Chương 148: (144) 3.9. Is That a Red Flag?

The four of them stood there, staring at what was clearly a severed human head sitting atop a spike someone had planted into the ground only a few feet past the border into the next fragment. Vin was far from an expert on decomposition, but it was clear that whoever the head had belonged to had died at least a few weeks ago. It was a testament to all the messed up crap he'd seen over the past month that the sight of a severed human head only made him feel mildly queasy.

"That's all kinds of disturbing," Scule muttered, walking around the spike and peering up at the head.

"This is old school. We're not dealing with muggers or pick pockets here Vin. These guys might seriously try and kill us just for looking at them funny."

"And look where they put it," Shia pointed out, gesturing to the intersection point of the three fragments.

"Right here in front of both the desert and the Sacred Forest. I think this is supposed to be a warning."

"Well of course it's a warning. You don't just stick heads on spikes for fun," Scule drawled.

"Anyone else having third thoughts about this whole venture? I was already having second thoughts before we learned what they do to their own people."

"Actually, I don't think this guy is one of the former prisoners," Vin finally said, looking more closely at the head. He'd been silent until now, trying to figure out what was bothering him so much about the head. Other than the obvious.

"Look at the skin tone. I know it's pretty decayed, but see how tan it is? I don't think you can get that level of tan living inside a high-security prison. Golrim didn't make it sound like they got out much."

"You're right," Shia muttered, leaning closer. After a few seconds, she snapped her fingers, standing bolt upright.

"He's got to be one of the people that were living within the desert! I bet he's part of the same group of people that tried to get into the citadel and got shot down."

"Poor guys… It looks like they just wanted to find a new place to live after leaving the desert, but the first two places they checked ended in needless death," Vin frowned.

"In fact, I think I actually saw one of these guys hiding in the Earthers' fragment when I was sprinting off to meet Spur after the battle for wave three. No wonder they were hiding."

"Well, good news is that the prisoners don't decapitate and hang their own peoples' heads from spikes. They only do it to foreigners," Scule said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Oh, wait a second… We're foreigners!"

"We're also a bit harder to kill," Vin pointed out, earning a huff from the petian.

"Scule, you're welcome to head back to camp if you want. Though we'd definitely appreciate your help. You're kinda our criminal expert here."

"Damn you and your flattery," Scule grumbled, climbing back up onto his shoulder and grunting.

"I'm not leaving just yet. But I reserve the right to tell you 'I told you so' right before they end up eating our kidneys or whatever."

"You know what, I'll even let you have the first bite of my kidneys," Vin laughed, finally stepping across the fragment border himself. Second Ring Fragment Discovered! 1, 000 exp gained. Coming from the desert fragment, this new one was far nicer. Gentle, rolling hills stretching off into the distance, scattered clumps of trees here and there that looked to be growing some sort of large, bulbous fruit, and a nice, if slightly chilly temperature.

The best word Vin could think of to describe it was simply 'pleasant', which didn't really fit with the severed head on a spike he was standing next to. Part of him expected some sort of screaming war party to come sprinting over one of the hills in response to them stepping past the clear warning sign, but no such mob came. The fragment remained peaceful and serene, and he even saw what looked like a few extra fluffy deer grazing off in the distance.

One of them raised its head and glanced at him as if he'd appeared out of nowhere after crossing the fragment line, but it must have been working through a particularly tasty patch of grass, as it went right back to grazing a few moments later.

"Feels good to get out of that heat at the very least," Scule muttered, squinting at the distant fluffy creatures.

"…Damn, I bet riding one of those things would be comfortable."

"I bet they taste good as well," Shia added, all but drooling as she stared longingly at the small herd.

"Maybe we can snatch one on the way back and show it to the Chefs," Vin said, rolling his eyes as he started forward.

"Focus people, we're in potentially dangerous territory. Sorry Reginald, but that means you too." A tired squeak came from his shirt pocket in response and Reginald's head emerged, giving him a sharp nod before turning to watch their surroundings. The four of them made their way deeper into the fragment, carefully watching their surroundings as they went.

Other than a few large, gangly looking birds that strangely ran away from them rather than fly, and some sort of angry turtle busy gnawing its way through one of the thin trees, they didn't find anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until they'd gone a few miles into the fragment and were walking by another clump of fruit trees that Vin suddenly stopped everyone with a raised hand. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Hold up!" He said, stopping dead in his tracks at a familiar sight. It was well camouflaged, and blended in near flawlessly with the surrounding grass, but Vin had seen enough of them over the past few weeks courtesy of Alice that he recognized what he was looking at in an instant. Grabbing his staff, he carefully stepped forward and smacked it on the seemingly inconspicuous patch of grass leading up to the fruit tree. And watched as the ground collapsed, revealing a deep, empty pit.

"Pitfall trap," he muttered, leaning over and peering down into it.

