Faith and I started walking over to where Nickoli was.
Judging from his posture, he seemed a little more assured than before, though he was still on his hands and knees.
"Hey Nickoli, are you alright?" I asked.
"Y-yeah, I feel a little better now, though I'm still unsure of where or why we are here," he said with worry.
"Whatever that big blue hourglass told you, it told us, so we only know as much as each other," Faith remarked.
"The more I look around, the more confused I get. We seem to be in a big grassy field surrounded by a forest. While that's nothing out of the ordinary for me, I saw a castle and what looked like a few villages in the distance," I said.
"Yeah, I get what you mean. We may come from different universes or Earth or whatever, but I'm pretty certain I can speak for everyone when I say that they are not normal," Faith agreed.
"Yeah, at least we're not alone. I can't imagine being transported to a barren empty world. That would seriously shake me," I said sheepishly.
Still, though we may not be alone, it doesn't mean that people are friendly. In normal stories where the MC gets transported to another world, they usually receive a warm reception after a summoning. I mean, we got summoned, but instead of ending up in some castle or whatever, we are in some random field in the middle of nowhere. Well, I wouldn't say random field, considering...
I trailed off and looked at the top right of my field of view.
[Willowing Fields - 24:23:27:52]
Well, we knew where we were, just not exactly sure of where or what it is. Either way, we were thrust into a very precarious situation.
"Anyway, we should probably get a lay of the land first and figure out where we are," Faith said.
"Any idea on how we can figure out where we are?" Nickoli asked half-heartedly.
I do remember seeing a village or something that looked like one some distance north, well past the forest, but it shouldn't be that far.
"I remember seeing a village a bit north from here. We can probably head there," I said.
"Does that mean we have to go through the forest?" Nickoli said, now looking scared.
"I see no other way. There are no paths or anything to take. Plus, even if there were, I don't want to be attacked by bandits or something," I said.
"True, though that doesn't mean we won't be attacked in the middle of the forest. We should probably change our weapons or whatever you did. How did you do it, anyway?" Faith said, pointing at my leaf gun.
"I mean, whenever I read the help menu, it just said that I can absorb things to unlock weapon forms. So, I just put some grass into it, and bam, I unlocked this leaf gun," I said, inspecting the gem on my gun.
"I see... Let me try that real quick," Faith said, grabbing a few handfuls of grass and letting the gem near the cockpit of the small biplane on her back absorb it.
Suddenly, the plane on her back changed form. While it didn't change size or shape much, it now seemed to be made out of grass instead of wood and tarp or whatever they used for old planes.
"Wow! That's pretty cool! I unlocked the Leaf Plane, apparently," Faith said excitedly.
I could see Nickoli taking an interest as he observed Faith absorbing the grasses. He started doing the same with the gem on his tankette. which then also morphed and changed shape into a tankette made out of grass and shrubbery. That would actually be pretty useful for modern-day tanks. Having a fully camouflaged tank would be invaluable.
Faith seemed a bit confused as I rubbed my chin while staring at Nickoli's tankette.
"Are you alright, Alex?" she asked sheepishly, waving a hand in front of my face.
"Oh, my bad. It's nothing. Anyways, we should try to unlock a few more weapon forms or whatever. They seem to improve our power a little, considering the supposed stat increase," I remarked.
"Fair point, I'll look around the area, I guess," Faith said before turning around and walking away.
"Be sure to stay in the fields!" I yelled.
I turned around and looked around to see if I could find anything else to absorb. I started picking up items like mushrooms, a few flowers, and what looked like herbs. So far, nothing. Maybe only the leaf gun can be unlocked with these things. Then again, even after absorbing a few pebbles, I can't seem to unlock a rock gun.
It appears I have reached a dead end. There doesn't seem to be anything else of value lying around. I notice the knife that Faith dropped earlier, but given my previous experience, I don't want to be zapped again. The thought of it sends shivers down my spine.
I decided to sit down for a while and reminisce. A lot has happened, after all. Being transported to another world, getting my butt kicked by Faith, then forgiving each other, all in the span of a few minutes.
I sighed and laid my head on the grass, looking up at the clear sky. At least this world has one sun too. The air feels fresher, sort of. I can't really explain it, but it feels clearer and easier to breathe. Maybe that's why I was able to catch my breath faster than usual after being chased.
