Chapter 19.5 - The Adventuring ( Part 4 )

-” I think I will pass. Thank you for your kind offer. “ I said weakly. Humiliation later was not worth the food today. Wolga sighed at my answer and started cooking.

With pained feeling, I have extracted dreadful bread out of my pouch and looked at it.

-’ I am not that hungry. ‘ I told myself. -' It’s better to go hungry. ‘ I sighed as I put the bread back in a pouch.

Meanwhile Wolga set the cauldron over a fire, filled it with water from a waterskin and started chopping vegetables on the wooden board. Amount of stuff she carried around was astounding.

Lysanthir and Hamon laid sprawled on the ground, stuffed with rye bread, but still looking intently at Wolga’s feast.

Some time later cauldron was happily bubbling and agonizingly appetizing smell spread around. I could not get goulash, with it’s vegetables, meats and seasonings, out of my mind…

Suddenly Forest sprang to his feet and sniffed intently.

-” What happened? “ He asked innocently, while looking around. -” When did we set up camp? “

-” Nice to see you alive boy! “ Hamon said openly. -” You suddenly fell, so we decided to set up the camp. “

-” Um… “ He looked inquisitively at Hamon. -“ Why did I fell? “

-” Hmph. “ Wolga snorted.

-” Let’s just say that you said something… “ Hamon responded vaguely.

Suddenly Forest fell to his knees in Front of Wolga.

-” I do not know what I said, but I am sorry! “ He apologized earnestly. -” I certainly didn’t mean anything bad! You know right? “ He asked desperately with wide eyed, pleading expression.

Wolga looked at him sternly, but her look softened under Forest’s puppy-eyed expression. She sighed as she responded.

-” I know, but you… “ She hesitated for a moment. -” ...you just don’t learn. Do you? “ She shook her head. -” Ok, I will forgive you, but you better learn how to behave. “

-” I will work hard! “ Forest sprang to his feet and nodded enthusiastically.

-” I know that you will. “ She said wistfully and then whispered quietly to herself. -” ...but when will you get it? “

Afterwards Forest sat in front of the fire and reached into his pouch. I watched him intently, wondering if there’s anything worth extorting. My interest was piqued as he retrieved a bowl and a spoon…

I almost fell over at his next words.

-” Is it ready? “ He said simply.

Wolga gave him threatening look, but that did not dissuade him.

-” I bet it tastes great, like always. “ Forest said earnestly. -” Wolga’s a great cook after all. “

I shook my head in disbelief at Wolga’s suddenly tame expression. Without a word she took a ladle and filled his bowl. My stomach churned as I watched Forest’s frantic eating.

-” Mmm, it’s perfect! “ Forest said with big grin on his face and nodded in approval. -” You are the best! “

Wolga reddened in embarrassment and filled a bowl of her own.

My stomach grumbled at the sight of them eating. I looked to the side and saw Myrnuul’s Club members, Lysanthir and Hamon, looking at Forest with mix of hatred and wistfulness.

-’ Argh, this is too much. ‘ I felt like crying when I gave up.

I stood up and approached Wolga.

-” May I have a bowl too? “ I said matter of factly. -” I reconsidered. “ I added tearfully.

-” Of course. “ Wolga gave me a grin and prepared a bowl.

-” And you must not tell anyone what you see, when you see me without a scarf. “ I added thoughtfully as I reached for the bowl.

-” Now, that made me curious. “ Hamon suddenly joined in loudly. -” I want to see what’s beneath that scarf too! “

-” Are you ready to die for that? “ I answered threateningly and Hamon suddenly faltered.

-” On the other hand I am not that curious. Please don’t mind. “ Hamon said meekly.

-” Don’t worry, I am least inclined to laugh at someone’s look. “ Wolga took this moment to answer and indicated herself as she spoke.

-” It’s not a laughing matter. “ I said coldly as I took the bowl.

In heavy atmosphere I sat down and turned my back on everyone. After lowering my scarf I took the spoon and started eating. Goulash turned out heavenly, it was spicy and had a deep, thick flavor. Before long I was back for seconds and thirds, and in no time at all, Wolga and I, cleared whole cauldron. Myrnuul’s club’s gazes followed us intently.

