The Search for the Missing Men

Ramon and Dale, two strangers who now have a common mission to save the two people who went missing a few days ago begin scouting the area, looking for whatever footprints could direct them to their location.

But nothing was found, leaving Dale frustrated and worried.

"Damn it! They couldn't have gone far!"

Ramon patted Dale's shoulder, "Let us head back, tomorrow we move north where the bandits were heading."

Dale who heard Ramon say they had to stop for the night was about to reject that and continue but soon he stared at the sky and saw that time was about to pass.

"It's night already?"

Ramon chuckled and walked towards the camp, meanwhile, Dale continued to stand there dazed.

"Please, please be alive… your kids are waiting for you guys!"

**

The next day, Ramon and Dale got up this time along with the rest of the camp and began eating breakfast, which was the animal that Ramon had hunted the night before.

"Me and Ramon will be busy, maybe will not be coming back for the night. If we do not come back within two days, then head east to this Hope Village and seek refuge. If we are alive and late, we will meet you there. If we… we are dead, then listen to the village leader!"

The camp looked worried, but they understood why Dale needed to do this. Some of the kids were fathered by the two lost villagers, if they are gone then they would be orphaned and alone.

"Save Daddy Uncle Dale!" said one of the little girls who looked at Dale with tears in her eyes.

"I will, remember to listen to your aunts and uncles here! Uncle Dale is counting on you!"

Dale smiled and patted her head before turning and leaving with Ramon to find the lost villagers.

Ramon and Dale then headed north. A few hours later, after traveling for a long period of time, they finally reached another village.

"You sure the bandits moved North?" Dale asked.

"Well the tracks looked to be heading north, and they aren't in the forest region anymore that's for sure, or else we would have seen some bandits by now!"

Ramon and Dale looked at the untouched village in the distance. Both looked at each other before nodding and walking towards the settlement.

"HALT!"

A group of villagers rushed toward Ramon and Dale, but they were unarmed. Soon, behind them, there was a middle-aged woman who had a scar on her cheek.

"We already gave you your damn tax! Why are you back bandits!"

Ramon and Dale looked confused, "We aren't bandits! Why would we two be alone and not with more people? You know bandits always travel together."

The lady frowned and looked at the villagers who stared at Ramon and Dale with aggressive looks on their faces.

"If you aren't bandits, who in the hell are you?"

"Villagers, from a village nearby. We were raided by bandits and now are rebuilding. We are looking for two men who might have passed here a few days ago!" Ramon had his hands up showing he was not looking for a fight, meanwhile, Dale stood behind him staying vigilant.

"Well, sadly we haven't seen no two men, only bandits!" The lady sighed.

"Bandits? So they did pass through here! Why aren't you raided? Your village looks completely untouched!"

The lady smiled, but it was a sad one.

"They did come, but due to having food shortages in their little group, they decided to tax villages instead of raiding them. If they find a village that has a stable food source, they'd come and take a few children and threaten the village to keep giving them food unless they want their kids dead."

"Is that happening to you?"

The lady nods, and the villagers who were aggressive lowered their guards and walked back to their working stations, all miserable while doing so.

"Did you see any other prisoners with the bandits? People who you didn't know alongside your children?" Dale asked, lowering his weapon seeing the others had left.

"I don't know, but if you are looking for your men then they are probably imprisoned by the bandits and kept in a mountain west of here. They are a pain in the ass, even the kingdom has put a bounty on these people."

Ramon looked at the struggling lady and Dale who looked west as if he was about to do something crazy.

"Dale, calm down. We can't go with us 2 alone! Hey village leader, I'm going to go visit my Lord and explain to him the situation, he will gladly help as he wants to destroy the bandit camp too, and so does most of the people in my village and of course, Dale's village."

"Your Lord? Is he someone special? Your village got raided no?" The lady frowned.

"He wasn't our Lord until recently, and he is also a magic user. He wishes to rebuild the village into something greater, but he had tasked me to look for the bandits' whereabouts. If I explain the situation, he would be 100% willing to help out taking down the bandits!"

Sylvie, the village leader began to ponder if working with another village would save them.

Dale who saw this said, "What other option do you have? Looks like your people are starving here, do they take all the produce?"

"Every month… they take everything we got. We don't even have enough to feed the kids at this rate… They came just a few days for food, so they'll be back in 25 days or less."

"So you got no option, right?"

Silence.

Sylvie sighed and whistled, causing some of the men working the farms to come to her.

"You'll be traveling with these two, and you will meet with their leader. Explain the situation, do not hide any details. If they look weak, then return home.#2

The three men who heard this nodded their heads and stood next to Ramon and Dale.

"Alright, go on ahead!"

"Yes Ma'am!" (Dale and Ramon) "Yes Elder!"(The three men of this village)

The group turned around and began heading back to the camp.

"Need some food gentlemen?" Ramon said.

"We really… need food yeah."

"Why can't you hunt food?" Dale asked

"Not enough food in the forest to feed our village, we just give everything to our children so that they stay alive."

Dale sighs and begins hunting some small game in the area, while Ramon and the others begin talking about Sam, and what to expect in the Hope Village.

A few hours later, they reached the camp with Dale's group. They smile and begin hugging Dale, happy he has returned, but they realized they haven't arrived with the others which meant he failed.

"We didn't fail, but we must now head to Ramon's village and get settled there. We have a plan to save Vince and Wrex, so be patient okay?" Dale said, comforting his crew.

Soon, the group began packing the camp up and started to head towards Sam's village, which would be a day's journey with how many people are in the group.