The Lone Man Blocking The Way

The five of them talked as they travelled watching trees pass by with time. From random things like silly stories to their last job they did, their group became a little more open with Seli. For the most part from what they saw she was a relatively kind person who seemed more social than most of them. In ways it reminded Xilo of old Tearia's social skills but a lot more kind. Watching countless beasts die from time to time XIlo didn't really contribute much to the conversations. Instead he just listened as he kept watch before a small question came to his mind.

"What exactly are we protecting here anyway, I know it's some kind of product but what exactly?"

"From what I heard it's apparently just a lot of supplies. Recently there's been rumours of a weird sickness spreading and merchants have started to deliver large amounts of materials. Other than that though I'm kinda in the dark about it. It's too new to say much else yet."

Hearing that Xilo's blood froze a bit as he thought about the sickness they just dealt with. "So they're already making progress." If more towns were getting sick then Xilo was really happy they gave Telan that cure. If they were heading to another sick town though it might be best to let them know in advance. Sadly he had no way to do it so he would have to wait until they got to the town. "Though this is a more recent neglected job." If that was the case maybe they were already on top of it just a little behind. Though he wondered how they were handing that one ingredient Selin that they were forced to get.

"It's a sickness that sucks away your Astral Energy until you eventually die. If people are already starting to figure it out, no point in hiding it."

"You know about it?"

"Yeah, like I talked about with our last job, that was what we were dealing with. It's quite nasty and dangerous."

Holding off on any more details, Xilo kept it at that as he looked at the center cart in their formation. If what Seli said was true this job became a lot more important than he initially thought. "Explains the amount of guards." Before he thought it was too much for just a simple delivery but Telan probably gave the merchant a heads up which led to more protection. Most likely these people weren't here to defend from Astral Beasts but people instead. Which meant there was even less room for fooling around then before. "I thought this might have been a break from that but things are moving faster than I thought." Ignoring Astral Beasts in the forest around them Xilo started to keep an eye out for humans.

"Why didn't he warn us?"

"Who?"

"Nothing..."

If Telan was aware of what was happening he should have said something when they picked this job. Instead they continued on like normal and didn't even drop a hint. "What is going through your head?" Was this some sort of test he had planned for him or something else entirely. Running back and forth in his head, Xilo couldn't figure it out. "Looks like we have some talking to do when I get back." If Telan seriously thought he could go behind his back like this then he was dead wrong. Xilo wasn't some errand boy that he could control on a whim. "Fuck, well we're here now." Deflating Xilo took a deep breath as he tried to calm down.

"You okay Xilo?"

Hearing Xelfia's concerned voice, Xilo knew that the three of them had also realized what was up now. Their more relaxed natures from before we're already gone like it never even happened and they were all on alert. If someone was going to attack this group of people, they were either going to be insanely strong or a big group of them. They would probably wait until they got further away from the city though in case back up arrived. "I give it a day until they attack but best to be safe." With time passing on Xilo and their group continued in silence until eventually night arrived.

Once that happened the whole group stopped and set up camp for the night. Groups were created to keep watch and swap between sleeping as they stayed idle. Only Astral Beasts attacked them in the night and they handled that swiftly. Eventually the sun rose in the sky as the group packed everything up and got to moving again. Seli had grown a little more closer to them but for the most part they still kept her at a distance. With one day of travelling down they were already far enough from the city for an attack to come. If one was going to come it'd be soon and Xilo was ready for it.

Watching the trees Xilo tried to find any trace of humans until he heard a rustling up ahead of chatter. Looking forward to the front of the group, Xilo tried to see what was up but was blocked by the crowd of people. Seeing everyone stop Xilo signaled to the four women beside him as they moved up to get a better view. He figured maybe they were being attacked now but no one seemed to be panicking. "What's going on?" Arriving near the front of the crowd Xilo looked ahead to see one lone man silently standing on the pathway without budging. Hearing the crowd's mumbling, one of them shouted at the man to get out of the way but he didn't budge. Instead the man in the road put his arm on his weapon at his belt in reply.

"Is this the attacker they sent for us?"

Staring at this stranger Xilo watched one of the more hot blooded men of the group walk up to confront him.

"Hey trash, We said to move it, We're on a deadline here and can't be bothered by such a useless waste of time."

Xilo was a bit weirded out by the situation but he was pretty certain everyone here knew this person wasn't actually enough to stop them. It was more likely they all knew he was here to attack them instead but were confused by the fact that he was alone. So they sent out a person to test the waters and see if their concerns were right. Standing in front of the hooded man the lone soldier that protected the merchant took out his weapon and aimed it at the man. If the hooded figure wasn't going to give him a reply or move then he would use force. "Let's see how tough you really are." With a giant axe in hand he swung it down at the figure in front of him.

"Fine if you won't move, I'll make you move!"

Slamming the ground the man shouted his last words in the afternoon sky. Watching in slight horror, the crowd all saw the hooded man draw his blade for a quick second before the man fell to the ground in pieces. Shocked, all the crowds mumbling and doubt had faded away, replaced by an eerie silence that crawled up their skin and turned their blood cold. Not a single one of them saw that attack happen. They only knew it was from him because they saw the hooded figure put away his blade. "Such speed." Standing there Xilo clutched his weapon as he got ready for a fight. Unlike all the others he wasn't paralyzed in fear however in the next second he froze.

"Oi, Monster I know you're in that crowd. Come on out."

The hooded figure finally said something, except it caused Xilo to feel sick.