Chapter 300 - The events leading to the destruction of Izvratya (Part 1)
While Luna was doing her best acting stint of her life back Lyartaim, the things she had prepared in advance with Artak is already moving forward. She made sure to give clear instructions and provide all the beast men in Izvratya all the tools they might need to successfully make their escape to Marahuyo. As of now, she is just waiting for the designated time at noon so she can send the agreed upon signal for Artak and his friends to make their move. She can't help but get excited for the result of her handiwork.
Back in Izvratya, it was just a few hours past sunrise. The previously injured and sickly beast men have finally woken up one by one, feeling fully refreshed for the first time since they came to the village. They realized that they had a rare dreamless sleep and had miraculously slept through the night without being woken up from any body pain or scary nightmares. All of them are puzzled and have the same question in their minds, "Why am I feeling alright today?"
With lots of questions in her head, they eventually went out from their huts one by one trying to find someone in a similar situation as they are, someone they could ask about what had just happened. They also want to check the well-being of their neighbors since they know that everyday they are alive in this place is already a miracle and they would not be surprised if one of them kicked the bucket so suddenly.
Surprisingly, the first person they saw upon coming out of their homes was Artak. He have set up an area near the huts that looked like a make shift community kitchen. He was sitting in front of two bonfires, each heating up a huge pot of food. He seemed to have been waiting for quite a while for all of them to wake up. When Artak saw the people finally coming out, looking all lively, he greeted them energetically, "Good morning, everyone! Care to have some breakfast with me on this beautiful morning?"
Artak was provided by Luna earlier with a number of storage bags, enough to be distributed for everyone in the village. She gave him instructions to tell everyone to use it to bring their personal belongings and anything they deem valuable before escaping. He was also provided enough cooked food for everyone, to make sure they have the energy to complete today's mission.
The face of everyone in the area lighted up upon hearing his invitation for a meal. They all went back to their huts to get their make shift bowl made from sundried clay so they can get their part of the soup and stew.
They trusted Artak with all their hearts since he was the one who always took care of their needs from the time they were moved here forcefully. They also have a strong gut feeling that he had something to do about the fact that everybody miraculously felt healthier and stronger just after a night's worth of sleep.
Coupled by the fact that they were enticed by the scent of meat stew, vegetable soup as well as freshly baked bread, they approached him immediately. During the meal, he started answering their questions particularly who helped everyone and then told them all the things that are bound to happen for today, mainly the plan to create a destructive fire that would raze Izvratya to the ground and then everyone's hasty escape to a safe place through teleportation.
There are currently a total of 25 people eating together on the ground as if they are having a lively picnic. Out of those people, 18 were from the back area which consisted of the previously gravely injured or sickly ones and 7 from the front area of the village or the previously heavy-drugged ones that were healed last night. Everybody were eating their meals with gusto as if they do not have a care in the world. This has been the only delicious and proper meal they have eaten from the time they were brought here in Izvratya.
After all of their questions were answered by Artak and their stomachs were fully filled, all of them readily agreed with the plan that was explained to them earlier. Upon getting their agreement and commitment to follow the plan, he gave each of 25 people present, a storage bag for their personal use to store any valuable items that they want to bring with them. The extra bags were for the people from the middle that will be kept for them for now.
The eyes of the men widened as they saw the item that Artak has been distributing. Storage bags have space spells enchanted into them and not many mages or even mystiques have the ability to do so, making this item extremely rare and expensive no matter how small the storage space was inside of it. In front of them, there are readily at least 30 pieces of it and when they checked inside, the space was about 1000 square meters which is definitely huge if it is only for one person.
The men automatically designated tasks among themselves without being told to do so. Artak chose 4 other men whom he trusted then discussed with them their tasks as part of the fire brigade. Contrary to the usual notion of what a fire brigade does, they will be starting a fire and not to stopping it. Artak provided each of them 6 vials of the red liquid that their savior provided for this important task. They have set five distinct points where each of them will start the commotion at noon.
The 20 remaining men decided to divide themselves into 4 groups. The first group consisted of eight members who were assigned to take care of helping the men from the middle area prepare for their relocation. They will have to help them store their valuables, clean them up, dress them appropriately and feed them. They understand that although the men from the middle area have been healed just like them, they may still need extra care during the move. If push comes to shove, they can grab several people at one time and teleport together to the safe place later.
The remaining three groups decided to sneak out of the village during the commotion later to get valuable things in the area surrounding Izvratya. Their targets are food resources (fruits, vegetables, root crops, non-sentient animals, etc.), ores, medicinal herbs, spices and wood that can be used for building houses or as heat source. In their minds, they wanted to squeeze out everything they can as repayment for all the hardship they went through in this place.
These three groups further divided the work depending on their specialization and skill sets. Each of the three groups will have four members. The first group will hunt animals for their meat and get fish from the river nearby. The second group is assigned to forage any food items and medicinal ingredients from trees, plants and even under the ground. The last group is assigned to mine ores and cut appropriate trees for house construction or firewood.
While waiting for the designated time to start the commotion, each of them went back to their respective houses to clean themselves up and store their valuable items in their personal storage bags. The team assigned to the middle area brought food to each hut, gave the men a bath and helped them store their personal belongings and valuable items in their respective storage bags. The group members will keep these storage bags in behalf of these people for now then give it back to them once they are back in their right minds.
At exactly noon, like a signal of an incoming storm, the wind picked up even causing the wind to whistle loudly. The first to make a move were the men assigned to the middle area. They moved the 15 men out of their huts and kept them together in a tight circle surrounded by the 8 members assigned for the teleportation. The men that have a bit of sanity left and can talk were advised to utter the teleportation activation word by themselves. Those who can't were held by the others so they can teleport together. They are now waiting for the signal from the fire brigade to start the move.
Artak's group was already positioned at five distinct spots throughout the village. They will throw the vials as they run around, making sure that they set a huge area ablaze at the same time to create maximum destruction. They started throwing the vials about 5 meters apart and once it came in contact with the highly flammable parts of their huts and the mana-infused wind, the fire grew big in an instant in different spots of the village. The fire ate up a huge part of the village in under 10 minutes.
The fire brigade made sure to start their work right behind the row of huts that were facing the main gate. This is so that the guards won't easily notice what is happening inside the village even if by chance, they try to look towards the inside from the gates or the walls.