I picked myself up and looked in the direction of the voice.
I could make out three kids around my age standing a good distance from me.
It was hard to see through the falling snow, and the sun reflecting off of it could make you blind.
By the colors they were wearing I could tell they were from Letum.
This could be bad. If they come any closer they could see the banner of Ivalice draped above the cave from their viewpoint.
"What are you doing here?" one of the boys asked.
"We're just passing through." I responded knowing it was one of the most stupid things I have ever said.
Who would be just passing through a place like this?
I nudged Reks with my foot to wake him up as they talked amongst each other.
He quickly caught on to what was going on and stood next to me.
Two of them began to walk towards us.
The other stayed with a horse carrying supplies.
Seeing that they were not coming at full force I didn't think they were being hostel.
Reks didn't seem worried either.
Wait.
I just had a great idea.
I just say I have no idea about the banner or how it got there.
Or that this is a dragon's den.
We'll just play dumb.
"Just passing through?" One of the boys asked.
Getting a better look at them I could tell the one who spoke seemed to be there leader.
He wore the typical winter cloths, but also with a cape showing the crest of his kingdom.
The cape showed he was a captain of there army.
Being just a boy no older than seventeen must mean that the middle-aged men of his country may have all been killed in the endless battling.
His spiky brown hair gave him a bit of an immature look though.
He carried a simple sword and a bow and arrow on his back.
"You weren't trying to steal from us were you?" The other asked.
This one was about an inch taller than his leader.
Unlike him though he was wearing some armor.
He carried with him a rather large sword.
"Steal what?" Reks said looking around almost as if he were making a joke.
"We use the dragon scales around this cave to make armor for our soldiers." The first one stated.
"You do know this is a dragon's cave right? Seeing that you left your banner over it." He continued.
"That's not our banner, that was here before we were." I said with confidence hoping it would cover for my lie.
"Than you wouldn't mind if we took it down would you?" The leader asked.
"Not at all." Reks replied.
The captain turned around and gestured to the boy who stayed behind by the horse.
The next thing we saw was a burning arrow hitting the banner square in the center.
Who ever that was had a real good shot to have hit that through this blinding snow.
As I watched the banner catch fire and burn I couldn't help but to think that all this could have been avoided if we didn't make this stop.
We have already gone out of our way for nothing, now that it was burning.
I guess growing up in Ivalice we still felt a sense of loyalty.
Enough to bring it out here, but not to stop it from burning.
"Where are you from?" The captain continued his questioning.
"We're from Pax." I answered.
"Then what are you doing out here?" He asked.
I tried to think of a believable excuse, but I couldn't.
Why would two boys from a neutral country be out in the middle of dangerous place like this?
I looked to Reks and he was at a loss as well.
Before they could unmask us and discover our true identities a deep roar coming from the cave interrupted them.
We all turned to the cave and saw the banner that was once above it had fallen to the ground and was filling it with smoke.
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