"Man my luck sucks...." Gil moaned as he and the survivors of the camp attack dragged their feet through the forest.

Luckily for him, the group that attacked them forgot he was still around and just left with the Samiet kid. However, they lost twister completely, and there was nothing left to salvage from its wreck. Now that had to go all the way back to Celtic Hoard's main camp and tell Dolton that they lost their very powerful, and very expensive piece of equipment to a bunch of nobodies. And Dolton was not the one to forgive lightly.

As for their numbers, only 22 were left. The ones the Salamander had fought were still alive. The others that had fought the swordsman weren't so lucky. On top of that, they found Grafton burnt to a crisp. He was dead. Something seemed to have shocked him enough to stop his heart completely, an ironic death for an electricity user. They found Yomura a few miles out. He was still alive, but apparently, one of the attackers shattered his hammer before sending him flying with one punch.

"Hey bro!" Kron called out from up ahead. "There's some chick here."

Gil froze along with the men behind him. If it was one of the people who attacked, they were screwed.

Fortunately, it wasn't, but it still didn't make the mood lighter. The girl before them seemed to be in her early 20's. She wore a black bikini and long, dark jeans with a sword strapped to her belt. More peculiar was her left arm which was completely bandaged up. She had short silver hair, and a very noticeable scar near her right eye.

"... And, you are?"

"Ellie," the girl said. "I wish to speak to Dolton."

Gil kept his spear held up. The girl had some strange vibe. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he could tell that this girl was a killer. "You with Celtic Hoard?"

"No."

"Then fuck off." Gil held his spear up at the girl, ready for whatever trick she could use.

"That's no way to speak to a lady." A female voice came from his left shoulder.

Gil looked back and was startled by a demonic face staring at him. As he jumped back in shock he got a better look. It was another girl, with red hair type in a ponytail. Her clothes were a little more revealing than the other girl, a gray corset, with a gray skirt. Along with that were frightening gauntlets on her hands, long boots, and more shockingly she wore a demon mask that consoled her face. What was more shocking was that she simply appeared behind him without him even noticing, not even a sound. No one else that was behind him even noticed either.

"H-How the.... Where'd you come from?!" Gil yelled as he held up his spear. However, as he lunged it forwards slightly, something tugged it from behind.

"We didn't mean to startle you." Another female voice came from behind him. He looked and saw another girl who looked indistinguishably identical to the one in front of him. This one was gripping the end of his spear. "But that's still no reason to attack my sister."

"S-Sister?" As Gil looked forwards, the other girl punched him in the gut.

Gil released his spear and collapsed to the floor in pain, coughing up a small amount of blood. It felt like a wrecking ball just hit him. All his men stood by in shock and fear as the twin girls stood over him, looking down like wolves gazing on their meal.

"What should we do Thelma."

"Good Question Louise." One of the twins kneeled and grabbed one of his arms and hosted it in the air while stamping on his back. "Perhaps we should take this arm."

"Thelma! Louise!" The girl Ellie called out. "I thought you assassins don't kill unnecessarily?"

"We were just joking Ellie." The one who wasn't holding Gil down, Louise, said. "Right Thelma."

"Right Louise." The Girl Thelma then released Gil and stepped off him. On instinct, Gil reached for his spear before using it to right himself.

"Y-You're assassins?" he rasped.

"They are." Ellie corrected. "We work for Yensin."

Gil stared at Ellie as he leaned against a tree for support. "Yensin? The terrorist?"

Even amongst the underworld, the name Yensin was something to be feared. He was probably the second most wanted man in Avalon.

Amongst the people you don't really want to cross, even if you're an Arch Sage, there were three particular dangerous groups. The First was Revolution, a group that had ties with the other world of Terra. The leader, someone whom Gil forgot the name of, was the most wanted man in Avalon, known for not only attacking the powers, but also carrying out killings in the other world of Terra, or so the rumors go. The third was some kind of shadow organization, known only to the underworld. Even so, no one knew anything about them, or even who worked for them. There was a rumor that the elusive mercenary group, White Rose, and even the swordsman Gai Tsukeyo, were a part of this shadow organization. The only reason it was third in the danger chart was that there was absolutely zero solid information about them. It was almost as though it doesn't even exist.

Yensin was an eccentric individual and rumored to be particularly difficult to talk to. However, under his thumb, he had a collection of very scary individuals that worked for him, amongst them was rumored to be a hag that could use some kind of forbidden magic and an Elf with a massive sword bigger than his own body.

And along with them were these girls. His goals were a mystery, but recently he's faction pulled off a heist in Miltesa, something that forced the Dominion of Everndail to close the borders to Cataka. He was someone you do not want as an enemy. And apparently, Dolton had made a deal with Yensin for something, something that involved the Sterland Village. Gil didn't really know the details that well since he was still a fresh face.

