Chapter 167: Ghost Town Part 2
– Thud, thud!
A blurry figure swiftly passed before my eyes. I instinctively raised my dagger, but the figure had already disappeared. Without lowering the dagger, I looked around. There was no sign of movement.
"...."
Pushing aside the rustling bushes, I found an empty plate. It should have held our dessert, the butternut-berry-cold soup…
There were no wild animals around. Even if there were, they wouldn't have approached our camp, with all the noise and light.
So then, who could have eaten our butternut-berry-cold soup?
I held the empty plate and returned to the campfire. El and Lloyd seemed to have also come back after checking the area after they were likely stirred by Ayla's howling. The atmosphere felt tense.
"Theodore."
"Yes, I heard it too."
"I searched the area again but found nothing."
"I found this."
When I set down the empty plate, Lloyd's eyebrow twitched.
"Someone ate it all."
"Then they must be nearby."
"I think so too. But there was no sign of anything. If it were a wild animal, we would have noticed…."
"...."
"It's also strange that it wasn't a wild animal. If it were a person or a monster, the fact that they just ate the soup and disappeared instead of ambushing us is…."
"It doesn't make sense."
"Exactly my point."
As I spoke with Lloyd, I saw Ayla returning to the campfire with El. Unlike during dinner, Ayla seemed agitated, though it was hard to tell if it was a good or bad thing.
"Ayla."
Howling is typically a form of communication for canines. It was used to signal their location, warn of danger, or mark their territory.
But Ayla's howl didn't fit into any of those categories.
I gently stroked the back of her neck to calm her down. After shaking her head, she buried her face into my shoulder and began whining softly.
…Storm was like this too. What's going on?
Could it be that there's some danger here, something only they can sense?
Should we abandon the camp and push on to the village, even if it's a strain?
I stared into the crackling campfire and went into deep thought. The white figure I saw in the bushes, the missing butternut-berry-cold soup, the stillness in the air, and the animals' unusual anxiety.
"...."
-Crack, crack.
This was a clear signal. After scattering sand over the campfire, I began packing up.
"I have a bad feeling. Let's keep moving through the night without resting."
"…Right."
Lloyd nodded his head and started erasing any traces around us. El too started loading the gear near the fire back onto the carriage.
"El, I'll drive the carriage, so you ride with Beepy and Legion."
"Yes, Master."
We began our journey with Ayla in the lead, the carriage behind her and Lloyd guarding the rear. While Ayla continued to sniff the air ahead of us, I calmed the anxious Storm while driving the carriage.
Even though it was nighttime, a thick fog hung in the air. Strangely enough, the lights on the horizon remained vividly clear despite the heavy fog.
One thing was certain; this wasn't a hallucination. I was wearing the [Starfish Leather Gloves], which provided immunity to most illusions while worn.
This is strange.
But there was no other choice. It wasn't possible to turn back to Dihid at this point.
Once we reach the village, we should be able to figure things out.
I braced myself and looked straight ahead. Thanks to the morning star fruit hanging on Ayla's neck and the morning star fruit hanging on each corner of the carriage, the surroundings were bright even in the thick fog.
On a moonless night, we pressed on through what seemed like an endless road.
An eerie darkness where not even the sound of insects could be heard…
In that strange silence, how much time had passed?
– Di… ng…
-Neigh! Neigh!
"Whoa, Storm. Calm down. Easy, easy."
A bell's chime echoed from the distance. It was a deep, heavy sound.
"The village must be near."
Lloyd said.
"…It seems that way."
Just like Lloyd had said, the lights were a little closer. However, the strange thing was that as the lights drew nearer, the fog thickened even more.
Yet Storm refused to move forward and continued stomping his hooves in place. With no other choice, I fed him two pieces of dried cloud mushroom. Since the cloud mushroom had a calming effect, he would have to settle down, whether he liked it or not.
– Thud, thud!
Quick footsteps echoed through the fog. Ayla must have noticed too, as she barked a few times in the direction of the sound, and then looked at me. She was asking if she should chase after it, but I clicked my tongue and shook my head. The sound was unsettling, but if I lost Ayla in this fog, who knew what could happen?
"Ayla, stick close to the carriage from now on."
– Whine…
The important thing was to reach the village.
– Wooong…
– Clatter! Clatter!
– Huuu…
– Clunk! Clunk!
