(Officially kicking my own ass.  Let's get to something more interesting,  shall we?)<br/><br/>The next two weeks flew by in a flash for both women.  Physical training all day,  entirely focused on self defence,  and book learning all night.  Sleep was a luxury they could  ill afford,  it seemed.  Neither became an expert in martial combat in a mere two weeks,  but at least they could hold their own.<br/><br/>Much harder were their night studies, endless tomes piled high around their simple rooms,  all filled with variously helpful and unhelpful facts, tidbits,  legends,  and other information about demons of all kinds. Some information was perilously specific,  and easily forgotten moments after their eyes left the page, but there were several keys lessons both women had drilled into their heads by the end of the training camp.<br/><br/>Firstly,  Demons are nexuses of evil and corruption.  A pure Demon twists the world around them towards chaos just by their mere presence.  Stone,  plant, animal, people,  all can be corrupted by demons,  and thereby become spreaders of corruption themselves.<br/><br/>Secondly,  the best defence against corruption is a holy offence.  Destroying the source of the corruption,  ripping the plant out at the very root,  is the best way to stiffle the evil of demons.  The blessed are resistant to corruption,  but by no means are they immune.  Slay the beast at the centre of the corruption and most of its influence will fade.  Hence why slaying the Demon Lord himself is the top priority.<br/><br/>Lastly,  demons represent and personify the worst of mortal instincts,  desires,  and emotions,  but they are not mortal.  They are the extreme and beyond,  unrestricted by logic and untethered by reality,  in most cases.  A Demon wreathed in rage will barrel through ally and enemy alike,  a berserker through and through, while a succubus will lay with even the ugliest leper, their desires for carnal activities overriding anything resembling taste or sexuality.  This is what is best used against them.  The one thing that demons lack a substantial amount of is subtlety.  Whatever they do, they do a lot of it, way too much, and that is the easiest way to out manoeuvre them and slay them when they least expect it.<br/><br/>After two weeks,  preparations for their journey was complete and the blessed company set out on its way.  Guine was obviously in charge,  the orcish crusader having already led several incursions into demonic territory,  some successful,  some not.  Her stoic behaviour didn't change at all over the two weeks of training,  her visage almost like an automaton,  with the exception of her annoyance when the women she was training didn't get something right.<br/><br/>Regardless,  equipped with light but sturdy travelling armour,  they all set out for their first destination,  the Ruined City of Forge Fire.  It was a great city long ago,  a wonder of the relationship between humans and dwarves,  but it's pride made it one of the first cities to fall to the Demon hordes,  their great stores of natural resources and massive forges now used to feed the demons war machine.  It was as good a place as any to begin gathering information on the whereabouts of Demon Lord Ba'lor.<br/><br/><br/>The journey began with little to no fanfare.  Each was given a horse to carry them and they trotted out of IronWall without so much as a word from the guards.  Lady Guine,  her full crusader plate shining,  was not very approachable, after all.<br/><br/>The first few days of their journey were calm and uneventful,  as they were still withing human territory with plenty or military outposts to stay at,  but those ran out eventually as they passed the distinct threshold into Demon controlled lands.  At first, there was no real difference,  but subtle changes became more obvious.  Grass wasn't as green,  birds no longer sang.  Bugs became larger and more vicious.<br/><br/>The real turning point came as the women trotted into a town,  long ruined by the ultimate war of good and evil.  Huddled refugees gathered around pathetic camp fires,  their temporary homes built out of the rubble of the former residences.<br/><br/>Guine held up her hand to signal a halt and dismounted. She surveyed the camp of refugees,  her intense gaze, even beneath her helmet causing all who met it to shrink away or find something else very interesting suddenly.<br/><br/>"Spread out and gather Intel.  We need to know what dangers lay ahead.  Meet back here in one hour." Guine ordered.  She approached some nearby refugees and began to question them.