Kalika mindlessly followed behind Res as they walked across the dirt path of the village, along with two of the Beltru's oldest daughters. They followed with eyes glued on Res and a growing anticipation, all the while Kalika's mind lingered on their father's words.
"I wonder how it'll turn out in the end…" Kalika pondered.
"<-lika. Kalika. Are you paying attention?>"
"Hmm?" Kalika raised her head to the sight of Res waving in front of her, pouting indignantly.
"
Kalika rolled her eyes. "
Res exhaled. "
The two children suddenly clapped with vigorous enthusiasm.
"O….Okay…" Kalika watched on as a red demon poked his head from the shabby home.
"
Ignoring the demon, Res ran off, presenting the next home. "
"
She turned to the windows, peeking in. "
The two girls once again clapped for Res and drew Kalika's stink eyes. "
"
"I'm pretty sure that's not normal…" Kalika thought. She turned and watched Res crawl inside, muttering to herself. "Neither is that..."
"
The chief slammed open his door with bulging veins and clenched teeth. "
"Eep!" The crystal fumbled from Res's hands. And without hesitation, she and the two girls ran, leaving Kalika behind.
"Seriously…"
Kalika watched on as the guards stormed in and talked to the furious chief, and he pointed, cursed, and kicked dirt. Out of nowhere, the chief pointed at her with a furious tone. "
With an awkward expression, the two guards slowly approached Kalika. "
"
"Ah~~."
The other guards erupted into laughter. ""
The first guard exhaled, exhausted, then spoke more sternly. ""
"Oh?" Kalika glanced back in the direction Res fled.
"
"
"
"
The guards glanced back, realizing an entire platoon of soldiers was watching. "
The guards left, leaving the chief even more heated as he threw objects and parts of his house at both Kalika and the guards. "
"Okay…" Kalika slowly left the scene of the crime and followed the path Res and the two girls took. She ignored many of the passing glances of the curious villagers, pushing through crowds and eventually out of the village. Here, eyes locked on a single point to the edge of the forest. She approached the forest and pushed aside the bushes, revealing the backs of the three girls huffing and puffing, trying to catch their breath.
"
Res jolted up and forced a smile to her face. "
"
Res looks at Kalika, surprised.
"
"
********
"
Behind Res, a long dirt path with demons shopping in different colored stalls. The stench of musk and fish filled the air, forcing a grimace from Kalika and the girls. Pushing past the smell, Kalika walked past the woman examining the stalls, seeing strange fish, fresh meat, and weird-looking fruits and vegetables with a sweet-earthy fragrance.
Suddenly, the caws and honks of large birds filled the air as a parade of Garu's stormed past with a single merchant driving the horde.
"Yeah. Those Garu's are hard to get and tame, but so worth it if you get the crystals!>" Res noted. "
********
Res presents a tall stone wall with nothing special of note. "
"
As if on cue, the door popped open and slowly creaked with the push of the guards on the other end. "
"
********
"
At the edge of a flowing river, a large cobblestone and wooden building stood tall with the loud ruckus of men and other soldiers drinking. Res quickly became meek, peeking inside. "
"
"< N... No...>" Res shrank back down and slowly distanced herself from the tavern, clearly depressed.
"
"
"Oh, yeah…" Kalika scratched the side of her face, unsure. "She wanted to prove her innocence. I almost forgot about that…"
"
Res raised her head. "
A karnal demon suddenly bumped into Res. She instantly glared at the two Karnal's, each one sporting a ponytail and different colored hair. "
The two ignored Res, entering the tavern without a word. Curious, Kalika locked sights on the two demons before quickly turning back to Res and assisting her up, along with the other girls. "Ignore them. Just show me to the other place.>"
"
********
Kalika followed behind Res as the two other girls followed next to her, humming a little harmonic tune. She looked at the forest trees bearing fruit, then right where the sound of the river below was calmly flowing.
"
Both girls looked at Kalika. "
Kalika looked at the girl on her right. "
The girl pondered thoughtfully.
"
"
"
"
"
Res suddenly stopped in the corner of the little path on the trail up a hill. She glanced up, then behind, before moving and pushing past the bushes that continued along the riverside, traveling up.
They pushed past the weeds and bushes, eventually coming to the tiny, narrow dirt path, and continued until the sound of cascading water became audible. Not long after, they entered into a large clearing filled with tents, logs, a bonfire, and hanging meats and fish. To the right, a large, shallow, pond-like river flowed downstream with several small waterfalls converging into the river.
"
"
The two Succubus girls wandered around and sniffed the air. One of them quickly took note of another small path on the side of the rock wall.
