After an hour and a half, all the staff members were ready. Dallen now wore knee-high leather boots over his stained jeans and a button up flannel. He had a gun strapped to his back and several daggers dangling from his belt. Shana has pulled her hair back into a ponytail and was outfitted in a black long-sleeve shirt, fitted jeans, and high boots. She had two sword strapped in an "X" across her back. Ramon stood in his cowboy boots with a pistol at his side and a large crossbow clutched in his left hand and resting on his shoulder. He left a dozen staff members to guard the castle while the rest of them marched out into the night. The heavy wooden gates closed behind them with a foreboding creak. Soon, the procession disappeared in the shadows, swallowed by the night.
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The sun was just crowning the horizon as they approached a long slender valley, blackened like a scar in the land. Megan heard several gasps when the scorched landscape came into view.

Shana rode next to Megan on a chestnut mare, her eyes looking glassy. "This is the Reverie Valley." She explained, when she noticed Megan's confused look. "It used to be the most beautiful place on the preserve, especially in the Spring. It had the most breathtaking assortment of towering trees and flowers. A stream ran straight through the middle of it." She pointed, tracing the path of the minute waterway. It was now black and murky. "It used to flow clear. You could see the stream bed. There were countless waterfalls along its journey. They filled the forest with the most beautiful and soothing sound. Not to mention the song birds and fairies that flocked here. It was an oasis. The areas around it are full of dangers." She smiled at the fond memory.

"I'm sorry." Megan reached over to place a hand on her shoulder and nearly toppled off of her horse.

Shana tried to suppress her laugh, but several heads turned at her choked giggles.

Ramon called back their attention, clearing his throat. "This is the last place that the fairies spotted Thranus."

Megan assumed he was referring to the demon, using its name.

"He may still be down there. He chose his target well. It got our attention." He surveyed the crowd with his piercing green eyes. "Be prepared. He is clever. Physical strength does not always trump that of the mind." With that, Ramon lead the group forward.