I guess pollution can't really exist since factories also don't exist. I'm pretty sure if the people in this world are using castles, they're still far from machines.
Amidst my thoughts, I saw a glimmer on my right side. I turned to see the hourglass, but something seemed off. I looked a little closer and noticed that, for some reason, a small pile of sand from the inside was near the rim.
My curiosity was piqued. I got up and walked over to it. I grabbed a small handful and rubbed it between my fingers. Interesting. It feels exactly like normal sand, but at the same time, it doesn't. I sense this weird aura from it. I'm not sure, but maybe I'll unlock a sand gun or something if I absorb it.
I probably didn't notice it the moment I was near the hourglass due to the circumstances, but still, anything helps, I guess. I'm not really sure what a sand gun would look like, but the gem on the gun didn't mind as it absorbed the sand. After a few small scoops of it, it seemed like I unlocked something.
Just like when I unlocked the leaf gun, a tech tree-like display opened up in my vision. The view went farther away from the center compared to the leaf gun, which was near the middle. Maybe this is a higher-level weapon that I'm not supposed to get. If so, this is great.
However, my weapon form didn't change. It stayed as a leaf pistol. Normally, it automatically transforms into a new form. I tried clicking on the icon with the weapon form name. It was apparently called the "Dragon Hourglass Sand Rifle."
Maybe I haven't met the requirements to use it yet. That's something some games do to prevent newer players from using overpowered equipment from their friends. I double-checked, and sure enough, it required a level of 50.
Yeah, I'm not going to reach that anytime soon, especially considering I don't even know how to gain more levels or experience points, or whatever they use to level up. Maybe there are monsters or something we could use to level up, though if there are, we should probably not jump the first monster or mob that we see.
"Well, that's just dandy. I unlocked a new weapon form, and a rifle at that, but I can't even use it," I grumbled to myself.
"Hey, um, Alex, was it? Did you find any new materials for our weapons?" Nickoli said timidly, surprising me.
I guess I was too entranced in the menu to worry about my surroundings. I didn't even notice Nickoli approaching, even though he's the most noticeable among the three of us, now riding around inside his tankette.
"Yeah, I did. This sand here seems to unlock a new weapon form, but for some reason, I can't use it," I said, pointing to the pile of sand near the hourglass.
"Give me some. Maybe it will let me unlock it," Nickoli asked, reaching for the sand.
I grabbed a big handful and put it into Nickoli's hands, some of the sand slipping and falling to the ground. He did the same as I did, absorbing the sand into the gem on the tankette. I assumed his menu opened up as well since he was touching what seemed to be the air.
"Yeah, I can't use it either. I think it's locked out or something," Nickoli said with a defeated tone.
"Don't worry, we'll just have to keep looking," I said, patting his shoulder confidently.
I'm not exactly the best at inspiring or helping people. The most I can do is try to speak some encouraging words and hope they stick.
"Yeah, whatever," Nickoli said, still looking defeated as he rode away.
Damn, whatever. If we're going to be teaming up, I really need to figure out how to talk to him properly. I guess I can ask Faith since she had more luck than me. I'm not sure if it's due to how she said it or if Nickoli is one of those people who won't listen until a girl talks to him.
It's rude to assume, so I'll stop thinking about it.
I decided to look for Faith and tell her about the sand that can unlock her new weapon form. Information is power, after all, and in this case, we need all the information we can get. However, when I scanned the area, I noticed she wasn't nearby.
"Where in the world... Well, technically worlds now, did she go?" I said to myself while looking around.
I was taken aback by an ear-piercing scream, well, more like a screech, but still ear-piercing nonetheless.
I focused on the source of the scream, which seemed to be in the forest surrounding our area. I was unsure whether it was the scream of a person or an animal, considering how high-pitched and loud it was. Either way, I couldn't ignore it.
I ran in the direction of the scream. On the way, I also heard sounds that resembled gunshots, but not exactly. They were louder with deeper bass. I wasn't sure how to properly describe them. I got close to the origin only to see Faith's arm bleeding while she was on the ground, and Nickoli on his tankette in front of her.
I got closer and kneeled down near them to see what was going on. Clearly, something had happened if she was bleeding.
"Shit. Fuck. Shit. Fuck," Faith repeated under her breath.
