“Is it good?”

“Mmhm y-yes…”

The girl was munching the food in silence, though she would sometimes sneak glances at the man sitting across her. He had his legs crossed and was leaning back, calm and patient.

Even when he talked to her, he used a soothing and soft tone to not startle her.

Fortunately, such a method proved efficient as Ami had composed herself and was no longer anxious or trying to hide her shining golden eyes.

Her starving stomach temporarily took priority and made her busy with enjoying the delicious dishes he had brought.

“So…”

With a faint and kind smile, he stared at the girl and finally asked, “What is your story, Ami?”

“...”

At first, she did not reply, and though he did not ask again or insist, she eventually opened her lips and responded.

“I’m an Arman.”

“Excuse me?”

“I-I am an Arman. A descendant of an exiled Arman family.”

The parasite was not expecting such an answer, but he did not let the surprising revelation stop the questions.

“As in a descendant from the Armans of eld? Those ones?”

Ami nodded once as she fiddled with her fingers, slightly nervous now that she spat out her somewhat secret identity.

For a bit, Arthur did not speak, he contemplated a couple of things and remembered the monolith and the praying altar.

“Is that why your eyes are glowing?”

“It’s… a trait. I was told it’s unique to the Armans. I only know this much.”

“But, Ami, that still leaves many unexplained things.” He sighed and continued, “Why were you so scared of getting seen?”

“Wait wait!”

He didn’t give her the time to answer as he raised his hand and looked down with an expression of deep thinking.

“It’s the villagers, yes? Religious zealots dominated by superstition. You were scared of how they might react. Am I correct?”

“Y-yes…”

Now that the final pieces were getting revealed, Arthur fished out a piece of paper from his pocket and opened it in front of Ami.

“This paper. Did you write it?”

When she saw it, the girl was astonished and covered her mouth. In disbelief, she looked at the worn-out paper then at the man.

“Well well… at least this part of the puzzle is uncovered.”

Arthur let out a chuckle, feeling satisfied and relieved. However, even after knowing who wrote it, the unquenchable thirst for knowing more was accumulating within him. There were still secrets to be told, like the existence of the monolith and the worshiped ‘Lord’.

***

“Master, why are you grinning like that?”

Evelyn was in the room, waiting for him to come back. With nothing to do, she had been cleaning any dusty corner she found until he returned in the middle of the night.

“My dear Evelyn! How can I not be happy?”

He smugly waved the paper in front of her while cackling like a maniac.

“I did not think it would unravel so soon!”

“What are you talking about?”

Seeing his unrestrained excitement, the maid was even more confused, especially since he celebrated and refused to clarify.

“I know who wrote this, and whence the bottle came from.”

“...”

“Want me to tell you, huh? Maybe if you give me a smile, I’ll think about it.”

“...”

She remained expressionless, her eyes dangerously narrowed and giving him a piercing glare.

“Alright! Damn it you’re giving me the chills!”

He shrugged and sat down on the only chair in the room, took out the map and proceeded to draw the hidden cave while speaking,

“Ami wrote this. She’s actually of Arman descent. As for the cave…”

He inspected the sixteen swamps then linked them with a simple line.

“Is here! At the center!”

When the lines were drawn, there was a vague form of a barely noticeable pentagon-shaped shield, the symbol of the Arman Empire.

“It's here, my dear Evelyn!”

The maid was now standing behind him, as is her wont. She looked at the map, her frown deepening,

“The cave is beneath the village? How?”

“Hahahaha…”

He put down the pen and half-turned his body, a wide and unpleasant smile on his face,

“Let’s play a game, Evelyn. You will be the evil witch, okay?”

“I don’t like your smile, Master.”

“Oh, come on! It will be fun! Glorious!”

“...”

…

“You’re staying here? Why, that’s terrific!”

Greg heartily laughed, like all his hunter friends. It has been a week since Arthur and Evelyn arrived and though the former did not join their hunts anymore, the latter became somewhat of a regular.

She was a strong fighter and her contribution increased their daily score by a significant amount.

Just now, ‘Despoina’ announced that she and ‘Alexander’ will be staying in the village. Add to that Arthur’s willingness and determination to join their religion. He would join them every dawn and pray with them in hopes of receiving the salvation and blessing of the Lord.

Excluding his time with Ami, he would spend the entirety of the day speaking with the villagers, whether it was men or women. Thanks to his talkative nature, he quickly got acquainted with the inhabitants of the low-populated settlement and earned their goodwill.

Such a feat would have been difficult were it not for their abundant hostility and the fact that he was newly-born zealotry.

In fact, Arthur would be seen praying to the altar up to three times a day, thus gaining more attention and amiability from their part.

“Alex! You will join us tonight, yes?”

