On the way there, we came across a gruesome sight. There was a litter of bodies on the road. Horses and people were lying in pools of blood. Father Shalo was horrified and ran towards the carnage. "Is there anyone still here and can hear me? Are there any survivors!?" he called out. I looked and listened for anybody. I did not have any hopes. However, there was a weak call that we heard. We tracked it down and saw a young man with his legs caught under his horse. Father Shalo looked to me and said "Please. I need you to move this horse." I did my best to push it off of him. The man groaned in agony. When it was clear, we saw his legs were crushed. "Can you heal him?" I asked. He had a grim look on his face as he clutched the amulet with the holy symbol of his faith around his neck. "I think so. Please bear with the pain for a moment more." He then crouched down and placed a timid hand on his body. When he began to say a prayer, I began to look for more survivors. From what I could tell, it was a group of armored knights. Whatever fought them must have been crazy powerful.
I found 4 more. I brought them over to Father Shalo. He was only able to save two of them. The mana needed to pull off a spell that could restore them took too much of his energy out of him. The other two were slung over my back and then secured by the other knights. We then had to make it to the closest village. One of the knights died on the way. The other was on the cusp as death before he was healed by a different cleric. Since there was a funeral that needed to be taken care of, two of the knight volunteered to stay until the burial. The other two decided to come with us. They had to tell their comrades waiting for them in Ablinas what had happened to them on the road. They told us about it. Apparently, they were told to apprehend a group of criminals. None of them were sure why a full platoon was dispatched. They knew why now. It was a bandit camp headed by a pair of Devils. The group ambushed the knights and destroyed them. It was over so fast that they barely even recognized a single enemy or what had happened to them. The Devils were just dark blurs to them.
Father Shalo felt forced to give them some kind words. "I'm sure... that... you did... your best. It is a miracle you were found, so, I mean... it must be a sign you are meant for something." he choked out. The knights just nodded at him absentmindedly. They had their own things to deal with. I could not imagine what it would be like to have something like that happen to me in real life. It would be... scary to say the least. When we got to the city gates, we were waved in. We were escorted by two of the well respected Knights of Ablinas, the elite of the city guard. Their names were Terry and Jurdan. Each city had a similar order within their walls. The royals and nobles had their own orders as well. I made sure that the weary cleric returned to his church safe and sound. Daniel, Father Curt and Father Jones were all waiting for us. Since Shalo was too shaken up to talk about what had happened on the journey, I was the one that reported everything back to them. They all were concerned about the Devils. "I guess it was right to send you after all." Father Jones admitted. I was going to ask for another quest when a courier approached.
