"Please, go ahead! Soothly an attentive decision!" he responded to Alvaro's statement. Xhad appreciated the vigilance of the soldier, and decided to follow his example. He grabbed a thick, heavy stick from the ground and flung it towards the gusts. The piece of wood swiftly circled the camp to eventually escape the whirlwind and smack Xhad on his forehead. He was satisfied with a silent "ouch" and a brief rub with his fingers, before giving out a laugh.
"Well, peradventure I ought to leave the task to you."
When everybody eventually went to sleep, Xhad used half of his being to murmur his mantras a few times, read a little, and the other half to pay attention to the surroundings. No! He was not going to be trapped yet again in his thoughts! Just a few more minutes and he would focus entirely to guard the place.
Aside from the grasshoppers' constant chatter, few sounds intruded the place. Everything was still. When his time was up, Xhad went to sleep and let Tristan continue his job. His energy tent was by no means solid, but enough to ensure shelter for the night. Its almost thorough transparency also made it possible to witness the stars, an opportunity truly appreciable to the part-spirit.
The morning eventually arrived, bringing the usual yawns and stretchings to Xhad before coming out of his tent. The soldiers were nowhere to find. Not even their blanket was present. Maybe they were out for some food before restarting their journey?
"Err, Alvaro?" he shouted, exploring the glade, his pace getting faster as seconds passed. After the vain echoes of each soldier's name died out, Xhad started considering to simply wait...
But then he saw it. Just a few steps outside of the opening there was an odd gleaming. It did not take him long to find out it was the materialisation of dread: all the money would have satisfied even the greediest of minds, for it seemed like an entire lake of silver coins that was lying before him. He froze, not sure whether to run, scream, or simply give in to the dizziness clouding his vision to eventually faint.
A tallish man came with the most relaxed attitude, whistling. As he filled his bag with the hellish metal, he turned to the part-human.
"What's the matter, lad? You seem like you're going to throw up... need a little water, maybe? How long have you slept anyway? It's 28 a.m. already and you look way too drowsy!" the man spoke with a genuine positivity, one even Xhad could have envied, had he not been preoccupied by something else.
He made a huge effort to regain his voice, the eventual words being soft and shaky. He slowly pointed towards the coin lake.
"H-how did this get here?..."
"Oh, boy, you've really got a problem!" the man eventually exclaimed, seeing Xhad's lost and perplexed expression. "I think you're, in fact, in need of rest, not an oversleeper."
"N-no... I need to know how on Le'Raana has this gotten here?" he responded with a calm, monotonous tone. Xhad would usually consider this style rude, but he could not help it.
"Oh, come on!" the man patted him on the back. "This is a refiller, just try to remember!"
"A re... what?"
"A refiller... you know, the place where people come to help themselves."
An awkward silence arouse. "The place whence you can take some money?..." he continued, seeing how he's still confused.
"Y-you mean to tell me one can simply come here and take as much silver as they desire?" he asked, making an effort not to look towards the great quantity of metal.
"Something of that sort!"
"But that is... that is, um, I-I mean to say..."
"Come one! What year do you live in, seriously? You kind of resemble those guys BGS I heard about in history class when I was a kid. Ugh, I hate history!"
"BGS?"
"Uuh... Before the Great Shift? You know, the year world-peace was established. I don't even know why you're still walking around with those pointy blades, anyway!" he responded, pointing to Xhad's weapons.
"You know, the economy also suffered huge changes! Now everyone is just so honest and righteous that nobody takes more money than they need, you know, eh?" he patted him again on the back.
"B-but... it can be not all silver! What happened to the gold, to the emerald, to the bron--"
"Ooooh, right... those are all used for typical everyday-life whatever now. Hmm, I have heard about time-machines and all of that, but I didn't think they are already a reality! Well, anyway, got to go; it's been nice chatting with you. But really, do something about your sleeping patterns, it's for your own good, my friend! Maybe that weird translucid tent over there could do the job! Peace!" he began walking away.
"W-wait! Wait! This is insane, sir! I-I too love jokes. You indeed scared me, but--"
"What jokes? This is reality, lad! Hm, people have told me I have a sarcastic tone before, but I didn't think it was this strong!"
"How strange is this forest?!" Xhad shouted in anger. "Just last night I was sitting at the campfire and now the whole world has changed!"
"Well, I guess you've overslept! Bye!"
"Just a second, sir! Have you not seen three soldiers around here by accident? One of them wa--"
"Soldiers?! What are you jabbering about? Everywhere is just peace now! No conflicts. Why on earth would anybody need soldiers?! Anyway, no, I can't help you, bye!" the man's lunatic behaviour became more evident as seconds passed.
The whole world seemed to have changed and Xhad's flurry of questions could not be answered. Were Ignacio's pranks that elaborate? No, not likely...
He began running around, not knowing what to even try to do or believe. Maybe moving would calm him down a little...
He eventually tripped and, as he had instinctively unsheathed his sword, he accidentally scratched the bark of one of the trees as he fell. Quite a deep cut. The tree was glittering too because of the silvery interior.
"No, this is beyond possible..."
It did not matter how illogical things seemed, Xhad could not reason and think properly and thus could not even try to presume it could all have been a trick of the woods.
OOC: Just a quick note, I'm planning to add more stuff to the fear thing in another post before making Xhad realise it's all illusions. I just didn't want to make this one even longer than it already is. Wellp, see you!