The man did not answer my question immediately. Instead, he leisurely lowered himself down, and sat on the natural gravel floor of the beach before replying.
"That’s an odd question to ask someone, isn’t it?"
"It is," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed by how jumpy I might have come across. Still, I doubled down. "But it’s an appropriate one for a stranger sneaking up on me by the sea in the middle of the night."
He finally turned to face me, and he gave me an almost dismissive look. "If I wanted to harm you, I would have done so without alerting you of my presence."
True, but that did not mean I shouldn’t be cautious of you. I did not relax as the man continued.
"However, since you’re curious, I am a Half Elf from Ghab-Ha, the last remaining Elven country, and the only other nation in Soli than the Holy Xan Empire. Well, that’s true in theory, but the reality of the situation is that our country lacks sovereignty in various different ways. I came to this continent decades ago to find help—"
I didn’t ask for your full backstory! I tuned the strange man out as he began to tell me all about himself; he was talking about his seaborne voyage past Drake Island and how dangerous the waters got there. I didn't even know why he was telling me this.
I simply rested my chin on the palm of my hand and stared at the waves crashing into the beach. I stayed there for a minute, and some time during that minute, the man stopped talking and I didn’t notice.
"A lovely sight," he finally said, breaking the silence.
"Mhm."
"Tell me, why exactly are you here, young Miss?" he asked, ignoring my detached demeanor towards him. "I don’t believe a child such as you should be out in the middle of the night, let alone where a large wave could sweep you into the sea where you’d be lost forever."
"I just like beaches, that’s all," I gave him a straightforward answer.
"And you couldn’t go in the day?"
"Was busy," I said curtly.
"You’re a peculiar girl," he remarked, standing up.
And I think you’re a weirdo, but you don’t hear me saying it, I quipped mentally; I was not going to say it out loud, but I was getting rather annoyed that my relaxation period was being ruined by some stranger.
"Personally," he started, "I find the ocean fascinating because of how vast it is. I know that somewhere, out there, is where my homeland lies. I will return to it, and they will hail me as a hero."
With that said, the man took a step back, and left me alone on the beach. I turned around to watch him go— making sure he truly left and wasn’t about to grab me from behind to kidnap me and sell me into slavery, before settling back down.
What a weird man, I thought for one last time.
I continued to stare into the undulating blue lines ahead as it shifted up and down accompanied by the howling wind, before something caught my eye. The Half Elf (or Elf?) was gone, yet I could have sworn I saw a figure hiding in the alleyways, watching me.
I eyed the small alcoves and side streets surrounding the beachfront, but there was no one there. I carefully made my way further into the city, casting my gaze toward every possible hiding spot, but saw nothing. And yet, I still felt like someone was watching me.
I started for the inn, but felt my pace getting faster and faster as the feeling never went away. My brisk walk turned into a jog, and my jog into a mad dash. I ran through the empty streets of Luke, trying to flee from this invisible stalker.
My footsteps attracted the attention of gang members, thugs, and other criminals coming to poke their heads out of their alleys to see what was going on; many of them just gave me a weird look, yet that only exacerbated my unease and I felt my heart pounding faster and faster in my chest
I needed to get inside. I wanted to get indoors. The calm serenity of watching the sea vanished as I screamed internally to flee. Where were the guards? Why were the streets so empty of life?
I saw a dim light illuminating a building in the distance and decided to make a break for it. I almost felt like I was back in Bys, running for my life from the Abominations that were chasing me. My life was not in danger— it could not have been in danger— but a panic came over me like I had rarely ever felt before.
Someone was following me. I knew they were.
I threw the doors of the building open, and slammed it shut behind me. I waited with bated breath for a moment, taking a step back away from the entryway to the room, but nothing came after me. The overwhelming feeling of fear subsided, and I slumped to the floor, panting.
I lay there for just a moment, not even taking in my surroundings, before I noticed the people staring at me. There were not a lot of people there, but those that were were seated on tables and others waiting behind a… desk?
A… receptionist cocked her head at me.
Blinking, I realized where I had escaped to: it was the Hunter’s Guild of Luke.
"Um, hi?" the receptionist said. "Was there something you needed, little Miss?"
I tried to ignore the other Hunters in the guild lobby staring at me, and quickly got myself up and dusted myself off.
"Yes," I said, walking up to the receptionist and pulling out my ID card. "I’m a Hunter, and I was hoping to take a look at the jobs around, and maybe collect any
