Chapter 33: Chapter 33- Rune
Chapter 33- Rune
"Chief?" Garn said with a confused look on his face as he noticed the anger within the old man’s eyes. He had never seen him give that glance to someone before. The chief was a very calm and collected man; he rarely shows emotions, let alone ones as strong as the anger in his eyes at that moment.
Garn had always known that the chief didn’t like humans, but he never came to know why that was the case. He assumed it was purely because they were different and smaller than they were. But, it seemed the reason ran deeper than he could have ever expected.
Cipha and Zen were put under immense scrutiny as they felt the pressure of the man’s presence weigh aggressively on their shoulders. They were taken aback by what he said and didn’t even understand what he was trying to say.
But, Zen was the first to react as he stepped forward. "We are not here for anything, sir. Our plane fell from the sky, and we barely survived. We have been travelling north in search of help. We didn’t even know we would come across you and your people. We also do not associate with any Hunter organization. We work alone, and there are only two of us." Zen explained with a calm and direct tone.
He knew that the man was very skeptical, but there was nothing better than telling the truth here. He was certain this old man would figure it out if he was indeed as smart as he seemed to be.
"..." The man looked at them silently, his eyes peering through their very soul.
"I can guess that humans have hurt your people before, and I apologize for that. But we do not associate with the association, nor do we believe in their cause. We just want to recover and get back on the road."
"..."
Cipha watched Zen silently, impressed at how quickly he reacted and handled the situation. Even though he was under immense pressure, his voice didn’t waver, and he didn’t show any weakness. He simply talked to the Wood man as an equal, against the disparity in power between them.
In fact, Cipha felt for a second that Zen had taken complete control of the situation. Something an ordinary boy should never be able to do.
"You are very daring, human." The man said after a while as he moved forward. "Your people lie as much as they breathe. Yet, I cannot sense your lies. Odd."
"Because I’m not lying. That is the truth."
"You shall leave our village the moment you’re able to walk. I do not want to see your faces around here." The man said. "And you, Garn, make sure to keep your eyes on them and report everything to me. I do not want any problems."
"... Yes, chief."
"Leave."
The man said as he turned away from them, not bothered to even look at them for another second. So, the group quickly left the house.
"He really doesn’t like us..." As the door closed, Zen looked back and muttered. "I wonder what he experienced to carry such hatred for us."
"He said something about taking ’it’. I wonder what he meant by that." Cipha replied.
"The rune of reality," Garn said, catching their attention. "A sacred rune buried within the Shredded temple. It is a rune that we believe carries the truth of this world, and many seek to find it. However, as the people of the woods, we have taken it upon ourselves to protect our temple and that rune."
’The rune of reality?’ Zen’s eyes widened upon hearing that name. ’Isn’t that...’
A thousand thoughts came back to his head in one second. Many pieces of information that he heard throughout his lifetime about this rune. It was one of the strongest runes in the world and one that carried immense power. However, he doesn’t recall anyone ever finding it.
’I heard that the association and several clans put a lot of resources into searching for it to no avail. However, that is odd, considering the nature of that rune, I’m surprised they didn’t try even harder. Or did they perhaps hide that fact from the public?’
It was odd. Extremely odd.
"The rune of reality? That sounds very serious." Cipha said. "I have never heard of it before."
"Mhm, it is sacred and divine. Not for any mortal creature to ever touch, so we must keep it where it belongs. I don’t know if your people had tried to take it a long time ago, but it seems the chief had seen something. He usually doesn’t behave that way. Please excuse him."
"No, it is fine. We are intruders, after all. We didn’t take any offense to that." Cipha shook her head. "We plan to leave as soon as possible, so don’t worry."
"Well, speaking of that, do you wish to see the rest of the village?" Garn asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Great. Then let’s continue."
***
With that, the group roamed around the village for a long while. Zen and Cipha saw all the shops, the houses, the farming fields, and even the entertainment areas where people could go and unwind.
It was surprisingly advanced for a place built in the deepest parts of one of the biggest forests in the world. Everyone was friendly and happy, and the atmosphere was just pleasing. Zen and Cipha didn’t feel like intruders at all.
’This is the kind of place I would love to live in after I retire.’ Zen thought to himself as he watched the lively village around him. ’Maybe we could build a cabin in the woods and live there when everything is over. Mhm, that sounds really nice.’
Just that thought put a smile on his face, but he quickly shook it off once they made it back to Garn’s house.
"That was really fun. Thank you for showing us around, Mr Garn." Zen said.
"Please, just call me Garn. We are friends now." Garn smiled. "I’m glad you enjoyed your time. I will leave you to rest now. I have things to do."
"Thank you again."
Then, Garn bid them farewell and left. The two walked into the house and sat down.
"How are you feeling?" Cipha asked.
"A lot better. I think I’m almost healed, which is impressive. These leaves are no joke."
"Yeah, they’re very effective. I’m also recovering well. We should be able to leave the village soon."
"..." Zen didn’t reply as his eyes slowly grew unfocused. "Say, Cipha."
"Hm?"
"I..." He looked up. "I think we should make a small detour."
"..." Cipha was confused for a second before she frowned. "What are you planning?"
"Hm? No, no, it’s not anything you imagine. I just... want to see this temple they’re talking about."
"Why?"
"Something tells me we might find something worth our time there," Zen replied.
"Have you not heard what they said? It is sacred to them. We can’t go there."
"Hm, maybe. But we aren’t there to steal the rune or anything. Just to take a look. We have nothing to lose." Zen smiled. "I’m sure they wouldn’t mind it too much."
"You’re... something else."
"Haha, I know." Zen nodded.
