Florisha's knees quivered.
Was it not this Cropgores that gave the villagers such trouble? The ones who took away the innocence of the ones she cared for. The one who inflicted so much pain on The Village Head's heir.
Dead! They were all dead. Not even their young ones and unborn ones were spared.
She felt a pang in her chest. Then tears uncontrollably streamed down her eyes.
Florisha is... happy....
Is she?
She did get what she wanted after all, so obviously she must be glad.
However, the tears streaming down her face said otherwise. Her mind drifted to Arnold. The way he was mutilated by one of these creatures.
Her mind went on to Eliot and James — those two young boys who lost the innocence they once had as children, all because of these very creatures. They had to face what no one their age should ever have to.
The tears didn't stop. Her legs gave out, causing her to drop to her knees as she continued to stare at the wasteland that was once the Cropgores residence.
Florisha began to blame herself. She blamed herself for letting Arnold go pee unsupervised, or even go pee at all. She should have walked him. She should've been more careful.
She blamed herself for sending Eliot and James to check on him, instead of going herself.
It was a great folly on her part and she and the ones she cared for had to pay dearly for it.
But... was this entirely her fault?
Yes, yes... she never told Arnold to drink a lot of liquids. Him having to go pee is entirely his fault, right?
And Eliot and James could have just ran away when they saw the corpse and gotten help. That's the normal thing to be done at such a situation; their choice can't be her fault.
They didn't even need to go as far as killing him even if he was in pain. They chose to do it, no one sent them too, r-right?
Yes! Yes... it's all clear now. Florisha wasn't at fault. Everything that happened was based on chance and the blunders of others, not her fault.
But even at that, the tears didn't stop. She wailed and wailed, her teary eyes becoming bloodshot.
Thump!
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up with weary eyes. Her vision was blurry from all the tears, but the green she could make out, from what she was seeing, gave the person away. It was Charles.
"Let's go." he said, carefully raising her to her feet. He helped her get on a horse and rode off with her. No resistance whatsoever came from Florisha. She was too mentally drained for that.
She took a final glance at the nest, one final tear dropping from her eyes.
* * *
Earlier, elsewhere...
Inno decided not to follow the riders, not really in the mood for any confrontation of any sort. He continued down the path he was taking.
"Whatever is going on is not my business. The last thing I want is to get involved." Inno said pushing the thoughts out of his mind.
"I wonder how many days I've spent down here. Guess it was all for nothing. I'm just glad that I could escape the Hunting so many times. At this point, I don't even want to go back to the surface." Inno lightly chuckled. He knew it was futile though; they will eventually find him here. They always do; hence, he couldn't truly escape.
He still had a chance. If they were to come down here, they will be at a disadvantage because of the terrain. Inno had already spent days here, plus he was master at adapting. Attacking him here would mean courting death. They literally will be offering themselves as lambs for a slaughter.
RUMBLE!! RUMBLE!!
After a while of walking, the tunnel floors trembled a little and the sound of hoofs galloping sounded in the distance.
"It seems like they are returning." Inno climbed to a top corner of the tunnel watching carefully as the horses, with there riders, made their way through the tunnel with the same coordination they had earlier.
"I wonder what they went to do there. They must have had a battle judging by the missing horses." Inno noticed that some horses were having two to three riders therefore coming to that conclusion.
Eventually, the riders with their horses went out of view.
"Where is he?" Inno noticed the green robed man, Charles, wasn't amongst the riders, neither at the forefront nor the rear. He was conspicuously absent.
Inno didn't let it bother him too much. Whatever Charles decides to involve himself in wasn't any of his business. He continued on his way, contemplating where to stay and how he will get food. Though he wouldn't die without it, starvation isn't a good feeling.
Inno looked around the area. He checked the soil, trying to find a moderately dry place with only a little moisture content in the soil. That place would be where he will sleep and store food if he really wants to stay down here.
Clop! Clop! Clop!!
After a while, Inno heard sounds of a horse galloping.
"Hmmm...", Inno raised an eyebrow. He decided to be extra careful this time around. He maneuvered his way in the tunnel getting in a position that made him practically invisible, as he hid behind a large crevice in the tunnel wall, at least to the mortal eye.
"It might be a stray horse. I'm really hungry. I won't mind a stallion. A mare is good too." Inno readied himself to pounce at the unsuspecting horse. "Don't blame me horsie. It's just the rule of life: eat or be eaten." Inno said with a grim tone. He peeked out a little waiting for the horse to come into view.
The horse emerged: a white mare, tall and lean. She bore two people on her back; Charles and Florisha.
Inno halted, retreating into the hidden spot he had assumed.
The horse, with the two people, carried on its way.
'Why are they together? Did they make an agreement or something?' Inno questioned inwardly surprised.
'Didn't she want to fight those Cropgores? Did she convince this green-robed freak to fight it. He's immortal like me so it will be a logical conclusion.' Inno contemplated. As well as immortal, the Council members are ridiculously strong .
'Wait a minute, those riders from before were with Charles.... If I remember correctly, that's the Council's army. The last time they used it was a long time ago. No wonder I didn't realize.' Inno came to a realization.
'But wait, that means...' Inno stared in the direction the horse and its two riders came out from.
Charles raised an eyebrow. He turned and looked in Inno direction.
Inno's breath hitched. 'No way he saw me.' Inno froze, staying completely still.
Charles squinted sending a shiver down Inno's spine.
"Hmph!" He scoffed lightly as he turned away. He and Florisha, with the horse, went out of view.
After waiting a moment, he sped out into the direction they were coming from following the hoof prints.
He eventually came back to where he and Florisha initially went to: the Cropgores' nest.
The place was a bloody mess. Every being had been brought to waste, the corpses already rotting away.
The sight before him shocked him to his core. He was surprised, yes, but not too surprised, This wasn't the first time the Council used their White Warriors neither was it the second. He was more surprised of the fact that the Council went through such length for Florisha.
Inno stared at the top of the tunnel recalling something that made him really understand the might of the Council and its army....