Chapter 132: The Second Journey
The western road was quiet beneath the pale morning sky.
Kael rode at the front.
Ronan followed a short distance behind him, with Selene riding on the other side. Her bow rested across her back, while a short hunting blade hung at her waist.
Neither spoke much.
Kael preferred it that way.
He had already given the order before leaving the estate.
No large force.
No banners.
No announcement.
Only the three of them.
The injured traveler had described the forest as best he could. He remembered the attack, the sound of something moving through the trees, and figures appearing afterward.
But his memory ended there.
Kael wanted to see the place himself.
They reached the forest before midday.
Kael dismounted.
Ronan did the same.
Selene remained beside the horses, studying the trees.
"The tracks should still be here," she said.
Kael looked at her.
"You can find them?"
"If the rain hasn’t washed them away."
She stepped into the forest.
Kael and Ronan followed.
The deeper they went, the quieter the world became.
Birds were scarce.
The wind barely moved the branches.
Kael stopped.
Ronan noticed.
"What?"
Kael looked at the ground.
"There."
A broken branch.
Fresh.
Kael crouched.
The wood had been snapped recently.
Selene moved closer.
"Someone passed through here."
Ronan looked around.
"How many?"
Selene studied the ground.
"At least four."
Kael stood.
"Four people?"
"Maybe more."
She pointed toward another set of marks.
"Some tried to hide their tracks."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"Then they knew someone might follow."
They continued.
The tracks led away from the wagon.
Not toward the village.
Deeper into the forest.
After nearly an hour, they reached a rocky slope.
Selene stopped.
"There."
A small opening was hidden between two large stones.
Kael approached.
Ronan placed a hand on his sword.
"Could be a den."
Kael shook his head.
"No."
He looked at the ground.
There were footprints.
Human footprints.
Several.
The three entered.
The passage was narrow at first.
Then it widened.
Kael’s eyes adjusted to the darkness.
A small chamber opened before them.
Empty crates sat against one wall.
Rope lay scattered across the floor.
There were pieces of broken wagon wood.
And several discarded blankets.
Ronan’s expression hardened.
"This wasn’t a beast’s den."
"No," Kael said.
Selene crouched beside the blankets.
"People were held here."
Kael looked around.
His jaw tightened.
Then he saw something carved into the stone.
A symbol.
Three curved lines surrounding a black mark.
Kael stepped closer.
He had seen it before.
Not here.
Somewhere else.
His memory returned to the mountain.
The ancient chamber.
The seal.
The markings.
The symbol beneath the river.
His eyes narrowed.
Ronan noticed.
"You know that mark."
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
He reached toward the stone.
The moment his fingers came near it—
A faint pulse passed through his hand.
Kael pulled back.
The system appeared.
[Resonance detected.]
Kael’s expression changed.
Then another message appeared.
[Source: Unknown.]
The words vanished.
Kael stared at the stone.
"What happened?" Ronan asked.
"Nothing."
Selene looked at him.
She clearly didn’t believe him.
Before either could question him further, a sound came from deeper inside the passage.
Metal- striking stone.
Kael immediately drew his sword.
Ronan followed.
Selene quietly reached for an arrow.
They moved deeper.
The passage opened into another chamber.
A man was sitting against the wall.
His wrists were bound.
His clothes were torn.
He lifted his head when he saw them.
"Help..."
Kael approached carefully.
"Who are you?"
The man swallowed.
"Merchant."
"Where are the others?"
The man’s eyes filled with fear.
"They took them."
"Who?"
He shook his head.
"I don’t know."
Kael crouched.
"Think."
The man closed his eyes.
"They wore masks."
"What kind?"
"Black cloth."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"How many?"
"Six... maybe seven."
Ronan looked at Kael.
"What did they want?"
The merchant shook his head.
"They kept asking about the road."
"The road?"
"Where the caravans traveled."
Kael stood.
"So they weren’t after you."
The merchant looked up.
"They wanted the wagons."
Kael looked around the chamber.
The pieces began fitting together.
The missing caravans.
The travelers.
The hidden chamber.
Someone was deliberately attacking the western road.
But why?
He turned toward the passage.
"We’re leaving."
Ronan frowned.
"Leaving?"
"We found what we needed."
Selene looked at him.
"What about the others?"
Kael’s expression hardened.
"We’re going to find them."
He looked at the merchant.
"But not by charging blindly into their hands."
The merchant lowered his head.
Kael looked toward the stone symbol one final time.
He couldn’t ignore what he had seen.
The mark was connected to something.
He simply didn’t know what.
And he wasn’t ready to tell anyone.
Not yet.
They returned to the estate before sunset.
The merchant was taken directly to the healer.
Kael went to his chamber.
Ronan followed.
"What are you planning?"
Kael removed his gloves.
"We need information."
"From whom?"
"From the road."
Ronan frowned.
Kael placed a map on the table.
"The attacks aren’t random."
He marked the location of the first wagon.
Then the second.
Then the hidden chamber.
"Someone is watching this road."
Ronan studied the map.
"And you think they’ll attack again."
"I know they will."
"Why?"
Kael pointed toward the road leading toward the estate.
"Because they don’t know we’ve found this place."
Ronan understood.
Kael continued.
"If we change nothing, they’ll continue."
Ronan looked at him.
"And if we change the road?"
Kael smiled faintly.
"Then we see who reacts."
Ronan stared at the map.
"You want to use a caravan as bait."
"Not a real caravan."
Kael looked toward the door.
"We’ll make them believe one is coming."
Ronan’s expression became serious.
"And who will guard it?"
Kael looked at him.
"You."
Ronan nodded.
"I thought so."
Kael rolled the map closed.
"But this time, you’re not going alone."
He looked toward the window.
"The others need to learn how this works too."
Ronan smiled.
"The seven?"
"Yes."
Kael walked toward the door.
"They passed the first test."
He paused.
"Now they get another."
Outside, the estate continued its ordinary evening.
Servants prepared supper.
Soldiers trained.
Horses were fed.
Nobody knew what Kael had just discovered.
And nobody knew that the next journey would be the first time the people he had gathered would work together for something larger than themselves.
Kael opened the door.
"Tomorrow, we begin."