Chapter 4: Aftermath

The child of prophecy slept quietly while the villagers were feasting. Covered by a small wool blanket, he tumbled around on the bed. He’s been in the village for two days yet his eyes remained shut. He slept all day long with no traces of waking up. It was a fairly bizarre sight for a child yet when Medea and Lydia reported it to the Chief.

He shrugged it off, “He is the child of prophecy. I’ve heard Helix cubs sleep for weeks after being born.”

Thus listening to their Chief, they didn’t bring it up again and took care of the child as the days past. Their job was rather straightforward since they only had to wash and feed the infant.

For them, it was a blessing to have such a role since it was an honour to serve the Chief. Not to mention they would devote most of their time in the Chief’s residence.

On the other hand, Polius got restless after the celebratory feast. There were numerous issues because of the battle with the beast tide. Additionally, he had his routine duties as Chief.

At the village’s entrance, Polius had one knee bent down on the ground while grasping soil with his hand. He donned his normal fur armour and stared at the soil in his hand. Stood next to Polius was Empedocles, smoothing his beard, and a few elderly villagers.

“Chief, what do you think?” a man asked.

Polius didn’t respond and instead closed his eyes. He spread his arms, and they shone a deep green hue. The glowing energy rippled and seeped into the ground. After a few minutes, the energy reverberated throughout the ground leading it to radiate. The villagers watch in silence, not startled by the green glowing ground. A minute passed as the light subsided.

Finally, Polius opened his eyes and responded, “It is as we predicted. Summoning the powerful Astral Spirit had consumed an abundance of nutrition from the land.”

Empedocles added, “Without Theo’s and the Acolyte’s restoration pellets, some villagers would need weeks of rest after supporting the mighty Astral Spirit.”

“However, we do not have to worry. During the battle, some Rune Beasts got assimilated into the ground.” Polius concluded and rose up from the ground.

“Then… that means?” another man inquired as his hands rub together.

Empedocles while scratching his beard said, “That means the blood of the Rune Beasts and their body would cultivate the land.”

The villagers sighed in comfort, knowing their home wasn’t beyond repair. Their initial fear has proved to be an unfounded and thus they can return to their mundane tasks. Polius nodded towards the villagers and left along with Empedocles towards the forest.

The peaceful forest seemed like a facade to what transpired a few days back. Tree’s leaves fluttered with the wind breeze, and plant sprouting out of the ground as it was Spring. Gone were the iron smell of blood and in replace was the refreshing aroma of shrubs. Along with the clear sky and pleasant weather, the forest’s beauty had returned.

However, the path created by the beast tide - ran straight through the forest, decimating the vegetation and trees. The constant stomping of the beasts had altered the soil structure of the land causing them to be infertile. From decades onwards no tree or vegetation could grow on the path and the road would remain for a long time. It would serve as a reminder to the inhabitants of what had ensued on that day.

Polius and Empedocles stared at path’s direction. Both were musing over the scene with their own concerns.

“From this direction…” Polius said, shattering the silence. “That would mean the village of Apis…”

“It’s demolished,” Empedocles said. “Remember, our village is the ‘third they visited'.”

Polius remained mute because even though Apis was far away, Igysil and Apis had regular interactions with each other. Unable to change the past he could only look at the path’s direction.

Empedocles sighed, “Aiya, where will I get my honey from now? They were excellent Zenon beekeepers.”

Polius frowned hearing what worried Empedocles. Then he realised a possibility and both his eyebrows lifted. He twisted his head and glanced at Empedocles.

“What? Is this old man too charming?” Empedocles teased.

Ignoring what he said, Polius responded, “Someone from Esgard might visit to find out about the commotion.”

Empedocles shook his head, “That won’t happen. Esgard’s King forsook us a long time ago.”

Stumped by Empedocles, Polius had nothing else to say and spun around, heading back toward the village.

Empedocles inquired, “How’s the child doing?”

Without turning back, Polius answered, “He’s still sleeping. I’ve heard from Lydia that even for a special baby, he’s remarkably quiet when he sleeps.”

“Well, of course, he came out of that Exile Monster. He’s anything but ordinary,” Empedocles grinned with amusement. “Polius, try harder. Those two girls they are both single you know.”

