"I think I have found the inspiration for a new work." declared Manfred Von Deyl enthusiastically. "The delightful story the hunter told last night will be the core of the plot."
Elysia looked at him doubtfully. They advanced along the western flank of the caravan, keeping between the chariots and the ominous mountains.
"Perhaps the hunter's story is more than just a tale, Manfred. Many ancient legends contain real facts."
"Of course! Of course! Who better to know than me? I think I will title this work Where the legends walk. Think about it: powerful spells that make the earth rumble, and the metallic sheen of legendary weapons gleaming in the haunted light of the moon. Imagine the figure of the god of the dead who remains unbeatable in the midst of battles."
Looking at those accursed elevations, it was very easy for Elysia to imagine such things. Of all the people following Baron Von Deyl, only three people dared to enter the hills. During the day, Dr. Stock and Mrs. Winter searched for herbs among the mossy rocks on the stony slopes. If they returned late, they would sometimes run into Frey, as he roamed the hills at night, as if he were trying to challenge the powers of Darkness.
"Imagine…" continued Manfred almost whispering. "Imagine that you are asleep in bed and you hear footsteps approaching, although you only perceive your breathing… Could you be lying there, listening to the strong beat of your heart and knowing that nothing stirs inside the chest of whoever approaches you? "
"Yes." Elysia hastened to say. "I am sure it will be an excellent work. You have to let him read it as soon as you've finished it."
She decided to change the subject, and tried to find one that might be attractive to this strange young man.
"I am thinking of writing a novel. Could you tell me more about the Von Deyl Curse?"
Manfred's face froze, and his brilliant gaze made Elysia shiver; however, she promptly shook her head, smiled, and resumed her affable manner.
"There is little to tell." and she gave a merry little laugh. "My father was a very devout man, and he was always burning witches, mutants, greenskins and beastmen to prove it. On a Halloween night, he roasted a pretty girl accused of witchcraft. All the subjects came to watch, because she was a beauty. When the flames already rose around the girl, she promised that they would pay for her actions; After a week, the one who in a few years would be the emperor arrived, a young Sebastian Kaisar Octavio arrived with his entourage, in said entourage was a charming girl who seemed to be the same age as the young heir, it was the same girl that it had been burned a week ago." He fell silent and cast a dark gaze toward the hills.
"And what happened?" Elysia wanted to know.
"Shortly after the arrival of the heir, Sebastian simply invited my family to a banquet at the imperial palace. Throughout the trip the heir scoffed at how kind and caring his close friend was, we tried to ask about his friend but all our questions were ignored. During dinner my father was forced to sit next to the emperor's dear friend, the very friend my father had burned. After the week and after returning to our territory, tragedies began to emerge, the first to suffer the curse was my father who was killed by a pack of beastmen while hunting. Slowly every member of my family fell away until only my uncle and I remained."
"That's creepy. Did they try to do something?
"We tried everything." Manfred replied. "Clergymen tried to dispel the curse. The sorcerer who comes from the clan that serves my family made a potion to turn bad luck into good luck. A magician from the imperial magic academy investigated the case but found nothing. A spiritualist tried to talk to the spirits of ghosts to find answers. Nothing worked, we only got a glimpse of seeing when we managed to get help from a witch, the black magic user told us that the curse was imposed by something higher than the power of mortals."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that the Emperor's mistress and future empress is possibly a powerful demon with the body of a beautiful woman."
As Elysia pondered the darkness that fell over the Empire, she saw a figure approaching, coming up the slope. It was old Winter, and she seemed to be in a great hurry.
"Did she disappear?" Elysia asked.
"Yes, she vanished. It wasn't until much later that I found out what had happened to him."
Frau Winter moved closer just as she glared at Manfred.
"Bad news." she announced. "I have discovered an opening in the side of the mountain, higher up. It is sealed by rune stones, but I feel that a terrible danger lurks behind it."
The tone of her voice made him believe her. Mrs. Winter continued at full speed into the camp as Manfred's eyes darted daggers at her back. Elysia looked up at him.
"There is no affection between you, right?"
"She hates me; she has since my uncle named me heir. She thinks the next baron should be her son."
Elysia raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yes, don't you know? Dieter is her son, and my father's bastard son."
♦ ♦ ♦
The moonlight reflected off the river water, which shone like liquid silver. Gnarled ancient trees hung over the banks, like trolls waiting. Nervously, Frey turned her head. "There's something weird in the air tonight." He had a feeling that something was wrong.
He had to fight to control the impression that evil was moving behind him, hungry for life, for the lives of all the people who made up Baron Garfield's retinue.
"Are you okay, Frey? Tonight you seem distracted." Krisvel commented.
He turned his eyes to the girl and smiled. Normally, he enjoyed those evening walks along the river, but tonight an omen interfered with his tranquility. The bristling hair on the back of his neck told her so.
"I'm just tired." Inevitably, he cast a glance toward the nearby mountains. In the moonlight, the opening looked very much like a gaping maw.
"It's this place, right? There is something supernatural about him; I can feel it. It's like when Mrs. Winter casts one of her dangerous spells on her; then she makes the hair on the back of her neck stand up. But this is much worse."
Frey watched as terror surfaced on Krisvel's face, then disappeared. Krisvel looked out over the water.
"Something ancient and evil dwells in those hills, Frey; something that is hungry. We can die here." Frey took her hand and looked straight into Krisvel's eyes.
"We'll be safe as long as I'm here."
However, his voice trembled, and the words did not sound reassuring. He spoke like an insecure child, and they both flinched.
"All the people in the camp are scared except you and your friend, Frey. Why are they so fearless?
"Elysia trusts me, she knows what I'm capable of." Frey replied with a light laugh. "I have a personal mission to perform great acts worthy of a hero regardless of whether they may lead to my death."
"If you have that goal, why does she follow you? Elysia seems like a sensible girl."
Frey carefully pondered what he was going to reply. The truth was that he had never considered in detail the reasons that prompted his partner to use him as protection. But looking into Krisvel's dark eyes, it suddenly seemed important to know what they were.
"I saved her life, and after that I promised that I would take care of her." Although he had laid out the facts for her in a general way, he had not given her a detailed explanation.
She looked at him questioningly.
"Do you have feelings for her?"
Frey shrugged his shoulders, it was foolish to hide the truth.
"And what about you? What has brought you to the riverbank?"
They approached a fallen tree, and Frey helped Krisvel up the trunk; then he jumped up to sit next to her. The girl smoothed the folds of her long peasant dress and tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. Frey thought that she looked adorable in the moonlight. The mist was beginning to form.
Looking around her somewhat paranoid, he realized that there was no danger, so he decided to unfasten her helmet and then remove it from her head.
"My parents were vassals of Baron Garfield, his servants for years. I was hired as Mrs. Winter's apprentice as I have a certain talent for magic. They died in an avalanche in the gray mountains, along with my sisters."
"I am sorry." Frei answered. "I did not know, I did not know it."
Krisvel shrugged resignedly.
"There have been so many deaths along the way. I simply thank you for being here."
He was silent for a long moment, and when he spoke again, he did so in a sweet voice.
"I miss them."
Frey couldn't think of anything to say, so she remained silent.
"You know? My grandmother, in all her life, never left the place of her birth. She never saw the interior of that old baron's castle. The only thing she knew was her cabin and the land where she worked. I have already seen mountains, cities and rivers. I have come much further than she dared to dream. In a way, I'm glad."