Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

"So…..you are leaving the village?"

When Lee conveyed his wish to leave the village with An, Paulo and his wife were surprised. D advised him to give an adequate explanation, so he introduced the issue of the Mo family. He gave a short description on the Mo family's brutality and how An barely escaped the facility. Paulo and his wife felt heavy-heartedness as the narration neared the end. A commiseration sprang up in their hearts as Mrs. Paulo stood up, walked and sat near An and hugged her. The hug was unexpected, but An found it heartwarming.

Paulo stood up from the couch and walked towards Lee. He involuntarily stood as a response and Paulo embraced him.

"Son, I am proud of you. As a husband, you are doing your best to support her, help her and make her feel secure. I am truly happy to have met you!"

Those words touched Lee's heart. Lee found a subtle affinity from old man Paulo. Without Lee's consent, his arms went up and hugged back.

*gasp*

Mrs. Paulo gave out a gasp in surprise and awe. It was loud and brought the attention. Even An loosened her arms and glanced at her.

"Is that a Filial Branding?!"

Lee immediately remembered about the existence of the Filial Brand from last night. Paulo was very amazed to here that rare term. He turned around to check Lee's hand and was more astonished. Paulo had a deep frown when he glanced at An's hand.

"I don't remember seeing this in your hand."

Paulo sounded like a father who just caught his son having an unfamiliar tattoo on him. Lee almost stuttered for answer, when D gave a foolproof lie to spit out.

"You might not have noticed them. We were pronounced husband and wife when we were in Lorin."

"Oh….that was the case. Silly me! I tend to forgot the minute details."

Paulo gave a short laugh and beamed at them. Lee and An felt relieved as the story fooled the old couple and save them from further questioning.

"We would like to depart before the village gets into full swing. I would like to see the hobgoblins and give a quick word. They will explain the intention of our journey to the fellow men and women."

"So be it."

Paulo replied and Lee gave a quick nod before walking to the door with An. Fero was waiting outside like a cannon locked and loaded for action. He jumped up to Lee and expressed his greetings. The antelope laid peacefully on the courtyard. It's beauty sleep was ruined by Fero's joyful giggling. It got up on its feet and sluggishly walked to An. She, in return, rubbed its forehead and caresses it's little stature gladly.

Light barely broke past the humongous boulders in a distance. The darkness was receeding at an extremely slow rate, but Lee had no trouble with vision. His adaptive night-vision, as he wished to be, gave him unwanted difficulty in perceiveing the daylight around him.

"We will walk you to the gate."

Paulo sounded his wish to accompany them to the village gate. His mistress wanted to, but he refrained her as tears were a certain occurrence whenever two females depart. He immediately walked in front of Lee, which the lovebirds took as their cue to follow. The trio moved towards the doctor's humble home.

*knock knock*

Doctor, who was eager gulp down the warm tea was stopped by a pair of knocking on the door. He immediately walked towards the door as any delay to do so would usually result in an annoying combo of knocks.

The door was opened and Paulo gave a wide grin at the doctor. Before doctor could sound his annoyed tone at the old man, the quicker village head began to give a precise and concise explanation for why they were here. The doctor glanced at Lee's palm and An's face at respective points of the story's progression.

"I will call them."

The annoyed countenance faded as a neutral face covered doctor. He disappeared and seconds later, one of the hobgoblins came to the door. He was delighted and confused to see Lee at such an early time. Lee took the hobgoblin from the doorstep and moved a little away. Lee concisely conveyed some basic and important advices regarding the further days ahead. Lee and the hobgoblin came back to the door and Lee asked him to let everyone know that he will be back within no time. He gladly nodded in response.

The trio left the doctor's home and headed to the gate. Fero and the antelope was not concerned by the chillness in the air, but old Paulo was. Lee noticed him rubbing his hands and decided to speed things up.

"I thank you for giving us space to rest. After completing the task, we hope to return as soon as possible."

An took initiative to thank Paulo. He smiled in return and replied

"It has been a pleasure to meet you both. Stay lovely and lively!"

Lee nodded with vigour as he observed the old man's words. Lee took hold of An's palm and thanked once more before walking away. Lee found the old man going back inside, as he looked over his shoulder. Those old palms were rapidly rubbing each other.

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6 A.M.

15045 Essence harvested.

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The destination was the continent of Intellus. Lee and his 'family' went around the village and reached the border of Silentwood Forest. Lee had already briefed his meeting with Rubella to An.