Polius tripped because of Empedocles’ comments. Without turning around, he walked at a swifter pace towards the village.

Empedocles went the opposite way, heading towards where the path came from. While Polius was walking, three villagers rushed towards him; one female and two male. They wore a set of brown fur armour with bows behind their back.

“Chief!” a woman yelled.

Hearing the clamour, Polius stopped amidst his track and turned around. Lifted one of his eyebrows he probed, “Why are you three here? Aren’t you, Hunters, supposed to set off a while back?”

“Chief, there’s a dilemma!” a male Hunter wheezed. They were all out of breath as they placed their hands on their knees.

Polius, squinting his eyes, sought, “What’s the matter?”

“The Head Hunter sent us back,” said female Hunter. “Today was the first day we went back hunting yet we couldn’t discover anything. She instructed us to come back for your guidance.”

Polius closed his eyes, mulling over the situation. Then he asked, “Did you see any herbs?”

“Ah, yes! The herbs were still in the exact spot, only the beasts have disappeared,” the other male Hunter answered.

Polius nodded, “With the advent of the Exile Monster. It has scared off all the surrounding animal life,” Polius concluded. “Head back and tell the Head Hunter to concentrate on gathering herbs for the next few days.”

The Hunters stood straight up and saluted with their fist against their chest. They then set off and went back to the forest.

Polius, still contemplating, made a stop at a house. “Kinon, are you here?” he shouted out.

The house was the identical copy as any of the other households in the village. Dried mud brick made up the houses and each contained a kitchen and two rooms. Some used both rooms as bedrooms while single villagers would use the extra room for storage.

There were only three houses different from the rest. Polius’ and Theo’s houses were made of Duskwood, the same material used for Hunter’s bows and Guardian’s arm guards. Empedocles’ house, on the other hand, was a hut made of straws. He built the dwelling himself when he was 15 and has been boasting about it ever since.

Polius waited for a moment before a man strode out of the house. The person wore a pair of boots along with long grey trousers and a brown cotton top. His boots and shirts covered in mud, his unkempt hair was sloppy. His bulb nose fit with his big physique, he was broader and taller than the average villager.

Polius sighed at the sight of him, “Have you not clean up yet, Kinon?”

“Chief! What are you doing here?” Kinon exclaimed. His tumbled backwards but he clinched his door, stopping him from falling.

Polius smiled seeing Kinon’s fluster, “I wanted to ask you about the produces.”

“Oh,” Kinon stood up and replied while scratching his head. “Well everything appears to be normal, the soil spirits are healthy and are singing like usual.”

Polius twisted his head and looked at the village’s farm direction. “Your job would be more critical than ever for the forthcoming periods.”

“Huh?” Kinon uttered. “Chief… Is something amiss?”

Polius’ smile faded, and he exhaled, “The Hunters can’t locate any prey, the battle had terrified them all off for a while.”

Kinon fidgeted with his hand as his nerves built up. “That means…”

“That means, you and the farmers would be the sole source of our food for the upcoming day,” Polius said. “We must be wise and ration our food thoughtfully. After the feast, the storehouse only has enough food for the next 4 days.”

Kinon muttered, “Uhm, we can only harvest the crops after 2 more weeks.”

“Is that so…” Polius contemplated, “Then we’ll just have to ration the food even further.”

“Chief…” Kinon gulped, “Was hosting the feast a bad idea?”

Polius shook his head, “No, the villagers needed it, this village needed it.” Polius looked at the sunny blue sky. “It is a tradition that we must uphold. To honour those that have sacrificed for us.”

Kinon nodded timidly.

Polius turned his back to Kinon. “I will leave now, you can carry on with what you were doing.”

“Y-yes, Chief!” Kinon stuttered as he saluted the Chief.

While he didn’t show it, the issue riddled Polius with apprehension as he struggled to find an alternative to not let the villagers starve. While he could attempt to ration the food, 4 days was already a generous estimate. Even after rationalising, the food would hardly last a week.

Not to point out that Hunters and Guardians are jobs that require a lot of energy and thus compel a large food intake. Their food crisis could not have come at a time worse than now.

The village had just come out of winter season and thus their food supply had run through. Polius wandered around the village as he pondered. Villagers that saw the state he was in, did not disturb him and let him roam.

