If there was one thing Ferris learned from all of the trouble she'd faced, it was that a seconds mattered. At this close range though, they didn't have seconds: There wasn't enough room to move away before the bullets would strike and Castellar couldn't easily fire off the first attack since he was still carrying her.
"Don't shoot! No one shoot!" the rock monster yelped at their feet.
"Why did you bring outsiders here?!" barked a grey-scaled draconian. While he and the other guard glared daggers at the trio, at least they had the patience to hold their fire long enough to ask questions.
"One of them's injured," came the innocent, immediate reply, "and they're kids! They can't hurt anyone." He was either a brave and forgiving or foolish little guy, considering that it hadn't been long since he'd been in the same position as them.
Ferris hid her mouth behind Castellar's shoulder to keep her expression unreadable. Nevermind the truth, while the two sisters might've looked harmless enough—Ciara due to her age and herself due to her wounded leg—Castellar was another story. He bristled at the other Monsters, glaring right back in stubborn silence. If he thought to play along with the stone's words, his pride wouldn't allow it. He continued to stand with the commanding air he always carried.
It was a show of attitude that neither of the guards could easily overlook. When the tension between the two groups refused to alleviate, the rock monster insisted again in a more nervous voice than before, "Decko, Kobalt… They're just kids…"
"'Just kids' couldn't have made it this far into the wilds on their own," the lizard moved forward with a heavy step. He largely ignored the two girls, focusing his suspicious gaze on Castellar as if to pressure him into backing down. Thankfully, he at least didn't seem to know the young skeleton's identity, or else he likely would've been even more hostile toward them than he already was.
In contrast, the other guard—a hybrid with rough, blue skin; cheeks that looked to be speckled with gold dust; and gemlike eyes and teeth—seemed more willing to give the trio a benefit of a doubt. He looked contemplative; his thin brows slightly furrowed. Ferris felt his gaze on her and shrank in Castellar's hold, wrapping her arms even tighter around him in a defensive manner. Normally, she'd also carry himself with a bit of stubborn pride, but right now, it was far more useful to use the guise of a pitiful child. His expression softened even further.
"Could we take them to my mother?" he asked the first guard, "Let her decide how to handle this?"
The latter shot him a disgusted look, "You can't be serious!"
The miniscule rock monster leapt at the offer, "Yes, yes! We can talk to Durga! She'll know what to do."
They argued a while longer before the draconian was ultimately outvoted. In the end, the three youths were led further down the hidden passage—albeit they were stripped of their belongings first. Ferris tried not to pout as she unwillingly handed over her dagger. Whether to reassure her that they'd be safe or that everything would be returned, the freckled guard gave her a boyish smile.
It was a short walk from the passage entrance to the cavernous refuge it kept hidden. It was a small community: There could've been only a few families living there. A low stream curled around a handful of tents in an odd semi-circle. Square lanterns hung from the walls, countering the bioluminescent flowers with their own, warm light. As they passed, the faces of both Humans and Monsters peered up at them from their work or play—all frozen, all caught in something between curiosity, fear, and suspicion.
Of course they were scared. No matter how much effort they put into creating a united home for themselves, outsiders would always threaten it.
The guards escorted the trio on other side of their group, the rock monster tagging along in the back of their party until they reached their destination: The largest tent in the center of the refuge. The hybrid then disappeared inside for only a moment and then returned with a massive figure lumbering behind him.
Ferris knew right away that this was a golem, if one far larger than what she'd heard they were. Even as tall as the tent was, the golem had to crouch in order to slip outside. She, Durga, had a frame built like a pillar and sharp hips that—in the most literal sense—looked like carved rock. While her legs were jointed, her arms were not, the lower halves of them hovering at her sides. Her eyes—which had the same gemstone quality as her son's—peered down at them.
Ferris had never met anyone whose expressions changed so quickly so often before. At first, the golem's expression was completely vacant, almost as though it took time for her to register their existence. Then, it briefly flashed with the same dread and distrust that they'd received from the rest of the people there before shifting to a calm reluctance.
"They're tiny intruders, aren't they?" Durga lightly teased.
Around half his mother's size if still taller than most humans, the line of the young man's mouth rose in an awkward chuckle.
"Did you confiscate their weapons?" she then asked, her voice suddenly low and stern.
The draconian stood straighter, holding out Castellar's pack. "They only had one weapon between them, but I'd watch this one…" he pointed to Castellar next.
The look Durga gave the skeleton diminished Ferris' hopes that everything would go smoothly. Unlike the two guards, there was a spark of acknowledgement in her gaze. She already seemed to have an idea of who he was, or at least an idea of someone very much like him. If it affected her judgement on them though, she didn't show it. She didn't even hint to knowing anything, instead brushing the tent's flap aside and motioning the trio to enter.
There was a small delay between her actions and her words. "We'll deal with them. Return to your posts," she jumped back into a sweeter tone mid-order, "Actually, Kobalt, join us. We'd like to hear how you found them."
While there wasn't much to tell, he readily nodded, looking at their group to enter first as the draconian walked away with a still sour expression.
Durga urged them again, "Come now… We'll just talk."
It wasn't like they had much of a choice. The trio shuffled in. The tent was a spacious mess. Instead of a bed, there was a pile of blankets and rugs strewn in one corner of the floor. There were two tables: One with papers etched with tally marks strewn across it and the other covered and surrounded by various odds and ends.
