Rinne seemed ecstatic at the thought of leaving the room, jumping out of his bed with renewed energy and his anger momentarily forgotten. For only a moment, as his pout returned and he stomped away, making sure to keep an arms length away from her. Enyah only rolled her eyes at his childish actions, keeping silent and following behind him with her hand gently tugging at the hilt of her cutlass.

  It was quiet. Much too quiet for her liking. With constant action whenever she entered any civilized area, the quiet of this deathly town felt… unnerving. It was as if the town itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to change the status quo. Whatever that something was, it won't be her.

  In the short time she spent within her room, the main lobby hadn't changed at all besides the pile of empty mugs on the mercenaries’ table growing in size. Upon noticing the pair entering the room, the matron gave them a casual wave, propping her head to gaze at them with a disinterested stare. Enyah responded with a miniscule nod, while the pouting Rinne gave a small wave of his hand before guiding Enyah to a lone table, sitting down on one of the sides.

  “I'd figured you wanted to sit closer to others.” Enyah drawled, sitting down opposite of the boy. The chairs were a familiar brown, but lined with bluish wood, a unique decoration from the outside trees. It didn't help the comfort, however. A fact that forced her to let out a distasteful frown as the hard wood pressed upon her.

  “Hmph. Not now. If I pretend there's nothing happening, maybe I won't feel so bad about it. Like you.” He muttered aggressively, making sure to jab her at her on the side. Despite his tough words, his gaze wandered the tavern, stopping at the various people that hid within, though his questioning eyes were interrupted by the arrival of the matron at their table.

  “Here’s the menu. Just holler when you’re ready to order.” She dropped two engraved slabs of wood onto their table, their weight echoing throughout the room.

  Enyah looked around herself. The other mercenaries were in their own world, spouting words she could barely understand, not that she cared to even try. The locals were huddled, muttering amongst themselves. Their gazes towards her were wary, full of fear of the unknown. She exhaled, understanding their feelings. Best to eat quickly and leave.

  “Let's see.” Enyah mumbled, searching through the menu. All sorts of unique meals were displayed, indicating the unique environment the materials were found in. Across from her, Rinne had his head turned quizzically while looking at the menu. “Probably doesn't know any of these foods.” She's mused to herself.

  “Do you know what you want, kid?” She asked, making sure to keep staring at the menu.

  “I… yeah! I know!” The boy jumped at her words, yet she could see him speaking with empty pride. How foolish.

  “Alright.” Enyah swallowed her doubts and turned outwards, facing the matron who was leaning on her counter once more, “Matron! Gourmet azure lick stew for me, and any ale to drink. What do you want, boy?”

  “Well I wanted the gourmet azure lick stew myself! And, and water!” The boy proclaimed aloud, staring at her with a prideful smirk and crossed arms.

  “Heard you both, loud n clear. Your food will be out shortly.” She called back, disappearing into some room. With her gone, the table morphed back into an uncomfortable silence. Rinne turned back to stare at others while Enyah retreated into her mind, contemplating their current situation.

  Her finger found itself tapping on the table in rhythmic knocks, like the echoing of a clock's ticking hand. The silence only made her thoughts more turbulent. The weight of her inaction only grew heavier with every tap of her fingers, yet she didn't stop. Couldn't stop. As if some force propelled her to face her own sins.

  “Who are you to judge my actions?” Her mind roared to an empty audience, releasing an overwhelming wave that barraged her thoughts and quieted them to a minimum.

  Only the lone tapping remained until she caught Rinne staring at her finger, hesitating to speak.

  “You still mad at me?” Enyah asked with a raised brow.

  “...Not as much.” He mumbled back to her after a moment, resting his head onto the table. “But I still am.”

  “That's fair.” She responded before silence once again settled between them.

  “I get why you're doing it.” He spoke after a few moments, gluing his eyes onto the table, “It's just… It doesn't feel right doing nothing when it's right in front of you.”

  “I'm not doing nothing. You know that. The world isn't all black and white, kid. These issues are much more complex than they seem.” Enyah replied, looking at the boy in his eyes. “I'm not trying to repeat myself, but that's just how it is.”

  “...Right.” He said slowly, forcing the words out of his mouth. Before their conversation could continue, the matron waddled over, carefully holding two bowls, as well as drinks, over to their table. The bowls hissed with steam, bubbling with broth and a blue mushroom, which served as the centerpiece of the meal, was cut into small portions and floated above, bobbing up and down within the liquid.

  She placed the soups in front of both customers, giving a small “Here you both go. Pardon the reach.” As she dropped the drinks on the table as well. “You need something else, you just yell, alright?”

  “Thank you, ma'am.” Enyah replied, watching the woman strut away before grabbing her utensils and scooping a spoonful.

