Serpent's Forest, Northern Quadrant

Seishin Realm

2:34AM

After a lengthy walk through the expansive forest, Colt had finally reached what appeared to be the village. With the young woman guiding him, he managed to avoid several traps that had been scattered through the forest. Compared to the blind expedition he, Jax, and Hisa went on, this change was much more welcomed.

Crowds of villagers were spotted in all corners of the village. Some were carrying wooden crates of mushrooms, while others sat around, conversing.

The smell of several plants was carried through the pure, near celestial air of the space. Just as one would expect of a village hidden in a forest, the unfiltered sounds of wildlife rang out far and wide.

Chirping birds, rustling leaves, the trickles of flowing river water.

It was beautiful.

With this natural beauty came the realization that not a piece of modern technology or architecture could be found anywhere. Nearly everything in sight had been made of/covered in vegatation.

Trees, plants, shrubs.

Not a trace of a brick or steel.

"Here we are!" said the young lady.

Colt continued to marvel at the scenery, "Wow...this place is-"

A villager ran over to the two of them, with concern written all over her face. "Hemiko!"

"Who is that man?!" asked another.

"Where were you all this time!?"

All of the villagers swarmed over, with some being armed with weapons such as spears and axes.

"No guys! He's lost!" said Hemiko as she stood in front of Colt.

"No!"

"He's trying to trick you!"

"The outsiders always use that as an excuse!"

Colt dodged an axe swing from a woman and jumped back, "Wait! I'm not trying to do any harm!" While he sought to alleviate any confusion, his words only served as fuel to the flames that had already been stoked, inciting more fury from the villagers.

Waves of shouts and roars filled the air, with their faces making it clear that he wasn't welcome. The crowd slowly began to close the distance, brandishing more weapons in tow.

"Everyone, please wait."

The villagers came to an abrupt stop as the soothing voice reached their ears, turning to see a beautiful woman with lengthy hair step forward. She wore a dress made entirely from leaves and other assorted plants.

Standing beside her were two large men.

"Please don't attack this man." she voiced, "I believe he is our savior."

"What?"

"No way!"

"I can't believe he actually came!"

"Thank you!"

Colt stepped back in shock as all of the villagers had an immediate paradigm shift, "Savior?"

"Yes. I called for assistance...and you have finally come to save us." She ran towards him and hugged him with tearful eyes, "Please. End our suffering..."

Colt was speechless. Even though her voice was calm and mature, he was able to feel every ounce of pain it carried. "Wh-What happened?"

"Oh, terrible things have happened. My people are at risk-Wait. I must give you a proper greeting first!" She moved back and bowed to Colt, "My name is Lady Lamia, and I'm the leader of this village. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"My name's Colt. It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

"Come come. We must get you seated." She directed her men to hoist Colt into the air like a hero, bringing him to a large tree far into the village. This tree had a wooden door built into it, leaving Colt to assume that it was a house of sorts.

They sat him down in a chair at the end of a large table, with Lady Lamia sitting in the seat adjacent to his.

"Colt." She drew in a deep breath as a smile formed on her face, "I wish to thank you on the behalf of our village!"

"D-Don't worry about it." muttered Colt.

I have no idea what they mean about a savior, but I'm in too deep. It'd be a dick move to just up and say that I'm not their savior.

"I know that you may wish to get to work immediately, but I know you're hungry. Would you like something to eat?"

"Yes. That'd be nice." said Colt.

Lady Lamia turned to the men behind her, "Let's treat him with our pie!"

"Wonderful idea Madame!" The two men ran away, leaving her alone with Colt.

"I can't put it into words," She clasped her hands together, beaming with joy, "I'm so grateful for you showing up."

Colt rested his arms onto the table, "What's actually going on here? If I'm gonna help you, I need to know what needs to be fixed first."

"R-Right!" Lamia gathered herself, "Our Holy Tree is a source of an abundant fruit, it's what our village is known for. We call them Blue Apples, since they're blue apples."

