As she was led by the disciples of Ki Semar's wife, Alicia gazed at what this remote village looked like at dusk twilight. It was strange for a blind person like her to be asked to walk around the village, for all she could perceive with her eyes were mostly towering mushroom poles that loomed overhead—what those with sight would regard as trees. But at least the jaunt proved quite pleasant. The breeze was clement and carried a kind of soothing, earthy scent. Plants and animals were not friendly to humans here, but she felt more at one with nature than in Vanir. Not to mention that three other women were serving behind her.

The village was alive with activity as the evening descended. Children were yelling everywhere and people were calling each other by name. As “far” as the eye could see, the village did appear prosperous.

The sight of children playing caught Alicia's attention. They were lined up and jumping on an earthen carving, before their innocent eyes fixed on her wheelchair. Both the kids and the Crimsonmane girl regarded each other with such innocence, like staring at a new creature species in a menagerie. Alicia saw a tiny hand wave from one child, and she unconsciously waved back. One could not tell what was farcical about her face—perhaps it had something to do with the way her eyes were squinting as she greeted them—Alicia could hear the children giggling.

"They like you," remarked the woman pushing Alicia's wheelchair.

"I hope ye're not colluding with them when you say that," Alicia replied, a chuckle escaping her lips. Her bodyguards were not accustomed to her brand of humour.

"But really, in this place, Camelot's face is unfamiliar unless you hail from the capital in the east. Without your escort, they would have swarmed you earlier."

Alicia's carriage wheels rolled on, and curious locals approached her more frequently. Women passing by greeted her with "sugeng sonten" in an excited tone, their fingers pointing towards Alicia's face. The girl simply smiled, and they eagerly extended their hands to shake hers. The behaviour of the passing men was a different case. It did not take clear vision to know the silhouettes of the blushing lads. They just stood still for a moment and then gave a nod and a soft word before leaving the ladies. Huh, the men were sure curious by her unfamiliar face, Alicia guessed. She chose to hold back, however, because of how gentle they all were!

Alicia asked her attendant, "Is Sugeng Sonteng a kind of Lojitengara’s greeting?"

"Only applicable to Yawadwipa—it's a greeting in the Yawa's tongue, 'Good evening’. Do you want to know what they're saying to you?"

"Yes, please!"

"When you were brought to the front of Headman Semar's pavilion, all the residents flocked to see you. They thought you were dead because of your smell, thinking you were the victim of a bandit attack or the mons—.

Another attendant gave a soft cough. Not yet knowing the cough concealed a meaning, Alicia took it as a passing fare.

"...wildlife predators", the attendant was quick to correct. "A Westerner strolling alone through the lonely forest roads of Lojitengara is bound to bring disaster upon oneself."

"What's with all the danger?" Alicia quickly realised the answer. "Aye, right. Your country has always been the target of occupation by trading nations from the West. From the news I've heard, you just defeated Sjittordam from its own military aggression."

The pushing lady nodded without being leered by the pushed one. "It's knowledgeable for you to understand how most people of Lojitengara feel towards those from the West. You can be considered lucky. When they see you walking around the village now, they even offer thanks to the gods because you are considered a miracle worker; risen from the dead."

Astonished, Alicia Crimsonmane responded, "E-even though I'm a stranger?"

"Everyone is a stranger to everyone else at first, Alicia." The second woman on the left answered her. "That's why Ki Semar considers anyone who enters the village in good faith as a family—even Westerners. That's the great thing about him. Everyone listens and agrees to everything he says in an instant. He wants to build this village as a safe haven for all."

Alicia returned with a small smile. She looked up, saying, "And how presumptuous of me if I don't know the names of my own family!"

They laughed, and the attendant introduced herself, "You can call me Kiran. Kiran Cendiswaraya."

"My name is Cempaka Dharmawulan. Greetings," said the second woman on Alicia's left.

"Cahyaningrum, nice to meet you," the woman on the right introduced herself in a silvery voice.

"Nice to meet you, Kiran, Cempaka, Cahyaningrum. How lucky I am to be in the village... what’s this village again?"

"Ouch, we forgot to mention. Then, welcome to the village of Tumaritis!” Cahyaningrum answered.

"Tumaritis, eh..." Alicia was pensive. "Well, like I said, it's lucky to be in Tumaritis."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Kiran nodded. "I wish other villages could do the same. After all, we need more villages like Tumaritis, especially in the midst of the current boiling conflict."

Alicia's mind had time to process the words before her head snapped back towards Kiran Cendriswaraya with squinted eyes. "Another current boiling conflict? Like what?"

"You don't know about this one?" said Cempaka.

"You didn't faint full of blood because you fled from the battle?" Cahyaningrum continued.

"Huh? What, a battle? No, no. I don't know any of that. I'm here because I was teleported, remember?"

The three shishyas sighed. Dark clouds were upon them because it was unpleasant to share the clouds with the innocent one in the wheelchair. It could not be helped. If this girl was not told, she would not stop asking questions. Just getting her distracted from a foreign magic item of hers was enough to make them grateful. There was no need to make Alicia figure this out on her own with more blood on her clothes.