"
"Hmmm." Without hesitation, Res followed the path, forcing everyone to follow behind as they trailed up another hill. At the end, a large group of children stood with another red demon woman with short black frilly hair, with side horns pointing forward. Just from the short stature of the woman, Kalika could tell the woman's build was very similar to Res's, even wearing similar clothes. But what truly caught her eyes were her ears, pointed like a goblin, out in the open to see.
Res watched on silently as the woman continued to stand. Posed in a praying stance along with the children.
"
"
"What the hell is going on…" Kalika thought.
"
Zel turned, with an audible gasp. "
The children cheered loudly, sending all manner of different creatures scattering away from them. They dog piled on Res at once, some even clinging to the hemp of her clothes. "
Kalika scoffed inwardly at the sudden remark.
"
The two butted horns at once. "" Zel calmly defended.
"
"
"
"
"UUWWAAAAAHHH!!!??"
A strange sense of nostalgia washed over Kalika as she watched their horns slip from one another, and Res fell to her knees in defeat.
"
Zel presented a chunk of charred white meat with a crisp brown skin, all wrapped in a large leaf. Res took a bite into the chunk and cried. "
The other girls, by Kalika, rushed forward asking for shares of the meat, which piqued their interest. All the while, Kalika could only watch in complete bewilderment as the ridiculous scene continued to unfold between the two sisters.
She continued to watch as the two sisters clashed horns again, with the stark contrast of Zel's calm slowness against Res's teary-eyed banters on full display for everyone. The divide between the two slowly grew, but to Kalika's surprise, Zel patted the back of Res's head, apologizing.
Curious, Zel turned to Kalika and cocked her head. "
********
Donovan, with his stone mask to the side, pushed in tender pieces of meat from a plate into a huge boiling pot and stirred its contents. Nervous, he glanced back at the horde of little girls who watched with intense curiosity.
"Why did I have to say yes? But still… I wonder… was I really in this village before?" He pondered.
Pushing aside his growing anxiety, He grabbed a different plate of white meat and pushed those into the pot as well, crushing and splitting some of the chunks into bite-sized shreds. With his work done, he placed the lid on and stepped away from the large stone cooker, embedded in the war pit wall.
"Alright. Now all I have to do is stir it every once in a while, and it should be good within a couple of hours."
"
Donovan jumped and turned to find one of Beltru's many succubus wives.
"O-oh!" Donovan turned to their parked cart and searched inside, eventually finding and pulling their blood blade from the boxes and leather pouches that covered it.
He quickly handed the wrapped blade to the succubus and watched on as she approached the small geyser of lava, flowing just over the cliff. With practiced ease, she unwrapped it onto a flat stone and pushed it under the lava, surprising Donovan.
On closer inspection, Donovan noticed grooves in the wall that trailed from and to the lava. "Ah. So it's hanging from the wall."
Finished, the woman left the sword at the mercy of the molten rock.
"Is that really it? At least I'll finally be freed of that sword…"
The ground suddenly shook with the thumps of heavy feet becoming louder. "Looking for something?"
"Hmm?" Donovan turned to find Bjorn approaching. "Oh. No, I was giving that sword to one of Beltru's wives."
"Ah. I see." Bjorn turned to the lava, gushing over Donovan's sword. "Do me a favor, push that barrel of mead to me."
"Sure." Donovan pulled aside the bags and boxes and pushed the barrel to Bjorn. "What ever happened to that other barrel?"
"I gave it to Falaz as thanks."
"And now you're doing the same for this Beltru demon."
Bjorn took the barrel and gently placed it on the ground. "Actually, I want to have some of this mead myself. I figured tonight would be the best time to try this Mylo Mead. This might also be your last chance to try some yourself."
"Heh. Thanks, but I'm not sure. It depends on how strong it is."
"Don't like the heavy stuff?"
"W-well, I never said that… But we still have to travel, and those bounty hunters are around. So I'd prefer it if we didn't let our guard down."
"That's understandable given our predicament. But you needn't worry, being on the outskirts of the village will keep prying eyes from us. So use the time to settle down a little. Trust me."
Donovan chuckled out loud. "Trust…Right…"
Bjorn, feeling awkward silence, picked up the barrel and lugged it on his shoulder. "If you don't have much else to say, I would suggest tasting the strength of those earth rods you made on the wall." He turned ready to leave.
"Bjorn, wait," Donovan called.
"What is it?"
"Just out of curiosity…How many exits are there for your homeland… You know. The ones that connect to my world above."
Bjorn stopped and glanced at Donovan, taking note of his serious gaze. "About five that I'm aware of. Any other questions?"
"Yeah. I want to know, "Are any of those exits here in this village?"
"There is. Yes."