"Move out the way, slob!" Said a villager, trying to poke it with a farming tool.
As the glittering orange dew of the sun approaches the ends of the horizon, the crowd gradually gets furious at the blockage. It was a massive green slob, wearing torn shoes, a jumper, and a half-bitten hat resting against the circular rear of the Well, sleeping and snoring in front of the furious villagers.
The wanderers scratch their heads amid confusion, then slowly backs themselves away into the shadows. The villagers didn't even pay attention to them because of how focused they were on the blockage.
Drimi and Samantha race to the wanderers, fallen into confusion on why they blatantly try to flee from the Well. Their faces look terrified of what they see as if they had trauma with such a monster before. Asahi tremblingly mutters while trying to tilt his head away from the beast.
"Goblins… n-no…"
Drimi perks her head to him and raises her eyebrow.
"Dude, what got you two scared? It's just a fat goblin blocking the Well entrances."
Aletha quiveringly whispers while pointing to it with her shaky finger.
"Those… f-fiends… we're one of the monsters who were against god's millennia ago. They almost slay Asahi and me, then caused destru—
Asahi covers her mouth and interrupts.
"We don't want to talk about it. We vividly remember who these wretched beasts are. They are not even from this world."
Drimi jumps up in shock and raises her voice in front of everyone.
"You're saying that these pests are not even from Gincad? Then where did they come from?!"
Asahi softly responds.
"The meteors, the shimmering debris from the spiraling Perpetual Storm."
While limply pushing her long dark hair to the side and kicking a small stone off from her foot, Drimi replies with curiosity.
"Perpetual… Storm? Out of all the bizarre stuff I encountered in this world. What is it, some eternal storm in the clouds created from some god?"
Asahi neglectfully whispers while pushing his feet against the dirt.
"Space outside of Gincad. The Dream Storm can allow objects to enter Gincad, thus solidifying the claim that the monsters and features of the landscape in this world… are all made up by past trespassers, or objects."
Aletha calms herself down and crosses her arms. She answers and continues Asahi's ongoing words in a concrete manner.
"Goblins are a disgrace to the race of gods alike. They were dishonorable, putrid beings with no taste and a tiny soul. If that's what they were, and they still live even after its extinction, feasibly they could plan on another rebellion against whatever power is highest in this world."
One of the villagers steps up and nudges both the wanderers' arms.
"If you want ever to see your precious money again, try and speak to the blockage and ask what it desires. Maybe then, that miserable beast will move out of the way."
Belial tactfully nods his head and says.
"I agree with the man. Walk up to the beast and ask why he is doing this or what he wants in return."
Aletha swiftly shakes her head 'no' countless times, then backs away and slides her back against the wall, furthest from it. Asahi clucks and swings his hands in the air.
"What, sis? Are you going to be a chicken again?"
Aletha blushes in embarrassment.
"Stop calling me a chicken as your way of persuading me! I'm… n-not doing it."
"Bawk… Bawk bawk."
Aletha stomps her foot against the ground and screams with a warm face of embarrassment.
"I'm not a chicken; I'm not a chicken! I AM NOT A CHICKEN!"
Asahi continues to mock her while she tries to kick his legs and scream at him that she 'is not a chicken.
Drimi holds her chuckles by covering her mouth, while Sally tries to hide in a corner, resisting bursting into laughter by having a white towel. The villagers curiously glare at them while Asahi continues his 'chicken' persuasion to Aletha.
As the wanderers continue to fight like siblings, Drimi whispers.
"How can gods… act like… this? These two act so childish compared to their descriptions from their followers."
"Bawk… Bawk!"
Sally leans towards Drimi and pridefully smirks.
"Even more childish than me? Tee hee."
Drimi slowly shakes her head and facepalms while staring at all the other confused villagers.
"No… I do not feel lenient or lousy right now. Sally, there is something we don't want… to tell you. Something you would hate to hear."
Aletha races through the crowd and jumps behind Drimi in a desperate attempt to hide from Asahi. As Asahi looks for her, Aletha whispers to Drimi, feeling her dark silky hair touching her nose.
"Drimi, can you please tell Asahi to stop?"
She squints at Aletha and lightly chuckles.
"Why can't you do it yourself? Come on; I'm not your mother."
Before anything can be said, the lazy goblin monster viciously roars and stomps on the ground, begging for attention. The villagers jump up in pure anger and complain at their most potent insults.
"Get that filthy pest out of there!" Said a guy with a straw hat and a jumper.
Another girl charges in and tries to push the monster off from the Well with her thin arms. Unfortunately, she gets swiftly tossed away from the Well, ten meters from where she was. Belial shakes his hand, thinking that he has enough with this tomfoolery.
He pulls his hood up and leaps eight meters into the air, grabbing both Asahi and Aletha. His green eyes illuminate within the shadows, and his claws spark up small bits of luminescent green petals. Belial then places both the wanderers in front of the monster, instantly dashes back to the crowd, and leans against a wall. Aletha furiously asks while the goblin slowly leans towards her.
"Belial, what are you doing?"
Asahi's gray eyes palpitate, then hastily pulls Aletha away from the creature. He grits his teeth and stares into the large droopy dark brown eyes and the slimy green skin. The villagers stand back, glaring at the scene, while Drimi and the others prepare for any danger to pop out.
As time elapses, one moment arrives that none of them ever would expect.
The giant goblin monster shouts at the wanderers.
"Need. Fruit!"
The wanderers stagger in confusion.
