The dawn of a new day began with a dreary start. The city guards intruded upon the growing crowd surrounding a popur restaurant within the blue district area. One man parted through them, removing his helmet to scratch an itch on his scalp. His eyes fell upon the three bodies lined up on the floor. One by one, their bodies were carried and piled into a horse-drawn wagon. The man took a look around before motioning for one of the guards, an elf, who was writing notes to approach him.

  "How many dead?" He asked.

  "Only three, all found on the floor above."

  "I don't recognize their colors, they not from 'round here?"

  The other guard shook his head, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Nay, they belong to that pastor fellow and his followers. They been here for a fortnight."

  "Well round them up and send em away. Let's get these poor sods buried and prayed for." He sighed and slipped his helmet over his head, shaking his head with worry. "Dat expins the crowd. Le's crack on, den."

  "Sir." The guard nodded in return, folding the paper in his hands before stuffing it under his breast pte.

  The first man begrudgingly stepped out the entrance to engage with the crowd of worried civilians, people of Kershin Market had gathered by sun rise. Some had sent word to the town hall, citing that they were ran out from their favorite restaurant. More reports came in about sightings of monster girls, cat girls or Nekomatas to be exact, and now this morning they were met with overwhelming reports of dead bodies stinking up the blue district.

  The guard raised his leather gloved hands up to calm the crowd down, their voices dying out one by one. He cleared his throat, now having gathered their attention on him. "You may have questions, I only ask that you bring them to me accordingly. That is, one at a time please."

  One angry peasant raised his stubby fist in the air. "Dis 'ere cuz o' dem munsters roamin' about, whatcha doin' about that?"

  "Ay, is nut safe lettin' my kids run around when we got monsters here!" A worried wife added, clutching onto her husbands arm.

  "Don't forget about these here killings, ye got to do something before they come fer us!"

  "Look!" The guard's voice boomed out across the crowd. "These three corpses aren't any of ours so ye can stop fretting about that. Now what's dis I here about monsters roaming in our streets?"

  "I told ye!" A fat human man wearing a stained tunic pointed his finger toward the city guard. "Ye didn't respond when the beasts were fightin! I saws it, saws the whole thing with me zy eye!"

  The guard scowled at the man's accusatory words. "Calm yourself, I suggest ye lower yer tone and yer fat finger, mate! We received word about the fighting's st night, in fact the town hall has called for an emergency meeting with the council."

  "Surely they'll go for a call of action, yes?" One of the younger men asked, his dirty hands csped together in a hopeful and pleading dispy. "After the circus fire, we still haven't caught that slithering creature. She could be lurking about in shadowed halls and back alleyways still!"

  "For your information, we heard from the Kobolds who reported sightings of the snake lurking around the river pit, and neither of us have caught wind of her around our city ever since."

  "Well did you catch her?" A heavy dwarf man asked, his thick beard quivering as he spoke.

  The guard shook his head and raised his palm. "Nay, but I say again that she was st seen by the Kobolds by the river down by the pits of the ravine. It is likely that she slipped away to whatever hell she came from. It's no problem of ours if she's out of our walls. The Council agreed to take action so that this event doesn't repeat itself. Anyone passing by be it for sport, travel or show will need to pay a higher sum of tariffs if they bring along any beastkin with them. And may I remind you that we are always in need of more brave hearts amongst our militia. If any of you have young sons who wish to protect their homes, our training camps welcome them with comfortable beds and daily rations. We would appreciate it if you would all return to your normal lives. Actions are being taken, I promise you that we will keep you all safe. Now, I've some duties to fulfill."

  The people began to chatter amongst themselves while the guard adjusted his helmet a third time, grumbling before popping it off and rubbing his itchy scalp. He spoke to two other city guards whom nodded in return and began to wave at the crowd to disperse. People backed away as people from the back lost interest and continued on their merry way. One such woman adjusted her dress before hurrying off across the road, gncing behind her periodically until she pushed past the front door to a local inn. There, she retreated into the safety of a room they had checked out for the day as she locked the door behind her.

  "No hood?" Dimyri asked her, turning back to see Janette come in.

  Janette shook her head, combing through her brunette hair and sighing. "Sometimes it's easier to slip through unnoticed when you intrude as if you belong."

  Emyri gnced up from the bed she sat on. "What did you learn?"

  "Well, seems the religious nutcase and his cult didn't clean up after themselves. Those men you put down were being cleaned up by the city guards this morning." She expined, sitting opposite of her. "And it sounds like the people aren't fond of Perdilius either. The council is having a meeting today."

  "Oh, and then?"

  She shrugged. "And then we see what they make of it. Coming into a city and leaving behind three corpses isn't a good way to earn the people's trust, but it's not all good news either. They're also aware of you guys being here."

  "That bites." Dimyri sighed, her cat ears dropping low upon hearing the news.

  "Sorry, I wish I could have a say but this isn't like Farmer's Den."

  "Farmer's what?" Emyri asked with a puzzled expression.

  "It's this town I worked in, it's where I met your daughter and her mate. There we would have a gathering formed by the town elders, some of the tradesmen and myself being the only woman who owned her shop without marrying into it. Took them a while to adjust but eventually my opinion would be heard. KuliKuli ran into some trouble there but I managed to dissuade them from calling a monster hunter in one of our meetings."

  "That's very fortunate, you have my gratitude for protecting her." Emyri said, offering a sweet motherly smile.

  Janette hesitated, knowing she couldn't feel good about it for what she was about to add next. "Yes but it doesn't help here. Kershin Market belonged to Burgomaster Dubois, who has long since passed away for half a century now. His sons have since taken over and formed the council within the townhall, but some have passed from old age and not many have sired sons, so a few elected officials were brought forth by the peoples vote. Kershin Market is itself a commercially oriented city, relying heavily on trade to support its popution."

