Tales of Xalthia

Chapter 39: Hunted

The sun rose the next day as the morning light shines through the cave entrance. The sounds of the gentle waves of low tide could be heard along with the cries of seagulls. By the time they all had woken up, the fire that had kept them warm throughout the night had already fizzled out. The temperature had slightly warmed up with the morning sun but it was still pretty chilly due to where they were located. The cold would just have to be something they would have to get used to as they will be in a cold environment for a while.

Once the three were awake and ready to go, they gathered their things and walked out of the cave onto a small shoreline at the base of a hill. They took a moment to get a feel for their surroundings before setting out on a trail that led up over the hill towards the north. Things were a bit more of a challenge this time around due to having a party size shrunk down to three people with only two able to fight. They had very limited supplies and lacked someone who specializes in Healing Artes so they had to be extra careful. They couldn't afford to take any unnecessary risks since they also had to protect Cesela from harm.

As they continued north, the realization of their situation started to set in as the local monsters seemed significantly stronger than the ones they encountered before. It had been a while since Tsuki had only one other person with him who could fight and with the stronger monsters, they had to be careful of what monsters they fight. Since most of their supplies were washed away from being knocked into ocean, they had to be smart when it comes to using whatever healing items they have left. They desperately needed to restock but there was no town or traveling merchant in sight unfortunately.

Several hours had passed since they left the cave. It was around noon when they found themselves traveling through a small, narrow canyon pass that split off into three directions. To the north, southwest which is the direction they came from and southeast. Not having a map to rely on, they had assumed that going southeast would take them back down into the southern regions of Ersheath. The surrounding area had high mountains, cliffs and ravines so it would appear that this was a junction of sorts. People would have to pass through this canyon. It seemed like a risky setup due to the narrow canyon walls and pathways. It's a perfect spot for an effective ambush.

Once they arrived at the three-way intersection, Cesela came to an abrupt stop. Her ears perked up and twitched as she appeared to have caught onto a scent. She smelled the surrounding area and her ears soon lowered down to her head along with her tail as she hid behind Tsuki, clinging onto his shirt and trembled a bit. Whatever she smelled clearly frightened her which is something he hasn't seen happen to her before. "Oh no...it's them. They found us" she mumbled.

Tsuki noticed her strange behavior and became concerned about her and became alert of his surroundings as well. She clearly smelled something and if it was enough to frighten her like this, it must not be a very pleasant scent. After scanning the area around them and not seeing anyone or anything, he kept a hand on the hilt of his sword as he got down to one knee, his other hand placed on top of her head to gently pet her to try and calm her down. "What's wrong? Who's here?" he asked.

Just then, a group of strangely-dressed men jumped out from over the canyon edges above them and landed on the three pathways below them, blocking each one so they couldn't get away. From first impressions of how they're dressed and the timing of this ambush, Tsuki thought they were part of a notoriously infamous thief guild that operated on a continental scale called Dark Wings. Through all of his travels so far, he had only encountered them once before months ago back when he first arrived in Crescentia where he met Lynette. However, his thoughts of them being a part of the Dark Wings were soon dismissed when he sensed a very different feeling coming off of them. They didn't appear to be bandits and the clothing appeared to be of foreign make as well.

Rein immediately drew his katana and assumed a defensive stance. The blade of his katana was jet-black lined with red, the hilt lined with a red cloth with a chain dangling from the bottom of the hilt. He looked around him and examined the people around them and it was just as he predicted. He knew it wouldn't take them long find their trail. "Sirione bounty hunters. What did I tell you? They must have caught onto Cesela's scent" he said.

This was the first time they had encountered fighters from Sirione. Their attire had a primitive look to them with various bones of different sizes strung together with thin cloth of various patterns. It was almost like what a tribe would wear. Suffice to say, the attire of the infamous Sirione bounty hunters didn't quite meet up to his expectations of what they would look like. "So, this is the Sitirone hunting squad, huh? I can't help but feel a little cheated with how you described them. They don't look all that tough, if you ask me" he said.

