Aaron decided to speed up and avoid places like groves again to avoid that kind of situation again. Unfortunately, while those places were lifeless, there were plenty of them around and between the mountains… in fact, the valleys were basically only that… large groves filled with dead trees and dark hounds.
Thanks to it, Aaron wasn't making as much progress as he originally wanted. Still, around noon, he finally crossed the fifth mountain. The path ahead was finally free of those obstacles… in the distance, Aaron saw a small town. Still, even from a distance, it looked like a lifeless one.
As Aaron approached the town, he couldn't help but notice the eerie silence that surrounded it. The streets were almost empty, and there were no signs of life anywhere aside from a few humans. The buildings look old and rundown, their paint peeling, and their windows cracked. Even the trees seem to sag with despair, as if they, too, had given up on this forgotten place.
It's as if time has stood still here, and the world has moved on without the life of many who once called this town home. It's a haunting sight, and Aaron couldn't help but wonder what happened to make this community fade into obscurity.
"They live pretty close to the territories of the dark hounds. If they are attacked often, that would explain why the place looks like that," Aaron thought.
Aaron already had plenty of experience with entering and crossing places like that. However, he still needed to do so, even though he didn't want to. While he wanted to avoid problems or delays, he needed to get a good read about the people of that place, and even from a distance, he was able to see that the place had some people moving in there.
"Going with the skeletons would make me not waste my time… but it might make me be attacked as soon as I approach," Aaron thought. "At the same time, I also won't be able to see how people will normally act by seeing someone from outside…"
Aaron thought that he had been watched while he was crossing the mountains, so hiding them now might be a waste of time. Still, he decided to do that anyway.
After leaving the skeletons at the base of the mountain, Aaron began to head to the small town, riding his horse. He had some water and food for the animals left. Still, not much, and that kind of thing was hard to find around, so he could tell that soon it would be time to say goodbye to his temporary companion. In that situation, it would be hard to imagine the creature surviving for long without Aaron… unfortunately, there wasn't much that he could do.
As Aaron arrived in the town, the suspicious eyes of the locals were all fixed on him. They seemed to be analyzing every move he made with utmost care and caution. The people of the town looked truly malnourished, with their sunken cheeks and hollow eyes giving away the severity of their condition.
It was as if they had not had a proper meal in months. Aaron couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for them, even as they kept a close watch on his every move. It was clear that Aaron was an outsider, and they were not sure whether to trust him or not. So, they decided to keep a safe distance and observe him from afar until they could be sure of his intentions.
Aaron could tell that the people of the country had it rough… while they had the dark hounds to eat, their meat didn't look that good, and their weird fur certainly posed as a treat for most people. Hunting them wouldn't be easy either since they are strong and hunt in packs.
"No bloodlust… but even so… these people here certainly look like hungry animals… my horse looks like a seriously good meal for them," Aaron thought. "One that they didn't have in many years."
The place didn't have many armed people, and it was a bit weird, given that it was the first place that Aaron found after crossing the border. He wondered where the soldiers were… that place should have at least one hundred of them.
In the end, the people of that town knew better than to try to do something foolish to get Aaron's horse. He couldn't tell if they were sharp and knew that Aaron could mop the floor with them or if there was another reason. Aaron imagined that even if they were desperate enough, nothing good would come out of starting a fight. Even if they succeeded, they soon would fight amongst themselves to get the parts that they wanted to eat… that would make them fight and kill each other eventually. Making the town destroy itself…
"This is worse than I imagined… these people can live proper lives here, and they don't know what it is to eat decently," Aaron thought. "It doesn't look like the blue skies show up much here either, and that doesn't mean it rains, making the land proper for cultivation… the people here know nothing but to live in despair every day and all day."
Now that Aaron thought about it, he only saw a couple of kids outside, and they were working with their parents. All of them were below ten, and all of them were girls… that couldn't be a good sign.