Chapter 25 - A group of new faces

In a small village, somewhere North East of the capital city of Efidel, a young man followed by two others made their way down the sloping landscape of a mountain.

The group continued doing so until they reached a forest at the base of the mountain. This, they could have easily avoided by taking a pathway that lead down and through the forest where it would then connect to another village at the other side. However, despite having the option to avoid the dense set of oak trees, they continued still. For this, they did have a reason.

And that reason was soon revealed when the group navigated themselves through the trees to reach a particular area where two other men were tied against a trunk of a tree.

The man in front, who bore a red cloak with the symbol of a dragon painted on his back, walked forward and stuffed a piece of bread into one of the men's mouth. He did the same for the other man, tied to the right of the first.

"Eat well now. I don't want you two dying on me." Said the red cloaked man.

One of the prisoners did not listen and instead, spitted the stale bread out from his mouth and then spat at the cloaked man's foot.

"You're being rather difficult." The cloaked man replied as he got up and a flame began to spiral around him. His pupils were completely red, a trait that he had inherited from his sickly mother that had passed away for many years now. "Are you going to eat or not?" the man questioned as one of his companions picked up the muddy piece of wheat and knelt down so that he could easily give it to the prisoner.

Sweat dripped from the squirming man's face as he gritted his teeth and replied "Screw you!"

And then in an instant, there was a flame that wrapped around the man to burn his body until only ashes remained.

His fellow prisoner could only watch in horror as his companion squirmed and screamed. But the flame did not find its way to the ropes nor did it set itself on to the other captive. It was controlled and only burnt the flesh of the rebellious man.

Then the red cloaked man walked around the tree and bent down so that he could see eye to eye with the remaining captive.

"If you don't want to end up like him, I suggest that you eat what is given to you so that you will have the strength to answer my questions when I am ready." The red eyed man said coldly and then raised himself upright to walk away with his companions following in tow, leaving the captive to chew on the moldy piece of bread as tears dripped along his face.

~

"You're a monster, you know?" said the man cloaked in a yellow cloak laced with white silver linings that connected to form the symbol of a dove on to his back.

"I'm only doing what's necessary Elliot. You saw their resolve when we first caught them. Without this much, they won't budge." The red eyed man replied.

"But still, did you really have to burn him alive, Rosal?" the other member of the group asked, this one was cloaked in an indigo hooded robe bearing the symbol of a fist on his back that bore a lion within it.

"Yes, I did, Antos." Rosal replied coldly as he continued up the mountain to the little village where they had been staying.

"Yeah, even so." Elliot continued as he braced his hands behind his neck. "Why would those guys want to open Rifts into our world? I mean, that brings harm to everyone. Heck, if not for us, they probably would have been killed by those malice beasts along with everyone in that village."

"Yeah, they are kinda hardcore, aren't they?" Antos commented with a grin as he twisted his face to the side.

"Well, we'll find out what their plan was eventually. That last guy was already at his breaking point. By tomorrow, he'll squeak like a newborn baby." Said Rosal as he stepped foot into the small village that welcomed the group greatly.

"Rosal, great to see you up and about. Getting up early before sunrise is just what I'd expect from someone of your caliber." Said one man who was towing a mountain goat with a rope, most likely to take it to the other village that was past the forest at the base of the mountain.

"Rosal!" shouted two pretty girls from the side who had taken their time to put on their best dresses and what little makeup that they possessed. Their faces turned bright red as Rosal and his group walked by. Though, of course, Rosal continued still with his cloak casting a shadow that concealed his face which the villagers hadn't even gotten the chance to see. Yet still, they treated him as though he were a handsome prince.

"Oi, Rosal, how bout you grab a couple of beers with us down at the tavern." said a bearded man who placed an arm over Rosal's shoulder as the red eyed man was walking towards the inn.

"No, thank you." Rosal replied as he flung his shoulder and brushed the man away, making a face of disgust at the drunkard who had just touched him.

And at that, the three made their way towards their rooms at the second floor of the inn, which, by the way, was very run down. Hardly anyone would have come to stay at such a remote village. The only time that they would get business was when merchants and traders would come in hopes of hiking the mountain in search of the rare Lotus Berry that grew at the very tip of the tall landscape. But sadly, that berry only came once every five years, which Rosal had discovered upon coming to the town.

True, he did come here on grounds of the King who had asked Gifted to volunteer and go to the more remote villages. But that was just a disguised truth. In reality, he only wanted to taste the sweet berry that was much desired throughout both Efidel and the neighboring country that shared the mountains as their border.

But having not gotten the opportunity to get the berry, Rosal was more than tired of this pathetic little place. Honestly, that plus ordeal of monsters that had appeared in the last week, made this trip unbelievably unbearable.

"Well, aren't you popular?" Antos taunted as they walked along the shabby wooden stairs.

"Shut up!" Rosal replied with narrowed brows, or atleast that was the expression that he tried to give. For you see, he had no such brows to speak of nor no hair on his head which was nothing but burnt, dead tissue at this point.

"Why are you upset? The villagers loved you for saving them. I only wished that I had gotten a chance to show off but you went on to destroy all the beasts with ease." Elliot commented with great sincerity. Of the three here, he was the only one who openly wanted to help the poor villagers.

"Aren't you quite the saint?" the brown skinned Antos raised an eyebrow to the golden skinned, as well as golden eyed, Elliot who replied with a fierce glare.

"Say what you will. At the very least, my family knows what their true purpose is." Elliot said as he took a left turn where three passages met and went to his own room.

Antos brushed away the curly bit of hair that had fallen down his face as he removed the dark set of shades that he had been wearing. "Hmph, whatever nice guy!" he shouted as Elliot strutted away.

"You two don't get along well, do you?" the red eyed Rosal asked as he and Antos continued to their own rooms to the right.

"You say that as if to suppose that you and I are best buds." Antos replied, his handsome square jawed face painting a smug picture using his defined features.

"I suppose that none of us are quite close." Rosal said finally as he looked up to the giant man with his red eyes that were bare and hallow with no set of brows to give them expression, before opening a door and going into his own room. Though, something that did give him a fierce look was the scar that ran across his entire face, painted like an 'X' over his eyes and nose which then ran along his forehead to connect to the scar tissue carved into his bald head. The fact that the scar, which was caused by the man's own flames, formed that shape was simply a matter of mere coincidence and nothing more.

After that, Antos then made towards the end of the corridor and went into a room of his own.