Walking down a merchant path to a human town… this is arguably the most dangerous thing we’ve done since we’ve been adventuring! It’s not a matter of “if” someone spots us here, it’s a matter of “when.” I tap Mange’s arm, then point straight ahead. “We’re takin’ th’ road b'cause it’s the quickest way ta any town fer humans. If ya see anyone w’ a level, we’re fightin’em. If they don’t ‘ave a level, we let’em go on their way.” Mange looks back to the leader and the Feline. “Jus’ watch as we move so ya know who ta fight since ya can’t see the identifiers over Heroes heads.” The leader steps beside us.

“You mentioned something of this… “Church of the Nine.” What is that?” the leader asks Mange. Mange’s expression changes. I can tell just thinking of them must frustrate him. “I’ve ‘ad a lotta adventures ta human towns and cities. Th’ most hateful of’em all were ones run by the Church a’ the Nine. They detest monsters s’much, even tamers ‘er executed fer steppin’ foot in their towns!” Mange’s nostrils flair as he shows his teeth. “If not fer Malachai’s influence, Lilac an’ me woulda been killed, too!” That sounds like something we probably shouldn’t be standing against! I interlock my fingers to keep my hands from shivering.

Mange looks down at me and grabs my shoulder. “Don’ worry. Th’ church only ‘as a few truly dangerous members. Th’ rest ‘re fairly weak. Th’ big ones won’t be comin’ ta see a merchant be executed.” I exhale and calm myself a little. I guess that takes some of the weight off of my shoulders. Mange looks forward again. “B’sides, if yer name is already out there, ya got more huntin’ ya than jus’ th’ church! Ha ha ha ha ha!” My whole body starts shivering immediately. He really knows the wrong things to say!

About an hour or so into the walk, we escape from the woods and arrive at another open plain. The trees seem cut or grown deliberately since the tree line is straight across. The fields are full of tall sunflowers that sway in the wind. We continue down the dirt path. We approach an intersection. The sound of a carriage can be heard. They must be on one of the two side paths beyond the sunflowers. We reach the intersection first and step in front of the cart. The horses pulling it raise their legs and call put as we startle them. We glance at them as we walk by. There doesn’t appear to be any levels over any of them, so I guess we will just continue on.

They stay stationary behind us as we proceed. Mange claps his hands. “Oh, right!” Mange turns around and jogs back to the cart. The humans start screaming as Mange gets closer. Mange stops next to the cart. “Oi! Either of ya happen ta have any potions on ya?” The two humans stop screaming. One of them begins slapping the other. “Go! Go get the potions!” “Which potions, sir?” the other responds. “ALL THE POTIONS, DAMN YOU!!!” The first shouts. The second steps from the back with his arms full of a variety of potions. Mange takes a few of the red ones, as well as a blue one. “Very generous of ya! Left me wallet at home, though! I’ll pay ya when I can!”

Mange walks back over to us, potions in his hands. He hands one of the red ones to each of us. “Yer probably gonna need one ‘a these. If ya get hurt, jus’ drink it.” I point at the blue one as he straps it to his belt in a specialized steel casing for potions. “Don’t worry about that one. Jus’ consider it a last resort.” We continued our journey to Yulemorre. As we reach the end of the sunflower trail, the path seemingly disappears over a cliff’s edge. We step from the sunflowers to see a large town full of stone structures. This is more than just a farming village like we had previously seen. Mange scratches his head. “This is a bit too much fer us ta just storm into. We gotta find Gibson b’fore we can make a move.”

Mange steps into the patch of sunflowers, leveling out a small pocket in them for us to hide in. “Alright. Get in here. I got a plan.” We climb between the large sunflowers and sit down. “First, we gotta find where their gallows ‘re at. I need ya ta send Ire in there, Fivi. Search fer hangin’ ropes or an executioner’s block, but if ya catch sight of anyone with a level, get Ire outta there!” Fivi holds her arm down to the ground, letting Ire run down from her shoulder. She then holds her hands out towards Ire and closes her eyes. Ire’s active motions suddenly become stiff and more controlled. Ire then dashes from the sunflowers, running towards the town. Fivi is remaining still. I think she’s controlling Ire! Interesting!

Mange lays back in the sunflowers. “So, what do we do now?” The leader asks. Mange takes a sunflower and begins pulling seeds from it, tossing them into his mouth. “Nothin’ ta be done until we know where ya go. Let’s give th’ girl a few ta learn somethin’. Take a minute ta prepare yerselves. I’m guessin’ that attackin’ a human town is new ta ya.” He’s definitely right. I never have, nor have I thought to, attack a human town. Especially not one as large as this. The leader and I look at each other for a moment before I shrug my shoulders and lay back as well. The leader sits with his legs crossed, awaiting for the next piece of information.

Some time goes by. The sun has long since past it's peak. As we lay around, Fivi startles us as she suddenly starts moving again. “It appears the one called Gibson, along with two others, are currently being held in a dungeon on the far east side. He’s set to meet his execution tonight in the center of town as an example to the others about what happens when you aid monsters.” Mange sits up. “Did ya see any Heroes?” Fivi nods her head. “There weren’t many, but at their strongest, I had seen a level 17 Hero.” Mange smiles. “Good! Then I’ll leave th’ Heroes ta you! When they bring Gibson ta the choppin’ block, we’ll storm the town! I’ll get th’ guards! Yer all on Hero duty! Anyone bigger shows up, I’ll get’em! If things get too bad, dragon boy’ll change shape an’ carry everyone out while I distract’em!”

We continue waiting until the sun begins to fall. The town begins to light up as torches are lit around it. As a bell begins to ring in the town, Mange stands up. “Looks like it’s time. Ya ready?” We all climb to our feet. Fear and determination wash over us. While Mange, Fivi, and I can revive from this, if the leader or the Feline fall, this is the end for them. We must move swiftly, but be cautious of our steps. There’s no stealth to be had since the fields are completely open from here to the town, so charging straight in is our only option! I begin walking straight down the path towards the town! Mange grabs my head, pulling me back. “What’re ya doin’?! We gotta sneak in ‘er they’ll kill’em!”

Mange starts walking at an angle towards the town, headed to the outer perimeter of it. I mean, sure… we can try to sneak in, but what fun is that?! We arrive at a spot against the outer wall of this town. Mange lifts Fivi up to look into the town. She glances around. “No guards here.” She whispers down to us. Mange pushes her the rest of the way up, then assists the rest of us over the wall. The leader and I turn and lift Mange up. We drop down from the wall inside the town. “Alright. If we get caught now, it’ll be a fight ta get back out! Move as quiet as ya can ‘til we have ta fight!” Mange says quietly.