"Wh-What does Yensin want with Dolton?" Gil asked as the pain in his gut started to reside.

"I'd rather speak to him in person," Ellie said. "Don't worry. I'm not here to kill him if that's what you're worried about."

Gil looked back to Yomura, who nodded to him nervously.

"We're on our way back to base," Gil said to Ellie. "Wanta see him, Come with us."

The light in the forest

Rodger led the group so deep into the woods that it nearly became pitch black. However, a little further in, the darkness began to fade away, lit up by a mysterious blue light emanating from the fissures in the ground. As the group walked on the ground started to become rockier. Further still, the scenery changed entirely with the fissures opened up completely. The blue light emanating from them came from an underground stream that ran through the ground, and the rocks within the water began to glow with the mysterious light that illuminated this otherwise pitched black part of the woods. Allisa took a minute just to look around. Never before had she seen anything so beautiful in her life. It wasn't just her that was in awe. Cliff, who also hadn't been to Avalon before, was also speechless, as well as Max and Melvin. As the group took a short break to look around, Allisa gazed into the water through the nearest fissure. The light was being emitted from the rocks below the water and was illuminating the surface. She couldn't help but be reminded of the film Avatar, where at night, the water lit up along with the plant life. To her, that's what it seemed like.

"It's Mythril."

Allisa looked up from the stream and saw Nel crouching beside her.

"Mythril?"

"A special kind of stone that glows in dark places." She reached down into the water and picked out one of the stones. The light was dimmer once it was out of the water. "It's also very rare to find. This is actually the third time I've seen something like this." She handed her the stone. Allisa held it up to her eye.

"Wow, it's pretty." She said. "Never see stuff this neat back at home."

"Right about that," Cliff said. He seemed a lot calmer than he was before, probably due to the soothing atmosphere around him. "So, is this stuff used for something?"

"It's mainly used as a potion ingredient," Melvin answered for him.

"A potion."

"That's right," Rodger said. "Think my gran said it's used to make some kinda miracle healing potion that can fix you up even if you get a big hole blown outta ya."

"Oh yeah. I read it in one of Masters books." Melvin continued. "I think it's called Phoenix dust. Suppose to taste awful though."

"Well, that stuffs the main reason why humans would come this deep in'ta the woods," Rodger said as he looked down into the stream. "Mainly here to get their hands on one of these rocks. Cause the'd have'ta be pretty hardcore like you guys to make it here. After all, as you saw, this is the most dangerous part of the woods."

Everyone cringed as they remembered the trouble it took just to reach this spot. The monsters that they encountered on the way were far more ferocious than the ones they fought earlier. While the village wasn't too far from where they set off from, the journey took 2 hours longer.

The reason for this was that Rodger led them on a path that avoided the more dangerous parts of the forest. According to him, the monsters they avoided were amongst the most dangerous creatures in the forest. Though that didn't make the ones they engaged less dangerous. The first thing they encountered was a nest of giant arachnids. After that was a vicious pack of wolves, and even a fenrias which Allisa remembered from her first visit to Avalon. Just before they reached this zone, they had an unfortunate run-in with a Behemoth which, according to Rodger, had somehow strayed from its usual nesting grounds, one of the areas he had to lead them away from. That was the most challenging creature they had fought so far and took all seven of them just to bring it down.

"Yo, pipsqueak," Yuki said.

"That's Rodger to you!"

"Whatever. You sure it's safe for us to stop here? What if something like one of those beasts we just fought stroll in here?"

"That was just bad luck! And no, monsters never venture into this part of the woods."

"How come?" Allisa asked.

"Does it have something to do with the mythril?" Nel added.

"That's right miss. Not sure the reason why, but most of the monsters in the forest don't really like this stuff. It's the reason why our village is safe from them. Least that's what my pa says."

"Wait, your village is.... built on this stuff?" Allisa said.

"It's built on a reservoir. Not good with describin stuff though. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself."

Max then spoke. "Wait, You mean it's lit up like this place?"

"Yep," Rodger nodded. "Oh, best warn ya, we don't really get many humans so ya'll get a lot'ta weird looks. Also, some fellas don't really like humans so be careful. Oh, and stay away from a guy called Dorian."

"Dorian?"

"He's the biggest human hater in the village. Given the chance, he'll gut the lotta ya with a rake."

"Yeah, doubt I'll need to worry much about that," Yuki said. "So how far to go?"

Rodger then swiveled round. "Not far ta go now. Ya'll be seein the wall's soon."

