As best they can, they avoid the natives who try to reach the lake in the mist while walking in the forest around the water.
the massacre on the shore has continued for more than 5 minutes. The duo hears the screams in the distance even under the cover of the trees and the humid air brings back the metallic smell of blood.
Then whispered bits of conversation reach them.
In surprise they stop.
The two look at each other in silent communication.
The voices seem familiar to them.
Under doubt they wait and soon shadows appear despite the white smoke which surrounds them like a supernatural veil.
There is a moment of stagnation. Those opposite seem to recognize them after a second or two of hesitation, Potatoes' head emerges from the mist first while he is already speaking. His little voice with a faint hint of joy surprise Dust.
-It's them!
The rest the old man, Follower and Two advance in turn, behind them Pony and Charismatic support what Dust assumes to be Handsome.
The man, his two arms resting on the neck of each of the girls next to him, does not raise his face to look at them. His hair which was normally pulled back hides his gaze, his two feet dragging on the ground trace two shallow trenches in the mud.
Potatoes speaks again:
-Finally some good news i a-
The massive man stops when he gets a better look at them, the rest of his sentence already forgotten his eyes landing on the head held by Red.
The others who follow him obviously notice their macabre burden too
Dust doesn't know how to explain himself in front of so many people and Suspiscious also stays silent.
The silence that imposes itself is cold but short.
He is interrupted this time by the old man who lets out a brief and indifferent:
-It's good to see you again.
His gray eyes are devoid of judgment.
Potatoes frowns when he hears the elderly man ignoring the decapitated head. His little voice turns into a whistling shrill:
-Sir....
But after that he doesn't continue either.
Although Dust notices that his warm attitude towards him and Red has morphed into something much colder and suspicious. Dust didn't understand Potatoes' attachment and joy at seeing them alive even though he never had a real discussion with them, but he understands this change in behavior only too well.
It makes the boy uncomfortable, he wants to defend himself but at the same time he doesn't know what to say. It makes him even more aware of what he is trying to deny and ignore.
When there were just two of them, since they were both guilty, they did not judge each other.
But now that they are face to face with others, they cannot pretend that their hands are only dirtied by mud. There is blood too.
Strangely, it is Pony who in turn comes to defend them. Normally it would be Purple Belly who would have intervened in this kind of tense situation but Dust doesn't see him among them.
- Don't be hypocritical, have you forgotten what we did when we were attacked in the cabins? What? Do you also think that I shouldn't have swing my ax into the madman's skull?
The man lowers his head, seeming to remember the debacle, but his eyebrows are still furrowed.
Stubbornly he stares at the ground, he insists:
-It's different, we defended ourselves...
Pony's tone becomes more sarcastic, she asks the two men a question but she keeps her gaze fixed on Potatoes' bald head.
-You two came across one of these deranged people in the forest and you said to yourself why not kill him? How could you?!
Red's barely restrained chuckle next to him shocks Dust. It's a small sound that fortunately the others don't hear.
The boy imitating Potatoes looks down.
He tries by all means to avoid eye contact with the rest of the group.
The man's angry voice still reaches him:
-They strut around with a head! Look at the head! The head belong to a teenager at most!
The argument escalates. Pony now seems to no longer care about being spotted by the natives, she shouts:
- They are not living beings! Did you look at them carefully?! They are thirsty for blood, They move while their bodies rot! Haven't you seen what this thing that looks like a child has done to... (She stops to catch her breath, gasps then continues, lowering her voice , the end of her sentence ending in a mixture between pain and fear)... The man was opened in two.
She adds in a whisper, sure and certain:
-It's the same as in the mine or in your Middle Ages city. They're monsters, that's all.
New silence.
Between his locks Dust dares to look up to watch the saddened woman
His brown irises turn a bit dark. He feels like a stone is compressing his stomach.
The boy sniffs discreetly.
he sees Charismatic come and place a comforting hand on Potatoes' shoulder while supporting Handsome. Whith this move the giant seems more peaceful, perhaps even convinced by Pony.
