Rustic town, huh? Kital had no idea where that was, but she liked the sound of it already. The Matsuba glanced up at her friend, perched up on their new companion's shoulders, and gave her a small nod, then fell in dutifully behind him. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she glanced this way and that, taking in the sights of her first real journey inland.<br/><br/>There was a whole new world out there to explore, and Kital couldn't wait to see more of it. She didn't look back.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px">The Road to Rustic Town<br/>
A Short Time Later</span><br/>​</div><span style="font-size: 15px">"Please. We don't have any money. We barely even have enough food for ourselves. We're of no interest to you. Please, I beg you. Let us go."<br/>
<br/>
The older man did his best to stay calm, but he couldn't keep his voice from wavering as he made his pleas. The young woman standing behind him shook slightly, her knuckles white as she clutched at the hem of her home-spun tunic. Their belongings lay scattered across the road, their cart overturned, one wheel spinning uselessly in the air. The man before them was unmoved by his words; he waved a lazy hand in the air, and let out a carefree chuckle.<br/>
<br/>
"You're lucky we're all you ran into, old man. There's a lot worse than us out here, you know." The man paced casually back and forth as he spoke, a predatory grin on his face that called to mind some kind of hunting dog or hyena. He came to a stop by the floating, winged eyeball that was watching over the terrified pair, and let his arm rest atop its bulk. The eye's gaze flicked up towards him for a moment, then back to its prisoners. "Seriously. What kind of idiots travel without any protection these days?"<br/>
<br/>
The man's other hand rested on a leather-bound tome, strapped to his side. He was one of three attackers, each dressed in ragged-looking leathery hides and wearing a single, sharp tooth on a cord string as a necklace. The second attacker was a sharp eyed woman with short, dark hair, armed with a bow and standing watch a few meters down the road. The third was a bulkier man, holding a long, nasty-looking knife in one hand while he picked through the scattered belongings.<br/>
<br/>
"I think he's telling the truth, Jed," he called out, a frown on his face. "Nothing much here worth a damn. Oh! Wait, what's this?"<br/>
<br/>
The man sheathed his knife at his side - where a second, similar weapon was already in place - and bent for a moment to shift a heavy fur blanket. When he stood, he held spread in his hands a lacy, white dress. "Hey, Keral," he called back down the road to their female companion, and waved with the arm of the dress. "You lookin' to get married any time soon?"<br/>
<br/>
The archer's only response was a rude gesture, but the exchange drew a cry from the shaking young woman. "Please, be careful with that!" She regretted it almost immediately, as her words drew the man's attention. He tossed the dress carelessly to one side, and took a few threatening steps in her direction.<br/>
<br/>
"What about her?" He asked, glancing for a moment to Jed, the man with the tome. "She looks valuable, right? Or at least like she'd be a bit of fun."<br/>
<br/>
A lecherous grin replaced his frown, and the older man grew pale. The young woman let out a sharp scream. The sound startled a nearby flock of birds into flight, and echoed, down the road, to reach the ears of a mercenary and his two new companions.<br/>
<br/>
"Idiot." The archer, Keral, turned her back on the road and rejoined her companions with a few quick strides. She slapped the bulky man in the shoulder with the back of her hand, then jerked her head back down the road. "You miss the boss' attention that much already? Go stand watch; you keep scaring her like that, and who knows what she'll bring down on us."</span>