After the double battle with the birds and the reptiles, the crew gasped, their wounds evident, and their swords dripping with blood. Suddenly, a strange horn sounded from the forest, and the creatures slowly retreated, as if ordered to retreat.
"What's going on?" Darius gasped. "Why did they withdraw so suddenly?"
"This wasn't a normal retreat… Someone is controlling them," Kallias replied, observing the shadows.
"Get ready," Linus said, steadying his sword. "It's not a monster coming… It's a human."
*
Out of the mist emerged a group of men dressed in elegant black, with a strange emblem: a line through a white circle. They walked with firm steps, their faces rigid, their eyes shining coldly.
"Put down your swords… You're under the protection of the Markor Family," one of them said quietly.
"Protection? After we nearly died?" Darius sneered. The man said coldly, "If we hadn't ordered the creatures to withdraw... you wouldn't be alive now."
*
Another man, who looked older, stepped forward and said with a forced smile, "Welcome to our island. We are the Markor family... guardians of this place for centuries."
Linus stared at him. "Guardians? So you're the ones who control these creatures."
The man replied with a mysterious smile, "We don't control... we care for it. The island and its people are one."
*
"I don't like this," Romulus whispered to Linus. "They seem too nice."
"I know... but let's get their cards straight first," Linus said in a low voice.
*
"The battles have worn you down," the older man said. "Come to our palace, you'll find food and rest."
"Can we trust them?" Nikos hesitated. Darius said, laughing, "Food and rest? After all this... I won't say no."
Callias said sharply, "You're an idiot. This is an obvious trap."
Linus said, raising his hand, "Enough. We'll go... but carefully."
*
A young man approached from among the Markor men. He was different from them: his hair was black, his skin was a distinct white, and his eyes held a hidden sadness. He was the youngest of them.
The young man said in a low voice, staring at Linus, "You... are different from the others."
Linus asked, watching him, "And who are you?"
The young man replied, "My name is Morir... the youngest son of the Markor family."
*
Darius said, laughing, "Their youngest son? He looks weak."
Morir said coldly, "Weakness isn't always what meets the eye."
Linus stared at him. "Your words have a deeper meaning… don't they?" Murer smiled mysteriously, then said, "You'll find out… soon."