Bumping against heads. Elbow smacking against his ribs, and knees shooting straight into his stomach, wasn''t exactly Ren''s idea of a gesture of romantic affection.


    Still, he kept his protest and hands to himself. Least he wanted his carefully built rtionship with Evie turned to dust at an idental slip of a hand. Intentional or not, that was all it would take to ruin it.


    Until the trembling eventually ceased and the earthquake settled, Ren and Evie caught their breath, both rubbing the injured part of their body.


    When they opened their eyes, their faces were just a breath away. The warmth of the first sunlight danced on Evie''s lips, and Ren gulped even if he couldn''t see her face.


    He quickly pushed her away from him by the shoulder and looked to the side. "Get off."


    "Agh . . . sorry." Evie''s voice was dead while her face was still white as paper. Though her heart was pumping more than necessary, and she was sure that it wasn''t because of the recent quakes.


    For some reason, she was reminded of the scene in Vulcan''s Cave where she also fell on top of the Ren she knew. He also said the same thing in the same voice. The only difference was . . . she couldn''t see his face to know if he was the Ren now.


    At the side, Ragnar helped Evie to her feet while looking at Ren with a knowing face. He didn''t understand why gravity sided with him. The three of them were side by side, but why only he was tossed away from their location?


    "What?" Ren asked Ragnar while he patted the dust from his clothes.


    "Lucky bastard," muttered Ragnar under his breath while shaking his head.


    The break of dawn slipped into the sky, signaling the end of the fight. The Night Thing shrieked so loud when the first light shone in its eyes. It slithered away like the tiniest light burned its scales and it ran into the forest and out of sight.


    [Congrattions on defending Twin Moon Axe n!]


    [Your Rtionship Level with Sharina increased!]


    "*sigh . . . finally!"


    "Is it finally over?"


    Symphonies of sighs and reliefs burst into the areaing from what little yers remained. The inhabitants, however, weren''t smiling nor showing any expression of joy, for they knew that this was not over. There were more nights toe.


    Unless they coulde up with a permanent solution to their problems, there was no peace every time that the sun goes down.


    "Nicely done, everyone," Sharina announced, forcing a smile on her tired face. As a leader, she couldn''t show any weakness or worry. She was the face of the n, and any sign of weakness would surely make the n weak as a whole.


    She must endure the gruesome fight each night, all for the sake of her people.


    "Take a rest, everyone. Recover your strength. We will face those creatures again tonight."


    The yers'' faces brimming with relief smiles all fell back to despair. That''s right . . . there''s still one night left before Sharina''s quest ispleted.


    While everyone was leaving andining and chatting, Ren, Evie, and Ragnar went to where Zukulum and Sharina were.


    Zukulum was telling Sharina the line she had always told her before. "Sharina . . . why don''t you consider allying with the Bore God, Fogur? With its help, those Night Crawlers and even the Night Thing would think twice of invading your camp."


    Sharina closed her eyes and sighed. "As I said before. Gods require favors and offerings."


    "A small price to pay for their protections against those creatures."


    Sharina scoffed. "A small price? The Bore God is insatiable. Every God is insatiable. Our food is already scarce as it is. And you know how those favors went. War. Unending fights with other ns and other Gods so that they could extend their own territory and area of influence."


    Sharina shook her head. "My n will die fighting those monsters with head held high and pride intact than be ves for the Gods."


    "Sharinaa€“"


    "This conversation is over. Nothing will change my mind as so as my n."


    [New Information Acquired]


    "Why don''t they just leave?" Ragnar asked when Sharina and Zukulum went inside the gates of Twin Moon Axe n. "Isn''t it more practical than staying here and living through attacks every night?"


    It was Orakh who answered, "Some ns preferred to travel constantly and change locations when forced by outside circumstances. This was partly due to the warriors'' limited capability to protect the n from the Night Crawlers, the beasts, the Gods, and even the other ns.


    "The Chieftain, on the other hand, preferred secured, stable locations over a constantly changing home. But for that to happen, we have to face those creatures every night."


    "Isn''t it tedious?" asked Evie.


