[Castle Bonus---Big thanks to Readable and RolaySalt!! (6/10)]

Alex Reynolds, who had the weakest Mental of them all, even physically took a step back, tears falling from his eyes as though he had just been cutting onions.

This reaction alone was enough for them to ignore what Sylas was wearing… if that could be considered clothing at all.

The woman regained her bearings as Sylas did, and the two looked at one another, a hint of something else in their eyes.

Sylas blinked with some surprise.

He hadn't been able to tell earlier due to the distance and the fact he could only see the woman's side profile, but…

The long black hair, those blue eyes so pale they could be grey, that delicate brown skin that was a shade or two darker than even his own… it looked like this Trial Summoned Ascension had taken its toll on her, but her eyes were still quite fierce, much like he remembered them.

His mind filled in what the system had missed on its own.

[Cassarae Hale].

It suddenly made sense why this place was called Casstle Main. It was just like her to pick such a silly name for something so serious.

Cassarae blinked for a moment and then shook her head, looking back toward the adventurers.

"I guess it's four now," she continued her words from earlier. "I'll get the formalities out of the way and I'll say thank you for coming to the aid of Casstle Main. However, I want to draw a clear line first.

"You are, indeed, helping my Rudimentary Village. BUT. You are being rewarded for it by the system. The more you help, the more you will receive.

"My village is not a charity case and I have full authority to revoke any accepted Quests. If I feel that you are undermining my authority, or that you think you're doing me a favor, I will not hesitate to do so.

"I hope I've made myself clear."

Cassarae swept her gaze over everyone. She didn't single anyone out, not even Sylas himself.

Sylas didn't mind, nor did he try to press her for attention. Right now, she was a leader, and this was a matter of life and death, not a reunion. Those gnolls would really be out for blood.

The two of them hadn't been close for almost a decade. That was practically a lifetime. She had done a lot of growing without the name Sylas Brown creeping into her mind for who knew how long?

The fact she was acting like this actually made him feel more reassured. She would be more likely to survive in the long haul.

Of course, there was the possibility that he was overthinking things. The odds she had recognized him might be lower than he knew.

His own memory was quite good, and he was good at associations, but it had been almost a decade.

If it was in a usual setting, the odds that she'd recognize him would probably be just as high. But right now, when he was covered in mud and grime, maybe she didn't.

That was fine too, in his opinion.

"I'll give you a brief overview. The Gnoll Village is about twelve kilometers in that direction. We discovered them first, but there's a good chance that they will stumble into us, eventually.

"I want to take pre-emptive action, setting up traps around their territory and killing them off one by one until we can eventually conquer the city.

"There are two problems with this plan."

Cassarae took a deep breath.

"The first is their numbers. They had 20 warriors. They're a pure militarized territory. They had no women and children and their entire population is made up of warriors.

"The second is their sense of smell. They once had 25 warriors. We killed five of them during earlier scuffles. However, due to an unfortunate slip up, we were unable to deal with one of the corpses properly before it was found.

"We were forced to change our path back to the village so that they couldn't track us and managed to kill two of the five in that pursuit.

"If we want to deal with that number of warriors, hit-and-run tactics are definitely the best. But we have to be sharp and precise, getting rid of evidence to stop them from tracking us.

"The last thing I have to tell you is that the Physical stats of the gnolls are around 40. If you are not prepared for this risk, please leave now.

"We will set off for the first mission when the sun rises. They seem to be stronger at night, so it's best we do our work in the day. I will provide food and accommodations, please make yourselves at home.

"I will also say just one more thing.

"I don't want to control you all like some sort of overlord, but you're all smart people to make it this far. Revealing the location of my village to you all is a risk. During the duration of this Quest, none of you may leave."

After saying this, Cassarae gave everyone a final chance to leave before leaving the rest up to Marcus, the first militiaman that Sylas scanned.

They were led to a large tent outfitted with bunk beds enough to allow 16 people to rest here comfortably.

'She must have been expecting more people, or she prepped for the future.'

The four Quest-takers separated without much of a word, taking up four corners as though they all had their own tacit understanding of the situation.

Well, all of them but one.

Alex threw a sack he was holding to the side and slid back into the thin wooden cot with a sigh.

"Ah, I really can't do this," he suddenly said in a not-so-subtle voice. "I get the whole brooding and silent thing you guys got going on. Protect yourselves from potential mass murderers and all, but don't you think we could do better if we actually, you know… talked?"