[h3][center]Ethan[/center][/h3]

As Red Chaser and the goblin dueled, Ethan's stone was casted through the darkness. It flew true, striking the goblin in the back of the head. But rather than stunning it, it surprised Red Chaser, who had not expected Ethan to still be here. And it was at this opportunity that the goblin was able to knock her blade aside and swung upwards, smashing the club into her face as she fell solidly to the ground. The goblin let out a victory cry as he turned around towards Ethan. Seeing the man have the high ground, the goblin could only move to hide behind some cover.

But barely a few steps forward and something lurched forward. [i]Red Chaser[/i]. Bleeding from the scar going up her face, she plunged her blade into the goblin's neck. It screamed in agony, which was short lived as she twisted the blade and jerked it forward, tearing it out of the goblin's neck. The partially decapitated goblin fell dead to the ground as Red wiped away the blood from her eyes to look at Ethan. [color=9e0b0f]"Damned fool. Don't you know how late it is! Get over here quick, I need to take you somewhere safe!"[/color] Ethan may protest, but Red Chaser would near none of it as she would drag him, literally if needed, to a small but sturdy hovel. She knocked thrice and the door opened, revealing an adult man with a hatchet and his two sons with knives. However when they saw it was Red and Ethan they seemed relieved and allowed the two inside.

Red scolded Ethan lightly for his involvement, but would eventually calm down once one of the sons served some tea and pointed out that Red would have a hard time facing the goblins alone. It was only due to her stubborn pride that she was angry, as she wished to have been the sole savior against the goblin gang. The father would then explain the situation of how there had been some recent robberies as of late, usually just stolen tools and livestock, but recently a family was found murdered and some children had been gone missing. Red Chaser choose to find the lost children and unfortunately she could not save them, but she could fend off the goblins. It's unknown if these were the only goblins nearby, but whether or not it was didn't matter. They had managed to eliminate this gang for now, and the village was safe. Ethan was commanded by Red to stay the night; the boats aren't going to be sailing until morning and even Red wouldn't try to head back to the Frontier Town so late at night.

The family didn't have much, but they offered Ethan and Red a bed for the night. Red choose to sleep near the hearth instead so she was given some extra furs to make herself comfortable. Should Ethan ask about the a delivery he would need to pick up, one of the sons would inform him that he actually works at the grocer in town and would make sure Ethan receives his package first thing in the morning. Regardless, there wasn't much else to do tonight, short of going back to loot the goblins. While certainly a possibility neither Red nor the other menfolk would accompany Ethan and highly recommend that he stay inside where it's safe. If he chooses to stay here, his rest would be fortunately uneventful.

[center]The Next Day[/center]

Ethan would manage to return to the Frontier Town before the first dawn. He would receive his package as well, and the guards recognize him and allow him entrance without much hubbub. The Drunken Dragon was not particularly busy beyond a few miners who came to pick up an early breakfast, and it seemed as though only Revas the bouncer and one barmaid was on duty at the moment. Neither seem to react to Ethan beyond the barmaid offering Ethan a seat and a menu.

[@Searat]

[h3][center]Antaeus[/center][/h3]

For Antaeus, waking up early was not unusual even for miners. As they were often expected to be underground for hours, it behooved them to get in soon so they could get out while there was still daylight. Chances are his own father was also already awake and gone. As for the rest of the town, miners were no doubt awake, as were the fishermen who operated the boats, guardsmen changing shifts, and other businesses that needed to start early. The White Stag's horns were fortunately left exactly where he had left it, though the blood had dried the sack to the scalp. Barthen's should be open now, even if Barthen himself is probably still asleep. He did have a few elven workers who usually took the early morning shift after all. And of course, one important thing for Antaeus's dreams, was that today was marching day. In the Frontier Town, marching day was when Ork and Daegun would take the recruits out from the town and into the forest to hunt, both to provide meats for the town as well as to test the recruits in their ability to cooperate with each other to hunt and fight. With so many young men and women working together, it's usually easy for them to take down things like wolves or bears, so someone who was able to fight a beast alone and come out on top tends to get more recognition. And the fact that Antaeus more or less did that yesterday, it could help prove to the militia he wasn't just a rock beater.

Still, if Antaeus wished to find Katalmach or the silver haired girl, they didn't seem out and about. The silver-haired girl was obviously still resting at Maeda's place, and Katalmach might be at the Drunken Dragon as he told Antaeus. The March won't happen until around midday, so Antaeus would have some time in the morning to do his own business before trying to impress the captains.

[@Zeroth]