Departure

At the same time in the village, Luzia and Katyl had just finished shopping, and were on the way back to the church.

"So, how has Nolan been?" Luzia asked after a moment of silence.

Katyl let out a small smile, knowing about Luzia's interest in her son.

"He's been alright! Although he keeps saying he wants to go to the capital and sign up to the knights this past few weeks. I just think it is too early for that... Maybe you can change his mind about it, huh?" She said while gently bumping Luzia's shoulder.

"Well, I highly doubt I can do much about it..."

*sigh*

And just as they were about to reach the church, they could hear somewhere nearby a scream.

"Someone, help!! We need a healer here!!"

Katyl and Luzia were taken by surprise by the sudden commotion. People started gathering at where the call for help had come from, making them curious.

"Let's see what's happening!" Luzia said, and they both ran to the large group of people.

They walked through the crowd, until finally reaching the center of attention, seeing something they were not expecting at all.

Two boys were laying on the ground, one of them had passed out and was missing an arm, and the other was grunting in pain, his legs swelling like never before.

"NOLAN! What happened?" Katyl screamed out, realizing the state Petter was in.

"Luzia!! Heal Petter! NOW!" Nolan ordered as soon as he saw his friend appear from within the crowd.

She approached Petter and knelt in front of him.

No good... He's almost dead. He lost too much blood... Vianna! Grant me strength to help him who needs it.

"Restauration!" She said while extending her arms in his direction.

A bright light appeared on Petter's arm and the wound began to close.

At the same time, Nolan was being questioned by his mother about what had happened.

"Where's your father!? What happened to your legs!?" She asked, realizing the awful state the boys were in.

"Mom... I must talk to the guild master... There were people in the ruins... From the Argo Kingdom."

Nolan answered, grunting in pain after carrying his friend all the way from the forest.

Argo!? This cannot be... Why now!?

Her son's words surprised Katyl. There was no interaction from Argo in the last few years.

"Petter should be fine now, but it will take a while for him to wake up again. He must be looked after now that his body is exhausted."

Luzia said after she finished healing.

"Your turn now." She continued, walking towards Nolan.

Once again, she extended her arms and cast the healing spell, making Nolan's legs recover almost instantly.

"Thank you Luz..."

"No worries."

Nolan stood up and looked at Petter, which reminded him of the dire situation they were in.

The others should still be in the ruins... I know they are strong but we never know what to expect from other kingdoms...

"Mom. Dad and the rest of the group are still in the ruins fighting those knights from Argo. I must talk to the guild master and make him send our knights there."

"Okay..."

Katyl was speechless. She couldn't understand what exactly was going on, but she could see in her son's eyes that this was the real deal.

"I'll be going, please take care of Petter!"

Nolan said and ran off in the direction of the guild center.

"Are you alright Kat?" Luzia asked, sensing the worry and fear coming off her.

Her husband was stuck in a ruin with hostile enemies and her son just ran to the guild center to request for manpower, not to mention the state of Petter's condition... Really not what she expected for the day.

"Yes... I'm alright. We should take the boy somewhere else so he can rest properly." Katyl said while examining Petter.

"There's a free room in the church near my own, we can bring him there."

"Very well. Cast a physical spell on me, I'll carry him."

