Leo had no clue how long he should run, only certain in the fact that he needed to gain as much distance as possible. After travelling through half a dozen forks in the road and a handful of sidepaths, the sprint only stopped when Leo and Marem spotted a small village up ahead.
There weren’t any visible signs that indicated the name of this village, let alone anything resembling an entrance. It was nothing but a handful of sparse houses amongst the path, something you could easily ignore while travelling by cart.
“Should we check it out? That’s rhetorical, by the way. There is no way we’re going to keep running with you carrying me like a princess,” Marem said.
“Hey, it was an emergency situation. I’m still not sure we should stop, that guy could be chasing us right now.”
“It’s been like half an hour, we’ve got to be too far to track at this point. Also, for reference, I cannot handle that speed as well as you can. You should thank me for not throwing up on your stupid jacket.”
“What, you think my jacket is stupid? It looks so good on me, though. You have no eye for fashion.”
“Leather jackets just don’t look good on you. Your tasteful Earthen hoodie was much more sophisticated at least. It gave off an aura of refinement, alongside being remarkably soft.”
“Marem, you would dress like a dumbass if we were on Earth. You’re just talking shit because you can’t handle how good I look while running at top speed while you look awful.”
“You’re the reason my hair is all messed up!” she argued. “Let’s just go see if this village has any important knowledge, and then we can get going again. Since you’re terrified of Samuel the rambler.”
The two of them bickered like siblings as they entered the small village. It was only once they started looking around that Leo noticed an odd scent. Well, he noticed an odd lack of scent. Villages were normally overwhelming with the aroma of spices and food, alongside the less fortunate smells that people were bound to create. This village was lacking in both of those categories.
“Hey, hold on for a second. Something is up with this village. I can’t smell a damn thing happening, and there isn’t a single person around.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Marem tightened the grip on her staff, a concerned look on her face. “Well, let’s look around then. Never a good sign when we find somewhere that’s missing its entire population.”
The two of them wandered around the village, looking for any outward signs that could be useful. But neither of them could find anything that helped, and that meant they would need to act unconventionally.
The two of them had already been designated as criminals by the kingdom. While they weren’t certain of the exact charges, there were a few easy guesses. Threatening the king, attacking a court official, and damaging kingdom property were all up there. Alongside all the treason the two of them committed, of course.
That was what made it more palatable for Leo to force open the doors of the village houses. Even if they were caught, what difference would breaking and entering make for their charges? When they started moving through the houses, they only found more damning evidence.
The small homes were simple, with very little in terms of decoration and furniture. But there was nothing missing from any of them. They were all stocked up, as if the owners had no intention to leave. While there could’ve been any manner of reasons for them to leave, it was clear as day who was behind this.
Leo looked around the last house left to explore. “Looks like we have another lead on Cordylia. Doesn’t seem like she left anyone behind this time, though.”
“That makes sense. Out of the thousands of people in Faelde, less than a few hundred were able to avoid her first wave of infection. Small places like this would be lucky to have two people resist her effects.”
“That’s going to be a problem.” Leo sighed. “I figured that there would be some way to find her if we found another village that she took over.”
Marem shot him a cruel look. “Well, I do have one idea that could work.” She began to dig through a basket placed in the corner of the room.
Leo approached her cautiously. “What is it?”
She pulled out a filthy shirt, something left behind in a laundry basket. “Have you ever heard about how dogs can track people down just by scent?”
Leo looked at the shirt in disbelief. “Do you actually think I’m going to sniff some guy’s dirty clothes just to find him?”
“If it means saving a village full of people, I think you would.” She extended it out to him.
Leo scowled at the shirt presented before him, but he eventually relented and grabbed it. “Never mention this to anybody.”
Leo certainly wasn’t a fan of being used like a bloodhound, but he could admit when a plan made sense. After spending far too long getting accustomed to the scent that hung onto the shirt, he left the small village home.
He tried his best to ignore the obvious source that was right behind him and to search for any other traces of sweat or body odor. While the village made it difficult, his nose eventually locked on to what he was looking for. Not only could he smell the man a few miles away, he could also smell the scent of other people.
“You’re the worst for making me a hunting dog, but it worked. We’re headed into the forest.”