Free Lost Lands: The Game - Atlantis by A.E. McCullough Page B

either.”
    Callistra nodded. She remembered the hateful words, the arguments and the sacrifices. She gazed out the window at the small town of Crooner’s Gap. The townsfolk were going about their daily lives, content and happy. In a small voice she asked, “Was I right in coming here?”
    Kastle moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Gently kissing her neck he said, “We might not agree on your lifestyle but you’ll always have a friend in me.”
    As she turned to face him, Kastle could tell that she was feeling guilty about their tryst. Not wanting to complicate things or drive her away, he released her and turned back to his room. “Now, let me gather up a few things and let’s go have a chat with this assassin.”

Chapter 8
    The first thing Tao noticed when they entered the village gates were the guards. They seemed to be either very young or very old. They were probably the ones unable to work the fishing nets. He did notice that they were all dressed in brown leather breastplates and armed with short swords and spears. No bows were visible but that didn’t mean they weren’t around somewhere.
    The companions weren’t accosted as they entered but it was obvious that they were being watched constantly. Armed guards walked the wooden ramparts and a few guards followed behind them as they moved through the town. There seemed to be only one road, if that was what the dirt path could be called, which led to the center of town where historically the most important buildings in a village would be found.
    With wide eyes, Arieal gazed around at the drab buildings and sarcastically asked to no one in particular. “I wonder if they have a Starbucks?”
    Gamble snorted. “I doubt it but it would be nice.”
    Since no one else laughed at her poor joke, t he dark elf in disguise turned her attention back to their surroundings. After a few minutes, she finally realized what was bothering her about the villagers and nudged Tao’s shoulder. “They’re staring at you.”
    Dragging his mind away from the martial designs of the town, he focused his attention on the townsfolk. She was right. They were staring. Not at the dwarf or the ladies but at him. Tao looked down at himself. He wasn’t very tall, being just over five foot. His skin was the golden hue of the oriental people while his hair was jet black and pulled back into a ponytail. He imagined he looked like Bruce Lee with long hair. He didn’t think that he looked intimidating. He had opted not to wear his armor but just a simple black and red silk keiokgi with his swords tucked into his belt. Of course, the silk robe made visible part of his dragon tattoo which ran from the hara, the spot two inches above his navel, up across his chest around his back to the left side of his neck until it ended with the head of the dragon rearing on his left cheek. It was the mark of the Kensai or sword saint in Nippon.
    When they reached the town square, the companions were confronted with a large crowd both in front and behind them. Tao made a mental note that every citizen seemed to be armed with some sort of weapon, be it a frying pan or an axe handle. This was not good.
    Tao stopped and causally nudged Arieal back to stand with Cozad, Moira and Gamble. Glancing around, he didn’t see Mathias or Pixi. The archer had probably blended into the crowd and the faerie was invisible. Good. At least they had a couple aces up their sleeves if things went bad. Tao stepped forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Bjǿrn was standing behind him and slightly to his left.
    Keeping his hands away from his weapons, Tao held them up in what he thought would be a non-threatening manner. “We come in peace. We mean you no harm.”
    Many in the crowd began to mutter amongst themselves and that scared Tao more than anything. A crowd was one thing, an angry mob was another. Seeing the crowd’s fear of them growing was like watching the embers of a fire slowly eat