Chapter 4

The atmosphere grew tense as Xain, Larkin, and Zee braced themselves for the expected charge from the mercs mounted atop the razorhooves. However, to their surprise, it didn't happen. The mercs simply stood there, observing but refraining from attacking.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Xain voiced his confusion. Larkin, squinting to discern the mercs' intentions, tried to gauge their demeanor. *They don't look nervous, so they aren't afraid or anything. So why?* he pondered.

Unexpectedly, one of the mercs broke the silence. "To any villagers who want to leave, if you attack those three, you will be allowed to do so!" The man delivering this message appeared to be the leader, a bald individual in his late forties. A saber stood by his side, and the razorhoove beneath him seemed to be the largest, likely the pack's leader.

The trio exchanged confused glances before shifting their attention to the villagers. "You won't attack us, right?" Xain nervously chuckled, seeking reassurance. The villagers, uncertain and wary, exchanged glances among themselves.

"This place is quarantined, so these people are forced to stay here. Be on guard; someone might really want to get out," Larkin warned, and the three of them formed a protective circle, backs to each other, ready for any potential aggression from the villagers. However, none of the villagers made a threatening move.

The mercenary leader shouted once more, "This is your last chance! If you attack them, you will be permitted to leave!" The villagers exchanged glances again, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, a teenage girl, about Xain's age, with white hair and gray eyes, stepped forward. Without hesitation, she picked up a rock and hurled it, not at the trio. Instead, the rock sailed over their heads, aiming straight for the mercenary leader's face. "Like hell we will!" she yelled defiantly.

The mercenary leader effortlessly caught the thrown rock but clicked his tongue in annoyance as the other villagers defiantly yelled, "Yeah, get out of here!" "We aren't your slaves!" "Get the hell out of here!" The trio looked around in surprise.

"Never mind then," Larkin remarked as he witnessed all the villagers cursing out the mercenaries, telling them to leave. The mercenary leader's men took a step forward atop their mounts, and the villagers fell silent, fear evident in their eyes. However, the white-haired girl remained defiant.

The mercenary leader halted his men with a raised hand, pulling on the reins of his razorhoove. He turned around, declaring, "We'll come back," and waved his hand to signal his men to retreat. As they left, each mercenary shot a glare at the trio and the villagers before galloping away. The trio remained on guard until the mercenaries were out of sight, and then they collectively released a sigh of relief. "That was close," Xain commented, feeling his racing heart gradually calm down.

"Who are you three?" the trio heard someone ask as they turned to see the white-haired girl standing there with her arms crossed, furrowing her brows as she looked at them with suspicion. 

"We're just travelers that needed to go over yonder, but those mercs wouldn't let us through, so we-" Larkin began, but the girl cut him off. "Did I ask for your life story? Just tell me who you are," she demanded, clearly uninterested in pleasantries.

"I'm James, the kid here's Robert," Larkin said, pointing at Xain. "And this girl here's Mary," he added, gesturing to Zee. The white-haired girl rolled her eyes. "What would be your name, lass?" Larkin asked with a fake smile, emphasizing his accent.

"I'll tell you if you stop lying about your names," the white-haired girl retorted. Larkin froze, *How the hell can she tell!?* He exclaimed in his head. "What do you mean? That's our name, we ain't lyin'," Larkin protested.

"At least keep your accent consistent. Sigh, what's your name?" the white-haired girl asked, turning to Xain, who couldn't care less about maintaining a false name at this moment. "I'm Xain, the old man's Larkin, and the cute girl is Zee," Xain said, pointing at them. Larkin looked annoyed, while Zee blushed at the blatant compliment again.

"Can I ask what your name is?" Xain asked, and the white-haired girl replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "Grace." The rest of the villagers gathered around them, curiosity evident on their faces.

"Why did you come here?" an elderly man in his fifties asked the trio with a worried expression. "We didn't want to; it just kind of happened. We wanted to take the road to Aeruna, not come here," Xain explained, earning a disapproving glare from Larkin, who wasn't keen on revealing their motives. The old villager shook his head, expressing concern. "You made a terrible mistake; you won't be able to leave now," he warned. Larkin, hearing this, looked at Xain. "We should be able to if someone was here right now," he suggested, alluding to Cain. Xain, just looked away and whistled nervously.

"Can you tell us why you're being quarantined?" Zee asked. As soon as the question left her lips, Grace clicked her tongue in frustration and kicked a rock angrily. "I told you! He'll use some bullshit to make sure we don't get help!" she yelled, directing her anger at the old man. The trio was taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"What do you mean?" Zee questioned Grace, but before she could respond, the old man spoke up. "We aren't being quarantined. We are being attacked by a man called Verandez Rasanto."

"Attacked?" Xain exclaimed, the trio exchanging concerned glances. "For what?" Larkin pressed, and the old man looked down at the ground. "We do not know, not exactly anyway. But we can tell you one thing for sure," he said as he looked up at the trio. "He wants to kill all of us."