Leon's POV
I made it to the village. There were about twenty, maybe a little more, but definitely not over thirty houses scattered around the place. Surrounding them were fields where villagers were busy picking crops. The second they noticed me, though, they got spooked and quickly backed away. Not long after, a massive guy, easily several times my height, came out of one of the buildings. He was carrying what looked like a huge stick with an axe blade on the end—probably a halberd. He had the look of someone who was this village's defender.
"State your business here," he said, voice low and threatening.
I raised my hands. "I'm not here to cause any trouble," I told him. "I just heard this village had been hit by a string of kidnappings—women being taken—so I came to investigate."
"How do I know you're not one of them?" he asked, eyes narrowing with suspicion.