Rein shook his head, keeping his defensive stance up. "Don't underestimate them. Despite their primitive look, their techniques and fighting skills are a force to be reckoned with. There's a reason why Demi-humans and anyone who associate themselves with fear them" he said. He continued to scan around them, assessing each of the hunters.

The bounty hunters stood and stared at them in total silence. As Rein assessed them, they assessed Tsuki and Rein. After their gaze shifted down to Cesela, who was hiding behind Tsuki and holding onto his shirt, they drew their weapons which were two shortswords. Afterwards, the silence among the hunters was broken as tension in the air started to rise.

One of the bounty hunters, who appeared to be the leader of the squad, turned his gaze on Tsuki who deemed him the leader of his party. "You have a Demi-human with you. Where did you get it?" he asked in a low, aggressive tone as he referred to Cesela as an object.

The fact that the hunter called Cesela an "it", essentially an object, caused his right eye to twitch. It was obvious that he didn't like that comment but decided to keep his composure for the time being. "You talking about the young girl? What concern is it of yours of where I got her?" he asked.

The hunter took a glimpse of Cesela for a moment before looking back up at Tsuki."According to reports we've received, a group of Demi-humans have gone missing from a town southwest from here. The thing fits the description of one of the Demi-humans have gone missing. We've come to retrieve it" he said in a monotone, emotionless tone. It was clear he didn't consider Demi-humans living beings but instead objects.

His comments only made Tsuki's eye twitch more. It was tough hearing comments like that while keeping his composure. "I don't know what connection you have with her but judging from your vocal tone and attitude along with her reactions, it's abundantly clear that you two aren't exactly friends" he said.

The hunter shook his head, his emotionless attitude slowly giving rise to irritation as he gave Tsuki a rather sharp glare. "Friend or not, that is of none of your concern. Now, hand it over. The thing belongs to us. You don't want to get on our bad side" he said, pointing one of his swords at Tsuki, keeping a stone cold stare.

Tsuki returned the stone cold stare right back at the hunter leader when he, once again, referred Cesela as an object and claimed they like any other object, she belonged to them. The air around him started to grow heavy as his behavior suddenly started to change, his blue eyes turning red with a terrifying look on his face. "First off, she isn't an object. She is a living being. Second, she doesn't belong with scum like you. I suggest you back off and let us pass unless you want to leave this place in body bags" he said.

The bounty hunter leader was unfazed by his threat and intimidating look on his face. "I don't think you understand who you're dealing with, boy. Allow me to demonstrate what happens when you refuse to cooperate with Sirione bounty hunters" he said.

The bounty hunter leader lifted up his hand and within seconds, the hunter next to him vanished with blinding speed. His attack was so fast that it almost made it invisible to the naked eye, making it extremely difficult to block if not impossible. A precise hit would be very lethal. There was silence in the air once again as the wind whistled through the canyon pass until there was the sound of flesh being pierced filled the silence.

The hunter that had vanished was now within arm's reach of Tsuki. He appeared to have made a stabbing motion towards his heart with one of his shortswords. However, the hunter's hand that was holding the sword was being tightly held by Tsuki with the blade in-between his fingers, just inches away from his heart. Tsuki just barely saved himself being being pierced and further down in his right hand was an energized blade of red that had formed with the power of Materialization that had pierced the hunter all the way through his chest. The hunter didn't realize what had happened until he started to cough up blood. Moments later, the blade disappeared. Tsuki stepped away from the hunter, releasing his hand as the hunter dropped his shortswords and fell to the ground, already dead before hitting the ground. This caused unrest and shock among the remaining five hunters as they also didn't realize what had happened until it was too late. All they could do was look at each other as they tried to process what just happened.

The hunter leader who ordered the now dead hunter grew more angry as he worked through the confusion and processed the scene in his head. "W-what? How did you...? That's impossible!" he shouted. He kept switching his gaze from his dead hunter to Tsuki. His weapon was still sheathed to his waist but he clearly saw a red blade had pierced his dead hunter.

