The white sand rose and covered their vision. Then suddenly they felt a tug and the air around them changed. It was no longer the smell of potential mold sprouting at the moist corner rather a dropping breeze carrying the smell of the lush fauna that covered the land. It had suddenly gotten colder and more humid like what all the winds were doing was bombarding down on them.
The sand slowly dropped revealing the new area they were in. Cloudy, dark clouds, and slightly noisy, the village nested in the middle of an orchard came to sight.
"Welcome children. This is Gart village." Said the old lady standing just at the edge of the white sand box.
Lozo was last to come out of the white sand coffin. As his eyes met the dark clouds clearing in the sky, all he could do was spit.
"You should have closed your mouth." Karin commented. She was standing at the far end with Kento between him and her. But even with that distance Lozo could feel her judgement.
Lozo had never teleported before… well not while conscious. And he had never fathomed that one could using sand. Hence just before the teleportation from the white sand ack in the village, just as the sand was rising and covering their bodies, Lozo kept calling out.
"What does he mean by don't die?"
No one could hear him off course but that didn't stop him, a goodbye ending with the words die is not a pleasant farewell. His calls continued and soon his mouth was filled with white sand just like the sand box they were standing in.
Lozo's spitting continued not even noticing the welcome from the smiling old lady and the two guard standing behind her.
Just then he felt a nudge. It was from Kento and he looked quite different from before.
He signaled with his head pointing to the old lady trying to welcome them over the sound of him spitting out sand. Immediately Lozo stopped.
"One two three… four. I had been told there would be three of you." She said struggling to see. She reached into her pockets and pulled out dark green glasses.
At first her eyes were small, hidden in their sockets like they were frightened by the light. But that fear was immediately fanned away. The glasses she wore must have been magnifying glass, just by the way they zoomed out her graying eyes.
"Something came up at the last minute." Karin explained giving a side eye to Cilia.
"Not a matter darling. The more the merrier. My name is Metti but most of the young ones call me granny Mett."
Her stature was that of an old woman. Short with an arching back covered by a lot of clothes, in this case dark green woolen shawls that looked cozy enough to keep the cold out from her shriveling pale skin . A wooden stick in hand to help with her motion and also due to her clattering knees from just standing still. From earlier, her green glasses that brought out her aged and graying eyes. And finally, was the neatly flowing lime green hair with slivers of dark brown and at the roots gray hair.
Karin. Kento. Lozo. Cilia.
They each said their names.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be you corresponded for this mission." Granny Met said in her slow descending voice.
***
The village was quite empty on second glance, the noise just a facade. It was simple as could be with at most five cabins, old with vines and mushrooms growing to the side. The five cabins were spaced out unevenly like they had been set up randomly with zero care for village structure. At the middle of the village and where Lozo and the other's stood was the white sand box, guarded by smooth white rocks. The village had no fences or barrier but just open as it stretched into the large orchard farms that graced the air with fragrance. This was the Harmatia sect of Gart village.
Quite nice compared to the one back at Himo. Lozo thought.
"Thanks for having us." Karin, Kento and Cilia said taking a bow of gratitude.
Lozo was the only one left standing. He looked at the three in wonder. Just then he felt another nudge.
It was Cilia this time around. She was ushering his to follow in accord and bow in gratitude.
"Thanks for having us." Lozo quickly joined.
Granny Met smiled. "No need for the formality. You are here to have fun. It is a festival you know."
The four raised their heads all thinking of the same thing. Fun?
"Well then let's not keep you in the sand for any longer. Come on we'll show you to your cabin." Granny Met said turning to lead the way.
But something about the two guards behind her told Lozo that their stay here was only welcomed by only one person. Maybe it was the quiver in their eyes the moment she mentioned cabin.
"Let us handle it. "One of the guards said.
"Yeah, you've done enough for today. We'll handle the rest."
Granny Met came to a sudden stop.
"I'm not that frail you two. I can still go through the day without needing to take a break. Also…" her voice dropped from her previous kind demeanor. "It seems you two have forgotten how to be hospitable. I'm just here to remind you."
"Now then follow me."
The two guards retreated in their attempt. They hang back, following Granny like two disciplined shadows. Lozo and the other's followed trying to understand the reason for the shaky lips of the two guards.
…
The two strolling behind Granny Met as they paraded through the moist grounds of the Harmatia weren't actually guards. The reason why Lozo assumed they were was the stern looks on their faces coupled with the dense and disciplined stance he had first seen them in. A few factors betrayed them.
One was their clothes. In the books he had spent time scheming through during his time in the orphanage had shown guards to be in defensive clothes. Gambeson armor coupled with a padded, quilted jacket. Or even at the least a leather breastplate. But no. the two wore simple and faded farmer's overall with white t-shirts underneath. The overalls were brown in color and most importantly muddy. Their boots were less shelters from mud and rather haulers of it, barely distinguishable from one another.
The final thing were the stray hats that shielded them from… nothing. Up in the sky the sun was barely visible thanks to the dark cloud formations. The hats were possibly there just for the aesthetic of them been born and raised by a farm.
A few seconds later the group arrived to one of the cabins.
"Is this empty?" Granny Met asked.
The two nodded, finally stopping the quest for a temporary real estate.
"That's good. This is going to be theirs. Prepare it for them." She said. The two guards nodded and shot into the cabin.
"Those two." She said shaking her head. "They underestimate me. Don't they know I've done this for over fifty years. Children these days."
"Now then. I hope you four enjoy your stay and make sure you don't the apple pies. Everyone who comes here tries the pies."
They each nodded.
"One final thing. In your stay here please make sure to keep out of the forest. Its no place for children or anyone at that. So, promise to stay far away."
Just as Karin was about to respond Granny Met suddenly fell to the ground. An insidious cough followed relentlessly pushing on her lungs.
"Granny Metti!!" two loud shouts called from the cabin. Just as sudden the two guards came out each with a worried look in their eyes.
"Carry her!!" One of them shouted.
"What's wrong with her?" Karin asked but was met by a shove to the side.
"It doesn't concern you. Just do as you are told." The other guard said throwing a brown rag at Lozo.
In a split the two rushed away with the old woman. Her coughs were still audible even though they had far disappeared past the other cabins.
"What's wrong with them?" Karin asked wiping off the dirt print on her clothes.
A sudden wind blew from the north. It ruptured bringing a different shade of air and rushing it right through the sect. Lozo gazed around and soon his wandering eyes rested on the dark clouds forming and coming from the north.
"Is it me or is there something wrong with this place." He asked.
Kento and the others joined him in gazing at the advancing dark clouds.
"Glad I'm not the only one who felt it." Kento said, fixing the ring on his index finger. "And those clouds…"
"Yeah…" Karin and Cilia joined but immediately glared at one another, Karin's glare was more intense.
"They are not clouds are they." Kento added.
Lozo's eyes narrowed as the four gazed at the advancing spectacle from the north. It was dark and had almost devoured the whole sun. Slowly it advanced closer and into the minds of the four.
"Yeah, I know. It almost looks like… smoke."