****

A few more yards and the group finally reached signs of civilization. Though a wide-open field of fissures and the shining blue was a wall that was blocking the Valley. Before they was a large wooden gate, which seemed to be the only way in. At the bottom of the gate was an old man sleeping. He was just a few feet taller than Rodger with a very long gray-bearded. He also wore a helmet like Rodger, though this one was gray like his beard, as opposed to Rodger's moss green one. And like Rodger, he had a short, fluffy gray tail.

"Yo, Old man!"

The man then snapped away and looked around. He stared at the group with scrutiny before he looked down at Rodger. "Oh, Rodger." He looked back up to the others. "Are these humans with you?"

"Yep. These are my new henchmen." Rodger said, ignoring the ire from Cliff and Yuki.

"I see," the old man chuckled. "Welcome to Sterland Village. We don't get many humans." He got off his stool and gave a slight bow. "Thank you for keeping Rodger out of trouble. I know he can be a handful."

"That's putting it lightly," Cliff said under his breath.

"So," Allisa then spoke. "This village has a way into Cataka, Right?"

The old man looked a little surprised by her question. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were here to gather Mythril." He then gave out a slight chuckle. "You'll have to speak to the village Chief." He then looked at Rodger. "You can show them where that is."

"Yeah, yeah," Rodger shrugged as he approached the gate.

"Oh, and one more thing." The old man addressed the group. "There are some folks that aren't too keen on humans. So try not to cause any trouble."

"Oh, thanks," Allisa said. "We'll be careful."

"That goes to you two," Nel said to Max and Yuki. "No starting anything."

"Yeah, got it," Yuki said with irritation. "Got it pyro?"

"She was talking to you!" Max said defensively.

Cliff then walked out to the two and put an arm around their necks, carrying them into the village in a headlock.

"Sorry about them," Melvin said, waving to the man. "We'll keep them under control. Don't worry."

****

Allisa didn't think she would ever see a more beautiful place from the view of Riser from the cliff when she first entered Avalon. And now, that was proven wrong. Before her was a village built on several plateaus over the glowing water they had just passed. They were all wooden and thatched houses, but all looked so serene as they were lit up by the blue glow of the water. Drawbridges connected each plateau creating large zig-zaging networks of bridges, with each plateau connected to one or the other. As the group stared in amazement of the vista, Rodger walked to the nearest bridge and turned.

"Welcome to Sterland village." He said with his arms extended. "You could consider ya selves lucky. Not many humans are lucky enough to come here."

The group was still dazzled by the serene beauty of the village that they were rendered speechless. Nel was the first to break the silence. "The gatekeeper said you should take us to the Chief?"

"Yep. Follow me." Rodger turned with the gold statue strapped to his back. The others followed him.

Allisa looked around at all the dwarf-like people that were dotted around the various plateaus, all bearing the same identifiable features as Rodger had, furry ears and a tail. By comparison, Allisa and her companions (Except Melvin) were giants. It was so much that she almost forgot the reason for coming.

"You guys said you were trying to get to Cataka?" Rodger asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Allisa said. "There's supposed to be a path from here to.... To,"

"Tattora," Nel finished.

"R-Right,"

"Oh, that...." Rodger put a finger to his chin. "Well, Gramps is the person to ask."

"Gramps?"

"Yep. He's the chief of Sterland. All travelers talk to him for advice on liven in the forest."

Everyone looked at Rodger with confusion.

"Wait," Cliff said, scratching his head. "Doesn't that make you... royalty or something?"

"Huh? I guess that's one way to say it." Rodger said, not hiding the glee in his voice. "Bet ya never been in the presence of royalty before, have ya."

"Actually, We were the bodyguards of the Princess of Rosaria a few months ago," Melvin said.

"And she definitely wasn't an irritating and arrogant little brat like you," Yuki grunted.

"Hey! Is that any way to speak to a prince?!" Rodger exclaimed as he turned around.

Just then, someone called out from the plateau in front of the group. "Rodger!"

In front of them were two Samiets, probably around Rodger's age, one a boy and the other a girl, and both wearing the same kind of clothing as Rodger, with the exception of different color clothing.

The boy looked particularly droopy and dull, with glasses and blue overalls. The Girl was a brighter pink color with long, pinkish hair that was braided.

"Dora! Fred!" Rodger waved and ran up to them. He stopped before them and unstrapped the gold statue and placed it before them. "Well, check it out," he said triumphantly.

"Y-You did it." The boy Fred stuttered.

The girl, Dora, studied the figure with astonishment. "Wow. And I thought you'd get killed for sure."

"Give me some credit," Rodger said to her.

"Anyway," Dora then pointed to the group. "Who are they?"

Rodger turned to see the group standing behind him. "Oh, them. They’re my new Henchmen."

Yuki and Cliff then launched Rodger into the air. "WE'RE NOT YOUR HENCHMEN!!!" they both yelled.

