It was not long until the glow of torchlight could be seen coming through the trees. Soon, the village mob reached where the three women sat. The leader of the group halted and peered through the flickering light to try to discern who was in front of him. After a moment, he stepped back.
“{{So, it’s you again. What are you doing here?}}” he demanded.
“{{Apparently, we happen to be going the same direction,}}” Eris replied.
“{{Where’s the man who was with you before?}}”
“{{He had some business to attend to. He’ll be back shortly.}}”
The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “{{I don’t believe you. You’re protecting that cat. Why else would you refuse to assist us, then beat us here, hot on that demon’s trail? Fine. We’ll kill you, too.}}”
Eris’ face flashed rage, then went emotionless as she regained control. “{{Look at me.}}” she demanded of the man.
“{{Why should…}}” the man’s sentence faded off as he made eye contact with Eris. He suddenly seemed much more passive.
“{{What is your name, oh leader of the mob?}}” Eris questioned him.
“{{My, my name? It’s Osric, Sir.}}”
“{{Osric. I will remember that. Now go. Leave this place, the cat shall be dealt with accordingly.}}”
“{{But…}}”
“{{I said go!”}}
“{{Y… yes Sir!}}”
The man quickly turned back to the group, his face white as a ghost.
“{{Osric! Are you alright? What happened?}}” someone asked him. He just shook his head, as if in a daze.
“{{C’mon. It’s time to leave. They have everything under control.}}” Osric stated, making his way back through the crowd, and along the path from which they’d come. The person that had questioned Osric turned angrily toward Eris.
“{{What did you do to him??}}”
“{{Absolutely nothing permanent, I assure you.}}” Eris replied, meeting the man’s eyes. The man opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again, as if he had forgotten what he was going to say. Eris looked at the people in the crowd, meeting each of their eyes individually. At last, she spoke again. “{{I think it’s time for all of you to go now. We will find the child’s murderer, I guarantee you, and bring them before you for justice. But you have families at home, and I think it best that you return to them now.}}” The people hesitated a moment, then slowly began to disperse back the way they had come. Once they were all gone, Eris let out a relieved breath, and sat back down on the rock, looking completely drained.
“Eris! Are you okay?” Mars asked her.
Eris looked up, a little unfocused. “Hm? Oh, yes. I’ll be fine. That was just rather tiring. It’s very difficult to create strong illusions in many minds with only dim light to see them by. After I rest I’ll be okay.”
“But, what did you do?” RK questioned.
“I made them believe we were part of Veymos’ elite task force. Ironic, since that is what I’ve been running away from, but effective.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That we would find the child’s killer and bring them to the village for justice, basically. And we will find the murderer,” she stated, her face betraying a flash of rage, which she quickly masked again.
Mars and RK were silent a moment, then moved over to where Eris was and sat on the ground, leaning against the rock on either side of her. “Thanks, Eris,” RK said.
“For what?” Eris asked her.
“For savin’ our asses there. We woulda been mincemeat on our own with those villagers. I mean, there are only so many people I can beat down at one time.”
“’Tis true,” Mars agreed. “I’ve seen her do it. It’s not pretty. And even I wouldn’t have been able to take them all. So, thank you.”
Eris smiled at Mars and RK’s bravado, then replied, “You are both welcome. I told you I would make sure you stayed safe. Now, we just have to wait for Deygo to return. You should get some sleep, the sun will be up in a few hours, and there’s no telling what tomorrow will bring.”
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