"Are you alright? What happened?!" I asked, semi-panicked. I was unsure if it was a deep wound or something else.
"I was just trying to find materials for my gem to absorb, then I was attacked by whatever the hell that is!" She yelled, pointing to a group of small blue triangles on the ground.
"Do you mean you got stabbed by a triangle or something?" I asked, puzzled.
Actually, now that I think about it, they looked more like prisms or pyramids, if anything. I guess this is why I almost failed geometry.
"Look closer, you idiot," I heard Nickoli yell in between firing the small cannon, well, less of a cannon and more like a big gun, on his tankette.
Where did all this confidence come from? Just earlier, he sounded defeated and depressed, and now he was yelling at me. An amazing switch-up, if you ask me. There's no point dwelling on it, I guess.
I looked closer and could see that the tips of the pyramids were slightly open. I saw what looked like small teeth lining the inside of them, so I'll assume that those things attacked Faith.
"So, what happened to sticking to the fields and staying out of the forest?" I asked Faith condescendingly.
"Listen, how the hell was I supposed to know that those things can fight back? I thought they were just weird blocks or something, not, you know, living fucking things!" She yelled at me.
The pyramid-looking animals, monsters? I don't even know at this point, then started throwing themselves at Nickoli's tank, but they luckily just bounced off. Nickoli was actually making quick work of them. The gun on his tank fired pretty slowly, but it seemed to kill those things in one shot.
What's even weirder is that they don't seem to bleed. They shatter, and their parts remain where they were standing. I decided to focus on them a little. If this were like a game, I should be able to see their stats, like their health or something like that.
Small Blue Ilumi
I could see their names now, and there was also a small bar below them. I guess that indicates health. This really does feel like a game, the more I discover.
"Are you going to help?! Or are you going to aggressively glare at them to death?!" I heard Nickoli yelling. I mean, he does bring up a fair point, I guess.
I got up from where I was and took the gun off my side, or rather, hoisted it. I should probably change it to the Basic Pistol, considering it comes with +3 attack compared to the Leaf Pistol which has gathering.
"So, do I have to go to the menu or something?" I asked myself, puzzled.
The gun then magically morphed into the small Basic Pistol that I had originally. The soft and comfy grip of the Leaf Pistol was now replaced with the cold metallic feel of the small pistol. No point in complaining, though.
I got up from my kneeling position and stood next to Nickoli's tankette. Alright, let's just hope this isn't realistic enough to make me miss every single shot with this gun.
I looked down the iron sights, gripping the gun with both hands and aimed at one of the triangles that were seemingly rolling toward me. Well, I wouldn't call it rolling... okay, I should focus.
I fired one shot, and the recoil bounced the gun back to hit my face.
"Ow, I should have expected that, to be honest," I said to myself while rubbing where the gun hit me.
"HEY, LOOK OUT!"
"Huh?" I turned in the direction of the yell. It was Faith, and she was pointing at something.
I turned back around to see one of the Ilumi, or whatever the hell they are, jumping straight at me. I was able to quickly react and dodge it, then again, it was pretty slow.
"Did I just not shoot it?! Shouldn't that be enough to kill it?!" I said, panicked.
"I don't even know at this point. Stop being a baby and just shoot until it stops moving!" Nickoli yelled.
"You don't have to be an ass about it, sheesh," I said annoyed, while aiming my gun again, this time not glued to my face.
I fired a couple of shots at the Ilumi that attacked me. It took around 2 more before it finally broke. I guess real-world logic is thrown out the window here, considering that if this were real life, one bullet would have been enough to destroy that thing.
"Hey! Are you done thinking now, or are you finally going to help?!" Nickoli yelled at me again.
I was getting pretty sick of his attitude. What happened to the whole crying act he had going on? It might have all been an act for all I know. I couldn't care less at this point.
I began switching from target to target, firing a few shots each time. I'll say this now, it's nothing like the games. Usually, you would fire, and the aim would revert back to normal after a little recoil.
In this case, I shot, and the gun almost jumped out of my hand, and I had to re-aim my sights again. It was pretty tiring after the first few shots. That's why I kept it to short bursts to conserve what little strength I had.
I think I should have listened to my friend Justin about working on my upper body, as I completely disregarded it in favor of just doing cardio. Being in the gym would have been doing wonders for me. There's no point in complaining now, I guess.
