The peaceful healing of Whisperwood had ended.
And the next threat was already at their door.
Harlan stood frozen near the window, his hand tight on the hilt of his cutlass. The distant hoofbeats grew louder and faster, echoing through the quiet town like thunder rolling closer. Multiple riders, at least six or seven, were approaching the inn at full gallop.
"Everyone, weapons ready," Harlan said quietly, his voice low and urgent. "It could be more of Zon's men… or worse."
The crew inside the room tensed immediately. Dalen grabbed his sword despite the pain in his side. The other sailors pushed themselves up from where they had been resting, faces grim and exhausted but determined. The air in the small room grew thick with tension.
Dave stirred weakly on the bed, his small eyelids fluttering open. His face was still deathly pale, and the deep gash on his arm throbbed with fresh pain. He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit him hard. He collapsed back against the pillows with a soft, pained gasp.
"Brother Harlen…" he whispered hoarsely, his voice barely audible. His small hand reached out weakly toward the door, as if he could somehow pull his brother back. "Are they coming… for us?"
Harlan moved quickly to the boy's side, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Stay down, lad. You're still too weak. You lost too much blood. Don't try to move."
Dave's breathing was shallow and laboured. His small body trembled under the thin blanket. "But… what if it's them again? What if they want to take me too… or finish what they started?"
The hoofbeats grew even louder, now right outside the inn. The sound of horses snorting and men dismounting filled the night air. Heavy boots thudded on the wooden steps leading up to the inn's entrance.
Harlan motioned for the crew to take positions near the door and windows. His face was set in grim determination. "If it's Zon's men coming back, we fight. We protect the boy at all costs."
Dave's eyes filled with fresh tears. His small chest rose and fell rapidly. "I'm scared… I don't want to be alone… Please don't let them take me away…"
The innkeeper's voice could be heard downstairs, nervous and raised. "Who goes there? The inn is closed for the night!"
A deep, authoritative voice answered from outside, not Zon's, but someone new. "Royal messengers from the capital. We're looking for survivors from the Whisperwood incident. Open the door."
Harlan exchanged a tense glance with Dalen. Royal messengers? Or was this another trick?
The crew held their breath. Dave's small hand clutched the edge of the blanket tightly, his frail body shaking with fear and exhaustion.
The sound of the inn door creaking open echoed up the stairs.
Whatever was coming next… it was already here.
The footsteps grew louder as several men climbed the stairs. The innkeeper's nervous voice drifted up. "They're in the upper room, sirs… but they're injured. The boy is hurt badly."
The door to the room swung open slowly.
Three men in royal messenger uniforms stepped inside, cloaks dusty from hard riding. Their faces were serious, eyes scanning the room quickly. The leader, a tall man with a short beard and a silver pin on his cloak, spoke first.
"We are royal messengers sent from the capital. We heard reports of a battle near Whisperwood and came to investigate. We're looking for any survivors who might have information about the fifth hero… or the curse that was said to be here."
Harlan kept his hand on his cutlass but didn't draw it yet. His voice was cautious. "We're survivors, yes. But we've had a rough night. The boy is badly injured. What exactly do you want?"
The leader's gaze moved to Dave, who was lying pale and trembling on the bed. His eyes softened slightly at the sight of the small, wounded child. "We mean no harm. The King has received word that the fifth hero was involved in events here. There are rumours about him. We need to know what happened."
Dave's weak voice broke the silence. "They took him… bad men came… they hurt me… and dragged Brother Lucius away…"
His words were barely a whisper, his small chest rising and falling rapidly. Fresh tears slipped down his pale cheeks. The effort of speaking seemed to drain what little strength he had left. His eyelids fluttered, and he looked like he might faint again at any moment.
The royal messenger's expression changed. "The fifth hero was taken? By whom?"
Harlan stepped forward, still protective. "A man named Zon. He said he served Lord Dox. They attacked us right after we defeated the Heart of Whisperwood. They wanted Lucius alive… and they tried to kill the boy to break him."
The leader exchanged a quick glance with his companions. "Lord Dox… that name has come up in recent reports from our spies. They saw the fifth hero moving with a merchant caravan near Whisperwood before the incident. We were already tracking rumours of unusual curse activity in this area. If this Lord Dox has the fifth hero, this is more serious than we thought."
Dave tried to sit up again, but his injured arm gave way. He let out a soft cry of pain and collapsed back, breathing hard. "Please… you have to help us find him… he protected me… I can't lose him…"
His voice trailed off into a weak sob. The small boy looked utterly exhausted and fragile, his face ashen and his body shaking from blood loss and emotional strain.
Harlan placed a gentle hand on Dave's shoulder to calm him. "Easy, lad. Save your strength."
