The sharp whistling of the wind echoed loudly as it traveled through the tight spaces on the crumbling walls, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and decay. The roofs of the village houses were barely intact, with some parts of them already broken.
As Scott slowly wandered around the houses, he gently brushed his hand against the rough wood of their walls. His footsteps served as the only way to break the silence, as not a single bird was flying there.
"How long has it been since this village was abandoned?" Scott calmly mumbled in a quiet voice, his gaze slowly shifting between the archaic buildings surrounding him.
Due to the poor nature of this side of the empire, constructions were solely based on wood and hay, making the houses barely structurally sound. Some houses only carried a faint picture of their old selves, as only a rough frame remained intact.
As he continued walking, his eyes caught a glimpse of a small object in the distance. Though its shape was barely coherent, Scott immediately seemed to recognize what it was.
"A hay ball…" with a heavy sigh escaping through his bitter smile, Scott carefully grabbed the misshapen ball. For a moment, the silence seemed to break, not with sound, but with memories that were not his own.
As he gently rubbed his finger on the wet hay ball, his eyes could almost see them. A group of children dashing between houses, their laughter ringing through the air as they passed the ball to each other.
Scott slowly blinked, and the road was empty again. Their voices faded into the wind as the silence became oppressive.
"It's sad to see a place become like this, but it's hard not to leave when circumstances force you to," Scott uttered as his eyes focused on the large claw marks engraved on some of the houses' walls.
"I need to focus. There is no time to waste." Scott put the ball back on the ground before facing one of the few houses that looked to be in decent shape.
"I need to check if we can even stay here tonight," Scott added before carefully opening the door.
Once he stepped in, a vile stench of death forced him to step back. The air was thick with the scent of decaying flesh. A sickening aura of blood lingered, almost choking anyone who smelled it. In the far corner, a barely recognizable corpse of a large creature was lying on the ground.
Scott immediately stepped outside, covering his mouth with his arm as he began to cough. "God! How did that thing end up like that?!"
"Let's check the other three houses first. Then I will purify this one before heading back." He refused to look back, stroking his throat and shaking his head as he walked away.
***
Later that day, the rhythmic sound of axe blades chipping the trees suddenly stopped. The kids, in unison, turned their heads as their ears caught the sound of the carriage that had left a few hours earlier.
They have been working for hours with complete focus, to the point that they didn't notice the time passing. Sunset was getting closer, and it was getting darker by the minute.
However, Mark was drowning in his thoughts. His feet were tapping swiftly as he rubbed his eyebrows. "There is something wrong," He mumbled to himself, chewing on his knuckles before adding.
"The time passed by very quickly, and I feel the blood moon essence flowing in my body becoming more and more chaotic." He slowly raised his hand, looking at his trembling palm as he slowly added.
"Wait! Don't tell me…" Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, but before he could pursue it, Mark felt a hand grab his shoulder. He quickly raised his head to see Scott standing before him.
"Mark! You okay?" Scott asked, his eyebrows wrinkling as they drew together.
In a swift motion, Mark stood up and grabbed both of Scott's shoulders before questioning him, "Scott, did the sky look ever so slightly red?"
"U-uh… The clouds were too dense, so I couldn't see anything in the really." Although he stuttered at first because Mark startled him, Scott managed to answer calmly, "Why? Did something happen?"
Mark remained silent, staring at Scott, which made him nervous. He then shook his head as he slowly lowered it, letting out a heavy sigh before answering, "No, nothing. I'm just being paranoid…"
"Are you sure? You don't look very well…" Scott tilted his body slightly, trying to check on Mark.
"Yeah, don't worry," scratching his head, Mark let go of Scott before asking, "So, did you find the village?"
"Yes. Although it seems like it has been abandoned for a long time now, there are still a few houses that we can spend the night at," Scott drew his head closer to Mark's before whispering to him, "but I think it might get a little dangerous at night."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mark's head flinched back slightly, his eyebrows squishing together.
Scott paused for a second, avoiding eye contact with Mark. "…I think an abnormality's attack caused the villagers to abandon it."
"I see…" Mark nodded, rubbing his chin as he remained silent for a bit before speaking again. "I can take care of things if the situation becomes dire."
Mark then turned his head, facing the children while scratching his head slightly. "You scoundrels! Pack Everything and head to the carriage. You will continue tomorrow."
Though they tried to keep calm, the kids couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. They felt that both their bodies and souls were exhausted. Without hesitation, they quickly gathered their equipment and entered the carriage.
As they exited the forest, Mark raised his head slightly, shifting his gaze to the sky. The sun has already set, leaving them to travel under the oppressive darkness of the night.
To illuminate their way, two lanterns were hung on poles that extended from the front of the carriage. Though they worked wonderfully, they had to be checked regularly, as they were old and would often malfunction.
As Mark stood up to check them, pulling his weight using the pole it was hung on, he stopped for a second, a frown coating his face as he tightened his grip.
"It's hard to see anything in this weather, but I sure hope it's not what I think it is," He mumbled, his voice trembling as the icy wind blew.
"Hm? Did you say something?" Scott questioned, a perplexed look drawn on his eyes as he lifted his head.
"No, nothing. I was just talking to myself," Mark slightly shook his head as he moved to check the other lantern. "I didn't check the date today before coming, and I have a feeling that it's going to come back to bite me later."
***
*Sniff… Sniff…*
As the carriage drew closer to the village, Mark's nose wrinkled, and his toes curled up as he shook his head. "What is this vile stench?" he questioned.
"…A dead abnormality in one of the houses," Scott answered, his voice cracking as the sudden questioning startled him. "Its body is disintegrating, and it became so bad"
"Did you purify it?" with his eyebrows drawing together as he glanced at Scott from the corner of his eyes, Mark asked again, slightly lifting his chin.
"Yes, but I couldn't clean the body," Scott replied.
"I think that's fine. As long as you purify it, I don't think it can cause any trouble," rubbing his chin, Mark let out a sigh of relief. "Anyway, how many houses can we stay in?"
"Only two, considering that the third one is housing the flesh of the abnormality, and the others are barely attached." The carriage slowed gradually as Scott answered, his grip tightening as he directed the horses.
"I see…" Mark jumped off the carriage. He inhaled before blowing his warm breath onto his hands as he walked to the back.
Once he opened the fragile doors, this time he didn't bother to speak a word, as he slightly flung his head, signaling to the children to get out. His eyes seemed empty as he stood away, buried in his thoughts, waiting for them to line up.
Once he came back to his senses, he noticed that everyone had already lined up, awaiting his orders. "Since there are only two houses that we can use, Scott and I will stay in one house, while the rest of you will stay in the other one," Mark said.
He then led the kids into one of the houses, making sure everyone was there before handing each one a small loaf of stale bread and leaving one of the lanterns inside. Once he was done with that, he slightly cut his finger before marking the closed door with an X.
"A seal?" Scott questioned, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the mark.
"Yes," Mark was quick to answer, nodding his head slightly before adding, "even though they never tried it, we can't risk them running away."
The kids seemed to be listening carefully without ever moving, as if awaiting something. Once they heard the sound of a door closing on the other side of the walls, they let out a sigh of relief.
"Brother Aksa!!" With a warm smile that brightened his face, the youngest of the boys jumped into the embrace of Aksa, hugging him tightly as he looked at him with his eyes twinkling, "That was so cool!!"