In a small wooden cabin in a small roadside village, a woman was sleeping in an awkward position.
Her short white hair with golden streaks was spread across the pillow and her breathing was slow and deep.
She had one hand hanging off the side of the bed and the other resting on her stomach, with the sheets tangled around her waist.
Her relaxed face showed no worry or tension, but reflected the expression of soone who had gone days without sleeping well and had finally managed to rest for several hours in peace.
Or at least that’s how it was until three knocks on the door shattered that calm.
"Captain Hod! Captain Hod!" shouted a male voice, young, with a tone of urgency that didn’t match the hour.
Hod didn’t move, and the knocking repeated, this ti with more force.
"Captain Hod, you need to wake up! It’s an ergency!"
The woman first opened one eye with effort, then the other, then blinked several tis staring at the wooden ceiling of the cabin while her brain tried to start up with difficulty.
Then she turned her head toward the window only to notice it was completely dark outside.
Not a trace of light on the horizon.
’...It’s still the middle of the night,’ Hod thought, closing her eyes again.
"Captain! please, wake up! its an ergency"
Hearing the voice again, Hod let out a grunt and sat up on the bed with slow, clumsy movents, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.
She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair and sat at the edge of the bed for a few seconds, as if gathering the willpower needed to stand.
Until she finally got up and shuffled to the door.
When she opened it, on the other side stood a young man with short brown hair, dressed in the standard inquisition uniform. His eyes were wide open and his breathing was agitated, as if he had run to the cabin.
’...What the hell does he want at this hour?’
Hod looked at him with narrowed eyes and an expression that made very clear she was not in the mood.
"This better be important," she said, her voice rough with sleep. "It’s... what ti is it even?"
"Three in the morning, Captain," the young man replied.
"Three in the morning," Hod repeated, leaning against the doorfra. "Perfect. And what’s so urgent it can’t wait until the sun cos up?"
The young man swallowed nervously.
"Captain, we’ve just detected Grand Inquisitor Alice’s magical signature."
"...What?" she said, still sowhat foggy from sleep.
"Grand Inquisitor Alice’s magical signature," the young man repeated. "Our tracking team detected it less than fifteen minutes ago. But that’s not all."
Hod frowned as she listened carefully.
"It was detected alongside another unknown magical signature," the young man continued. "Of equal power."
The mont he finished speaking, Hod’s grogginess and sleepiness vanished all at once, as if soone had thrown a bucket of cold water in her face.
Her posture changed in an instant, her back straightened, her shoulders tensed, and her eyes, which a second ago had been half-closed and drowsy, were now fully open and fixed on the young man with an intensity that made him instinctively take half a step back.
"Are you completely certain of what you’re telling ?" Hod said, and her voice had not a trace of sleep left in it.
"Yes, Captain," the young man replied, nodding firmly. "We verified it twice... there’s no error. The signature matches Grand Inquisitor Alice’s records."
Hod stayed silent for several seconds after hearing him.
’So she’s still alive...’
And that information was worth more than any hour of sleep.
"How far away are we?" Hod asked in a determined tone.
"The signature was detected deep in the Semi-Human Forest," the young man replied. "If we leave imdiately, we’ll arrive approximately at dawn."
"The Semi-Human Forest?" Hod said, frowning. "What the hell is Alice doing in that place?"
"We have no idea either, Captain... We only detected the signature and its approximate location. The whole thing is very strange."
Hod crossed her arms and stood thinking for a mont.
The Semi-Human Forest wasn’t a place anyone ventured into willingly, for obvious reasons it was hostile territory, full of creatures and semi-human tribes that weren’t exactly friendly to outsiders.
"Alright," Hod said decisively. "Wake the others, tell them to get ready and be set to leave as soon as possible."
"Yes, Captain!" the young man replied, bringing his fist to his chest in a military salute before turning and running toward the other cabins.
Hod watched him go, then went back inside her room and closed the door behind her.
She stood in the middle of the room for a mont, her hand still on the doorknob, staring at the wall without really seeing it.
Her mind was working at full speed, going over everything she knew about Alice’s expedition, about the Demon Lord’s dungeon, about the circumstances of her disappearance.
Nothing added up.
Alice had disappeared days ago, her entire squad had vanished, but now, out of nowhere, her magical signature appeared in the middle of a hostile forest, accompanied by another signature with power comparable to her own.
’Who the hell would be capable of having a magical signature comparable to Alice’s?’ Hod thought as she took off her sleeping clothes and began putting on her uniform.
Hod fastened the straps of her light armor with quick, practiced movents, the kind of movents only achieved after years of dressing for combat.
Then she adjusted her forearm guards, buckled on her sword belt, and pulled her white hair with its golden streaks back so it wouldn’t get in the way.
As she finished getting ready, her mind kept turning the matter over.
’What the hell is going on?’ Hod thought, tightening the last strap of her armor and heading toward the door.
Hod had no clear answers, but she was going to get them.
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