Tsuki's sudden personality change had shocked and surprised Rein. He had told him that he had the power of the Sigil and did his best to explain what it was capable of doing. Although, the explanation was still a little confusing to him and still sounded like something made up. However, feeling the air around them drastically shift with his behavior change along with the appearance of that mysterious blade was confirmation for him that what he had told him was true. Just being around Tsuki now sends chills down his spine, causing him to take a step back away from him. On the contrary, he noticed that Cesela appeared to be relatively unfazed about his change as she continued to cling onto him. "You're not bothered by this?" he asked.

Cesela looked back at Rein and shook her head. "No. He might seem a little scary right now but his scent is still the same. He won't harm us" she said.

Rein looked back at Tsuki and examined him for a moment. He appeared to be the same person but with the charged air around him, it felt like he was a different person completely. "The power of the Sigil, huh? It definitely feels like a frightening power. It's like he became a totally different person" he said.

Tsuki continued to glare at the hunter leader who shouted at him and talked down to Cesela. "I'll give you one last warning. Pull your hunters out of here and let us pass. You'll end up like your friend here if you don't" he said in a dark, aggressive tone.

The hunter only grew more angry and irritated that not only had Tsuki had taken down one of his hunters with extreme ease but confronted him with defiance. "You insolent little brat! I don't know what you did or how you did it but I will not allow you to make a mockery of us. We are the Sirione Bounty Hunters and we always complete our mission. Kill the men but leave the thing alive!" he shouted.

On his command, the five remaining hunters, charged at them. a five-on-two fight while protecting a child in a narrow passageway with each path leading out blocked isn't an ideal situation to be in especially if the opposing fighters are as skilled as the rumors suggest they are. It was a situation where they could easily find themselves backed into a corner.

Tsuki got down on to one knee and looked back at Cesela. "Hop on and hold on tight. I won't let them take you again" he said.

Cesela looked at him and nodded, climbing onto his back and her arms and legs around him, holding onto him tightly. "Be careful okay?" she asked. The fact that they were up against five Sirione hunters, people who work for the organization that gad forced her into slavery to do unspeakable things for a child and knowing what they were fully capable off did make her a little nervous to the point where her body trembled a bit but being in the presence of Tsuki helped her stay calm.

Tsuki gave her an assuring nod as he stood back up. "Don't worry. This will be over in a minute" he said.

Cesela gave him a warm smile, burying her face into the back of his neck, tightening her grip a bit to make sure she was fully secured. "Okay" she said.

Tsuki's attention then shifted to the hunters closing in on them as he looked around the area, assessing his options, drawing his sword. Two were within his view while the other three were behind them. His head turned to look at Rein, who he was back-to-back with. "Think you can handle three on your own?" he asked.

Rein scoffed at him a bit. "What you saw of me back at Sky Tower was the result of being worn down and exhausted from my fight with Flynn. Now that I have my full strength back, theses chumps will regret underestimating me" he said. He switched his defensive stance to an offensive one and within moments of doing so, the blade of his katana erupted in black flames. "Back in Nargelond, I'm not only known as a Dragon Rider. I'm also known as the Black Flame. Like you, I have my own ace in the hole" he said.

Without saying another word, the two lunged towards the approaching hunters. Tsuki clashed with the hunter leader first. Their blades grinded up against one another several times before he kicked the leader back, turning around to clash with the attacks of the other hunter that he had been dodging while taking on the leader. The other hunter seemed a little slower in his attack than the leader was so the difference between their strengths was pretty clear. After blocking some of his attacks while dodging several more, the leader charged at him again while his attention was focused on the other hunter, thrusting his swords forward in a lunging motion. Tsuki jumped back, dodging both of their attacks and put some distance between them. Afterwards, he plunged the blade of his sword into the ground next to him. Moments later, his fists were enveloped in a red-like mist before what appeared to be energized gauntlets formed that went up slightly past his wrists. He then slammed the gauntlets together as red sparks erupted from the gauntlets before slamming one first onto the ground. The impact had enough force that it caused a shockwave which caused both hunters to stop abruptly and thrown off-balance. Seeing how the second hunter was more open and vulnerable, Tsuki leaped forward and slammed his left fist into his stomach with intense, bone-crushing force, sending him crashing into the canyon walls. When the dust settled, the second hunter appeared to be dead as he laid motionless as blood dripped out of his mouth. This only made the hunter leader more furious. However, the more angry he became, the more sloppy his attacks became. He soon charged at him with near blind fury. His careful and precise attacks became easier to read. He dodged several more of his attacks before jumping back once more, pulling his sword out from the ground as the hunter leader lunged at him in blind fury. As he charged at him, he twirled is sword around so that the blade was pointing behind him and tossed it straight at the hunter with force and speed. The hunter just managed to dodge it only to find Tsuki within arm's reach of him. With no time for him to react, Tsuki slammed his right first into his stomach just like the other hunter, sending him crashing into the opposite canyon wall. He had applied the same amount of force in his attack just like the other hunter and when the dust settled once more, he appeared to be dead as well.

