Refugees

Huddled deep in a dark, damp cave, there are over a hundred men, women, and children clinging together for warmth against the chill. Mixed in the air is the stench of sweat and fear, for these villagers have seen firsthand the demons that plague the land. Most of these people are from the same village, though a few refugees trickled in from the neighboring villages after escaping the invasion.

The scary thing is that it's not just one or two villages that get attacked by the strange demons. People from all over the island are coming and telling the same story; a group of powerful people with evil powers showed up and either stole everything they have, or they declared themselves the rulers of this land.

While the hidden villagers are quietly whispering to each other, the village chief, Tab, and Gabella are in a corner further away from everyone else, and they're whispering to each other - afraid they'll be overheard.

"So, you're saying that's your daughter?" the chief asks incredulously while looking at Gabella.

"That's right," Tab proudly replies, "It was a blessing from the guardians on the mountains!"

Sighing, the Chief says, "Other than that your story seems hard to believe, it's a good thing you brought Gabella back and didn't introduce her to the villagers. With all this talk about demons, she might've been mobbed to death after knowing she got younger."

Gabella raises her hand. "It was my idea."

"…Anyway," the chief continues, "so you're saying that the demons came from the mountain, and there are some good spirits up there who used to keep the demons trapped?"

"No, no, they're called mages," Tab corrects him. "The mage we met was very particular about that. Before she parted ways with us, she said that evil mages are called 'black mages' - not 'demons'."

"Right, the mages…," the chief sighs, "how do we know these mages can be of any help? I know you want us to go up the mountain and get help from them, but if those black mages were too powerful for the mages and got loose, I don't think they'll be able to help us at all."

This makes Tab thoughtful. "Well," he shrugs, "We can at least try. It's better than sitting around waiting for the sick to die first. Face it. We don't have enough food, and it's too dangerous to look for more with the black mages infesting the land."

Hearing the options put before him, the chief sighs heavily and puts his head in his hands. This is probably the toughest choice he's had to make since becoming chief.

Deep down, he still has his reservations about going to the mountain, since it's always been cursed. Even if he knows the tiger is away from its den, walking into the place has still got to be nerve-wracking.

More than his own fear of the mountain, he knows it would be hard convincing the others to follow him up there.

On the other hand, he knows Tab is right about not having much of a choice. After realizing that much, the chief knows that his anxiety is less about a hard choice between two options, and more about mustering up the courage to do what must be done.

Looking down and breathing heavily, the chief slowly stands up and walks towards the soothsayer – an old woman with a hunched back.

"Kurella," the chief whispers, "Can I have a word?"

"What is it, Chief Hakro?"

"Eh… um…," he mumbles, "Tab came to me with a story…"

He spends a few moments explaining the gist of where the demons came from, as well as what waits at the top of the mountain.

"So," he finishes up, "Can you tell me if it's safe to go up there?"

Kurella closes her eyes and pulls out a clay bowl full of carved bones and starts chanting…

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Several hours later, Chief Hakro stands front and center in front of all the villagers, and they're all looking at him expectantly. Everyone knows they can't keep living in this cave, so seeing the chief stand up from with his back straight and a face that looks like he knows what he's doing, their hearts ease up a little.

"Ehem!" he coughs as if to clear his throat, "The soothsayer had a vision about the mountain…" He then goes on to talk about how the demons came from the mountain, and that help might be found up top, where the remaining prison keepers are.

All while this is happening, the soothsayer in question is looking at the chief and trying to suppress her gawking expression. "I never talked about the demon's origin or there being help up there!" she cries out in her heart, "I just said it is safer up there than it is down here!"

Still, the old woman knows better than to speak up now, since if she contradicted the chief now, their people would lose a chief, and unnecessary chaos would overtake the clan.

So, she shuts her mouth and obediently nods her head and looks solemn whenever she notices one of the villagers glancing at her.

Unfortunately, Chief Hakro hardly gets to make it through his presentation before he hears complaining and angry murmurs from the crowd about how the mountain is cursed, and how going there is a terrible idea. Finding out there's a bunch of really powerful people on top of a mountain who's willing to conveniently help them DOES seem a bit farfetched.

The protests only quiet down when some of the refugees from neighboring villages speak up and talk about how they have met one of these "Guards" who was protecting their village earlier. They even said she was a "warden" or something, which is like the chief of the "Guards" up on the mountain.

Seeing that a good chunk of their population has actually seen proof of what the chief was talking about, the people are finally willing to listen.

And so, that night, all the villagers pack up their belongings into small sacks and prepare for the long journey up towards the cursed mountains.

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The next morning, Chief Hakro and his people secretly make the trek back toward the mountains. The demons are mostly staying in the villages, so it's actually not too difficult to find a path without running into them. Plus, there aren't too many of them to hide, so that helps.

Come sundown, they finally arrive at the foot of the mountain. Nobody knows how long the journey is up, yet the chief would feel uncomfortable camping here overnight; he wants to go all the way up without stopping.

Yet, upon asking the people for a vote, everyone almost unanimously wants to wait 'till sunrise before heading up. In their minds, the mountain's curse must be stronger in darkness.

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In the middle of the night, some of the men keeping watch wake the chief from his slumber. They sound anxious when they tell him, "There's a pair of men in metal armor wanting to talk to you. They… came from the mountain trail."

Instantly, the chief isn't feeling sleepy anymore. He shoots to his feet, puts his boots back on, and he speed walks over to where his two sentries are leading him.

The men the chief finds both have the familiar tower and sword emblem on their breastplates, which Hakro had learned from Tab is how you identify the good mages.

Hakro figures these 2 men are mages, and he awkwardly bows.

One of the metal-clad guards nods at the chief and says, "Pardon for intruding. We saw you camping out at the base of the mountain trail. Given all the chaos all around, we were ordered by our boss to check all your faces to make sure none of the escaped prisoners are hiding in your camp."

"Hiding?" the chief squeaks out. "Why would they hide in our camp?"

The guard shrugs, "It's possible some of them aren't so brave, and they might be afraid our boss will be sent reinforcements. I imagine none of them want to be put in prison again."

The other guard looks up from staring at an enchanted mirror and asks, "Do we have permission to enter your camp?"

The chief nods vigorously.

The 2 guards motion behind them, and a dozen more guards step out of the shadows of the dark trail, and they walk into camp.

The chief and his sentries get everyone up and formed into a line. This isn't a big deal, since it's only been a few minutes since everyone turned in to sleep.

The Pit Guards then walk up and down the line with mirrors held in front of them. The villager watch in fascination as the images on the mirrors change rapidly to reflect different faces, as if comparing them in an instant to the person they're held in front of.

Other than comparing faces, the Pit Guards reach out with their hands and feel the villager's faces.

Everyone wonders why the guards are touching their faces and feeling them, but only Gabella has the courage to actually speak up and actually ask one of the guards. Maybe it's because she's spent most of her life stuck in a supernatural experience, but she's not so scared of these magical people.

She points at the guard feeling her face and asks, "Why're you touching our faces?"

The guard thinks she's a little girl, so he replies extra simply, "It's to protect against illusion magic."

"Illusion magic?"

"… It's a power some mages … er… magic people have to make you see things that aren't there," the guard explains. "Some of the bad guys would try to make people see a different face when we look at them. Trying to fool someone into FEELING something with their skin is a lot harder than making them see things with their eyes"

Gabella was told by Dee that she's a mage too now… so she's naturally QUITE interested in magic. What is it? How is it done? Thinking about this makes her excited.

Fortunately, none of the "demons" are hiding in their camp. With that formality out of the way, the Pit Guards stay next to their camp and keep an eye on the surrounding area.