Trip to the unholy castle.

I looked at him in a very scornful manner like he didn't know what he was talking about.

What did he mean by taking a hard way?

Well, I just had to keep watching him, so that I'd know what was going to happen next.

"What hard way are you talking about?" I finally asked him, and he paused for a while. It was just very obvious that he was trying to process what he was going to say next.

"The hard way that I'm talking about, is going through the ghost town. We have to brace up to endure any hindrance that we might encounter along the way." He explained to me, and I looked puzzled.

A ghost town?

Honestly, this was really getting more frustrating and annoying than I ever thought.

"Which ghost town is that, and how do you know about it?" I asked him.

I had noticed that the maiden was always less concerned or rarely said anything about all the plans that we were making. Maybe, it was because she was still in grief.

"There's a ghost town around this area, and I believe that one of the entrances is that way..." He pointed to the opening in that abandoned forest that I had noticed earlier.

Honestly, I was a bit skeptical.

"You mean that opening?" I pointed towards that direction, and he nodded in affirmation.

"Yes, it is it." He replied, and I paused.

I was still inquisitive to know how he got to know about these hidden location.

"So, how do you know about this location, and what should we expect inside it?" I asked him with a bothered tone.

In as much as I wanted to take risks, I didn't want raise another issue for myself.

"Well, this area used to be part of our region in the time of our great grand parents. But after a war broke out between them, just like how Alpha Roman has been acting all along, they decided to go their separate ways, and rule different kingdoms." He explained to me.

One of the things that puzzled me the most about him was the fact that he knew about almost everything, and he always had an intelligent answer to all the questions that I would always ask him.

"Wow! So, how were you able to discover that this place is part of your territory? Did you just assume things?" I asked further.

"Nope, I didn't. There's an inscription on that doorway which you can't see, but I can see it clearly. It is always that way in every temple or castle that you'd enter, because every castle and temple has a unique inscription that marks them different." He explained.

Honestly, even as he was trying to explain the whole thing to me, I still continued looking around to check if I would see any inscription ok the door.

"But, I can't find any sort of inscription on that door. Why is that?" I asked him, and he smiled.

"Since you do not belong to our pack or have our ancestral roots, you can never see it." He explained and I just sighed.

That was really frustrating. Maybe, it was one of the challenges that I had to pass through, before I would be able to get to the exact place that I wanted to be.

"So, how do we proceed?" I asked the driver, and he opted to lead the way.

"I'd lead the way." He responded, and I nodded.

Who did he think was going to lead the way in the first place?

After all, it his suggestion, and he had to make sure that he took responsibility for whatever repercussions that it might birth.

"Karen, what do you think?" I asked the maiden, who jolted in shock immediately I asked her that question.

"Urmm... I... I think it's okay..." She stuttered. I looked at her, and gave her a bad eye.

Well, I wasn't surprised that she was acting that way. There in the castle, they were isolated from each other, and that kind of life had already eaten deep into most of them.

"What is okay? So, you mean to tell me that you've been absentminded all these while?" I asked her in a frustrated manner.

Honestly, she had been acting very off.

"It's not it, ma'am. I've been very worried about our stay in this forest. It hasn't been funny in anyway. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I would want us to leave this place very fast." She responded almost in tears.

"Ohh! You don't need to cry. We're already finalizing the next step that we would take in leaving this bush." I responded to her, as we started making our way towards the entrance of that ghost town.

Deep down inside my mind, I was having a double mind as a result of the whole drama.

"Do you think that entering into this ghost town is the best decision for us?" I asked the driver. At this point, I wasn't even hiding the fact that I was very nervous.

After thinking for some seconds, he finally stopped on his tracks to respond to my query.

"This is the best decision that we can take right now. Imagine if we begin to wander around this thick forest, and we encounter evil spirits or better still get eaten by wild beasts. Is that the best alternative?" He asked me in a very subtle manner.

Well, I didn't have a choice other than to follow him into that castle along with Karen.

Dear goddess of the moon, I ask for your protection this period. Just as we stepped into that cave, we were greeted by a shocking sight. The whole atmosphere was lit up, and it looked like it was still inhabited.

Why was this place like this?

"Who is in this temple, and what are you looking for?" An invisible voice asked, and I immediately held Karen's hands very tightly.

This was really scary.