Angela and Brayno continued their journey towards the Amarino forest to search for the triple fanged hippo. The two searched for river after river, looking for such a creature, but were not able to find one.

Try as they might, they were unable to find the hippo. They searched far and wide to the different rivers in the forest, but they were only able to find large fish or large reptiles. Out of luck, the two returned to the village.

“Dammit, we can’t find this creature. Just how rare are they?”, said Angela.

“They told us that those Hippos are easy to find, but we can’t find them. I don’t know if they’re joking or not.”, said Brayno.

Suddenly, the young woman named Vivien went to the duo. She told them,

“The hippos are easy to find, but they are also very elusive. They simply hang out at the nearest river. However, in current times, they would flee whenever there are humans that are nearby.”

“I wonder why? Aren’t they overly aggressive to begin with?”, asked Brayno.

“They were not that aggressive a few years ago. Something must have changed them.”, said Vivien.

“Previous hunting expeditions, perhaps?”, asked Angela.

“Probably. The hunting expeditions were increasing as the time goes on.”, said Vivien.

Suddenly Luuriya arrived at the area. Upon spotting her little sister, she simply told her,

“Sis, come give your big sister a hug.”, said Luuriya.

“Hmph. You were evading me a while ago.”, said a pouting Vivien.

“I had to. Otherwise, you won’t let me go to the forest and patrol the area.”, said Luuriya.

“Fine.”, said Vivien.

The two sisters hugged each other and Luuriya lifted Vivien, allowing her to play with his hair.

“So, you are looking for a triple fanged hippo, aren’t you?”, asked Luuriya.

“Yeah. We are. The guards told us that they were easy to find, but we can’t find them.”, said Brayno.

“Hmmmm… I know, they can be at the river near the waterfall. You came here through the town of Halman, am I right?”, asked Luuriya.

“Yeah. We did.”, said Brayno.

“Do you know how to go there?”, asked Luuriya.

“Yeah, we know how to go there.”, said Brayno.

Brayno and Angela went back to the road towards Halman. There, they went back to the large waterfall. Upon arriving there, they saw the large river. Upon reaching the shoreline, Brayno and Angela went towards the river.

As soon as they waded through the river, the two saw a group of 10 large hippos. When they opened their mouths, the duo saw three large fangs.

“There they are. We need to simply get their hair.”, said Brayno.

“You attack, I’ll support you.”, said Angela.

The two drew their swords, but without any intention to kill. Reversing their blades, the two used the blunt side of the sword to attack the hippo. With the knowledge that the entire hippo group might get them, the two went on the offensive and attempted to strike the hippos in the river.

With their swords hitting the hippo, the two were shocked that the blunt sides were unable to do any damage to the beasts. With that, the two ran towards the forest, evading the rampaging hippo attack. With a closer look at the beasts, the two realized the hair that is wanted by Gobren is located at the tails of the hippo. While their entire bodies are composed of thick skin, it appears that the hair is only located at the tail.

This is going to be hard, thought Brayno.

“You’re thinking that this is a challenge, aren’t you? And you’re getting excited.”, said a smiling Angela.

“You really know how I think.”, said Brayno.

“Well of course. Let’s go then.”, said Angela.

The duo decided to charge towards the rampaging hippo and their group. Once again, the two drew their swords. However, unlike the previous attacks, the two poured their magical energies into the swords, ready to knock out the hippos. With his sword ready to strike, Brayno yelled,

SWORD ATTACK: BLUNT DAMAGE

With a single attack, Brayno managed to knock out one hippo. Enraged by this, the other hippos set their sights on the swordsman, but Angela was prepared. She yelled,

SWORD DEFENSE: MULTIPLE BLOCKS

Defending against the hippo attacks, Angela told Brayno,

“Get that hair now!”

“Alright.”

Brayno quickly moved towards the hippo’s tail and plucked as many hairs as he can. He then tapped Angela and motioned for her to fall back into the forest, so that the beasts will get lost. But the guard’s warning about the hippos being relentless proves to be true since they were still being chased throughout the forest.

The two dashed throughout the forest, making sure that they would not lose their important equipment. However, the group of hippos kept on chasing them until they reached a cliff.

