There was no objection to the proposed plan. Silently, all of them left the site, returning to the main road and the shortest path leading to the Province's Capital City.

Halfway through their journey, the party made a small detour toward the forest, away from the main road, to rest and prepare for lunch. After their foul fare with the soldiers, someone had to be on guard duty this time. Ludvig volunteered to be one. 

The party did not waste much time. The fire was lit and kept low but steady so it wouldn't produce too much smoke. Stale bread, sausage, and omelet were on the menu today, prepared hastily and eaten equally so, as not to be savored but to nourish the exhausted bodies and minds. The frugality was generally understood by everyone. 

When it was time for them to pack up and leave, Ludvig was nowhere to be seen.

Carmen could have sworn he saw the redhead do his escape trick as soon as he was given the clearance for guard duty, after that the guy disappeared like a phantom. To where? Nobody knew. The party tried to search for him and went as far as returning to the main road just to locate his whereabouts. Hours passed, and still no avail. 

"We are running out of time." Carmen looked up to the reddish-yellow sky above and huffed. "I am afraid we will have to leave him. It's dangerous to continue searching in the dark. Whatever his intention might be, may God keep him safe. Let us move."


Carmen couldn't quite fathom why would he leave so abruptly and randomly. Was there something that he didn't know? A less noble motive perhaps? The captain tried to get rid of that distasteful guesswork, after all, he was hired by Sauniere, and if there were ill intention, as an inquisitor he and Mirielle would have noticed before they entered Sielse. All he could say was the man was as enigmatic as the dark sky above.   

The party continued trotting through the unpaved country road, that hopefully led to Katwiz. As they rode back to the site where their previous standoff with the soldiers occurred, they slowed down and kept themselves alerted. It seemed the Soldiers had concluded their business in this settlement; a hamlet called Kardag from the noticeboard on the side of the road. The town looked as if it was devoid of life, doors barred shut, streets were empty, and only a handful of houses were seen with meager lighting inside. 

Not far from the settlement, they could see a fortified installation built on the left side of the road. The outpost had two watch towers and walled by two-meter-high wooden palisades surrounding the emplacement. Two soldiers could be seen manning each tower, meanwhile, in the distance, no less than seven soldiers were guarding a roadblock. Two stood directly behind the blockade. Two soldiers guarded the garrison entrance, once sat near the fireplace, while the remaining two patrolled the at road and the edge of the forest. 

The party quickly veered off the road, toward the treelines on the right side of the road so they would be out of the sentry's line of sight. The situation now called for careful consideration, but one thing was clear; they would have to ride past them to get to Katwiz quickly, or turn back and find another unknown road. 
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