"Ah, you must be talking about the village of Tillmore," A weathered old man said as he scratched his chin.
I was standing in a shop that smelt like leather, wood and varnish. It was a strange smell for a general goods store, but I was thankful that he had an answer for me as this was the fifth shop I had visited in the span of an hour.
"Possibly. How do you get there?" I asked, fishing through my coin pouch acting like I was looking for certain coins and that my question was an innocent one.
"Well, you'll want to leave through the eastern gate and follow the road. Over the years the road there has gotten better. I remember in my youth…" The old man then started to recall a distant memory.
"Do you have change for a silver?" I interrupted him, not wanting to hear his long tale. He looked a little put out but nodded and began to fetch my change.
I thanked him and left the store after collecting the travel rations, and bedrolls I had bought. It wasn't the only things I bought today, but I found that people were more willing to talk if you buy something. So, I had to stock up on a fair amount of useless things. But still, at least I bought some books that Oswin would be able to read through without having any adult questions for me to answer.
The air still had the night's chill to it, as the winter sun had yet to fully rise yet. 'I'm glad that I had bought a fur cloak and some winter clothes recently.' I pulled my fur cloak closer to me as I made my way back home.
When I got home, I found Zale sitting at the dining table, her equipment spread out across the table and she was sitting with a long, elegant sword in hand and in the other, she had a cloth that she was using to clean it with.
"I have everything we need and have gotten directions. So, after a light breakfast, we should be set to go." She nodded towards me, and I set about getting everything prepared.
After a quick breakfast, I wrote out a letter for Ula and told her that I would be back soon. I left some money for her wages as well as money for rent, in case I was away for a while, considering rent day was coming up soon.
I then put on my dark leather armour that I had recently bought, as the old set I found in the goblin cave had to be retired as the smell of goblin wouldn't go. Plus, I couldn't put my mind to rest unless I wore some armour when I left town.
Because it was so cold, this time of year, no-one gave Zale, who had her cloak pulled tightly across her and with hood up, a second glance.
Leaving through the east gate, we came to the familiar marshland, though this time, I stuck to the road, as it was far safer.
Zale and I travelled in relative silence. It wasn't an awkward silence though; we both were silent people as well as the type to always be alert. In fact, I could say that we both appreciated the silence.
Even when it started to snow, we didn't slow our pace. In fact, Zale would increase our speed if she could, but I convinced her that as we didn't know where the hidden cave was, it was best to go slow and observe, in case we miss any signs or tracks.
The snow got heavier as time passed. At first, I considered using magic to protect us against the weather but decided against it as it would be tiring, and we didn't know what was waiting for us further on.
When the weather became too difficult for us to continue, we found a little nook to shield us from the worst, as we had out lunch.
Zale griped the jerky tightly in her hands, I could tell that she was frustrated to know where her kin is but having to go so slowly. But there wasn't much we could do about the weather.
It took close to an hour before the snow cleared a little before we could carry on. Thankfully, the road was well maintained that even under a blanket of snow, we could still find our way.
By the time the sun began to set, the forest in question came into view.
"Let's camp here for tonight." I announced as I pointed out a space just off the side of the road, with the forest entrance just in sight.
"…." I could see the hesitation and impatience on Zale's face.
"I understand how you feel. But we need the light to find any clues to where the cave is. Or we will have to double back later and lose even more time." I reasoned and after a few moments, she relented.
After clearing the space, a little, we set a fire, and I set up a barrier. I could feel the eyes of Zale watching me as I got to work. But she never once asked about it, so I didn't say anything to her.
The barrier was a little different to the one Servose and I used back in the day. Over the last month, I had been testing some things and improving my understanding of rituals a fair bit. And finally, I made a new breakthrough, I can draw a new circle on top of the intangible barrier walls. Which meant that I could create a three dimensional and multilayered array, which would mean I could create a barrier with multiple effects instead of the one that just obscures us from anything that looks our way. 'That reminds me, I need to strengthen the array that I use to protect my house.'
Our dinner for the evening was a simple soup, but it was hot and filling, and that was all that matters. After our food, we both laid down to sleep as nothing short of an ogre would be able to destroy the barrier, if they could find it first.
The next morning was bitterly cold, as the fire burnt out at some point in the night. Standing up to shake both, the layer of snow that had covered me, but also the stiffness of my joints.
Zale woke up shortly after me, and even though the morning has become dark as night and only just started to get brighter. We decided to have breakfast and then set out.
By the time we had reached the mouth of the forest, the sun had risen enough to give us a decent amount of light to see. Zale and I looked at each other and nodded, we both knew that from this point onwards we needed to be observant, or we will miss a vital clue. And for safety, I decided to keep my mana sense on high alert, just in case that mad man used mana as a marker.
Minutes turned into tens of minutes that turned into an hour, then two, then three. Before we knew it, the sun had reached its zenith, and we still hadn't seen any clues. The only thing we had been lucky with was the weather, it didn't snow today and had been relatively clear skies.
"Cain! Here!" Zale's voice cut through the silence, and I turned towards her to see her pointing up towards the top of a tree that borders the road.
Following her finger, I spotted a small square shape that had been cut into the tree, some seven or so foot up. It looked like it was cut with a blade, but my mana sense seemed to tell me that it was made by magic, that or it was just marked with magic.
"Yes, I can sense magic coming from it. This seems to be the right direction." Zale and I became slightly giddy over the clue we had found, but soon remembered why we were here.