The duo decided to scale up the cliff to ensure that the hippo won’t chase after them. Although jagged and dangerous, the experienced fighters managed to scale up the cliff to the top. Exhausted, the two decided to rest at the top of the cliff. Looking down below, they saw that the hippos retreated to the river.

Now that Brayno and Angela were at the top of the cliff, they saw the entire Amarino forest. They just saw how large and thick the forest is. Although it was easy to see the town of Halman, the two also saw that it was the only town in sight. It appears that the forest does cover the entire area, when looking down from this cliff.

“This forest is huge.”, said Brayno.

“Yeah. If the forest is not dangerous, maybe we can set up a camp here.”, said Angela.

“I know. Other groups would not simply target us if we hid here since the forest makes it hard for people to navigate the area.”, said Brayno.

“Let’s go back to the village of Caltron.”, said Angela.

Seeing that the site is cleared of rampaging hippos, the duo scaled down the cliff. Looking at their watches, they followed the direction towards to the village of Caltron. Seeing Angela be exhausted, Brayno suddenly carried her.

“Don’t worry Angela. I’ll be fine. But you’re still a cleric and you need to have as much rest as you can.”, said Brayno.

“But I’m fine. I can handle myself.”, said Angela.

“I know. That is why you need as much rest as you can. What would happen to us if either one collapses.”, said Brayno.

“I understand. But please, if you need rest, we can take a short rest here at the forest.”, said Angela

“Alright.”, said Brayno.

The determined swordsman carried Angela thru the forest and despite the natural harshness of the forest, they managed to reach the village. The duo entered the Wizarding Outpost and decided to take a rest there.

“Finally made it.”, said Brayno.

Carefully placing Angela down, Brayno sat on the floor, and drank a bottle of water.

“The journey is exhausting.”, said Brayno.

“I know. Anyway, thanks for taking care of me.”, said Angela.

“I will always take care of you Angela.”, said Brayno.

With each other’s face in sight, the two companions kissed each other.

“Ehem.”, said an old woman.

“Gobren. We didn’t see you there.”, said Brayno and Angela.

“Hahahahaha. Impressive, the two of you managed to complete this list of ingredients within a single day. Not even the best druids in this town can it.”, said Gobren.

“Well, we don’t want to leave things unfinished.”, said Brayno.

“Yeah. Anyway, here is your reward.”, said Gobren.

The old druid handed out an amount of 8,530 GolCreds to Brayno and Angela.

“This is the best we could give you. I’m so sorry.”, said Gobren.

“This is fine. You only have a small village anyway.”, said Angela.

“By the way, if the two of you managed to get some gemstones in the forest, those are yours to keep. You can do as much as you can with them.”, said Gobren.

“Thank you.”, said Angela.

“Rest here for the day. It is getting dark today. And there are some strong beasts in the road that can endanger your journey.”, said Gobren.

“We will do. But we are not part of the Wizarding Alliance. I’m not sure if the two of us can stay at the Wizarding Outpost.”, said Brayno.

“Hmmmm. You know what, you have a point here.”, said Gobren.

The old druid thought long and hard, and then an idea came to her. She spoke to the duo to address their dilemma.

“Maybe the two of you can stay at Luuriya’s house. She always lets strangers and travelers at her house.”, said Gobren.

“Luuriya. Hmmmm… We met her at a remote grove earlier.”, said Angela.

“Ah, the grove. Maybe I can give you some additional information on that grove. Sit and let me tell you a short story about that grove.”, said Gobren.

“During the old days, this village was founded by a druid who specializes in healing. They lived a hard life and would wander from town to town, without any place to call as home. Eventually, they went here and settled on a large clearing in this forest. But just like the other places in this area, the beasts would always go after each other and hunt one another. For them, the druid is just simply a different beast.”

“How did the druid survive this?”, asked Angela.

“Surprisingly, by befriending the beasts. Instead of attacking them or killing them, the druid simply healed the wounds of injured beasts and would only eat plants to survive. Eventually, the beasts befriended the druid and with that, there was peace in the forest.”

“What happened next?”, asked Angela.

