RE:WRITE

5.0 Zero_Chapter 5: Ugliness

Reneste was a small village with a population of a little over a hundred people. Most of the houses were made of sun-baked mud bricks and only a few were made from wood. As we walked towards the village, we saw the tall wooden fence that encircled the village as well as the trench that followed the fence's exterior. There was only one entrance to the village; a large passage of dirt and stone that filled the trench on one side of the village and cut through an opening in the fence. Two men wearing worn and rusty armor stood on the far side of the passage and were probably the guards. The guards noticed us as we got closer to the village.

"Halt!" said one of the guards, "State your business." The guard's fingers twitched around the pommel of his sheathed sword.

"Uncle Eric? Sassui?" Clare said as we stopped on the other side of the passage.

"Is that...Clare?" said the middle aged guard I assumed was Uncle Erik.

"Clare! You're back!" said the teenage guard while smiling, but he quickly began to frown "Is that guy behind you from the shrine and what's with the weird cat?"

"Yes, wel-" Clare responded, but was interrupted by Uncle Eric.

"Before that! Get in here quickly Clare, the bandits have surrounded the village. It's a miracle you managed to get here in the first place!" he said, beckoning us over as we walked across the passage.

As we crossed the passage, we were able to see a well in the center of the village, which had been hidden by the tall wooden fence. Next to the well stood the largest wooden house in the village.

"I know the fire goddess' shrine hasn't let us down yet, but I don't see how one guy's gonna deal with the Black Dog Bandits." Sassui whispered to Uncle Eric, under his breath.

"Shush! The goddess has always protected our village, believe in her." whispered Uncle Eric.

As we reached the other side, Clare jumped and hugged Uncle Eric.

"Woah Clare! We're both too old for this, don't you think?" said Uncle Eric as he struggled to lift the little girl dangling from his neck.

"Oh what's going on here?"

"Clare!"

"Haha! The brat's back!"

"Welcome back Clare!"

The villagers noticed that Clare had returned and came over to greet her as she let go of Uncle Eric. Some of the villagers looked at me warily but they kept a respectful distance.

"Wah! Kitty!" said a little brown haired boy as he noticed Waon.

"So cute!" said a little girl as she walked over and hugged Waon.

"So smooth~" Waon was surrounded by a group of kids stroking its fur, pinching its cheeks and fighting to hug it.

"Wa-Waon!" Waon struggled, letting out a pitiful cry. Waon looked at me with its big eyes, begging for help but I let out a soft chuckle and looked away as Waon drowned in a sea of children.

"Are the others still praying at the shrine Clare? Your parents sure are pious aren't they?"

Clare made a pained expression as one of the villagers mentioned her parents and she began staring at the ground with a blank look in her eyes. However, she almost immediately raised her head and her grief stricken expression vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. But just as she was about to say something -

"Clare!" shouted someone, their voice carrying all the way from the center of the village. Outside the door to the large wooden house next to the well, stood a middle aged woman with long black hair with a face that resembled Clare's.