"What are you thinking about?"
Juran was startled by Astor's sudden question. He had been lost in his thoughts for a long time. His eyes fell on the sparkling red liquid in the clear crystal goblet in Astor's hand. Astor was sipping the liquid slowly. The two of them had just finished their dinner and the empty plates and bowls were still stacked on the table between them. Astor had offered drinks to Juran, but he had refused.
"As if sitting and eating with the enemy isn't enough that I need to drink with them, too! He thought.
They had been sitting at a table in the large dining lounge of the Base Sector where Juran was being held. Situated right above the Cave, this was Svald's headquarter in the capital. The whole place was situated under the ground, but its huge proportions saved it from being claustrophobic. The dining lounge was bright and cheerfully decorated, though the number of people eating there was very small. Only a few tables here and there were occupied.
Astor had taken Juran there for dinner who was surprised to see that he was not being kept in confinement. "I can't run away from the Base though!" He thought. But Astor's hospitality had started to make him a bit uncomfortable. He had been talking too frankly for a stranger.
Taking another sip from the goblet Astor put it down on the table. "By the way, that boy, I mean that forger of yours, can really fight! He is quite a diamond in the rough, I should say."
"Where did you meet him?" Juran asked, forcefully keeping up his indifferent look.
"Outside the city of Rucco," Astor said. "He slipped through my hands, thanks to the Priestess and her people. He fought quite well though!"
'So they have escaped after all!' Juran thought happily. But his face retained its calm indifference as he asked, "Aren't you going to capture him?"
"We are not in a hurry! They will eventually come looking for you."
Juran was speechless by Astor's blunt sarcasm. Astor, too, remained silent for a few minutes. Then he started to talk again.
"Now tell me what you know and what you think about this," he said in a flat humourless tone.
Gathering his thoughts, Juran began:
"The Dark is essentially a form of energy, just like the Cerulean Light, the only difference being that it swallows all other energy that come in contact with it.
The Gloams are creatures born out of darkness when a huge amount of Cerulean Light is distorted and concentrated at a certain point. So it can be said that they are also a kind of energy. The Dark can swallow any distorted energy field, thus preventing the occurrence of Gloams.
Now, where can we find Dark and how can we control it? Well, it originates from a Demon's heart, but even a Demon is unable to control it automatically. Towards the west of Sun, at a distance of 200 miles as the crow flies, lies the mountainous province of Saroha. A small tribe of the same name inhabits its almost inaccessible forests. They have the forbidden knowledge of a ceremony which enables a Demon to formulate and to control the Dark. But it is extremely dangerous to go there and search for them, for they resent outsiders trespassing in their territory."
Astor had been listening to Juran with rapt attention. Now he spoke up.
"So you are saying that only a Demon can access and control this energy? Where is our chance then?" He asked.
"This is the only information available on Dark. You can use it and see if there is any way that may enable the Cerebs to get hold of it. Unless you don't give it a chance you don't know, isn't it?" Juran asked.
"In another word, a wild goose chase and a dangerous chase as well!" Sighed Astor. "It seems that you are eager to give it a try. Very well, then! I'll go and make arrangements so that we can start early tomorrow morning. Laka!" He raised his voice as he spoke the last word. A man in a Guard's uniform stepped out of a shadowy corner of the lounge and stood before them. "Take him to his room at the Quarters. It's Room No. 206." He ordered.
Laka bowed and turned to Juran. "Follow me, please", he said in a restrained voice.
Juran stood up from the table. "Thank you for the meal, Astor," he said. "I guess I'll have to work with you for some time now. But never try to put a dagger at my back. You'll just regret it." He said in a calm, measured tone.
Astor looked surprised. "Of course I'll remember!" He said. Then he bowed and left. Juran turned towards Laka. "Let's go, too," he said.
********************************************
Six horsemen rode through the forest, almost groping in the mist that seemed to swirl upward all around them. The ground below the horses' hooves was under a few inches of moss and rotten leaves. The horses had to drag themselves through it. It was green everywhere, not the cheerful verdant green, but the depressing shades of mossy and sap green. As the evening approached and the already scarce daylight started to fade away, the feeling of gloom and apprehension weighed upon the travellers more and more.
"We need to look for a place where we can camp for the night," Juran said as Astor rode from behind and caught up with him. "Soon it will become so dark that we won't be able to see our own hands."
"Don't worry! We have means to make enough light here," chuckled Astor.
"But we can't!" Juran protested. "This is called the Silent Forest of the Light Bats. These bats live deep inside the forest, unseen to human eyes. But they are attracted towards light at night and attack the source of it in thousands. So we must be careful and use light as less as possible after it gets completely dark."
Astor nodded and ordered his men to prepare for setting camp. There was a small opening nearby which looked as if the place had been recently cleared for a camp. Stumps of a few trees still stood there. A small mound of ashes in a pit showed that a small fire had been made there, perhaps for cooking. Astor decided to camp there for the night. "Make a small stove with stones," he advised his men. "The fire inside the stove won't be visible from a distance."
They followed his advice and made the stove. After lighting a fire in it, they started preparing the meal. Everything went smoothly up to this point, but things went haywire when one of Astor's men accidentally ignited a powerful searchlight. The column of light generated from it pierced the darkness and illuminated for a second a long path in front of them, running through the forest. The next moment Juran snatched the searchlight from his hand and put it out. But as he put the searchlight away in his bag, an eerie sound began to emerge from the surrounding forest. It was the sound of thousands of Light bats, flapping their wings as they came charging through the forest.
