All of them woke up in the afternoon. Harwin was supposed to report to the chief at dawn-break so he quickly made himself presentable, and left the house. On the other hand, Graftel sauntered behind him, as he was still hung-over.

  “You are late,” Lief scolded as soon as Harwin entered.

  “Give the man a break. He was handling an important task given by myself,” Graftel defended him.

  “Well...now that you are here, let us hear your final proposition.” The chief said.

  “We will go to the city of Neilwisk. It is a small, but important city in regards of trade. It basically is the center-point for anyone travelling from the far east of the continent to the capital, there are all sorts of merchants there — alot of buyer and a lot of sellers. I will be selling all of the goods that we transport there, and also convincing people to use our newly built safe passage through the forest. Once all of that is done, we will buy goods that are necessary for the village and return back.” Harwin put forward a simplified version of all his plan.

  “I hope you understand that it will be not as simple as you state.” Lief questioned his understanding of the situation.

  “Of course, I have taken in consideration all of the risks that we might have to incur. I want to know anything specific that you will need for the village other than food resources.”

  “If you can find any good offers for iron ore or wool, then buy it as winter is almost upon us. It will be better to get them cheap rather than to wait for some merchant to arrive in the village, and have them sell it to us at a price which depends on his mood. Other than that buy only wheat. Also, do not buy anything that is too expensive unless it is absolutely important” The chief answered.

  “I will keep that in mind, and try to meet your expectation.” Harwin replied.

  “I heard that you want Landel and Alisa to accompany you?” Lief asked with a frown.

  “Yes but only if with permission of the chief and the elders.” Harwin answered.

  “What do you think chief-commander? Will it be a safe journey for them?” The chief looked over to Graftel.

  “With Gor and Farelen, they have both the brain and brawn in the caravan, I am sure they will be fine. I have asked Sarial to accompany them to the edge of the forest. After that, it is quite an easy journey to the city I have been there several times during my life and there were hardly any trouble on the road. Landel can also use this opportunity to learn about the outside world, as for Lady Alisa I will ask Farelen to accompany her throughout the journey — he will act as her shadow.” Graftel put his opinion forward.

  “Then that will be all. I hope for your success. Do not do everything by yourself, rely on your comrades — there’s only so much a man can do alone. Finally, try to keep out of risky circumstances as much as possible.”

  The chief gave his assent with a final advice; his statements were more out of concern for his grandchildren.

  Harwin nodded, and then made his way out. Graftel followed behind him. Landel and Alisa were already waiting for them outside, they were already sure that they would be given permission to leave as Alisa had persuaded her grandpa rigorously since yesterday, and what Graftel stated was the final binding seal they needed.

  The preparations were almost complete, and only two days later, the fated day arrived.

  Alisa and Landel, after bidding their grand-father farewell, met up with Harwin and Graftel who were discussing a few things.

  Harwin had been gifted a brand-new armor by Graftel. He considered him an youngling already thus he awarded him the proper equipment for one. From the raggedy clothes of a slave to a proper soldier's armor, Harwin had come really far.

  The four of them made their way at the end of the village. They kept on descending after every bridge they crossed, and finally reached the ground where the caravan was waiting — about twenty men. Five of them were craftsmen who were chosen by Graftel to accompany them based on their expertise. They had also brought their crafts with them which they intended to sell.

  “Well, Landel and especially lady Alisa, you need to be very careful. The chief has only given you the permission because I provided a guarantee and If either of you come back home hurt, the chief and the elders will chew me out. Lady Alisa, I trust you will keep an eye on this brat, do not let him do anything reckless and you. Landel, protect your cousin even if a situation arises where you have to sacrifice your life, that is your duty as a man.”

  The difference in the behavior was obvious, Graftel smiled whilst instructing Alisa, where as, he wore a frown when facing Landel. Although, in retrospect, Alisa listened every word very carefully while Landel did not even face Graftel when he was giving them instructions.

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  “Do not worry commander Graftel, I will be sure to protect Del from any danger.” Alisa half-joked while keeping a straight face which slightly annoyed Landel.

  “That is what I expect from someone like you lady Alisa. Farelen!”

  He called upon Farelen who was standing a bit far from them, but as soon as he heard his name being called by the commander, he rushed to his location in the blink of an eye:

  “In addition to being the battle-commander, you will the personal guard of Lady Alisa. You are to become her shadow, do not let her get out of sight, especially when you are in the city. Do not let Landel get carried away either, and try to keep him in the back in case of an ambush or fight unless it is necessary to harness his talents.” Graftel gave strict orders to Farelen, who nodded after each sentence.

  “Now then, you people may go, as I want to talk to Gor for a moment.”

  All three of them made their way to the carriages leaving Harwin behind.

