The night was long and Xhemin had nothing but questions with her.

What the heck was her grandfather up to? ​​

And why did he have to do the Staw Serums by himself without telling her?

Xhemin continued to follow Dr. Dugmoch steps. As much as she didn't want to pry with his own adult business, the girl was kind of hesitant to leave him all alone in the dark apart from the fact that she was also a nosy cat and she wanted to know where he was going.

Later, Dr. Dugmoch halted somewhere in the forest, near a shallow cliff. He put the sack on the ground and sat on one rock doing nothing but just stared at the running water of the loch.

Xhemin on the other hand hid herself in one tree few meters from her grandfather and peeped on his next steps. Yet, few minutes had passed and all Dr. Dugmoch did was sat there calmly, staring at the open loch's running water below the shallow cliff.

"Did he come here to just sit?" Xhemin thought but then as she tried to look at her grandfather's face, she realized that he was sitting there for a purpose.

His purpose was to wait for someone.

Yes, he was waiting for someone.

But who?

Xhemin waited too, like what her grandfather did and even how quiet the place was, the waiting didn't bore her. It only made her curiosity surged up in every second that passed.

And the long wait was finally rewarded, with a big blast of surprise as Dr. Dugmoch soon stood up in haste and wave off his flashlight in the air, and Xhemin knew by then, that the latter was giving a signal for the other party that he was waiting for.

He was trying to tell the other party where exactly he was.

Then in just span of minutes, the person they had been waiting for arrived. It wasn't a single person though, they were many of them, and they were riding on weird wooden boat.

Xhemin counted ten. Yes, ten men to be exact.

One by one, the men descended from the boat. They were of different built but their arms and muscles were all toned the same, thick and muscular. They didn't have shirts on—all naked from top and their privates below were either covered by small leather pouches or shorts that were obviously threaded manually and had the same pattern of unique designs. Some of them had blood paint on their faces while others wore something in their head. They were tribesmen, or at least they looked like that, the only thing that intrigued Xhemin was, who were they and what errands do they have with her grandfather?

One of them who seemed to be the leader of the pack approached Dr. Dugmoch and as soon as they came face to face, they both extended and arm toward each other and shook it in a unique way. It was like their greetings of welcome and respect toward each other if she was not mistaken.

Then the leader spoke in a language that was not English and much to Xhemin's surprise, she kind of understand what they were talking about even though it was of different dialect.

Heck wait! Why do I understand their language?

Xhemin, surprise of the thought, gasped in awe at her own knowledge. Where and when did she learn this dialect? She seemed to understand it all, every bit of it as if it was her own or that she had learned them for quite a long time already.

"Impossible!" She whispered to herself.

Who were this people and how the heck she learned their dialect?

Their greetings with Dr. Dugmoch didn't last a while, everyone shook hands with the latter and one particular guy who was shorter than the rest, and who seemed very familiar to Xhemin gave the doctor a tight hug.

"It's been a long time my friend" The short man greeted him with deep adoration and respect.

"Yes it's been a long time" The doctor agreed, "I'm glad you came with them"

"The chieftain had rewarded me a leave"

"That's good. I am very glad to have seen you doing great." The doctor replied warmly.

Xhemin tried to dig deep within her thoughts and tried to recall where she met the said person, but couldn't do so. However, judging from his actions and the way his grandfather responded to him tells off that they knew each other well.

The fact that she knew their dialect made it easier for Xhemin to understand all of their exchanges. The leader invited her grandfather for a small drink which Dr. Dugmoch didn't refuse. The group then created a mini bonfire and they sat themselves encircling the fire as they passed on a cup of drink, one at a time.

Their leader started narrating how difficult their sail had been, how they were almost caught by sea patrol and there were few small talks before the group hit off an important topic.

"So there was an also an outbreak here?" The leader asked Dr. Dugmoch.

