It took a few minutes for the others to exit the inn, a few having strange looks on their faces. “So, what’s with the tavern lady?” Daniel asked, pointing his thumb backwards. “I don’t remember being drafted into the military.” Gregor added, mishearing the word as ‘soldier’. Lockheed added his summary of his thoughts. “I ain’t religious.” he uttered.

“Let’s not worry about that.” Alice quickly pointed towards the town square, where the shops still remained along with other adventures. It’d be best if they didn’t know she had just drafted them into being mercenaries. “Now that we have a place to stay, we can check out those stands we couldn’t earlier. There’s also a restaurant down there that I went to the last time I was here, it’s food is better than anything Merla has! We haven’t eaten yet, and it’d be a good place to… get to know each other better, considering we know… nothing about each other?” Alice’s demeanor seemed a rushing one, as if trying to get their minds off of something.

The group accepted this as they made their way back towards the stands they had battled through earlier, the crowds now thinned as the pinkish sky began to grow brighter. A few of their members stopped for a moment before rejoining the group, Hellebore eyeing the sheep plush he had spotted earlier. Gregor stood at the stand containing it, browsing through some jellies and jams.

A bowl of brightly colored fruit adorned the edge of the table he browsed as the others went on ahead, Alice unaware of it as Lockheed’s large figure roamed between the bowl and her. Lockheed was definitely the tallest out of the group by a few inches.

Gregor’s attention turned elsewhere as he sluggishly moved to the right side of the table, away from the fruit. Cymia walked up beside him, eyeing it as she extended her hand, as the fruit was foreign to her. The fruit’s mission was about to end before it had begun.

“Looks like that batch is bad, I wouldn’t touch it. Besides, Jimbobs are pretty sour.” Gregor’s gaze never left the items before him, but he had noticed the top fruit’s duller shade earlier. Cymia sighed before retracting her hand as Alice looked at a table across from the one the fruit lay. The older man who ran the stand eyed Cymia, it seemed Bogans weren’t a common sight around here. Despite this, the man acted naturally, seeing no threat from her. This was in contrast to the glares some people gave walking by, distrusting of her simply by the sight. She tried her best to ignore these stares, but they crept up on her like a slow burning fire.

A young boy brushed past Hellebore’s legs, almost tripping him as he took steps towards where Alice, Daniel and Lockheed were standing. “Hey, watch it!” He yelled to the boy as he was met with giggles. The kid didn’t know any better as his bright blue eyes wandered through the people and stands that surrounded him. His mother ran the stand that Alice was currently browsing, a large crowd of people separating that one from where the fruit lay.

The boy wandered a few paces before stopping to tie his shoe, which he saw had come undone. His red hair fell over his eyes slightly as he bent over. Him tying his shoes was new to him, but his mom always encouraged it and was so excited when he first learned how. He’d make her proud. As the boy knelt down, Gregor had taken a few paces towards him, attempting to look at the stand across from where he was. Cymia remained at the stand she was at, eyeing the fruit again.

The dull colored fruit lay dormant, its position unaltered by either Cymia or any others passing by. As it lay, the top of the boy’s head came above the table as he jolted back up, yelling in victory in conquering his shoelaces. Suddenly, something within the fruit began to activate. Red hair and blue eyes, an unusual color combination for people...

The fruit, although it couldn’t distinguish Alice from any other, sensed red hair and blue eyes on the boy, and so activated the soul spell of the one who had laid the trap.

Without warning, the dull colored fruit burst, the side of it facing the boy opening up and firing something out like a rocket as juices splattered the ground in front of it. Cymia’s head did a double take as the fruit now lay deflated, thrown out of the bowl by a sudden force.

As some object rocketed towards the boy, the woman at the stand in front of where Gregor was walking screamed, seeing her son in the object’s path. Anything moving that fast, no matter what it was, would definitely injure a small child, possibly even kill him.