After taking out around 8-9 more of those Ilumi, the rest of the group seemed to have dispersed elsewhere. It seems Nickoli got most of them. I think I only got the final shot on 3-4 of them. Good. I'd rather see them gone than have them try to bite my face off any day of the week.
Then, an indicator appeared in my field of view.
EXP + 8
EXP, experience points if I remember correctly. I also saw what seemed to be a bar go from empty to almost halfway, with a larger number at the top indicated by the words "LV," which I assume stands for level. There was an arrow that went from 1 to 2. I guess that means I'm around halfway to leveling up.
"Faith, are you alright? How bad is the bleeding?"
Shoot, I completely forgot about Faith in the heat of the moment. Oops, I guess. I turned around again, and Faith was now seemingly slowing the bleeding by ripping part of her cloak as a makeshift bandage.
"Is it still bleeding badly, or has it subsided?" I asked while holstering the gun on my hip.
"What do you think?!" Faith responded angrily while pointing at her bleeding arm.
"I think you should learn how to listen, that's what," I snapped back.
Faith then got up and started to walk up to me.
"Do I need to give you another kick in the stomach, you little-"
"You know what, forget it. Nickoli, tend to her wounds. You guys can deal with this," I said with an exasperated sigh as I turned around and walked away.
I swear these two are getting more annoying by the second. I thought at least Faith would be calm, but I guess she doesn't know when to listen. Nickoli is a whole other case. Earlier he was crying and shit, and now he's acting all high and mighty.
There's no point in getting mad about it. We are heroes, at least I know the weapons don't choose us based on our personality traits. Considering those two aren't acting like heroes at all. I'm not saying I'm a hero, far from it, but there's not much I can do anyway.
Plus, if we end up hating each other, it will just be bad for everyone. The people, well, hopefully, people. I don't want to save a bunch of aliens or something. Anyways, it will end badly, period—for us and for everyone else.
Oh yeah, before I forget, Faith said she tried to absorb those Ilumi earlier, but they fought back and she couldn't. I wonder if I can absorb their fragments. I decided to put my theory to the test by walking over to where the remains of an Ilumi were.
I scooped up the bits and pieces of its remains and let my gem absorb them. Like before, a popup appeared in my field of vision and covered my view.
Small Blue Pistol
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +2 Attack
My gun then changed form. While it remained metallic, it now looked like it had a coating of blue color. It had a +2 attack bonus compared to the starter pistol I had, so I decided to switch back to it. I then holstered it so I wouldn't have to carry it in my hand, not that it was heavy, which was weird, but whatever.
Hmm, this has got me curious now. While the Ilumi remains were only able to unlock a worse weapon form, I wonder if there are monsters nearby that could unlock a better attack increase than the +3. Then again, considering it took multiple shots to kill even one, a small increase in the single digits won't do much, probably.
"Hey, I know you're thinking right now, but I think we have more urgent matters," Nickoli said as he waved his hand in front of me to grab my attention.
My goodness, I really have to work on my zoning out. If I did this in the middle of a battle, I would probably get hurt. I'll keep that in mind for future reference.
"Faith is bleeding pretty badly, not enough to die, but still, if not properly patched, it could lead to a severe infection," he continued.
"Hmm, I have an idea, though it's pretty risky. Then again, it technically is our only option," I said.
"What is it?" Nickoli asked.
"I saw a village at a distance from here while I was looking around. We could go there and possibly ask for medical help," I said.
While they might not even speak our language, they will probably understand our gestures when pointing to an injured person. Well, hopefully. I don't want them to see our gesturing as a sign of aggression and attack us. While this world may not make guns a one-shot kill, they should still have some effect on people.
"Yeah, that can work," I heard Faith groan out as the adrenaline wore off, I assume.
"Hey, Nickoli, can you fit Faith on the back of your tankette?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I can. What, you want me to carry her around?" he asked.
"Yep, exactly," I responded.
"Guys, I'm not crippled or anything," Faith said as she struggled to get up. "I can walk on my own."
"Doesn't matter. We don't want the bleeding to get worse, do we? And at least on the back, it will reduce the chances of her being hurt again. That's the last thing we need—a worse injury," I said condescendingly.
"I guess you make a good point," I heard her whisper as she got on the back of the tankette.