"We were lost in the forest so he brought us here," Melvin said as Rodger landed back on the ground. "After we helped him get that thing."

"Sounds like something he'd do," Fred said.

"Yeah, that's our captain for ya," Dora said with a hint of sympathy in her voice.

"Captain?" Allisa said.

"Yep." Dora nodded. "Names Dora T. Valentine."

Fred then raised his hand. "And I'm Fred H. Sawes."

Rodger then waddled forwards after getting up from the punches he resaved. "And with me, we are,"

The three then struck a separate pose that was obviously not choreographed well. "The Walloping Willows!" They said in unison.

"You, um.... Might want to work on that more." Allisa said.

"Ohh Cool," Max looked around at the group. "We should try something like that." He said with his eyes sparkling.

"You can't be serious?" Yuki said, narrowing his eyes. "I'd sooner commit seppuku with a blunt knife than do something like that." He then addressed Rodger. "So what's this Walloping willow thing?"

"Oh, it's our gang," Rodger explained. "We protect this village and the forest from the various monsters and bandits like those Celtic hoard guys."

"So basically you're a bunch of stupid kids playing hero." Yuki summarized.

"Isn't that kinda dangerous?" Allisa asked. "You guys could get killed."

"Or locked in a cage," Cliff added.

Fred stepped up to Allisa, trying to put on an intimidating look, which proved fruitless with his droopy features. "W-Were tougher than we look." He said.

"Yeah." Dora stepped in. "We may not be big like you humans, but we're way better at magic."

Allisa looked to Nel for confirmation, who nodded in response. "Of course, this was the first time I've seen Samiet magic in action. But I can say for certainty that Melvin couldn't destroy that thing in under a minute."

Melvin looked up at Nel with a confused look.

"That weapon was a Magitek weapon."

"Seriously!" Melvin said with shock.

Allisa was a little confused with the term used by Nel. "Magitek?"

"Anti-magic weapons. The size and model vary, but they are essentially weapons that were designed to stand up against mana users. It's covered in a special metal called amerathin which can dampen mana attacks." Nel then had a troubled look on her face as she explained. But where did a bunch of bandits acquire something like that?

"And you took something like that out!" Dora yelled to Rodger, seeming more angry than impressed. "Geez Rodger, you promised not to go overboard!"

"Um... Well, there were unforeseen events." Rodger said defensively, rubbing the back of his head with an apologetic smile.

"And they said something about a cage?" Dora continued referring to what Cliff said. "What's that about! You didn't get caught, did you?"

"Well.... That's just cause they jumped me to start with," Rodger then pointed at Max and Yuki, "and they're the ones who charged into that camp without thinkin."

Dora let out a big sigh. "It's always the same thing with you. You promise not to do something stupid, and then you end up doing it." She then stuck a finger at Rodger. "Every time you do something like this, me and Fred get in trouble too." She then turned to Fred. "Right?"

"Ye-Nu..."

"And," Dora continued without giving Fred a chance to speak, "your gramps may not mind that you brought Humans into the village, but you-know-who would chew you out for it."

"Ah, I'm not scared of him!" Rodger snapped back. "Besides, he's a crackpot who thinks the sky will fall any day now!"

"Even so, he's got a lot'ta support from other anti-humans and he's just waiting for a chance to get at ya gramps!"

As the two continued to bicker, the group stood awkwardly quiet with nothing better to do but watch the argument unfold. They would have left, but they didn't know their way to the chief's house. Nel was about to interrupt the argument when a new voice came from the right.

"Well, well. Looks like the loser's still alive." Judging by the Walloping willows reaction to it; the group could tell it wasn't someone they were not friendly with.

Standing to the right was another trio, all roughly about the same age as the walloping willows. The one in the center had a fancy bronze, eagle shaped; helmet, which covered his orange hair. His outfit was a buttoned cardigan, which would have looked fancy if it weren't for the patches sewed in several places. The one to his right wore a black cloak, and most notably wore large, bug-eyed glasses. The final one to the boy's left was larger than both of them with virtually no neck, wearing a fur cloak with a fur hat to match.

"S-Steve," Fred said.

"Steve?" Allisa asked, assuming it was the center one he was referring to.

"Our rivals," Rodger said to the group before picking up the statue and set it down in front of Steve grinning. "Tada!" He jeered. "One gold statuette from those Celtic Hoard bastards."

"Well, you actually got something. Color me impressed."

"A real man never goes back on his word." Rodger then stuck out a triumphant finger at him. "That means the Walloping Willows are ahead, 5 to 4."

"Not quite," Steve said with a grin. "Frade this doesn't count since you got help." He then looked at the group towering behind Rodger. "Humans at that."

"...."

"The bet was that you bring something from those bandits on ya own."

"It was on my own!" Rodger said.