  "That said, they're not under the protection of a King or Noble. If any problems arise, they deal with them as quickly and efficiently as they can."

  "What about invasion?" Dimyri asked curiously. "This pce is big but not that big."

  "Well the location itself is in within the crossroads of three separate borders that lead to different states. It's not likely that Kershin Market would get invaded without going through someone's castle kingdom first. That brings to mind that in the event of an invasion, there isn't much they can do. In simple terms, it's best to evacuate with as much as your breeches can carry. I suppose they could organize a sort of bond or contract under the protection of one of the neighboring kingdoms, but that would be difficult and not without repercussion."

  "How so?"

  "The southern kingdom is a haven for high elves, they aren't very fond of dwarves, orcs and kobolds. If we point to the east, we enter the borders of the Lionheart Kingdom. They are likely our best means of protection due to their military arms and weaponry. Trebuchets that can send boulders flying into the sky like crows with the force and might to send any castle walls crumbling like wet paper. That alone makes people shudder at the mention of Lionheart. But militia can be quite costly, and so they have a reputation of being rather demanding of their people with high tariffs and low wages. They may not be as selective of whom they bring under their protection, but they would be expensive. Do note that we return to the pcement of Kershin Market, there lies the risk that if any one kingdom ys cim to us, it could spark interest from the rest. Before you know it, we find ourselves as a nesting battleground left in ruins."

  "Goodness! How do you know so much of this pce?" Emyri asked, leaning forward.

  Janette brushed her hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear. "I use to live here, but it got a bit loud for my taste. Farmer's Den was much quieter, more comfortable and less trouble to set up shop there."

  She stood up, smoothening the wrinkles on her dress and approaching Dimyri. "KuliKuli still hasn't returned?"

  Dimyri jumped back as a pair of cats fell over the balcony, shifting into KuliKuli and Na'Vi right away.

  "Hey, speak of the cat." Janette grinned, appreciating her friends return. "I was beginning to miss you."

  KuliKuli returned her smile with a nod before acknowledging the others with a serious look. "Lot's of people are gathering around the chuch."

  "Church." Janette corrected her. "Is he moving somewhere?"

  KuliKuli shook her head. "Nu, something is off. These people, I don't think they are helping him."

  "Not all of them are humans." Na'Vi added, gncing outside while remaining indoors to keep from being spotted. "Some were short and others had different skin or pointy ears."

  "And they were angry too! Bickering with his metal men!" KuliKuli excimed, pounding her paws together. "I didn't see that hunter or Perdilius, but his metal men looked uneasy."

  "Kuli, just call them soldiers. Or followers, it doesn't matter which." Janette mentioned, waving that issue aside. "This sounds important."

  "You think that council you spoke of have reached a decision?" Dimyri asked, looking at Janette with hope in her eyes. "Maybe they're kicking them out?"

  "Oh joy!" Emyri's eyes lit up as she cpped her paws together. "Cyri has blessed us this day! Perhaps we wouldn't need to go through such trouble, maybe they can exile him from the city?"

  "Wishful thinking." Janette muttered, receiving a frown from the mother cat. "I'll hold my tongue but let's not count our chickens just yet."

  "No one has chickens here! And this doesn't change much." KuliKuli looked straight toward her mother. "Mom we have a key-"

  "You don't know if it opens the right doors, missy! That key could lead to their bedroom for all we know!"

  "Well it's worth the try, Mom do you not care that Syri is down there too?" KuliKuli cried out.

  Emyri was met with a shocked expression, crossing her arms. "I care a great deal about my baby, thank you very much! And I don't like the tone you are having with me here!"

  KuliKuli huffed when her cat ears twitched. Everyone faced the balcony with Janette being the only one safe enough to step out and lean over. Her eyes grew as she spotted the growing number of people heading down the street toward the left, the same direction where the church is!

  "They're heading towards him, did the council settle on a decision so soon?" She asked herself, turning around as KuliKuli stepped forward with a determined expression.

  "This changes nothing, if something is happening I need to be there. We need to go!"

  "Hold on!" Emyri cried out, wrapping her tail around her daughters arm to stop her. "This changes a great deal, does it not? Your friend here just informed us that the city knows about our existence here. If you are spotted by someone or worse, by the hunter, then this would turn everyone else against us. The city would turn hostile and run us out, and then our hopes of rescuing your friends and sister are diminished!"

  KuliKuli gnced down, frowning as she processed her mothers words. Emyri held still, watching her with pleading eyes.

  "I can still watch in my cat form." She responded.

  Emyri smacked her lips and let go, offering one more call. "Then let me do it!"

  "Do what?"

  "I'll be the diversion." She stated, hearing Dimyri gasp behind her.

  KuliKuli blinked. "M-Mom, we won't need a diver-"

  "Yes you will, just please trust me on this! You will need one and I will do it, no argument, end of discussion!"

  "I..." KuliKuli gnced back to her friend, but Janette was just as speechless as she was. Dimyri and Na'Vi had nothing to add, it was her call to make. "F-Fine! But just, we won't need a diversion if everything goes well. We need to go!"

  "Fine, of course." Emyri nodded with a slight smile, watching her daughters surrounded by a burst of magical energy as they climbed over the balcony and onto the rooftop. She closed her eyes and transformed as well, following behind and leaving Janette alone.

  Janette rushed out the door and shut it behind, leaving the room as it grew empty and quiet. A sound of footsteps were heard running down the hall, only to pause. In a moment those footsteps came up louder until the door opened up again, with Janette snatching her magical book up from the tabletop where she had left it, closing the door once more.

  Something big was happening, whatever time they had left was up. Janette closed her eyes and swallowed deep, hoping that their pn works.