Kait
watched the ground as they walked. The cracks were somewhat interesting,
reminding her of rock formations she had read about. She could tell that there
had been a stream that ran through this area at an earlier time, before
whatever draught had dried up the area.
She
paused at a moment, stooping over and poking the earth. The dirt gave before
the soft pressure and as she lifted her finger, she noticed a white crystal
mixed in with the dried earth. Curious, she tasted a small portion.
“Are
you done?” Keirn asked impatiently.
“Yes,
sorry,” Kait said, standing and hurrying to catch up to the others. It was
weird, but she could have sworn the ground tasted salty.
They
continued into the desolate waste, judging their direction by the sun overhead.
It seemed that northerly headed straight into the epicentre of the emptiness.
Even the forest ended at the edge of the earthy waste. They could see grass
swaying hypnotically in the distant, curving around in a great circle about
them and vanishing out of sight.
After
an hour the three travelers crested a small ridge and saw below them what
looked like a tiny little hamlet. It sat squarely in the middle of the waste,
as if the dirt itself had come sweeping out of the tiny stone and brick houses.
“Finally,”
Keirn muttered, picking up his pace as he descended towards the small houses.
“Wait,
I thought we were trying to avoid villages,” Kait called.
“Whatever,
they probably have an apothecary or someone who can fix my hand,” Keirn
grumbled.
Kait
cast a concerned look to Calos who only shrugged.
“Fine,
apparently some pitiful little scratch takes importance over our wellbeing,”
Kait said, following dejectedly behind her brother. However, there was a
growing sense of unease in Kait’s gut. That worry only worsened as they drew
closer to the village.
The
houses stood quietly though there was still plenty of daylight remaining. While
Kait hadn’t expected farmers to be out ploughing dirt, she had expected some
sign of life. There was a distinct lack of smoke from cooking fires and
chimneys. No shadows flitted from doorways at their approach. No forms huddled
over the stone well. Only the houses stood, petrified sentinels keeping watch
over what became increasingly clear was a ghost town. As the three got closer
and closer to the buildings, Kait noticed Keirn’s realization slowly sinking
in. Though he quickened his strides, his shoulders became more stooped and
dejected with each step that brought him towards the empty hamlet.
It
was without welcome or fanfare that they strolled into the village.
Instinctively they drew closer to each other, hands drifting down to their
respective weapons. Calos said nothing, though he appeared far more alert with
green eyes darting from empty windows to barren doorways. Kait reached around
for the comfort of the fletched feathered arrows in her quiver as she tried to
ignore the sound of the wind whispering through the empty shells of the town.
Keirn
just continued on, his right hand clutching his left as if he were concerned that
it would fall off. He marched until he reached the very center where the old
well stood. The wooden cross beam was gone, as was all the apparent wood in the
village. No doors filled the entries, not a single shutter or window pane
covered the empty eyes of the homes. It was all just cold stone. Keirn circled
the well, perhaps looking for the bucket, and once he found that there was
nothing, he just slumped against the stone.
“Are...
are you okay?” Kait asked.
Keirn
ignored her, closing his eyes and taking many ragged breaths. He clutched his
hand tightly to his chest again, his face lined with half-suppressed pain.
“Here,
let me take another look at it,” Kait offered, holding out her hand.
“I’m
fine,” Keirn said.
“You
don’t look...”
“I
said I’m fine!”
He
stood, shoving his hand into his pocket and looking at the empty buildings.
Calos emerged from one, shoulders shrugging indicating he had no idea what was
going on.
“I
think we should probably look around for anything of value. Stuff we can trade or
things we can use as fire wood. We may even stumble upon a few answers while
we’re at it.”
“Do
you think we’ll be staying here for the night?” Kait asked.
“Probably,”
Keirn said, looking at the sky. “Safest place at the moment at any rate.”
Keirn
headed towards a nearby two story building. Calos headed off in another
direction. Kait looked at the hollow windows lined with dry dirt, all cold and
empty. She quickly hurried to her brother’s side.
“Probably
be faster if we split up,” Keirn said.
