The next day passed quickly. They refilled their water supplies, packed their bags, and checked their weapons.

  After their talk with the elder, they were finally given some freedom to wander the village. The first stop was a nearby stream. They washed off days of sweat and grime, scrubbing their clothes until the water turned a murky brown. By the time they stepped out, dripping and shivering, their mood had lifted. For the first time in weeks, they didn’t smell like pigs, and that alone felt like a victory.

  They gathered in front of the hut, settling around the fire as the night deepened.

  The night had settled over the village like a soft blanket, stars pricking the sky above. The two moons illuminated the world. The smell of smoke mingled with the crisp night air.

  Footsteps crunched on the earth. Adrian’s head tilted toward the sound as four familiar shapes emerged from the treeline, each carrying something.

  Draveth bore a large sack of small game. Korveth had a bundle of fish, tied together with a rope. Aelyth carried a small tray of gathered mushrooms and herbs, and Maldrith followed.

  Sylmara was at the rear, observing, her crossbow slung lazily over her shoulder.

  “What's this?” Alex said, eyebrows raised.

  Adrian stood and stepped toward the fire. “Someone's having a feast?"

  Draveth set the sack of small game down and gave a curt nod. “Thought you might like a proper meal tonight. Last night in the village, isn’t it?”

  Korveth tossed the fish onto a nearby log. “No need to starve before leaving.” His slit eye glinted in the firelight, but there was a faint trace of a smile.

  Adrian chuckled, shaking his head. “That would be nice.”

  Alex grinned. “Finally,” he exclaimed, "a little hospitality!"

  The hunters busied themselves around the fire. Draveth skinned and gutted the creatures with precise efficiency. Korveth cleaned and prepared the fish, and Aelyth arranged the seasoning.

  Korveth added, his voice low but steady, “We can’t let the last night in the village be miserable.”

  The smell of roasting meat soon filled the air. Adrian and Alex helped set up a rough table of logs and flat stones. Sylmara ladled out the stew, Korveth handed around the fish, and Draveth carved portions of meat for everyone.

  They ate in near silence at first, each bite a small comfort after weeks of tension. The fire crackled, shadows dancing across the hunters’ worn, deformed faces, but the mood was lighter than anything Adrian had experienced since coming to this world.

  Alex leaned back, chewing thoughtfully. “You know… for a group that looks terrifying, you guys are… actually decent.”

  Draveth’s eyes met his. “Is your mouth just for foul things?”

  Adrian nodded. “That it is.”

  As the night deepened, laughter and conversation slowly replaced tension. Alex tried to teach Korveth a game with pebbles, and even Maldrith offered a dry quip that made Alex snort in surprise.

  Adrian leaned back, eyes on the clear sky, watching the stars. He exhaled slowly, shoulders relaxing as he stared at the stars, lost in thought.

  Footsteps approached him, but he didn't turn his head around.

  "What do you think I should choose?" Sylmara said, sitting next to him. Then she hugged her knees slightly.

  Adrian kept gazing at the stars, "I would choose the gun."

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  "But... the other artifacts could help the village. One weapon with limited use won't help the village."

  "Fair. But the gun will keep you safe if you ever need it." Adrian said, then after a moment, he added. "It's a great tool for other humans."

  She stared at him. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but instead she looked down, fingers tugging absently at the frayed edge of her sleeve.

  "When the bounty hunters decide to intrude on your way of life, you will be happy you have it."

  Sylmara’s lips parted, but she looked down, eyes avoiding his.

  He heard it multiple times, from the villagers. They were afraid. With the Ghast appearing again, the bounties for the cursed will double or even triple. People always went for the highest-paying job. In this world or his, if there was money to be made, they changed their morals.

  Especially in his world. Corruption killed more than anything else. He had experienced that firsthand. There hasn't been a day without a war for the last century. People's lives were worth so little. The wars? They fought for resources. Not because there was a lack of them, but because the wrong people owned them.

  Adrian chuckled and said, "The gun."

