Let’s all march into the lovely forest of death

"Listen-" Before I could finish a knight barged in. he was covered in sweat. If anybody wore something as big and chunky then wouldn't they drown in sweat as well? He looked older than most of the other knights. He was old to be called middle-aged but young to be called a senior citizen. However, he definitely had better muscles than me. And he was also the same guy from the weapon shop who helped me out yesterday.

"M-m-my lady…"

One of the vein's in the woman's head popped up. "Catch your breath first…" But her voice didn't show any signs of irritation.

"Ye-yes… the forest… monsters…"

"Didn't I tell you to catch your breath first?"

He bent his knees and caught his breath. "The forest is overflowing with the undead. Even in daylight w- we can spot them inside the forest. They haven't come out yet but I fear they might attack tonight."

"Are you saying that they might pose a threat to us?"

The old knight's face became even paler. "They outnumber our army ten to one."

Almost everyone gasped. Even me.

"Have you heard anything from those elves? Have their expedition failed?" she demanded.

The old knight stared at the floor. "I believe they might not be among the living anymore…"

Not among the living? Without a moment's delay, my mouth opened on its own. "Hey what do you mean!?"

Everyone here was somewhat surprised at my reaction. But I didn't care. Why didn't I think this through?

"Why are you upset? You are not worried about those long-eared freaks are you?" she said with a bitchy tone. "Even if you are, we have better things to worry about."

My heart rate began to accelerate. My face became sweaty and suddenly I was out of breath.

She literally appeared to me as a bitch. If the knight-Gorgan- didn't hold me down, I don't know what I would have done.

I grunted. "You see, I'm friends with those long-eared freaks. So I can't just ignore them." Not after all they've done for me. I can't let them get annihilated.

She exhaled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"My lady: your orders?" The old knight was still out of breath and he breathed heavily but he didn't forget about his duties.

"Fortify the castle's defenses." The woman paused and didn't say anything else.

"Just the castle's my lady? What about…" The old knight was flabbergasted.

Finally irritation appeared in her voice. "Didn't you hear me?" So that's your true color… she finally revealed her nature. Yes, she was selfish. Anybody who had enough power was always destined to be selfish and as an educated person myself, I knew that.

The old man- as agitated as he was, didn't show any disrespect. "Yes, my lady." He replied with a soft and low voice. His hands were tied too.

If they outnumber the army by tenfold, then this has to be the work of something else. The undead aren't smart enough to attack like this. This is almost like the attack… on the village? The pieces fell in place. "Let me go to the forest…" I said.

Whispers began circulating.

I very well knew what kind of horrors lay in those forests. But I couldn't betray my saviors; for debts must be paid in full. Without them, I wouldn't be here, to begin with. And besides, Lianne was supposed to rendezvous with them. So there was a high chance she was there in the forest as well. Plus I didn't want to be in this place anyway.

"You? What can you possibly hope to accomplish there? Besides, I plan to throw you to the dungeons. I still don't know what to do with you yet. Maybe I'll have you rot for a couple of days," she grinned.

I wore my best grin. "Do that after I return from the forest. Send some knights with me to make sure I come back to get myself thrown into the dungeon. Oh and you know what'll happen if I die in that forest right? After all, the emperor himself came to the town because of me. Who knows what he'd do if I were to die. " My tone reeked of confidence- confidence which I didn't have.

It was blackmail but this was the best I could come up on the spot. It was risky but there was no going back. Besides this way she'll be able to save face too. I'd have proper backing. And if the undead are uneasy even during the day, then the only explanation would be that something has happened to the statue. My thoughts however weren't that confident.

I'd already heard about the statue from the adventurers back at the inn. I hoped that wasn't the case.

But she didn't budge. "What..? Why would I…?" She wasn't too bright: or rather she pretended not to be.

"My lady, let me accompany him…" said the old knight.

She didn't reply. She just stared at the old knight without answering.

The one who was holding me down also volunteered. It seemed the fancy knight and the lady had something between them. I couldn't really fault them, both of them were lookers. Especially this woman. If she and Gorgan were to walk around in another city, people would have noticed the woman more than him.

"You?" she said with disbelief.

"My duty to the people is what drives me… my lady." Gorgan's words flowed like water. The guy really knew how to talk.

Another set of whispers floated around. I didn't like where this was going, but I had no choice. Any help was welcome.

"Really? Very well. Be sure to come back in one piece," with a short sigh she said, as she put her left palm on her face. I saw her grin. Something about that lady put me on edge.

I could feel it that these two wanted to find out the reason behind this, because, everybody here knew, a full-scale invasion of the undead would be too much to handle for a big city when the wall is too damn wide in radius and most of the soldiers would be busy protecting the castle. Besides the current disarray among the soldiers was a thing too. No one would voluntarily give their life for the city if their family ends up in the slums.

I left the castle without even saying anything: no one dared to stop me. I didn't want to speak to that woman and I didn't want to speak with any of the guards. The two gentlemen who came with me were both knights. The one holding me down before was a spearman; his name was Gorgan. He was a year or two younger than me and that somehow made me more jealous as he was the perfect embodiment of a pure looker. The other was a swordsman like me. However, he had a shield. He might have once had a handsome face but not anymore. His name was Jocuar.

"Before we set out, let's get some Panora water," Jocaur said.

I might have heard that name before. I couldn't recall though. "Panora wah?"

Gorgan pitched in. "It's basically holy water but very pure."

"Aren't you supposed to be a veteran adventurer?" Jocaur glared at me. Wait, wasn't he absent at the time, or was he outside the door all this time, just trying to get in? I didn't know and I didn't want to know.

"Well," I said, laughing awkwardly. I'm a complete amateur though.

Gorgan swirled his hair and gave a lady killer look. "But isn't that stuff very expensive?"

I felt the undying urge to punch that beautiful face for the sake of all men.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the money. My body has finally started showing its age huh?" The old knight laughed dejectedly.

"How much do they cost?" I asked.

"100 silver per bottle, usually," Gorgan said. He came close and whispered. "Meaning you can only buy one bottle with all your remaining money." He winked. Just how much was he prying into my wallet, huh?

Huh? That much? Even all my equipment isn't worth one-half of that. I took a second to process that. Wait, doesn't that mean you were looking! Talk about being rude!