On Tracking

The train arrived at our station early in the morning. As I peered out of the window, I noticed that it was quite foggy outside. We could have used this to our advantage and easily slipped past the soldiers stationed outside. However, before the passengers could disembark, the soldiers began inspecting the cabins one by one, searching for an image that included us.

As the soldiers drew closer and closer to our cabin, my heart raced with anticipation. I knew that if we were discovered, it would be a big problem for us to fight back. My goal was to escape without being seen.

Lena, sensing my anxiety, calmly reassured me. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll handle this." I took a deep breath and tried to appear calm as the soldier approached our cabin.

Lena used her power to make herself invisible and slipped behind the soldier as he opened the door to our cabin. When he saw me and was about to alert the others, Lena struck him from behind, knocking him unconscious.

Once the coast was clear, we quickly made our way out of the train and headed towards the entrance at the top of the hill. The fog provided us with cover as we made our escape.

As we moved further away from the station, I couldn't help but wonder where we were going. All I could do was follow Lena's lead. After traveling some distance, I finally asked her where we were headed.

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. "We're here," she said with a smile. "We can eat here."

We arrived at a restaurant, but due to the thick fog, I couldn't tell where we were. As we settled into our seats, I turned to Lena and asked her where we were.

"We're in Crown Town," she replied. "But don't worry, there aren't many soldiers here."

"Why not?" I asked, curious.

"This town is close to the castle of the Epic," Lena explained. "Even though it's only a few days' journey from here to the castle, the king doesn't keep many troops in this area."

"We don't know if the king is good or bad right now," she added. "So it's best to be cautious."

After Lena ordered our food, we continued our conversation over our meal. I couldn't help but ask her about her powers.

"Tell me," I said. "How can you have the powers of that bloodline when you don't have the blood of that bloodline?"

Lena looked around to make sure no one was listening before she bowed and spoke in a low voice.

"I gained the power of this bloodline through dark magic," she said. "Furon used his magic to give it to me."

"I didn't know dark magic could do that," I said, surprised.

"Black magic is a form of magic that breaks the rules," Lena explained. "He's the only one on Furon who can control it. I've been studying him for a long time and I've seen what he can do."

"Can he give that power to anyone?" I asked.

"No," Lena shook her head. "Only to strong people who will obey him. He doesn't give his powers to just anyone."

"Is it true he works for the fourth saga?" I asked.

"Yes," Lena nodded. "He's recruiting soldiers for the fourth saga. That's why they attacked our village and kidnapped us - to recruit more soldiers."

"He's been gathering an army for a long time," ı continued. "And what does he plan to do with such a large army?"

"Mass conquest," Lena said grimly. "He wants to conquer and rule all the kingdoms at once."

"If he wanted to, he could have conquered all the kingdoms by now," I pointed out.

"The fourth saga has many problems," Lena said. "The dragon bloodline, the other bloodlines, the kings. But that's not his main problem. His real problem is the fifth saga."

"Isn't this army too much for one saga?" I asked.

"He thought so," Lena said. "But the wound in his back taught him a lesson. The fourth epic realised what he was up against and is preparing a whole army to defeat him."

"What a world we live in," I muttered.

"I'm not just talking about ordinary soldiers," Lena said. "Each of these elite soldiers has the power of an epic. So even if you defeat the third and fourth epic, it is said to be impossible to defeat the fifth.

I didn't want to dwell too much on the topic, so I decided to ask one last question.

"Did Furon do anything to the king here or is he working for him?" I asked.

"Like I said before, I don't know," Lena replied. "I'm sure the king doesn't work for us, but I don't know why he advertised for you."

Lena placed some gold coins on the table and stood up. "We should get going," she said. "We have a train to catch."

We left the restaurant and set off towards our next destination.

As much as I trusted Lena, I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to be cautious. If black magic was as powerful as she said, then perhaps she was under its control as well. Even though her behavior suggested otherwise, I didn't want to let my guard down. At least not until our next case was solved.

We had a long journey ahead of us. As Lena had mentioned earlier, there weren't many soldiers around. We couldn't risk being seen by the soldiers of either the king or the saga, so we kept a low profile and took advantage of the fog to avoid attracting attention.

It would have been nice to have a horse to help us on our journey, but the dense fog made it difficult to see where we were going. At times, the fog was so thick that even a brief moment of closing my eyes could disorient me and make me lose my sense of direction. Despite this, I focused and kept walking.