“What’s going on here?” the old yet extremely fit man repeated, his fiery eyes sweeping across the combatants. He squinted at Yuriko for a long moment, confusion quite evident on his face. The vines trapping her squeezed harder triggering her irritation.

Yuriko gathered her Anima close to her skin, condensed it, and pushed everything but her clothes away. She solidified it against the vines and in a moment, the ropy tendrils loosened. Almost immediately, they fought back and tightened, but the moment’s hesitation was enough for her to shimmy out of the bindings. She stared defiantly back at the old man, whose mouth hung agape. But he shook his head and turned towards Lucian, who was still groaning and cradling his wounded bits.

“Oooh…” he moaned in reply to whatever the elder said.

“Lucian started it, Vaelir,” Edmund said as he walked up to the fight. “He just suddenly attacked my guests.”

The old man, Vaelir, nodded and turned to stare at Yuriko and then the others. “Verdanians?”

“Yes.”

“Newly come. The ones already here hadn’t sparked any such ruckus. Foreigner, you step into my domain, and as such, my rules will you be bound. Do you accept?”

“What rules?” Yuriko asked, wary of accepting an unnamed oath.

“That no violence be committed within, against each dweller. That you will not undermine this community or people, and that you fight to help protect this haven.”

Yuriko considered for a moment.

Don’t. The unconscious workings of your Mien alone will have you violate this oath. Change or reword it.

Swallowing, Yuriko said, “I will not hurt those who do me no wrong, and I will not be part of this community, but I won’t work against you anyway. I will fight those who threaten me in any way. That’s all I can promise.” Her Anima flared and the elder, and Edmund, reeled back.

The two exchanged glances then turned to look at the others. Somehow, Saki had already freed herself and was busy sawing away the vines entangling Desire and Gwendith. Parts of the tendrils around Gwendith looked pale and fragile already, and a quick snap of her wrist had her unbound. As for her elder brother, Marron was struggling against the bindings but was no closer to getting loose.

“Well, if you’re joining this community…” the elderly Vaeril started.

“Eh, I’m not,” Yuriko said, though she tried to keep her tone from being too sharp.

The man blinked at her, then said, “You’re trapped here along with the rest of us. If you won’t follow the rules of this community then you’re welcome to leave.”

“Hold on, Vaeril,” Edmund interrupted, “I brought them here not for them to join, but to help free us from the tyranny of the Warforged.”

Vaeril snorted. “The Warforged have patrolled the remnants of Synkrasia ever since my forefather discovered this little slice of paradise. Only their current aggression endangers us, and it was brought about by those you had vouched for, Edmund Sevier.” He pointed at Lucian, “Again your countryman bends my rules. Yes, he didn’t use a weapon, but he still attacked. Without provocation from what I caught. What makes you think they can help?”

“She fought an Athrodius to a standstill,” Edmund said simply.

Yuriko saw Vaeril’s eyes widen, then he stroked his smooth chin and hummed. “Truly?”

“Yes.”

“Very well, I shall allow it.” Turning to her, he continued. “If your compatriots will swear the same?”

“Release my brother first,” Yuriko said firmly.

Vaeril gestured with his fingers and the vines retracted. Yuriko was reminded of that Sorcerer back in Bella plane, Rhain Hervard. He was probably a Sorcerer, too?

“Sorcery?” she asked, curious.

Vaeril glanced at her and smiled. “Yes.” He didn’t elaborate but Yuriko didn’t expect it anyway.

Coughing and quite irate, Marron walked up next to Yuriko, glaring in equal measure at Lucian, Vaeril, and the one who attacked him. That man was slimmer than Lucian, but then again, that man was the biggest one here. That man had a narrow face and even narrower, and slanted eyes. He sneered at Marron, glanced at Yuriko, then sneered even more. However, he ducked away when Yuriko met his gaze.

“Come. Let’s get to the bottom of this. But not here,” Vaeril said. “Visitors from afar, come and let me extend my hospitality.” He spun on his heels and stalked away. The vines around Lucian lifted him up and carried him behind Vaeril.

The roots seem to come from the Chaos-touched man’s shadow, Yuriko thought, and the base moved across the dirt as though they were water. She cautiously stepped on where the vine had passed through, and she even expanded her perception through the dirt. Nothing at all distinguished it from every other patch of dirt or grass.

As they followed Vaeril and Edmund towards the palace, Gwendith sidled up to Yuriko.

“You heard him say other Verdanians?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Yuriko murmured back.

“You know what this means?”

“What?”

“Traitors.” Gwendith said grimly. “I’ve never heard of this place, not even a hint from Grandpa. This is an entirely unknown area, but from the looks of things, it's a valuable ruin that would have sent excavators and explorers down here. That there are Imperial citizens means that they either got here by accident or they don’t have our nation’s best interest at heart.”

Yuriko eyed the other girl wryly. “Maybe they’re just explorers who got trapped?”

Gwendith gave a delicate snort. “Maybe,” she admitted, “but I don’t think so.”

“Either way, that’s not really our concern. We simply have to finish Avos Zarek’s task and then we return to the surface. I’ve been away from home too long.” Yuriko said. “Er, sorry.”

“No matter,” Gwendith said easily, “I only hope it’s that easy. But… I’ve been no help at all. I’m sorry.”

“Well, you need to get stronger. Situations like this make growing your Anima easier.”

“Thank you.”

A commotion ahead drew Yuriko’s attention. Lucian was flailing around, but Vaeril had clamped his mouth down with more vines. The other residents had been drawn to the odd procession and were staring at Yuriko and Gwendith strangely.

