Hearing the stranger speak, everyone pauses for a moment, unsure how to react.
She attributes it partly to the way he speaks.
Unlike her husband — the clan’s nominal leader — who always has to harden his voice to sound authoritative so everyone knows he’s serious,
This stranger speaks the way Grandmother Nega, the clan’s matriarch and true leader, does:
With the tone of someone who expects to be obeyed — no hesitation, no discussion.
Finally, Breg reacts, as if waking from a dream, exclaiming:
“This is Clan Clue business! It has nothing to do with you.”
He pauses briefly before finishing with, “Get lost — or else…”
The stranger doesn’t seem bothered. He tilts his head slightly, as if calmly considering what he’s just heard.
“Clue, huh? Really…” he mutters, shaking his head, then adds,
“I’ll just say this: I’ve never even heard of your clan.”
“Impossible! Our clan is the most powerful force around Clearwater Lake!” Breg replies in disbelief.
Of course, even a fool like him should be able to tell this stranger isn’t from around here — but Breg could be simple-minded.
That’s when Vimar steps forward, still holding his sword up, and declares,
“Either way, like my brother said, this has nothing to do with you.”
The stranger says nothing — his gaze shifts to Sabir, who’s still staring in shock at his beloved sword in the stranger’s hand.
Then he turns toward her, studying her carefully — so intently she starts to feel uncomfortable.
“You know,” he says, still looking between them, “none of you has explained what’s going on here.”
Then, focusing again on the brothers, he continues,
“After all, it’s not every day you see a bunch of idiots attacking an unarmed girl. I’m assuming there’s a reason.”
The three clan members exchange uneasy glances, seemingly trying to decide what to do next. But the stranger keeps talking.
“It’s not like the girl’s a monster in disguise!” he says suddenly — and then his gaze snaps back to her, sharp and searching, studying her face closely.
Finally, he speaks directly to her for the first time:
“Hey, girl, do you mind smiling a bit?”
The request leaves her at a loss. What could he possibly mean by that? Maybe he just wants to cheer her up before helping her.
But even though he managed to catch a sword with his bare hand, she couldn’t imagine how he could save her from three fighters.
Her husband Neven, maybe — but this young man doesn’t look capable of it.
Still, the thought of his generosity — the risk he’s taking for her — makes her give a small, timid smile.
Seeing this, to her confusion, the young man’s expression hardens, and he says flatly:
“Bigger. I need to see your teeth.”
That confuses her even more — and he explains, “I need to see your canines. Just to make sure. So if you don’t mind.”
With no idea what else to do, she opens her mouth to show her teeth.
The young man seems satisfied and turns his attention back to the others, who look just as puzzled by his strange behavior as she is.
“As I said, the girl’s not a monster,” he continues, sounding almost friendly — before his voice chills again as he presses,
“...so I’d really like to know what the hell is going on here.”
Vimar starts to open his mouth to answer, but Sabir cuts in,
“She betrayed our clan.”
Both she and the stranger focus on him as Sabir continues coldly,
“We’re just carrying out justice.”
And although she understands both the meaning and the feeling behind his words, she can’t help but protest:
“For not letting you kill Saca and her brother?”
“The enemies of the clan must be destroyed!” Sabir roars back, fury twisting his face.
“It’s an innocent baby,” she retorts, “whose family you already nearly wiped out!”
“With him dead, we can finish the job,” Sabir replies — his voice so icy it makes her shudder.
At that moment, she’s startled by the sound of something hitting the ground.
Turning toward the noise, she sees the stranger has dropped Sabir’s sword and is rubbing his face with one hand.
“Right… let me see if I got this straight!” he says, hand still covering his face.
“You idiots want to kill this girl because she’s stopping you from killing a baby??”
The shock and frustration in his tone are unmistakable.
When he finishes speaking, he uncovers his face and turns to the three young men, clearly expecting an answer.
Vimar gives it: “These are clan matters.”