A quick, soft breeze drifted through Gregor's right side, signifying danger from that direction as that ‘friend’ of his sensed a fairly fast disturbance in the air. Gregor was quick to react, having been within grabbing distance of the child. He instinctively pulled him down, Gregor now in front of him as a makeshift barricade between the projectile and the kid. If the Gods wanted him to go out this way, so be it. Maybe the god Boone would let him in his divine realm, and his Grand Treasury…

No deaths would occur today. A second, sharp gust of wind had signaled Lockheed’s disappearance, an empty spot where he had stood next to Alice. With a second gust of wind, the barreling whooshing sound that had been heard fell dead silent as Lockheed caught whatever the object was, his large figure now standing behind Gregor and the boy.

A few seconds of dead silence followed, only being broken by the boy’s mother clambering through the crowd of now stopped people and almost over her stand as she rushed to the kid, now about to cry. As she reached him, Gregor stood up slowly, eyeing Lockheed’s right hand. Lockheed slowly opened the palm of it. It held nothing.

Even Lockheed was confused by this, even more so by something else. His arm seemed to strain as he held it out before he dropped it. He pulled his arm close, examining it as Gregor took a step closer. He was cut off from his trek by Hellebore, having been close enough to witness the whole thing. “What in the name of… what was that?” He stared at the cowboy with confusion as Alice and Daniel also funneled towards them. Cymia also made her way before eyeing the now deflated fruit skin. “Uh… is that normal?” She pointed towards it.

Gregor was the first to make it to the fallen fruit as the others gathered around Lockheed drilling him with questions. Gregor slowly pulled a small twig off of the ground, carefully prodding the fruit before lifting up one of the flabs where the now missing object flew from. “Interesting.” Gregor said to himself as he slowly picked up the fruit, seeing no danger from it anymore. He pocketed it after swiping a couple napkins from next to him.

“What happened?” Alice asked, walking up behind him as her gaze met the mother who was busy coddling her child. A faint uproar could be heard from Knox as he grabbed Lockheed’s hand, likely investigating where the heck the projectile that shot out of the fruit went.

Gregor had a theory, but he silently hoped he was wrong. “Not sure, but something tells me it's not safe out here in the open anymore.” He quietly made his way back towards the rest of the group as a silent murmur escaped the crowd of strangers now surrounding them. It seems Alice’s efforts to remain undetected had gone out the window, a thought she pondered as she trudged to join them, somewhat irritated.

“Are you ok?” Gregor asked, not specifying whether he asked this towards the boy or to Lockheed as he stood in front of both. The boy’s mother was the first to respond. “I...I think he’s ok. Just scared…” her voice seemed faint. She was a young mother, probably a few years older than Alice. She wore a normal peasant’s gown that was dirtied, showing she didn’t have very many spares. It was obvious she was from a lower sect.

She stood up, dusting off her son with a warm smile before turning to Gregor, who had taken a few paces and now stood beside Lockheed as he eyed his right hand. The mother’s smile faded as she began walking towards them, her child rubbing his dried eyes in tow. Gregor saw her out of the corner of his eye, internally groaning as he thought he was about to be blamed for something that wasn’t his fault. The look in her eye seemed that way.

“Listen, we-” Gregor began, attempting to defend their actions before she went off on them. He was interrupted by the woman wrapping around him in a hug. He was taken aback by this, backing up a pace by the force of it. The lady’s eyes now seemed ripe and ready to cry. “Thank you.” was all he could make out, as the rest of what she said was interlaid with sobs.

He was unsure of how to react. “Uh… yea, sure.” he said as the lady’s grip unlatched from him. Lockheed slowly took a step back, behind Gregor, as he wasn’t feeling up to being hugged by a stranger. The woman wiped her eyes as she whispered something to the child, who quickly ran off on his own again, giggling.

“I’m… not quite sure what happened.” the lady said, her voice starting to return to normal but still cracking. “But were it not for you two I don’t think things would’ve ended up fairly well for us.” she seemed distant, a sniffle coming from her as she eyed her son now hitting a tree with a stick. “I don’t recall seeing either of you here before… where are you from?”

