When they reached the clearing that was the back of the town, they were far from alone. A mass of about 200 adults stood in numerous separate groups talking amongst themselves, looking worried. Some stared in amazement at the six Holy Knights in front of them while others merely looked up and continued talking to their neighbors.

“This is where the meeting earlier took place,” Stormwell explained, “I guess they haven’t dispersed yet…”

“Everyone! Can I have your attention please!” He continued, pausing for the chatter to die down, which it did, albeit rather slowly. “These six Holy Knights are here to protect us from those scoundrels that are terrorizing the border towns of the Kingdom, you need not worry and I recommend that you all go back to your daily tasks.”

“They’re just kids,” a middle aged man with a tanned face stepped forward. “Holy Knights or not, how do we know they’ll be able to protect us?”

“These ‘kids’ are not merely just Holy Knights, but members of the ‘6,’ which, I’m sure many of you have heard rumors of, are likely the strongest unit of Elementalists in all of the Kingdom of Galsendorn.” The mayor paused for emphasis before adding, “They are all in the upper part of the 5th Rank, except for their leader, who is an unprecedented 6th Rank Lightning Elementalist!”

“Hmph, just because he’s a little fast,” Clark said, nudging Clara beside him.

“Right?” She smiled back.

With these words from the mayor, the worried faces from the villagers seemed to disappear, being replaced by looks of relief and understanding. The man who had spoken out nodded, though the concerned look on his face didn’t abate entirely.

“Now, they would like to have a look at the area here, so if you must stay here or if you have more questions you may but please make room for them to pass by,” Stormwell, looking satisfied at his oratorical skills, beckoned at Oliver to move forward, as a path to the edge of the town was created by the villagers.

Behind the clearing, and into the territory of the Baltor Empire, was a dense, hilly forest that stretched for miles on end. It would be difficult for a normal person to see more than a couple feet in front of them, the vegetation was so thick.

“So where is the actual border line?” Oliver directed a question at Stormwell. Many of the villagers had started returning to their homes to go about their daily tasks, satisfied with the presence of the Holy Knights in front of them.

“The border line is a few hundred feet into forest but nobody thought it worthwhile to clear it so we built the town at the edge here,” Stormwell replied.

“Hmmm, I see, there’s also some annoyingly placed hills around here, a skilled Wind Elementalist might be able to take advantage of that,” Oliver said, speaking to his fellow Holy Knights. They each nodded their understanding.

“Well, I’ve seen enough for now, I guess we’ll camp out in this clearing. In the meantime, we’d like to get some rest, is there an inn or something in town?”

“Yes, yes of course. Although we usually only cater to merchants and messengers passing between the Kingdom and the Empire, so I’m not sure it’ll be of proper qual-”

“Anywhere with a bed is suitable,” Oliver said, cutting the mayor off, “We just need a couple hours of sleep before we move out here anyway.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Stefen, Gabriel, could you show them to the Gambit Inn? I’m going to stay here and talk to the few villagers remaining.”