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After Arty had gone to the village to get her stuff and quickly return to join the group of freedom fighters, they set off to another destination somewhere in the forests where they might be going to find more slavers that are hiding there, or they are going to their main campsite where there are more freedom fighters.
Even though it's a long walk, Arty didn't mind the exercise as she could use the leg-work and work on it a little more in the future when she needs to run swiftly on her feet.
By the time it's almost sundown, Arty and the freedom fighters have arrived at a secluded campsite where she could see that there are more of the freedom group members.
She looked around to see where she might set up the camping tent that she had prepared and brought along, but the leader of the freedom fighters had approached her, that she was slightly surprised that she didn't hear or sense him coming near her.
Arty looked at the hooded man curiously on what he wants before he removed his hood to show his face to her.
It looked like that this shape-shifting man, who is the leader of the freedom fighters, chose to take on a human form of an African-like male with a bald hairless head and beady yellowish hawk-like eyes that seem to gaze at her as if trying to peer into her soul.
Then he spoke in a soft voice in a distinguished foreign accent. "You can camp beside my tent. Your training will start on the next day in the early morning."
Arty nodded dimly to him in thanks and she followed the leader to where his tent is. As she followed behind him, she seemed to be wondering where she had seen his human face before, for she suddenly felt some kind of familiarity from him or something.
The leader's tent was very huge, enough to fit in more people inside for a private meeting of his group and the leader himself.
Then he directed with a hand gesture to take the empty spot at the right side from his tent and Arty nodded to him again in thanks before she set up her campsite.
By the time she was finished with setting up her tent and putting her stuffed bag inside, she was invited by one of the freedom fighters to come to their circle by the fire and join his friends in sharing stories.
Arty loved to so she accepted the invitation and followed the freedom fighter where he led her kindly to the circle where his other friends are.
She sat down on one of the rocks that were laid out around in a circle of the fire burning that will give them heat from the night's chilly winds. Then she waited and listened attentively as the freedom fighters take a turn on telling a story each.
One tells a small story of a fable where an arrogant elf has learned his lesson that he is not the fastest and skillful magical being of all when the elf made the mistake on challenging a crafty stout dwarf to an obstacle race and in the end, the cunning dwarf won with his wits and crafting skills to outsmart the elf.
When another freedom fighter had his turn, he tells a sad but romantic story of a shape-shifting man who traveled far and wide to find the greatest treasure to win the heart of a mortal woman he fell in love with. But in the end, through all hard and difficult trials that he has gone through and gained scars at the end of his journey, he found out that the mortal woman he had fallen in love with was shallow and vain, and he didn't return to win his love even though he had already found the treasure he had been seeking for but was heartbroken when he heard the news that the mortal woman he had given his heart to, has found someone else when he left and married him for his wealth and riches.
Arty almost cried at the sad story and felt for the poor shape-shifter man who had traveled and journeyed this kind just to earn someone's love.
When the other fighter took his turn, this time he decided to make his romantic story into a good one from the saddening story his comrade had shared, for the story is about a mermaid captured by a selfish human and was imprisoned for entertainment to his people. The mermaid had fought and struggled to break free of her prison, but she failed every time and the selfish human took the mermaid far away from where there will be no waters that she could escape to and go back home to the oceans where she came from. In despair, the mermaid thought that she was done for, until she caught the sight of the eyes of the same shape-shifting man whose heart was broken from the mortal woman from his companion's story, saw the captured mermaid and both of them fell in love at first sight for their similar plights. In the end, the shape-shifter managed to free the mermaid and brought her home to the oceans, then together they become mates for life and the shape-shifter took on the form as one of the merpeople to be with the mermaid forever.
His comrade who told the sad story was a bit glad and happy that his friend made his story a good one better than this and they exchanged smiles to each other, which made Arty almost think that the two male freedom fighters are a couple or something.
Arty smiled as she listened to each of the freedom fighters as they share their own stories to unify the friendship around them. She was also included to share her story and she made sure that it's also a good one for them to listen to as she quickly thought of and made up a short story about a normal mortal man, who became a hero to all magical creatures by saving them from being enslaved by an evil mortal king, is being gifted by a magical sword which the hero has proved himself worthy to wield it by going through the trials that he has to pass to show that he's a good person. In the end, the hero had won and had defeated the evil king, even sacrificing his life at the end, to ensure the freedom for the magical creatures that were about to be enslaved by the evil villain's rule.
Arty knew that the story she had told to the other freedom fighters is almost exactly similar to the story she has created and about to do the role in when she becomes the chosen wielder of the Fiery Blade and becomes the future heroine of the story. The other freedom fighters didn't notice some unusual or strangeness from the story she has shared and told them as they loved it and exchanged friendly gestures to her as they praised her story.
Arty was very glad of sharing and hearing the stories and friendships that she has made with some of the freedom fighters.
She was in wonder that the characters in her story that she created seem to have such feelings that make them alive, but then again this is the fantasy fictional world that she had made of her own imaginative creation.
She wonders what other surprises are in store for her in the future as she goes on her journey with the freedom fighters in her lone mission to train herself as a warrior and preparing herself physically and mentally for the future trials she must face retrieving the magical Fiery Blade.
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