Dominus stumbled upon Arthur and, after an over-friendly greeting, he proceeded to invite him to their celebration in the Tavern of the Gods tonight. The Lamb Festival was tomorrow, therefore, they would throw a big party in the local hub to prepare and enjoy their time. Even the women would be present, apparently.

“Why, of course I will!” Heartily replied Arthur as he reciprocated the smile.

“You too, Ami.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

The girl was as cheerful as ever, energetically nodding her head and giggling.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Dominus went about his business, leaving only Ami and Arthur.

“E-ehmm… is it tonight?”

“Yes. Are you afraid?”

“A..a little bit.” She replied as she fidgeted and averted her eyes.

“It’s okay to be afraid. However, don’t let the fear consume you. I’m here, aren’t I? So long as I’m here, no one can hurt you.”

He patted her head reassuringly, which calmed her a bit. Still, the restlessness plaguing her did not disappear.

Like any other day, Ami and Arthur hung out together and when the sky began to darken, the girl retreated to her home and, as instructed by him, she packed her belongings and sat on the bed, looking a bit impatient.

Meanwhile, Evelyn had returned from the hunt with the others and they all headed to the hub, which was bustling.

Excluding the handful of children in the village, all the rest were present. The atmosphere was lively, the women were cooking a lavish dinner using and serving ale and snacks.

“The food isn’t going to disappear, Gary!”

“Ye don’t know my wife! She’s like a pig! May the Lord have mercy on me!”

The fat trader licked his oily fingers and patted his bulging stomach. As his friends laughed at him, he grunted in frustration and, at last, reluctantly stopped gobbling up the food.

“I’m really glad ye came to our village, Alex. It’s nice to have a like-minded soul join us.”

Thaman, slightly drunk and with a reddened face, hiccuped and uttered those words with genuine sincerity.

“You’re damn right! Despoina has been a great help!”-Greg

“She’s a bit gloomy, though.” Muttered Adam, thus garnering the attention around the table.

They gave him a strange look, which confused him.

“Ye’r one to talk! Ye’r like a fucking brick!”

Gary berated Adam, but even then, the latter did not take the bite and contented with folding his arms and coldly snorting.

Arthur was smiling like an idiot, a bottle of ale in his hand as the scent of garlic and alcohol invaded his nose; Sad it was, this joyful party would soon come to an abrupt stop, as he had planned. Every piece was in place and he just had to watch, react accordingly, and play his part to perfection.

Time crept by and once the food was finished and the villagers’ excitement died down a little, there was a piercing feminine cry.

A young woman, scared and startled, dropped the plate in her hand and, with a shaky hand, pointed at someone.

Her shout, of course, caught everyone’s attention. They followed her gaze and saw someone standing near the tavern’s window, looking perplexed.

Evelyn frowned as everyone looked at her with dread.

“What’s going on?”

“Witch! It’s a Witch!” Cried one of the housewives as she immediately grabbed the closest knife.

All the men stood up in unison and glared at the maid, who still did not know what’s going on.

Dominus, with an unusually serious expression, looked at Evelyn then at Arthur. However, the parasite was as shocked as the rest, so much so that his hands were trembling.

“Your eyes, Despoina.” Greg was composed as he took one step forward and spoke with a calm voice.

“You were a witch all along?!”

The truth was before his eyes, however, Greg did not jump into conclusions. Unfortunately, he wasn’t afforded any time for questioning as three male villagers charged at the maid with sharp objects in hand.

They were scared and acted out of fear and desperation.

“The Lord will know! There’s a Witch in our midst!”

One of them cried as he attempted to stab the maid only to be blown away by a swift kick.

Evelyn touched her glowing eyes then shook her head, seemingly afraid.

“I don’t know what’s going on. Calm down first.”-Evelyn

Her words notwithstanding, the villagers got more scared after she kicked one of them. They steeled their hearts and circled around the woman, determined to take her down.

“Alex…”-Greg

“I swear I did not know about this. This is ridiculous…”

“It’s not yer fault!” Gary chirped in as he patted Arthur’s back and handed him a knife.

“Yer gonna help us, right?”-Gary

“W-what? Can’t we talk to her first?” Stutteringly replied the parasite as he looked down.

“Look at her eyes, Alex. They shine… that’s the ungodly magic of Witches.”

“T-that’s…”

With sadness and conflict in his eyes, Arthur looked at Evelyn. Some of the villagers were looking at him, expecting him to refuse to cooperate but that did not happen; He clenched the knife and walked toward Evelyn.

“Why did you lie to me? To us? You even came to pray!”

“So, just because my eyes are glowing you’re accusing me of being a witch?”

The maid refused to stand down or admit anything. Suffice it to say, none of the villagers were pleased with her response.

“What’s the matter? Are you so fear-stricken you can’t formulate an answer?” She added with a louder and colder tone.