Meanwhile, as Tsuki fought with his two hunters with relative ease, Rein had a bit of a harder time handling three enemies at once as they all attacked him in complete unison and sync. However, he kept a calm and collective head as he formed various strategies in his head. Even outnumbered, he never ceased forming strategies. He had came to the conclusion to isolate each of the hunters and eliminate them accordingly. Movements with a katana compared to an average sword is more nimble. Soon, he jumped back and then held up his katana up so the blade was over his left shoulder. The flames covering the blade started to pulse and moments later, he swung his katana in a diagonal motion, releasing a arching wave of black flames. The attack was aimed at two of the hunters. One cut right through the flames while the other slid underneath it while the third hunter found himself isolated. Rein then took his chance since he was open and rushed at him. In one smooth motion, he put his left hand up to the hunter's chest and shot black flames at him that appeared to pierce him like a blade. However, there was nothing that resembled a puncture wound of any kind. The only thing that was visible was a burn mark. Rein soon backed away from the hunter as he dropped his swords and fell to the ground. His attention then went to the other two hunters that were now charging at him again. One of the hunters broke off on his own as they got closer to Rein and it would be a mistake that would cost him his life. He lifted his swords up over his head and swung down over his head. Rein blocked the attack and then swung his katana upwards in an arcing motion, breaking their clash and throwing the hunter off-balance. He then held his katana in a way that the blade was pointing out behind him. He soon fell into a meditative state for a moment. Within moments, he seemingly vanished into the thin air and soon appeared behind the hunter. What appeared to be vanishing into thin air was actually not true. It was as if time around Rein had slowed down to a crawl when he charged forward and made some quick slashes at the hunter who, to him, appeared to be moving very slowly. Not long after he had appeared behind the hunters, blood soon erupted from several different areas from the hunters. His attack wasn't a simple one slash attack. It was more like five consecutive attacks combo of slashes that were unseen to the naked eye. The hunter dropped the ground, dead before he even hit the ground. As this point, five of the six hunters that had ambushed them had been struck down with ease. The remaining hunter was starting to falter as all of his comrades laid dead before him, causing him to take a step back and reaching for something in his pocket. Not wanting to end up like his comrades, he took out what appeared to be a smoke bomb and tossed it onto the ground. Smoke then erupted and filled the canyon for several seconds. When the smoke cleared up, the hunter was gone.

With the hunters gone, silence soon filled the canyon once again. All that they could hear was the whistling of the wind through the passageways. Rein kept his guard up just in case they had reappeared, scanning the canyon walls above them. "Are they gone?" he asked.

Cesela sniffed the air in the canyon as it was pretty well concentrated due to the narrow passageways. After several moments of sniffing, she nodded. "Yes. I don't smell them anymore. It looks like they're all gone now" she said.

Rein soon nodded, making one last look around him and soon the black flames around his blade disappeared before he sheathed his katana. "Having experienced the hunters themselves, it would appear that the rumors about them weren't kidding. They put up more of a fight than most others I've come across" he said. This was just one situation where the hunters were unaware of what they were capable of. If they had encountered hunters who knew who they were and what they can do, the fight would have been much different.