Gregor wasn’t one for conversation unless it involved swindling, and Lockheed remained silent. It seemed Grgeor would have to answer. “Well, we’re heading to Merla for, uh, reasons. We were just staying here for a night, with the rest of our group.” He pointed towards the others, now off to the side. They were murmuring among themselves, theorizing what had happened.

The woman eyed the two before sighing, her smile appearing again. “Well, you’re all welcome to anything you might need.” She eyed her stand. “A lot of the towns closer to Merla have higher prices for supplies. I can give you some of the stuff no one buys today, if you want.” The situation seemed just as awkward for her as it was for them. “Mostly the bread and maybe some cookies. I always make too much bread.” She chuckled to herself as she wandered back to her stand, now more alert of where her son was at all times. Gregor eyed Lockheed, still clutching his arm as he sighed. “That’d actually be pretty helpful… thank you.”

Her smile grew slightly wider as she leaned on her stand again. “If there’s anything else you need, just ask, ok?” It seemed her normal self had returned to her. “Will do.” Gregor returned a smile as he nudged Lockheed, who slowly returned to the group. Gregor stopped amidst the crowd which had now reignited into movement, staring at the child playing on the tree. Something was off about this. Nothing would just shoot out of a gods-be-damned fruit, let alone aiming at a person. By Grerie’s calluses, Something has to be up.

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As he pondered this, he noticed something. He turned back to Alice, then to the kid again. There seemed to be some correlations that he hadn’t noticed before. Red hair, blue eyes? It was fairly uncommon for Anweos people to have such a combination. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that they shared these traits? Not only that, but Lockheed’s arm seemed to have something wrong. He’d have to check up on him, after all, if it weren’t for him it would’ve been Gregor’s back painted with… whatever it was.

The suspicion Gregor had before now turned to certainty. Someone had targeted Alice, and it appears the trap was set by certain colors. His findings came with the realization that they probably wouldn’t be safe anywhere, that they’d have to fight for their lives the whole path to Merla. The Prophet must be very invested in Alice’s predicament.

He walked towards Alice, who was busy discussing something with Knox as Daniel examined Lockheed’s arm. Judging by his silent demeanor, Lockheed probably wouldn’t tell them the full extent of his injury, something Gregor would have to pull out of him through extensive interrogation. As he set forth, determined to figure out who was attacking them and what their potential was, a figure stepped in his way.

Hellebore seemed a little distant as he set his eyes on Gregor. “...nice job.” He said, his accent almost rendering it a different language. Gregor seemed slightly taken aback, as Hellebore would’ve normally criticized him “So, that lady said she could hook you up with anything?” This line made Hellebore’s intention clear as Gregor sighed. He had noticed Hellebore’s affixation on a certain object before they had gotten to the inn.

“You want that stuffed sheep, don’t you?” He asked, answered with Hellebore’s eyes widening slightly as that of a begging puppy.

Gregor sighed heavily before turning towards the stand the sheep rested on. He didn’t want the lady to have to pay for something like that, so he supposed it’d be out of pocket. It beats having some nobleman on his ass. It’d take a few minutes at most to get it, so he’d still have plenty of time to solve the mystery. Besides, if there was a merc after Alice, they wouldn’t show their face in such a crowded area, especially now that the group was on edge.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Gregor finally grouped up with the others, Hellebore tucking away something in a carrying bag as he whispered to himself. “Well,I kinda lost my appetite for eating out.” Knox said, asserting what everyone else had figured out. “I guess we aren’t as safe as we thought.” Alice said, contemplating their next move. “Are you guys REALLY sure about going with me?”

A collection of nods and determined faces gave her the answer she had half hoped, half feared. As she sighed, they agreed that the inn’s food would be more than enough for the night. It’d be easier to monitor people inside the inn, as well, considering barely anyone was in the building to begin with. The inn worker saw and waved from outside as they walked together, currently taking out the trash into a large metal drum.

