Vis rolls to the side and kicks out his leg, tripping the even larger man as he charges. The attacker gasps with surprise as he manages to stabilise himself.

  Vis is already upon him, delivering an elbow straight into his back. His opponent releases a heavy exhale as he collides with the ground, and Vis raises his fist dramatically, shouting, “I have conquered the village chief!”

  Astraea and Hunter observe this exchange with amused looks, while ?elare grimaces. Vis lowers himself and offers a hand to the man, who takes it and stands back up. They stare at each other for a moment before embracing each other in a tight hug.

  “Welcome back, my boy. You've gotten more skilled.”

  “Missed you too, dad.”

  Several seconds pass before they release each other and Vis’ father turns to the trio of obvious outsiders, the only people visible with white skin.

  “I suppose you three are here to help slay that bug. It has caused too many deaths, and a lot of our strongest warriors are too caught up in… social problems to care.”

  Hunter queries, a hint of mild irritation evident in his voice, “What kind of ‘social problems’ are more important than innocent lives?”

  The man grunts before responding.

  “The ones suffering are settlers from outside our land who, if you will forgive my words, look like you. So, they-”

  ?elare interrupts him.

  “That’s insane! Just because they are different, they are allowed to die?”

  Vis walks over and puts a hand on the boy's shoulder. Quietly and calmly, he says, “?elare. I understand your outrage, but it's not quite as simple as that. I'll explain it properly once we aren't in public earshot.”

  To illustrate this, he subtly gestures with his head to several groups of village residents who are looking on with distaste.

  ?elare takes a deep breath and adopts a subdued expression, and he glances to Astraea, who frowns and shakes her head, meeting his eyes. Hunter does not visibly react, and Vis turns back to his father.

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  “You should introduce yourself.”

  “Ah, right. I'm Pugnis Magnus, chief of Sabulo village and the father of your friend.” He pauses, looking between the four of them, and then continues as if he never stopped.

  “I have prepared a place for you three to stay, which I will take you to now, considering that night is steadily approaching.”

  Hunter interjects, “I had imagined all four of us would be staying together to come up with strategies.”

  Pugnis clicks his tongue and looks to his son, who nods, and says, “I'll allow it. Follow me.”

  He leads them through the village. It is reasonably large, with children of various ages playing in the open, and many stares are given as they pass by adults. The houses are all made of similar construction to the embassy building, with the thatch being sourced from the many farms located along a wide river they pass over using a small bridge.

  After a substantial duration of walking, structures slowly become more sparse, until they stop at another building, this one similar in construction apart from its larger size. The sun has started to set over the horizon, causing the light level to begin decreasing steadily.

  “Here is where you'll be staying for the night. Come and find me when you're ready to leave, and I'll point you to the last known location of the monster.”

  He receives four synchronised nods, then departs. Vis gestures to their designated abode, and Hunter says, “Yeah, no reason to stay out while it gets cold.”

  They enter the main hall and sit on four chairs that surround a circular table.

  “The rest of us want the context of what Pugnis mentioned,” Hunter says, looking at Vis.

  “Of course, I'll explain now. There's a small colony of people originally from Alpha who entered the Great Dunes without going through Obix. They arrived nearly two centuries ago, and-”

  Astraea interrupts, “Did you not refer to the man who allowed us entry as Obix?”

  “That's his family name. They've been managing entry for generations,” Vis clarifies. “Anyway, the Alpha colony and the Sabulan tribe have never once requested help from each other. The pride of ‘their people’ is too high on both sides. My tribe has a history of being discriminated against because they lack magic, causing some to resent those who do. It's messy, it sucks, but it's reality.”

  ?elare frowns and says, “Does that mean I should avoid revealing my magic to your people?”

  Vis visibly thinks for a moment.

  “No, I don't think so. I think, even, that you should make it known. That way, people will see the benefit and might loosen their assumptions.”

  Hunter speaks up.

  “And if we make known you were a large reason as to why many are saved, the colony might begin to rethink their own stupid opinions.”

  Vis grins as Astraea hesitantly says, “That must be the reason Novus sent all of us; so we can co-operate in the first step to repairing intercultural relations.”

  Hunter claps his hands together, drawing everyone's attention.

  “Now, we can discuss this in the morning. We should rest for the upcoming fight.”

  Nobody disagrees, and so they find one of the four bedrooms each, sleeping until the next day.