On Monday, the Red Crows training session concluded at seven in the evening.
Júlia bid her students farewell and left the training room with a single objective in mind: to finally finish searching for the event hinted at in the Chronicles of Avalon series. The image of the undead army marching toward the city had been stuck in her mind ever since she watched that episode with Cristiano.
She pushed the image aside and focused on the present. She walked fast through the halls, greeted her colleagues, and cut short any attempts at conversation. Breathless, she stopped before her room and opened the door.
Stepping into her quarters, she saw the mess that had accumulated over the past few days. Shirts, pants, skirts, and underwear mixed with electronic devices and accessories scattered across the floor, bed, chair, and desk.
She ignored the clutter and headed straight for her immersion pod. After settling into the seat, she entered the game world and took control of Julie, her avatar.
The quiet of her room was instantly replaced by the chaotic symphony of Salem's main square. There were players and undead creatures everywhere she looked.
She hurried to summon her horse with a whistle. The equine came galloping out of an alleyway. She mounted the animal and quickly rode toward Little Stone Village, one of the last locations she needed to inspect.
The community was situated on the far western edge of the province, hundreds of miles from the city of Salem. During the ride, one thought hammered in her head, Even if I don't find anything, I just want to finish this annoying errand.
Time seemed to drag. Julie was starting to feel fed up. As the horse advanced, she opened her map and was instantly relieved to see that she was nearly there.
Just ahead, she could see the depression in the land that preceded the village. Hundreds of dark wooden houses clustered together within a tall, yet fragile, stockade wall.
An unsettling silence hung over the village. A shiver ran from her head to her toes. Julie pulled the reins of her mount. The horse slowed its pace to a gentle march.
She took a deep breath.
No matter how peaceful a community was, there was always noise during the day. Julie looked west and saw the sun was about to set. She took another deep breath and urged her horse into a trot toward the village. It seemed the closer she got, the quieter it became.
A few yards from the entrance, she dismounted and eyed the half-open gate with suspicion. Gathering her courage, she stepped inside, her heart pounding.
Nothing. Julie did not find a single living soul in that section of Little Stone Village. The anxiety that afflicted her was so strong that she nearly forgot why she was there in the first place.
Julie entered the nearest house. It was empty, but there were clear signs of a struggle. Objects strewn across the floor and displaced furniture indicated what she suspected. This worried her, but she continued to investigate. She then moved to the adjacent houses; all were in similar states of disarray.
As she stepped back into the street, she realized the darkness that had fallen over the village. The sun had completely set. The moonlight was insufficient to illuminate her surroundings.
Julie opened her inventory and pulled out the magical lantern acquired on a recent quest. The device looked like a common lantern, but the light came from an unlimited magical source. It was the perfect item for lengthy incursions into dark environments.
She proceeded carefully, lighting the way and pausing to inspect the interiors of the houses with the magical lantern, but to her misfortune, or perhaps luck, not a single person was found.
Gradually, Julie began to approach the center of the village. The narrow street she was on widened with every yard she covered. The main square was coming into view in the distance.
A high-pitched, irritating, and deafening noise made her drop the lantern to cover her ears with her hands. The tool fell to the ground, bounced twice, and went dark in an instant.
The noise distorted until it faded to silence.
"Fucking Dragon-Cicada!" Julie cursed the noisy insect, not caring if any ill-intentioned person heard her. "Go make that racket somewhere else," she finished, crouching down to fumble in the dark for the dropped item.
Julie was surrounded by darkness, but did not feel intimidated as a sudden burst of frustration gave her the courage to face her own demons. After a minute of fumbling in the dark, her fingertips brushed against the iron and glass of the lantern.
"Finally."
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
She took the tool and replaced the fire stone that powered the light matrix; the old one had been shattered by the impact of the fall.
"Shine!" she roared the command.
However, instead of a directed beam of light emerging from the lantern, a cannon of light burst from the fire stone, illuminating the village square and revealing a gruesome sight.
Dozens of bloody bodies lay on the ground, arranged side by side to form a circle. Julie's heart raced, but she remained composed and walked slowly toward the corpses.
Spiritual Flame, she thought of the skill's name. Her hands, arms, feet, and legs were enveloped in orange flames that would only burn her enemies. Julie used this technique because there was no point in being stealthy anymore—the cannon of light and her shouted curse had given away her position to anyone who might have been hiding.
As she approached the bodies, a nauseating stench forced her to cover her nose.
Disable realistic odor.
