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The Tales of the Scarlet Suns - Ch 6: Doladriand, the Vermilion Village

As the second sun peeked over the mountainside, Irving was laying under the three girls who had kept him company during the night, snoozing happily as the sunlight hit his face and he grunted, "Five more minutes." Chae and Naphalee were purring happily as they laid close to him, but his sister Tavia was yawning as she sat up and stretched, "Come on, sleepyheads. Time to wake up."

Irving grunted again before he opened his eyes and watched his sister putting on her clothes, smiling before kissing the two girls near him, "Wake up, kittens." They purred and opened their eyes, especially when Naphalee's loyal steed Corinth gently pushed her back with his snout, forcing her to wake up as she giggled, "Mhm, unfair. I got two guys forcing me to wake up." Irving gave a chuckle before looking at Tavia, "Got any food?" Tavia smiled, "Yes, while you three were sleeping, I didn't only sat and watching for danger, I also prepared a trap which could provide us with a good breakfast. I'll check on it."

As Tavia left to check on the trap, the others had quickly put on their clothes and armor, so as Tavia came back, they all sat ready around the campfire when she held up what seemed to be a dead scorpion the size of half her body, "Who is ready to eat?" Chae and Naphalee couldn't believe their eyes, but the most shocked was Irving, "What is that? It looks dangerous." Tavia giggled, "Just a nala crag emperor. They are poisonous, but the heat from the fire will cause the toxin to be broken apart and the poison gland becomes a superb fluid reserve."

No one questioned her knowledge and let her set the scorpion over the campfire to roast it nicely and once it ready, she drew her sword and cut along the back to reveal the cooked, juicy flesh underneath and in front of the others she skinned it and chopped up the flesh into tiny pieces and rolled it all into round balls before taking what seemed to be the poison gland and emptied it into a pot before letting it boil up and placed the scorpid meatballs into the boiling liquid for a few minutes before taking them out and serving, "And that is how you make a meal out of it."

Her words fell on deaf ears when Irving, Chae and Naphalee was already digging into the meal and seemed rather delighted by the taste, especially Irving, who was losing control over his tail as it wagged to the sides rapidly, "Ohhh, this is so delicious! How did you know that it would work?" Tavia giggled, "I did come upon this when I traveled to Doladriand when running away from the village." Irving knew it wasn't a topic to discuss, so the breakfast was the silencer of further talk. Once the plates were empty, Tavia gave them and the pot a good wash before they stood up and Naphalee climbed onto Corinth's back before petting his mane as they continued their journey towards the northwest.

As they arrived at what seemed to be a mountain pass leading to Doladriand, two guards with massive shields approached them, "Halt! State your name, authority and reason for coming here!" Tavia stopped the others and approached before pushing the hair aside to look at the guards, "Tavia Tohka, former stable hand, now one of the three protectors of Irving Tohka, the leader of Ampwick." The guards began to laugh, "You are a protector? Your sword looks like it wouldn't even cut the hair on your head. Run along, little girl and do not bother us." Irving's face went completely red by their disrespect and he approached both of the guards, "Irving Tohka, vice captain of the Ampwick Guardsmen, the Darklight of the Nightclaws, leader of Ampwick and chosen by Garazir of the Eight Winds to carry his blade Átta Vindr Kló, as well as Boixar of the Depths, the father of his wife Bafai of the Tidals."

To make his point clear, Irving grabbed the hilt on his left side and unsheathed the mighty greatsword as the winds gathered around him and the guards slowly strapped the shields onto their backs, "What brings you here then, Lord Tohka?" Irving sheathed the greatsword, "We are here to investigate a rumor of a free running demon, or half demon. The information was unclear." The guards nodded before moving aside, "You may pass. Take the mountain road to the north and you will avoid the wildlife. May the ground remain steady as you walk." Irving bowed deeply before he walked through the pass and into the tunnel, followed by Tavia, Chae and Naphalee. Irving could hear one of the guards say to the other one, "He is lucky. Just ladies following him."

The light on the other end of the tunnel was welcoming after the rather long walk through the darkness and soon they could see the mountain road the guards had told them to follow and then the normal road leading down into the woods they had walked around to get there, "This view is breathtaking, right girls?" Irving said as they looked at the wilderness just as they took onto the mountain road and Chae spoke up, "Everything we've seen so far has been nothing but beautiful. It is hard to think that some creatures would think of ruining it." Naphalee nodded, "That is why we are here now."

The mountain road seemed to never end as they walked, but as the sun stood high in the sky, they could see a village where the water seemed to be colored a hue between orange and red, Tavia smiled, "Welcome to Doladriand, the vermilion village." Irving didn't believe his eyes as the village seemed so much different than Ampwick, mostly as it seemed to be double the size of Ampwick, "How come the water is colored so differently?" Chae asked as Tavia answered quickly, "Doladriand is a mining and trade village. They mine a metal here called cinnoanium. It is red in color and easily reacts with elemental affinities. The mining happens in an underwater mine, so the water reacts with the metal and becomes vermilion in color."

Chae was impressed by the information and when they reached the gate to Doladriand, a lone guard stood there, his eyes focusing on them before he sheathed his sword, "Greetings travelers. Are you here to trade?" Tavia shook her head, "No, we are here to investigate the demon or half demon business you have here." The guard looked at Tavia before she bowed, "Oh, I am sorry. I am Tavia Tohka. I am one of the three protectors and sister of Irving Tohka, the village leader from Ampwick." The guard looked at Irving and then nodded, "Very well, but no shady business. We got enough of it with someone running around and slaying traders and now also a demon running rabid."

As the guard stepped aside, they entered and Irving's felt his greatswords reacting to something and unsheathed them both, noticing the winds around Átta Vindr Kló had grown stronger when pointed towards the trading district while the other greatsword had two of the four markings glowing, making him look confused by this, "What is going on?" Tavia, Chae and Naphalee looked at the blades before the markings began to glow even more as a person ran towards them on all four and took a swift left before wind gathered around it and like a speeding hurricane it disappeared and the markings stopped glowing, "What was all that about?"

The girls couldn't answer and Irving sighed, "Lets just go and check what Átta is reacting to." Tavia and Chae were already moving towards it as Naphalee took Corinth to the stable and gave the stable hand, a young collie, a gold coin before she caught up to others and got to witness how the winds now gathered around Irving and the blade flew around him, trying to find the source until a cloaked rat jumped from a roof and slammed Naphalee down to the ground before rolling off her and running into an alley as Átta was pointing at it and soon Tavia and Irving took up the chase while Chae helped Naphalee up from the ground, "Now that was bad luck."

The rat hissed as it jumped against a wall and swiftly moved as if it had no gravity at all, making it hard for Irving to focus, but not fast enough for Tavia to hit it in the back with a water whip, sending it straight into a wall before water grabbed the rat by the throat and Tavia caught up to it, "Well now. You certainly are in a hurry. What do you have to say for yourself, Lorna?" The rat looked up at her before the jaw opened up in shock, "T-Tavia. Is that you?" Irving caught up and looked confused, "Sis? Do you know this one?" Tavia sighed, "It is a long story, brother. A long story."

To be continued in chapter 7: The Death Contract.