"Is this The Valley of Ghosts? What kind of evil, hidden from the outside of this world?"
________
Heat melted surface of land.
The scorching heat was as wide as the valley in all directions. The barren valley looked desolate for a long time. Not a single living thing seemed to pass by. The face of the barren valley was silent all afternoon. Animal bones were scattered, some half-buried in the cracked ground.
Desolate. Desolate. Silence.
Occasionally a gentle wind can be heard howling. Some giant trees have long been without signs of life, leaving only dry leaves. Mute witnesses of tragic past events.
Faintly, a shadow breaks through the silence of the valley. A thin mist revealed the figure of a horseman. Pausing for a moment, he looked for traces of where he was going. Only silence was the answer.
The man on horseback lifted the hood of cloak. Against the wind like a needle pricking. Not clear enough what was in front of them. The situation did not allow eyes to gaze at anything there.
Moments later, all men followed behind. The hoofbeats of the horses stopped beside the man on horseback who was leading the group. The neighing of horses broke the silence of the valley.
"Do we have to go this way, Chief?" one of the men asked the leader before he stopped.
"I was right."
He was stunned for a moment. Observing the surroundings.
"Apparently we have entered the path of the Valley of Ghosts. There's not enough time to go back."
"We should not linger here," said the chief leading the group.
He and the herd of horsemen quickly spurred their horses.
The mounted horses whinnied in fear. But they were forced to break through the road in front of them.
The leader and six of his subordinates were forced to dismount and lead their respective horses. Stay alert and watchful while walking carefully.
"Sssh ...," they occasionally pet the horses to calm them down.
"Don't make any noise, watch your step," the leader continued. Direct attention remained alert to the surrounding situation.
The Army of Shadows. They were not a bunch of cowards. They were not afraid to break through the barren and hot valley. The dust and fog made almost no difference. Occasionally, the dense fog faded. It became clearer to the group, an expanse of eerie silence.
Their journey culminated in a startling sight. In front of them, dead trees appeared. Faint figures hung from the dry branches. The closer the troops got, the more clearly the bodies hung, still wearing the remnants of torn clothes.
Some of the corpses were already dry skeletons. The corpses were not decomposed, left to dry for a long time.
"Chief Sujinsha!" someone called out the Chief. He seem worried.
The leader of the Shadow Troops, called by the name of Chief Sujinsha. He gestured fingers to keep voice down to subordinates.
Very cautiously, he approached the large trees. Each tree, almost hung a number of dried corpses.
Chief Sujinsha drew a dagger from his belt and threw it at a rope around the corpse's neck. The corpse fell and crumpled on the ground. Then he rushed over to examine it.
"No!" Chief Sujinsha shrieked. He seemed to recognize the dried corpse in lap now. Six of the subordinates followed. They were all very surprised.
"This is a disciple of Tanapura Castle," Chief Sujinsha was certain that he recognized the identity of the dried corpse he was watching.
"There is no mistaking it, the clothes worn, it is indeed a disciple of Golden Praja," he confirmed.
"What has happened?" Chief Sujinsha murmured and astonished. Suppressing a sense of horror. The faces of all men who saw the corpse also shuddered in horror.
Feeling that the situation was not safe, Chief Sujinsha immediately ordered to all men of subordinates.
"Put it in a sack!" he ordered and was immediately carried out by his subordinates. With a rush, they put the dried corpse into a sack and carried it.
"Hurry back to the horses!" Chief Sujinsha said order, "I will follow after you," he continued.
All men carried the sack containing the corpse to the horse's back. While the other four people followed Chief Sujinsha.
Chief Sujinsha observed the other corpses hanging from the tree. Some of them wore the same uniform.
Anger restrained, Chief Sujinsha's voice trembled slightly. His breathing was heavy as he said.
"Is this the Valley of Ghosts? What kind of evil, hidden from the outside world?!"
Suddenly a voice roared, roaring through the sky, scattering the wind. It was deafening. Followed by the appearance of a winged shadow flashing in the sky.
Chief Sujinsha moved quickly, slipping into a gap in the tree trunk to hide. Four of the subordinates followed. A large tree gap is enough to cover the five of them hiding.
From behind hiding, Chief Sujinsha looked up to the ceiling.
"Attamiwa!"
He hissed sternly. Chanting something that made the arrow in the bow's control flashed for a moment. While focusing the arrow's target into the misty sky. Her hand moved swiftly to release the arrow from the bowstring.
"Arrow!"
Chief Sujinsha gave the command to attack. All the nearby men who had been on standby, immediately nimbly came out of hiding. One after another released arrows.
A scream rang through the sky. A huge winged body darted and fell to the ground. Stopped there, the winged creature was not dead. Its roar boomed throughout the valley. One of the largest arrows was stuck right in the creature's chest.
They realized that a more threatening situation was about to follow unexpectedly. There was a faint sound of wailing voices in the distance.
"Wretched!"
"They're coming!" some of men panicked.
"Retreat! Back to the horses!"
Chief Sujinsha ordered loudly. They all ran and left the giant-sized winged creature lying on the ground. As quickly as possible move back to the position where the horses were tied before.
Then the Shadow Army immediately left the valley. A Moments later, the horses' steps came to an abrupt halt accompanied by a sharp whinny.
"We're lost!" Chief Sujinsha came to senses. The horse he was riding was also agitated.
They turned out that they just went around the valley and went back in circles. Feeling many times passing through the same thicket area.
A little relieved to be free from the threat of winged creatures. But now, the Shadow Troopers felt the presence of a bewilderingly unfamiliar place.
"The original entry point seems to have disappeared!" someone behind Chief Sujinsha shouted.
"Are we still in the vicinity of the Valley of the Spirits?!" another said anxiously. Chief Sujinsha unfolded the rolled-up sheet. There was a scribbled map.
"I believe we are out of the point leading to the Valley of the Spirits."
"However, this map does not show a path to any town."
For a moment, Chief Sujinsha looked at the various paths shown on the map.
"That means we should just walk," said Chief Sujinsha.
"I don't know where this path leads, Chief!" a subordinate looked in all directions. All they could see was dry scrub and dead vegetation.
"There is no way out! This is a dead forest. Hidden from the outside world," replied Chief Sujinsha. All men were getting anxious.
"Don't worry! Look at the surrounding hills. I'm sure I know this area. We are still in the westernmost border area between Tanapura and Kakilangit," said Chief Sujinsha, reassuring all men not to be worried.
"Chief, there is a light up ahead!" suddenly someone at the forefront, watching in a direction in the distance. The distant eyes caught something dimly there.
It was getting dark. Only the dim light became the center of their attention. The light seemed to show signs of life.
"Wait! Don't be rash! We don't know for sure what's there yet?" prevented Chief Sujinsha while keeping an eye on the distant direction.
"It looks like a bonfire!" a subordinate said.
"Maybe they, merchants from the coast are camping," continued another one.
"What if they're bandit merchants?" a subordinate asked, looking alarmed.
"Bandits are no more sinister than being lost in the Valley of the Spirits with no way out," the look on Chief Sujinsha's face, seemingly more worried about the surroundings of the valley, almost led them further astray.
"We have no choice. At least there's someone else not far from here," another said, at the forefront of monitoring the situation.
"Alright, we're heading there!" Chief Sujinsha ordered.
* * *