A long dirt road runs through the heart of a small town, with tall wooden-like beams that extrude from the ground every so often, more so the closer to town one gets. As families ready themselves for bed, an almost calming breeze passes through the town and down the lonely road. As night comes, a male figure emerges from a nearby forest near where the dirt road ends. A greenish-brown cloak and hood cover the head and face of the figure, who also wears a dark leather jerkin and pants with mud-covered and colored boots. As they make their way towards town, the wooden beams on the sides of the road illuminate, giving off a warm guiding light almost as if the presence of the cloaked figure made it so. Pausing for a moment, the figure looks to one of the beams on the side of the road, made from the dark wood of the nearby trees. The beams are several feet tall, with an almost glass-like box fixed to the top where the light is concentrated. "Amazing what a couple of stones can do." The figure thinks to himself before continuing down the road towards town. The beams went dark without as much of a sound as he got far enough away but not before the next one would light, ensuring that he would not find darkness. The beams continued their lights for the entire walk, a sight and feeling he had come to accept and almost appreciate over the years. Most of the town slept except for a lone house on the eastern side, opposite the forest. Passing through the entire town takes only a few minutes as it isn't that large, and without anyone to notice them, the figure moves swiftly. The eastern side of the village is mainly reserved as housing for farmers until you reach the very last building, an older-looking stone structure very much square and roughly angled when compared to the smooth curved shape the other buildings take. A dim light shines through the windows of the building as the figure approaches the door and makes his way inside. Pulling the door closed behind him, the figure turns to be greeted by several empty tables and chairs spread around the center of the room.
"Volric! It's about time you made it back. I thought you were gonna leave me with Mera all night." A grizzled voice yells from behind a bar across the room from where Volric just entered. This voice belongs to none other than Fandor, a large green-eyed man with dark burnt orange hair with a rough beard and a mug in hand. It is important to note that large in this context means amongst his kinsmen. Fandor is actually quite a small individual by usual standards, a fact that Volric never seems to let him forget. "I would never have dreamed it," Volric laughs back as he takes a seat at one of the tables nearby.
"Wdh yjhd shmm!? A voice attempts to respond, coming through a door on the right-side carrying a platter with at least seven mugs atop of it and another empty one in her mouth. This voice belongs to Mera, an athletic and beautiful Elsharen woman roughly five and a half feet tall with a smooth darker green complexion. Her silver, almost reflective-looking hair up in a messy bun drew even more attention to her sapphire-like eyes, the main reason she typically wears it down when out in the village. She places the platter down on the bar along with the empty mug.
"You guys wouldn't know what to do without me." As she turns to Volric and points a finger towards him, "Don't think you're not in trouble either, mister! You alllllmost had us worried." She playfully remarks before grabbing one of the full mugs and going to sit in a chair across from Volric, downing nearly half of the drink before she finally takes a seat. "So, did you find anything new tonight?" She asks, slamming her mug to the table as the tone suddenly shifts to a more serious note.
"Nothing that's very useful," Volric responds as he pulls out a dagger and what appear to be two half-eaten rations placing them on the table. "I think it's fair to assume someone is watching the village, but the question is, what are their intentions?" He continues as Fandor comes from behind the bar to join them at the table next to Volric, bringing a mug for him in the process. Volric gladly takes a drink before asking, "What about you Mera, have you noticed anything different recently surrounding the village on your hunts?"
"The winds have been quiet, but I've noticed the animals are becoming harder to lure out recently. If something else is hunting them, that would explain the sudden shift in their behavior." She replies before finishing her drink. "Leiza seems to think a new predator has moved into the land." She adds as she retrieves another round of drinks from the platter for everyone at the table.
"Sounds like you think otherwise?" Fandor replies while elbowing Volric in his side, picking up the tone of disbelief in her voice.
"Who am I to question the great huntress Leiza, the one to strike fear in the hearts of all?" Mera sarcastically jokes back. The three of them laugh together before Volric brings a sense of seriousness back to the room.
"Mera, please tell me what your instincts tell you. I've seen you do incredible things. It would be foolish to ignore your opinion on the matter." Volric states, finishing his second drink.