Meanwhile, somewhere inside the lush green forest, the previous three Hunters ran to another group of individuals. The group comprised 5 people; 3 female and 2 male. They all wore the same fur light armour with a bow on their back except for one woman.

Instead of the brown fur armour, this person donned a white fur armour. She had a sleek, long verdant hair. Like most villagers of Igysil, she had a slender physique yet there was distinct evidence of muscle in her arms and legs. Her tanned skin contrasting her bright clear green eyes and her dainty nose. While most villagers possessed a particular degree of charisma, this woman’s charm was like a forest nymph with her unrivalled appearance.

“Leader!” one of the male Hunter exclaimed.

The woman with the fur armour replied, “Oh! Hion, Pon and Ryl. You are back.”

After catching up to the group of Hunters, the three were trying to catch their breath.

“Out of breath already? Have you three been skipping on your exercises?” the woman interrogated with her hands against her hip.

The three Hunters hearing her stood up straight in fear. “No no no,” they all replied in unison while shaking their head.

She spun around and side glanced them with her back to them, “Is that so…”

“Yes yes yes,” they all answered together once again.

“We’ve come back to deliver the Chief’s order,” the male Hunter named Hion said.

“I would assume so. If you had returned without accomplishing that then…” replied the woman.

Hion’s hands shook, he then nudged the female Hunter next to him. She too was quivering as sweat formed in her palms and her heartbeat fastened. Thus, she poked the other Hunter in their group.

“C-Chief said to focus on gathering herbs for the upcoming days!” the Hunter squeezed out.

The woman nodded, “That would have been fine until we found this.”

She lifted a small tube from her belt, and inside there was a golden liquid.

“W-what’s that leader?” Hion inquired.

“It’s honey,” she replied.

“Honey!” screamed the three.

“Yes…” the Head Hunter continued, “it’s rare for honey to be in this area. It’s our responsibility to investigate.”

The surrounding Hunters nodded in agreement.

“And I need someone to travel back reports this to the Chief.”

Once again Hion and the other two shook.

“Pon,” said the Head Hunter.

“Y-yes?” replied the female Hunter.

“You and Hion will follow us and investigate. Ryl you’ll head back to tell the Chief.”

Upon hearing her words, Hion and Pon breathed in relief. While Ryl couldn’t control his shaking because of his dismay.

“What are you sticking around for?” the Head Hunter asked.

Ryl could only resign to his fate. He ran with his utmost remaining energy. After watching Ryl leaving, the Head Hunter then peered at the surrounding Hunters.

“Okay, let us head out now,” the Head Hunter commanded.

Following behind the Head Hunters, the Hunters journeyed deeper into the forest. Along the route, they’ve spotted claw marks on trees and traces of honey.

The group stopped once they saw their trail splits into two paths. If they went right, they would follow the claw marks on the tree. On the left would be the small traces of honey. They were mute as they waited for their leader’s decision.

“We’ll follow the honey trail,” the Head Hunter said.

The group did not question their leader and followed her as they tracked the origin of the honey.

“Leader, heading this way…” one of the Hunter.

The Head Hunter nodded saying nothing.

Soon they exited the forest and in their sight was… complete utter destruction. It was an almost barren land with only broken clay bricks and human remains left as evidence of a village’s existence. The village gate was non-existence as it got trampled over, flies flew around the village - attracted to the rotten smell. A scene of carnage and pure disgust, blood scattered throughout the pulverised village. In the centre of it all was a small figure.

“Empo?” the Head Hunter asked.

“Oh, Harmonia? What are you, kiddos, doing here?” the figure responded.

The Hunters rushed forward to see Empedocles standing amidst the rubbles and ruins. Oddly enough, there were no injury on him or signs of being tired.

“Kiddos…” the Head Hunter, Harmonia, wryly smiled. “We arrived here after following the honey trail.”

“Honey trail?” Empedocles scratched his beard as his eyes squinted. “We must head back immediately.”

Before Harmonia could say anything, Empedocles took one stride and left. His disappearance had surprised the surrounding Hunters and they twist and turn, trying to find him.

“No point in trying to find him, he has already left,” Harmonia said. “Let’s go back,” she departed without delay.

The Hunters followed behind their leader but more questions popped up in their mind. They wondered why Empedocle was there and how did he disappear.