Tara and Bethany stayed put and let the new-comers come to them, perhaps not the best option since it didn't give them an escape route, but as they approached, the women felt better and better about it. The group approaching was not in good shape, of the ten only three weren't injured and only one of them looked like he could fight at all. There were three women and seven men, with all the men being around middle aged and the women being from three different generations. They really looked like the same woman but with a 20 year gap between each.
The youngest was 19 or 20, the middle copy of her was around 40 and the oldest was in her sixties, but did not look frail or like she would miss a step in a fight. All three were Asian with black hair and dark eyes, they also had slender bodies and were a little over five feet tall. Tara wouldn't say they were beautiful in any exceptional way, conventionally beautiful was the phase that came to her mind. What really sold them as family was that all three had the same facial expression, an expression that said everything their eyes could see was beneath them and they should be grateful that their eyes ever glanced in that direction.
The group stopped about 20 feet away and got into a loose formation. For what felt like twenty minutes no one said anything, they just looked at each other. Since they didn't seem like they wanted to speak, Bethany motioned and her and Tara started to leave. The middle aged woman of the three cleared her throat and motioned for them to stop. Bethany tried to keep going but Tara stopped her and they turned towards them again and waited for them to hopefully finally speak.
"I am Amara, with me is my mother, Apsara, and my daughter, Arinya, as well as our servants. We would like to speak to the Lord of this area at his earliest convenience and request from him some hospitality during these trying hours."
"Why?" Bethany asked with a stone cold look on her face.
"Why do we seek hospitality? Or Why should you offer it to us?" Amara asked.
"Both," Bethany said now with the coldness in her voice. "People have come for our lord, wanting his life or his secrets. Some left injured and some didn't leave anything behind when they died. Killing humans saddens my lord, his possible sadness weighed against your lives is a simple choice."
"What would you like as a show of our good faith?" Amara asked.
"One of you will follow me to meet our lord outside the safe zone." Bethany said, seeing recognition on their faces. "I see you have heard that he cannot enter the safe zone, another reason for him to be more careful since it is so easy for his enemies to hide."
The three women talked amongst themselves for a few seconds, it was clear that none of them wanted to go. Bethany even spotted them pointing at their servants a few times. These guys were obviously their servants from before the system, and not servants through the system's lord options. She probably should feel bad for them, but it should have been an easy choice when the world ended to run away and get a fresh start. If she had to guess, they were brainwashed by duty or honor, probably second or third generation servants.
"I will go," Arinya, the youngest, said. "I will meet Lord Ash. as long as we have your word that I will not be harmed." she said that last part looking at the scar on Tara's face.
"While that is a scar created by our lord's magic, be at ease, Tara took on that scar voluntarily." Bethany said with a smile while Tara had the biggest look of pride on her face that Bethany had ever seen on a person. She really was wearing her scars like a badge of honor.
Bethany waved for her to come along and Tara stayed behind with the group of newcomers. As soon as they walked far enough away, Tara pretended to relax, as if Bethany was her hard-ass boss and she had to play a part while she was around. She sat on the ground and pulled out a waterskin and took a big drink.
"Whoo," Tara yelled, "I really wish she wouldn't be so uptight, we should just be able to talk as people without all the pompous crap. I'm Tara by the way, come and sit and let's have a chat."
The two remaining women did not expect this but the older woman saw it for what it was, a simple gesture, she thought that this was a sign that they didn't want to turn them away but others might be watching so if they don't make a show they will be seen as weak.
"I think we should chat, we have much we can learn from each other." Apsara said as she sat and motioned for everyone else to sit as well.
"I must warn you that my lord has been fighting thousands of enemies and does not look his best at the moment. He doesn't like to be formal so just relax, he only wants to know your story to see if you can be trusted." Bethany said as they approached the barrier.
"Is he worried about being killed by assassins or something?" Arinya asked.
"PFFT HAHA," Bethany laughed hard, slapped her knee and even snorted once. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just that I doubt anyone on this planet could kill him. His worry is for us, his friends."
"You sure have confidence in him."
"You will see," Bethany said as she moved outside the barrier. Arinya was hesitant but followed.
"He is just over this hill," Bethany said as she pointed. When they crested the hill they looked down to see a figure standing in the center of a large crater. They were too far away for details but it was clearly a tall dirty man. As they approached, Bethany's smile grew wider with a hint of her true lascivious nature. When they were only five feet apart, Bethany stopped and introduced her.
"This is Arinya, or at least that is the fake name she gave us. She, her mother, and her grandmother want shelter. What's left of their servants too, but they really didn't seem concerned about them." Bethany said to Eli.
