Village Head's Debauchery

Seig abruptly paused, coughing slightly as he turned his attention towards Evadne. "Can you remind me what the unspoken rule says? I seem to have forgotten it," he asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Are you serious, Captain?" Evadne responded, arching a brow.

Seig cleared his throat lightly as he nodded. "It's an unspoken rule, so how am I supposed to fully remember its details if no one speaks about it?" he responded.

Evadne shook her head in response and sighed lightly. "Listen closely then, Captain, because I won't be repeating myself again. The unspoken rule states that while it is permissible to burn Vylkr vines, it must not be undertaken en masse without having a reliable method to deal with the Vylkr-infested fumes that result from the burning process. If a race proceeds with burning the Vylkr vines without adequate means to manage the fumes, they do so at their own peril," she responded.

Seig nodded.

"Captain, what do we do if they cannot deal with the catastrophe?" Evadne suddenly asked, concern etched on her expression.

"Since we have already decided to call this place our new home, we'll do whatever we can to help them," Seig responded.

"And if we are unsuccessful?" Evadne persisted.

Seig remained silent. He didn't see the need to respond to such a question when she already knew the answer to what she was asking for.

Evadne frowned and refocused on the dense Vylkr-infested fumes rising into the sky.

…........

Patriarch Rylan residence

The Four-eared elves' gods chosen had already noticed the abnormality. They stared toward the Vylkr-infested smoke before they realized it was rising all around the Third border city walls into the clouds.

"What in the gods' name are they doing?" Leona spoke, her voice tinged with astonishment.

"Father, we need to warn them before it's too late," Isadora said, shifting her attention towards Patriarch Rylan.

Leona, Lyndon, and the other gods' chosens agreed with their words.

"It's too late to warn them; we can only help them understand what transpires after this. Also, if I personally deliver this information to the Village Chief, it might help ease the strain on your relationship," Patriarch Rylan responded.

Since arriving here, their relationship with the Village seemed to deteriorate daily. Now, it felt like they were just one mistake away from being thrown out of the Village, so their actions needed to be well-calculated and reversed.

However, it seemed like they had planned to burn the whole dead forest at once, so he agreed to inform the Village about the dangers of burning such a large quantity of Vylkr vines without a proper safety method.

Thankfully, they didn't get into trouble for harming the Pixies, as they weren't the ones responsible for that incident.

"Then I'll come with you, Father," Isadora responded.

She saw this as an opportunity to seek Orion's favour and plead with him on behalf of Flintor and the others. Since the Village Chief had delayed their punishment until his arrival, she figured if they had someone like Orion on their side, along with his forgiveness, then they wouldn't need to worry about the Village Chief because it seemed that the Village Chief seemed to respect Orion's decisions more rather with it being the other way around.

"No, I think I should go alone," Patriarch Rylan responded, shaking his head in disagreement.

"I agree with Princess Isadora, Patriarch. It wouldn't be appropriate for your image to go alone. Given our current situation, either the Princess or the Prince should accompany you," Leona chimed in, agreeing with Isadora's sentiments.

Though they weren't in a position to command the same respect as Patriarch Rylan during his past trades with the Village, it didn't mean he had to tarnish their image because of their current predicament.

As the face of the Four-eared elves, his treatment would influence how their entire race would be regarded. Seeing the nods of agreement on their faces, Patriarch Rylan reluctantly relented.

"Okay, Isadora will accompany me to the Village Chief," Patriarch Rylan responded. How about you, Lyndon? Do you want to come with us?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the startled Lyndon.

Clearing his dry throat, Lyndon replied, "I think it's best if someone stays here to keep watch and prevent a repeat of the previous incident."

Observing Lyndon's nervous expression, Leona chuckled briefly before swiftly regaining her composure. "Don't worry, Patriarch. We'll do our best to protect everyone and prevent a repeat of what happened before," she assured, her tone slightly serious.

Patriarch Rylan nodded in understanding and redirected his focus to Isadora. "Go and prepare, then. We need to meet with them immediately," he instructed.

…..........

Second Border City

Orion arrived at the Healers' Association headquarters branch of the Second Border City with the Village Chief and Stronghold Leader Zogar to visit Seraphina and witness her breakthrough on the potential four-star Vylkr vines findings, as Greta had requested him to do after he finished his meeting with the Village Chief.

That was why the Village Chief and Stronghold Leader Zogar had accompanied him.

Stronghold Leader Seth had stayed behind to oversee the molten magma as it smothered the dead forest and to create more if necessary.

As they entered through the front door, a receptionist promptly greeted them and led them toward Seraphina's workplace.

Upon their arrival, the receptionist knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a voice resounded from within.

The receptionist opened the door and stepped to the side, gesturing for them to enter.

Orion and the others nodded and stepped inside while the receptionist closed the door behind them.

They were immediately greeted by four familiar figures, all of whom were standing around a long rectangular table. They were the former Prismerions Healer Council members, and now heads of various Healers Association branches scattered all over Orion's cities.

"Mr Orion!"

"Village Chief!"

"Stronghold Leader Zogar!"

The heads of the Healers Association branches greeted them immediately upon noticing their presence.

Orion, the Village Chief, and Stronghold Leader Zogar all reciprocated their greetings.

"We were already finished and were just planning to leave," Thoren said. "Seraphina will explain everything to you."

They had arrived early that morning to finish their work after receiving important information that Orion had returned from his significant meeting. They felt mentally strained and wanted to return to their workplace before resuming their duties.