Huh. Where were the women? She hadn’t seen a female settler yet, and there were already a hundred men of all ages lined up on the road. Oh Ancestors! Hopefully, her Mien wouldn’t act up!

No, she had to clamp down on it. She could feel her Anima pulse, like a heartbeat, so she squeezed down on it instead. She felt it weaken, but nothing more than that.

As they walked down the central road, she saw to the east a glimmer of water. And the rather familiar sound of crashing waves. Eh?

The ground sloped downwards that way, but only after nearly fifty paces from the road, so her visual angle didn’t let her see much. She was tempted to jump up, but considering the rather tense air, she’d rather not do anything that could be misconstrued.

“You’d think they haven’t seen women before.” Gwendith frowned as she pressed closer to Yuriko. Desire, on Yuriko’s other side, did the same.

“This is just your right, mistress,” Saki whispered teasingly.

Yuriko rolled her eyes but said nothing. When they reached the palace, they entered through the main gate immediately. Yuriko noted that there were still no door knobs on the door, and Vaeril opened it by sending a pulse of Animus when he touched the hexagonal pattern on the wood.

They went through the antechamber, and once they were in the great hall, Vaeril’s vines dropped Lucian on the carpet. The man rolled over with a groan, but he had enough gumption to send Yuriko a glare. She just shrugged at him, which seemed to inflame his temper even more.

“Harumph!” Vaeril’s snort quelled his anger, then a sleek, metallic humanoid glided up next to him and helped him to his feet.

Yuriko looked at the creature. It actually didn’t have legs. Beneath the waist was a rotatable axis and six wheels contained in a couple of treads. Animus lines glowed along the silvery metal of its body, while the head was a featureless mask with blue circular indicator lights for eyes.

“That’s a servitor drone,” Edmund said when he noticed her confused and somewhat wary look. “They’re confined to the village and cannot leave. They obey most orders and keep the place running.”

“Farming too?” Desire asked.

“No, just cleaning and general maintenance,” Edmund answered.

“Come,” Vaeril said peremptorily. He was already marching towards a hallway to the right. Soon enough, they were led into an office and when everyone took a seat, Yuriko thought that the chamber looked more like a courtroom than anything else. Vaeril took his place behind a tall desk and said, “Let us begin. What brings you and your party here…uh, what are your names again?”

“Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

“Marron Mishala Davar.”

“Gwendith Devi Sharine.”

“Saki Mishala.”

“Songstress of Heartfelt Desire.”

“Thank you. I am Vaeril Nuvian Sorren’ir. A member of the Sha’ledras Tribe, and steward of the settlement of Sorren’s Hollow.”

He turned towards Lucian. His friends had also followed, though only the one who engaged Marron was next to the bigger man.

“Lucian Ward. This is the third time you’ve caused trouble in this community. You were the one to incite the Warforged and now you attacked a guest. You will be barred from the springs for a year, and will not be allowed to draw supplies from the pantries. The same goes for you, Allein Furgus.”

“But, that’s a harsh punishment!” Lucian protested.

“You should have thought of that before you acted,” Vaeril said stonily. “Now begone. You are not to set foot in Sorren’s Inn for the duration of your sanction.”

Lucian gritted his teeth, gave a short bow then left. He didn’t look back. His henchmen left with him, too.

“Now then.” Vaeril turned towards them, “What brings you here?”

“A request by the Avos Zarek,” Marron answered.

“And that is?”

“To close the gate.” Marron shrugged. “I assume it is the same one that’s preventing you from leaving? The one that’s letting all the Warforged loose?”

“Yes,” Vaeril said. “So the Avos sends help after more than a year.” His tone was bitter. “Very well, we welcome it. Then, I open Sorren’s Hollow to you. We will help you, of course, but few of us are warriors. I’m sure you and your team are exhausted from the journey and the fight, so let me offer the inn’s hospitality to you. Tomorrow, we shall plan on how to reach the troublesome gate, and how we can stop the rampaging Warforged.”

“It would be our pleasure,” Marron answered and Yuriko nodded along.

“Oi! Faeril! I know you’re there, you scamp. Come out here and lead these guests to a spare cabin. Give them a tour too!” Vaeril yelled towards the side.

There was a muffled thud, and the heavy curtains along the window shifted. Out came a…boy? Or man, probably. He had similar features to Vaeril save that his face was unlined. He had silvery hair, green eyes, and long triangular ears. His ears didn’t have any studs or rings though. And like Vaeril, his torso was clad only with an open vest, proudly exposing his toned body. It wasn’t hard to guess that the two were related.

Yuriko’s gaze lingered on the contours of his abdominal muscles, and the sleekness of his chest. Gwendith nudged her and murmured, “Easy on the eyes, yes?”

“Ah, yeah.” Yuriko whispered back, and she felt a bit of heat rise up to her cheeks. Faeril blushed as he walked towards Vaeril’s desk, he stumbled a bit, over nothing that Yuriko could see, and his cheeks turned an even brighter red.

He stared at Yuriko and Gwendith, his eyes darted between the two of them. He kept looking until Vaeril cleared his throat noisily.

“Ah, yeah, Grampy, what’cha need?” His voice sounded nice.

“I said bring them to a cabin,” Vaeril growled.

“Sure!” He nodded towards the steward and made a strange gesture with his right hand, which started with his palm facing the ceiling and ended up with him holding two fingers up. “Please come with me.” Then he gave them a bright smile, “Welcome to Sorren’s Hollow!”