  “Thank you, miss!” Rinne called beside her to the retreating woman before turning to her, gauging her reaction to the meal.

  She brought the sizzling spoon to her mouth, letting out a soft breath that whisked through the food, blowing the steam for only a moment. With that, she tasted the food.

  “Mm. Very rich.” Enyah voiced, letting herself chew and swallow for a few moments before continuing, "Anyways, what we were talking about before.”

  “What about it?” Rinne asked, already bringing a spoon to his mouth after seeing her reaction.

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  “I'm thinking of a–” her words were interrupted by the slam of the tavern door.

  “Well well, Looks like we caught ya at quite a busy time, yeah?” A nonchalant voice echoed within the building as a horde of men wearing nothing but animal fur burst their way into the tavern, their presence overwhelming the atmosphere.

  A scent of blood and barely restrained fury wafted from the men, making Enyah grimace in disgust.

  The men sauntered in, throwing jeers and taunts around as they grabbed and rearranged tables like they owned the establishment. The man leading them was a large, scarred man, with three scars running along his face, like the mark of a claw.

  The man sat down on the seat offered to him by his underlings and boomed out, “You know the deal, wench. All the ale your pretty little hands can carry.”

  The matron glared at him for a few moments before sighing and letting out a small, resigned, “Just a minute.”

  “Well look at all these puppies hiding in the corners.” The scarred man grinned, looking towards the huddled citizens as if they were his prey. “Better keep yourselves still. You wouldn't want to see yourselves hurt, now do you?”

  “After all, I'm a helpful man. I've a pack of medicine for any injury that ails you rats.” The man casually spoke, lapping in the fear that shone from their widened eyes and the shaking of their figures. His gaze turned towards the other mercenaries, who’ve went quiet with the arrival of the thuggish men, “And here we have a pack of rabbits thinking themselves foxes. Running from Operite, are you? The jungles too spooky for you? HAHAHA” The thugs all joined into a wicked chorus of laughter.

  “You tell em, boss!”

  “Look at them! Shaking in their boots.”

  “Mercenaries. More like dogs sniffing for coin.”

  A chorus of yells echoed his statements, agreeing with every word, though they quieted down quickly when the man lowered his hands, motioning them to let him speak. “I was a mercenary once, you know. Some piss poor town told me to take down some wolf for only 2 licks of gold. Turns out, it wasn't even a wolf but a Frellen Riz of the tundra, wandering down to Orlent. Gave me these scars on my face. So I led that beast right to the village. Serves them right for lying.”

  “You're a coward!” One of the mercenaries, drunk out of his mind, burst out. “You couldn't take down the beast so you took it out on the village folk! You'll get struck down for your sins.”

  Silence.

  The whole tavern paused at the words of the man. The thugs, villagers, And the other mercenaries stared, aghast, at the man who spoke up. Even their breaths seemed to pause in anticipation, waiting for the response of the large thug, whose grin vanished off his face in an instant. His eyes darted towards the mercenary who spoke up, his gaze venomous and raging with fury.

  “The little rabbit wants to play rough? You'll have to bark louder. Those gods above didn't hear you.” He spoke, low and rough as he stood up, the seat creaking below him as he got to his feet.

  “I…I said that…” The man seemed to notice the seriousness of his actions, and his courage evaporated with his drunken stupor.

  “No, puppy. Speak up. What did you say?” The man growled, walking up to the mercenary, staring down at him.

  “Kid, hide under the table.” Enyah whispered with urgency. Rinne seemed to sense the mood of the building and listened with haste, ducking and making himself small underneath the table, hidden from view.

  The man shivered in response to the man’s question, with the constant jeering of the thugs only making him shrink into himself even more than before. Yet maybe he was still drunk, or some other miniscule part of him had a backbone. He managed to lose his fear and flicker with determination as he rose up to match his eyes and growled out, “I said you’re a coward. You’re going to–”

  He was unable to finish, as the scarred man’s fist slammed into his face with the force of a bullet and sent him reeling backwards, the crack of a broken jaw could be heard from the strike. The mercenary tripped on the stool and tumbled onto the table, spilling their half eaten meal all over the floor.

  “What do you think you're doing?” The three companions of the fallen mercenary rose up, unsheathing their various weapons and glaring at the scarred man. On the other side, the various thugs similarly pulled out their weapons, the signal of a fight not seeming to phase them at all.

  “You’re right! Where’s my manners? Don’t you worry your heads over it. I have medicine right here.” The man’s grin grew back as he grabbed the man by the neck and brought him to his face. The mercenary seemed half unconscious, his lids flitting endlessly, revealing unfocused eyes underneath. His body gave no response to being picked up either.