Luzia did as she said and boosted her strength. Katyl picked Petter up right away then they headed to the church.

~~~~~~~~~~

*Knock knock*

"Come in." Said an old and tired man as someone appeared at his office's door.

"Guild master! It is urgent!" Nolan shouted out.

"You are... Paul's kid right? What happened? Thought he'd took you to some ruins."

"Long story short, my father and the rest are in there right now, along with some Argo knights!"

"WHAT?!" The man could not believe what he had just heard.

This is bad... Never thought they would be so close already... I must get everyone out of this village and take them to the capital...

"I was wondering, could you send someone there to help them out? There seems to be a teleportation magic circle in there, so we never know how many more will show up! Please, I beg you, help my father!" Nolan asked, hoping to bring more people to the ruins.

"A teleport?!"

The man pondered the situation for a minute...

"No. No one will be going there."

"What?! My dad and the rest may die!"

"Boy, if you want to save your father then listen to me and do as I say. Go to the church and ring the bell ten times. That is the signal for an emergency and everyone will gather in the center of the village. Please, go now!"

"But... As you say..."

Nolan has no idea what was in the guild master's mind but he still left running once again, this time, to the church.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Place him here" Luzia pointed to an empty bed.

Katyl gently laid Petter down on it, glad that his breathing had returned to normal and he did not seem to be in pain any longer.

"I wonder how this happened..." Luzia murmured, imagining all the possibilities for Petter's arm to be cut off.

*Sigh...*

Katyl's heart was pounding at a fast pace, still worried about her husband. If he was still inside those ruins, that was certainly a big problem...

Out of the blue, Nolan showed up at the room's door.

"Luzia, show me the way to the bell, quickly!"

"What? Why would you want to go there?"

"The guild master told me to go there to signal an emergency for the entire village. Please!"

"Follow me."

The two left in a hurry, leaving Katyl alone with a still unconscious Petter.

Luzia led Nolan through a small hallway and then up a spiral staircase, which led directly to the huge church bell.

"Well, here I go." He said, and proceed to ring it.

The sound took everyone in the village by surprise. Noon had already passed, which is when the bell is usually rung.

As the bell kept ringing more than usual, most of the villagers knew that something was wrong right away, and all headed to the center of the village. It is an enormous plaza with an enormous fountain in the middle, with enough space for most of the villagers to be present at once.

The bell stopped, as people began to gather. Everyone asked questions about what was going on, but no one had the answer.

After a few minutes, a loud voice could be heard from above, calling them all for their attention.

"Everyone, please make silence!"

It was the guild master, using advanced wind magic to hover in the hair above everyone else.

People calmed down, and the commotion stopped, leaving only silence even with so many people present.

"I apologize for the sudden summon, but this is a very urgent matter. I want you all to remain calm and listen carefully to what I'm about to announce. Do as you are told and it will all be fine."

He said, causing confusion and leaving everyone wondering what he was talking about.

"We are under attack from the Argo Kingdom. We will retreat to the capital as soon as possible. As the enemy is closer than we expected, we must travel right now. Gather your life essentials and precious items, and head to the south gate, we shall depart in an hour." He spoke slowly, making sure everyone understood his words.

"What?! You can't be serious! I am not ready for this!"

"Yes, this must be a joke! Argo hasn't even moved for years!"

Some people denied master Nathan's orders, some even exclaimed it was a lie altogether. Arguments sparked out everywhere, and panic was just a step away.

I can't be bothered with this... I guess I can't save everyone of anyway.

Nathan thought, still floating above the plaza.

"Those who want to live, do as I say. That is all." He said and left flying to the guild center.

~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the church, Petter had finally woken up from his near death experience.

"Rmm, miss Katyl?" He said after opening his eyes.

"Petter! How are you feeling?"

"I... am alright. I think... Well, my arm is missing, haha!" Even after such tragic moments, Petter's personality had not disappeared.

"I'm sorry... there's not a single healing mage here that knows any spells to regrow limbs, Luzia healed you the best she could."

"I see... And where is Nolan? Is he okay?" He asked, worried for his friend.

"Yes, he carried you back by himself. He and Luzia went to the plaza because of an urgent summon. They should be back soon."

"He carried me huh..."

"Tell me, what exactly happened in the ruins?" Katyl asked, hungry for details.

"We found the bear, but it seems the Argo guys had injured it first, so we just finished the job. Then their leader blinded us and blocked off the exit. After that, we ended up in a room that apparently had a teleport magic circle... and more men appeared from it. Their leader cut my arm off but Faye, one of the group members, gave us teleport scrolls, and we got out of there before something else happened... And then I passed out. That's pretty much it..."

"Damn it... they better return."

At this point, Katyl was more angry than worried for her husband, because he let their son get in danger.

Speaking of which, Nolan and Luzia had just returned from the plaza, ready to deliver the news.

"Mom! We're back. Oh! Petter!" Nolan ran to his friend's side. "Are you alright?"

"Better than ever! Thank you for healing me Luzia!"

"You're welcome!" She said with a smile on her face.

"So? What happened just now at the plaza?" Katyl asked.

"About that... It seems we must leave the village in about an hour. We'll be heading to the capital for better security."

"That makes sense... What about your father? Did the guild master agree on sending people to the ruins?"

"He did not..."

"....."

They both looked down, not sure what to do next.

"Well..." Katyl broke the silence. "Your father is strong. And he is not alone. I believe he'll come back, let's get ready. Petter and Luzia you can both come with us."

"I'll have a word with the priest and get his permission. Be right back!" Luzia said and left the room at a fast pace.

"Can you walk?" Nolan asked Petter, worried about his friend's state.

"Ye I'm alright. Luzia's spell restored both my magic and physical strength."

He got up from the bed and grabbed his bow that Katyl brought along with him.

"Let 's hurry."

The three left the room and headed to the church's entrance, waiting for Luzia.

A few minutes later, she appeared and gave them the news.

"The priest and the nuns are already preparing to go as well, so I can go with you guys since we'll end up at the same place."

"Very well." Said Katyl, "To the gate."

The small group made their way south, passing through a lot of confused people, still wondering if what was happening was real or not. Some were even calling the guild master a mad man for trying to make them move out of nowhere. The journey to the capital would take a few days on foot, and no one was prepared.

"Rmmm, I didn't want to say anything, but how exactly are you planning to use your bow without an arm?" Nolan asked, still wondering why Petter decided to bring the bow.

"Oh... I... didn't think about that... Haha!" Petter replied, realizing his inability to use the bow.

"You really are an idiot sometimes..."

They did their best to make the situation less worrying and lighten up the mood, but the truth was, they were all fearing for their lives after the ruins incident.

Arriving at the south gate, they noticed that only a very small group of people had actually come, which was not ideal since staying in the village meant risking getting attacked and killed by warriors from Argo.

"Oh look! The guild master is here as well."

Nolan noticed, happy to see the old man out of his office again... even though it wasn't for a good reason.

"Master Nathan! I did as you asked, is there anything else?"

"Thank you Nolan, that will be all. It has almost been an hour since my announcement, so be prepared to move."

"Very well."

A few more minutes passed by, and more people had come to the gate.

"Mmm, I was hoping for everyone to come... but I guess we have no time to convince the rest..." The guild center's receptionist, Lilia, said.

"It is what it is, we'll save those we can." Master Nathan continued.

He flew into the air once again and spoke out to everyone present:

"Thank you for understanding the situation, we shall now head to the capital, I hope you have everything you need with you. Our hunters will provide us with food until we get there so do not worry about that. Let us go now."

He went back to the ground and signaled everyone to follow him. The group had around fifty people, and they all began marching their way to the capital.

END OF CHAPTER 4