After the feast we rested for some time and then continued on our journey.

As early afternoon slowly passed into mid afternoon, and then, into late afternoon we could see gray cloud slowly growing on the horizon. As we approached strands of mists started appearing, growing thicker and thicker.

Green grass gave way to it’s brown and withered counterpart. Occasional gnarly, leafless tree menacingly loomed in the distance. Mists converged into gloomy, grey shroud, enveloping everything in it’s wet, prevalent grasp.

As we walked the heavy mood grew. Sounds of our steps were dulled by the wet blanket of mists and uneasy silence fell between us, no one wanted to speak in the oppressive atmosphere.

I could feel a strange sensation coming from the mists. I could not explain why, but mists seemed alive and, somehow, I felt like I could almost reach out and touch them.

-” Hmm, seems haunted alright. “ Hamon tried to break the mood, but underlying doubt undermined the effort.

Lysanthir’s resolute words seemed forced as he asked.

-” Umm, shouldn’t it be a village? I do not see any buildings. “

-” Ah. That’s because the mists reach far and wide... “ Hamon answered quietly. -” It’s still quite a distance from the village. “

We cautiously ventured further, dark shapes loomed at the edge of our vision, veiled by the mists. Our movements caused surrounding vapours to stir, wispy strands flowed around us. Sudden shifts brought out an alarming feeling of motion, disconcerting similar to something that might have lurked in the mist. Watching us.

-” Shh. Do you hear that? “ Lysanthir said suddenly and raised his hand. We stopped and strained our ears.

I could hear vague sound coming from unknown source. It was barely audible.

Creeak.  

It was a metallic, creaking sound and I could not pinpoint the source. Mists obscured the sound, making it resound from no particular direction.

-” I do not hear anything. “ Wolga said nervously while looking around with panicked expression on her face.

-” I think it’s this way. “ Lysanthir pointed a bit to the side. I was impressed by his sharp sense of hearing. Lysanthir moved forward in the direction that he indicated.

As we followed the sound became audible. A weak creak resounded every few seconds.

As quietly as we could we proceeded forward and I could see a dark silhouette looming in the mist.

Suddenly Hamon bursted with quiet laughter and rushed forward.

-’ Haha, it’s only a signpost. “ He whispered while pointing.

We exhaled in relief as we confirmed that he was right. Old, wooden post stood in front of us. It had a horizontal bar to which wooden plates were affixed with metal hooks, one of them was loose and was the source of a creaking sound.

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-” Heh, getting all worked up over a signpost. “ Lysanthir said sardonically. -” Also, why are you whispering Hamon? “

Hamon shrugged, but didn’t respond.

-” Yeah, it’s only a signpost. No need to get worked over it. “ Forest said confidently.

I noticed some strange, dark patches on a ground near the signpost.

-” What do you think is that? “ I asked.

-” Where? “ Lysanthir responded in surprise and started looking at what I pointed out. -” Hmm… “ He leaned down and investigated the patches. Suddenly he sprang to his feet in alarm. -” It’s blood! “ He whispered intently.

Everyone looked around in panic, but we could see few meters around us. Thick, swirling mists impaired our vision.

-” How come there’s blood here? “ Wolga asked in weak voice.

-” I don’t know, but I do not see any bodies. “ Lysanthir whispered. -” Though I do see that there’s a blood trail. We can follow it. “

-” No! “ Wolga exclaimed loudly and covered her mouth in horror.

-” Shh! “ Hamon raised his hands, asking for silence and whispered. -” We need to investigate only, right? So let just go about that, really quiet, and as soon as we get any proof, we are out of here. Agreed? “

We nodded our approval. Without delay we followed Lysanthir, who already started investigating the blood trail.

We walked in cage of mists, following Lysanthir’s shadowy form. The terrain became rocky and uneven. Heavy footfalls of Hamon and Wolga seemed deafening in uneasy silence.

Suddenly Lysanthir stopped. As we closed in we saw that there was a small ravine there and mist filled it with grayish mass of thick vapour. We looked at each other doubtfully.