"Yes, just few weeks ago someone came to my place to seek for the cure" Dr. Dugmoch who was well acquainted with the language too, answered the latter's question without doubt.

"Did you give them the cure?"

"Oh God forgive me but I didn't my friend"

"Why didn't you?"

"It was a dangerous family who was seeking"

"Which family?" the short man intervened, curious of the doctor's revelation.

"The Lagdameos" Dr. Dugmoch answered as he turned to the one asking.

Just then, Xhemin understood the reason for Darryl's visit in their ranch few months ago. So, it was the Staw serum that brought the Lagdameo heir in their humble abode.

The revelation also came as a surprise for the short man, obviously he was deeply shock by it.

"The Lagdameos?"He repeated wanting to ask further but then doctor Dugmoch only gave him a nod.

"Is that family really dangerous?" The leader turned to ask the short man to confirm the information, as if that short man right there was some kind of a walking encyclopaedia or a book.

"Yes" he answered the leader "They might be in need of the Staw Serum for their own breed of horses. It is spring time and usually at this season, the annual equestrian competition is being held. The horses that they need for the competition might be sick"

"You have a point there my friend," Dr. Dugmoch agreed as he accepted the glass of drink that had been passed on. It was his turn to drink and the old doctor drunk the whole content in just one huge gulp before passing the glass again to the one refilling it.

"So how was the maker?" The leader asked Dr. Dugmoch again.

"The maker is fine. But I had to do the Serum myself" he confessed.

The confession came as a surprise to pack as they threw Dr. Dugmoch a worried look "Why? Did something happen to the maker?"

Suddenly Dr. Dugmoch's face turned real serious, "She hurt her arms because of an accident. But she's fine now"

Hearing the words made Xhemin realized they were talking about her.

Maker.

That's what they call her. Was it because she was the one who discovered the Staw Serum?

"She got into an accident?" The topic hit off in the conversation and everyone around the bonfire waited for the doctor's answer as if the person they call maker was someone very important that they all had to halt what they had been doing and anticipate the answer.

"Just a little one. The maker is still a young girl and she tends to be clumsy at times" The doctor lied in order not to raise a panic with the tribesmen.

"And the Staw serum?" The leader asked cure this time.

"Right there" The doctor pointed to his sack "That should be enough"

The leader sighed in relief "Thank you. Thank you my friend. You had always been good to us"

"Your welcome. My house is always ready to help" He assured them and the group turned back to their small uninteresting talks.

Xhemin can't help but wonder how her grandfather created this type of bond to people like the one he was drinking with right now. How long did he have this relationship with them? And from where the heck these people are?

There were no tribes round their place, at least not in Hampshire. Shouldn't tribesmen be dwelling in the remotest part of the deep mountains? But these people seemed to be coming from the sea since they came in a boat. What type of tribe does cross the ocean to get supplies?

There not someone from the Manggan Tribe, aren't they?

That's way too impossible.

All the things she discovered tonight got Xhemin thinking while hiding in a tall tree. Knowing that the men were harmless, she didn't mind losing her guard while delving into her thoughts.

"Who's right there?" A scream woke Xhemin's up from her own train of thoughts. The call came in as an unexpected surprise for her and as much as she wanted to escape, three tribesmen had blocked her way already, and heck, they were pointing bows and weapons upon her.

Can't they see she's just a little girl?

What's with the weapons and glaring eyes?

Instinct had called her to make a fighting stance ready to give in a little fight, without minding the fact that her shoulders weren't probably strong enough because of her injury. But she was determined to escape and so she will try her luck before her grandfather sees her.

However, before she can make a move, the short man came to where they were and as soon as he saw Xhemin's face, his smile widened. With a clear view now, Xhemin gaped open when came to recognize him.

"O my god!..." She almost screamed. The girl couldn't believe what she saw. It had been a very long time since she hadn't seen the man, and meeting him for the first time since forever made her teary eyed.

"…Professor Owens!" She called his name finally and plunged to his arms right away.