Surrounded on all sides by thick foliage, the entire village was compact and relatively contained. The buildings, mostly small cottages and the like, often didn’t stray more than a few yards from one another, yet maintained enough distance to allow each other breathing space.

Connecting most cottages were small, beaten paths. Some were proper pathways made of flat stones or gravel, whilst others were nothing more than well trodden dirt.

Regardless of their composition, they all eventually connected to the main road which snaked through the center of the village, coiling around a well that acted as the settlement’s heart; a makeshift town square of sorts.

As Malt made his way down one of these roads, he was quickly captivated by the place.

People dressed in simple, likely self made clothes, went about their business under the overhead sun. Some carried pails of milk, and some bundles of kindling. Some wore farmer’s overalls, others, aprons still stained with leatherworking dyes or fine sawdust.

He could see people knitting leisurely outside their homes and people tanning leather in the shade of the various trees peppered throughout the place. Children scampered about, laughing and playing without a care in the world.

Everyone was doing something.

And yet there was no sense of urgency, there was a feeling of complacency and calm that permeated, evident by their relaxed faces.

It was a scene that’d become almost alien to him, an uncomfortable yet overwhelmingly pleasant feeling that eased the stiffness in his shoulders and softened his constantly strained eyes.

As he passed by, villagers looked up from their work to greet him. They were for the most part courteous and friendly, many still apologetic about the beating they’d cheered on a few days prior.

Many however, especially the children, kept a fair distance from him whilst others avoided him like the plague. It became obvious that not everyone accepted his presence in the little community, as he’d soon be rudely reminded of.

One person in particular grabbed his attention.

A boy, maybe a year or two younger than himself, had been giving him quite the unpleasant expression for a while now. While he couldn’t quite make out the details of his face from that distance, it was obvious that he was making an effort to be unpleasant.

As he neared, the boy turned his head away, an annoying sneer painted on his face. He had the audacity to snicker as they passed by, obviously a jab aimed at Malt.

After they’d created some distance, Niko let out a sigh of frustration.

“Just ignore that brat, he does that to almost everyone.”

“Yeah he looks like a little dipshit. Name?”

“Yerick, he’s mostly just annoying though.”

His eyes furrowed, the mere thought of the kid was aggravating him.

“He’s got this superiority complex because his dad’s the chief hunter, not that he’s any bit as strong.”

“If we’re talking your definition of strong, he might still be strong enough to body me. Should I be worried?”

“You should be fine, he’s only a little stronger than Misha even though he’s almost a decade older. The person you need to be worried about is his older brother Pavel.”

He looked around, making sure no one could catch their conversation.

“Pavel’s the chief hunter’s eldest son. He’s big, disgustingly strong, and just an overall brute. He likes to break rules just because he knows no one can punish him, that kind of guy.”

“So he’s a bully?”

“Even worse. He’s an excessive womanizer. And I use that term very loosely. He’s crude and overly persistent to the point where none of the girls feel comfortable around him.”

“I see...why are you telling me this again? Aren’t I an ‘outsider’ or whatever?”

“I mean you are, but you’re also the person that saved Misha. Well, that and because we need everyone to know. In case he...tries something, if you catch my drift.”

Malt’s eyes lit up in realization, “Ah, I see. So he’s a real piece of shit is what I’m hearing.”

“I’ll have to agree with you on that one.”

After making their way through the majority of the town, they eventually found themselves in front of a relatively large compound. Even without entering, he could tell by the tall timber walls surrounding the place that it was a place of importance.

The door, or rather gates that sat securely locked in front of them were heavy, reinforced with steel and meant to take a beating. Hanging right in the center was a little knocker.

They stood silent for a few moments before looking at one another.

“You can go ahead.”

“Nah that’s all you man.”

“No but I insist.”

“Aren’t I the guest here? You can go ahead since you know this guy and all.”

“But I’ve only spoken to him a couple times, so I think it’s appropriate for you to have the honors.”

“Don’t get all formal on me now-”

The gates slowly swung open with a creak, startling them both.

A girl with silky, shoulder length black hair stood at the entrance. She was notably different from the rest of the villagers, wearing more intricate and traditional looking clothing made of a material obviously not meant to endure heavy labour.

She gave a small smile, “Ah, you must be the person who arrived a few days ago.”

With a small bow, she introduced herself.

“I’m Anna, pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Although seemingly a little meek, she was obviously taught proper manners and it showed. Her mannerisms and features were more refined than the others, yet she was still polite.

“Oh, uh, yeah I’m Malt, pleased to meet you too.”

She then turned to Niko, “Niko as well, it’s nice to see you again.”

“...”

“...”

Malt nudged his side and turned to him, only to see that he had completely and utterly frozen up.

“Dude, you’re so obvious.”

Finally broken from his trance, he straightened up and bowed almost ninety degrees, arms stiffly to his side.

“Y-yes it’s nice to see you too.”

His face had turned beet red and his eyes, panicked.

All the while Anna stood there close eyed, softly laughing through her hand.

Malt took over from there, presumably doing him a favor.

“Ah, we’re looking for a uhm...Nazee-Nasir? Would you happen to uh, know where he is?”

“Right, you’re here to see my grandfather then.”

She cleared her throat, struggling to stifle her laughter.

She turned, beckoning them inside, “Right this way.”

As they entered the first thing he noticed was the neat looking garden. It was a little small, but neatly maintained and blooming with all sorts of flowers of almost every color in the rainbow.

They didn’t look nor smell like the medicinal herbs at the apothecary, but the sheer variety was just the same.

Hanging gardens hung from the branches of a small tree and groups of different flora lay rooted into the rich looking soil. A small stream completed the feel, it was a little paradise within those walls. Besides the modest cottage at the other side of the garden, nearly every open space, horizontal and vertical, had a plant thriving in it. And he was almost certain that Anna was its caretaker.

Each flower, every inch of soil had been meticulously groomed to a near perfect standard. This place was undoubtedly important to her.

“This garden is really something.”

“Ah, thank you. I don’t have many other hobbies other than tending to the flowers here, so this is really all I can do.”

“Even so, you’ve obviously put a lot of work into it.”

She gave a soft smile, “Indeed.”

“These walls too, they look pretty tough.”

The smile nearly faded from her face, but she managed to maintain a shallow imitation of it.

“Ah, yes. They were built to...keep threats out of here.”

Realizing he’d stumbled onto a sensitive subject, he tried to shift the conversation.

Before he could, a voice resonated from the little cottage.

“You ask an awful lot of questions for a young’un.”

An old, yet sharp looking grey haired man exited the cottage, seemingly already aware of their presence.

“Well I suppose that’s fine.”

He flattened his clothing, similar to the ones Anna wore. Stepping down from the porch he began making his way over to the three.

“Let’s begin then, I’m Nasir, this village’s elder.”