>>6184837While May, Cassius and Adeline explore the outskirts of the village, Alvin and the rest of your party split up to visit the houses that have been left abandoned. That leaves you to fester in your bad mood within the center of the village. You try your best to look for anything strange in the area. There are a few peculiarities that you notice. It wasn’t just the villagers that were missing, but the animals as well. You find what must have passed for a barn here to be completely devoid of life, the only proof of prior occupants being some leftover feed and droppings.
The second strange thing you find is the village’s blacksmith. Ducking inside, you find it to be completely stripped bare. There were no weapons inside, nor any metal from which to work with. The place had been completely cleaned out. So not just the people were missing, but weapons and livestock as well? Maybe the cult really was gearing up for a fight, and this was their way of gathering supplies?
As you make it back to the center of the village, something on the ground catches your eye. Covered up by some sand, a doll had been left discarded on the ground. It reminded you of some of the ones you’d seen back in 99’s room in Ithaca. You pick the doll up and examine it closely. It was of decent make, and looked well-worn, likely the prize possession of some child. If they weren’t already deceased, they were likely missing their friend greatly.
As you stand in the center of the village, you notice how eerily quiet things are, and you cannot shake the feeling that you are being watched. The people that were behind what happened here had come back. Or perhaps they had never left in the first place. Suddenly, you spy something flashing out of the corner of your eye. A missile is heading towards you at breakneck speed. You move your head at the last second, and the arrow goes sailing into the barn right behind you. Glancing up, you spot the culprit, standing atop what looked to be a farmhouse.
“Ahh, wouldn’t you know it, there really were foreigners out here!” The man exclaims cheerfully. He is a Morfisian, clad in dark leathers and with dark red hair. At first, he reminds you of the Riahi, the way he’d managed to sneak up on you without your notice. But both his manner of clothing as well as his demeanor are different.
“That was a lucky dodge.” The man says with a smirk, slinging his bow over his shoulder. “Looks like you foreigners aren’t completely helpless. I bet the Princess would just swoon over a hunk like you.”
>“Shooting an arrow at a man’s head when he isn’t looking. That’s some piss poor hospitality. What’s your problem?”“Sorry.” The man says, feigning embarrassment. “I didn’t think you were paying attention. After all, you didn’t notice us trailing you.”