"Even I know not to question your gut feeling, white hair." Fandor pokes in.
"You know if I buried you up to your beard, people would mistake you for a carrot." She quips back before they start laughing again, and Volric can't help but join them.
"If my life were on the line, taking the rations you found into consideration in addition to the animal's behavior, I can't help but think we are being watched by people, not an animal," Mera replies once the laughing stopped.
"Agreed," both Fandor and Volric reply.
"The next question is what do we do about it?" Fandor asks.
The room grows silent for several minutes before Volric finally breaks the tension. "Sondil is too reserved. He won't take any sort of action when it comes to this matter." He states flatly.
"Even with all the information we have?" Fandor responds.
"What information? A few half-eaten rations and the animals acting funny? He would laugh at us before he did anything." Mera cuts in before Volric could reply.
"I'm afraid Mera is right," Volric adds as he lets out a sigh.
"I'll never understand the Zorian leaders," Fandor states, throwing his arms up into a shrug. "If Sondil were Golphren, he'd have half an army out there to crush whatever was spying on him." He laughs before taking another gulp from his mug.
"Elsharen aren't very different. We would rather stay in the shadows than approach the threat directly," Mera replies.
"Half an army of half-sized men? That's terrifying!" Volric jokingly replies throwing his hands in the air for added effect.
Fandor's face begins to turn bright red as if trying to match his beard. "I'll have you know we're much stronger than our size would suggest!" He shouts proudly, standing up on his chair.
"Sit down before you hurt yourself, you drunk bastard." Mera laughs.
Fandor quickly returns to his seat before finishing his drink and slamming it to the table. "Then what do you suggest, Volric?" He asks.
Volric remains silent for several moments, mentally weighing the options in front of him.
"Sondil is just doing what he believes is best for everyone," Volric states while rubbing his eyes. "I don't know all the details, but Sondil led a village much like this once in the past." He continues.
"Now that you mention it, a few of the older hunters have mentioned something like that in passing a few times," Mera interrupts.
"From what I've gathered, there was an argument amongst the villagers that got out of hand. One thing led to another, and before anyone could stop it, the village was over half-burned to the ground." Volric states grimly as Mera collects all the empty mugs and exits the room through the same door she had come through. "Sondil was apparently more in line with the rowdier villagers, but I doubt he ever expected such a tragedy to happen. I've been told ever since that night he does everything he can to avoid any sort of confrontation or disagreement," Volric finishes letting out another deep sigh.
"Sounds to me like he's scared that he won't make the right call," Fandor replies.
"It makes for a bad leader is what it does." Mera sternly remarks as she comes back through the door with several more full mugs atop the platter. Setting the platter down on the table, she returns to her seat with a mug in hand, placing one in front of Volric and Fandor as she passes by.
"I don't disagree." Volric replies, at the same time Fandor jokes aloud, "Finally, we agree on something!" Mera was halfway through her drink before spitting her ale across the table in laughter.
After a moment of collecting themselves, Volric returns to the serious discussion. "Mera, would it be overly difficult for you to mark certain animals somehow?" He asks.
"What did you have in mind?" Mera replies, interested to see where this goes.
"This should be good." Fandor chuckles to himself. Volric did not miss the joke and gave Fandor a wide grin.
"I just thought if there were a way for you to know what animal stayed near what area, it would help narrow our search," Volric answered.
"Clever, that might just work," Mera replies, instantly getting on the same page.
"Care to explain?" Fandor asks, confused as Mera and Volric start getting excited.
"Well, we've already established that there's a good chance they are hunting. So if we know what animal goes where, when one disappears, we will know right where to look." Volric explains once again, giving Fandor a wide grin before turning back to Mera. "If you can do that and I continue scouting around the outskirts of the village where you direct me to, we should come up with something sooner or later." He adds on.
As the three companions continue laying their plan, suddenly, everything fades to darkness before slowly opening up to what appears to be a carved stone ceiling of a dimly lit room, the fragrance of a freshly prepared meal drifting through the air.
"I take it you're awake?" Goma's voice echoes inside of Valun's mind as he comes to consciousness.