“Marion!

Marion!!”

I came out of the tent hearing my name. It is early morning and I was just about to start my daily job of trying to create a potion successfully. I came out to see those three idiots back from the ingredient hunt in which I had sent them. Along with the bags, they came in with visitors... two of them actually.

I saw Javel was carrying one of the visitors on his back. While behind him, the other visitor was being escorted by Paleg and Ron. Looking towards the face that Ron was making... he looked like a lecherous beastman.

Me: “What happened, Javel?”

Javel put the visitor down close to the burnt out camp fire. He laid the visitor nice and easy and after putting the visitor down he went and sat on the ground himself. He looked very tired... perhaps he had to carry the visitor for a long period of time.

The other visitor sat beside its acquaintance while Paleg sat opposite to them, laying two bags on the ground. Ron tried to sit beside the visitors, but Javel shooed him away. With a disgruntled look on his face, Ron sat beside Paleg, who was grinning.

Both of the visitors had a long black hood over their heads, which covered almost all of their faces. I was not able to make anything out from their faces and judging from their attire, they were too lightly armoured... I don’t think they might be seasoned adventurers. Maybe they are just starting.

I approached them while wondering about the identities of both the visitors. I asked Javel again while he catches his breath.

Me:  “What is going on?”

Javel: “We found them while we were hunting Anugars in the Kibilnarg Swamp.”

Me: “Did you get the amount I asked for?”

Javel: “Yes... Paleg has those ingredients of yours.”

Me: “Who are they?”

Javel: “That’s what I was going to inform you before you interrupted me.”

Me: “Ohh... somebody’s grumpy.”

Javel rolls his eyes showing annoyance on his face. He rarely gets annoyed and when he does... it’s always Ron’s fault. I turned towards Ron, who sat grumpily. He saw me looking towards him and quickly exclaimed.

Ron: “Hey! It wasn’t me!

Why would you think that?”

Me: “Because... you are always giving someone headaches.”

Ron: “Well... not this time... not entirely, at least.”

I look back towards Javel.

Javel: “Anyway... while we were resting after finishing our hunting, we encountered these two beastmen there. One of them has an injury, please tend to him.”

Me: “Then that explains why you were carrying one of them and you are grumpy too.”

Javel: “What is the relation between that and my mood?

And... I am not grumpy.”

Smirking, I answer him.

Me: “Yes... yes you are.”

He kept looking towards me while I saw different kinds of emotions run through his face, but not wanting to explode he stood up.

Javel: “I am going to rest in the tent.”

He starts to walk towards the tent, but stopped going a little while. He turns back and speaks.

Javel:  “Do not disturb me.”

With that, he starts making his way towards the tent. I turn my attention towards the new visitors who all this while kept talking within themselves. Muttering something between themselves, but when I came near them, they stopped and changed their behaviour. Without minding any of it, I approached them with a smile.

Me: “Hello... my name is Marion.”

The one who sat facing me with its face covered by the long hood was wearing a black long coat over simple leather armour. The beastman looked up and finally removed the hood, revealing its face. It was a beastwoman. She had thin eyebrows and had straight, neck-length orange hair, but what made a deep impression on me were her blue crescent eyes. I have never seen any beastmen endowed with those types of eyes and never even heard of it. It really surprised me.

She smiled, which did not reach her eyes.

“I am Liala.”

She spoke softly, but her voice contained a hint of coldness to it. After informing her name to me she put her left hand to the other one who was sitting with its back towards me. The other one pulled down its hood and turned around. It was a beastman with similar feature to the beastwoman with him. Same hair colour along with same long coat with a light armour inside. He has high cheek bones and a long face. Same blue crescent eyes as his companion too. He too was smiling, but it didn’t feel... welcoming.

“Wilm... Wilm is my name.”

He spoke with a deep voice which didn’t suit with his small body stature. He was being carried by Javel which tells me he would be close to my shoulders. For a moment, I thought about remembering any clans that have this kind of eyes and orange hair, but still came up empty.

I decided to ask them.

Me: “It is nice to meet you both. I am sorry, but from which clan do you belong?”

Both of them froze for a second... or did I just imagine that?

Liala: “Umm... we... we came from a clan far away from here.”

Me: “From which quadrant?”

Liala: “East... you could say we are from the eastern quadrant.”

Me: “Really! Then from which Clan are you from?”

Liala: “We are... we are from...”

Wilm: “We are from the Zarc Clan.”

Me: “Zarc... zarc clan... I-I haven’t heard about them before.”