“Hey there, Sojourners.” She said, her neverending enthusiasm radiating as the ‘Sojourners’ looked at each other with more confusion. She giggled at this. “What, did she not go over with you about the name or something? I know mercenaries usually don’t use their group names, but you should at least remember it!” She called out, waving before heading back inside, all eyes slowly turning to Alice. “Did she say mercenaries?” Hellebore asked. Knox chimed in, “Aye, I think she did.”

“Mercenaries, huh?” Daniel seemed inquisitive, but Alice quickly tried to push those thoughts away again. “Hey, I smell dinner!” She rushed towards the inn, not intending on answering any questions they had. She wasn’t one for answering questions she didn’t know the answer to.

—————————————————————————————————————————-

As Hellebore followed Gregor like a cat about to be fed, a silhouette stood through the crowd, watching him. They had noticed the Shadowmane bastard’s intuitive gaze on the boy and on its actual target, watching both like a superstitious granny watching a rebellious teenager. The figure wished to strike, but they had already failed its first attack. It had only seen the top of the boy’s head and his eyes, and the figure thought Alice had dropped something. The hair and eye colors, not to mention the boy’s hair was as long as a girl’s. The figure spat out a curse just thinking about it.

They were just lucky that there were no individuals working for Lord Cyber watching, otherwise they would’ve made a fool out of itself. Now they would be stuck cleaning up the mess they had just made for themself.

Alice was their target, but the Shombeli fellow was a new issue. He’d have to be taken care of if it didn’t want it’s cover to be blown. As the figure stood alone, a tavern worker approached it. “Miss, your order is ready!” He said, a helpful tone wrapping around the figure like a vice. The figure turned, the open window behind her basking her in light. Her face was all that could be seen, her brown eyes squinting slightly as her eyebrows lowered, a sly look enveloping her. She was also Shombeli, the term for the humans from the Western kingdoms that had evolved alongside their Anweos kin. “I believe I’ll take it to go.” She said, her voice monotone and of purpose. She had a new target in mind if she wanted that bounty.

____________________________________________________________________________

The pink skies darkened as a navy blue began to overtake the brighter colors. Night was almost upon them as the group sat at a large circular table, having pulled some chairs from the surrounding, empty tables around them. All the furniture used and surrounded by them was wooden, and seemed to be engraved by a master, depicting grape vines and roses throughout the arms and the backrests of the chairs they now sat on.

They were in silence, most enjoying their food as Alice glanced towards Lockheed, his arm was clasped between his thighs as he used his other arm to spoon a plate of mashed potatoes into his mouth. The scarf he wore was now around his neck, revealing a 5 O’ clock shadow around his dusted face.

“Is your arm okay? I noticed you haven’t let it go since… earlier.” she said, seeming curious. “It’s fine.” Was the only response she got in return. Knox dropped a chicken bone onto the plate in front of him, the clanking sound rocking the table slightly. “Oh yea?” he asked, resting his left arm on the table. “Let it go, then.”

Lockheed turned to face the lizard, his eyebrows narrowing slightly as he seemed irritated. He sighed before letting his legs go. His arm remained in place, but he seemed to be straining to keep it down. Gregor leaned forward slightly as Daniel looked the cowboy up and down. “Let it go.” Daniel said, unenthused.

It seemed that Lockheed had let go, but Daniel knew he was stopping something. Why else would his arm be straining much?

Lockheed sighed louder as he let his arm go limp. No one’s reaction was fast enough for when it sprang up, knocking Hellebore’s plate onto him as he fumbled, trying to catch it before it fell to the ground. The arm stuck out in a straight line, pointed towards the corner of the inn.

“Wha- hey!” Hellebore yelled as the plate dropped. It didn’t shatter, but it clanked a few times as it settled. The grilled cheese he was eating was now on the floor as well, both slices of bread open and cheese-down. “What in the Gods are you doing!?”

