Ch 37: The Hospitality of the Locals

"HMMmm… hmm… HMmmM…" Baldeur hummed a tune as the locals gathered around them and led them to the tavern.

"Has war broken out yet? Last we heard the other kingdoms were upset with the monopoly of trade coming from your gate." Someone asked.

"It hasn't. King Dorie has allowed us to set up trade with his neighbors." Piaras responded.

"Are there still plagues in the south?" Another asked.

"From what we've heard they're not as bad anymore." Derbail said.

"Have the elves of Ash'ghij had their hundred year tournament yet?" A young kid asked.

"I haven't heard anything about that." Piaras said.

Questions like that continued as they were ushered into the tavern in the middle of the village. The building also served as their town hall and general meeting place.

The center table was set up for them as drinks and food were brought out. The villagers crowded around them still asking their questions.

The entire time Baldeur continued to hum.

"I have a question." Piaras said.

"Well, ask away. We're far away from anything important, so I'm not sure how helpful we can be." The village chief asked.

"You." Piaras pointed to a young woman. "That's a very beautiful bracelet you have there. Where did you get it?" He asked.

"Oh, umm." She instantly became nervous as the other villagers became tense.

"I bought it off some people headed to the central peaks." A young man quickly said.

"Really. It's just that I had a coworker that had one similar to that. They bought it on a different world when we were working together." Piaras replied.

The villagers went quiet and the only sound was the soft humming of Baldeur.

"Aisling, since I'm supposed to be evaluating and training you in practical ways, when did you figure it out?" Piaras asked.

"Something seemed wrong from the moment we entered the valley but I didn't realize where my discomfort came from until we entered here and became surrounded. Sorry I should have noticed earlier." Aisling said.

"Ah, don't feel that bad. I didn't notice until Piaras asked about the bracelet." Sigurd said.

"Maybe if you weren't checking out the village lasses you would have noticed right away." Haydn said.

"Well when did you notice?" Sigurd asked.

"Around the time Baldeur started humming with Divinus." Haydn said.

"Derbail, tell me I wasn't the only one of us seniors that was a bit behind?" Sigurd said.

"Sorry, I could see the hunger in their eyes pretty early on." Derbail said.

"Before we begin, could you tell us what happened to our people?" Piaras asked the village chief.

"Since you've already drunk and ate our poisons, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to know what is about to happen to you. It is by the will of our Lord Sathanas that you have been brought to us. Your blood shall be offered to our lord and your flesh shall nourish our bodies. Just like your friends." The village chief responded.

"I see. If that's the case, we don't need to hold back." Piaras said.

"Well, I probably over did but you all have a couple buffs and protections from Divinus. Most notably I neutralized the shit they put in our meal." Baldeur said as he stopped humming.

"Humph, I could have done it without your help." Aisling said.

There was another moment of silence before one of the bigger villagers pulled out a long knife and went for Piaras' head.

Their leader turned in his chair and swiped his arm as thick fur and claws formed. The claws tore the man's arm off and as Piaras stood up, his transformation continued as he became a werewolf.

"Kill them all!" The village chief yelled.

Man, woman, and child pulled out weapons or activated spells to attack their group.

Haydn and Derbail made their way onto the table. They provided ranged support and countered the spells from the villagers. The other four took up position on each side of the table.

With a few words and a hand sign, Sigurd formed spectral armor around his body and pulled out his longsword.

Claws and black fur formed on Aisling's hands, though the transformation was less complete than Piaras' and was that of a panther rather than a wolf.

One of Baldeur's hands was surrounded with the chill of Winter and the other the flames of the Rising Sun. He flicked his finger towards Aisling and flames coated her claws.

"Since you can't use your Flames of Wrath as much." Baldeur said.

"Thanks." She mumbled and she slashed a man's throat.

For random villagers in the mountains, they were decently strong. It also didn't help that they were also outnumbered nearly twenty to one in the fight.

With so many villagers, it was impossible for Balduer to counter every attack against him. The attacks that he couldn't deflect with his martial arts, activated his Divinus defenses that he had placed on everyone before the fight even began.

The flashes of golden yellow on his companions showed that his preparations were helping everyone.

One by one the villagers ended up on the ground, dead from various ways. As their numbers went down, many of them began to flee.

Piaras leapt forward as the village chief attempted to exit the tavern.

"I think you and I should have a talk. Your answers will determine how much of an effort we make in hunting down the rest of your people." Piaras said.