The King's Path of Battle

"Our position lies westward, so we'll either reach Great East Road or the Anduin River!" Roland took out a map and began studying it. Since he did not know their current location, he could only use the obvious landmarks to the west to determine where they were. If they saw the Anduin River, they were in Mirkwood; if there were mountains behind them, then they were in the Misty Mountains. Great East Road, which ran through the western world, could also help confirm their current location.

"Let's go!" Roland put away the map, drew his sword, and rose to his feet.

"Hopefully, we won't run into any trouble..." Roland shook his head. Fighting alone, he would be in serious trouble if he encountered difficult enemies.

"Roar!" Dos answered, indicating that it did not matter to him; he only needed to follow Roland. More importantly, Dos could go without food or water for a long time. He was basically just a large accessory hanging off Roland, and not having to worry about feeding a dragon spared Roland quite a burden.

"Ah..." Roland shrugged helplessly. He should have gone back obediently with Omsk instead of letting Dos fly him around at random. Now this was a mess... Those people were probably worried sick!

In truth, however, things were completely different from what he imagined. No one even knew he was missing. Omsk thought he had gone to Lion Territory; Caslo and Ajax thought he was still with Omsk and the others; even his wife Nyx believed her husband was safe under the soldiers' protection... Only Roland had been forgotten, shivering alone in some unknown forest...

"Chitter, chitter, chitter!"

A faint sound came from ahead, accompanied by the crack of branches and leaves breaking. Roland dealt with these things every day, so