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Abdul cursed his luck as the deteriorating walls of the isolated village came into sight. Clearly, this was not one of the formidable fortress towns of Western Pontus as the guide said he would have already encountered. Abdul already had an inkling that the guide was not to be trusted, but he was the only one willing to talk to him and give directions to Pontus. Unfortunately, the rest of the mountain villagers were too suspicious of him to offer anything more than dirty looks, the result of generations of superstition and inbreeding so common in isolated villages. Abdul expected nothing less of Phar as he urged his camel towards the gates. As he approached the village, Abdul could not shrug off the feeling of being watched. He knew that the woods in northern Galtea were infested by bandits, but every time he turned his head in an attempt to find whatever was watching him, he would only see normal forest fauna. Indeed, every time he turned his head, he saw an animal looking at him with an almost human gaze before taking off into the undergrowth. Clearly, the lonesome road was starting to get on his nerves. As he crossed the threshold, he hoped that there would be some place for him to rest more hospitable than the village stable. Much to his dismay, the village was not only isolated, but apparently completely abandoned. In his experience, the arrival of an outsider as exotic as himself would cause all but the most xenophobic of village rustics to come out of their homes to observe the travelling spectacle. However, Abdul found no such welcome other than the sparse wildlife that were taking advantage of the deserted homes. Maybe the ever-present bandits had finally drove out its residents and already took everything of value. Perhaps something more sinister was at work. If the latter were the case, he would get to the bottom of it. Dismounting and hitching his trusty steed to a fence post in the village square, he walked towards the largest building in sight, which apparently served as a town hall. It was the only building in the whole town that was made of stone, standing in the centre of the village like a monolith in a forest clearing. Even though the villagers had put all of the artistic ability they could muster into a single building, its shabby and poorly maintained exterior suggested a woeful ignorance of aesthetic canon. However, when he could start making out the details of the building, he started to question his assumptions. The windows of the building appeared to be stained glass. While simple and gaudy stained glass patterns were not unusual to find in small village churches, it was quite unusual to find them in a town halls. Stranger still was it to find stained glass of such exquisite quality in such a building. While the glass was covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt, Abdul’s close inspection showed detailed patterning that suggested a flowing, curved form of some animal. This close inspection of the glass was interrupted by the faint sounds of voices within the building. Abdul placed his ear onto the glass in an unsuccessful attempt to make out what was being said. All that he could make out was that there were multiple people within the building. “Interesting...Why would the village be taking shelter here?” Abdul muttered to himself. He could not dismiss the possibility of this building being a home to the bandits that drove off the previous tenants. Grabbing the spine of his Luna Tome, he slowly approached the heavy wooden doors of the building, keeping his tome at the ready behind his back. With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he knocked politely at the door. After a moment of silence, he tried again, this time more insistent. “Hello friends! Would you be willing to give a humble traveler some shelter?” Instead of a response in a human voice, his greeting was answered by the roaring of a massive animal inside. Abdul jumped in surprise, backing away from the door before regaining his composure. Not only were there people in there, but apparently some monstrous beast! “By heaven, just what are those people doing in there!” Abdul rushed up the steps and pounded his fist against the door, hoping he could be heard over the commotion inside. “Are you in danger?! I can help! Open the door and I can help!”