Arwen’s words cut the silence. Her sharp voice had no trace of her usual gentle self. Her eyes met the Mayor’s gaze as he let out a sigh.
“To be fully honest, it’s quite simple. Our food supplies - we’re slowly losing them.” The mayor pointed out the window to his right. A large storehouse just at the outskirts of town could be seen from here. “I’m not sure how or why,” he explained. “But food that should last us the whole winter is disappearing. We found barrels of grain that have gone bad, and it hasn’t even been a week since harvest. Other barrels we found empty, like someone just took all the food inside and left.”
Willow scowled. “How long has this been going on for?”
“Little over three weeks.” The Mayor replied. “We sent for An’Larion as soon as we realised what was happening, but the road to the capital is long and treacherous. It took our messenger a week to arrive there, and two more weeks passed since then.” He paused as the door to the kitchen creaked open, and the innkeeper came over with their food.
“Thank you, Lianna.” The Mayor said as she placed bowls of soup on the table. She smiled at him before heading back into the kitchen.
“How much food have you lost in these three weeks?” Alistair spoke up as the mayor sipped from the soup.
“Almost all of it. We have about one month of food left – if we are careful with how much we eat.” The Mayor looked away. “Clearly the rations Miss Valien sent will help us, but I’m afraid all that is for naught if we can’t stop the existing food from disappearing.”
Suddenly it made sense. “You’ve been rationing.” Midhir blurted out. “That’s why you and everyone else looks so exhausted. You’re all eating less. Less than you need to keep your strength.”
The Mayor shot him a glance. “Yes.” He rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. “You may investigate as much as you want – if you find the cause of this, we’ll be forever in your debt. If you’ll excuse me, I must leave. There is much work to be done in preparation for the winter.” He took his empty soup bowl, placed it on the counter and left without another word.
A few moments passed in silence as Midhir, and the others finished their meals as well.
“We should check the storehouse.” Alistair spoke up a short while later. “I don’t know why food might be going bad so unnaturally quickly, but disappearing food could mean theft – perhaps wild animals are getting into the building.”
“I think we should also speak to people.” Willow added. “Maybe they saw something. Maybe they noticed things the mayor didn’t deem important enough to mention.”
Arwen nodded. “Then let’s split into two groups. I’ll come with you, Willow. And the guys can check the storehouse.”
“That’s fine.” Alistair stood up. “Let’s go, we should investigate as much as we can before sundown.”
The storehouse was behind the buildings that formed the half circle look of Lohssa. It was the closest building to the forest north of the town. A moss covered path led them there.
“No guards,” Midhir noted as they approached the building.
“Unwise.” Alistar scowled as he unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
The metal reinforced wooden door creaked loudly as the young noble pulled it open. Midhir covered his ears as it was an ear-piercing sound. “There’s no way the townsfolk didn’t hear that.” He grumbled.
It was quite cold inside the storehouse. A blue crystal hanging from the ceiling illuminated the interior, revealing the many boxes, barrels, and sacks stacked up against the walls. It was a very well organised storage. Everything was clearly labelled – the contents, amount, date of acquisition. It was quite impressive.
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“It’s too well organised.” Alistair scowled as he let the doors close behind them. “Had an animal broken in, we’d see torn sacks and spilled food on the ground.” He walked to the nearest box and inspected it.
“There are no locks, but it’s not quite that easy to open.” He noted as he struggled to open the lid of the box. The cube shaped box was tall enough to reach his shoulders. “I don’t understand how any animal could open this, actually.” He grumbled as he continued his struggle.
They couldn’t, it was as simple as that. “Normal animals can’t.” Midhir muttered as he narrowed his eyes. A wolf couldn’t – besides, wolves wouldn’t come after grain. Bears perhaps could, but there would be markings left.
Alistair gave up. “I’m by no means weak and I’m having trouble with it.” He admitted. “Any animal strong enough to open this would just break it instead. I’m thinking along the lines of more intelligent beasts.” He looked at Midhir. “What do you think?”