"...Eh?"
A mildly deep young male voice sounds out from the crowd.
"Stay back from the creature; I know what he needs."
The wanderers turn their heads behind them, seeing at the far distance from the crowd of villagers is a bright orange luminance, shining on the walls of the houses and bodies of people. Drimi places her dark black mask over her mouth, feeling a sense of power running through the stream and the orange luminance behind the aggravated villagers.
Belial takes a relieved sigh, knowing who the orange luminance belongs to.
"Ah, it's him. The true boy that was with the Nameless adventurer ever since she arrived in the world."
Belial gives a weak grin as the orange luminescent boy pops out from the villagers. He has long dark brown hair, beautiful glistening tangerine slash baby blue eyes, one of his arms is covered in orange luminescent tattoos.
"Greetings, it is I, the strongest warrior from the burning nation of Obrus."
Aletha tilts her head in confusion and asks while Asahi stands blatantly still, waiting for the meaning of the goblin's strange words.
"Who are you?"
The tall boy stands confidently, with his black scarf covering his neck. There is a subtle blend of a beating orange lingering at the tips of his fabric and two long floating strands fluctuating back and forth in the air.
He has dark skin and wears a bright glowing snake-shaped necklace. As the villagers impatiently wait, the boy shouts to the crowd.
"Well, my lady... my name is Phthonus. I am a human from the distant nation of Zomrack, here to support the needs of this village and Pladtioa as a whole."
Asahi backs away from Phthonus and asks while pushing his white hair to the side.
"Why do you need to support the village? You don't look like a guy who would volunteer to do such things."
Phthonus tilts his head and squints his fierce eyes towards Asahi. He pulls his black scarf off from his mouth and replies with a sarcastic tone.
"So… I that I can afford to return to Zomrack, duh. Do you know how much it costs just to travel overseas from Pladtioa's ridiculous docking prices? Sigh, I don't have enough Gincoins to travel back to Vehemat."
He takes a deep breath, then perks his head back and forth from his surroundings. Phthonus faintly mutters while staring at the wanderers with his glimmering orange eyes.
"Hold on, I just realized,"
The wanderers stare at Phthonus while the goblin monster snores loudly. Phthonus approaches uncomfortably closest to the wanderers and points to their heads.
"Both of you have white hair. I have never seen such a bright beauty ever in this world. Where did you two come from?"
The wanderers remain silent, then point to the large green goblin sitting comfortably on the Water Well. Phthonus swiftly taps his foot against the dirt, then jumps up in realization.
He fixes his long dark mocha hair, then yells out to everyone.
"From my past travels in the jungles of Obrus, where most of the goblin race dwells, I can easily assure all of you that this beast wants a 'special' fruit. This 'fruit' can only grow on the fluorescent trees of the jungle and nowhere else. So... if you ever want to have a chance to move the goblin, you probably need to travel to the nearest Goblin camps in Pladtioa,"
All of the villagers gasp while the wanderers' eyes fall silent, with their eyes widening in pure dread.
"If you must, could you please allow me to travel with the brave heroes that dare to accept this quest? I can lead all of them towards the Forest of Plados, which is on the other side of the nation, farest from Milmoor."
Belial taps Phothonus' shoulder and drones to him while pointing to the wanderers.
"How about you travel with those two. I will stay here to guard the village from monsters."
Sally jumps up ecstatically.
"Can I come?!"
Drimi grabs Sally's hand and playfully places her hands over her heart.
"I will come as well. I have unique fighting tactics when it comes to fighting goblins."
The villagers' mood changes, with them feeling relieved and somewhat happy for this announcement. Phthonus agrees, nods, and smiles while putting his scarf back on.
He jumps down from the Well and approaches Drimi and Sally. His height towers Drimi, but Sally remains to be higher.
"I guess I can hang out with a beauty like this woman--
Drimi roughly pushes him away from her and viciously squints her purple eyes at him.
"Don't even think about it."
Phthonus sighs and shakes his head. He gives a slight shrug while walking along the cobblestone roads.
"Ugh, fine."
The wanderers rush to Drimi, Sally, and Phthonus. They walk towards the exit of the village, seeing the streetlights turn on and the windows of houses flashing in amber light. The cool evening breeze blows on all of them, soothing the heat from earlier.
Just like that, they didn't even acknowledge everyone that they were leaving, not even Clover.
Deep in all of their minds, they just want this quest to be over. They all have complete confidence that this quest will be a breeze, especially with a powerful-looking strange like Phthonus and a dark-haired dominant beauty like Drimi.
Even Sally is confident in succeeding in this seemingly straightforward task.
As the sounds of crickets chirping and the night duties fill all of their ears, Asahi curiously whispers to Drimi while Aletha strolls near Phthonus, gazing in awe at his appearance.
"So, is that it? Is that how this plan will work?! Are we just going to leave the village without telling anyone? Is this quest that easy?"
As the glistening luminescent ball of moonlight rises from the fleeting horizons of the tranquil grassy hills, Drimi replies while hearing the distant cheers behind all of them.
"Pretty much. Sometimes, quests like these take only but a few hours to complete. Nevermind that. All I want from the both of you is one simple answer to my question."
Asahi nods his head while faintly replying with a smile.
"Sure, what is it?"
Drimi slowly tilts her head to the ground, feeling a sense of dread coming from the unknown. As a firefly passes while the others walk in front of them, Drimi asks Asahi in a firm, curious tone in her deep feminine voice.
"How did Akwan die?"