Chapter 14: Forgotten Village
Idmon's group carried him away from the goblin tunnels and rested in a ruined village. He thought about what it was like before.
Back then, when the central regions were still inhabited, there were a lot of villages. The central part also housed the families of the traders.
Villages and towns were being caught up in the war one by one. They all were either wiped out or turned into slaves.
There was a village near the southern border, but not a very noticeable one.
You could see farmers around that are plowing their lands, oblivious to the coming tragedy since there were no witnesses to report the ongoing massacre to this village.
“How you doin’?”
“Just fine, thank you.”
Villagers were exchanging greetings during this particular afternoon.
Birds were chirping, and children were playing outside.
Young people were having a little chit-chat, and others were having dates and other stuff, then suddenly.
Zsooom!
Zsooom! Zsooom! Zsooom! Zsooom!
Arrows were raining. Adults, elders, and children alike were falling one by one.
The inevitable end is here.
Screams and sounds of desperate crying were all around the village.
“Ahhhh!”
“Not my baby!”
“Nooooo, then it was cut off since the part that was producing the sound was also cut off."
A mother and child were inside a house. The mother hugged her child tightly.
“Don’t worry, baby; when we wake up tomorrow, everything will be alright.”
Flames surrounded the village. The war has gotten to this place, and stray fire spells have hit the houses.
The victorious army did not go home after they won the fight. They would loot any nearby villages and declare that these people were caught in the crossfire.
This scenario was happening in this village and other villages in the region.
“Stop! Please spare us!”
Then, slash. Blood spread to the ground. The soldiers were killing the villagers one by one.
No matter which region won, soldiers in the north and south would pillage.
“No! Stop!”
The village chief got his walking stick and tried to get in the way of the soldiers.
"Die, old man!”
After receiving multiple sword stabs, the chief collapsed.
Men, women, and children alike were being slaughtered.
"Lina, do not worry; you don’t need to look outside. When you wake up, everything will be alright.”
The mother inside the house just made her child fall to sleep. She hugged her child so tight. The mother was stabbed from the back.
The mother’s body fell on the child, covering her and hiding her from the soldiers.
Nothing but burned houses remained in that village.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Lina woke up the next day and was not sure what to think or what really happened.
Lina: "Mom? Mom?"
She tried to stop the tears from flowing.
Lina: "Anyone? Anybody? Help me..."
She kept waiting, but no one woke up that day.
And all the days after that event, she was still waiting for someone to wake up.
.
.
.
Wake up!
Huh?
Wake up!
Huh? I think someone told me to wake up.
But I want to keep sleeping.
WAKE UP!
“Urghhhkkk!” A weird sound was made as I was suddenly woken up. It must be bones that hit each other.
I saw Bon by my side. His hand was glowing purple. What is this?
How did Bon learn that? That spell was only available for skeleton wizards.
No matter which angle I look at it from, this is the spell.
I felt my strength returning. I almost left this world earlier.
The last time I was awake, I was fighting. I blacked out after the fight. Where am I now?
I looked around, and we seemed to be inside a burned-out house. I could see some of my group outside.
Fortunately, we were able to get out of that predicament.
I tried speaking to Bon via
Idmon: “Bon, what happened?”
Bon: “Lord Idmon, good to see you are alright. I believe this is our first time conversing, so let me thank you for everything so far.”
Oh! He can use it! Telepathy!
Idmon: “You're welcome. Can you tell me what happened after the fight?”
Bon told me the whole story.
After the Lightning Arc spell, I fell, and my group charged at the paralyzed Black Goblin King.
They attacked again and again. The surrounding goblins were surprised at the chain of events happening. They did not try to fight anymore and ran away quickly.
Bon took on the duty of collecting the bones of the black goblin king, and he commanded the others to gather the equipment lying around the lair.
I’ll check that out later.
They carried me out of the hole and took refuge in a nearby ruined village.
Idmon: “Thanks, Bon; you are a reliable friend.”
He kneeled.
Bon: “Anything for our Lord.”
It seems they consider me their lord since I was able to save them from certain death at the hands of humans.
I wish I could live up to their expectations.
Then...
Crack, boom.
Something fell nearby. Someone must be here.
We get ready to fight. I took my daggers from the desk nearby, where I was lying earlier.
I look at Bon.
Idmon: "Woah! Bon, what is that?"
He was holding a fireball in his hand. He can use the spell
Instead of being scared of the enemy, I was more scared of Bon.
I signaled for him to stand down. I don’t want to waste anything without determining the enemy.
It might just be a goblin.
I slowly walk towards the source of the sound. It was in the other room of this house.
I entered the door and saw what I saw.
GHOST!
Wah! I fell to the ground in shock. It was an ethereal girl.
After a few moments of staring at each other, I suddenly realized that ghosts don’t have any reason to fight with the undead, so I can calm down now.
I walked around the ghost.
She doesn’t seem to respond. I tried to touch her, and my hand went through.
It is a ghost.
I used telepathy, hoping to establish a conversation.
Idmon: “Hello there.”
Ghost: “Hello.”
She talks!
Woah!
I stepped back a few steps. I thought the ghost was just mindless. I tried to touch her ghostly dress. Unsurprisingly, it did not work.
Idmon: “I'm sorry about getting so surprised. I am Idmon. What is your name?”
Lina: “Lina.”
Hmm… I don’t know what to say or ask. I guess it’s okay to ask random questions. Also, looking at her closely, she does not have a face.
She has eye sockets, a nose, and a mouth, though.
Idmon: “(t) Um… Lina, what happened here?”
Then she told me the story of the village.
If I remember correctly, the last time the central region had humans was 200 years ago, according to the book I read in the bookstore back then.
She was here for more than hundreds of years!?
Lina: “I didn’t really notice it. I became a ghost, and every day seemed to pass by quickly. It was the same scene every day. There are some occasional changes, like when a land defiler passes by. That occurs every 50 years, I think?”
She also said that she didn’t leave the village because of her fear that she would get lost or destroyed by someone or something out there.
Hmm, I understand where she’s coming from now.
Was she just waiting around here for nothing, then?
Idmon: “Why don’t you come with us, Lina?”
Lina: “Where are you going?”
Idmon: “Anywhere, as long as it is away from humans. South for now.”
Lina: “Okay.”
That was quick. I thought Lina had some kind of attachment to this village. Maybe she still has, but it’s too dull to stay in the same place for hundreds of years.
Lina: “Before we leave, let me just say goodbye.”
Idmon: “Okay.”
She went to the cemetery in the village. She bowed to every tomb. I think I saw a tear, but that’s just my imagination.
Idmon: “Let’s go.”
I ordered my men to get ready, and we started marching again.
Along the way, I tried to find Lina’s category in the ghost section of the monster registry.
Banshee.
Description: A ghost of someone filled with regret. They are female most of the time, but different variations also exist.
That’s vague.
The skills are...
Possible evolutions are:
Maiden of Regret, Greater Banshee. Unique variations may exist.
She’s very powerful, indeed. I was glad to have another member of the family.
By the way, she floats around. Cool.
I ask her to scout around us for additional safety.
She’s good at this because she can escape anytime she finds an enemy.
We proceeded south from the village since Lina had an idea of the directions around here.
That’s great because we won’t get lost or travel for a long time anymore.
"Finally, I am free..."
I thought I heard a whisper from Lina, but when I looked at her, she was humming and happily tagging along.