First thing when the sun came up I went back to the barn to check on the horses. it was a really bizarr sight walking in and seeing flecks of blood scattered, and splashed out with thick, and skinny lines like swaths. it was like somebody had taken a brush, drenched it in paint, and swiped through the air with it several times in every direction just to see where it would land. There also seemed to be scorch marks of some sort on the ground with bits of ash around it. Was she burning them? I couldn't help but wonder. But how could something have turned to ash so quickly? It wasn't like she had been in here much longer after we left.
Worse off, looking into one of the stables I could see what was left of the body of one of the horses that was attacked. The rest of the animals seemed to be fine, but it was clear that the gremlins had targeted it and attacked together. Large chunks of meat were missing from what was left of its body, bones were exposed almost picked clean, and there was a hole straight through its stomach like something inside had come bursting out. My stomach started to turn. The way the body was ripped up as badly as it was, but seemed to not be wasted with any excess meat laying around, as though they had planned to devour the entire thing bit, by bit, until nothing but bones were left... There was something terrifying about the thought.
It took a while but I managed to drag the corpse outside and bring it to the firepit where I burned it. I had thought about just digging a hole to bury it at first, but I didn't want the smell of it rotting to end up attracting anything else.
By the time everyone else was up I had already loaded and set the waggon.
"I still think I should be the one going.", my father said, as he sat with his leg outstretched in the same chair he was in the night before. if it wasn't for the change of clothes, you'd have thought he never moved.
"No, I'm planning to make some deliveries in Fielding before we go to Gram Town, and you wouldn't be able to do it with your leg like that."
A smirk-like look crossed my father's normally stoic face."
I wondered if that meant he was proud? His little boy is finally growing up? Something like that? Whatever it was, It was moments like this I was glad he wasn't the type of doting father to say things like that and embarrass me.
"Fielding?", I heard Aya ask.
"Yeah, it's the village you have to cross before you get to Gram Town", I said. "it's pretty close to here so in a sense it's sort of like we're one big village since we're normally trading goods between each other."
"Oh, I see...", Aya replied.
On the road it was quiet for a while aside from the sound of hooves trampling the ground, the wind, and the rickety shaking of the wagon, until Aya finally spoke up and said, " Uhm, I wanted to say thanks..."
I knew what she meant.
"It's no problem." I said back with as friendly a laugh as I could manage. "I should be thanking you. If you weren't there last night my dad could have ended up like the other horse"
"Uhm.."
She seemed like she wanted to ask something but was having trouble getting the words out. "Yeah? what is it?", I nudged.
"Why did you invite me to stay over? You didn't know me at all."
I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to answer this one... This is what I got for opening my big mouth, I thought while trying to scrape out a decent excuse. "Hmm, well..." It was crap, it was all crap. Everything that came to my mind was entirely crap and I knew it. Whatever I said would sound stupid the second I said it because the entire other half of my mind was still only drawing blanks. I had to answer. I knew I had to answer. if I didn't it would seem weird, right? It would be worse than not saying anything at all, right? It would... I knew it would. I just had to say something. Literally. Anything....
"It was because I thought you'd probably get lost again on your way back and get eaten while trying to camp outside" I said, nervously chuckling.
"You knew I was an adventurer, though..." She once again was giving me the cut eye. I didn't look, but I could definitely feel it.
"Yeah, you said that, but adventurers die all the time, don't they? At least that's what my dad says, but I definitely didn't expect you to be as strong or skilled as you were. I'd never seen a gremlin before, y'know? I only ever heard about how they could rip a part their pray quickly, I just never expected it to actually be that quick, and you managed to kill eight without even getting a scratch... I was definitely wrong. You probably would have been just fine on your own.", I started to nervously chuckle again... it was really becoming a bad habit, I noticed.
"No.", she said quietly. "Honestly, I think I probably would have died if you hadn't."
I was confused. I saw the shape of those gremlin's bodies and the aftermath. "You really are strong, though.", I tried to reassure her.
In some sense, I guess, but a lot of things could go wrong no matter how strong you are. I was already hungry and tired at the time from walking all day, and you could always get attacked when you're sleeping, or from behind like your dad did, or hit with some kind of status ailment... Even small things like that can become big problems..."
Status ailment? What did she mean by status ailment, I wondered. I was about to ask when my attention was drawn elsewhere.
"Hey, what is that?"
"The big building?", I asked.
"Yeah."
" It's a church... Have you never seen a church? I thought you were supposed to be an adventurer... You must have passed at least one before in a city, or town, or something, right?", I question. She was quiet for a moment, as if she was trying to figure something out, or come to some decision.
"What do they worship there?"
"That one? That's the church of the Incarnated Saints."
"Incarnated saints?"
"Yeah, y'know, like the Legendary Heroes."
"Oh, I see... Do you believe in that?"
"Me?... I don't know...", I said. I really didn't, mostly because I had never given it much thought. "I've always heard about it here and there, y'know? But it's not something my family or I have ever worshipped. I've never even been to the church, I don't think..." I tried to recall, but nothing came to mind until, "No, wait. I have been there once with my father. When I was little, but I never ended up going again."
"Why not?", she asked.
"I don't know. I guess my dad just had to talk to the priest and I just happened to be with him at the time."
"Did he ever go back?"
"Well, if you're asking if he goes to church, no. He doesn't, but if he went back or something, I wouldn't know. I doubt it though.", I said shrugging. "Right, time for our first stop.