The Forest in the Dead of Night Several months pass as Rudeus builds his fame and reputation in the northlands, hoping that word of his exploits will reach Zenith or that someone will know her whereabouts. He decides to accompany Counter Arrow on another quest to collect snow drake scales, but end up accidentally running into another party, Stepped Leader, who are out to hunt the snow drakes. Despite this setback, Counter Arrow successfully complete the quest and return to town, where Sara convinces Rudeus to join their victory celebration. However, during the celebration, the leader of Stepped Leader, Soldat, goes on a drunken rant over how he is put off over Rudeus because he can tell he is holding back his true power. The next day, Rudeus learns that Mimir was killed and Sara had gone missing during a quest, with the rest of Counter Arrow being forced to retreat due to a blizzard...