We were all truly sad about what happened, but we had to go on.
Gert and Allenya were both really fast with processing what had happened. But Elisa stopped eating for a few days and didn't get out of her carriage even up till now.
I sighed as I looked at the rocky wasteland that I was flying over. Tough it was a lot colder, there was no snow. There were almost no trees or gras. Gigantic pillars of stone pointed upwards, covered in a thick layer of moss that made the baren environment almost look like a forest.
As usual I was following the carriages. To my delight I noticed that it was a lot easier for me to fly long distances then when I first started out.
Then the carriages came to a stop as I had expected. The sun was already starting to set, and the sky had taken on a deep orange colour.
Like all the other times before I landed near the carriages, but still far enough away for the humans to not get scared.
I decided to go off and kill something because I was a little hungry at the moment and I didn't know how the environment would change as we progressed.
I flew off and killed a few rabbits and a weird looking deer. I concluded that the people probably wouldn't accept food from me, so I ate it all alone.
Being able to breathe fire was rather useful at the moment. I did not need to make a campfire and could just directly cook the meat. Tough I was pretty sure that I would be able to just eat it raw like I had done before, I figured that it tasted better when I was roosted.
While roasting the rabbits I noticed that they were a lot smaller than I remembered, even though they looked like they were adults. So, it was either a different species or I was bigger than before. It could be because it happened rather slow so that no one really noticed it. Or it was indeed just a different species of rabbit.
When I was done, I came back to the carriages and sat down on a rock. Looking at the people and carriages, I noticed something that worried me a little.
The horses had lost a lot of weight and didn't look as healthy as they did before. ("It must be because of how hard they work. I have seen how they only get enough rest and food to keep doing their job. I know that it is too safe as much time as possible, but they are not going to last long like this.")
After some time, past I saw Beatrice walking up to me I raised my head and looked at her as she came closer.
She kneeled down in front of me and started to speak. "Master, there is something that you need to see."
I was a little annoyed but followed her non the less. We got a lot of stares from the people as we walked past the carriages, but I ignored it like always.
Eventually we reached a pile of rocks a few hundred meters away from the camps. I could already smell it as we came closer to the rocks.
It was a smell that would have certainly made me throw up when I was still human. but now, there was something pleasant about it.
This made me instantly know what it was.
My suspicions were confirmed when I walked around the pile of rocks. There was a human there, or at least something that used to be human. even I could not tell if it was alive or dead, but the soul was gone. It was a blackish paste of meat and bones, roughly hold to getter by brown fungus-like threads that spread out and corroded the rocks that it was placed on. Slowly the corruption fed on the body of the human and expanded to infect more of its surroundings.
"A scout found it a half an hour ago. They think that you did this."
She looked at me with doubt in her eyes as if she wanted me to confirm or deny this.
I shook my head. "It was not me."
She smiled and nodded. Satisfied that I wouldn't go that far with torturing someone. But she still stared at the pile of meat paste that was once human.
"Can you… please burn it?"
I figured that this wasn't the first time that she had seen things like this. She was fine with watching someone get corrupted and didn't stress out over this blob of flesh and bones. But she wanted it to be gone. She asked rather hesitantly, only because she was scared that I would get mad. But still, she asked for it to be gone.
I burned the human without answering. It truly took a lot to get rid of. It took a while before it finally cashed fire and dissolved. The human made a weird screeching sound, indicating that it truly was alive up till this point.
"Thank you master."
"no problem."
I tried to walk back to where the caravans stood but Beatrice stopped me.
"Master is something wrong? I- I'm sorry for asking this, but are you sad?"
I stopped and bit my lip. I was not sure what to say. She always thought so highly of me. would I let her down if I told her the truth?
"Yes… something happened."
"I'm sorry my lord, I was just concerned. I-"
"Don't be. You did nothing wrong."
I stared into the direction of the caravans and sighed.
"Beatrice. How do you see me?"
She was a little surprised because of the sudden question but answered right away.
"I love you, my lord. Not in a romantic way, but in a way that is much like how people love the gods. You gave me a choice; you gave me a reason. You are the verry thing that has allowed me to live this far. I will always be grateful to you."
While she spoke, I entered her mind. Only to see that she indeed meant what she said.
I smiled and grabbed something out of my pocket.
"In that case. I want to give you this."
I handed her the papers on which was written down how to summon me.