In a very small village many days travel from the next, men and women are packing for travel in a raucous panic. Shouts can be heard from every direction as people ready for what’s to come. The smarter ones are leaving already, leaving behind homes and wealth of many kinds.
“-rena. Erena! Listen to me!” snapping back to reality the younger woman irritably pouts, looking up from her hands at the dark-haired older woman wearing a plain peplum dress. “Apologies Agethe, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” Frowning, Agethe says urgently “You must take shelter tonight; the priests say the Gods are making ready for something. You really won’t come with the rest of us? I know what the village leader said, but you should consider following us to Crete, even if you can’t stay with our caravan.”
The young woman with messy brown hair huffs “Look, I’ve told you already. I’ve been removed from my home once. I’m not leaving again. I’ll leave my chances to the Gods.” Pausing for a moment she adds “That old codger would probably keep many away from helping me anyway. It’s safer here.” Nodding reluctantly, Agethe steps toward the stairwell leading to the ground floor of the small hut. “If any woman can survive out here alone, it’s you. I hope the Gods keep you safe.” A firm nod from Erena sends Agethe rushing out to her kin and on her way.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Hours pass and Erena looks out at the sun setting over an empty village “Searching for supplies took longer than I thought.” she says aloud as she sets the last of any useful things upstairs. Leaving the animals downstairs in the dirt floored level below. “Three goats and six chickens. Normally I would be very wealthy.” she says with a sardonic smile. Strenuously, she raises the wooden stairsteps into the upper floor and covers the stairwell with planks of wood. Organizing the temporary wealth in the second floor of the small hut took the last remains of daylight. Darkness now having cast over the village, Erena laid down upon the fur bed pile she made a day earlier, and fell immediately asleep.
Being alone for the first time in many years, Erena naturally woke with a violent start when she heard the noises. Thunderous groans and creaks like she had never heard. Frozen in fear she waited for something terrible to happen. Then she waited some more. Then some more. All the while the groaning and creaking stayed loud and awful. “I wonder what that terrible noise is?” Erena questioned aloud into the dark, accidentally shouting over the terrible orchestra of sounds, as was natural within the loudness of it all.
And the noises stopped.