They met in the village hall late at night. Before that, they had a simple dinner, as the villagers had insisted on treating their guests with the utmost respect. It had been their tradition since time immemorial.
Back to the meeting, the tribe chief was not a man. The chieftess was an old woman whose face was shrunken due to her advanced age. Her features bore nothing but sadness and pain. Despite that, she showed a warm smile to the guests.
"It is a pleasure to have you among us, travelers. I am the chieftess of the Blue Tide tribe: Marlene. If you feel any lack of hospitality, please let me know. I will handle everything."
Zestia bowed slightly. "Thank you for having us, honorable chieftess. We apologize for dropping by so unannounced, but my friend here has an urgent issue he wants to discuss with you."
She indicated Neo, who sat by her side on the tatami mat.
