Several hours prior
A grey haired man sat in a chair as men yelled at each other around him. He placed his head in his hands, took a deep breath, slammed his fist on the table and yelled. "ENOUGH!!! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR ALL THIS USELESS DRIVEL!"
The room went dead silent and the other men in the room slouched back into their seats. He sat up straight and looked around the room, "we need to take this letter seriously. Arkend wouldn't send us this letter warning us what those brigands were really after for no reason."
A younger blond man raised his hand, "Sir, what if we moved the statues beforehand? Would they not direct their attention elsewhere then?"
A red haired female elf with purple eyes scoffed at the man, "It seems all the time you spent on the battlefield dimmed your mind Leon. We've already tried moving them several times, but whatever they are made of can't be moved by any quick means we have access to."
"Everyone please focus, the objective of the masterminds who hired these people remains unknown still. The only thing we managed to uncover, with the help from some elven elders, is that these statues contain hints to awakening some unknown ancient threat. We must hold out as long as we can."
The grey haired man turned his attention to a knight sitting on his right. "Captain Tyner, ready your men for a siege and send out more scouts. We must find out how they plan to attack. EVERYONE IS DISMISSED!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Present time
Aurora's mind raced as she tried to understand the sight of the inferno in front of her. How? How? We just left! It can't be! Mom! Dad! Aurora ran off towards the city; desperate to save her family.
Camilla finally stirred from her stupor, she shouted out. "AURORA, WAIT! It's not safe to go alone!" Her words fell on deaf ears, she stomped the ground as she let out a yell of frustration, then she followed her. She regretted not wearing her uniform today. Using her superior speed she tackled Aurora to the ground, shouting at her. "Aurora, please stop! It's too late to help them!"
Aurora attempted to shove her off, tears stained down her cheeks. "LET GO! I HAVE TO HELP TH–!" A giant shadow passed over, she looked up and noticed 3 giant trolls smashing the walls with massive clubs. Giant spiders scaled the wall attacking whatever they could find.
Several poisonous lizards destroyed the farms outside the town. 5 lesser drakes flew over the city, breathing fire down as they passed. Aurora squinted and noticed humans atop the drakes which baffled her. Her mind snapped back to the nightmare she had suffered just a few days ago. Why are we being attacked? What did we do to deserve this?
Feeling the resistance leave her, Camilla could only hug her friend tight, tears threatened to come out of her eyes. A few minutes passed before Aurora passed out from the shock.
Camilla moved her into a bush to hide her, she looked around making sure no one was around. Once the coast was clear she ran towards the city gate in hopes of finding a weapon.
Around the rubble that was once the main gate, a lone girl crouched around, her eyes scanned over the bodies of the guards strewn about. Finally she spotted a sword lying on the other side of the gate from her.
The only issue was the group of bandits guarding a woman in a robe. The cat woman held a staff in her hand and gave orders to the others. She must be the one who brought these foul creatures here.
She gritted her teeth in anger. I need to get that staff away from her somehow. She moved around the edge using the rubble for cover, when she reached the sword relief washed over her. Now what do I do? I could attack that woman, but I bet she has more guards than I can handle. Let's just get Aurora and leave. She made her way back to her friend, still asleep in the bush.
Camilla leaned down and brushed the hair out of her face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help your family, but I swear to protect you forever." She picked her up and put Aurora on her back. Just before she headed east she gave one final look at the burning city, as she offered a silent prayer to those who fell in this tragedy.
She turned away and headed for the nearby hunting cabin their families shared. Camilla's family had purchased it when they sent her to live with Aurora eight years ago.
~~~~~~~~~
Aurora slowly regained consciousness and found herself on a bed. She jolted up as she gasped for air. She looked around slowly and realized where she was.
She thought back to the images she had seen while asleep. I see, they weren't nightmares. That really happened. The town, our house, my family. It's all gone. She pulled her legs up to her chest as she cried for everything she lost.
Camilla came into the room with a porridge after she heard the commotion. "I brought you something light to eat. I hope you don't mind." She put the bowl down on the nightstand and sat down on a stool next to the bed.
She reached out and put her hand over Aurora's, giving it a small squeeze. "Im ...sorry, i c-couldn't do more f-for you ...and your family…." Camilla looked down in shame until she felt Aurora's hand cup her cheek.
"It's not your fault Camilla, don't blame yourself. Besides we don't know that they're dead for sure. Someone had to have made it out." she put on a forceful smile before she leaned forward, closing the distance between them.
Camilla leaned back a bit in response, as she tried to pull away Aurora grabbed her other cheek. She turned Camilla to face her, Aurora leaned forward again and pressed her lips against her friend's forehead.
She pulled away, letting go of her cheeks as she grabbed the bowl of food. Aurora looked over while eating to see her friend had turned completely red. She almost spit out the bite she had taken from holding in her laugh.
I can't believe that made her so flustered. She grinned at this knowledge. Guess I know how to tease her now. She proceeded to finish her meal, once she was done she asked. "So where are we heading now?"
Camilla finished calming down before she answered. "I planned to go east to the city of Sarten. We'll rest there for a few days and get supplies before going to the capital. As long as that's fine with you anyway…"
Aurora lips formed a small, forced smile. "That sounds like a great plan my dear~."
Camilla frowned "this isn't a joke here. We're on our own now, Aurora. Now go freshen up. The water in the bath should still be warm."
Aurora chuckled halfheartedly. "Okay I'll go, but if you want you could always join me!" She gave her a wink before heading to the bathroom.
Camilla simply pouted in response and whispered. "Idiot."
Once Aurora was done with her bath and dressed in a clean outfit, they set off.