“True,
but if we aren’t going anywhere then we aren’t really pressed for time,” Kait
replied, adjusting her pack so she could feel the straps tighten around her.
Keirn shrugged and kept walking.
They
entered the structure. The first room they stepped into was quite spacious,
taking up a large portion of the main floor. Judging from its location and the
spacing of the rooms, Kait guessed this likely served as the village’s inn.
There were no counters, tables or chairs though. Just the rough-hewn walls and
the bare stone flagged floors. They poked around the main floor but aside from
a thin layer of dust, found little of interest. They discovered a large hole in
the ceiling that appeared to be the only access to the second floor, but there
were no stairs or anything else that could be used to climb up.
Likewise,
the entrance to the cellar had no means of climbing down. There was just a
large hole in the floor nestled near the back of the main room. From what
little light that poured in from the empty holes in the walls, they could see
that the cellars had been cleared completely out as well.
An
inspection of the kitchen proved different, however. Unlike the other rooms,
this one was a complete mess. Stone slabs lay cracked and broken on the ground
amid a pile of tin cups and plates. Broken glass was strewn everywhere, as if
someone had come through and smashed all the glasses in the building against
the floor. They found bent and twisted utensils too, but everything was either
battered or broken. They sorted through the rubbish but were unable to find
anything of value.
Dejected,
they left and searched the next building.
This
one was smaller, simpler one floor structure quite typical of a small country
house. As with the inn, there were no windows, doors or even a roof but there
was plenty of junk lying on the floor. They found twisted farming tools, clay
pots and tin pans, an assortment of iron rods near the humble fire place and
numerous unidentifiable objects made of simple metal or clay.
Kait
was sorting through a pile of twisted metal that may have once been a lantern
when her brother began making weird sounds. She looked over towards him. He had
been sorting through another pile of garbage but now stood hunched over, hands
on his knees and breathing raggedly. A few coins were discarded around his
feet.
“What...
what was that?” Keirn gasped. He looked over towards her, a piece of metal held
loosely in her hand as she stared at him in concern. “What did you just say?”
“I...
didn’t say anything,” Kait whispered, dropping the metal. “Are you okay?”
Keirn
shook his head, raising his good hand to his forehead. She noticed it was
beading with sweat again.
“I
thought... I heard... I think I need some air,” he said, turning and leaving
quickly.
Kait
walked over cautiously to the pile he had been looking through. She sorted
through the items with her boot but found nothing that looked remotely
dangerous. She was surprised her brother just left the coins: it was very
uncharacteristic of him. After she felt sure that there was nothing poisonous
that could have accidentally been contacted, she left the small house.
Keirn
stood leaning against the stone wall. His eyes were closed, but he was
breathing calmly again.
“Are
you sure you’re okay?” Kait asked.
“I’m
fine,” he said. “Let’s keep looking.”
The
rest of the houses yielded similar results. Not that Kait was searching as much
as keeping an eye on her brother. She was getting worried over his odd
behaviour and he seemed to be more preoccupied with his hand than before.
After
a few hours of fruitless searching, they returned to the well to find Calos
standing there looking anxious.
“What’s
wrong?” Kait asked.
Calos
motioned for them to follow him. He led them to a large two story building made
completely of brick and stone. Bars were built into the windows and the stairs
were hewn bedrock. A metal door stood open, the handle having been bent and a
large rock abandoned by the steps.
Calos
pointed at the rock, himself then the door before quietly leading them inside.
This building was just as empty as the others, but appeared to have been built
without any thought for decorations. A large iron door stood shut at the end of
a short hall, but Calos lead the siblings up the narrow stairs to the second
floor. There, the Fadens were greeted by a gruesome sight.
A
single skeleton lay upon the floor, a rusted and dinted sword lodged between
the lower ribcage and protruding past the spine. A few other items lay within
the remains, a few boot clasps, a large belt buckle, a thin metal hoop and a
single heavy iron key. Calos then motioned to the rest of the room.
What
this building had been made for was beyond Kait’s understanding but what its
final function was all too clear. The floor of the second story was predominantly
covered in iron grating. The grating was built over the locked room on the
first level and through the grill Kait could see piles of bones beneath.
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