Hemiko waltzed into the room, sitting beside Lamia with a smile. "They taste amazing too!"

Blue apples?

I've seen pictures on the internet, but they were always photoshopped.

And how is some miracle medicine supposed to be found in a village like this? It's so...Mother Earthy...

As if she were reading his mind, Lamia carried on. "They are, but the most special thing about them is their healing properties. Our apples can cure any illness, and they can replenish stamina instantaneously."

"Wait-Really?"

"Yes. And while it is a blessing, it is also a curse." Her smile faded as she went to rub Hemiko's shoulder, "It's why we've become the prime targets for bandits and thieves. We've been raided a countless number of times."

The miracle medicine...is magical fruit?

It sucks that they have to get attacked for it though.

"This forced us to defend ourselves..." Hemiko hugged Lady Lamia as she squinted to keep tears from falling, "My father was killed by a group of bandits..."

Lamia reached over to comfort her, "We used to be happy to share our fruit with outsiders, but they continued to demand more and more. With our resources running thin, it became an arduous task to care for ourselves."

The two men returned with a freshly baked pie and sat it in front of Colt, "Bon Appetit."

Taking the fork in hand, Colt stared down the exquisite treat.

The sweet fragrance of apples and dough filled the air as he plunged the fork through the top. The shiny apple He took a scoop out and felt his mouth water as he stared at the shiny apple filling of the pie. It looked as if it was sparkling. After hearing about these blue apples, his expectations were high. Yet somehow, they were already exceeded by presentation alone. He took a deep breath before taking the piece of pie into his mouth.

"Woah! This is amazing!"

"We're glad you enjoyed it." Lamia smiled at Colt as she watched him dig in with gleaming eyes.

"This feels like a dream Mommy." cheered Hemiko, "We're actually gonna be saved from that Mafia."

Colt came to an abrupt stop, sitting his fork down. "Mafia?"

"Yes." Lamia chimed in, "Our problem lies in this mafia that lives deep in the forest. They've forced us to give them our monthly harvest of apples, in return, we stay alive. And combat isn't an option since they possess weapons that completely overpower our spears and axes."

"I see..." Colt felt his anger boiling up inside of him. Although it was ironic since he was practically here to obtain the apples as well. "What kind of weapons do they have?"

"They're strange to say the least. Not only are they armed with guns, but they fight with chains as well."

"Chains?"

"Yes." said Hemiko, "It seems the chains only come out when they feel as if they're in danger..."

"As you can see Colt, we're in a bind. Our holy tree is beginning to grow old, and we need to start saving our apples, but the mafia is forcing us to run it dry. Nowadays, it can only produce 5 apples a month, but the mafia isn't satisfied with that."

"That's where I come in." Hemiko stood up, "I've been born with a gift to control all forms of plants. I use my gift to make the tree produce more apples."

Sounds like a core power to me.

Lamia sighed, "While this does help us, it also places a great strain on the Holy Tree. If things keep moving in this path, there will be no tree left to harvest from."

Glancing between the two of them, a fire as lit beneath Colt. Their expressions reading years of stress and sorrow, with their voices reaching out to the pits of his heart. "Listen up. The days of your suffering are over. I'll do whatever it takes to take down this mafia!"

"Thank you so much Colt! And to believe that I found you in the forest, lucky me!" Hemiko ran over and pulled him into a hug.

The doors burst open, nearly splitting Colt's ears as he and Hemiko jumped back.

"Lady Lamia!" A villager stumbled into the room, clutching for his chest as he scrambled to speak, "Forest Patrol Unit A has just returned with Unit B, and they're all in horrible condition!"

Lamia moved from her seat and ran outside, leading her two men in tow. Hemiko soon followed after them, not before shooting Colt a glance.

Forest Patrol Unit?

Sh-Shit! What if those were the guys I roughed up when we first got in the forest?

I need to think of something!