Shara's heart sank when she heard that and completely froze. Ning frowned as well. "They slipped and fell?" he asked.
"Yes, off a high cliff, it seems. I think I know the place too, around 10 days up the mountain," the man before them said.
Ning thought for a bit, thinking about the cliffs around that ti. It would've been around the ti they went to the waterfall, either before or after it.
"I don't rember any cliff there," Ning said. "Do you an downhill? They should've rolled down if that was the case. Their bodies should have been found."
"No, there is a large cliff. Like 2 days before you arrive at the massive forest," the man said.
Ning finally understood what he ant. "You said 10 days," he said.
"10 days when coming, yes. Did you think I ant when returning?" he asked.
"I an, you are a person of this city and country. Am I wrong to assu that?" Ning asked.
"I suppose not. I was just trying to convert what I know into what you may know since you say you ca from there."
Ning nodded slowly. "So they fell around that cliff, huh? Any other information? Are we sure they fell?"
The man looked at Ning, confused. "What are you implying?" he asked.
"Nothing. Just making sure everything you are saying is correct," Ning said. "We need to be sure after all."
"Yes, I am not hiding anything. Look," the man said, showing the book to Ning.
Ning looked at it and it did say what the man had said. And of course, there was additional information surrounding the instance when Shara's parents had died as well.
And he could not believe what he saw there.
"Thank you," he told the man, who gave a subtle nod.
"If that is all, I will be taking my leave," the man said, walking away from the place.
Shara was in a bit of a shock for a while. Ning got close and hugged her from the side, comforting her.
"They didn't find their bodies. That… that can an they're alive, right?" she asked.
Ning looked at her, seeing hope in her eyes. Oh how dangerous that was. He needed to do sothing about it quickly.
"We can confirm what happened to them soon," he said. "The noble we ca with, Umad, it was his caravan that your parents were in."
"What?" Shara stopped crying for a second to look at Ning.
"I saw it in that book. Your parents were in his caravan. I should have realized before. His is the caravan that is almost always the only one that goes through the mountains," Ning said. "I don't know how much he rembers, but there is a chance that he might rember."
"Do we go talk to him then?" Shara asked.
"Yes, that's what we should do," Ning said. "Do you want to go back and rest or should we head over directly?"
Shara stood up. "Let's go directly. I want to find out all I can about what happened that day," she said.
Ning nodded. "Let's go then."
Ning and Shara made their way out of the city, heading toward the camp on the outside where the caravan had parked. It was unsure if Umad would be there or not. It was more likely that he would have taken up a place to stay in a wealthy tavern. Still, they needed to go there to find out where that was.
They arrived at the outer fields and recognized so of the carriages among others. They went around, looking for anyone they could recognize. Finally, after so ti, Ning saw the man that was the leader of the guards.
He was an older man in a fit leather armor that suited him. He was the one who had taken charge when the mudslide had happened.
"Brother," Ning called out, quickly going to et the man.
The man turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, hey. What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"Do you know where we might find the nobleman Umad?" Ning asked.
The man narrowed his eyes. "You don't need to find him if you are looking to join the caravan. I can have soone register the two of you," the man said.
"No, we need him for sothing else," Ning said. "Sothing that happened a while ago during one of his caravans. We just needed to confirm sothing."
"I have been his head guard for over 15 years now. If there is sothing he knows, I will know it as well," the man said. "You can ask ."
Ning paused for a second, feeling stupid at the fact that he could ask this man. Of course, the people who took care of the caravan would know a lot more than Umad himself.
Shara quickly spoke up. "Were you part of this Caravan around 12 years ago?" she asked. "I an actively going around in it."
"I missed a single caravan journey exactly 9 years ago because my son was born. I have not missed any journey other than that. If there is sothing you must ask, ask ," he said.
Ning and Shara both felt quite relieved to hear that there was soone who might perhaps rember sothing about it all.
"12 years ago, my parents died," Shara said, feeling herself choke on her words. "They were part of your caravan."
"I'm so sorry," the man said. "There have been a few deaths, yes. It is unfortunate, each ti."
"Could you tell how they died?" Shara asked.
The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, I do not rember much of what happened in the past. I can only give you bits and pieces of what I could rember," she said. "You might do better to go check their death registry."
"We did," Ning said. "We were suspicious that it was wrong."
"Suspicious?" the man asked with quite a confused look. "What's so suspicious about a death record?"
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