Author note :
Sorry, I change the story to 3rd PoV so I could be more comfortable writing it. I hope you can enjoy it. Thank you!
-Zeta Faes-
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"Put down all of your weapons to the ground and raise your hands up, Human! Don't resist, or you will face the consequence!"
Seeing the hostility from the dwarves in front of him, Devin frowned at Sarfak as he assessed the situation in front of him.
'Only five dwarves here. If Sarfak didn't step up and explain the situation, I could hold them for at least ten minutes and try to find out a way to get out of this situation. But fighting them would also put the girl in danger. I could always say to Sarah that her sister died. But I don't think I could be that cruel. Damn, my moral compass.'
After seeing Aliyya's scared look as she hides behind him, Devin decided to do as they said, putting down the two guns on his scrabbed and raising up his hands. Even though he is confident he could take them all down, it would be contra-productive to his first purpose to come here.
'Not to mention I would make other enemies if I would do that, and this is also the original holder of that damn book. No, I have to be patient here.'
However, that doesn't mean he would leave himself defenseless. Even though he surrendered his two guns, he still had two hidden knives on his sleeves, one stun gun disguised as a lighter, and a small smoke bomb on his belt that could be triggered instantly when it hit the ground. So, yeah, even though he gave up his guns, he is still confident that he could slip from this place easily.
'For now, let's gather information from the dwarf first.'
"Don't worry, Aya." He patted the girl's back gently. "I will bring you back to your sister. For that, I promise you." The little girl beside him could only nod, her body is still tense as she saw the hostility that was shown by the dwarves.
"Don't make me repeat myself, Human! State your business here or receive our wrath!"
Hearing the hint of impatience from the leader of the dwarves in front of him, Devin knows he needs to act quickly. Fortunately enough, Sarfak didn't forget about his words before and interfered.
"STOP IT, ARI!" Sarfak roared, scaring the hell out of the dwarves in front of them. For a second, Devin could feel the earth beneath them shake, and he knows it was Sarfak's doing. "THEY ARE MY GUEST! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU DISRESPECT THEM HERE!"
Even though a bit scared, the leader of the dwarves in front of them that was identified as Ari stepped up and showed his dissatisfaction.
"YOU CANNOT DO THAT, SARFAK!" He roared back. "YOU KNOW THE RULE! ALL HUMANS ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"
However, Sarfak is not having it.
"DON'T FORGET YOUR PLACE, SON OF AGNAR! I AM THE SON OF SARFAK II, THE NEXT LEADER OF THE DWARF RACE! DON'T OVERSTEP YOUR BOUND!"
Hearing that, Ari scowled as he dropped the spear that he pointed at Devin's neck before turning back to the village. However, right before he did so, he spoke to Sarfak maliciously,
"Don't forget, Sarfak. If anything happened during those human's stay, it would be you who will be responsible. Don't think your father can save you all the time, Son of Sarfak II."
And now, Devin could see Ari's problem clearly. It was not just because Sarfak ignored their rules and invited them here. No, it was a political move from Ari, trying to hurt Sarfak's reputation by spreading rumors that he was invited by the son of the dwarf leader.
It seems some groups are not satisfied with the current dwarf leader and want to usurp it from Sarfak's father.
If he could take a guess, there would be something big happening in the near future that would shake the current political state of the dwarf tribe, and he would be trapped in the middle of the conflict.
'No matter what world I am in, there would always be a fucking politician who messed up like this.'
He would pity Sarfak if he is not the victim here.
'Well, I better prepare for the worst scenario and gather any piece of information here before the access is closed.'
"Sorry about that one, Lad." Sarfak approached him, still grumbling about Ari's attitude. "I don't know what is wrong with him. But I swear he is more annoying as time goes by."
If he didn't know better, Devin would think Sarfak is dumb and didn't understand politics. But after spending a night with him, Devin knows the dwarf is not as simple as he has shown. There is no way he couldn't see the hostility that was directed at him. If Devin had to take a guess, Sarfak tried to hide that so he and Aliyya didn't have any bad impression of the dwarf tribe.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sarfak's voice snapped Devin's thought. "Let's go to Lady Brenda's place first. She is our best healer here, and I have no doubt this boy's condition would be better in her care."
Hearing that, Aya's eyes turned hopeful as she saw the boy on Sarfak's back groaning weakly in pain.
"Will he be okay?"
"Don't worry, Lass!" All of his seriousness when facing Ari before suddenly vanished, getting replaced by the usual goofiness that Devin was familiar with. "After visiting Lady Brenda, he would be as good as new. Just believe it!"
"Um!"
On the journey to the home of this Lady Brenda, Devin could hear the whispers whenever they met dwarves. Even some of them looked at him and Aya strangely. Inwardly, he had to give a prop to Ari for working quite fast to take advantage of this situation.