Wilm: “We are located in the extreme eastern part of the continent and we got affiliated with the Council of Zoit just recently.”

Me: “Ohh... okay. Please show me your injury.”

I asked Wilm. I heard them, but still have difficulty believing them. Probably in the last ten years only one such clan ever came out and that too was the transformation of a whole clan which was Zuma to Blood Zuma. Maybe... we were so busy about focusing elsewhere that we overlooked such news. Well from another point, it is great news for our continent as a whole. We are getting stronger and stronger.

He rolled up his pant sleeves and showed me a deep gash on his right leg. It was a clean cut and blood was still flowing out. I sat in front of him and took a closer look at the cut. Although clotting had formed, but it still bled from some parts and I noticed a small amount of green liquid on the edges of the cut. Probably a cut from a monster that likes to paralyze its prey before killing it.

I turned towards Ron and shouted.

Me:”Hey! Bring me a bowl of warm water, some clean clothes and my kit within the tent.”

He quickly got up and started to bring me what I asked within a flash. At first it was suspicious, but while warming the water and so forth, he kept looking towards where I was... then I noticed as to where specifically where he was looking. He was showing off to Liala.

While Ron was preparing what I asked him to do, I inspected the cut more.

Me: “How did you get this injury?”

Liala: “We... we were travelling through the swamp and something came out of the ground and attacked us. That’s when he got injured.”

Me: “In the Kibilnarg Swamp?

You two should have been more careful. Were you there for some quest?”

Liala: “Quest?”

Me: “Yes... quest.”

Wilm: “We were not part of any... quest.”

Me: “Are you not adventurers?”

Ron: “Here you go... water, clean cloth and your medic kit.”

I looked towards Ron, who kept stealing glances towards Liala. I muttered under my breath.

Me: “You have no chance.”

Ron looked at me and gave a false smile.

Ron: “We will see.”

He walked back towards his spot while I started dressing Wilm’s wound.

Me: “Sorry for that... anyway, what Rank of adventurers are you?”

Wilm: “We are not adventurers.”

Me: “Then... what were you doing walking through the swamp? At what time did you get attacked?”

Liala: “It was night and dark.”

I was surprised to hear that and looked towards her.

Me: “Did you not buy the maps from any Council Offices?”

Liala: “Umm... no.”

Me: “That is stupid! This is standard practice... always buy maps made for civilians if you want to travel through this continent. It contains the safest routes for the civilians to travel, which areas to avoid, where the safe spots are and where the Guard posts are.

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Did you not know about this?”

Wilm: “No.”

Liala: “We... we were newly affiliated so our knowledge is very limited.”

Me: “Hmm... where were you heading?”

I completely cleaned the cut and closed the wound with some mashed herbs. It would take at least a day for him to get some movement back to his leg.

Wilm: “We were travelling towards a certain clan land.”

Me: “Which one?”

Liala: “Fe-Feli land.”

I looked up hearing their destination.

Me: “I have finished treating your wound Wilm. You should be able to move by tomorrow.”

Wilm: “Tomorrow!

We need to start out journey now.”

Me: “Don’t worry. We too are heading towards the Feli land so please rest until then.”

I stood up and headed towards the tent. I glanced towards Ron, who kept stealing glances towards Liala. Stupid...

Still... it is really weird not knowing anything about their clan and every beast clan are informed of what to do or not to do while traversing the continent lands. They should have been made aware of because it is really dangerous travelling without knowing which routes are dangerous for travelling.

******************************************************************

[ CAPITAL ]

[ HIGH COUNCIL – MEETING ROOM ]

“Has everybody familiarized themselves with Report- 1056/B.”

“Is this a joke!”

“This is absurd... there must be some mistake!”

“I think I will choose to believe what has been stated in the report.”

“That’s foolish Councillor Acintus.”

“Councillor Hyae... your choosing of not believing the report does not make the report false.”

“But Councillor Panthris!

We never even heard about them before... how can we believe...”

“Councillor Vest... Are you suspecting a report filed by one of your clan member or the verification done by the Department of Defence?”

“Th-that’s not the point Councillor Pantheo... it is simply... shocking to hear we were infiltrated and we didn’t have any information about it.”

“That... should be our prime topic of discussion.”

“I agree with Councillor Acintus.”

“I would also like to discuss the matter of Blood Zuma, Councillor Panthris.”

“Councillor Accipi, are not satisfied knowing that they will not pose any threat to the integrity of the Zoit continent?”

“That... is not my entire concern about them Councillor Acintus.