-” Rock-paper-scissors… “ Hamon whispered in a very quiet voice. -” Looser checks what’s down there. “

I watched soundless contest which unfolded afterwards, until Forest made his way to me. As we raised our hands in preparation, he gave me a wide eyed pleading look.

-’ Shameless bastard. ‘ I thought.

Suddenly he moved and I had to move as well. I was distracted and haven’t thought on what to pick. It was over and I lost.

-’ I am going to rip that bastard a new one. ‘ I thought vengefully, then my gaze wandered to the ravine and I swallowed hard.

I approached the ravine and dropped a small pebble inside. Almost immediately a dull thud answered. At least the ravine was shallow. I moved to the edge and slowly lowered myself down. For one moment my feet hanged in the air and I was frozen in panic, I didn’t want to just drop down. At that moment my extended feet finally rested on something and I let go of the stony edge. I was at the bottom of the ravine.

Mist in the ravine was so thick that I could barely see anything in front of my face. I leaned down and examined the ground. It was a mixture of earth and pebbles, with tiny brook trickling between the stones.

I took a step forward, then next. I could see dark shape laying on the ground in front of me. I bent closer and moved my hand to clear the fog for a moment.

For a brief moment I could see clearly what was in front of me - a bloodied face, opened in a soundless scream of pain. My heart skipped a beat at that sight. It took a lot of effort to not scream aloud.

I shivered uncontrollably.

I took a breath to calm down and looked again at the body. Empty eyes, teeth glistening with moisture, sunken cheeks. I turned my gaze away from that awful face and checked rest of the body. It was clad in worn out leather armour. After pairing it with worn down hands and dirty nails I concluded that it must have been some sort of ruffian.

After closer examination of his chest I found strange and really deep puncture wounds. I estimated that they were round and around four centimeter wide. I took out Gerhard’s Dagger from the pouch and fitted it into bloody hole. It was nowhere close in size, also I realized that blood was almost fresh in the wounds. Fresher than outside...

Suddenly I realized what that meant.

-’ Ice magic. Wound must have been caused by an icicle, which melted away! ‘

I raised and quickly moved to check if there were more bodies around. Soon I found three laying on each other. They looked similar to the first one, though one had almost peaceful expression… and big hole in his forehead. He must have died instantly.

I looked further and found more bodies.

I concentrated really hard on looking, not wanting to pay any attention to what I was actually looking at.

Suddenly I found a different body. It also seemed to belong to a ruffian, but this one had been stripped out of leather chestpiece. Instead, on the chest, there was a complicated rune inscribed in blood.

I looked closely at that body, avoiding the face made it easier to pretend that it’s some peculiar something and not… a dead body of someone. I concentrated on details and could not determine cause of death.

There weren’t any visible wounds, or bruises. Not even where ropes would have been placed to restrain him. Fighting with nausea I checked the tongue, but it seemed unchanged. No signs of poison. I checked fingernails, but apart from casual dirt they were undamaged. He did not struggle for his life.

I rechecked the skin, looking for anything unusual. It was sunken and really pale. I could not guess whether that was normal…

-’ I can check that actually. ‘ I thought as I moved to one of the icicled bodies, to make comparisons.

Suddenly I heard quiet voice from afar.

-” Audentia, what happened? Please respond. “ Forest spoke in worried tone.

-” Shhhh! “ I responded and returned to macabre task of comparing the bodies. I wanted to finish as soon as possible and get out.

After checking few times I was sure that something was off. Runed body was different from icicled one. It seemed like it had been… shriveled, drained of something. That was the only thing that came to mind.

I shook my head and continued checking the ravine. I found several more icicled bodies and barely four more runed ones.

I was certain that magic was involved, but was this a necromancer? That was a question I had to think thoroughly. Also, what group of ruffians done in a haunted place. According to common sense they should be way too superstitious to encroach on a cursed ground.

I lifted myself out of ravine. Haunting images and burning questions my only reward for coming there.

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Hey~, Author’s here~

I hope I haven’t scared you away? :)

Anyway please let me know how you liked today’s chapter.

Cheers,

Mea, Overlord of the Haunt

Ps I do wonder what’s going on in that haunted village.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Adventure continues... in Chapter 20 (Part 5, special)

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