  They settled around the fire in a loose circle. At some point, while Adrian had been staring at the stars, they had dragged over a few old trunks to use as seats. The fire crackled softly, sparks drifting into the night air, and their laughter rose with the smoke as jokes passed between them.

  Then came the elder, Kaverth.

  "Having fun?" He asked, a loose smile on his face.

  "Yeah!" Draveth exclaimed, "Come join us!"

  He settled next to the other Kaverth, the hunter. They shared some jokes and food with him before Alex said.

  "Anyway. What’s the story of the village??

  "It's a long story," Kaverth said, but his smile brightened.

  "We got all night!"

  He looked like he was in thought, "It was a small hunting cabin at first. Drevon made it himself." His expression changed for a moment, "There was a famine in our village, Ashwarren. It was in the whole region. The crop yields were bad for five years in a row, and the region was left without food."

  "Ashwarren?" Adrian asked.

  Adrian leaned closer, the firelight catching the man’s face as he spoke.

  “It was my village, before the disaster. We had to do something, or we would have starved to death. Hunting in the forest was forbidden by the council.” Kaverth’s jaw tightened, brow furrowed.

  “Forbidden?” Alex frowned. “Why?”

  The man shrugged. “Control. Fear. Who knows. But one day, Drevon and a few farmers had enough of it." Kaverth softened briefly, his gaze dropping to the fire as he remembered Drevon. "They went deep into the forest. Weeks passed, and most of us thought they were dead.

  Then—” his eyes softened, just for a moment, “—they came back. With food. Berries. Meat. They had built a cabin out there, hidden so the guards could not find them. From then on, the hunters lived out there, while others made trips back and forth, carrying food and supplies. That cabin saved the village.”

  Alex tilted her head. “So… that is how you survived the famine?”

  He nodded slowly. “Four years later, the crops recovered. Harvests were good again. We thought the worst was behind us.” His voice hardened. “Then the Ghast came.”

  Adrian glanced up. “The plague?”

  “At first, only the surrounding villages. Then it reached us.” He gave a bitter laugh. “We survived famine, only to be broken by that curse. And then we heard the whispers—bounty hunters roaming the land, killing the survivors. ‘The cursed,’ they called us. Those who lived through it fled to the cabin.”

  His gaze dropped to the flames. “From five hundred, fewer than seventy of us survived. And so… Veythral was born.”

  Silence followed. The fire cracked, filling the space.

  Adrian noticed the way he reacted when he mentioned Drevon, so he decided to ask, "Drevon. What happened to him?"

  "He... he wasn't affected by the Ghast. So he decided to stay, look out for survivors who had the deformities. To help them find Veythral and survive. He brought hundreds of survivors. He helped them, sheltered them, fed them, and led them to the village." His face darkened, as if light disappeared from his eyes. "They caught him. Caught him sheltering the cursed," his voice grew colder. "They made an example of him. They tortured him in public. Tied him like a dog. Starved him. Until finally he died."

  Adrian swallowed hard, staring into the fire. Even Alex's face darkened, his smirk gone. The hunters' faces harden. They probably knew the story, Adrian thought.

  Kaverth was silent for a bit. His expression didn't recover after that. Then he continued. "I... I wanted to help him. Not just me, all of us wanted to help him. But... we were powerless. If we did something stupid, all of our fates would've ended up the same."

  Alex said, "He didn't expose the village?"

  "No. I hoped he would. If he did, then we would have had a reason to do something. But... he never did. If we did something dumb, it would mean that he suffered... died for no reason. So we did nothing. I watched him, his last breaths."

  Kaverth’s tears fell silently, hands gripping his knees as his body leaned forward, weighed down by grief.

  "He was alone. Surrounded by people who wanted him dead. By people who didn't even see him as a human. And..." His voice caught, trembling. "I was there. I watched him suffer. I watched him break. I wanted to… I…"

  No one said a word after that. The silence stretched across the circle, broken only by the crackle of the fire.