They overpowered those Dynoth monsters as well as found the true culprit behind the attack not just on the Galeform Clan, but also upon the Reha Clan. They overpowered our foes which we couldn’t... even after many years of fighting with them. They...”

“Councillor Accipi... this council has already gathered enough report from the field about them. We would discuss the matter, but not right now.”

“Councillor Pantheo is right. Then let us start our discussion about the matter stated in the Report - 1056/B.

The matter about the incursion of a foreign entity within our lands and their active participation in events which led to the deaths of many Zoit citizens.”

“I still find it uneasy to believe...”

“Councillor Vest, aren’t you from the great fighting clan of Vest?”

“Yes... that is true Councillor Panthris.

And exactly that is why I shudder at the fact that we were breached by some foreign elements which we had no knowledge of. It took a mere coincidence to even know about them.

This incident clearly tells me that we... are not prepared for the level of warfare this foreign land will bring to our land.”

“The Queendom of Deirdre Mhic... it is called.

The point which Councillor Vest stated, is important. This whole incident showed us that the Queendom of Deirdre Mhic’s capability is far cunning and maybe far powerful than us... at this point in time.”

“Hmm... I agree Councillor Pantheo. We are lacking both in information as well as military capability.”

“They infiltrated us like nothing... how did they enter our land?”

“It is a very serious matter... our borders are not safe. We should fortify it even more.”

“Councillor Acintus, it is not even possible to fortify our entire eastern border just like that. First... we don’t even know how they entered our land.”

“That is a very good point Councillor Vest. We should prioritize finding their infiltration route first before sanctioning any kind of military order.”

“We should also look into training our soldiers for situations like this Councillor Pantheo.”

“And... and they used some kind of crystal to control the Dynoths?”

“Yes... that is what mentioned in the report and the Department of Defence has confirmed of such crystal albeit it is now broken, Councillor Hyae.”

“It is sending shivers down my spine. How did they manage to build such crystal?”

“Please Councillor Accipi, please stay calm.

I suggest we should order the crystal to be examined by the Research and Development Department of the Army.”

“Excellent suggestion Councillor Panthris, I second it.”

“Yes, more we know about this crystal the more ways we could find to counter its effect.”

“Then it’s final... the crystal will be transported to the Army’s Research and Department Department.”

“Yes, Councillor Panthris.”

“Now... onto the next problem.”

“Finding the ways by which they infiltrated us.”

“It is going to be tough finding it, Councillor Vest.”

“Not if we first try to find ways to act smartly now, Councillor Accipi. If there was one group... who’s to say there aren’t more of them? We should find ways to comb our lands and trying to find the gaps in our defenses simultaneously.”

“That would take many resources and a huge amount of time to successfully pull that plan, Councillor Vest.”

“Then how, Councillor Accipi?”

“I-I don’t have any idea.”

“I suggest we should have a meeting with the Army Chief of Staff.”

“I agree... we should be able to figure out a way to tackle this problem.”

“Councillor Panthris, we should also meet with the Blood Zuma.”

“Why? Why them, Councillor Acintus?”

“Judging from the reports we have got about them... they are a clan built for offensive purposes. We should use whatever resources we have in our reach to deal with the situation.”

“But Councillor Acintus... can we trust them?”

“Councillor Hyae... they were able to turn the tides of the war within days. A war which we struggled to fight for a long time. I don’t know if we can trust them, but I do know... we need them in our side, fighting for us against this new enemy.”

“That is a fair assessment Councillor Acintus. I support this idea.”

“Then we should send delegates to ease out whatever bitterness they hold against us.”

“An age long discrimination does not create just bitterness Councillor Panthris... it creates distrust for us.”

“Who would have known it would turn this way, Councillor Pantheo?”

“I move the High Council to ban the Council Order #115: Willful Extermination.”

“I, Councillor Pantheo... agree.”

“I... Councillor Panthris agree.”

“I... agree.”

“Thank you Councillor Vest.”

“Hey! Why are you looking at us like that? You already have a majority. You don’t need our vote.”

“Councillor Hyae... it is for the betterment of our continent.”

“Alright... I agree too... with this.”

“And Councillor Accipi?”

“I still think we can’t trust them.”

“Please Councillor Accipi... we really need them.”

“Huhh... okay... I, Councillor Accipi give my vote in favor of Councillor Acintus’s proposal.”

“Excellent!

Due to a unanimous decision... Council Order #115: Willful Extermination is hereby banned by the Working Committee of the High Council of Zoit.”