Extensive interrogation, huh? Gregor thought to himself. Both Daniel and Gregor leaned in closer. “It always aims the same way.” Lockheed says, irritated even more by his arm. “What am I looking at exactly?” Daniel seemed confused, but Gregor had figured it out.

“It was whatever came out of that Jimbob.” Gregor said as Daniel tried to push the arm down, only to have it bob back up and flick his nose as he backed up. Gregor pulled out the fruit skin he had taken from the vendors and slapped it onto the table, pulling open one of the flabs of it. “Something came out of here and was aiming for that boy that we were next to… but it wasn’t actually the boy it was going for, it was aiming for her.” He extended a finger towards Alice, who was to his right. The group looked at her before putting two and two together.

“There’s an enemy spellcaster here, ladies and gentlemen.” Gregor’s hands rested on either side of the fruit skin. “I’d keep an eye out unless you wanna end up like that.” He glanced at Lockheed's arm. If it wasn’t for his intervention, Gregor’s back would be the one acting funky. He quietly respected Lockheed for quite literally having his back.

Everyone sat in silence for a moment, having suddenly lost their appetite as the innkeeper wandered over from his desk, having heard the plate fall. Hellebore held it in his hands. “Everything alright here? You all look like your dogs died.” The innkeeper said in a joyful tone, trying to lighten whatever mood he had just walked in on. Alice smiled as Hellebore rested the plate on the table. “Everything’s fine. My apologies, I have, what’s it you Anweos say, ‘butter fingers’?” Hellebore said as the innkeeper chuckled. “No worries. Those plates have handled a lot worse.” The innkeeper eyed each person at the table before he began his trek back to his desk, clutching the tables and the chairs he passed by as his back hunched slightly.

The group got up, one by one, as they pondered what to do next. “Well, if they’re after me, then that means they’ll be staying around here as long as I do.” Alice said, tapping her chin. “As long as they’re here, we can find them and make them undo whatever they did to your arm.”

“I’m not one for torturing someone…” Daniel said, slicking back his hair as he checked the time on his new pocket watch. Alice’s grin seemed slightly sadistic. “Not torture, just a little rehashing of treating others the way you wanna be treated.” she pounded her fist into her palm quietly as she said this, showing that while it wouldn’t be torture, she was ready to pummel someone if it meant she could fix what they had done to her companion.

“Right, I suppose we should retire for the night. It’s pretty late now.” Daniel said, tucking the watch away. “Yea, that’s a great idea with an enemy around.” Cymia mumbled under her breath. Knox sighed before resting his hand on the table again. “We’ll sleep in shifts. Each person gets an hour to watch for anything fishy. It’ll be just like the trenches…” Knox’s military years had taught him at least a couple things.

“I’ll take first.” Lockheed said quietly. That meant it’d be more hours in a row he wouldn’t have to deal with his damn arm. The group conspired about the remaining hours untaken. Daniel would take second, then Cymia, Knox, Hellebore, Gregor, and finally Alice. 7 hours was a good enough sleep to make it through another day of walking. Plus, it meant they’d be able to get through Vloekstad forest faster, something the more superstitious members of the group were happy about.

As the Sojourners slowly made their way past the table, preparing for the long night ahead, Cymia stopped. She turned and looked at the flaps of fruit that lay in the counter, some of what was once its innards were still on it. She sighed, her curiosity getting the best of her as she picked a small piece of the yellow inside and popped it into her mouth. She immediately contorted, spitting it out onto a plate as she bent down.

Alice had noticed her absence and was behind her, about to tap her on the shoulder before her gagging. She slowly turned to face Alice, her face puckered slightly. It seemed Gregor was right earlier.

“...sour.” Cymia croaked out before wiping her face, Alice chuckling before the two rejoined the group heading towards their rooms. Alice stopped and wished the innkeeper goodnight as she disappeared into the hallway