"No spikes or anything, but whoever dug this clearly didn't want their prey getting out. Looks to be nearly a dozen feet deep."

"I guess we're getting close," Shia said, looking into the hole beside him.

"Hopefully this was intended for hunting and not anything more nefarious than that."

"Hey geniuses, if these guys have a Trapper like Alice, you do realize you just alerted them that something tripped the pitfall, right?" Scule said, poking the side of Vin's face a touch harder than necessary.

"Why not just shout at the top of your lungs that we're here?"

"For all they know it was just some random animal," Vin argued, his face heating up as he realized he could have just left the trap as it was.

"Besides, this isn't exactly a stealth mission or anything. I'm planning on speaking with at least a few of them. How else will we figure out just how dangerous they are or if they're even interested in potentially joining us?"

"We could always start by watching them from afar. See if they spend their downtime torturing small animals," Scule muttered, still not happy with Vin's plan.

"Maybe it would be wise to wait here until someone comes to check on the trap," Shia offered with a shrug.

"Presumably that would have us chatting with only one or two people rather than strolling into all of them. Then we can decide how to move forward from there."

"That's... actually not a bad idea," Vin admitted, nodding slowly.

"Though they might get scared if they spot so many of us waiting for them."

"Say no more," Scule sighed, hopping over to Shia's shoulder and kicking it.

"Alright elf, get in the hole." Rolling her eyes, Shia flicked him off her shoulder into the pit before dropping down after him, vanishing from view alongside the cursing petian.

"Try not to look too threatening!" She called up at him.

"But at the same time, don't look like a push over either!" Scule added.

"Remember, prison rules!"

"Great advice guys, thank you," Vin drawled, shaking his head as he walked over to one of the trees. Plucking one of the bulbous fruits, he sat down and leaned his staff against the tree as he pulled out his journal and bit into the alien fruit. His eyebrows immediately shot up at the sour flavor, and he peered more closely at his bountiful harvest. It was almost like biting into a kiwi, except for the fact that it was shaped like a messed up eggplant.

Shrugging, Vin dug into the fruit as he took advantage of their plan to add to his journal. He still had plenty of information he wanted to jot down, and seeing as he couldn't exactly work on his spells without zoning out, this was as good a time as any to practice his Drawing skill.

The giant extradimensional rooms and corridors spanning what seemed like all of Edregon, the dwarven town of Valdora and the Crater surrounding it, even the imposing visage of the giant Rebel Queen and her trogum elites all made their way into the pages of his journal. By now, Vin's journal was truly shaping up into a guide on 'How to Survive on Edregon,' and he could only hope it would continue to help others like him avoid death on this crazy world.

Vin ate a second fruit as he added to his journal for what felt like an hour or two, raising his Drawing skill two more levels before he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing up, he spotted a scarred man wearing rough, wool clothes slowly approaching from a few hundred feet away with an arrow knocked on his bow. He looked to be in his early forties, and based on the way he held his bow, he clearly knew how to use it. Even from this distance Vin could tell he was one of the former prisoners.

Along with the scars crisscrossing his face and arms, he was also missing half of an ear, and he had those same black bands around his wrists as Kym and Golrim. He looked wary of Vin sitting there, but he'd yet to draw back his arrow or aim it at him.

"Who are you?" He called out, coming to a stop a few dozen feet away, his eyes flicking all over the place as if searching for Vin's hidden backup.

"What are you doing with my trees?"

"Oh, these are yours?" Vin blinked, realizing he was still holding the remains of his second fruit.

"Sorry, I didn't know! I'm Vin, an Explorer from a different fragment."

"Curash. Hunter," the man grunted, his eyes finally locking onto Vin as they narrowed.

"I'd recommend you turn around and head back the way you came unless you want trouble. This fragment isn't exactly filled with peaceful folk."

"You seem peaceful enough," Vin pointed out, wiping his hand on his shirt and grabbing his staff as he got to his feet. Curash flinched slightly at the sudden movement, as though he was physically preventing his instinct to draw the bow and fill Vin full of arrows.

"Looks can be deceiving," the Hunter said, frowning.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, kid. There are people within this fragment that will kill you without a second thought."

"I'm aware of the fragment's history," Vin said, earning a surprised look from Curash.

"I've met both Kym and Golrim. In fact, I'm here because Golrim asked me for my help. Talked about a town he helped form?" The moment he mentioned Kym and Golrim, Curash's demeanor changed entirely. Sighing, the Hunter returned his arrow to his quiver before slinging his bow over his shoulder as he fixed Vin with a pointed look.

"Even after running away, that damned Golrim's still causing us trouble. What did he ask of you?"

"He mentioned wanting to merge your town into our camp," Vin admitted, deciding to be upfront about at least one of his reasons for checking out the fragment.

"Said he was afraid of your town failing."

"Well, no need to worry about that anymore," Curash laughed, shaking his head.

"It basically already has."