Dear Mocha

第56章

The group approached the cabin quietly. It was a small, shabby cabin with dark brown walls and a traingular-shaped roof. It had a small chimney sticking from the side of the roof, but no smoke came out.

The windows weren't as broken as the wooden walls, and the front door had several scratch marks all over. Mnemi stood infront of the door. The rest stood behind her, goose bumps spreading on their skin.

Mnemi knocked on the door as loudly as possible, hoping to catch the attention of anyone inside. "I don't think anyone's living here." Kyo said, as she stepped up right behind Mnemi.

"It doesn't look that old to be abandoned either." Samui told her, as he crossed his arms impatiently. Hayen stood behind all of them, watching the nature around him.

He then spot something in the distance. Hayen blinked once, and then the figure was infront of him. It was an average-height person, maybe slightly taller than Kae.

They had a dark claok on, and pale white skin, with a basket hanging from their right arm. "What is it?" The voice spoke, before everyone turned around.

"You .. live here?" Hayen asked, as the figure nodded, before appearing by Mnemi, unlocking the house's door. They twisted the doorknob, before opening the door.

"Come in, don't stay out here like stray dogs." The voice invited them in. Mnemi didn't hesitate and stepped in, followed by everyone else. The door soon closed behind them.

They were all sitting on small pillows on the floor, as the hooded figure had set a pot of tea infront of them, with a few cups. "What brings you all here?" They asked, as they raised their hooded head up to them.

"We're lost." Mocha said, as she inspected the person's outfit. "I see, is there anything I can help you with?" They asked. Mnemi cleared her throat.

"Is there any routes to any close Kingdoms?" She asked. The figure shook their head. "Any routes to villages or towns?" Samui then asked right after her, and the figure shook their head again.

"Any settlements we can get help from?" Hayen asked right after the two, and the figure shook their head for the third time. "This area is deserted." The figure said.

A small creature fell right from the roof, landing right over the pot and spilling it all over the floor. The creature looked like a bird, though it was a bit bigger than that. It's feathers were bright red, and it had a turquoise gemstone in it's forehead.

The hooded figure picked up the bird as they stroked it gently. "Frea, don't scare my guests." The figure spoke quietly, as the bird let it's wings loose.

"That's.. that's a pheonix!" Hayen gasped, as he peeled his eyes at the tiny bird. "Pheonix? These exist here too?" Mocha asked, as Kyo nodded. "They do, but they're extremely rare creatures. They're maybe the most valuable out there if you're thinking to buy one from trading markets." Kyo explained to her.

The hooded figure then placed it gently on their lap, as they took down the hood. They had soft vibrant purple hair, and a pair of black eyes. They had black bags under their eyes and a some wrinkles on their forehead and cheeks.

"My name's Kusago, I'm a wizard." He told them, as Mnemi stiffened. She clenched her fists tighlty, and Samui seemed to get cautious even more. Kyo and Hunter stayed the same, but Hayen was busy watching the pheonix.

"Do not fret, as I don't attack innocent unlike the rest of my kind." He told them. "I quit that.. long ago." He said, as he took out his wand to fix all the spilled tea.

"You're all looking for help? Aren't you?" He said, as he put his wand back in his cloak's pocket. "I can tell you the quickest route to the Ghoul Kingdom." He told them.

"But the journey is nine days long." He informed them, as he looked over to the side. His cabin was simple, three counters and a furnace, a bed, and a bunch of shelves. Books thrown around and scrolls, aswell as magical items.

"Frea, get me the map on the 7th row to the left, labelled C-76." He told the pheonix, as it spread it wings and flew to the shelf. It soon pulled out a map with it's beak, before turning to them.

The map rolled open as it showed the map with a marked route to the Ghoul Kingdom, before it flew to Samui and handed it to him. "That is the map if you'd like it." He told them, before Frea went to him and sat on his shoulder.

Samui looked at the map, as he inspected the marked routes. "I cannot help you past this point." He told them, as he softly caressed Frea's neck. He had a calming soft smile.

"Some of these words can't be translated.. We'd need a witch or wizard who speaks the ancient magic language to decipher the text written on the map.." Samui said, as he ran his finger over the words.

"Can't you come with us just for the journey?" Kyo asked, as she put her hands on her thighs, kneeling her head a bit to the front. "No, I'm afraid not." He shook his head.

"Why?" Mocha asked.

"Frea, like all pheonixes, is very nutritous for the one's bodies." He began, as he put down his hands, picking up his cup which hadn't gotten spilled.

He began to blow over it, narrowing his eyes at his tea as he allowed it to cool down. "This valley is infested with banshees and Shi members, so I cannot leave Frea alone." He said.

"If I do that, it may get discovered and devoured, and it isn't fully grown yet." He explained, as he began sipping from the tea. "Can't you bring it with us?" Samui asked.

"No, not until her gemstone gets removed, she is to be bound to this part of the valley." He told Samui. "If anyone eats a pheonix, an extremely strong amount of power would be added up to the one who devoured.

"It's risky." He finished off, as he looked at them quietly. There was a brief moment of silence.