Knock! Knock!

Surprisingly enough, I didn't have to wait long this time, straight after I knocked on the door, I saw a light lit up from a window upstairs.

As I heard the faint sound of activity from within, I took some deep breaths and prepare myself for the coming confrontation, the one that was probably going to decide this town's fate.

Step! Step! Step!

As the captain's familiar slow yet steady footsteps got closer to the door, I felt as if each step he took fell on my heart, as if each step fractured the barrier I so painstakingly built. I was already ready for such a reaction so I brought my emotions under control again and schooled my expression just as the door opened.

"Lambert? Dorian?" A puzzled expression appeared on the captain's face as he saw us standing there in front of his doorstep, "did something happen? And you two aren't supposed to be in the night watch tonight, right?"

Captain Dunn directed all of his questions to Lambert, only throwing me a glance and a nod at the beginning. At that, Lambert only looked at me and shrugged, not saying anything.

I sighed and took a small step to the door, bringing the captain's attention to me, then I said honestly:

"Captain I need to talk to you, I have come to know of something that... That threatens the safety of Border Town- no maybe even the kingdom as a whole, and I need your help to prove it."

As I spoke, I could see from the side of my eye Lambert stiffen, I guess no matter what he thought I was going to say, he couldn't have possibly imagined that it was something this dangerous. Captain Dunn though, only looked at me without any reaction, his deep black eyes stuck to mine without even a hint of movement, I held the captain's gaze unblinkingly, with a determined and honest expression on my face.

Finally, after who knows how long, he stepped aside as he said:

"Come on in, I think it would be better if we speak inside."

I nodded as that was exactly what I had in mind. I then looked at Lambert who had lost his easy-going demeanour and was instead looking at me with a light frown, I gave him a weak smile and gestured for him to enter too.

The captain led us to a cosy looking guest room, and then he motioned for us to sit on a couch there as he took his seat on a comfortable looking leather chair.

I took my seat and sat there uncomfortably, while Lambert sat down as if he owned the place, putting down all his weight on the couch.

"So..." Started captain Dunn as he put one leg above the other and looked at me intensely, "can you go into more details about what you mentioned outside?"

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and on the other side, as Denethor, I sat down and prepared myself for what to come, I was sure that this conversation was going to be the hardest I've had in this world till that point.

"I... I think that an army of demons is heading our way..." 

"What the fuck!" Before I could even finish my words, I heard Lambert's exclamation from beside me, I turned to him and he had a shocked and unbelieving expression on his face as he looked at me.

"Lambert, my wife is still asleep, I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down," captain Dunn's words brought our attention back to him before any of us could say anything else.

"I... I'm sorry sir, it's just that what Dorian said was so unbelievable that I couldn't hold myself..." Said Lambert with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I understand, what Dorian said was certainly... Shocking," said captain Dunn as he moved his eyes towards me, "so Dorian, would you please tell us how you come to know about this piece of information?"

I nodded slowly and then started the lie I prepared for this, making sure not to avert my eyes or seem untrustworthy:

"Last night I... I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk outside, something I usually do when I need to relax for a bit, or when I need to empty my mind..." I tried to mix my lies with truths to make my words seem more believable.

"As I was walking down the street by my home, I saw two people heading my way from down the road... I couldn't recognise them from that distance, bu- but I was able to notice the two long black blades on their sides... I felt that they hadn't seen me yet so I... I hid in a dark alleyway and tried to make no sound..."

As I spoke, captain Dunn kept his gaze locked on mine, and the more I said and I lied, the more pressure I felt, I could barely keep myself and story coherent as I continued lying to his face, and soon I started cracking my fingers, something Dorian did whenever he was nervous. 

Then it happened, I couldn't hold on any longer and Dorian's habit reared its head, I averted my eyes and lowered my head unconsciously.

As soon as I did I felt my heart skip a beat as I realized what I had just done, I messed up! 

Panic started filling my heart and I didn't know what to do next, fortunately, I soon felt a sense of calm descend on me, and on Denethor's side, I got an idea of how to fix things.

Not showing any of the conflicts that were happening inside of me, I clenched my fists hard and continued:

"I... I got afraid, thinking about how they might recognize that I was one of the guards and decide to hurt me... So I hid..."

I tried my best to show my embarrassment and shame, disguising my lies. Then I took and let out a big breath before returning to the story as I looked up and met Captain Dunn's eyes that were still following me like a hawk:

"As they passed by me, and... And as I was hiding I heard them mention something about a kalla and a demon invasion, at first I thought I misheard..."

Here and for the first time, captain Dunn interrupted me as he asked:

"What did they say? What did you hear? Word for word."

Being interrupted made me freeze up and my thoughts went into a frenzy, I had answers prepared for such a question, but being interrupted like that was something I certainly wasn't ready for, even though I thought I was. It took me a short while to register what captain Dunn had just said and to start answering him:

"One of them said something like, 'I can't believe that the boss got a kalla inside,' and how he thought that such a fearsome demon would be bigger or something... The other shushed him and told him to shut up or someone might hear him, but it was clear that both of them were drinking, and they didn't have much control over themselves because the second one soon asked, 'do you know what's happening?' And the other started boasting that he did, even though it seemed to me that it was just the alcohol speaking and that he was just lying... Then... Then he said 'the demons are going to attack, the boss already joined them and we will be rewarded handsomely when they take control over the town'..."

"And all of this happened last night?" Captain Dunn interrupted me again.

This time I was better prepared and I nodded back to him wordlessly.

"And why did you wait till now to tell us about this?" It was Lambert who asked this time, speaking for the first time since I started my story, his voice was high and unstable as if he didn't know how to deal with what he had just heard and was starting to lose control over himself.

"Because I didn't know if what they said was true... And even if it was true, I didn't know who to tell..." I said bitterly, channelling all the pain and pressure and uncertainty I was feeling, "the man mentioned his boss, if Bruce is on it then who could be in it too, who would I be able to trust, for all that I know, even Sir William is a part of this."

The more I spoke the more bitterness and hopelessness I felt and at the end, my voice got higher and I started screaming without noticing. 

The room fell into a deafening silence when I said all I wanted to, with the only thing heard being the sound of my heavy breaths as I tried to bring them under control.

"It's hard to believe..." Finally, captain Dunn said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it's unbelievable, something like this can't be..." Echoed Lambert, as if he was trying to comfort himself more than anything else.

"It's the truth, please believe me..." I said.

"No, I believe you," captain Dunn said as he stood up and lifted his hand to stop me, making me almost jump with happiness as he did. Before continuing as he moved slowly towards me, "it's just hard to believe that you of all people would be the one to stand in our way," then he waved his right hand as he lunged at me, a golden blade materialising in his hand.

His words and actions froze me up as all the blood left my face and my heart seemed to stop for a split second, I was going to die.