Where did the Villagers go?

"Ren! The Kitsune is getting away!" Shouted Artoria as she tried to catch up to the monster.

However, Ren stopped her before she could start chasing.

"Why did you stop me," angrily yelled Artoria. "We let the monster get away!"

Ren gave Artoria a smile. "I didn't let the monster get away. I'm just letting it lead us to its home. Besides, one should never give a chase as you never know if the enemy has set up a trap for you. For all we know, there could be more Kitsune on this island."

Artoria struggled internally before letting out a sigh and giving up on chasing the fox monster.

"How do you know there is more than one fox monster?"

Ren let out a shrug. "It's mostly a guess really, but I don't think a single Kitsune can annihilate a village by itself. Especially to be quick and strong enough to force a village population to move away or kill them all without leaving a trace. Seems like a tall fit for a single monster to do, not to mention the Kitsune we just faced."

Ren let out a sigh before shaking his head. "The Kitsune we just faced was probably a scout or a guard. Someone left here to see if newcomers arrived… or if the villagers came back."

"So what do we do now?" Asked Artoria with a grumble.

"Let's see if there is a weapon shop or a smithy on this island. We need to upgrade your weapon and buy some armor for you before we engage in another fight."

Ren gave a glance towards Artoria's wooden sword with a frown.

"I don't think your wooden longsword can take another battle."

Artoria followed Ren's gaze and glanced down at her wooden longsword which was burned on one side of the blade with chips here and there. A fine crack had also appeared across the blade alarming Artoria.

"… you're probably right. We should see if there is a new sword for me," said Artoria after a long sigh.

Ren nodded his head and the two of them started to search the village for a smithy or weapon store. However, when they came across one the two of them were severely disappointed.

"Why is the weapon store empty? Not even a single weapon?"

"How odd indeed," whispered Ren as he ran his finger along the empty weapon racks.

"What's so odd?"

"Well usually if we visit a weapon store in an abandoned village and there are no weapons, it means two things."

"What does it mean?" Asked Artoria with a raised eyebrow.

"It means whoever attacked stole all the weapons which is probably unlikely as the Kitsune have no need for human weapons, and two, that the villagers took the weapons with them."

Artoria widened her eyes. "Are you saying the villagers are alive?"

Ren nodded his head. "They probably relocated somewhere on the island. Seeing as they left a few ships in the dock, I am probably right about this."

"How do you know?"

"Usually, normal villagers don't own ships for themselves. Evacuating an entire village on a few ships would be difficult since they need to pack food and water as well. Every ship would become a necessity then which makes it odd that they would leave even a few ships."

"I see," said Artoria while nodding her head. "That makes sense. So what are we gonna do now?"

"Let's find some hidden villagers shall we?" Responded Ren with a grin.

[A/N: took a break on Sunday.]