Two days passed since the weird nightmare Tia had. She succesfuly hid the snake on her body. She didn't want to think about how villagers would react to it. Lots of weird or disgusting gossip was told behind her back. It was all Toby's mom who started with all this hate towards Tia. Her brother Seph got chief's permission to hunt in forest which he did all day. He probably wanted to avoid the hate his family was getting now.
He heard something behind a bush in front of him. He was quietly sneaking towards it with his bow ready in his hand. It didn't sound like a normal pig nor some kind of deer so he didn't know what to expect. He got to the bush and carefully looked behind it. There was a strange man sitting by campfire and roasting some monster's huge thigh. He was wearing a fox mask and he had mysterious clothes and hood. He definitely wasn't from a poor family. *Should I shoot him? He must be rich.. but what if he is innocent guy..* Seph was thinking while observing the stranger in front of him.
"Wanna join me? There will be enough meat for both of us." the stranger surprised him with this. He definitely sounded as if he was around the same age as him. *How did he know about me?*
"I don't think you will be able to eat with that mask on your face." Seph responded as he hid his bow, but he still had his hand on dagger just in case. He walked towards the stranger and sat in front of him. "I can tell that you are not from my village. Who are you and what are you doing in this forest?" he asked him, but the stranger laughed a little.
"You are very curious young man, aren't you? You don't have to worry because I'm not dangerous and I don't wanna cause any trouble." then he said with serious voice. "I'm just looking for someone." he then finished roasting the meat, took it from the campfire and tore it in half, giving the other half to Seph. "Here, take it." He then took off his mask so he could eat his serving. He was in his twenties, he had a small scar under his left eye, however, he had a pretty face overall. But his eyes were cold and not showing his real thoughts and feelings, making feel Seph uncomfortable.
"Thank you." Seph said when he took the meat from him and when he finished looking at his face he asked him. "You must be popular with girls with this pretty face, am I right?". The stranger laughed again.
"I just hope that the person I'm looking for will like it." Seph was curious.
"Is it a girl?" he asked the stranger.
"Yes, it is."
"Is she pretty? What is she like? Maybe I know her." The stranger smiled.
"I have no idea. Only thing I know about her is that she has beautiful black hair which has color like raven's feathers." Seph was confused.
"You don't know her? Why are you looking for her then?"
Stranger looked up, watching the tops of trees above him. "I saw her in my dream and I've known immediately that I need to find her." Seph couldn't decide if the stranger is lying or not. "Do you have any girl in your village with beautifully black hair?" he curiously asked him.
"Yea, there are a few of them. Even my sister has black hair." The stranger finished eating his food so he stood up and put back on his mask.
"I see. Well you should head back to your village and get your sister somewhere safe, because enemies are getting closer." he had serious look on his face. Seph was confused. Why did he say something like this all of a sudden?
"Enemies? What do you mean? My village has no enemies."
"Well that is not exactly true anymore. They are looking for the same person as me but they will destroy everything and kill everyone in their way. And because you said your sister has black hair, she is in danger." Seph stared at him.
"I have no reason to trust a stranger like you." Seph also stood up.
"It's up to you to decide what you think is the truth. But the enemy will arrive to your village in around two hours. Use this information as you like.* He moved with his hand which extinguished the fire. "I hope we will meet again. See you." he then opened a red portal with some weird hand sign.
"Hey! Wait! Where do you think you are going, I still have many things to ask you.." but it was pointless, the stranger already disappeared in the portal. *The way he said it... I should probably get to the village and warn others. He alone may be dangerous.* he thought as he begun to run back to the village.
He got there after an hour and half of running. He immediately went to the chief's house. The muscular man opened the door and let him in. "So you are telling me that there is some weird stranger in the forest?" he was thinking over the things he just heard.
"Yes, he said something about some enemies arriving to our village in two hours. If that was true then we would have around a half an hour left."
"Do you believe that what he said is true?" chief asked him, wanting to know his own opinion.
"I don't really know. The way he said it was just weird. But I think he alone was a reason to be careful and have at least a few men on guard at night." Chief considered all the options and made a desicion.
"Bolak, go for Rando and his men and wait for my orders under the Great Tree." Someone started to walk behind Seph, it creeped him out. *How long was he there? I didn't notice him!* he thought. "Now you Seph, I need you to find Rebecca and inform her about the stranger and possible attack." then the chief himself stood up and grabbed his sword.
"Yes chief" Seph responded and went to fulfill his orders. Then the chief went to the Great Tree. It was very old tree in the middle of the village. It was used as the meeting place for years. He was first there and had to wait 10 minutes on the others.
Meanwhile Seph visited Rebecca's house and quickly explained everything to her. "Fox mask you say? I don't know anyone who would wear that. And little more detail about the supposed enemy would be nice too." Seph shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm as confused as you are. But we don't have much time left." But she wasn't so sure about that.
"I don't believe there will be an attack. We have no enemies and the kingdom made peace agreement with others." she probably wanted to say more but they got interrupted by a sound of the horn. "Chief is alerting us? What is happening?" *Could it really be enemies ready to attack our village?* they both thought as they quickly left the house.
The chief was standing on village's wall made from giant trunks. He was watching the strangers in front of the gate. Seph and Rebecca got to him. "What happened? Why did you sound the alarm?" Chief turned around so he could see their faces.
"The stranger was probably right. There are around 30 people with weapons in front of our village." He frowned. "If they are experienced in fight.. then I don't think we have a chance against them." Rando didn't like what he heard.
"You should trust your men more. We can defeat anyone who attacks our home." he said angrily. Chief didn't react to him but instead looked at Rebecca.
"I need you to inform every house about this danger and prepare them for a quick evacuation to the forest. Ask someone to help you." She looked at Seph and he nodded. "Now go! We don't have time to waste!" When they left he turned back on the army outside. They were all wearing black clothes and hoods, but they looked like darkness with glowing eyes. He couldn't see any human skin. Well except one person. He was older man with no hair and he made few steps forward. "This must be the leader" said chief to his brother Bolak. And he was right. The bald leader started to talk very loudly.
"Pathetic worms living inside this village. Listen! We are the warriors of the Demon Lord Kale. Every blackhaired girl living here shall be taken in front of the village's gate or we will destroy this place and take them by force! You have fifteen minutes." he shouted.