Trust And Lose

When the wagon we had left the train stopped moving, we quickly got out. The wagon was attracting a lot of attention at the moment, and we knew that if anyone came looking for us, this would be the first place they would check. So we had to get out of the wagon and disappear from sight as fast as possible.

As we stepped off the wagon, the prisoners we had been traveling with wanted to head east for safety. But we couldn't go with them - we had to get to the tournament where the others were waiting for me. Before we parted ways, one of the prisoners spoke to me one last time.

"We can't thank you both enough," he said gratefully. "Thank you again for everything."

As Lena went to scout ahead and look for other people who could help us, the man suddenly shoved a piece of paper into my hand and whispered urgently in my ear.

"Be careful," he warned.

I was taken aback and didn't understand what had just happened. Why had he given me this warning? Just then Lena returned and the man walked away with the other prisoners without another word, heading east. It was an interesting encounter that left a lasting impression on me.

Lena noticed my confusion and asked me with a puzzled look on her face, "Is something wrong?"

"No," I replied, still deep in thought. "I'm just wondering if they'll be safe in the east."

"Don't worry," Lena reassured me. "The king has more power in the east. The paladins have a great superiority there and the king has more soldiers stationed there than anywhere else."

"Do you trust the King?" I asked her.

"Of course," she replied confidently. "Even if he gives you a proclamation, he is good to his people and always looks out for their well-being. So don't worry."

The conversations between Lena and the prisoners were like a secret. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew one thing for certain - we couldn't stay here any longer. The soldiers could come at any moment. So I talked to Lena and we quickly made the decision to start traveling again. We covered a long distance in a short amount of time, with silence reigning the whole way.

I knew that the man had given me the paper secretly, so I didn't want to open it in front of Lena. I had to wait for the right moment to do so. But the main question that kept nagging at me was why he had done such a thing. After all, we had saved them together. What could he possibly be hiding from someone who had helped save his life?

I guess only time would tell. Still, I couldn't help but probe Lena with a few questions.

"You know they're gonna come after you after what you did, right?" I asked her.

Lena answered my questions calmly and properly. "Yeah, I know," she said. "But I had to save them."

"Well, what about your brother?" I pressed.

"I don't know where my brother is," she admitted.

"Then why did you take such a risk?" I asked her.

"Because these people were going to be killed," she explained. "And I couldn't just sit around and wait for them to die."

"How long have you been watching them?" I asked her.

"For a long time," she replied. "For a long time, I heard their screams. But today, thanks to you, we put an end to it."

"We did it together," I reminded her.

As our conversation continued and warmed up, the doubts in my mind began to fade. I knew I had to be careful and consider every possibility, but the look on his face told me that he was innocent. I trusted him - not just blindly believing as I used to, but truly trusting him. We had a long journey ahead of us, so I didn't want to dwell on the subject for too long.

As we traveled, the sun slowly sank below the horizon and the moon took its place in the sky. It seemed as if the path we were following was taking us in a different direction than the east, but since I didn't know the way, I had no choice but to trust Lena.

"I thought we were going west," I said to her.

"Relax, cowboy," she replied with a grin. "I'll get you out of here before you know it."

Since it was getting late, Lena didn't want to continue traveling any further. She thought it made sense for us to set up camp and rest until the sun came up again.

"We're pretty tired today," she said. "It would be good for us to camp here and continue on our journey early tomorrow morning."

Before going to bed, we gathered around the campfire, had a light snack, and continued talking.

"What are you going to do now, Lena?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she replied. "I'll probably go back to the others."

"Listen," I said to her. "You don't have to do that. You can come with me if you want. I'll convince my friends."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Hiroshi," she said with a smile. "But this isn't my adventure - it's yours."

When I opened my eyes the next morning, we continued on our journey once again. But everything was about to be revealed now - the road we were following was taking us in a certain direction. I began to see familiar landmarks that I had memorized in my mind for the second time. When Lena moved away from me for a moment, I decided to finally open the paper that the man had given me - and what I saw shocked me.

Without thinking for a moment, I turned around and started running as fast as I could. But before I could get very far, I felt a sharp pain in my back as a dart hit me from behind. The last thing I saw before everything went black was Lena approaching me.

When I awoke, I found myself in an unfamiliar place, bound by chains. The darkness around me was impenetrable, but a voice boomed from the shadows in front of me. It was deep and menacing, designed to instill fear. "Hiroshi West. What a surprise," the voice said.

"Where am I? How do you know my name?" I demanded. "Don't worry. You're safe in my castle. No one can harm you here but me," the voice replied. "As for your name, the fame of you and your friends has spread throughout my kingdom. It is my duty to know what is going on in this land."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Who am I? I am but a wizard who brings fear to those who desire it at night, and screams to those who want to scream during the day," the voice responded with a sinister chuckle.

"Furon" I answered him with one word.

"Congratulations, you answered correctly. he said.

What do you want from me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"What more could I want from a group that hunts epics but death?" the voice replied coldly. "If that were true, you would have killed me already," I retorted. "Oh, I could have killed you. But as they say, if you want to catch a big fish, you have to sacrifice the little ones," the voice said with a hint of amusement. "Was this all planned?" I asked, feeling a sense of dread wash over me. The voice laughed heartily. "Why don't you ask Lena," it suggested.

From my left side, Lena approached me with slow steps and stopped in front of me, avoiding eye contact as Furon urged her on. "Just ask her, Hiroshi."

Reluctantly, I asked, "Why did you do that?" Lena's response came in a quavering voice, tears streaming down her face. "I had no choice. He took my brother."

I probed further, "What about the prisoners?"

"The only way to save them was to attack the train, but everything else was real. I swear," Lena replied.

Furon interrupted us, his voice dripping with mockery. "Why did you do this to him, Lena? He trusted you, he opened his heart to you, but you broke his heart." I ignored his jabs and continued my questioning.

"Why didn't you include the prisoners in your deal?" I asked.

Furon answered for Lena, confirming my suspicions. "Because the man in charge of me is a real badass. The fourth epic keeps notes on everything and every prisoner. If I had freed them directly, he would have made me pay. But thanks to you, I made it look like you kidnapped them and fulfilled my promise."

"And the king's proclamations, was that your doing too?" I pressed.

"That was all Lena's doing. She used her invisibility to change the king's letters, so the king saw you as a participant, put a price on your head, and made it easy for us," Furon admitted.

"But your lie will be exposed when the kings meet," I pointed out.

"Yes, but until then, we'll get what we want," Furon replied with a sinister grin.