The covered carriage made its way slowly, and Alex was the one holding the reins. Nilofar turned to him and said in a tone of blame: "Truly... we have wasted a lot of silver coins buying this carriage; we could have just rented it and saved the money."
Alex replied without looking at her: "Is this the first time you have seen silver coins? How stingy you are." Nilofar replied sharply: "Yes, and what of it? Did you think that competitions like these happen every day?" Alex cast a side glance at her and said mockingly: "You are always angry... will the day not come when you smile and rejoice a little?"
Nilofar replied as she looked at the road: "I will never rejoice as long as I am beside someone who surrounds himself with all this mystery and hides secrets from me." Alex paused for a moment and asked in a serious tone: "What do you mean by secrets?" Nilofar was slightly flustered, but she regained her composure and said: "Nothing... forget it."
At that moment, Alex cast a quick glance at his ring, remembering that his supply of blood inside had become very low. He thought to himself anxiously: "Damn... I did not think I would be forced to stay this long in this human world." Then he glanced at Nilofar, who was turning her face away from him, and continued his thoughts with bitter irony: "Nor that I would be forced to accompany a stupid human like her."
Meanwhile - The First Village After the Mountain
Leo reached the outskirts of a quiet village after a grueling journey through the mountain slopes with Fro. The village seemed completely devoid of life; the houses were abandoned, the doors were wide open, and there was no trace of any human being. Leo sensed a strange energy and a power hovering in the place, but he could not activate his powers because his body was entirely human and it was daytime.
Leo turned toward Fro and asked anxiously: "Fro... do you feel what I feel? There is something strange here." Fro replied mockingly: "Are you serious? Do you think you are still a vampire? You are a normal human now, and the village is likely empty because of an old war or a famine; that is why everyone left."
Leo sighed and sat down tiredly on a rock: "Even though I have become human, I have not yet grown accustomed to this weakness. What do you think about staying here until nightfall and then continuing the journey? Fatigue has taken its toll on me." The dragon (Fro) shook his head and said: "As you wish, you pampered one..." Leo replied in a dark tone as he looked at the horizon: "Dragons like you are only used in our world to test and develop new weapons."
Leo and Fro continued their way slowly toward the heart of the village without noticing anything... but from behind the ruined walls, there were faint, invisible voices rising in secrecy: "They have come... there are new people!" Another voice whispered with hunger and treachery: "Did we not say this area was abandoned?... Finally, some fun and food without any effort!"