Tsuki soon became short on breath. "Yeah...no kidding" he said in-between breaths. Moments later, his eyes turned back to the normal dark blue color as he was released from the Sigil's power rather abruptly, dropping down to one knee. It was like most of his energy had been sucked out of him. Like power being suddenly cut from electronics.

Cesela immediately climbed off his back and knelt down beside him, her hand on his shoulder to make sure that he was okay. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked with concern in her voice.

Tsuki took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. "I'm fine. I just used too much of the Sigil's power in a short period of time" he asked. It was true that he has used a lot of its power in a short amount of time. He had used his power to fight Flynn and again to protect them as they fell from Sky Tower until they reached the safety of the shoreline. Those two instances alone had surely drained a significant amount of its power. Having used it again without much time to recover seems to have taken its toll on him.

Rein walked up to Tsuki and held out his hand to help him stand up. "Try not to use it for a while. Misuse of power of that level can definitely have a negative effect on your body" he said.

Tsuki looked up at Rein and took his hand so he could stand up. Afterwards, he sheathed his sword. He noticed that Cesela was still giving him a rather concerned look as she clung onto his shirt. He gave her a gentle pat on the head, giving her a reassuring smile. "Well, at least we have an understanding of how tough Sirione's hunters so now we can be better prepared for them next time" he said.

Rein shook his head as he continued to show off defiance for Sirione. "I wouldn't get too comfortable. There are a lot of tough fighters from Sirione and now that they know who we are and that we' have Cesela with us, they're bound to show up again in much greater force. This is just the beginning"

Tsuki shook his head as he stared off into the distance towards the north which their direction lied. "Let them come then. I want them to know that a war is coming" he said. He then continued down the path that led down towards the north.

Cesela followed him as Rein watched him for a bit. After a moment, he shrugged his shoulders. "Well, he's got spunk, if nothing else" he said. He briefly looked around the area. "We shouldn't have let that hunter escape. I have a feeling that we're going to regret that" he said to himself. He then followed both of them down the path, leading out of the canyon.

They soon made it out of the canyon and into a vast, open field. Scattered around the open plain were small settlements, various farmlands, tall hills and a massive forest to the northwest way off into the distance. Beyond the massive forest, mountains of snow could be seen. However, their goal was somewhere in the forest. After taking several minutes to take in the sights, they started to make their way across the open field.

As they crossed the fields, they made brief stops at the settlements that they came across to rest up and stock up on some much needed supplies. The local monster variety were of the boar, bear, tanuki and wolf family. The temperature was pretty cool due to the cold winds coming from the nearby snowy region. Not too hot but not too cold. Plant life and vegetation flourished with ease despite the cool temperature. With all the stops they made at the settlements and farmlands, it took them the whole day to cross the fields to reach the forest. When they eventually arrived, they decided to take a couple minutes to rest up before proceeding as they are not sure what to be expecting within the forest.

Tsuki sat down on a nearby rock just outside of the forest. It had been about four hours since they last left the last settlement so he was pretty bushed from all the walking and fighting. "Whew...these fields were a lot tougher to cross than the previous ones" he said.

Rein leaned up against one of the trees, looking up into the sky. He closed his eyes as he felt the wind blow through the trees and across his face."Esseand has some beautiful landscapes. Nothing like Nargelond where all you see is mountains and wasteland at every corner. I had heard stories from travelers but to see it with my own eyes and explore these landscapes is breathtaking" he said.

Cesela sniffed the air coming from the forest. She could very faintly catch the whiff of a familiar presence. "I smell...Demi-humans deep within the forest somewhere. Although, there's something that's preventing me from exactly pinpointing where they're all located" she said, wagging her tail.

Tsuki looked over into the forest but all he could see was endless brush. It just seemed like a normal forest to him. "So, this is their hidden sanctuary, huh?" he said.

Rein pushed himself off the tree and nodded. "Yes. Somewhere within these woods lies the hidden village which is secretly protected by Esseand" he said.

Tsuki could feel as if they were being watched from within the brush. However, he couldn't see anything nor could Cesela sniff them out. "We'd better move with caution. We don't know how they are going to react when they see us walking in on them. Chances are, we'll be met with some hostility of sort" he said.