The golem's much longer strides brought her to the front of the group no sooner had the trio reached the tent's center. She plopped down near the opposing wall, her sheer size and the drapery behind her making her reminiscent of a queen on a throne. She might as well have been: This was her isolated kingdom of runaways.
Then she slumped back, waving at them almost impatiently to sit across from her. Keeping just under two meter's distance, Castellar helped Ferris down and Ciara pressed herself against her sister's hip. Tiny fingers faced around Ferris' own, tightening around her hand as a way to silently seek comfort. Ferris squeezed back. Kobalt remained standing.
Durga's head suddenly shifted away from them, as if she were hearing or seeing something no one else could. Her body stilled save for the occasional flexing of her fingertips. However, the odd behavior didn't last long and she turned to glance at her son, her tone now more neutral, "Can you explain what happened? How did they find this place?"
"Dolo let them in…" he admitted uncomfortably, caught between lying or ratting the other out. He gestured to Ferris' outstretched leg, "He wanted to help out since this Human was hurt. He didn't mean any harm."
Half of the golem's mouth lifted in a curse before she shortly cut it off. Recollecting herself, she looked back at the trio. "And what brings three children this far between the borders?" she asked gently, then her voice dipped low once more, "Explain yourselves."
Unshaken to the end, Castellar held his head high as he spoke. To Ferris' surprise, he didn't bother hiding the fact that he was from a guild of mages, or that his goal was to take them to said guild, or even his identity. He revealed the guild's talisman as proof and emphasized the importance of his mission. The only things he kept to himself were the details of Ferris' abilities—obviously—and the fact that they were being chased.
Both Durga and Kobalt carefully listened to his explanation. When he was finished speaking, another period of silence passed as the former deeply considered it. Again, the leader of the runaways became as still as a statue, her gaze focused on some indescribable thing that only she was aware of.
After a much longer period of silence, she finally rumbled back to the present. "We imagine there'll be a search if you delay for long," she murmured in thought, "and we don't want to make an enemy of either the Boroughs or your father… You may stay here a few days, until she heals, but don't expect it for free. You'll be put to work."
One of her hands drew into a tight fist and then promptly relaxed.
"That's agreeable," Castellar nodded, giving Durga a slight bow where he sat, "Thank you."
"We also expect you to keep quiet about this place after you leave, naturally."
"Of course."
Shortly after, Kobalt led them to a much smaller tent that was used for storage, promising to quickly return with some blankets. As he left, Ferris spotted several watchful eyes in the distance before the tent flap closed by itself. Even if they were technically alone, they would stay monitored. If they still ended up having to fight their way out of this place, timing would be crucial.
Ferris eased herself on a stack of logs that substituted as a chair, already feeling naked without her dagger. Really, it was too worn to be called much of a weapon, but it'd always been reliable enough in a pinch. Once more, Ciara knelt beside her, curling around herself.
Castellar kept watch through what little space was left between the flap and the tent wall. Out of the blue, he said, "Don't be afraid. Overall, I don't believe this is the sort of group to hurt anyone."
The eldest sister blinked, a little thrown off by his remark, "I'm not afraid."
There was a pause, and then the skeleton shot her a bizarre look, "…You didn't even notice, did you?"
"What?"
"That their leader is carrying two souls instead of one."
"Ah," Ferris murmured, unmoved. That explained the odd behavior then. It was the result of two consciouses reacting separately. She thought of two fishermen trying to steer a boat in different directions: If neither worked in-sync or if one didn't take command, the boat—or body, in this case—went nowhere.
"That doesn't bother you…?"
She shrugged. In truth, not by much, if only because she already had firsthand experience escaping a soul-fueled Monster once before. Compared to them, Durga acted as harmless as a fly. Castellar seemed to think it was because of her ability though, as he shook his head and muttered an insult under his breath.
Ciara shrank even further, hugging her knees to her chest. She remembered it too. Ferris patted her sibling's head, saying to no one in-particular, "I don't think anyone here is after Human souls either."
"Yes; believe it or not, even among my kind, taking souls is often considered taboo at best," Castellar answered, "Whatever the intent, clinging to the dead rarely comes without consequence."
So all of the stories went… Monsters that robbed Humans of their souls for the sake of power, Human ghosts that took over a Monster's body for the sake of revenge, forbidden lovers that couldn't let the other go—there were even the rare tales of mages taking Monster souls. In some way, all of them were terrible and true.
It was hard to say which case fit the leader, but at least Durga was stable enough for now. Ferris wondered how long she'd been in that state, or what might've happened to lead cause her to take someone's soul in the first place. She assumed the answer was closer to the third example, given Kobalt's existence and that his father had yet to appear…
"Why did you tell them all of that?" the girl asked Castellar, swinging her good leg as she thought back on their interrogation, "If you were going to blab everything to them anyway, you left out the most important part: There's a giant owl probably flying in circles over this place to try and find us right now."
"I told them as much as was favorable. Had I told them about our enemies, they'd rightfully think it's dangerous if they to help us. Telling them about the guild and my father let them know it was even more dangerous if they didn't." he countered, finally stepping away from the entrance to lean against a thick pole across from the two sisters. "Moreover, telling a half-truth is almost always more believable than telling a blatant lie."