Midhir pressed his lips together as he pondered. “Perhaps,” he mumbled as he walked further into the building. He checked the sacks and barrels. “We’d need to know if there are any nearby.” Intelligent beasts were rare, and only existed near places of power. In all of his life, he had only seen a single one of them. “If that’s the case, we’re out of luck.”
Alistair nodded. “We’d need to call for reinforcements.” He shook his head. “But instructor Soraya wouldn’t have sent us here if that were the case. We’re missing something.”
Midhir forced one of the smaller barrels open as Alistair spoke. The putrid smell of rotten food invaded his nostrils before he could even see the contents of the barrel. He heaved with disgust as he quickly closed the lid shut.
“Veil’s touch,” He cursed under his breath as he stumbled back, covering his mouth and nose from the foul smell. “Alistair!” he called out at the young noble. “Rotten.”
The label on the barrel was of only one month ago, and it apparently contained grain.
Alistair checked only peaked inside once, then shut the lid. “That wasn’t grain from just a month ago.” He shook his head. “It looks like it’s from last year.”
“It reeks like it’s from last year.” Midhir spat.
They moved the barrel outside, then went back in to check the remaining food stocks. Three more rotten sacks and another barrel later, they were sure the storehouse was free of any rotten or spoilt food. Alistair inspected the rotten containers while Midhir circled around the building, looking for a second entrance.
“I found nothing.” Alistair informed him as soon as he came back.
“Same,” Midhir sighed. “I’m pretty much out of ideas – it’s clearly not animals, and if there were intelligent beasts here we’d have known.”
“There is only one feasible answer left before we need to consider more… unusual things.” Alistair hesitated. “You know what I mean, don’t you?”
Midhir nodded firmly. “A human thief.” He whispered, choosing not to focus on the second option Alistair clearly had in mind. “Maybe Willow and Arwen found something worthwhile. We should meet up with them.”
Their shadows had grown longer as the sun started to disappear behind the horizon. Strong winds blew as the night sky began to glimmer with stars. By the time they arrived at the inn, the last light of the day had just vanished.
“Oh, your friends?” The innkeeper Lianne smiled. “They came back a bit earlier, so I suggested they visit the hot springs over there,” She pointed south to the farthest building in Lohssa. “Especially the blonde one looked like she could really use a refreshing bath. You two look like you could use one too.”
Alistair shook his head. “Not right now but thank you for the offer. I’d rather rest for a while in our room.”
“Of course, come, I’ll show you to your rooms.” She glanced at Midhir, but he quickly shook his head. She led Alistair to the second floor, then returned alone shortly after. “Is there anything I can do for you, sir…?”
“Just call me Midhir,” He forced a smile. This was the first time he’d gotten to take a good look at her, and it broke his heart. Had she even been eating at all? She was so slim and pale. “And… I suppose I should be the one asking you that question. You look like you could use some rest… a good meal.”
Lianne smiled weakly. “Rest I could use, yes. A good meal will have to wait, I’m afraid.” She glanced out the window, towards the fenced area by the barn.
“I’d be glad to help.” Midhir offered again.
“The hay bales need to be moved into the barn,” She admitted sheepishly. “I would do it… but they’re heavy and… well…” her voice faded as she clenched her dress. “Our food situation has affected all of us greatly.”
Midhir nodded. “Yeah. I’ll take care of the hay.” He couldn’t find anything else to say. He awkwardly smiled, then headed outside.
The hay bales were put up against the barn wall and tied with sturdy rope. He first glanced around to look at the horse he’d seen earlier. It didn’t seem to be in the fenced area, nor was it inside the barn. He soon got to work, carrying the bales inside the barn, then upstairs to the hayloft. He stacked them carefully, then went back down narrow staircase.
The barn doors creaked open as he stepped down, and a man stepped inside, pulling the horse he had previously seen in the fenced area along with him.
“Oh hello,” The man said as soon as their gazes met. “I didn’t expect to see another traveller here.”
image [https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1AE26oxRJ1VLUwn9TY2qt61ati41Cd6bv&sz=w2400-h400]