Lily froze. She wasn't short, and neither was Squawks, who was a head taller than her. The man in front of them towered over Squawks and looked wide enough to hide Lily behind only one leg.
His skin was rough and looked almost like stone. His features were mostly human, but his eyes were small and beady, his nose was rounder and more pronounced than Lily had seen on humans before. His hair was long and thick like reeds.
Lily slowly reached for the sword at her waist. She was intimidated by the man's size and the strength slumbering in those log-like arms of his, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Vaffe!" Squawks greeted with a cheerful exclamation.
The man grunted and crossed his arms.
"It's Vafrid," He said gruffly.
"And Vaffe is a nickname for Vafrid," Squawks answered cheerily like he was bantering with an old friend.
Vafrid rolled his eyes before his gaze settled on the bottle in Squawks' hand. He held out his hand. Squawks passed it over with a smile.
"Are we good to go?" He asked, glancing behind Vafrid. Vafrid looked at Lily. He held a hand in front of Squawks as he tried to go past.
"What are you here for this time, Birdie?"
"My name is Squawks."
"Nickname."
"Fine. If you must know, we're here to test our luck."
"Meaning?" Vafrid gave Squawks a pointed look. If he wasn't going to tell him, he wasn't going to answer.
"What's the big deal, Vafrid? You aren't usually this strict."
"The situation is tense. It's bad for business if I let you inside but you don't make it out."
"Tense?" Squawks echoed curiously. "Does it perhaps have something to do with a visitor or something of the sorts?"
Vafrid's eyes narrowed. Lily didn't think it was possible.
"You're here for the Outsider?" He asked bluntly.
"Well…" Squawks was a little awkward about being found out so easily.
"You should reconsider," Vafrid warned them.
"Why?"
"He's staying in the center."
"Oh."
"Captain, what's the center?" Lily whispered.
"The reason why this forest is called a forbidden region," he answered in a whisper.
"In other words, it's a death sentence for you two," Vafrid, who had heard both of them, added.
Squawks looked up at Vafrid.
"I've heard that it's fine to visit the center for short periods, though?" He said questioningly.
Vafrid nodded.
"For people who smell of the forest, it's no big deal taking a shortcut through the center or stopping by for the day. But it's no guarantee. One step onto a monster king's territory or if you accidentally squash a mushroom one of them had their sights set on, and you can say goodbye to your pitiful lives."
"Aha! So it's fine as long as we don't do things like that," Squawks said excitedly.
Vafrid sighed.
"Sure. Don't haunt me when you die, I'm having trouble sleeping as it is already."
"Great! Thank you very much, Vaffe." Squawks patted Vafrid on the arm as he led Lily past him. Lily was now extremely hesitant about Squawk's idea, plan, and prophecy. It suddenly seemed a lot more dangerous than before.
"Be careful of the other tribes, Birdie!" Vafrid shouted after them.
"I always am!" He gave a thumbs-up without turning around.
"The Phoriae might have started moving."
Squawks froze.
"But the Outsider seems nice, so you might get what you came for."
Squawks continued walking. Lily glanced behind in confusion. She had no idea what the Phoriae were, but if the word was enough to make Squawks hesitate, it couldn't be good news.
Vafrid was no longer there. She couldn't understand how such a large man moved through the forest without a sound and without being seen. With a worried frown, she turned back to Squawks only to see that he was about to leave her behind as he scurried through the forest with nimber movements.
"Captain! I have a bad feeling about this. Are you sure we'll be alright?"
"Pssh, I'm sure it's fine. We've already paid the toll. That bottle was pretty expensive, you know? It would be a waste to go back."
Lily's eyes narrowed.
"You're excited, aren't you?"
"No…"
"Dammit, Captain! If you start a fight with any of the tribes, it's the kingdom that will suffer!"
"Exactly! The kingdom will suffer. We won't."
"Because we'll be dead!"
"Anyway, do you know the way to the center?"
"How would I know that?!"
"That means we'll have to ask someone," Squawks answered with a bright smile as he turned around, ignoring Lily's desperate pleas to give up this prophecy.
***
Sometime later, in the center of the forest, Sosora was bowing her head toward the tentacle, expressing her gratitude and apology for her reaction toward the tentacle's existence. Fortunately, the tentacle didn't mind it too much. It was self-aware, after all.
"Thank you for your help once again and for your forgiveness. I know I was rude."
The tentacle just waved like it was saying it was no big deal.
"I only came to express my thoughts this time, but I will bring a gift for the both of you next time I visit."
"There's no need for that," Nick said. The Tentacle nodded.
"But—"
"Instead, I want your help with two things."
"Two things?" Sosora tilted her head curiously. What could Nick need her help with?
Nick turned to the lawn, which was still a mess after the boar's visit.
"I want some help getting this fixed up and preparing a better campsite. You know, logs to sit on around the fire, storage for firewood, and maybe a workbench, but that one's not important right now. That kind of stuff."
"Got it. That's one thing?"
"Yes. The other thing is—"
"Soso! I think we might have trouble!" Malak shouted, interrupting their discussion as soon as he came within sight.
Sosora hesitatingly glanced at Nick. He nodded and gestured for her to tend to Malak.
"What's going on?"
"A couple of intruders are picking a fight!"