“Someone is approaching!” shouted the ranger.

Instinctively, Baldwin and his knights stood in front of the group with their weapons drawn. Dreu tightly gripped his ax while he waited for the approach of the unknown being. He cursed at the thought that they were trapped on the hill. Other than the path they took to get to the top of Falcon Hill, the only other option of descending was to scale down the treacherous cliffs. Except for maybe Gaenor, he doubted anyone else had the agility of a mountain goat.

After what seemed like an eternity, he saw a woman walking towards them and let out his breath. To his surprise, he saw Baldwin leading the knights to the person and they all knelt before her. Isylte and Aleit followed suit leaving everyone else puzzled at the sight. The woman conversed with those before her and, even from where he stood, Dreu could tell how emotional this reunion was. Given the destruction caused by the demons, any small miracle would go a long way. The woman, after finishing her conversation, noticed the rest of the group. She approached them with a smile and shouted at them.

“Hello! I am Duchess Avilina. I’m pleased to meet you all!”

Dreu looked to the adventurers for answers because he wasn’t familiar with nobles. As a laborer in Berkton, he had no reason to care about the nobles. He was far too low in status to have any interactions with them. Even the change of nobles hardly mattered as he paid the same taxes every month. His interaction with nobles might have been a different case if he became a knight but, for the time being, he was rather insignificant in the eyes of the nobles. He had hoped the others could shed some light on this Duchess but they too had a blank look on them.

“Duchess Avilina come from the noble family governing York,” Isylte clarified after noting their puzzled looks. “She escaped from York before it fell to the demons. She not only has a lot of influence in the kingdom but her powers may keep us alive long enough to get to somewhere safe.”

“Is that why she approached us by herself?” inquired Dreu when his curiosity got the better of him. “She must be confident if she travels alone with all the demons in the region.”

“Her specialty is illusion magic and the Duchess we see before us is merely an illusion.”

“Illusions are useful for distracting the enemies,” said Gaenor with a nod. “I see why you claim her power can keep us alive.”

Isylte nodded and informed everyone to get ready to rendezvous with the Duchess. Upon hearing the Duchess commanded a small force, Dreu felt relief and noted the morale of others had recovered too. Their small group was insignificant in the eyes of the demon forces. With sufficient numbers, they could actually defend themselves. With the illusion leading the way, they followed closely behind without a word until they arrived at a large clearing in the forest. With a raise of its hands, the illusion revealed the encampment to everyone. The illusion then led the way into the camp.

Dreu first noticed the wary eyes of the knights. While these men had their weapons sheathed, he knew they could draw their weapons before he could blink. To his surprise, his footman moved closer to him and reassured him of his safety. With the reassurance, Dreu kept his head up and used the opportunity to study the camp. The tents were neatly set up in grids while the largest tent was in the center. There was a small clearing between multiple tents where a campfire was located. Before he could get a good look at the layout of the camp, Dreu noticed their arrival had attracted more attention because, by the time they arrived at the largest tent, a crowd of knights had gathered around them.

The illusion disappeared once it reaches the large tent and the Duchess stepped out with two bodyguards behind her. Baldwin, Isylte, Aleit and the knights were the first to kneel with everyone else following suit. Dreu watched as the Duchess help Isylte up and the two spoke like old friends. While they spoke about recent events, he took a peek at the two bodyguards. One of them was a massive man clad in silver armor while the other was a slim woman wearing leather armor.

From what he heard and observed, he suspected the man to be a Silver Knight. Silver Knights could be differentiated by their silver armor which was made of adamantine. However, their title originated from the weapons they wielded. Silver Knights were known to wield weapons coated or made of silver. While silver weapons were only situationally stronger than normal weapons, the enchantments available to silver materials were many magnitudes stronger. The strongest Silver Knights were rumored to possess some of the most powerful enchanted weapons in the kingdom. Given that enchanted weapons could be hidden away much like the weapon wielded by the demon in the tunnels, Dreu couldn't spot any weapons that would give away what the bodyguard was capable of.

Dreu had no clue as to what class the woman belonged to. The leather armor made her appear harmless but he knew the Duchess, with her standing and influence, wouldn’t hire someone who would pale against the Silver Knight. He could only wonder if he would get a chance to see her in action. As if confirming his suspicions, his footman emphasized the importance of not antagonizing the woman. Dreu was uncertain if his summons had instincts or not but he trusted their judgment in such matters. After all, it took the strong to recognize the strong.

Once the Duchess took Isylte and Baldwin into the large tent, Aleit led the group to a nearby tent where they were provided food and water. Aleit informed them to get some rest while they could. As soon as they head out, they might not get a chance to rest. Everyone found a spot in the tent where they laid down and fell asleep. Dreu didn’t realize how exhausted he was and, only after further reassurance from his footman, he closed his eyes allowing sleep to embrace him.