Balin is a very private person. So secretive that his colleagues found it difficult to guess his behavior. Rodit was the most reliable person in the group. He organizes, makes, and plans everything.
Erin is arguably Rodit's right hand. He is the one who helps Rodit, if he has difficulty organizing the group. Together, the two of them lead. Gelin is rather arrogant and careless. However, on other occasions he also became a suggestion when the two group leaders had difficulty deciding.
Gelin's rash and short-sighted nature made him less trustworthy. Jelin never thinks or engages in group discussions. He only thinks about himself and sometimes becomes an interrupter. He arrogant nature makes he the most disliked. And vice versa, he hates Balin.
Meanwhile, Belin is calm and has a clear mind. He could see something behind the invisible. But he also disliked Balin. Because Balin is a Liplap or someone who has mixed blood. So that makes him the most disliked person in the group.
His involvement in the group was alienated. However, both leaders were mature enough to accept anyone into the group.
Once, a conflict broke out between them. Some defended Balin to stay in the group. Others argued for Balin to stay alone to face the land-grabbers.
Erin and Rodit protected Balin to stay in the group. Jelin and Belin were forced to accept Balin being in the group. However, they never forgot to interrupt Balin at any opportunity.
"The liplap people are all around us. This really is a sign of the end times," Jelin said to Belin.
"I'm reluctant to talk to someone with mixed blood. Because he must be arrogant. And just look at him. Never wanted to talk since the first meeting," Belin replied.
"May the Land -grabbers first find the liplap," Belin and Jelin were always far ahead of Balin. They were unwilling to walk in line with Balin, even if they were just standing.
Balin was a blacksmith when he lived in Frem village. He was such a tenacious worker that the king gave him a permanent job forging some of his soldiers' equipment. Meanwhile, Rodit is an adventurer and a reliable tea leaf seeker who knows various roads.
Erin is a book lover and has more knowledge than her peers. He uses his brain more than his muscles. Meanwhile, Jelin is an animal cutter. Her job makes her a reliable hunter and cook if needed.
Belin doesn't share much about himself with others. He didn't want his past to be known to others. But there was one possibility that he was a pickpocket in Higbridtheria. It was only natural that he became a prisoner. Then there was fat Gelin, a former wrestler.
When the others began to act abusively, Rodit willingly defended Balin. He did not want the group he led to break up, even though Balin was alone as a liplap who was always labeled bad by the Natyf people.
Rodit was not ashamed if he was considered a liplap defender, because he thought that liplap or not, at least had something in common: they had Natyf blood, and that could be considered a brother to him. Erin as Rodit's right-hand man understood that. So he also defended Balin.
Jelin often criticized Balin for having dirty blood. He didn't want the purity of him natyf blood to be tarnished by being close to Balin. Although quiet, Belin sometimes liked to stay away when Balin was around. He didn't say he disliked Balin, but he could tell by his attitude.
Rodit had trouble reading the road in the middle of the forest. That's why the other companions became upset. Jelin always said in a worried tone.
"What if the land-grabbers find us?" he said.
"Don't act like a coward," Gelin replied.
Rodit gingerly guided the way he had chosen. "This way," he said. Although hesitant, his companions joined in his words.
What about Balin's? He remained an obedient sheep to his shepherd.
No one knew where to get out of Eeden's hilly forest. Rodit had tried many times, but he never found the right path. Maybe this way is the right way or maybe that way is the right way. That's what Rodit thought when he was looking for a way.
"All the terrain is pretty much the same, and I thought for the last time that this was the right way," but once they passed through, it was still the wrong way.
"I think this way," Rodit said.
"Or maybe we've been this way twice already," he continued.
It was confusing going through the terrain on Eeden Hill where the land-grabbers were nesting. Even so, they had to survive and get out of this cursed forest as soon as possible.
The land- rabbers were a group of bandits who refused to accept the establishment of a special region of the Witterstein province in Wesgan.
They are mostly natyf bloods who claim that the land of Wesgan is the land of their ancestors and they have the right to it.
The arrival of the Witters and the establishment of the Witterstein region infuriated them. The rebellion was based on their years of resistance.
That's why they were called the Land-grabbers, as the lands they passed through would devour whatever grew from the soil, and the waters until they were gone.
In addition to devouring land, the Land-grabbers are also ruthless and cruel to their victims. If the victim is unlucky, his body must be cut into several parts. Not only that, the parts of the victim's pieces are scattered in other places.
The Land-grabbers were indeed bloodthirsty, they had even gone as far as the civilization known by the Witters. That's why they were also referred to as a group of barbarians who knew no empathy or compassion.
