Matriarch of Monsters

After around a minute of walking Alix arrived at the stranger's campground. It was a rather average set up for temporary shelter. Three places set up to sleep on the ground as comfortably as one could without a bed. A fire in the center of the camp. It was no mysterious enchanted cabin in the middle of the rainforest but it should make do.

"Is this the source of all of that noise from earlier?" A girl walked over to Alix's guide. "That she is. Guys this is...well I don't actually know yet." The man gestured for Alix to introduce herself. She quickly glanced at each member of the group.

"I believe that it is normal to introduce oneself before ordering a stranger to name themself." The man standing in front of the girl chuckled nervously.

"Right right, I'm sorry. My name is Miles McGregor. I'm the eldest of this group of adventuring siblings." Miles nodded to his sister who was glaring at him.

"Nobody asked anything about your age." Miles shrugged. "Just a fun fact. Besides it's true." The man smirked tauntingly at his sister. She she rolled her eyes before starting her own introduction. In an instant the girl's entire energy lifted as a giant smile appeared on her face.

"My name is Kimi McGregor and I am the middle child of the group. I also happen to be the most beautiful girl from our hometown. Literally all of the guys were begging to go out with me. There was even this one time, during a big dance event-"

"Okay, I think she's heard enough." Miles cut his bragging sister off to her displeasure. "What happened to keeping it short?" She shrugged. "It was a fun fact and true." The young man shook his head at the mocking of his childish sister.

"You're next, buddy." Miles called out to their final sibling who hadn't even moved away from the fire. The boy, that seemed to be closer to Alix's age, looked to his brother and sister before locking eyes with Alix.

"Hey, I'm Unio. I'm the youngest."

Short and sweet.

Alix nodded appreciating the boy's straightforward answer. "I'm Alix Deminal." "And that is?" Kimi pointed to the thing Alix was holding. Alix had forgotten that she had other companions.

"This is Mo, my fish and this little guy is Trouler my peccary." Kimi slowly squinted her eyes. "Cooool~. Why are you walking around a dangerous place like this with a pair of pets?"

"I get it. You guys find some girl wandering a dangerous place like this with ravenous plants and monsters of various shapes and think she could be one of them." Alix's words made Kimi feel like she had said the wrong thing. She waved both of her hands.

"N-no no! That's not-" Alix shook her head. "You have nothing to be afraid of. I understand the impression that I give off. I would be apprehensive myself if I were in a similar situation." Kimi chuckled in relief.

"Phew, I thought that I offended you or something." Miles and Alix moved to the fire. "Alix got accepted to go to that fancy academy in the capital. I think it's called Macaroni or something."

"It's Marconix Spellcaster's University." Alix corrected Miles. He nodded. "Yeah, anyway she was on her way there when she got lost so I told her that we could lead her there." Kimi turned to her brother displeased.

"You decided that? Without us? Again?" Every word the girl spoke made her brother flinch. "Come on. We know a bit about Alix now. And I promise this will be the last time that I do something like this." Alix watched to two siblings begin to bicker.

She frowned to herself. Was this normal for them? She and her mother had always gotten along just fine without any arguments. Well, until a few months ago. Alix thought back to her mother for the first time in a few weeks.

She had just decided to leave on her own. Should she have given her mother a chance to give her opinion on the circumstances. No, this was her decision at the end of the day. She had already chosen. She couldn't spend time regretting the choice.

"Fine!" Alix refocused on the conversation just as Kimi shouted. "We'll take her there! But this is the last time that you decide this type of thing without talking to us first. Am I right Unio?" The youngest looked up shocked. He had not been paying the slightest bit of attention to the conversation his siblings were having.

"S-sure? That's sounds great to me sis!" Kimi smiled gently at her younger brother. "You always know just how to make big sis smile." Unio nodded nervously. He didn't know what he agreed to but he seemed to have said the right thing.

Miles sighed in exhaustion. He never liked arguing with his sister. It was then that he realized that Alix was staring right at him. "What?"

"Where are you three from?" The group went silent. "What do mean?" Alix felt slightly annoyed by Miles asking for clarification on a simple question.

"Where are you from? Where did you live before you got here? What nation are you from? Give me an answer to any one of these questions! It's not that complicated!"

"Okay, I get it. We just don't really feel very comfortable talking about where we're from. And people normally just understand that we're adventurers and don't care enough to pry. So, we're not really used to answering that question." Miles explained the situation as best as he could but that was not enough for Alix.

"Well, I'm not just anyone. I will have my curiosity satisfied .Now tell me where you're from. With how scared you're acting I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you were from Bhigele." Alix nonchalantly joked but quickly noticed the shift in mood of the group.

"You are from Bhigele, The Home of Corruption." Miles glanced at Alix more than a little uncomfortable but nodded in confirmation. "We haven't heard that name in while but yeah. We are Bhigelens."

Allow me to explain a bit about Bhigele. You see, a few centuries ago there was a powerful and prosperous nation known as Galinrei. It was known as the that united the gods. It was the only nation that managed to receive blessings from all eight great gods.

That was some time ago however, as one day the prince of that nation was exposed for being truly vile. Using the funds of his nation to subjugate the land from those he deemed lesser, stealing whatever he pleased be it women or valuables. He was even believed to have worked with the Demon Lord of Corruption, Gregamor.

The kingdom banished their vile prince but not without him cursing the land with the help of his demon partners. The curse changed the citizens of the kingdom. They became cruel, greedy, and selfish. They would fight and steal from each other daily.

The corruption of the nation disgusted the gods which lead to them revoking their blessings leaving the land with no divinity at all. The land continued to fall it worsened as time progress eventually losing the name Galinrei and gaining the name Bhigele, Land of the Fallen.

Alix nodded to herself after recalling one of the texts that her father had about the nation. "I guess not everyone from that place is vile then." Miles looked at the girl astonished. "Wait, really?" He turned to Kimi and Unio who were both similarly shocked.

"Of course. I recently met someone that inherited the life's work of an ancient cult of blood-crazed maniacs. A few Bhigelens was never going to shake me." The three turned to Alix wanting to ask for further information but Alix quickly shook her head.

"Not my business to be spewing." They backed off slightly displeased. The group decided that it was for the best if they rested for the night. Alix set up her own little spot to lay down with both Mo's fishbowl and Trouler resting closely to her.

'Do ya really trust them, Lexi?" Mo's voice rang into Alix's mind.

'Of course not!" Alix didn't even hesitate. Mo laughed heartily. "That's what I expected from you. But ya do still need them to lead ya to the capital." Alix nodded.

'Which is why, I am pretending that I do think that they are kind. I am still lost after all."

'What if they try to lead ya the wrong way?" Alix smirked grimly.

'I want them to try. I have a few things I still want to test."