A clear response — especially when he indicates the sword in his hand.
The stranger sighs deeply, looking up at the sky, and mutters to himself,
“Great. Just when I thought this place couldn’t get any worse.”
Then, fixing them with a cold, calm stare, he says,
“All right. In that case — get out of here before my patience with this nonsense runs out.”
Breg steps forward with his weapon pointed at him and a smirk on his face.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, talking like that when you’re alone and unarmed.”
That reminds her — the stranger had indeed dropped Sabir’s sword, leaving him as defenseless as she was.
But he doesn’t seem worried. Instead, he scratches his head with one finger and says:
“Oh, you’re right. Someone completely unarmed shouldn’t be this arrogant.”
He says it calmly — and, to her surprise, almost amusedly, while starting to tap his head with the finger that he was scratching it with.
Then, suddenly, he takes a step toward the two armed brothers and murmurs,
“The Moon’s Shadow.”
A faint flash of light appears to surround him — and in the next instant, he’s gone.
She and the men stare, stunned, looking around as if not quite understanding what they’ve just seen.
The brothers, shocked, instinctively move closer together. Weapons in hand, trying to be ready. As time passes, apprehension grows as they try to make sense of what they just saw.
Then, out of nowhere, a scream — from Breg.
The stranger has reappeared right beside him, seizing Breg’s arm and twisting it behind his back, forcing him to drop his sword.
He's weapon clatters uselessly to the ground — and before the sound even fades, the mage plants a foot in Breg’s back and shoves him into his brother.
The collision knocks both to the ground, sending the final weapon down as well.
The mage comments dryly, “Yeah. People without weapons really should learn to watch their mouths.”
For a few tense moments, everyone stands still, watching everyone else, waiting to see what happens next. While Sabir whispers the thought in everyone's mind, "Magic"
Making the mage sigh again and say,
“Go on. Get out of here before I have to solve this problem in a... more permanent way.”
Sabir blurts out, both angry and awed, “This has nothing to do with you!”
The mage looks at him expressionlessly and replies,
“Too bad — I’m the one who decides that.”
Then, with a hint of menace in his tone, he finishes,
“Go. I don’t feel like wasting time or energy killing you.”
She sees Vimar signal his brother — time to leave.
Seeing that, Sabir has no choice but to retrieve his sword and follow them back toward home.
Watching them go, she exhales in relief, thinking that if it had been Neven, things wouldn’t have ended this simply.
Which makes her realize — neither her husband nor any of the other clan warriors are here. Only these boys were chasing her.
The thought worries her. She glances toward the tall trees in the distance — the place she’s supposed to meet Saca.
Her thoughts are interrupted by the mage’s voice:
“You can get up now.”
That’s when she realizes she’s still sitting where Sabir knocked her down. Embarrassed, she gets to her feet.
As she tries to think of what to say, the mage speaks first.
“Well, I guess you can go. They won’t have the guts to come back — not anytime soon.”
He gestures with his head in the direction the boys left.
Not knowing what else to say, she simply replies, “Thank you.”
After all, how else could she express her gratitude?
“All right then… goodbye,” says the mage, turning to walk the same way she’s heading.
She quickly points toward the tall treetops.
“I’m going that way. Saca’s waiting for me in that grove — the one with the old tall trees.”
The mage looks between her and the spot she’s pointing at, his face shifting through several expressions — confusion, frustration, resignation.
Finally, he rubs a hand over his face and mutters,
“Of course, that’s where you’re meeting! Where else would it be?”
Though he doesn’t sound particularly happy, she feels calmer now.
Having him with her could mean their survival.
Just then, she notices the trees ahead are glowing — with light coming from inside the grove itself.
She points toward it and exclaims, “What’s that?”
The mage only looks more irritated before muttering cryptically,
“Of course. Why did I ever expect any peace?”
And he keeps walking — with her following behind, still not fully understanding what’s happening.
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