Now that the horse had calmed down, it seemed the carriage was the new problem. I turned to look at it. The carriage was swaying slightly from side to side. It wasn't because the road was rough. The carriage itself was moving.
"A haunted carriage, indeed…"
Come to think of it, they said that a noble lady met a terrible fate in that carriage. It was an extravagant, expensive carriage used by the nobles, but after that incident, several strange things happened, and the owners changed countless times until it finally became dirt cheap.
I had bought it knowing all of this, but since it hadn't caused any problems so far, I had forgotten about its story. I had slept in that carriage countless times without even once experiencing sleep paralysis. So, naturally, I had completely forgotten about the haunted carriage rumor.
– Woooo…
"It's just the wind brushing past the carriage."
What sounded like crying was all in my head. Just an illusion.
– Sob, sob, sob…
"...."
– Huuuuu…
"…No matter how much you cry, I have no interest."
I ignored the sounds coming from behind and continued driving the carriage. It rattled as if the wheels would fall off at any moment, but, fortunately, they never did.
– Screeech…
At last.
– Whoooo…
We arrived at the village. The surrounding area was dark and shrouded in thick fog, which made it impossible to tell the color of the flag fluttering at the entrance.
"Was there always a village like this?"
We had followed the lights to get here, but the village was pitch black. Not a single house had its lights on.
"..."
"..."
Lloyd and I exchanged a silent glance. Lloyd entered the village first with a slight nod, while the rest of us stayed at the entrance and waited for him to return.
– Whooooo…
Something was off. The wind blew strangely hard, yet the fog refused to clear. I carefully examined the surroundings. The houses were old, but nothing seemed particularly suspicious or alarming.
That mansion looks suspicious though.
The mansion looked like it had been burned down, with parts of its structure exposed. It could simply be that a fire had recently occurred, and they hadn't been able to demolish it yet. Still, it was odd that such a large mansion had burned down while the surrounding buildings remained untouched… Just as I was about to step down from the carriage to take a closer look,
– Tap, tap, tap…
Lloyd emerged from the fog. Before I could ask him anything, he spoke first.
"There's an inn inside."
"That's good news. Then we can stay there for tonight…"
"Theodore."
Even though no one was around, Lloyd lowered his voice as he called my name. I listened closely to what he had to say. He whispered cautiously.
"I think it's best if we just pass through this village."
"…Did you see something?"
"In this village…"
Before Lloyd could finish speaking,
– Bark, bark, bark!
– U-Uwaahhhhhhhhh!!!
A piercing scream rang out.
***
When did it all begin?
– I'll give you all the gold in this mansion, all the treasure you can see.
Strange rumors began to spread in the once small and peaceful village.
Rumors that in the grand mansion where the village's most renowned wizard couple once lived, there was a large amount of gold and treasure hidden, enough to buy an entire kingdom and more.
– That couple was rich for sure.
– But the mansion's been burned down for a long time.
– You fool, gold doesn't burn!
– It's foolish. That's the wizards' mansion.
– You'll die the moment you step inside.
– There's a rumor that the hellhound they unleashed still roams around.
– People say they can still hear the sound of a child crying.
– If you enter that mansion, you're as good as dead.
Whether the rumors were true or not didn't matter. People were already drawn to them. The eerie atmosphere that surrounded the mansion was nothing in the face of human greed.
– Bark! Bark, bark!
– Ahhhhhh!!!
– Bark, bark! Bark, bark!
– Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!
On the days someone stepped foot into the mansion, the sound of a dog barking and screams echoed through the entire village.
– That crazy wizard must've unleashed a hellhound in the mansion and is luring people in.
– They say once the hellhound spots you, it'll chase you until you die!
– But if there really is a hellhound…
– Doesn't that mean there really is a large treasure hidden there?
– If only I could get my hands on that treasure…
A strange desire began to take root in the once-peaceful village. It didn't take long for rust to eat away at the hearts of ordinary people. Even though they knew the mansion was devouring those who entered, they couldn't stop themselves. Without realizing that a deep, dark shadow had settled over the village, and thick fog had crept in, people willingly threw themselves into the mansion where the treasure was said to be hidden night after night.
– Bark! Bark, bark!
When did it start?
When did the sound of a dog's fierce barking replace the sound of people's laughter in the village?
– Gyaaaaaaahh!!!
When did it start?
When did people stop being surprised by the sound of screams?