"Well, at least you listen sometimes," I whispered under my breath.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Nothing, I had something stuck in my throat. Well then, let's get a move on. Be sure to keep an eye out, at least for any more Ilumi or whatever. If I remember correctly, it was north from here, so we should just need to go straight to reach it," I remarked as I began walking, with them following suit.
We began our heroic quest... of looking for medical equipment. I mean, with a teammate not willing to listen and Mr. Switch-a-Personality, there is only so much you can do before something goes wrong.
The forest was pretty dense compared to the ones I see on the way home. It's almost as if they have remained untouched by humans for a long period of time. Not that I know what that would look like. Due to the steady growth of our town, the only real forest would be on the far outskirts. The few trees in town are mostly for decoration or some other purpose.
I don't know why, but it does sadden me a bit that the natural nature of my world was overtaken by typical American suburbs. But that is growth. Without growth, you remain stagnant, and to remain stagnant is to die. Such is life.
We continued to walk through the forest, coming across more of those blue triangles in small groups. We made quick work of them, killing them before they even got within striking range. Luckily, their striking range was only a few inches, so they never had a chance to begin with. Considering both Nickoli and I were able to back up and fire away if needed.
After the second group we encountered was killed, the bar in my field of vision that appeared next to the EXP amount I apparently gained became full. The larger numbers at the top glowed a little, and the "1" became a "2," along with a group of stat names that appeared with numbers.
The numbers all increased, and then the view returned to normal with the bar now empty and the larger numbers with arrows going from 2 to 3. I assume that means I leveled up or something along those lines.
"I think I leveled up. Did you also just see a number turn from 1 to 2, Nickoli?" I asked him.
"Oh, that? That appeared a little while ago from the last group. I didn't really get what that meant," he responded honestly.
"That just means you got stronger or something. That's what I'm guessing, at least," I said.
"Oh, that's great! So does that mean if we kill more of these things, we will increase in strength?" he asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I guess so. We should focus on our main task of getting Faith medical help before wanting to level up more. I think just fighting these Ilumi on the way should be enough to get us to maybe level 3 or so," I responded.
As we continued on our path in the dense forest, we kept encountering smaller groups of Ilumi. I tried to absorb more of their remains to see if it would unlock variations, but nothing happened yet. Collecting extra materials wouldn't hurt, though. I might need them in the future for something.
Finally, we came across something semi-challenging as we faced a monster called a "Red Ilumi." They were larger than the small blue Ilumi, but they only came in pairs, so Nickoli and I each took one out with relative ease.
I was a bit worried because they seemed to move faster than their smaller counterparts. However, they did give us more EXP, so that's a positive. I absorbed them into my gem along with the other two and unlocked a new weapon form.
Small Red Gun
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +3 Attack
That did worry me a little, though. If there is a small Ilumi and a normal one, there should also be a larger one. Hopefully, it's not much more challenging. Fingers crossed. Then again, if it is, I might finally unlock a stronger pistol. That's always an incentive to try and obtain the remains of one.
"Hey, did you guys have to face monsters in your previous worlds?" I asked both Faith and Nickoli.
"Unless you consider The Slingers human monsters, then no. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if their skin peeled off to reveal scales," Nickoli said sternly. I guess I might have hit a nerve.
"No, well maybe the occasional alligator in the sewer system, but that at least looks alive compared to those damn triangles," she said, annoyed.
"I see," I responded nonchalantly.
I guess these guys had rougher backgrounds than me. I consider myself pretty lucky not to be born into a financially struggling family. Still, now my curiosity is piqued about their backstories. I'll be sure to ask them whenever we finally catch a break.
"I may be bleeding, but taking a relatively calm stroll through a real forest feels great compared to being in the A District," Faith exclaimed from the back of the tankette.
"Don't you guys have Central Park to go to whenever you want?" I asked, a bit confused.
"No? Well, I guess for you, yes. The Germans replaced the park with apartment complexes before I was born," she recalled with a tone of sadness in her voice.
"I never get to see the park since that's where the Delverado gang is based," Nickoli butted in.
"I see. So I guess my world was really the only one where you could go into it," I said.
"Guess so," both of them responded.