Eli, with his mask on but his cloak still off, and still in only ape underwear covered in dried blood, turned to the woman that Bethany had brought to him with a cold stare. He didn't speak at first, just getting a sense of her and how far he could push her for information before she shut down. His best guess was that she was tougher than she looked and that she would be able to handle him being very intense. He let the smallest amount of power out through his will skill to see her reaction. She seemed to notice it, but not understand it, she was looking around for what was causing it, but eventually it dawned on her and she made a little squeak.
Arinya was not having a good time, she was used to being listened to and given almost anything she wanted. Then the world changed and she had nothing but her family and what few servants they could find. Almost a month back on the planet and it was like some bad zombie movie. Her grandmother had tried to set up a deal with Lord Flowers for her family to get preferential treatment if Arinya would be his 4th wife and bear him as many children as he wanted. She would do this to save her family, but some of the lord's men died during the first wave of this monster horde and rumors got out that he had abandoned his city.
So, her grandmother wanted to move south to find shelter but no cities were letting people in due to rumors of an illness that killed the weak and turned the strong into zombies. Continuing south, they noticed far less damage and far more surviving small towns. They passed someone on the road like there wasn't anything to worry about going on. They told them that if they were in trouble they should ask Lord Ash at the border of the safe zone. Bareilly a minute after arriving and Arinya was again the pawn used by her mother and grandmother to try and soften up the lord.
She knew she wasn't as beautiful as the other women she had already seen serving him, Bethany and Tara, but she could at least try and find shelter. Leaving the safe zone during a monster horde was very frightening but she realized that Bethany did not hesitate or seem to be bothered at all by leaving it. Arinya knew then that Bethany's confidence in her lord was unquestionable and absolute. This gave her some comfort that at least this lord could provide them safety. Then she was five feet away from him and Bethany told him every lie they had told immediately.
Her first reaction was to run, but he turned to her and their eyes met. His bright purple eyes with flecks of grey were staring into her soul, laying out the innermost parts of her for him to see and judge as he wished. She could no longer run, she could no longer move. Then a pressure wrapped her like a blanket making it hard to breath and like the air was as thick as water. For a second, and only a second, terror overrode her brain and she could do nothing, but then she gathered herself and what was left of her pride and spoke to him.
"I am sorry for lying, my family had a lot of enemies before the system so we reinvented ourselves for safety. We would like to stay under your protection for the duration of this event," She said, nervously and as fast as possible.
Eli looked at Bethany, "Did you ask them why?"
Bethany nodded, but didn't say anything signifying that they didn't answer.
"Why?" Eli asked her.
"Because we need it, and because… " She stopped talking when the pressure increased. She was now certain it was something he was doing and that a stray thought from this man would mean her death.
"Real answers please. What do you offer my people with your presence here?" Eli asked again.
"We do not have anything to offer, we appeal to your humanity and ask for shelter." she said.
"Appeal to our humanity?" Bethany asked, "After lying to us, you…" she trailed off as Eli raised his hand in a gesture to stop her. She stopped and with a little bow she took a step back.
"I'm sure you can handle this Bethany, just remember to keep mercy in mind when dealing with others." Eli said and then walked away.
"Let's go back to your family," Bethany said, gesturing for her to start walking.
"Ok, but may I ask one more thing, how did you claim territory outside of the safe zone like this?" Arinya asked. Stopping both Bethany and Eli in their tracks.
Bethany grabbed her arm tightly, "What did you just say?"
Arinya froze as Eli suddenly appeared in front of her with no warning and without disturbing the air or making a sound. "Nothing, forget I said anything," She said in a squeaky voice.
Eli continued to stare, a little of his presence leaking out by reflex alone. Bethany pulled on her arm so she was facing her and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Say that again and explain it."
Arinya started crying and fell to her knees, "I'm sorry I can't help it, I can feel the magic in the ground and it feels like Lord Ash's magic in a similar way to how it felt entering a lord's territory in the safe zone." She broke down and curled up into the fetal position thinking she had discovered a secret and now she would be killed. But after a couple moments of crying she was still alive. Looking up, and then sitting up, she saw Bethany standing over her and the lord and a young girl discussing something off to the side.
"You aren't going to kill me?" she asked from the ground.
"What?" Bethany asked as if she forgot Arinya was there. "Oh, uh no, we aren't but I think you have caught Ash's attention. I can pretty much guarantee he will let you stay now, at least until the event is over. He'll probably put Audrey in charge of you, you'll be fine."
Arinya didn't know what to say so she just sat there with tears and snot on her face knowing that her life and her mothers and grandmothers lives were in this man's hands, but all she could think about at the moment while looking at him was, why did his loincloth have a tail?