Steve looked to the bug glasses boy. "Redwol."

The boy nodded and took out a crystal ball. All of a sudden, images flashed, showing the events that transpired earlier before. Rescuing Rodger, and the assault on the camp.

"Oh....That," Rodger began to think of an excuse. "Well, technically you said no help from our gang. They're not from my gang."

"Oh come on, it was a test of courage to steal from the humans. Not only did you get help from humans, you also were dumb enough to bring them into the village."

"They're not bad people! Sure two are annoying and scary, but they helped me out of a tough spot, and a real man never leaves his debts unfulfilled."

Steve snorted. "Seriously. My pa says humans are untrustworthy bastards who think of themselves before others. That's why we live in the forest away from them." he then looked towards the group. "Don't know what you humans want, but you best leave before something bad happens." He then turned to his pals. "Let's go guys." With that, the three parted.

"Jerk," Rodger said when they were out of earshot.

"So that's your rival you had a bet with?" Max asked.

Rodger nodded. "Yep. Steve B. Ferlo, captain of the Awesome Frogs."

"That what?" Cliff said, not understanding the name.

"And he's the son of Dorian, the human hater I told ya about."

"Yeah." Fred nodded. "He's away at the moment, but you wanna get outta here before he comes back."

"Is he that bad?" Allisa asked.

"Kinda. He really hates you humans for some reason. He believes that you guys are the reason we live in hiding from them."

Allisa, Cliff and Max looked to Nel and Melvin for some kind of confirmation.

"Well," Nel pondered, "I wouldn't say that historically humans had good relationships with non-humans, so it would make sense for there to be hostilities."

"Well, enough grinding on about that jerk," Rodger said, turning around to Dora. "Um... Did ya see gramps earlier."

"Yes."

"And, um.... Did he.... Ya know... find out about the bet."

"I did."

Rodger froze stiff as he heard a voice behind him. "Oh crap."

The man who had just approached Rodger from behind was quite an old man with a large bushy beard. As Rodger slowly turned around, the man smiled and raised a fist in the air and bashed it against Rodger's helmet, which surprisingly sent him into the ground stopping at his neck. He then walked towards the surprised group and bowed.

"My name’s Gimdo, the Chief of this village." He said in a polite voice. "I take it you were the ones who brought back my idiot grandson."

"Um... yes," Allisa said nervously.

"Thought so. I apologize for whatever he put you through."

"Oh... its fine really," Allisa said quickly, "besides' we were kinda lost so he helped us out."

"He does have a kind heart." Gimdo then looked back at Rodger. "A bit reckless though."

"And annoying." Cliff and Yuki commented together.

Allisa looked towards Rodger, who was buried up to his neck in the ground. But he seemed to be ok. She could just make out his squirming on the ground. "What did you do just now?" She asked.

"Looked like some kinda earth magic to me," Melvin said.

"Very keen eye," Gimdo said to Melvin. "I'm guessing you've seen his earth mold magic."

Everyone nodded.

"Mine's similar to that." Gimdo then taped the ground, and all of a sudden, a pillar shot up. "It's known as 'earth mover.' I can ascend and descend the earth around me. Not as artistic as my Grandson, but has its uses." He then let out a chuckle. "Anyway, I'm sure you're all exhausted from the journey. Our village doesn't have an inn per say, but the chief's hut has accommodated travelers before. It's big enough for you all to stay."

"Oh... Thanks." Allisa said.

"Pleasures all mine. We don't get many human travelers round these parts." He said with a smile.

"What about him?" Max pointed at the grounded Rodger.

"He'll be fine." He said. "He'll be out in no time." He then walked away to the bridge behind him. "This way."

They then departed, leaving the still grounded Rodger behind. "....Um.... You're, gonna come back for me... right?"

****

Gimdo had led the group to his house near the back of the village, built into the hillside. It was noticeably bigger than the other houses, which explained that since visitors rarely came to the village (Humans especially), there was really no need for an inn or tavern.

The Chef's hut was therefore specifically custom built to accommodate visitors, with the first floor to house himself and his family, and the upper level split into separate bedrooms. There were four in total, meaning that Allisa and Nel would share a room while Max and Melvin would take another and Cliff and Yuki would take the last two. At dinner, the group sat down with the chief and his wife, Hellina who had prepared some kind of soup and some kind of roast for them to eat, and Rodger, who had finally returned.

"You wish to get into Cataka?" Gimdo asked while taking a sip of the soup.

"That's right." Nel nodded to Gimdo. "The border was closed and we're kind of pressed for time. That's why we came through the forest."

"Why didn't ya go by boat?" Rodger asked. "That would'a been better than bravin the forest."

Cliff slumped down in his stool. "We didn't exactly have a good voyage coming here in the first place."

