The main square of the village was almost a ghost town when you ventured inside with your two Mamono friends. Augustine and your mother will be buying provisions and hire caravans, while your dad is going to investigate the patients Belmont is caring for. A handful of militiamen patrolled the main roads; everyone else remained barricaded in their shared homes.

''Say, will you two be fine once we meet Branka face to face?'' You ask your friends, stopping before the stairs that led to her residence.

''With that piece of good news? Yeah.'' Shigeko answers, with a rare hint of good cheer. ''She always suspected I'd try to usurp her authority because we're the only two Warrior species around. I hope the last few days made her stop caring about that delusion.''

Days... not quite Shii. I'll let you know soon enough.

''They won't imprison me again.'' Seyraphal quietly says. ''At least... I sure hope not.'' She detached her gaze from the mercenaries' headquarters, her calm and serious expression looking eerie with the bandages wrapped around her face. ''I remember that place being an inn, probably lots of people there. Let's go, Rey.''

A few knocks on the door herald your entry into an establishment whose main hall occupied nearly the entirety of the structure. An inn filled with Mamonos observed your entry with a mixture of wariness and barely concealed hostility, the few ongoing conversations being little more than whispers.

A dozen occupied tables resembled barriers as you walked inside, while the races of the women left you momentarily amazed: furred, scaled, and numerous persons with oddly colored skins. The crowd ranged from near-humans catfolk to proper demihumans lamias. Seyraphal was the only race one could describe as ''monstrous'' here, and she made herself scarce by hiding behind Shigeko.

''I'm here to speak to your leader.'' You announce to the woman getting closer to your group. A lithe, elegant person with patches of white scales dotting her skin and face like armor, horns extended out of the sides of her head where her ears should be, and a long, flexible tail remained still behind her.

Lizardwoman from the east. Probably parts of the refugee groups that came into the Allied Kingdoms a few years back.

''She's in the biggest room upstairs, the only one with double doors.'' The lizardwoman spoke with a pleasantly accented voice.

''Thank you.''

As you walked, you noticed the majority of tables were empty of food.

Signs of shortage? Or is this a case of people coming together? This kind of atmosphere is what ferments communities into making bad decisions.

You reach your destination uninterrupted, and after one last look of encouragement to your friends, a knock on the door followed by a muffled ''enter'' allowed your first proper meeting with the leader of the Mamono village.