Millions of galaxies away from Earth, a solitary little planet orbited a yellow star, accompanied only by three moons in its celestial dance. Diverse races coexisted peacefully on this planet, despite occasional minor conflicts that the rulers ensured remained inconsequential. Divided into ten parts, each race inhabited its designated area. According to Lorzark, the human settlement lay nearby, reachable only by ship.
"How do we obtain a ship?"
"You don't acquire one, you board one. They charge 20 luxs per head. But you foreigners have no money, right?" Lorzark grinned disdainfully, intending to manipulate the situation to his advantage. Promising them money might secure his release and allow him to return for revenge.
"Is this what you speak of?" Heidi raised a green coin.
"W-Where did you get those?"
"I assumed they were valuable, so I took them from the orcs I encountered. I have hundreds; getting to the human settlement won't be an issue. The real challenge is the means to get there." She said casually, scratching her head with the knife hilt.
"Hehehe, you'll still need my map to navigate there." Lorzark persisted, but his expression shifted to pain as Heidi produced a map from her bag.
"This map. You thought I'd only take money. You underestimated me." Heidi laughed, scrutinizing the map. Her attention was drawn to the ship port on the map's corner. "Since there's only one port, I assume that's our destination, right?... Right?!"
"Y-Yes, that's where you must go."
"Good." Heidi rolled the map and exited the room.
"Wait!" Lorzark shouted.
"What now?"
"Kill me. It's better than letting you live, for I swear on my mother's name that I'll find and seek revenge. I'll decimate everyone you've ever loved and reduce you to a crawling dog before I end you." Lorzark's words dripped with chilling malevolence, resembling a frenzied animal.
"Your threats are pitiful. I'm not frightened... Hahahahahaha. Do you really think your little drama scares me?" Heidi's expression shifted from mocking to cold as she advanced toward Lorzark, expertly flicking her knife. She resembled the grim reaper, each step a judgment upon Lorzark.
Her voice carried immense killing intent as she spoke quietly, "After what you've seen, you should've known not to cross me." With a swift movement, Lorzark's scream echoed as an important part of him fell to the ground.
"Let's see how you plan to subdue me without that."
Seeing his manhood dancing on the floor, it wasn't sure wether it was the pain or the thought that he had been reduced to half a man that made Lorzark pass out.
Heidi could care less about any of the two as she concealed herself with her hood and exited the room, Closing the door behind she was met with scared eyes and shivering bodies. "Did you guys see another ghost?" She harrumphed and walked away leaving behind only a few words. "We need to depart from here."
"You're not in control, so you don't decide for the group. We're staying here tonight!" Eloise confronted Heidi.
"Pft. If you want to stay, do so. If you want to join me, follow. No questions." Heidi's voice remained impartial. "But remember, if you're kidnapped again, I won't bother searching for you."
"..."
"..."
"Good luck." With that, she vanished into the darkness. The rest quickly locked themselves in, apprehensive of the unknown in this alien world. Finding corners to settle for the night, they, teenagers shaken by recent near-death encounters, concealed their unease.
Meanwhile, Eloise slipped into a room, undressed, and slid into a wooden bathtub. The bath seemed to ease her accumulated stress from the perilous experiences of the past day. Suddenly, a hand grasped her, jolting her awake.
"Ethan, it's you! You could've warned me!"
"I'm sorry. I couldn't wait any longer." Ethan said, but Eloise promptly halted his advance.
"What are you doing, Ethan? Others might walk in!"
Ethan gazed at Eloise's naked form, familiar yet always fascinating. "I've locked the door, and they're aware of us. Let's not hide our relationship," he said, lifting and laying her on the bed.