The Tale of Ren - Book one: The Hunt Begins

18. Utavilspur village

They walked and walked and came across the village as the water nymph told them. Ren walked up to an old wooden board where Utavilspurwas written on it. 'I guess this is it then.' He says. Shun looks at the map.

'Weird, I don't see any villages on this map that is called Utavilspur. There isn't even supposed to be a village in these parts at all.' He says.

'Maybe Lausanne meant one of those "old" villages.' Kyle suggests.

'Yeah, that's possible. There are some villages in the world that are able to stay hidden from the people of modern days.' Shun mumbles.

'Let's go.' Ren says, and he walks to the entrance of the village followed by Kyle, Shun and Michelle. The houses in the village look like the houses from the Middle Ages. Small houses made from hard wood. The people all walk on the streets, carrying all kinds of things. Baskets, carts and tools. As the group enter the village, some villagers turn their head and look curiously at them and some just walk hasty further. Michelle looks around and notices that some are anxiously looking away whenever she looks at them.

'Why do they look away from us?' Michelle asks.

'It's because we're outsiders to them. We look a bit strange to them. Haven't you notice yet that their clothes are a bit old fashioned compared to ours?' Kyle answers her. 'I think only a small group of this village travel to more modern villages around the forest to trade stuff.' Kyle guesses.

'I see.' She mumbles.

      They reach the village square where there is a market being hold. As they come closer more people notice them and stop with what they are doing to sneak a peek at the strange outsiders. Ren and his group want to go through the market to reach the place of the village head when suddenly the crowd of the people at the market split and a group of strong looking men came walking to Ren's group. Ren's group stop and so do the group of men in front of them. The group of men split too, and an old wise looking man came walking to the front, standing opposite of Ren. The people around them could feel the tension in the air as Ren and the old looking man of the other group stare at each other. As if they were testing each other on something. Michelle gulps. One of the men tightens his grip on the sword he hangs on his belt. Shun and Kyle instinctively came standing next to Michelle. If something happens they know that Ren would order them to first take Michelle to safety. The old man steps forwards and so does Ren until they meet each other in the middle. The old man has many wrinkles and is a head shorter than Ren. The old man says something to Ren, something that isn't in Karmian. He waits for Ren's answer. Ren thought about his answer and says something back what sounds like the same language the old man spoke to him. The old man waited and then laughs out loud. He takes Ren's hand and shakes it with both his hands.

'Good, good. It seems like we will be good friends.' He says in with a typical grandpa smile. Ren smiles back at him.

'Thank you, sir.' He says and bows his head. The old man let go of Ren's hand and turns around.

'Well, then. Shall we go to the city(village) hall and hear what you will have to say?' He asks. Ren, Kyle and Shun look at each other, nods and then follow the old man to his house. The villagers look relieved and continue with what they were doing. As they walk through the village they see the people farming, working in a blacksmith or a fruit/vegetable stand.

      They arrive at a house that is a bit bigger than others. The old man stops. 'You all can go and continue your work.' He says. The group of men nods, and they split and went back to their work or family.

'Please come in.' The old man invites them. Inside they sit on the ground of a big hall.

'Let me reintroduce myself, my name is Adalhard and I am the chief of this village.' He introduces himself.

'It is a pleasure for us to meet you sir. Let me introduce myself and my friends. My name is Ren. These are my friends that came with me. The boy with orange hair is Kyle, the boy with brown hair is Shun and this girl is Michelle.' Adalhard nods.

'May I ask why foreigners have come to this village? Not only foreigners, I could even say non-human creatures am I wrong?' He asks. Ren grins.

'Your sense for the supernatural has stayed sharp over the years because this village is close to a large mana source, hasn't it? I'm very impressed that you have learned to adapt to it.' Ren praises the old man.

'Humph, stop with the praising and state your business here.' Adalhard grumbles. Michelle could hear that he became a little impatient.

'Calm, calm, sir Adalhard. We didn't come with any ill bearing. We came to investigate the mysterious appearance of an unidentified monster. I believe that someone has already fallen prey to this creature.' Ren says and the left corner Adalhard's mouth twitches. The two of them stare into each other's eyes. Adalhard sighs.

'Very well then. I will take you for your word. You are right. A young child has fallen prey the first time we discovered the monster. Over these four days four more have fallen prey. We do not know any more about this monstrous creature. If you can rid us of it, then I plead for your help. Please help my village and protect the people that are living here.' Adalhard asks of Ren. For some reason, Michelle thinks that Adalhard looks even older than he was. Ren nods.

'I have heard your request and will accept.' He says.

'Thank you, young man. Than let me help you with your stay. Felicie!' He calls. A young woman with curly blonde hair enters the room.

'Yes chief?' She answers the chief's call. Adalhard gestures at the group.

'These people have come to help us with the demon. I ask if you could let them stay at your place. Prepare anything they need.' He says. The woman nods. 'Then please follow me.' She says and exits the room. Ren shakes the hands of Adalhard, thanks him for his cooperation and the group follows Felicie outside