"This is a complicated matter, so I'll keep it short," Kiran uttered to Alicia. "Here's the thing. The area outside the gates of Tumaritis is very unsafe, especially as the day turns to night—this doesn't just apply to Westerners. Tumaritis is in the territory of the Duchy of Wisaya Pulomas in the West, and they are in a civil war against the Alas Purwo Sunanate in the East. Pulomas was originally subject to the state of Alas Purwo. But their people—the people of Yawa state in general—have these racial… tendencies of supremacy towards those who are not Yawanese..."

"Fascist Yawanese they are!" chided Cempaka with a sour face.

Kiran added, "You see, when the old Sunan—the federal king died, the crown prince was supposed to become the new Sunan. And the old Sunan had two sons. According to the custom here, they had to perform a ceremony to determine who the new Sunan would be...."

"And since Lojitengara is a centre of shamanism, this ceremony involved shamans and seeking advice from the gods?" asked Alicia.

"Yes. And you know what the climax was? The youngest crown prince apparently informed some of his loyal followers that his eldest brother was going to rig the ceremony. He also discovered a secret plan of his brother and his followers that amounted to almost half of the Yawa nation, a plan to subjugate other states and make Lojitengara a country that upheld the primacy of the Yawa State as the chosen one by the gods."

Hearing that, a gloomy expression appeared on Alicia's face. Her thoughts flowed down a river of memories of her family, the House Crimsonmane. They had become so ensnared in nostalgic fantasies of the past that this prominent lineage of mages deemed themselves the divine instruments and felt entitled to rule over Camelot.

"So, what did the youngest prince do?" Alicia asked them again.

Cahyaningrum was kind enough to take her turn to speak. "Nothing. The youngest son disappeared and was found dead in the river. The eldest son became the new Sunan of Alas Purwo and All Yawadwipa. The youngest son's followers did not accept this. They presented some evidence that the youngest son had given them, but none of it was considered potent enough to overthrow the Sunan. A feud broke out. At its peak, the youngest son's followers, centered in the Pulomas duchy, along with followers in other regions, united and declared themselves a schism from Alas Purwo. Under the banner of Pulomas, this duchy appealed to become a new state."

"Of course, Alas Purwo didn't like that, and it sent out attacks on those dissident regions," Alicia responded.

"Even more worryingly, the war is temporarily stopped," Cahyaningrum said.

Alicia blinked. What could be more unsettling than a perpetual state of conflict? No war? Had war really become a way of life for the people of this federation, just because of the constant invasion by foreign countries? She leaned slightly toward the woman on the left. Cahyaningrum was still not finished with her explanation.

"Both sides are gathering their forces as much as possible because Pulomas has received an ultimatum that in less than a month's time—just after the harvest celebration—Alas Purwo will launch a massive siege on Pulomas. Whether it's an overwhelming number of soldiers or a magical force, the ultimatum simply states that the Pulomas children will truly be threatened and suffer from the immunity of their parents, which could end in the annihilation of the Pulomas’ entire population!" That was Cahyaningrum's lengthy addendum.

Alas Purwo was a bit extreme. Unhinged, even. The emphasis on children becoming victims made Alicia cringe. "I dinnae understand," she immediately replied. "Why don't the other states do something about Alas Purwo's policies?"

"They can't, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, none of the other states knew of Alas Purwo's fascist ambitions—they restricted our movement by sea and air through their ships. The other states only knew of the power struggle between us, and nothing more. Besides, what can they do? Other states have no right to intervene in the policies of other states that are not bound by the laws of the federation. Internal conflicts within a state are the responsibility of the sovereign state unless ordered by Ratu Panggaraknagara, the federal leader."

Cempaka pressed them again. "And guess who the Panggaraknagara is now?"

Alicia shook her head. Cahyaningrum sighed again while bowing her head. "Sunan of Alas Purwo is now both Sunan of Alas Purwo and Ratu of Lojitengara."

So that's why despite the cheerful atmosphere in the village, their situation is in pure dire, Alicia thought

"That's why we can't help you find this Orb now. It's late, and it's not safe to be outside the village gates at night," Cempaka said again.

"What about the pair of farmers who spent the night in the fields?"

"Near the fields, there is a fairly safe overnight post. However, the road between this village and the fields is a den of predators. Especially at night, you might run into a wild Barong!"

"Barong? What's that?"

Kiran picked Cempaka's arm with a hushed snarling mien. Cempaka edged to the side with a grimace, her hushed lips as if cursing the pincher. "Uh... I think the topic is already heavy enough for this evening," Kiran concluded the conversation. "It would be best if we turned around and went back home. Rest assured, Alicia. Tomorrow, we'll help you find the orb. I hope you can wait?"

Alicia smiled and nodded slowly. "I understand. Thank you, friends."

The evening was indeed waning. The red sky was pleasing to the eye, but the silhouettes of the houses were eerie. Some of the villagers had lit torches on their porches to ward off the encroaching darkness, the humble torch stakes, as Tumaritis village was still very rustic, and not all of them had access to electricity. This was not Trinketshore, which despite being a small village, was still spoiled with worldly progress.

As they approached the pavilion, horses' hooves reached the ladies' ears. They turned to see three horses stopping at the gate of the headman's house. []