out near the edges of civilization. On the open lands near the walls."
"When me and Manther left home, it was out of struggle to earn a living, given how small our farm was compared to the rich men with massive acres of land that surrounded us."
"I am a retired soldier who served the Mycenaean military."
Jacob lifted his head when he heard this. "Mycenaean military?"
Jacob's question caused old man Henry to once again turn to him.
"Yes, you said you aren't from within the walls… It is the Royal family that rules over the mainlands."
Jacob showed interest at this information.
"Rule? As in kings? I thought the Deities were the highest authorities inside the walls."
When Jacob said this, Beatrice shifted her posture and laid slightly tilted in Jacob's direction next to her.
"The Deities don't hold authorities, they hardly even interfere in matters of the world.
The royal families are the highest authorities, with the noble houses of elements directly under them, followed by noble families of all major cities."
Beatrice seemed calm as she spoke, a distant expression on her face.
Jacob saw none of this and just quietly listened with a smile on his face.
Old man Henry nodded his head, confirming he claims. He then continued speaking.
"One day, more than 40 years ago, I came across what seemed to be ancient scriptures that claimed there was treasure buried by a forgotten squad who had decided to expand their explorations to outside the walls."
"I spent all these years, ignoring those scriptures, chalking them off as nothing but legends among lower ranked squads looking to stumble upon fortunes."
Drake, Tarth, Simon, they all remained silent, listening to the old man share his story with calm expression on their faces.
Perhaps speaking on these matters allowed them to calm their hearts and placated their minds. Regardless they all seemed calm.
"But, one day I happened to stumble upon a map while I was out with Manther. Manther always loved my stories as a soldier and particularly cherished the one of these scriptures.
When we found this map, it matched those scriptures completely. We called it Heaven's will."
He smiled when he said this, still looking calm with his wrinkles on his face.
"We had been struggling to make ends meet on the farm, teetering on the brink of poverty.
So Manther and I set out a few months after finding that map, hoping to save our family from suffering."
By the time he had finished speaking, Tarth and Beatrice's faces we covered in expressions of clear concern.
What a sad fate it was, to end up running into this creature which suddenly decided to travel so close to the walls.
Beatrice looked down as she thought to herself.
"Old man, how far out were you when you realized you had been trapped in here by whatever this creature is.
We weren't too far out, infact we had'nt even passed the scout post."
Jacob's right eye twitched when he heard the old man say this.
"Old man Henry, what's the scout post?"
Simon was the first to answer when they heard Jacob's question.
"The scout post is the huge pole outside close to the wall. It's the furthest place outside the walls that is still relatively safe."
Beatrice spoke too after Simon finished his sentence.
"Yes, once you reach the scout pole, you officially enter the boarders of civilization. Many scout soldiers are stationed at these poles."
Jacob turned his head to face Beatrice.
"What are they scouting?"
But Beatrice remained silent for a few seconds.
Seeing this, Drake answered in a calm and flat tone.
"The horrors of the desolate plains."
Silence washed over the campsite the moment Drake said those words.
Tarth looked up into the clouds with a solemn look on his face.
His voice was hoarse and deep.
"What is out there, so terrifying that even Gods don't dare to approach…"
Everyone laid there on their backs, staring up at the clouds with serious looks on their faces.
…..
5 hours passed by as they rested, the entire forest peaceful and beautiful.
They took turns guarding the campsite while the others slept until now. Now they were all well rested and awake.
Jacob was the last to wake up from his nap. He never had to stand guard because he could keep his senses spread out to a large distance even in his sleep.
The others kept themselves busy. Tarth, sharpening his battle axe. Simon, wiping his glasses with the help of the fabric of his clothes.
Drake, sitting high up on the branch of a tree, on look out duty while old man Henry and Beatrice sat next to a pile of wood logs, making small talk.
Jacob sprung up from his sleep, sitting up straight with a calm and cold gaze, looking straight forward in the direction he was faced.
Everyone turned their heads to look at him when he woke up like this.
Drake spoke, his voice being heard from high up in a tree.
"Are they here?"
Jacob simply nodded his head slightly.
"Yes… they've been here for the last two hours."
"What?! How?"
Old man Henry seemed calm when he said this but the surprise could be heard in his voice.
Jacob looked up and shook his head slightly, with a solemn look in his face. There were tiny hints of sadness in his expression.
Beatrice noticed this while looking at him but ultimately said nothing. A concerned look on her face while she watched.
Jacob's head dropped again and he looked down to the ground.
"They have been standing at the very edge on my sensory limits, not moving an inch.
Just…watching"
This caused Drake's eyebrows to furrow as he squinted his eyes a little.
He seemed to be thinking a lot after hearing what Jacob said.
"Jacob, are we attacking?"
Drake's expression, tone and demeanor reverted back to the cold usual way of talking before he asked this question.
Jacob paused for a few seconds, then spoke calmly.
"Yes, but only you and I will be going."
Jacob's reply shocked everyone, they seemed confused at Jacob's strategy.
Beatrice seemed even more shocked than the rest of them.
"What?! No, it should be me and Drake going, not you. I'm strong, stronger than anyone here…" Her voice gradually grew softer as she continued to speak.
"Let me do it. Let me do something."
Jacob looked at her for a few seconds without saying anything. She had a sad expression on her face. One she couldn't mask.
He closed his eyes shut and remained with the calm expression on his face.
Slowly, he walked up to her and stopped right in front of her. She was a bit taller than Jacob, so he had to tilt his head upward a bit in front of her.
Standing right in front of her, with his eyes still closed, Jacob revealed a slight smile.
Beatrice couldn't tell if it was warmth of just a polite gesture.
Despite being shorter than her, Jacob reached out his right hand and placed his palm on the top of her head gently.
He patted her head twice with a smile and spoke in a calm and gentle tone.
"You are strong… so let me do this. I can't see your face, but I can feel that you're in emotional turmoil. Let the Lord be your guiding light when your heart is at it's darkest.
Allow the Lord to be with you in pain and He will lead you back to happiness."
With this said, Jacob retracted his hand from her head and took a step back.
Although he couldn't see it, Beatrice was calm once again. A slight yet beautiful smile appearing on her beautiful face.
The group watched this beautiful scene, seeing for the first time a smile this beautiful and they couldn't help but have bits of sadness appear in their hearts.
Their sadness brought about by the realization that Jacob could not see what he had done through his words.
To them, it seemed an unfortunate curse, on such a wonderful soul.