Kael raised an eyebrow.
"If whoever attacked us made that trench to contain the fire…"
He glanced toward the massive firebreak.
"Then why attack us in the first place?"
Rurik turned toward him.
His expression remained completely flat.
"How am I supposed to know?"
Before anyone could answer, Vane suddenly froze.
His eyes widened.
"Sergeant."
Grace looked over.
Vane approached slowly, one hand still rubbing his aching neck.
"What is it?"
He hesitated briefly.
Then asked,
"When we were attacked…"
His gaze shifted toward the wildfire.
"…weren't we much deeper inside the forest?"
Everyone went silent.
Vane continued.
"We were surrounded by flames."
A pause.
"So how did we end up here?"
He gestured around them.
"At a safe distance from the fire?"
Grace's eyes widened.
The realization struck her instantly.
From nearby, Garrick frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged.
"The Sergeant brought us here."
His confidence returned immediately.
"She must've driven the attacker off and moved us somewhere safe."
He looked toward Grace and smiled.
"Right, Sergeant?"
Grace met his eyes.
Then slowly shook her head.
"After all of you were knocked unconscious…"
Her hand rose to the side of her head.
"…the attacker hit me too."
Silence.
"I blacked out immediately."
Shock spread across the group.
Drev stared.
"What are you saying, Sergeant?"
His voice rose.
"If you didn't bring us out of that fire…"
"Then who did?"
Beside them, Elara quietly answered.
"The attacker."
Every head turned toward her.
Garrick immediately objected.
"That doesn't make any sense."
His brow furrowed.
"They knocked us out."
He pointed toward the unconscious area they had been found in.
"Why would they save us afterward?"
"Exactly," Drev agreed.
"That's what I'm saying."
Vane shook his head.
"Then explain how we're alive."
He spread his arms.
"We somehow ended up outside the fire's reach."
"Someone moved us."
Drev frowned.
"But why?"
"If they attacked us…"
"Wouldn't it make more sense to leave us there and let the fire finish the job?"
Torin finally joined the discussion.
"Not necessarily."
Everyone looked toward him.
Torin folded his arms.
"Think about it."
He gestured toward the guards.
"All of you were knocked unconscious."
"That's it."
His gaze swept across the group.
"None of you have serious injuries."
A pause.
"If the attacker genuinely wanted to kill you…"
"Wouldn't they have done more damage?"
Nobody immediately answered.
Rurik scratched his cheek thoughtfully.
"Maybe they came to save us…"
He frowned.
"…but didn't want us seeing their face?"
Kael snorted.
"What kind of savior knocks people unconscious before rescuing them?"
Garrick pointed at him.
"Exactly."
"They aren't some savior."
His expression hardened.
"For all we know, they're the one who started this fire."
Vane shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense either."
He pointed toward the trench.
"If they started the wildfire…"
"Then why build a firebreak afterward?"
Rurik let out a long sigh.
"The whole thing is nonsense."
He counted on his fingers.
"They start a fire."
"Then stop it."
"They attack us."
"Then save us."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Nothing about this makes sense."
"We don't even know if they're the one who started the fire," Vane pointed out.
Drev scoffed.
"And we don't know if they're the one who saved us either."
The argument stalled.
Everyone fell silent.
Thinking.
Then Garrick spoke again.
"Maybe we're looking at this wrong."
The others turned toward him.
"What if there were multiple people involved?"
Kael nodded.
"That would explain a lot."
He looked around the scene.
"Maybe several people attacked us."
"Then some of them decided to save us afterward."
He gestured toward the enormous trench surrounding the wildfire.
"That would also explain how something this big got built."
Rurik slowly nodded.
"That's actually possible."
His gaze shifted toward Grace's horse.
"And someone intentionally released the horses."
A pause.
"They had to know the horses would lead rescuers back here."
The discussion gradually quieted.
Grace walked toward her horse.
The animal immediately lowered its head into her hand.
She gently stroked its neck.
Then looked back at the group.
"It doesn't matter whether it was one person or ten."
Everyone fell silent.
Grace's expression hardened.
"We need to find them."
"And question them."
Nearby, Elara stepped closer to Torin.
"What do you think?"
Torin sighed.
"What do I think?"
He scratched the back of his head.
"I think everyone is reaching conclusions way too fast."
Elara frowned.
"Then what should we do?"
Torin looked toward the wildfire.
"We were sent here to help contain the fire."
He gestured toward the trenches.
"Looks like our mysterious attacker already handled that part."
A brief pause.
"We should return to the capital and report everything."
Elara nodded.
"Fair enough."
Torin approached Grace.
"Sergeant."
Grace looked over.
"We should start heading back."
After a moment, Grace nodded.
"Agreed."
She straightened her posture.
"Men!"
The group immediately looked toward her.
"The wildfire has been contained."
"We are returning to the capital."
"Yes, Sergeant!"
Then Kael glanced around.
A problem occurred to him.
"Uh…"
Everyone looked at him.
"How exactly are we supposed to do that?"
He pointed toward the horses.
"There are only two horses."
Then pointed toward the people.
"And eight of us."
A brief silence followed.
Grace looked at the horses.
Then at the group.
Before she could answer—
Torin grinned.
"Simple."
Everyone immediately became suspicious.
"Sergeant Grace and my sister ride the Sergeant's horse."
He pointed toward his own mount.
"One lucky bastard rides with me."
Then pointed toward everyone else.
"The rest walk."
Silence.
Then—
"HUH!?"
The forest echoed with collective outrage.
Grace nodded approvingly.
"A fine plan."
The complaints started immediately.
Torin rolled his eyes.
"Oh, stop being dramatic."
He pointed toward the darkening sky.
"It's already night."
"We don't have time to make multiple trips."
Another shrug.
"Besides, your horses are still waiting outside the forest."
Kael immediately protested.
"Then why don't you and your sister walk?"
He pointed at himself.
"We're the injured ones."
Torin's answer came without hesitation.
"No."
Kael blinked.
"…No?"
"There's no chance I'm making my sister walk through a forest at night."
Torin patted his horse.
"And this idiot won't let anyone ride him without me."
The horse snorted proudly.
Grace swung herself onto her mount.
"Enough."
Everyone went quiet.
"Stop complaining."
"Start walking."
The long straw eventually fell to Kael.
Much to everyone else's annoyance.
A few minutes later, the group began making their way out of Thornveil.
Grace and Elara rode ahead.
Torin and Kael followed behind.
The rest trudged after them on foot, grumbling all the while.
Behind them, the dying wildfire cast flickering orange light through the darkness—
Illuminating their path back to the capital.