If the victim was luckier, they might have only lost a few limbs and managed to be left with a life of suffering. Until the victim meets their own slow demise. That is the abomination of the Land-grabbers to their victims.
Once Rodit found part of the limbs of the victims of the land-grabbers. He trembled and shuddered when he saw a finger lying on the ground.
"Gosh, can you imagine how many other limbs we have to find?" he said.
Erin scanned the surroundings. "It'll be dark soon," he grumbled.
Gelin gave the order to prepare for the land-grabbers' attack. His spirit was burning.
"Don't be rash, we need to stay out of the enemy's sight and avoid the fight," Erin said.
In the midst of the group's disagreement, Balin chimed in, saying he'd found another limb.
"That's her thumb," Rodit said. "It's likely that the victim's body was scattered around here, not far from here."
Then they searched for the victim's other limbs by sneaking around.
The search for the victim's limbs continued. Rodit and Balin searched the western area. While Erin and Gelin went to the east. And Jelin and Belin to the north.
They searched introspectively. They must not look conspicuous. They also covered their bodies with mud to disguise their skin color with the leaves in the forest.
"Is this just one victim, or are there more? We don't know," Rodit said. "What is clear is that the victim's limbs must have been scattered in the area near here."
Balin didn't comment. He just followed Rodit, who didn't know where to take him.
Apparently found another victim's limb. Not a thumb but a slice of hair that was quite long. It was found scattered on the surface of the ground.
"Be careful, friend," Rodit said. "We've started entering enemy territory."
The six of them eventually reunited and tried to explain what they had found. Rodit and Balin found footprints in the west. Erin and Gelin found a piece of hair. Jelin and Belin found nothing.
So tense was the current situation. Gelin was burning with anger, Rodit was getting more alert, Erin was thinking hard, Belin and Gelin were watching each other, and Balin felt threatened.
Whether the victim was a woman or a man was a mystery. Rodit with the help of Erin, his right-hand man, investigated the body parts and pieced them together one by one.
Erin could speculate that the body was that of a woman in her twenties. That could be seen from the size of her thumb which was only the size of Balin's thick index finger.
"Something strange happened to the victim," Erin said. "But the question is what?"
No one replied to Erin's words. They were all silent in amazement. This poor woman's body seemed to hold one more mystery.
"Is it a disease?" Erin continued. "But, it could have been some kind of skin disease."
"Is it possible that before her body was divided into parts, the victim was burned first by the land-grabbers?" Rodit continued.
"It could be," Erin replied. "But it's clear that the victim's body was already incomplete before being divided into pieces."
Balin and Rodit were relentless in their search for the truth about the victim. Erin said the victim's body was first burned and then cut into pieces.
Balin argued that the body was affected by a skin disease that made it look as if the skin was burning. Rodit agreed with Balin and expressed the same to his colleagues.
"Whether burned or affected by skin diseases, the point is that the victim's body was not intact before being cut into pieces by the land-grabbers," Erin said.
Search after search, they finally found out the mystery behind what happened to the victim. Apparently the victim was a woman and a man. Both were burned alive.
Then their bodies were cut into several parts and scattered on the ground near the place where they were burned. All of this was told by the observations made by Erin and Rodit.
Balin did not say anything. Gelin and Jelin also listened.
"Next victim, you liplap, look at that," Jelin said. Gelin followed his partner to leave Balin behind.
Balin was restless at that moment. His body tingled, his nose was breathing hard. Something was wrong around here. And sure enough, Erin and Rodit felt it too.
They were wary of the possibility of land-grabbers finding them investigating the bodies of their victims.
Gelin and Jelin as well as Belin patrolled the surroundings. There were still no land-grabbers, and they were still making jokes about land-grabbers. Then they laughed, until suddenly there was a rustling sound in the distance.
The sound became clearer, and they froze as if a great disaster was about to befall them.
"It's them," Rodit cursed. "Go save yourselves!" they scattered like ants that had lost their way.
Rodit, Erin and Balin took refuge in an uninhabited cave. The others hid behind trees and leaves.
Inside the cave, Balin, Rodit and Erin stayed silent waiting for the land-grabbers to arrive. However, as they waited for hours, no land-grabbers appeared.
"They do move invisibly to the eye. If you don't watch out, you might get hit by them," said Rodit. "My advice is to stay hidden."
Balin began to speak up at times like this. He told about the fate of his children who had been abandoned in the village of Frem.
"How can I know their fate when I am so far away from them?" Balin said.
"It's burdensome, Balin," Rodit replied. "Believe me, I too have felt the weight of leaving home."
Erin did not add his comment. He scanned the outside of the cave, keeping an eye out for any land-grabbers waiting for them.