The royal messenger nodded slowly, but in his mind, a different thought flickered. The King wants the fifth criminal hero found and brought in. He nearly killed someone during the last mission. If Lord Dox has him, we need to act quickly, but not to help these people, but to catch Lucius ourselves before he becomes even more dangerous.
The leader kept his face neutral. "We have healers with us. The boy needs medical attention first."
Harlan hesitated, still wary. "How do we know we can trust you?"
The leader raised his hands slowly. "We carry the King's seal. And right now, the boy looks like he might not last the night if he doesn't get proper care."
Dave's eyelids fluttered again. His small hand reached weakly toward Harlan. "Don't… let them take me away too…"
Then his eyes closed completely. The small boy had fainted once more, his frail body going limp on the bed.
Harlan cursed under his breath. "He's fading fast."
The royal messengers moved quickly but carefully. One of them stepped forward with a healing kit. "Let us help. We can stabilise him."
The room filled with quiet urgency as the crew watched the strangers tend to Dave. The boy remained unconscious, his breathing shallow and weak.
Outside the inn, the night was still.
But somewhere in the distance, Zon and his men were already delivering Lucius to Lord Dox.
The royal messengers worked quickly in the dimly lit room. The healer carefully stitched Dave's deep gash and applied fresh herbs and bandages. The boy remained unconscious, his small body limp and frail against the pillows. His face was ghostly pale, his lips almost colourless, and his breathing stayed shallow and uneven. Every few minutes, a soft, pained whimper escaped him, as if even in unconsciousness the fear and loss followed him.
Harlan never left the boy's side. He wiped the sweat from Dave's forehead with a cool cloth, his own hands rough but gentle. "You're going to be alright, lad," he murmured quietly. "Just hold on a little longer."
The leader of the messengers stood near the window, looking out into the dark night. "We'll send word to the capital at first light. If this Lord Dox truly has the fifth hero, the King must know immediately. This could threaten the entire kingdom."
Dalen leaned against the wall, pressing a cloth to his own wound. "And what about us? We're just a merchant crew. How are we supposed to fight someone like Lord Dox?"
The leader turned, his expression serious. "You won't have to fight alone. The King's forces will be mobilised. But right now, the priority is keeping the boy alive. He's the only witness who can identify Zon and confirm what happened here."
Dave stirred weakly on the bed. His small eyelids fluttered open for a moment, glassy and unfocused. A faint whisper escaped his lips.
"Brother Lucius… don't go… please…"
Then his eyes closed again. His small hand twitched once before going still. The boy had slipped back into unconsciousness, his frail body fighting to survive the blood loss and emotional toll.
Harlan's face tightened with worry. "He's getting weaker. We need to keep him warm and make sure he doesn't lose any more blood."
In the distance, far from the inn and deep on the shadowed road leading away from Whisperwood, Zon and his men continued their hard ride through the night.
Lucius remained completely unconscious, slung over the saddle of one of the horses. His body swayed lifelessly with every step. His face was deathly pale, covered in sweat and dried blood. His breathing was dangerously shallow, barely noticeable. The triple exhaustion and pain from the battle with the Heart had left him utterly defenceless. He hadn't moved or made a sound since he collapsed.
Zon rode at the front, occasionally glancing back at the unconscious fifth hero with a satisfied, cruel smirk.
"Lord Dox will be very pleased," he said to his second-in-command. "The curse eater is finally in our hands. Look at him, completely broken. He couldn't even protect that little brat in the end."
One of the men riding beside the horse carrying Lucius chuckled darkly. "The boy was crying like a baby when we dragged this one away. He'll bleed out soon enough. No loose ends."
Zon nodded, his eyes cold. "Good. Lord Dox wants the fifth hero alive, but broken. The shadow inside him is powerful. Once we deliver him, Dox will twist that curse into something that will make the entire kingdom bow."
He looked down at Lucius's limp form, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper.
"You thought you could run forever? No one can save you. And now you belong to Lord Dox."
Back at the inn, the healer finished tending to Dave and stepped back. "He's stable for now, but very weak. He needs complete rest. No travelling for at least a few days."
Harlan nodded, but his eyes were distant. "We'll stay here tonight. Tomorrow, we start planning how to get Lucius back."
The room fell into a heavy silence. The crew sat or lay down, exhausted and injured, but their minds were already turning toward the difficult road ahead.
Dave remained unconscious on the bed, his small chest rising and falling weakly. His pale face was streaked with dried tears. In his dreams, he kept reaching for Lucius, but the figure kept slipping further away into the darkness.
Outside, Whisperwood stood beautiful and quiet under the moonlight.
But far down the dark road, Zon and his men rode on, carrying the unconscious Lucius deeper into the shadows, straight toward Lord Dox.
And somewhere in the night, a new danger was already stirring.
The hunt for the fifth hero had only just begun.