“You know that magic exists so such an occurrence shouldn’t startle you as much, or am I mistaken?”

Finally, Dominus stepped forth and faced the woman. He was the only one not holding a sharp object or a weapon, neither did he look fearful.

“The Lord does not tolerate insolence or trickery. Witches have no right to exist!”

He spoke with an authoritative and aggressive voice, one which riled up the crowd and encouraged them.

“It’s you people who are jumping into conclusions at the mere sight of something you can’t comprehend.”

Then, Evelyn let out a mocking scoff and continued, “I imagine this is not the first time you’ve seen this?”

“Ye evil wench! You deserve to be burned like the rest of yer kind! Only then will the Lord be satisfied!”

Gary blurted out and the rest continued.

“Burn the witch!

“Burn her!”

“She must die! May the Lord have mercy on us! We have sinned!”

The capable fighters jumped at Evelyn and a brief fight ensued. The maid was overpowered and eventually tied down by thick ropes. The Village Chief, Dominus dragged her to the outside while the crowd followed, shouting outloud.

Obviously, Arthur followed after her and watched the show but only for a short while. Even when bound, Evelyn thrashed around but couldn’t set herself free; She was soon tied to a raised stake right in front of the tavern.

As for Arthur, he stealthily backed away and disappeared into a cramped path between the tavern and another building. Within minutes, he was outside of the village and making his way toward a specific swamp.

“Alex?”

Surprisingly, as he was treading the dark forest, someone called his name. As he turned around, he saw an armed Adam a couple of paces away.

The tall man was looking at the parasite with suspicion.

“...”

“Ah… you are an odd one, Adam.”

Upon hearing this, Adam frowned and approached Arthur, a glistening steel sword in hand.

“What are you doing? Where are you-”

Before he could finish, an agile silhouette jumped from the side and lunged at the man. He tried to resist but he was pushed on the ground and his neck was bitten by razor sharp teeth.

“If you stayed in the village, you might have survived.”

Arthur approached the bleeding man and looked down. He was apathetic to Adam’s fatal wound, he stared at the man who tried to stop the gushing blood.

“I’m not sorry, though.”

Arthur looked at the zombie, Mort, and reproachingly said, “Are you done playing? I’ve been waiting for days, you know.”

“Hehehe…”

The zombie let out an embarrassed and unpleasant laugh. Arthur creased his brows as he heard the zombie talk fluently, unlike before. His stance was straight and the wounds on his body were gone, strangely enough.

Alas, there was no time for questioning, so he just said,

“Go to the village and only reveal yourself if Evelyn needs help, understood?”

“Yes!”

Mort turned around and darted toward the village with an impressive speed.

As for Arthur, he headed down the mapped path and, before diving into the swamp, switched to the Alligator’s lifeless body as it was infinitely easier to use to navigate underwater.

****

FLASHBACK

“You were sacrificed?”

“Y..yes. Only the Village Chief and he…he tried to..to..”

Ami choked on her tears, she wasn’t even capable of finishing her sentence. Arthur did not force her, instead, he told her to stop and comforted her. When she calmed down, Ami continued her tale.

“I hit him. He knew I was an Arman so he tied me up and took me to a swamp.”

“And then?”

“He threw me in the water and I thought… I thought I would drown. When I woke up, I found myself in a big cave. I was there for one week… I found a bottle and a piece of paper so I prayed and hoped someone would come save me…”

“One week? And during that week, did someone get burned or sacrificed?”

“I think so.” She hesitantly replied.

“I’m sorry, Ami, but you could please try to remember?”

The girl nodded and closed her eyes while taking quick and short breaths,

“The wife of mister Alan, the butcher, has been missing. I’m not sure but I think she was an Arman too.”

“Do you think they burned her?”

“Yes. I’m not the only one of Arman descent. The Eyes of Gold… it’s what we call them, they appear randomly amongst the Armans and if we get found out, they burn us for their Lord.”

“What if it’s a child?”

“It’s all the same to them. Gender or age doesn’t matter.” She replied with a quieter and trembling voice.

Arthur frowned and looked down as well, choosing to take a moment to collect his thoughts and ponder.

“Mister Alexander, do you think they’ll burn me too?”

“...”

“I don’t want to be thrown into that cave again. There was a frightening growl every now and then… It’s as if the Devil lived there.”

“You still know which swamp it was, right? I need you to show it to me tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Also, you really can’t risk staying here any longer, Ami. I know that you resent most if not all the villagers, especially Dominus, but let me take care of that. I want you to be calm and make ready to depart, can you do that for me?”

“...”

“Ami?”

“Mister, I don’t want you to get in danger because of me. I can protect myself.”

“Silly girl, who said I’ll be in danger? It’s all fine. Moreover, you can’t hope to visit mystical and hidden places without a bit of danger. That’s the first rule of adventuring, remember that.”