Stone Village Ruins- V

I stood beneath the pillar. Or rather I was glued to the pillar.

One of the big stone nearly fell on me.

Thankfully, I escaped, or it would be quite an irony to be buried with Robert.

After waiting for the dust and everything to settle down I moved very carefully around the nearby rubble.

The fall of stone was a lucky event for me.

Why, because the place the stone fell has now collapsed. There was a hidden space beneath the floor.

Maybe there will be treasures inside.

I went to inspect it closely. Peeping inside, it was very small cubical hidden space. It must be for storing something valuable.

To think the treasures were hidden this securely, if not for the pillar collapsing there is little chance that I would have found it.

There were some objects spilled, or rather lying haphazardly. Maybe the bag in which they were placed has disintegrated.

I quickly collected everything into my bag without looking at them.

I could already hear some shouts and sounds of footsteps getting closer. Its best no one knows what I have gained.

Backing away and moving closer to the pillar again, I waited for them to come close.

After a little while, I saw Reid, Alex coming here.

The most surprising thing was that they were not alone, there was someone else with them. A handsome young man was accompanying them.

The man was having blonde hair, blue eyes. He was handsome, much better looking than all the other people have met in this world.

His temperament was of a high-class person of society.

Well, I am not in some fantastical world, where a divine aura radiates, but it was quite clear from his first look about his good background.

He was wearing leather clothes, not like the clothes that we were wearing.

Our clothes essentially were nothing more than hides of animals, sewn across, but his clothes were neat and clean, properly sewn as if a tailor had made.

Of course, it couldn't be compared to full-fledged clothes, but they were leagues better than ours.

This pointed out to a fact that from wherever this man came, there was a tailor.

I might sound like I am attaching too much importance to such a profession. But there is a serious reason behind it.

This man's leather garments might look normal, but if properly sewn the thick hides of animals can provide a plethora of advantages.

First, it makes you insulated from cold.

Second, it prevents you from getting poisoned from poisonous plants and animals if they scratch or bite you.

Atleast it provides a considerable protection.

Finally, in a fight a good leather armour could decide life and death.

If Robert was wearing such a leather armoured sleeve, the damage he suffered would have been quite less.

Such a number of advantages makes it quite lucrative even for me. I have to know from where such clothes have been found or rather made.

While I was in deep thoughts, the group finally reached me.

"What happened here Cayne? And where is Robert?" Reid asked.

Let's put on an act of being too shocked and not being able to respond.

My acting skills might have been enough to fool Robert, but to fool others is a different matter altogether.

I really don't think I am that much capable. So the best option is to act out of my character, and respond very less to questions and talk in signals.

I tremblingly raised my hand and pointed towards the direction where Robert was buried.

They all were shocked and immediately ran towards the direction I pointed.

Everyone tried to remove the rubble and find Robert.

Well, you all will surely find him. He must have become mincemeat from the falling ceiling.

If he still barely survived, I don't think you can save him from the poison.

He would be on his last breaths, definitely. Till the time the rubble will be removed, he would have already succumbed to death.

"Why are you standing there, Cayne? Come and help us!" barked Reid loudly.

I jolted awake from my stupor and frantically started helping them all.

After a long time finally, we were able to clear the rubble, but what greeted us was the sight of Roberts dead body.

His left arm and leg were fully demolished, they were turned flat from the falling pillar.

The other parts of the body also had a blunt force wound from the stones that fell from the ceiling.

Robert's corpse was mangled beyond repair.

His eyes were still wide open, and his face looked like a grieving wraith.

It was the look of someone who died with too much grievance.

There was ultimately no sign of life within him.

I hope this world do not have vengeful spirits or something.

It will not be a good experience to meet Robert again.

Alex after seeing the gory sight couldn't take anymore and vomited. Others were also severely impacted.

I was no exception, I even had to muster all my will power to not vomit there as well.

Still, I forced myself to look towards the remains, as I wanted to firmly etch the sight in my memory to remind myself the end of all those who are foolish and to remember that even the strong could be killed with poison.

A sight I must remember for eternity.

While we were severely impacted, Reid was carefully inspecting the corpse.

It was astonishing to see that Reid did not falter even once at the sight in front of him.

He did not display any visible discomfort and was too calm all the while.

This raised my evaluation of him to another level. He must have several similar encounters to have such a will.

Even the stranger was visibly impacted. Still, the stranger was doing better than Alex.

He must have some experience but not something too extreme.

This particular scene depicted so many hidden sides of others, or rather the apparent strengths and weaknesses of everyone.

Reid at this moment started speaking gravely.

"His arm is black and blue; he must be suffering from a poison." After saying this he looked towards me with great intensity.

I was sweating bullets from this. I fucking forget about this.

This is very bad, if I got exposed then everything will be for naught.

I don't think that my chance of escaping here is great. What to do?

As I was panicking, seeing the strange atmosphere, Alex who had recovered a little said, "I..I think the lion might have poisoned Robert when it attacked him."

Thank you so much, Alex. I really was in a bit of pinch.

My whole credibility would have been gone, and in the worst-case scenario even my life would have been in danger.

"Yes, yes, it must be because of the lion." I said in a panicked voice. To appear panicked in such a situation is better than showing no panic.

Reid still didn't quite believe him, and continued to point out, "But I don't think the lion was poisonous."

Alex answered immediately as to affirm his belief, "It must be the poison we fed the lion."

While Reid still didn't think that it was the case. He still relented as nothing would come out of the discussion besides the man was already dead.

Having an internal strife was not a correct option.

I gave a sigh of relief.

Finally, the interrogation is over.

Still, it's best not to let my guard down against Reid. Troublesome.

It's best to divert the discussion.

"So, who is this?" I asked curiously

Alex spoke without giving the opportunity to the stranger to respond, "He is Lucas. He was wandering nearby and after hearing the lion's roar he came to see what happened and assess the situation."

Hmm, Lucas.

Well,

"So where do you come from Lucas, seeing the leather armour I don't think you are just one of the people who spawned nearby." I asked in a vigilant tone.

My aim was to make others defensive against him, and by doing so compel him to prove himself through giving an introduction.

Lucas, sensing some of the discomfort immediately answered and that answer was not something I would have expected this early.

"I am Lucas from the Riverdale Village."

Riverdale Village, if it truly is what I am sensing, then I surely overestimated myself and underestimated everyone from the Earth.