“The druid went back to the world outside the forest and found some people who are downtrodden and are considered as outsiders by their communities. Furthermore, the druid taught them forest magic and how to heal living creatures, both people and beasts. Once the druid found enough people to settle the area, they returned to the forest and created this very village.”, narrated Gobren.

“So essentially, this village is a home for the downtrodden and for people who look for a place in society.”, said Brayno.

“Similar to our group”, whispered Angela.

“I know”, whispered Brayno.

“To continue with the tale of the grove. The druid has managed to establish a place for people who need a home and managed to live with the wild beasts. As the fame grew, more and more travelers visited this place. With them came the poachers and hunters.”, said Gobren.

“Poachers and Hunters?”, asked Brayno.

“Yes. These people found out about the beasts in this forest and realized that their hides and bodies would sell for value. While some of the beasts were hunted back in the day to gather some medicinal ingredients, the ones who simply hunt the beasts for glory and for fame are the worst ones of all.”, said Gobren.

“What do you mean by worst ones?”, asked Brayno.

“The ones who hunt beasts for medicinal purposes would understand that that they would only be hunted once a year, to ensure that the beasts would continue to populate this forest. For example, the blood of a feral black bear with pointed ears is required in our medicine. But that medicine can last for years, and a single bear is enough to sustain that medicine.”, said Gobren.

“On the other hand, hunters and poachers do not care about the time and the population of the beasts being hunted. They would hunt day and night, and for years on end. Try as they might, the druid cannot stop the hunters on their own. The druid tried in vain to defend the beasts but was killed by a group of hunters in a nearby grove. Sensing the death of their friend, the beasts gathered at the grove and hunted the hunters one by one, killing them all.”, added Gobren.

“With the hunters gone, and with the people fearing the beasts, this village was left alone for the time being. As for why the grove is a peaceful place. The beasts for some reason decided that they would honor their fallen friend and would be peaceful towards each other on that area. However, make no mistake, attacking a beast or a person in that place is dangerous for the beasts would descend upon the offender.”

After hearing Gobren’s tale, the duo met with Luuriya who agreed to take them for the night. Luuriya cooked for them and the two were salivating. Luuriya’s cooking is simply that good.

“My sister would always cook well.”, said Vivien.

“We know. This has got to be the tastiest food there is.”, said Angela and Brayno.

“Hahahahaha. My sister’s awesome isn’t she.”, said Vivien.

“She is.”, said Angela.

“Nah. I just want to make sure that my little sis over here would get to taste the best food possible.”, said Luuriya.

“I’m curious, how do you get meat if you cannot simply go hunting after the beasts of the forest?”, asked Brayno.

“We do have some domesticated animals. Those are the ones we cook. But to tell you the truth, we only cook meat when there are travelers in this village.”, said Luuriya

“Can we try the foods without any meat on it?”, asked a curious Angela.

“Sure”, said Luuriya.

“My big sis makes some of the best salads and plant-based foods in this village.”, said Vivien.

“You sure love your sister, don’t you, Vivien.”, said Angela.

“Well, she took care of me. She is always there when I really need her, and when she has some free time, she would play with me from time to time.”, said Vivien.

“Sis, I finished my meal, can I go to the library?”, asked Vivien.

“Sure. Just make sure to clean up your food.”, said Luuriya.

“Of course, sis.”, said Vivien.

After Vivien left the dining hall to go to the library, Luuriya set her bowl on the dining table.

“She sure is a very energetic woman.”, said Luuriya.

“I know the feeling. I have a brother who would exhaust me from time to time due to how much they want to play and enjoy life. But at the end of the day, they are still family, and as the older siblings, it is our job to be there for them.”, said Angela.

“You said it. I believe that Vivien will be a greater druid that I could. I hope she can find her purpose and be able to utilize her strengths.”, said Luuriya.

“She will. I sense determination in your sister.”, said Angela.

While the two women were conversing, Brayno took one sip of the soup and declared,

“This is a tasty food. Even better than the one with meat.”

Angela then took a sip at the soup and gave the same reaction as Brayno. The two consumed the food of Luuriya and had a wonderful time conversing with her.

On the next day, the two bid farewell at the town of Caltron, and returned to Halman. There, Ulmar approached them and told them,

“We have another bodyguard mission.”