Cesela crew a bit anxious when Tsuki mentioned that they might have a hostile encounter. She didn't want to have to fight against her own kind. "We won't have to fight them...right?" she asked. They were of her own kind, after all. She didn't want to see anyone engaging in a fight.

Tsuki placed a hand on top of her head and had pet her gently. "Don't worry. If they show us any hostility, we'll surrender our weapons. I don't have any intentions of fighting them to begin with" he said. The Demi-humans weren't his enemies. In fact, if he could get them on his side, that could serve extremely beneficial for him later on down the road. He then turned over to Rein. "Is that alright with you?" he asked.

Rein shrugged. "It's fine with me. I want to learn more about Sirione anyway and I have a feeling that the Demi-humans here can provide us with some useful information" he said. They really had nothing to gain by making enemies where it wasn't necessary.

Tsuki nodded and looked down at Cesela. "I know you're probably tired but hang in there for just a little bit longer" he said. They were all pretty worn out and tired at this point but it would be wise to continue to push on since they have no safe place to turn to for shelter.

Cesela looked up at Tsuki, giving him a confident expression. "I'll be fine. Let's push on!" she said with excitement. She wasn't as adapted to long periods of travel as Tsuki and Rein were and due to her young age, she didn't have much endurance. However, her determination and excitement to see her own kind again keeps her pretty motivated to press on.

Without further delay, they pushed on into the forest. However, as soon as they disappeared through the brush, a group of shadow figures in familiar attire followed them in silence, keeping their distance from them. As they pushed on, the feeling of being watched never went away. If anything, the deeper they went, the stronger the gaze felt. They fought monsters of the bear, fairy, boar and insect variety as they made their way through the brush. Since there were no specific paths to rely on, they were pretty much walking blind. Cesela's keen sense of smell is all they had to go on and even that was pretty limited due to the fact that she was unable to point them in a specific direction. With no discernible path, it was pretty easy to get lost due to how similar everything looked.

After about an hour or so of what seemed to be endless walking, they eventually reached a different sight: a clearing. Within the clearing, there appeared to be a play area of sorts. There were swing sets, jungle gyms and anything you would see on a children's playground. However, it was completely deserted but also appeared to be kept in pretty good shape. No one was around the clearing but there were definite signs that people were around the area.

Cesela sniffed the air once more as her ears twitched and tail wagged excitedly. The smell of Demi-humans was especially strong in the clearing. "I can really smell them now. We're very close" she said. She then started to wander off ahead of them and headed towards the playground.

Tsuki looked around the clearing as he scanned through the brush when Cesela wandered off on her own. He didn't want her to run off on her own as he didn't know what was around them. They were in the middle of unknown territory where anything could happen. "Hey, don't go wandering off on your own!" he said.

Just as he said that, arrows suddenly shot out from the trees at Cesela. With a quick reaction, Tsuki charged forward and threw himself between Cesela and and the arrows, "Aura Barrier!" he shouted. Light blue mist formed around both of his hands as he held them out on either side of him. Moments later, an energy barrier formed around them before the arrows got too close. The arrows impacted the barrier and bounced off and plunged into the ground around them. No matter how many arrows came flying down at them, nothing was able to break through his barrier.

Rein soon ran up to them as the rain of arrows ceased, standing beside them as he scanned through the brush of the trees. They were now at a disadvantage as they were now out in the open and in the middle of the clearing. They had little to no options. "Are you guys okay!?" he said, grabbing onto the hilt of his katana.

Tsuki looked around as the barrier disappeared. Just like before though, he didn't see anyone in the brush. However, he kept his guard up nonetheless. "Are we under attack?" he asked.

Rein shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. "No, it's not an attack. It's a warning" he said. He couldn't see the the people that launched the hail of arrows but he definitely sensed multiple people converging on them.

As if on cue, seven people rushed out of the treeline and quickly surrounded them with arrows attached to their bowstrings and had them aimed at them. The people who surrounded them had ears and tails of different types of Faeries which meant that they were Demi-humans.