"And we had to ask a drunk for directions," Yuki added.

"A-Anyway," Allisa said, bringing the conversation back to the topic. "There's some kinda road that goes through here, right?"

Gimdo nodded. "Unfortunately you've come at a bad time." Everyone stared at Gimdo with a sense of foreboding on their face.

"What do you mean?" Allisa asked.

"There is a road that goes from the village into Cataka which joins up with the capital Tattora. However, it's built on low ground, and every 10 days, the water level from the Village reservoir rises, and as a result, the road is flooded." Gimdo then lets out a sigh, "You can probably guess that today is the day the road floods."

Cliff, Yuki and Melvin let out a long sigh.

"You mean we came all this way for nothing." Melvin moaned.

"Now now. It's not all that bad." Gimdo reassured. "The flooding only lasts 3 days." He then gave a small nod." You can stay in the village until then."

"You sure that's ok?" Max asked. "Don't some folks hate humans?"

Rodger flicked his spoon in the air before answering. "Yeah, but those guys are jackasses."

"Rodger!" Hellina bashed Rodgers' helmet with the ladle she was using. "That's no way to talk!"

".... But it's true." He muttered. "They're just holdin on to that crap cause they're too scared to leave the forest and find out themselves."

Gimdo then gave a cough to return their attention back to him. "Answering your question," he said to Max. "There are a few who have a deep hatred for humans. And worst of them is Dorian C. Ferlo."

"Is he bad?" Allisa asked.

"To him, all humans are evil creatures, killing each other and everyone they see as a problem in pursuit of their wicked ideas. He has a lot of following in the village. When he finds out that you're all here, there's no doubts he'll be banging down my door."

"Oh, well, we don't want any trouble," Allisa assured.

Gimdo let out a short chuckle. "It's alright. He usually chews me out for being close to humans so this will be nothing new."

"It's cause of jerks like him that folks are too scared to venture outta the woods." Rodger moaned.

"And for good reason," Hellina said to Rodger. "It's dangerous beyond the woods."

"Well, that didn't stop my pa!" Rodger snapped. "And he's the village hero who shows those scared bastards that we don't have to live such a sheltered life!"

"That's enough!" Hellina snapped back. "Your father, my son, abandoned his wife and duties for his selfish dream and that ultimately got him killed!"

"SHUT UP!!" Rodger bashed the table hard, spilling his soup everywhere. "My pa was a hero." He hissed. "And one of these days I'm gonna leave this stupid village and see the world for myself." He then pushed himself from the table and retreated from the dining room.

"Come back here this instant! That's no way to talk to your grandmother!"

But Rodger didn't respond and went out of sight. Hellina remained silent for a second before departing.

"Sorry you had to see that." Gimdo apologized. "Those two don't see eye to eye."

"I-Its fine, really," Allisa said quickly.

"That boy has a lot of his father in him. He was one of the few explorers from our village, one of the few to have explored the world. As a result, he was out nearly most of Rodger's life."

"Really," Max said looking towards where Rodger had disappeared. "Poor kid,"

Allisa recalled Max saying that his parents were absent for most his life so he's sister raised him. She could imagine that Max could relate to Rodger. She herself couldn't imagine what it must be like, but even though her family wasn't the best in the world, she still would be preferable to living without your mother and father.

"And he's dead?" Yuki asked.

"Yes." Gimdo nodded. "I only heard it from a traveler who came here, a Cait Sith, that he tried to fight off a group of bandits that were terrorizing their village. Apparently, he saved the village, but was killed in the process."

Gimdo let out a large sigh as he cupped his hands together. "That was a year ago. Rodger was heartbroken, but within him, I sensed a fire I did with his father. After that, he began to brave the forest time and time again, even against our better judgment, training himself to get stronger so that one day, he can truly leave the forest like he always talked about."

He then snapped back up. "Ah, listen to me telling strangers of my troubles." He gave out a chuckle. "I guess that comes with age. Like I said before, you're welcome to stay here until the road is unflooded."

"If you insist." Nel nodded. "We'll try not to cause you much trouble." She looked at Max and Yuki specifically when she said that. "Right?" She said in a cold voice.

"Y-Yes mam." Both men said quickly.

****

Rodger lay on his bed, gazing up at the wooden ceiling above him. In his hand was his silver hammer that he used as a conduit to amp his magic. Every so often, he would raise it to study it. To him, that hammer was the most important thing he had, besides being his weapon. It was a gift From his father, the last time he saw him.

"Remember, No matter what happens, no matter how hard the road before you becomes, a real man never goes back on his word."

" Never regret the decisions you make, and take each step forward and never backward."

"I know that you'll be alright. After all, you're my son."

