The blacksmith kept the sword at the table, through which Rudra was getting a better look of that sword. It was no more than an ordinary sword, but it was the only one that fitted his opinion. Rudra was most skilled in combat with such swords, that's all he needed.
The swords wooden hilt was sculpted very carefully with twisted curls that swirled around it, which would provide a strong grip. It had a small pommel, and it's rain guard had a special star symbol engraved on its center.
Rudra grabbed that sword, which shone under the light of the fire and sunlight, and an orange hue drifted on the sword's blade. "Even though you are giving it free of cost, but I won't take it without paying."
"My only payment will be putting an end to this terror," the blacksmith said as he offered a sheath for that sword as well.
Rudra accepted it. He bowed as he joined his palms, and without looking back he walked out of the smithy. He sheathed his sword carefully and hung it on his back. Till now the cries and screams had come to a halt, with only a few whispers echoing.
But suddenly Rudra stopped in his tracks as his eyes fell onto a water well near a burnt old shrine. He walked to the well and glanced into it to find tons of water within it. As soon as he saw the water, his neck began feel coarse and dried. He was thirsty.
Rudra looked around and found a bucket lying on the ground, it's handles were tied to the side poles of the well through a rope. Rudra threw the bucket into the well and fetched the water. Rudra carefully poured some water on his hands and washed them.
As he drank the water through his hands, the last remaining faint sobs fell into his ears. He looked in its direction, only to find an old elderly woman, trying to light a lamp with her shaking hands. The small flame flickered within the lantern, which was then placed near the shrine by the elderly woman.
She turned back as she struggled to even walk. "Rini, please come back to your Granpy!"
As she whispered softly, her leg stumbled on apiece of stone, completely disturbing her balance. The elderly woman tumbled onto her knees as she planted a hand on the ground. She grunted in pain as she softly sat down and pressed her knees.
Rudra immediately ran to her. "Are you okay?"
"No, I will not be okay until I meet my Rini.", she murmured while sobbing in pain.
Rudra frowned at her response, realizing that she was talking about someone beloved that she had lost.
"Where is Rini?!"
"Those mercenaries took her away, no one here is going to save her.
"Please save my Rini!", The elderly woman replied in her weak voice.
Rudra was stunned to hear this, 'I thought that through asking where she was, I could console her.
But what if I also find further clues for where my clan members are!'
He though for a second and then looked at the granny. "Will you, will you save her?" a small smile appeared on the granny's face as she held onto Rudra's hand tightly.
Rudra said nothing but only nodded slightly in agreement.
The granny suddenly stood up to her legs as she revealed a small flower in her hands, "This is the flower she used to tuck in her hair! It has a powerful sense and aroma that spreads to a wide distance."
Rudra took the flower and gently and caressed it's soft petals, staring at the every part of it. "I will try my best, I will find your Rini."
"May God bless you!" the granny said before she saw Rudra hasten away.
Rudra walked towards the opposite side of the village, that side too had a burnt forest, but there was a wide pathway marked by the tires of cart vehicles that led through it. Rudra had no choice but to walk on it, as it was the only way visible to him now.
Rudra took out the map of the nearby region that he had bought earlier in the riverside town. He unfurled the map and focused his gaze at it. The first thing he did for being able to understand it was to locate the Kashvyagiri city.
It was a map that covered the entire state of Mahak, in which the city of Kashyvaygiri was clearly a little away from the coastline. Between both of them there was a huge cluster of forests. Which meant that the tunnel Rudra accessed underwent the forest, leading it's way out near the coast.
Rudra placed the map on the ground. Since he had crossed that tunnel, he estimated it's length, and drew two arcs on the map surrounding a particular area within the forest. According to his assumptions the clan members had most of the chances to be present in the area nearby the coast and the villages.
This all meant that Rudra's first priority was to focus on searching this entire area thoroughly. Rudra held the map, and kept moving forward the path that unfolded in front of him. Rudra then looked at the flower that was given by that old granny as he thought that how could he use it as a clue. Rudra inhaled the scent of that flower and kept it in his sack bag.
He kept moving forward, stepping through the ash streaked ground. However his steps came to a sudden halt as he felt the familiar scent waft into his nose. Rudra searched for the source of the scent as he sniffed his surroundings. The scent lingered even strongly and sharply as moved ahead. He knelt down as he began wiping the ashes on the ground aside with his hands.
Suddenly Rudra's finger felt something very soft and smooth, gentle and fragile as a petal. Rudra got the grasp of it and pulled his hand out, fetching that thing out of the pile of ashes. As he looked at it, he found it to be a cluster of flower petals connected with each other. Looking at it carefully, Rudra realized those were the similar to flower given to him by the old granny.
Rudra looked around only to find the path he had been following till now was completely hidden by the breeze that blew the ashes and spread them around. He then shifted his gaze from the direction he came. If he came from village's direction and stumbled upon the flower petals at that spot, then moving into a straight forward path felt the most favorable choice.
With this thought Rudra walked ahead. This whole time, he was only thinking about the possibilities that where his clan members could have hidden in such a place to keep themselves underground. Especially what if he stumbled upon those mercenaries amidst all this. Without even knowing their power levels, the only choice he would have was to fight them.
***
The turmoil of thoughts in his mind was completely cleared as a land stretched endlessly in front of him. It was shared gold with tall whispering grasses swaying in the wind. But what made that steppe filled with tall grass look dangerous were countless obsidian-black stone spikes, sprouting out erratically from the ground, they were jagged, narrow and deadly.
Those stone spikes were present there in a high concentration. They clustered in unpredictable patterns, forming natural mazes that could either offer a cover or become a death trap. Some grasses often his the smaller spikes, making every step in that area a deadly guessing game. Even a single wrong turn or misjudged leap without any attention could cause one's flesh to be torn open.
He stood atop a little high ground that separated the first burned to ashes and the vast golden expanse that spread in front of him. Rudra gazed at the field in awe as he knew the real horrors of this sight. It didn't look like what it really was. There have been multiple incidents that often indicate that this huge steppe shelters several mercenary and bandit groups, serving as their secret hideout.
Rudra looked at the view in front of himself as he asked only one question to himself 'Should i go ahead?'
Rudra looked at the map to discover the steppe in front of him was Golden Spike Steppe. Rudra was moving towards the southern part of the Vajra empire. Entering the field in front of him will mean that he had stepped in to the barren land separating the Mahak state and the Sudav state. According to Rudra's knowledge the outer boundaries of the steppe was mostly filled with ruins, surrounded by jagged stones jutting out from everywhere.
'Could it be possible that the surviving clan members could have taken refuge in one of those ruins!'
With that thought in mind, Rudra stepped into the tall golden grasses that blanketed the field. Concealing the danger that lurked within.