  “This is a huge responsibility, it must have been more than a few centuries when a group of wood-elves went to a human city. They were killed back then by the very humans, which was one of the reasons for the centuries long animosity between the humans and wood-elves...." Graftel went silent for a while as if remembering something unpleasant. He soon continued:

  "Now even though we have got guarantees by the country of Evelwisk, for safe passage and over-all security, but it will still be a very risky step. I trust you will act as a mediator in case your group gets attacked by the local authorities. All of the others with you are warriors, and they only know bloodshed. Do not try to fight unnecessary, the village is in no condition to go through another war, so try to find any peaceful route if possible, and only fight to escape your enemies. No need to engage anymore than necessary." After advising, Graftel said his final piece:

  "I trust you Gor, your plans — no matter how many sacrifices it costed, have worked. I want you to bring everyone back safely and also succeed in this mission of yours.”

  "I will not disappoint. I will give my own life before letting any of them get hurt.”

  They shook hands, and Harwin went to follow his fellow caravan-members who were eagerly waiting for him while Graftel just stood there — watching as his men left to achieve a great dream, carrying the future of the entire village.

  Lady Alisa, Harwin and Landel were to sit in one carriage. Farelen was in the front to drive it. This was not a skill that many wood elves had learned much less mastered. Similarly Efrion drove one carriage while four of the craftsman who had been brought along drove the wagons.

  There was not much space left after three of them had sat in the back, as it was also filled to the brim with trading goods. They had to sit very close together in order to fit.

  Normally such a great weight could not be handled by a common carriage, but it was built by master craftsmen of the wood-elves. These men were masters in creating anything out of the wood. Infact, by merely touching a tree, they were able to tell if it will produce good quality crafts or not. Coming back to the carriage, it was almost double the size of a normal one, and thus required creatures large enough to pull it.

  The beasts pulling the cart were great horses, not any breed that could be found anywhere else in the other world, almost twice the size and stature of a normal one. These could only be mounted by men who were similar to the size of Farelen, or could be used to pull these massive carriages.

  Soon, their journey begun. Efrion was in the leading carriage, his carriage was only occupied by soldiers, and almost little to no goods at all. The traveling conditions were rough especially whilst moving through the forest.

  It was getting dark when they finally reached the exit, so they decided to make camp near the edge of the forest. It was also necessary to take a break as many of these men had never traveled in such conditions before — especially being packed together.

  Sarial met them near the edge. He addressed his fellow captains:

  “I bid you both farewell. I wanted to accompany you till the end, but I am afraid my presence is much required in the village at the moment. I am sure commander Graftel has already instructed you with all the warnings, so do follow them if you want to return in one piece.”

  He said what was on his mind, and then disappeared from their sight in the blink of an eye.

  They made a small campfire nearby while gathering the carriages in a circular formation.

  Farelen and Efrion were expert survivalists, they knew everything which was required to travel large distances. Most of the captains were either retired from the Royal army, or had traveled around the world — gaining all kind of fame. They were gathered under the leadership of Graftel who selected them due to their talents, so with these two present it was almost guaranteed that the journey will be a safe one.

  Alisa was very tired. She had a frail body as she had received no prior training unlike everyone else in the caravan. She did offer to help prepare the food, but her body was so sore that it was difficult to even get up.

  “No need to push yourself little lady, let these men handle all these small chores. It will be training for them, so they can survive in all kinds of situations. You can rest by the fire while we prepare the food.”

  Farelen’s demeanor was totally different than what Harwin or other fellow younglings had to endure. Infact, to a stranger he would appear to be a gentle soul who took great care of others, and was soft-spoken.

  Alisa got flustered and slightly annoyed by how she was being pampered by this giant warrior. She, however, did not have the energy to do anything opposite as to what was offered so she took up his offer.

  “YOUNGLINGS! I NEED YOU TO GATHER MORE DRY BRANCHES, GET AS MANY AS POSSIBLE! WE WILL TAKE SOME WITH US AS WE DO NOT KNOW IF WE WILL HAVE ANY MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO GET THEM ONCE WE GET ON THE ROAD. DO NOT SIT IDLE! I WANT TO SEE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WORKING, HUNTING, GATHERING OR HELPING THE CRAFTSMEN IN REPAIRING ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED!” Farelen ordered the younglings in the usual manner.

  'He is back to normal' thought Harwin.

  “Caravan-Master Gor, you and I have some important matters to discuss. Of-course Efrion will join the discussion as well. Now follow me.”

  Farelen led the him away from the caravan. Landel stayed behind together with his cousin, as it was dangerous to leave a sheltered girl such as herself even amongst trusted men.

  Out of nowhere Farelen asked a strange question:

  "So human, who do you serve?"

  Harwin was shook to the core by this sudden inquiry or sort. Farelen wore a dark, fierce expression whilst staring right into the caravan-master's soul.

  Any man would have had shivers sent down to his spine upon encountering such sudden change of behavior, especially from a person who could tear a man's head off without any effort at one wrong move.