A small tear began to run down Rodger's small face as he lowered his hammer. "Pa, one of these days, I'm gonna see the outside world." He smiled as he spoke the words. "After all, once a man says he'll do something, he must never go back on his word."

Celtic Hoard

Within the deepest parts of the forest, where no light was able to penetrate, the dense tree line started to dissipate as the ground started to crack, shining through the dark with a dim blue light. The scenery would be a dream to behold, that is if it hadn't been ruined by the tents and machinery set up everywhere with man scampering around. At least that's what Ellie believed as she set foot in Celtic hoard's main camp. Thelma and Louis seemed indifferent walking in front of her, still wearing their demon masks.

In front of them was the nervous guide, Gil Sphincus, an officer in Celtic Hoard. They had met over two hours ago, and none had said a word. Behind Ellie were the equally nervous men under Gil's command. Judging by their injuries, they must have encountered a powerful monster within the forest. However, all of them were ready to act in case her, or the two assassins played up. Not that any of them were a threat to Ellie, who excelled in using her one-handed sword, and not to mention the power embedded in her left arm. And of course, Thelma and Louise were assassins. A mob like them was no match.

However, Yensin didn't send them to destroy the gang. Her entire purpose here was to deliver a message from him to Celtic Hoard's leader, Dolton.

Gil led them through the crowded camp until they reached a cave with drapes hanging over it, which could indicate that Dolton resided within. As they came to a stop, a massive figure emerged from behind the drabs. To Ellie's surprise what emerged was a Taurus, a half-human, half-bull hybrid, a rare species of beastmen. Standing about three inches taller than the man Yomura, he was bare-chested, showing off a large muscles, covered in thick chest hair. His head was that of a bull, black with small horns and a golden nose ring. Ellie couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by the creatures dominating appearance.

So this must be Dolton.

The creature looked at Ellie and her companions before looking at Gil. "Who are they?" he asked in a very low voice.

"They say they work for Yensin. They wannta see the boss."

Boss? This isn't Dolton?

The Taurus nodded and turned around. "Boss!"

After about 10 minutes a curtain opened with a woman.

"Sorry, he'll be out soon." The woman said to Ellie

"S-Sure."

This was the first woman she saw. Unlike the others, who were armored and seasoned fighters, the woman was hardly the sort, Wearing what looked like office clothing, glasses, neat black hair, high heels and carrying a clipboard, she looked like a secretary rather than a bandit. She looked towards Gil, and then to the men that had accompanied them.

"What happened to all of you?"

"Um... something happened in our camp," Gil said nervously to the woman.

"I see." She then took out a pen and jotted something down. "Gil Sphincus was it?"

"Y-yeah."

The woman continued to write.

"What are you writing?" Gil said.

"That's sexual harassment." She said quickly.

"I was just asking what you're writing!!"

"What's with all the yelling?" From the tent emerged another man, who Ellie guessed was Dolton.

His reputation was quite a feared one.

Longtime bandit and powerful mana user, his name was enough to strike fear into the hearts and minds of the Dominion of Everndail. His appearance, on the other hand, didn't match that image. A very long face with spiked shades, Blond hair that stuck up like a cactus, and a long coat over a particular slender body. It was hardly anything to be intimidated by.

"Boss." The Taurus said to him. "We have visitors from Yensin."

Dolton looked forwards at the group before him. The men ruffled nervously while she and the Assassins stood calmly. "Who are they?"

Ellie took a step forward towards Dolton. "My name is Ellie."

Dolton used his middle finger to push up his shades. "And you work for that psycho?"

Ellie nodded, knowing he was referring to Yensin.

"Huh...." He then looked at the men standing behind her. "You," he pointed at Gil, "You're that new kid right?"

"Y-yes sir!" Gil blurted out nervously.

"Stop the 'sir' crap, I'm not a lord or nothing. Anyway, what the hell happened to you?"

"Um.... Well, um...."

"Hay Ingrid, what camp were they in?"

The secretary looked over the clipboard. "Camp 12. A periphery camp with a Gracemeria class Magitek walker."

"Ah, right. So why'd you guys look like shit?"

"Um.... Well," Gil stuttered.

"We were attacked!" Another voice spoke up.

"Who are you?"

"Kron Flax." The man rushed up to stand beside Gil. "I was the pilot for Twister."

"Ok. So what happened? You got attacked by beasts? Gotta be a behemoth to make you guys look like shit."

"Um... Actually, boss.... It was 2 people."

Dolton walked up to the man. "What about the weapon."

"Th... that got blown up."

"Are you saying that you lost a Magitek weapon, a weapon that cost me 60,000 Rundes a piece, was destroyed by two guys?" Dolton spoke in a very serious and threatening voice. "I hope you're prepared to compensate me for that. You are the pilot after all."

"Um... I... I don't have that much...." The man Kron spoke nervously, taking a step back. "S-Sorry boss."