    Orakh shrugged. "That''s the price to pay living in The Great Valley."


    Orakh and the other warriors then went inside the camp while tending to the injured.


    Ragnar and Evie watched as the Orcs went inside the gates while Ren''s eyes were glued at Draki, Sharina''s son.


    He was short for an Orc, young but strong nevertheless. He had his mother''s blue eyes while his ck dreadlocks was swept back. Throughout the night, The Night Thing went after his group like it was specifically chasing him.


    Ren went to him and said, "It seemed that the Night Thing is after you."


    Draki paused and looked at Ren from head to toe before heughed. "It knows that I''m the greatest threat in the n. It''s only right that it goes at me first."


    "Does it happen often?" Ren pressed that question from the series of choices avable.


    "The Night Thing rarely showed itself. But if it did, it always came after the strongest in the n."


    "Thought that it will go after the numbers," said Ren after the list of choices presented itself once more.


    Draki looked Ren in the eyes before heughed and patted thetter''s back. "You''re a curious one, aren''t you?! Don''t worry about me and worry about yourself, Sprite. I''m strong, and that Night Thing could never defeat me!"


    [New Information Acquired]


    Ren ignored the notification as his gaze followed Draki''s back.


    Evie and Ragnar went to Ren''s side and followed his line of sight.


    "Is something special about that Orc?" asked Ragnar.


    Instead of answering, Ren faced the two. "Tonight will dictate the faith of this n. We only have one shot at this quest. If we fail to trigger the seeding events and choose the right question and answer, we might lose the quest . . . forever."


    ". . . Does that mean that we can''t get the mask if that happens?" Ragnar''s only concern was the mask. He wasn''t interested in how they would get it.


    "That''s right," Ren confirmed. "So from now on, let me do the talking and picking of choices."


    Ragnar shrugged. "As long as we get that mask."


    "I don''t have any problem with that," seconded Evie.


    Ren was at least d that Ragnar and Evie weren''t the types to question him about how and why he knew such things. Maybe because they knew that he wouldn''t give a straight answer, or simply they didn''t care as long as Ragnar got the mask and Evie got the job done and her money.


    Nevertheless, Ren told them the story based on the information he gathered.


    And when the sun finally rose to the sky, the nonbatant n members were up and about while the warrior took their needed rest and healed their injuries.


    "You can take some rest if you want," Ren said as he walked inside the camp.


    "I don''t have anything to do, and I''m not injured," Ragnar said.


    Evie seconded. "I want toe. I''m . . . suddenly interested in the story of this n."


    Ren didn''t stop the two and pressed onwards.


    An average day was full of bustle and hustle for every member of the n. Each had a role to fill in so the whole n could function as a whole.


    Children were responsible for gathering wood to keep the n fire burning, cleaning the encampment, teaching the young''s, and helping the elders.


    Low-status n members were in charge of heavybor, carrying stones and lumbers.


    Some were busy crafting, bartering and fixing what needed to be fix. The hunters were preparing to go out into the wilderness to acquire food and resources for the whole n.


    While the Chieftain addressed everyday concerns, the Shaman and her helpers were busy offering guidance, magic, and appeasing the Gods.


    "Do they ever sleep?" Ragnar said at Sharina and Zukulum.


    "They do. Just not today," answered Ren.


    "Hey, warriors!"


    Ren, Ragnar, and Evie all stopped in their tracks when Orakh came to their location.


    "We will go into the wilderness to scout the area. Do you want toe with us?"


    Ren smiled. The wheel of motion was starting to set in ce.


    "Sure."


    "Meet us outside of the gates after noon. In the meantime, we will catch some rest and sleep."


    Ren, Ragnar, and Evie eventually proceeded to Zukulum, who was by the fire. The bags on her eyes were gettingrger by the second she was awake.


    "Do you need something?" she asked when Ren and the others stopped in front of her.


    ----


    A/N (Doesn''t consume coins)


    BONUS Chapters will be publish tomorrow because my migraine is acting today.


    Thank you to Darted_Table for the Super Gift ??????¤—


    and every who supported the story ??’—