As the other knights joined Irene and Henry, the Commander moved forward, meeting the men in the middle and walking with them towards the rock Irene was forced to lean against.
"Were there any monsters on your way up?" the young Duke wondered.
"We spread ourselves wide across the path, but didn't see a new sign of a single monster or beast," Gunnar explained. "There's an abandoned dwelling on that path, and we were able to stay inside the shelter overnight. It felt like a pleasant walk rather than a search for monsters. We didn't even have to ditch our horses."
The Commander offered his other four men a relieved smile.
"I'm relieved to hear that. Unfortunately, our group was split up. We found a cave with goblins, though it collapsed and split us up. Bren and Sven are traveling up the other side of the mountain, while Irene and I had to make our way through the cave in total darkness to reach the summit."
