"That doesn't sound like much fun at all! You should come to hang out with us! We'll show you a good time!" James said enthusiastically.
"That sounds great!" Mati said with a smile before elbowing me in the side.
"Ow! What was that for?!" I whispered angrily.
"You were being rude! Lighten up!" She whispered back.
“It is fine. I can be a bit exuberant sometimes, so pardon me, sir, but I am sure that you are interested in the inner workings of the island?" James asked, looking directly with a smile.
I realized he was right, and I wanted to know more about the island.
"Yes, actually, I am inquisitive about your island," I said with a smile.
"Great! We can show you around if you'd like!" James said eagerly.
"That would be wonderful," Lillia said with a smile.
I could tell she was just as interested in this island as I was. It seemed like a nice place, but there was something off about it that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Getting on people's wrong side was not an excellent way to get things going, and James had said the inner workings of the island. That was interesting.
Pairing that with the crystal blasters gave me the lost city of Atlantis vibes. This made it more important to make a good impression because I had no idea what they were capable of. I needed more information, and then I would step into my head to relay everything to Harold, who was supposed to be on vacation. No wonder he hates me.
"Well, come this way back to the wall," James said and then turned around.
Suddenly, the tent sucked from around us, and I turned back to see all the red cloth sucked into a single golden ball. All around us, the other tents were being sucked up into the same golden balls.
I turned back to the chief and stepped back in surprise as I looked into a much more human face. Then his face became a fish again after touching an amulet around his neck that wasn't visible after the fish was back.
"As you can see, we are a pretty secretive race, but I assure you that it is all for good reasons. I can feel the sagely spirits in you, so you might be interested in someone that works for us. She is a misfit, but she is a spirited hunter and an Elemental," James said after changing back to the more humanoid face.
"Elemental?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, she is of the water type, but not purely. One could say that she is trapped here after arriving on an empty floating barge," he said with a smile.
"I see, so she is a captive?" I asked, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Oh no! We offered her a place here after she completed a series of tasks for us. It was the only way that we could allow her to stay," he said with a smile.
I realized that this place must be some sort of secret society or something similar. They were definitely not what they seemed on the surface. I wondered if Lillia and Mati were aware of this, but I doubted it. This was something that I would have to look into further when I had the chance.
For now, it seemed like we were being given a tour of the island, so I followed James as he led us to the back of the beach to the rock wall. I was curious to see how he was going to open a door because I didn't see anything that indicated a door.
He placed his hand on the wall and muttered something that I couldn't understand before the wall slid to the side, revealing a dark tunnel. He motioned for us to follow him as he stepped into the darkness. I hesitated for a moment before following him with Lillia and Mati close behind me.
The tunnel was short, and we soon came to another door that opened into a large room that was dimly lit by crystals on the walls. The room was empty except for a few tables and chairs and a staircase in the back corner of the room.
James led us over to the staircase and started walking down, and we followed closely behind him. The staircase went down quite a ways before it opened up into another large room that appeared to be some sort of control center. There were people working at various stations around the room, and they all stopped what they were doing when we entered.
"This is our command center," James said proudly. "From here, we keep track of all activity on the island, as well as monitor any possible Demon activity."
"That's amazing," I said, genuinely impressed by their setup. "I can see why you're so secretive about this place."
"Yes, it is very important that we keep our existence hidden from the outside world," James said seriously. "If word got out about this place, it would be disastrous."
I nodded in agreement as I looked around the room, taking everything in. This place was definitely not what it seemed on the surface, and I had a feeling that there was much more to it than meets the eye."
James led us out of the command center and through a maze of corridors until we came to a door marked 'Restricted Area.' He placed his hand on a panel next to the door, and it slid open, revealing a large room with a pool in the center.
"This is our training room," James said as we stepped into the room. "It is where we train our hunters."
"It's amazing," I said, looking around at the different workout equipment and weapons that were lining the walls.
The place had a large sparring mat, and there were some men in black fighting with crystal sabers and what looked like energy shield bucklers. They were going at it pretty hard, and it might be fun to spar with them.
"Yes, it is very important that our hunters are in top physical condition," James said seriously. "We can't afford to have them getting injured out in the field."
I nodded in agreement as I continued to look around the room. This place was definitely more than just a simple training area, and I was starting to get a better idea of what they were capable of. They were definitely not to be underestimated.
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