There was a sense of awkward silence as we continued walking along the forest floor. The sound of leaves crunching under our feet and the tracks of the tanks turning filled the air. Normally, a group of Ilumi would have attacked by now, but it had been awfully quiet on their part for a while.
Suddenly, an area of shrubbery a bit ahead of us began rustling. Nickoli quickly responded by firing a shot into it, as that usually takes out or injures the Ilumi. However, it continued rustling, and I saw a large yellow triangle floating out of it.
"What the hell is that?!" I heard Faith yell.
I focused on it, and its name appeared.
Large Yellow Ilumi
"It's an Ilumi, a large one!" I yelled back.
"I don't care! Just start blasting!" Nickoli yelled as he began firing at it.
I followed suit and started shooting at it. It seemed to be a stronger variant as it was able to absorb multiple hits from both me and Nickoli.
Then, it launched itself at me, opening its large mouth in the process. I barely managed to dodge away. It had a massive range and caught me off guard.
It turned back towards me, presumably preparing to launch itself again, but it was interrupted by a flurry of pellets being launched at it. I turned to the source and saw Faith aiming the front of the biplane at it, which was shooting pellets from a small attached cannon.
Luckily, that weakened it enough for me to finish it off with a well-placed shot to its agape mouth. It shattered into many small pieces upon impact.
Once again, the bar displaying EXP appeared and filled up, leveling me up from 2 to 3.
"Nice, another level up!" I exclaimed to myself.
"Well, that's annoying. I got nothing out of it," Faith chimed in.
"I guess whoever gets the final hit gets the EXP," I said.
"That's pretty dumb," she added.
"Well, it is what it is, anyways, let's get the weapon form it unlocks," I said shrugging.
We each picked up its remains and absorbed it into our respective gems. Unlocking us each new weapon form.
Yellow Pistol
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +4 Attack
My gun changed into its new form, and since it had a higher stat than the basic one, I decided to keep it. The others did the same and we continued forward.
Moving past the shrubbery, I could see what looked like a road. I guess we finally made it to the outskirts of the forest. Looking a bit to the left, I could see what looked like old medieval houses.
"Looks like we finally made it," Nickoli said.
"Looks like it," Faith added.
"Well then, let's hope they speak English, am I right?" I said jokingly.
"English? Don't you mean German?" Faith asked, looking puzzled.
"English? German? Don't you mean Russian?" Nickoli said, adding to the confusion.
"Okay, this is weird. What language am I speaking currently?" I asked both of them.
"Russian."
"German."
They both gave different answers. I guess that means our speech is being translated somehow. Whatever, we can figure that out later.
"I think our speech is automatically translated, but there's no point dwelling on it. Let's talk about this after we get help for Faith," I announced.
We decided to hurry into the village, hoping they wouldn't panic at the sight of our weird contraptions. I mean, if the Salem witch trials taught me anything, it's that weirdness equates to death. Let's hope these people have a little common sense at least.
We entered the village without encountering any guards. I guess they can't patrol everything at once. It was now evening, so people wouldn't be asleep this early. We approached a group of people who were talking near a booth of some sort.
Hopefully, they knew the location of the local doctor. Hopefully, they had moved past the practice of amputating even the smallest of injuries. We finally reached talking distance, with Nickoli and Faith in tow. I guess they hadn't noticed us yet as they were still engaged in their conversation.
"Hey, do you guys know where the nearest doctor is?" I asked.
"Huh? Doctor? I mean, I... WHAT THE HELL?!" the person said, turning around and exclaiming loudly.
"What is it?!" I asked, now panicked.
"SOMEONE QUICK, CALL THE GUARDS!" I heard another person yell out.
I don't know what's going on, but clearly, it's not going to be pretty.
END OF CHAPTER 2
[New World Info]
[Legendary Weapon Properties]
Legendary Weapons are special in the fact they are legendary. Unlike normal weapons which require maintenance and ammunition, they automatically handle those aspects on their own. This means that the Legendary Ranged Weapons when using a gun form can fire infinite bullets without needing to reload. This also means they are not prone to misfires or jams.
Authors Note:
Phew, this chapter was longer than the last so I hope you guys enjoy it. Again, be sure to give advice and help if you want, I greatly appreciate it. They finally reached the village after a pretty long journey through the forest. However, now the denizens of said village are calling for the local guards, what could this mean for our heroes? Be sure to come back next week to find out!