Maria and Tsubasa walked all the way back to the Sanctuary, with her bow trained on Tsubasa the entire way. Tsubasa for his part didn't make any moves to escape, but made sure to keep an eye out for monsters and humans alike. They made sure to avoid the latter especially, and eventually, they did make it back to the Sanctuary.
"What's this? You know that the tax is eight goblin monster stones, not five." The guard said with a frown and Maria squinted her eyes at Tsubasa, and he frowned at the guard.
"Those monster stones belong to a Goblin Warrior E- and Goblin Archer E-. I know the Warden based the tax on the rank of the monsters I'm sure those monster stones are more than enough to pay your stupid tax. If not?" Tsubasa said and snatched the monster stones from the guard and guard tried to grab his gun, but Tsubasa's hand reached the hilt of his axe faster. The tension was thick in the air, and Maria thought about backing off, and heading back into the forest before she gets labelled an associate.
"What's going on here?" Leo asked as he walked towards the East gate.
"This prisoner is trying to use five goblin monster stones to get inside instead of eight, like he's supposed to." The guard said while glaring at Tsubasa, his hand still lingering near his weapon.
"I keep telling you that these aren't goblin monster stones, but Goblin Archers and Goblin Warriors. I'm sure they are enough to pay your tax." Tsubasa said and showed him the five monster stones in his hand. Leo looked at them, and then Tsubasa.
"Let him pass, those are indeed enough to pay the tax." Leo said and Tsubasa threw a smirk towards the guards, and then at Maria.
"Told you, now hand over the Scout's monster stone." Tsubasa said and Maria handed it him.
"These are goblin monster stones." He said, taking out seven goblin monster stones and waving them infront of the guard. The guard gritted his teeth in rage, but he had no choice but to accept the monster stones and allow Tsubasa to pass.
"Oh, and by the way." Leo said and sent a powerful punch to Tsubasa's stomach, causing him to keel over.
"Don't ever insult a guard again, if you value your life." Leo whispered in his ear, but Tsubasa stood up like nothing happened and looked him in the eye, much to Leo's surprise.
"I'll keep that in mind." He said and both he and Maria walked away. Leo looked down at his fist and then at Tsubasa's back.
"I sure hope the Warden knows what he is doing." He muttered under his breath
"Did you say something sir?" The guard asked
"No, nothing." Leo said and walked away.
***********************************
Maria quickly parted ways with Tsubasa before going to look for Rosie and the others, whom she quickly found. She told all of them about what happened while she was in the forest on her own. They nodded their heads along and were honestly shocked at how capable she was on her own, which made her proud. They also welcomed the new information that she obtained from Tsubasa.
"In any case, we are glad you're still alive Maria, but now, it's time to recruit some traumatized souls. Anna, Ava and Bella will head out and see if they can recruit any desperate souls. You girls alright with that?" Rosie asked
"No boss, we'll be fine." Anna said, and the three girls headed out to talk to the prisoners. Xavier laid on the ground, softly snoring, and allowing his wounds to heal faster with the power of sleep. Rosie also sat down to rest, but she made sure not to fall asleep, as she had something important to do.
It was late in the evening when the girls came back with five prisoners, three girls and two guys who seemed fairly traumatized and tired, and Bella, Anna and Ava had frowns on their faces.
"Are these the only people you could get?" Rosie asked with a raised eyebrow
"We ran into some trouble boss, it turns out we aren't the only ones recruiting. The Rising Dragons, Crimson Vipers, Hot Wheelers, and a few others are recruiting as well. Most of the prisoners joined the more popular gangs, while a few of them opted to not join anybody." Ava explained and clicked her tongue.
"Well, in any case, five is a nice start. Not too many, not too little, we can start their training and orientation tomorrow. You five can meet us here tomorrow if you're still interested. And here, you guys must be starving." Rosie said with a gentle smile and handed some fruits to the prisoners much to their delight.
"And these are for your protection." She said, handing them a copper weapon each. Soon, they could see the guards patrolling and pushing the prisoners into their cells.
"Xavier, time to wake up." Maria said and tried to poke him, but he caught her hand, surprising her.
"I'm already awake." Xavier said, and slowly got to his feet. Most of the wounds on his body were closed up, and almost completely healed, except for the stomach wound, making him marvel even more at the healing ability of the vitality stat. Even with his fast regeneration rate though, he was still nowhere near a hundred percent.
"See you guys here tomorrow. And Xavier, I'll buy you a fresh set of clothes tomorrow as promised." Rosie said before they parted ways. The two of them made it back to their cells, and the guard quickly closed the cell door.
"Hey, do you guys still have any points?" Xavier asked, and Mickey shook his head.
"I still have 125 points." Maria answered
"Good, tomorrow, you should purchase a few copper water bottles." Xavier said, as he remembered seeing them while shopping in the Orb of Eldara for items.
"And some clothes if you want." He added and they looked at him confused
"Why?" Mickey asked and Xavier smiled
"I know where a river is."