I was surprised that they were being so hospitable, but I guess it made sense. If they didn't have anything to hide, they wouldn't have anything to worry about.
"Thank you, Steve. I appreciate your hospitality," I said before the girls and followed them to the surface.
The island was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It was easily twice the size of the island I had been on and was lush with vegetation. It looked like a paradise; I could see why they called it Fishbar.
There were huts scattered around the facing beach of the island, and I could see people coming out of them to greet us. They all looked friendly, and I didn't sense any hostility from them. The rest of the island was cliffs, which looked to be one of the only accessible places on this side.
"Welcome to our home!" Steve said as he tried to lead us out of the water, but I had to wave him forward.
"These legs are ridiculous! And now I am heavy! Gah! Can't you just carry me?!" Mati complained as I walked beside her with an arm around her waist.
"You are going to have to get used to them. I think that we are going to be here for the day. There might not be any outward danger yet, but we have no idea what is going on up top. Keep your ears open, but don't be suspicious," I explained, and both girls nodded.
"You don't have to worry about me. If you are suspicious of someone, let me know, and I will cloak myself," Lillia said quietly, and I nodded as we slowly caught back up with the Fishman guards.
"We will show you to our leader. He might have some questions for you," Jeff said, and I nodded.
I had a feeling that this was going to be a long day. I didn't know what it exactly was, but something felt off, and that feeling was coming from up top.
The guards led us to a sizable tented hut, but I stopped when I saw what the guards at the door were holding. Pistols, but some strange futuristic-looking thing had a teal glowing crystal in it.
"What is that?" I asked, pointing to the teal crystal.
"This? This is our weapon of choice. It is called a blaster and can shoot a bolt of energy. It is very effective against Demons," he explained, and I nodded.
I had never seen anything like it before, but it made no sense for them to have technologically advanced weapons. These were Fishmen with spears, yet these ones had blaster pistols?! Possibly Jeff and Steve might have had something similar, but they wouldn't want to outright say they had such tech.
"I see. Well, can we go meet your leader now? We don't want to keep him waiting," I said, and the guards nodded before leading us inside.
The hut was much more prominent on the inside than it looked outside. It was easily three times the size of the others and was very well decorated. There were tapestries on the walls and a large rug in the center of the room.
Seated at the table was an older-looking Fishman, but he didn't look as old as some of the Elders back home. He had to be at least in his late fifties or early sixties, but he still had all his teeth and didn't look like he was sickly.
He looked up when we walked in and smiled when he saw us. "Welcome to my island! I am glad that you have decided to visit us!" He said warmly, getting up from his seat to greet us.
"It is our pleasure to be here," I said with a smile before making introductions. "These are my girls, Mati and Lillia."
"And I am Zack," I added when he looked at me expectantly.
"Well then, Zack! It is a pleasure to meet you! My name is James, and I am the leader of this village," he said before gesturing for us to take a seat at the table with him."
"So, what brings you to our island?" He asked, and I shrugged.
"We were just passing by and thought we would check and see if there were any Demons on the island," I explained, and he nodded.
"I see. Well, we haven't had any problems with Demons here, but we have been having some trouble with pirates lately," he said with a sigh, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Pirates? Here? In the middle of nowhere?" I asked skeptically, and he nodded.
"Yes, they have been attacking our ships and taking our fish. We have tried to fight back, but they are too strong for us," he explained, and I frowned.
"I see. Do you know where they are based out of?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"No, we have no idea where they are coming from or going. They just appear out of nowhere and attack us," he said with a frustrated sigh."But enough about that! What brings you to our island? What do you do for fun?" He asked curiously.
"We hunt Demons," Lillia answered before I could say anything.
Going with a bit of a cover story would be good, so I would just have to go with the flow, but this Fishman bothered me. There was something about the leader, James, that kind of set off my senses and set me on edge around him.
"Wow! That sounds like it would be a lot of fun!" James said with wide eyes.
"It has its moments," Mati said with a shrug.
"I bet! So, how many Demons have you killed?" He asked eagerly, and I tried not to narrow my eyes.
"A lot," I answered evasively.
"I bet! It must be exciting to go out there and kill those monsters!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.
Lillia reached over and took my hand, and I silently sighed. She must have noticed that I was getting uneasy.
"It can be," Lillia agreed cautiously.
"So what do you guys do for fun when you're not hunting Demons?" James asked curiously.
"We don't really do much for fun… We just kind of train or work on our skills when we're not hunting," I said, trying to figure a way to get out of this conversation, but I also wanted to know about the rest of this island.
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