In the end, they were reunited. The sound of raindrops falling to the ground. It was a sign that the land-grabbers weren't interfering with their feelings anymore.
Coming out of the cave and out of hiding, they intended to find shelter for the night as it was getting dark.
They decided to find a place close to the river. From the river, it was easy to get fish to eat."
A terror struck the prisoners. The night was getting tense. They could not fall asleep. Awake because the situation is so tense. In the end, they put out the fire, woke up, and were always on their guard. Perhaps the land-grabbers were watching them.
In the midst of their vigilance against attacks, Balin told Rodit about his family. Erin was just listening. As we know, Balin left his three children in Frem, where he lives.
Maybe they're fast asleep right now, Rodit interjected. But Balin always denied that his children were okay. He was eager to get home, and Rodit encouraged him.
"You'll be home," he said.
But Erin had a look on her face that said: that's not going to happen, because we're stuck in this forest, with the land-grabbers.
Screams could be heard in the distance. The roar grew larger and more deafening. Gelin, Jelin, and Belin panicked. They left their hiding place and tried to save themselves.
Balin and Rodit persevered and stayed where they were. Erin thought hard.
"Do you have an alternative route?" Balin asked Rodit.
"I do, but unfortunately, it's very dark at this time of night," Erin replied. "If possible, we'll wait until morning."
Erin didn't speak. He tried to hear the sounds from outside the cave, guessing how many people were there.
"Maybe five or four," Erin said. "We have to watch out for their attacks."
"It's definitely the land-grabbers," Rodit continued. "I know it, the sound, the code. They intend to attack."
Inevitably, they had to leave this cave, because the Land-grabbers would know it was a hiding place. Balin, Rodit, and Erin gathered their courage and knowledge of the terrain they would be traveling.
Rodit led the way, but he didn't know where the safest place was either. Erin kept swearing about the nature of the land-grabbers. And he said that if he met one of them, he would tear the victim's body apart.
In fact, there were no land-grabbers to be seen while they were outside. Up ahead they could see Gelin, Jelin and Belin running and hiding. If there were land-grabbers, they would have been easy targets.
However, the peace did not last long. In front of them, Belin, Jelin, and Gelin were met with resistance by land-grabbers who openly attacked them with their bare hands in a fight.
Gelin always had the upper hand among them. Even so, he preferred to save himself and when he managed to knock out his opponent, he again ran away from the scene of the fight. Meanwhile, Belin and Jelin were overwhelmed by the onslaught.
Jelin was unable to put up a fight and one of the land-grabbers brought a cutting knife, and stabbed Jelin in the stomach with the hardest swing. Belin saw this and surrendered. He was carried away by the land-grabbers as a sign of victory.
There was nothing more important now than to flee the scene. Rodit led the way away from Belin who had been captured by the land-grabbers. Erin commented that he was saddened by Jelin's tragic death.
Besides that, he also added his scathing comments to Gelin who could not be a friend because he dared to leave his fellow colleagues to save his own life. Balin did not flinch, he was not used to seeing murder in his life.
His hands were shaking with fear. Rodit realized that, and said soon they would be safe from the siege of the land-grabbers. He promised afterward. Balin remained silent and just did as he was told.
At the crossroads, Rodit was unsure which path was the right one. He thought hard about which way they should go. Meanwhile, the land-grabbers lurked behind them. There was no other way out but through the jungle.
In the jungle, there are no road signs or paths. They must be smart and observant to remember not to return to the path they have traveled. Just as Erin predicted, they ended up just walking in place.
However, without realizing it, they were separated from Balin. Where is he now? Erin asked. Rodit was again disturbed and withdrew his intention to get out of the forest before finding Balin and saving himself.
Balin decided to find a shortcut to get out of the forest on the untouched Eeden hill. He hoped to be reunited with his children. He thought, indeed, the only way was to take this path.
In the middle of the forest, he skulked like a spider, avoiding the sight of the land-grabbers, if they were indeed watching him. He apologized to himself for having to make this choice.
He made the decision to get away from his comrades and find his way home. He didn't know much about the terrain, but he could easily remember. So what Balin did was to remember the path previously taken.
He returned to the cave, then to the place where it all began. From there he began to have trouble finding the path they had originally taken. Because before they were reunited, Balin's eyes were covered. Half-consciously he staggered in all directions in the middle of the forest.
Before that, he had no recollection. It was just before dawn, and the chill of dawn made his body hair bristle, remembering the land-grabbers killing his companion. It was the first experience he could not forget.
Then he remembered his children calling his name again, and the village of Frem falling into the hands of the land-grabbers. This image made him half-crazy, and he wanted to end it as soon as possible. He didn't understand how it could end here.[*]