The eerie feeling that arose from the forest was enough to skip a man's heartbeat. Fero felt a strange disagreement from the woods. His posture changed as he took a step forward with fangs exposed. Lee and An felt an unreasonable hostility from the forest. Lee commanded Fero, An and the antelope to back off as he felt something amiss. From the Map, he derived that there are many hostile beings inside the forest and Ruella is on the offense while defending a certain spot.

"There are hostile entities inside the forest. Looks like Ruella is having some quality time with her visitors."

What Lee said was clear to An and Fero. They nodded in unison. Fero retracted his sharp gazes while stepping backward.

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7 A.M.

15345 Essence harvested.

=====

"Why don't we give a hand?!"

An sounded her honest opinion as her left palm rested on the pommel of the sword.

"We can, but we will be considered hostile if we are to enter now!"

"No, not like that. Use your archery skills."

*gasp*

[Lee, this is where you are supposed to get embarrassed!]

'Shut up!'

Lee completely forgot about his archery skills. In a second, the bow came out. Lee raised the bow to the sky, but his focus was on the 28 red dots in the forest.

*swish*

The bowstring was pulled back and released. Lee glanced at the arrow that was shot into the sky like a cannonball. It took its sweet time to correct and aim onto the first target.

Inside the forest.

Ruella was attacking and keeping the bandits at bay. Her movements always centered around a specific spot. It was like she was chained to that particular place.

A certain artificial chemical had its scent in the air. Ruella was having a hard time dealing with the substance and bandits simultaneously. The chemical had a faint corrosive effect, and was slightly affecting the nearby plant life.

A turquoise colored egg with bright red spots on it, sat on a tree stump covered with vines. The smoothness of the eggshell rivalled a polished marble stone. Due to its significantly larger size, many would find it as a beautiful sculpture out of marble. It was so big that an adult human would have trouble holding it in his/her hands. Hence, it was impossible for that egg to stay hidden in a forest!

One of the bandits sneaked past Ruella's attacks and came close to the egg. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the filthy hands only inches away from the eggshell. A veil of hopelessness covered her being.

*swish*

Who would have expected that an arrow would pin the bandit to the ground with bone-crushing strength! The arrow Lee shot upward came down with such momentum, that the bandit was instantly flattened on the ground. It was not a pinpoint weapon anymore!

"Get the egg!!"

The bandit leader yelled and the accomplices recovered their composure. They did not care for the dead, neither the lesson they left. Another bandit slipped past Ruella, but the arrow came down on his head. The bandit fell dead as the arrow had its head reaching down the bandit's neck!

Now…...the bandits felt something amiss. The cloud that veiled their minds were lifted and they saw two of their brethren dead. The leader did not yell, but brandished his sword and ran at Ruella like obtaining the egg was the last thing he cared. Ruella waved her hands and many vines came out of the earth and strangled the enemy.

The bandits were confused and frozen like an icicle. All they remember is having a glimpse of the fabulous egg. When they came to realise what was going on, they had already lost two of their companions and their leader. An eerie feeling crept up on them as they tried to back off in fear.

When Ruella was recovering from the disorientation the chemical induced, she sensed something locking onto her position like a predator. She glanced around and took guard in the north direction.

A gust of wind blew and the bandits began to disappear, one by one. Ruella was in a daze, and hence moved towards the egg to protect it. The figure that shuttled around her like a ping pong ball came to a halt after the bandits were wiped clean.

The face of Lee was unrecognisable to Ruella. But she picked up the familiarity in his being. She was still not ready to put down her guard. Lee raised his hands and showed no signs of hostility.

"Is it that hard to remember me, Ruella?"

Lee asked in a teasing manner. Her eyes went wide in recognition of Lee's voice. Never was she expecting Lee to be so physically distinct and indistinguishable.

"Lee….? Wait, what is with your appearance? You have changed greatly."

A series of exchanges took place as An, Fero and the antelope came tracking Lee's scent. Lee, who was supposed to go back and bring them with him, was lost in the conversation. He had an intense urge to facepalm!

Ruella took stance as the trio emerged from the woods.

"Ruella, she is my wife, An. That is Fero, a Split-jaw Hyena and that is her pet antelope."

Lee stated the facts in an instant as he walked to his four-legged friend. Ruella was still confused by the events turning out in a way that had no possibility of occurrence. Lee found her countenance complex, and thus decided to narrate from the beginning!