He does not apologize but he nods his head without adding anything.
Red finally speaks which reassures Dust.
-We were attacked when we passed a village. It was a group. We fled and took the head of one of them to pay for the passage but apparently it will take much more than a head to cross the lake.
The implication captures everyone's attention except perhaps Handsome who doesn't move an inch.
-What do you mean? Asks the old man, the costume he wears covered in mud giving him the appearance of a mad hermit who wallowed in the mud during a panic attack.
The change of subject is a relief for Dust. The attention of the others now focuses solely on his companion which allows him to relax somewhat.
he sniffs again, holding back from coughing. The sharp breath he takes to hold back causes a spike of pain where the native's knife stuck. He can feel the fabric covering his wound sticking to his skin...
he would really like to leave this cursed place as quickly as possible.
-We are not the only ones who want to leave here...
To support his words, the red-haired man extends his arm, shaking the head, holding it by its hair. once those in front of him make uncomfortable expressions he finishes his sentence:
-There are several of these people waiting at the lake.
True to himself, Red doesn't elaborate further. The boy glances at him and has to face the facts: The man is once again waiting to be forced to speak more.
This attitude is quite irritating, thinks Dust, who is quite impatient.
He doesn't like the idea of remaining motionless in the open in this swamp even if the mist covers them.
But what to do if not wait?
He wants to speak but he can't decide because the stress has tied a knot in his throat.
It's quite ironic. After everything he has just been through, speaking in public should be the last thing he should fear.
It is Pony who urges his companion to elaborate:
-Did you go to the lake?
Charismatic also react, her long dress nothing more than a distant memory. The fabric, now torn and soiled, Can only be called a rag.
-How many of them were there?Did you see the ferryman?
Unlike the other two womens, Follower does not intervene.
She stays next to Two, her face deviod of expression.
Two seems shocked, a little in a daze, his eyes don't seem to focus on a specific point and his complexion appears pale.
It is at this moment that Dust realizes that Princess is not there either.
-Do not speak so loudly.
The two girls become silent after hearing the old man. Gray eyes return to rest on Red.
-And you be clearer.
The old man is exhausted, Dust can see it clearly.
The boy clears his throat. He also looks at the man next to him.
This one still has the marks of dirt left by the hands of the natives. Under his blue eyes and on the arch of his nose the hands have left some sort of black stripes on his white skin.
-They are blocking our way and there are too many of them for just two of us to pass. And the smuggler cited rules that don't make our task easy.
He stops speaking once again. His interlocutors are waiting. But the silence continues. The group with Dust is starting to get impatient.
The boy swallows, the knot in his throat loosening enough for him to whisper and stutter:
-It-it's not....s-the same as in the dream, the rules are different.
Clenching his teeth and staring at the ground again, he expresses himself with difficulty:
- They kill each other to get into the boat on the shore, to be the first to get in...The rules...
Dust grits his teeth as his heart races. He regrets having taken the initiative even though he knows that this is what he need to do. His thoughts are mixed up and it is difficult to translate them into understandable sentences.
But one thing is very clear in his head. He won't last long in this place.
He is already injured, there is no food in this forest, he is sick and he feels a slight fever rising. He can't stay here long or he will continue to weaken until he can no longer defend himself.
In truth he does not intervene in the discussion just out of exasperation with his companion who takes great pleasure in prolonging the suspense.
No, the truth is more sordid. He doesn't want the rest of the group to know the rules. At least not all of them. And he fears that Red isn't on the same wavelength. He wants to lie first, hoping that the red-haired man won't contradict him.
He resists the urge to look at his companion while he lies:
-I-there's enough pFor all of us in the boat, the problem is that we can't climb in a hurry. The ru-rules of the ferryman are...When he is not there the natives fight to be the closest to the shore but when the ferryman's boat appears neither they nor we must move. Only the nine people closest to the water go up.
So we need to fight all the way to reach the water and then survive until the boat come. ..