One of the Demi-humans who had ears and a tail of a wolf glared at them. He had a scar over his left eye, long brown hair that went down past his shoulders and a rather displeased look on his face. "No sudden moves now. Attempt to draw your weapons and we will release these arrows" he said.

Tsuki was careful with his movements. He made sure that his hands were always visible. "Alright. Let's all just calm down now. No need for pointless bloodshed" he said.

Another Demi-human with ears and a tail of a dog with spiky black hair and leaves in his hair and stuck to his attire examined Tsuki and Rein carefully. "Who are you? What are you humans doing here?" he asked.

Rein stood still as he examined the Demi-humans around them. They appeared very ill-equipped to be on guard duty and were very trigger happy. "Relax, We've come with no ill intent" he said, trying to diffuse the tension in the air.

A third Demi-human with ears and a tail of a bear looked down at Cesela, pointing his arrow at her. "You expect us to believe that you came with no ill-intent when you have one of our kind with you!?" he shouted. In this day and age of Demi-humans, the only reason one would be with a human is because of a slave contract.

Cesela froze in place when the Demi-human pointed his arrow at her, causing her to cling onto Tsuki's leg. This upset Tsuki as his eyes suddenly turned red, glaring at him. "You dare point your weapon at a defenseless child?" he asked in a deep tone.

The air around them grew heavy with tension around them. Then, there was total silence as they all entered a staring contest. That is, until the silence was broken by the sound of approaching hands clapping. Several Demi-humans as well as Tsuki looked back towards the opposite side of the clearing and saw a middle-aged man escorted by better equipped guards came up to them.

The middle-aged man had curly brown hair that went down to his shoulders. He was wearing a cloak with a strange symbol on the back. At first glance, he appeared to be an ordinary old man but there was something about him that felt different. Once he walked between the Demi-humans that had surrounded them, he waved his hand to the side. "That is quite enough. Is this any way to treat our guests?" he asked.

The Demi-human with wolf ears and a tail looked over at the middle-aged man. "But Elder! They're humans and judging from their looks, they don't appear to be humans from Esseand! Not only that but they have a Demi-human child with her! Who knows what kind of oppression they've directed on her!" he shouted in protest.

The middle-aged man simply shook his head. "You need to be more observant. Take a look at her. Does she look oppressed to you? Why would she cling onto him so tightly if she were? Why would this human put himself in harms way not once but twice to protect her?" he asked, pointing at Cesela. She was still hiding behind Tsuki, holding onto his leg tightly. She exhibited no fear of being around Tsuki but rather feelings of warmth and the overall feeling of being comfortable around him. "If that isn't good enough, then why isn't she chained to a collar? There isn't a slave trader or owner that wouldn't chain an enslaved Demi-human" he said.

The wolf Demi-human was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say since what he did say made complete sense to him. "Well..." he said. He tried to come up with a reason but nothing would come to his mind.

None of the other Demi-humans could think of a reason either. When silence emerged from the group, they slowly lowered their bows and loosened their pull on their bowstrings. Once hostilities went away, Tsuki's eye color turned back to dark blue and returned to his normal behavior.

Then, the middle-aged man approached them. "I'm sorry for the rude welcome. It's not often that we get total strangers around these parts, much less seeing them with a Demi-human who isn't enslaved. My name is Ryoka Himawari. I'm the Elder of this hidden village" he said.

Tsuki examined the man as he approached them. He may look like an ordinary old man but he could sense that there was far more to him than appearances led him to believe. After he introduced himself, he bowed to him. "Pardon our sudden intrusion. My name is Tsuki Himura. The man behind me is Rein Rivers and the girl is Cesela" he said, point to Rein and Cesela.

Ryoka looked at them, giving them a brief examination before nodding himself. "I imagine you came here with a purpose. Let's go to my house and we can discuss things more privately" he said.

With a nod, they were then escorted to the other side of the clearing. The watchmen returned to where they came from into the woods. The forest then fell silent once again. However, several shadow figures could be sen moving along the treeline from where they came from as well.

To be continued...