".
"What?" Jalen asked as he jumped from his seat. "I"m just an apprentice. I can't go on a big adventure.".
"I can't go alone. I"m too old for that sort of thing. You need the experience." Leon replied.
So it was agreed upon that Master Leon, Jalen, and three of the town's warriors would go to the south and attempt to put an end to the dark reign plaguing the kingdom. Before they were able to reach the southern gates, they had to travel over the high mountains.
The group of five set out across the flat plains and fields of the open country. They traveled for days before they reached the mountains, and by then, they all decided to rest before climbing into the icy peaks.
* * * *.
A day and a night passed before they began climbing up the mountains. They only got a few hundred feet up before a snowstorm hit and slowed them down. They were forced to stay in an ice cave carved out of the side of the mountain. However, an ice beast with a bad temper was living in the cave. That wasn't too big of a problem, once Leon melted him.
After they spent the night in the cave, they continued their ascent up the mountain. Several more days and nights passed before they reached the summit. They had survived a blizzard and an ice beast, and now they were on the top of the mountain, looking to the south where their journey was leading them.
They descended the mountain and continued further south, knowing that their quest would only become more difficult as they progressed. However, they also knew that it wouldn't be long before Lord Brian was saved and returned to Meleville, and peace would be restored to Celt land.
* * * *.
The group of adventurers finally had reached the gate to the southern kingdom's castle town. They entered and immediately noticed that there were no people about in the entire town. They tried some of the doors, only to find that they were all locked. They looked ahead to the dark castle that seemed to be looming over them like a vulture.