The mental command removed the putrid smell, but if there was anyone nearby with that setting activated, they would still smell the foul odor.
Despite the macabre scene, the fighter did not feel bothered by the exorbitant amount of blood spilled.
The victims wore simple, worn clothes. Julie assumed they were the village residents.
But who could have done such a thing? she wondered.
Attacks by bandits and wild creatures were common events within the game, but the way the massacre was carried out suggested it was planned and executed with a specific motivation.
Julie remembered the army of the dead marching on Salem and the possible event suggested in that Chronicles of Avalon episode. She tried to connect the two events, wondering how this massacre might link to what she saw in the series.
It took almost an hour of investigation. Julie checked every single body and every nearby house. It was in one of the most secluded houses that she found something curious: a notebook filled with scrawled notes.
Julie sat at a small table in the house, leaned over the notebook, and began to read.
"They killed everyone. It didn't matter if it was a man or woman, young or old. They killed everyone. And now I hide, cowering. I know my fate is sealed. I know I will die, but through tears of despair, I will write down everything I heard in this notebook. I may not be a brave warrior like my father and brothers, but I grew up and studied to be a Sage. I overheard snippets of conversations among the murderers. One of them said today was a day of glory for the Dawn’s Path. I wonder if 'Dawn’s Path' is the name of the group they belong to. In another conversation, I heard a name whispered with solemnity and fear, but also with deep respect: Mergraff. It seems they are trying to resurrect someone called Mergraff. I repeatedly wonder if this figure is some leader or deity of the Dawn’s Path. And the last piece of information I managed to overhear was the name of the next community to be victimized, Torino Village, a community to the north. But when will the Dawn’s Path go there? That I don't know. If the gods are kind to me, this notebook will fall into the hands of someone good and righteous. So know this: these murderers dress like knights and speak like court nobles, but their cloaks are decorated with the image of a rising sun."
This was the most crucial part of the notebook. The author finished by relating his fear of being discovered and suffering the same fate as his friends and family.
Julie closed the notebook and stored it in her inventory. Something bothered her—that name, Mergraff—it stirred memories, so she tried to recall where she had heard it.
"Dani!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist on the table.
Mergraff was the villain in the history of the sanctuary where her friend obtained the legendary class. As she recalled, he had been a very powerful and important figure in the Ancient History of New Avalon.
"If these crazies from the Dawn’s Path resurrect this Mergraff, the march of the dead will begin."
She scrolled through her friend list and selected one of the names.
"He needs to know about this," she concluded, flashing an excited smile because after so much time, her efforts had finally paid off.
***
Ragnar was on the Artisan's Street in Salem when he received Julie's messages. When he read the name Mergraff, he froze, standing still as a statue at his workstation.
A foul odor spread through the workshop. The nearby alchemists protested in disgust and searched intently for the source of the stench.
"Are you trying to kill us?" the avatar of an old man asked Ragnar.
The druid turned and only then realized he had let an alchemical solution pass its boiling point.
It wasn't long before the workshop employee emerged from his small office to investigate what was happening. His accusatory eyes fell upon Ragnar, already assuming he was the culprit due to the trouble he caused last time.
The employee approached, unrolled one of the paper sheets he kept in his belt, spread it on the table, and made a notation. When his pencil drew the final stroke, he pushed the paper toward Ragnar.
It was a 500-rubro fine for disturbing the other alchemists. Ragnar tried to talk his way out of the penalty, but the employee smoothed his long mustache and shook his head in refusal.
Though annoyed, the fined alchemist paid the fee and returned to his workstation.
Mergraff... Could Jú have made a mistake? Is it really the same Mergraff from Bjorn's story? I think I'd better go to the Iron Bear Sanctuary to consult the spirit.
Ragnar stood up and began organizing his alchemy station. Mid-process, as he was about to store the flask with the stinking solution, he received a new message from Julie.
"I'm heading back to Salem right now. We need to meet as soon as possible. I fear the assassin cult might be planning to attack the next village at any moment."
Ragnar shared the same concern, so he informed her he would be waiting, then walked out of the workshop, bothered that he didn't have time to consult Bjorn about Mergraff's possible return.
But stopping to think for a moment, he realized that if the cult attacked the village, there was a chance they could corner and interrogate one of its members.
A disturbing feeling afflicted Ragnar. If Mergraff returned to New Avalon, he would certainly take out his wrath on Bjorn's heir.
|
Real all 90 chapters of Volume 1 and 2 on Kindle Unlimited
Who is your favorite secondary character so far?