Dolton let out a sigh. "Sorry? You say that like it will compensate me for my quite costly loss. I have five Gracemaria class Magitek walkers, minus the one you lost. Getting your hands on even one is hard enough. It takes time and effort to make the arrangements to acquire one, and you lost it. And now, you are standing here telling me it was destroyed by two guys."

"Actually... um... it was a Samiet kid that destroyed it. The two guys are the ones who wrecked the camp."

"A Samiet kid? Well, that makes your position even worse." Dolton said with even more menace behind his voice.

Kron took another step back. "I... I'll find a way to pay ya back, boss. I just-"

In a blink of an eye, Dolton shot his left hand forwards and stabbed Kron's throat with his finger. Everyone around him gasped in fright as they took a step back from Kron.

"I'm sorry, but a 'sorry' from you won't compensate me for my loss." Dolton then withdrew his finger that was coated in Blood and let Kron drop to the floor clenching his throat in a pointless effort to plug the hole in his throat. After a minute of squirming, he bled out.

"Ew..." Dolton moved his left hand out to allow his secretary to whip the blood off with a hankie. "Sorry you had to see that," he said to Ellie, "have to discipline my men though. Can't let something like this go unpunished now can I." He then turned to the nervous Gil. "Now, what to do with you?" he asked himself.

"Because of your skills you displayed, along with a reasonably high mana level to back it up, I granted you an officer position, one of only four in Celtic hoard, alongside Broco, Ingrid and Waze. And I also gave you the spear of the Terren hero Cú Chulainn, Gáe Bolg. Don’t think I need to tell you how difficult it is to get a hold of." He pointed to the ruby spear in Gil's hand, "To cement your position, you were given the task to destroy the more dangerous beasts towards the Samiet village, as well as to guard one of the Magitek weapons while it was being repaired.

Gal trembled as Dolton walked ever closer to him. "T-This wasn't my fault. The ones who attacked the camp, one was a Salamander, and the other was another freak."

"And you had over 30 men, plus the Magitek." Dolton said as he pushed his shades back up. "I'm guessing I should have considered this a little harder." He then let out a sigh and turned to the other men. "Clean that up." He pointed to Kron's body. "Then get patched up." he then looked back to Gil. "You stay." Finally, he turned to Ellie, Thelma and Louise. "Sorry about that. Now then, you're from Yensin?"

Ellie nodded again. "I have a message. He wants you to move up the attack schedule."

"Any particular reason?"

Thelma then spoke. "I think he's being pressed for time. Right Louise?

"That's right Thelma."

"Like they said," Ellie added. "He feels he has to make his move soon before the Arch Sages have time to react."

Dolton pushed his shades up again as he walked back to where he was before. "I was intrigued by when he first offered me this job a month ago. After all, no one has ever successfully attacked Sterland Village before. However, successful or not, you have to appreciate the risks that are involved with such an undertaking. I was hoping for some more time to prepare."

"So you're backing out?"

"Don't be ridicules. Once I'm invested, I like to see things through to the end." Dolton then waved his hand. "But for moving up the schedule, I'm gonna have to make it double."

"Understood. I'll let him know after the job's done." Ellie insisted.

"And I'd better be paid in full."

"Don't worry. He's nuts, but he does pay his debts."

"Alright, Ingrid." Dolton snapped his fingers. "Get everything ready."

"Yes, Dolton."

"And tell Waze that the schedules been moved up."

As the Secretary departed, Dolton turned to the Taurus. "You too."

The Taurus nodded and departed. Lastly, Dolton turned to Gil.

"I'm going to give you one last chance." He said. "Based on your performance, I might let you off the hook. However, if you fail, then you'll be useless to me and I'll have no choice but to cast you out."

Gal gulped down and nodded.

"I don't like useless things, and put a value of individuals over everything else." Dolton leaned closer to Gil. "For your sake, make sure you still have value. If not, well, let's just say you'll have to put your fate in the hands of the goddess if it comes to that."

"I-I won't let you down. I promise." Gil said in a clear voice.

"See that you don't."

Gil turned away and walked off with his head hung low.

"How long until you can launch an attack?" Ellie asked.

"By tomorrow." Dolton turned and pushed his shades back up, clearly a habit he had. "Will you be sticking around till then."

"Actually, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to observe." Ellie turned to Thelma and Louis. "What about you two?"

"Sounds like a show. Right Thelma."

"Certainly is Louise."

Dolton let out a small giggle as he froze his finger on his shades. "Oh I promise you, this will be a show." As he withdrew his hand a sinister smile. "And it will be a show a year coming. Ever since that irritating Samiet thwarted me in the past, I swore I would not be truly satisfied until I've seen his home burnt to the ground."