  “Ain’t you a fine young man.” The scarred man mocked, turning the corpse-like man in his grasp around, viewing his head from all angles. “Would be a shame to let you die. You can't eat it yourself? I’ll help you!” The man took a small, blue pill that was hidden somewhere in the fur lining his body, and shoved it into the mercenary’s mouth. After making sure the pill was swallowed, he threw the body aside, letting the mercenary slam onto the hard floor.

  Enyah stared at the scuffle that went down, gleaning as much information as she could. The scarred man wasn’t skilled, simply using his body strength to strike at the unsuspecting mercenary. A foolish bully of a man throwing his weight around in a peaceful village.

  His actions, however, were too unrestrained. There were reasons that bandits usually acted on the roads between proper villages. If the knights learned of his actions, he'd be tracked down and killed with haste, yet he's still standing and continuing his actions. Whoever his backer is has some sort of sway within these villages. Even beyond.

  Even his actions…

  Enyah sighed internally. She had no right to complain about how he acted when she herself took no action to stop it. It would take only a moment, yet…

  It's never truly only a moment. Sure, with a single swipe of her blade, he'd fall like a limp sack, but there's consequences. His underlings would swarm like a school of fish, and his backer would catch wind of her arrival. Perhaps they even know of the bounty on Rinne.

  Caution was necessary. This man was only a tool.

  “Why restrain yourself? Release your binds, darling. Gorge in a banquet of blood and feast in ecstacy.” Drentack's voice echoed within her mind, but she kept quiet. She'd heard his arguments. She didn't need it repeatedly.

  She turned towards the man, who lay prone on the ground. None of his companions made a move to help him up, overruled by fear. Fear. It seemed almost visible, swirling around the room with palpable pressure. The scarred man seemed to notice her and his gaze turned wary. They stared at each other with narrowed eyes, measuring the other.

  “Well well. I didn't expect another mercenary here. I hope this puppy has more fight in her than the other mutt.” The man broke his gaze with a fearless grin, “Or are you another money hungry bitch sniffing for gold?”

  “Don't disturb my meal or you're about to find out.” Enyah stared at the man with fiery intensity, only moving away a few moments later to take another sip of her soup.

  “Hahahahaha! Brave words, girl. Is your bite worse than your bark?” The man grinned, enjoying the sensation of towering over the mercenary. Yet she didn't turn towards him and ignored his words. He tightened his fist, anger showing on his face in an instant. “Do you think you're better than me? That I'm not even worth your notice because I'm not a mercenary? IS THAT IT?” His voice roared throughout the room, yet he received no reply. The thugs hounded her in the back, the villagers kept huddled, and the mercenaries were supporting the fallen man, only paying occasional glances of pity her way.

  Enyah snorted aloud. “What an insecure man.” It was almost cute, if the man wasn't naked, in his 30s, and built like a bull. Yet the man reacted even fiercer to her reply. In an instant, his fist was plummeting towards her head.

  “YOU'LL REGRET THAT!” He screamed as he lunged forwards with his punch. Enyah felt his punch coming. From the billowing wind from the force of his fists. From the direction his muscles pointed. From the pinging that her ability blared within her mind. She knew where he was striking, and knew exactly how to counter. In the blink of an eye, she ducked her head and unsheathed her cutlass, swiping forwards in a flash of steel.

  Blood coated her blade as she finished her swipe, turning to kick the man that threatened to fall over her, forcing him backwards, his corpse falling to the ground, unmoving.

  “...Boss?” A thuggish man called after a moment of stunned silence. “Boss?” They stared down at the dead body, before the realization seemed to dawn upon them.

  “Retreat!”

  “Run!”

  “Our boss's boss will hear about this!”

  “I'm the leader now! Retreat!”

  The thugs stormed out with the same momentum they arrived, never even drinking any of the ale they arrived for. With a new dead body beside her table, Enyah sheathed her sword and sat back down.

  “It's safer to come out now.” She's called to Rinne, who popped up from beneath the table. His face was thoughtful, probably listening in on whatever was happening overhead.

  “So you changed your mind?” He asked with hope, his eyes sparkling with an innocent sheen.

  “No, I haven't. But I'll compromise.” Enyah continued. She took a quick glance around the building. The villagers seemed to come out of their shell, drifting from the corners with thinly veiled relief. A few even stepped forwards to spit on the corpse that lay on the floor. The other mercenaries woke the poor man up and were finishing their meals in peace, while the matron had a massive smile that grew on her face as she stuffed the ale she just took back into the storage behind her counter.

  “We won't go to Oprill, but through Opsanertia. If nothing happens to the town while we're there, we ignore it. If we see more actions like this, we can help for a few days. Do you understand?” Enyah stared at the kid, speaking in a hushed, yet harsh tone. It wasn't just changing her mind. It was putting the kid, as well as herself in danger. He had to know the difficulties that came from this change in position.