'Now that the rumor is already spread that human is here, let's see what would be the trigger to cause the bigger problem.'
Devin shook his head, walking faster to keep up with Sarfak's pace. They keep walking for about twenty minutes, from the center to the edge of the village, where a little house is standing in front of them. Honestly, compared to the other building that they have seen in this village, this building is probably the most ordinary one. It looks like a normal building from Earth before World War 3 happened.
However, Devin knows that the more ordinary the building is, the more dangerous the person who lives in it would be. He put his guard on the highest, ready for anything to happen.
Well, it seems Sarfak didn't really care about his reaction, as he just walked to the door and knocked it softly. A few seconds later, they both could hear a soft voice inside the building.
"Come in!"
A grin could be seen on Sarfak's face before he turned around and invited Devin and Aliyya. "Let's go! Don't worry, Lady Brenda is the nicest dwarf in the world. Her Kruluito Curry is something you would crave after eating it."
Devin frowned at the strange name that he has never heard before. "Kruluito?"
However, it was not Sarfak who answered his question, but the same source of the voice earlier who did it. "It is a native animal that lives in this forest, on the moist side of the Crelda Tree, to be exact." Devin tensed for a bit as he didn't really notice her presence until she was just one foot shy from him. However, the source of that voice just ignored him and spoke to Sarfak, "And you are still a flatterer like your father, Child."
Sarfak Grinned stupidly. "Well, what can I say? I learned from the best, Lady Brenda. Hahahaha!"
When Devin turned around, he could see clearly the source of the voice.
It was an old lady, a bit shorter than Sarfak with a Celtic-style dress, smiling fondly at Sarfak like a mother did to her child. However, what surprised Devin the most is how stunningly beautiful the lady is. Oh, he knows she is far older than he could ever imagine. What, with several of her hairs turned grey and a hint of fine line on her forehead. However, it couldn't hide the sharpness of her blue eyes, or her radiant smile that could blind anyone who see it, or even her golden blonde hair that was disguised by the grey ones.
She is by far the most gorgeous person Devin had ever seen in his life.
When the lady finally noticed his and Aliyya's presence, she turned around to face them both and smiles, "And it has been a while since I saw a human wandering around our village. Tell me, child. What can I do for you?"
Unlike the hostility that was shown by the dwarves when they entered the village, this lady's voice is so warm and calming, alluring them to come closer.
"Pretty Lady, please, help my brother!" Aliyya's voice suddenly snapped him from his thought. Apparently, even a little girl like her also knows how stunning the lady in front of them is. "He is hurt, and he is bleeding so much, and he is unconscious! I don't know if he would die or not…."
Tears could be seen threatening to fall from the edge of her eyes. After hearing Aliyya's ramble, the lady kneeled so she could face Aliyya directly as she smiles gently,
"Don't worry, child. As long as your brother is not dead, he would be alright. Now, where is he?"
"Aaah… Lady Brenda, he is here…"
Sarfak looked sheepish while putting down the boy on one of the beds there. Just now Devin noticed, there are a lot of beds even in the living room like this. It seems this Lady Brenda is a doctor in this village.
"Really, Sarfak.." Lady Brenda shook her head in a disapproved manner. "You should know better that patient's safety is the first priority. Now, move away. Let me see the boy first."
Lady Brenda didn't wait for Sarfak to answer as she kneeled immediately, starting to examine the boy's body cautiously. Devin narrowed his eyes, trying to remember as much detail as he could on how Lady Brenda did it. Even though it would be hard to replicate, at least it would give him another basic information on how people manipulate magus.
Lady Brenda seems to chant something in a strange language, which if Devin tried to identify, it would be similar to one language in the Nordic Continent. He couldn't help but frown, as he remembered that the Blessing of Magus on the twins' hands is in Hindi. Is there a language difference between each book?
Meanwhile, Aliyya stared at her brother anxiously as Lady Brenda uses her forefinger to scan over his body. After a while, she took a deep breath before smiling at Aliyya.
"His ribs are cracked, and there are at least six or seven broken bones there. He also lost a lot of blood, but nothing life threatening. Fortunately, there is no hint of injury caused by Magus, so he would be alright. Sarfak, please bring me the red and dark-green potions from my desk."
"Yes, My Lady!"
Without waiting any further, Sarfak ran away, leaving Aliyya who has a hopeful expression on her face. "You mean Theo would be alright?"
Lady Brenda's expression softened a bit. "Yes, little lady. After taking one- or two nights' rest, he would be awake and as good as new. Don't worry about it."
"Um! Thank you, pretty lady!"
All the color on Aliyya's face which seems to be drained a few hours ago started to come back, as her face lightened up after hearing the diagnosis. Lady Brenda let out a small laugh before she turned her attention to Devin, which make the Northern's captain tense for a second.
"Well, little lady.. As we wait for Sarfak to bring the potion, why don't you and your friend introduce yourself?"