Part - 1"Are you sure? Have you thought about it completely? Listen, I know....""Yes I am absolutely sure, your courtship. I have already made up my mind about it. There is no turning back on it now.""Okay. It's your choice after all. I won't prevent you. But I still won't allow you to join the scout regiments. Your father helped the people of Hallstatt on numerous occasions. We all owe a large debt to your family. I feel it's my responsibility to repay the favour.""But, but, your honour! I really want to...""That's enough! My decision is final. You can go today. Your training will begin tomorrow. And don't worry, you shall be serving Hallstatt in about a month's time.""Okay, your majesty! Thank you."Part - 2One month later and Marco was in the regimen of King Henry, who had proved to be one of the best soldiers Hallstatt had ever seen. However, even after repeated requests, Henry wouldn't approve of his request of joining the scouts, who were in charge of risking their lives and delivering goodies to Bleakridge, Somaris and Duskvale. "No Marco! I said earlier only. Your father was a treasure to this country and this country cannot let its precious jewel to walk straight into death. The people who are entrusted with visiting those lands are already on the verge of death. they have nothing more to lose in their lives.""But, your majesty, I had a dream where my dad himself instructed me to find my way to those cursed lands. According to him, they hold something very crucial which is related to me. I need to know it.""Dear boy, 'If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride!' . Don't blindly believe everything you saw in your dream. I know what you might be going through right now but that does not mean you sacrifice your life for the unknown.""..................................""Marco...""Y...yes! Yes, your majesty!""Would you like to say anything?""No my lord. It's okay. I do understand and won't ever think of it again.""That's my boy. You may go now!"With a bow, Marco left the hall. "I won't give up that easily." Part - 3"Hey, where are they going?""Oh them! They are the scouts, who are setting off for Somaris! Sigh! Another few soldiers to be never seen again.", said Sandler with a rugged voice."Oh! But ain't the scouts supposed to leave on the twenty-first of each month. Today is just the twelfth.""Didn't you hear? King Henry made an unofficial announcement yesterday that from now on, soldiers will be sent on the alternate dates of alternate months, starting from today. That means, the next time we shall see the scouts on the twenty-first of August.""Fuuuuckkk!!! There goes my opportunity. Fuck this son of a bitch Henry....""Marco, are you alright? What are you whispering about?""Oh no it's nothing. It's just that, I was feeling really sad after looking at those scouts, thinking some of them we won't be able to see again.""Yeah! You're right. But let's not immerse ourselves in such deep anguish, thinking about them. I mean, look at them. They are almost nearing death. It would be better if they got their reward much sooner than lying senseless on a broken bed with no-one to look after them, waiting for God's call.""Hmmm! Let's go in. It's almost time for dinner. I hope they don't serve us cod fish today.""Why? Are you allergic to it?"" No not really ! Just CHAPTER-1 vibes !!"😉Part - 4"There they are!""Hurray! Our heroes are finally returning.""It has been so long.""How many are there?""Did they all survive?""Geez! Can you be optimistic for once.""He is right tho. The last time the scouts were this late to return, they came back with only half their comrades."It was true. The scouts had returned exactly after forty days. The last time they took over a month to make their way back to Hallstatt was when Marco was still inside Trina's womb."Where are the others? Where are your comrades?""They...they....all of them are dead. Your majesty! We are the only ones that survived.""What happened? Where did they go? You were a sixteen people group and now....you are only three!!""We don't have an idea, your majesty! They started vanishing one-by-one. At the beginning, all of us remained calm. Nobody came in here not expecting such events to not happen. However, as days passed by swiftly, we ventured somewhat into the interiors of the province-turned-cemetery, we started losing track of time. There was no sunlight and no sights of any life in the near or distant boundaries. Your Majesty, it all began when the first man disappeared. It was just after nightfall. He was standing watch, near the old ruins, and when the morning came, he was gone without a trace. No signs of struggle, no footprints leading away. Just... gone. We searched the area, calling out his name, but all we found were his belongings, untouched as if he had simply vanished into thin air.The second disappearance followed the next night, and then the third. By then, panic had started to take hold. We kept to the fires, trying to stay awake, but it was useless. Each night, another would vanish, swallowed by the darkness. We tried to move as a group, staying within sight of each other, but the shadows were relentless, and the night seemed to stretch on endlessly.Days blurred together, and the land itself seemed to conspire against us. The trees whispered in tongues we could not understand, and the fog thickened, pressing in on us like the hands of the dead. Our provisions rotted overnight, turning into foul-smelling mush, and the water we found tasted of decay. Even the air felt heavy, as though we were breathing in the very essence of death.Then, the madness began to take root. At first, it was just whispers, barely audible, coming from the dark corners of our minds. We thought it was the wind or the rustling of leaves, but soon we realized it was something far more sinister. The survivors began hearing voices, calling them by name, urging them to step into the shadows, to leave the safety of the group. Some spoke of seeing their loved ones, beckoning them from the darkness.The first to break was our strongest warrior, a man who had faced countless battles without flinching. He screamed in the middle of the night, clutching his head, and ran into the woods before we could stop him. His screams echoed back to us, twisted and unnatural, until they abruptly stopped. We never saw him again.The rest of us tried to hold on to our sanity, but it was a losing battle. One man gouged out his own eyes, claiming he could see the souls of the damned staring back at him from the darkness. Another began to laugh uncontrollably, his mind shattered by the horrors we could not see. He attacked us in a frenzy, forcing us to defend ourselves. We had to kill him to protect ourselves, but by then, the madness had already taken hold of the rest.Some of them started crying in despair. We had already run out of provisions and were desperately trying to find our way back. That guy there, you see my Lord, he, yes he!! That guy devoured two of our comrades out of hunger and he himself is now dying of sickness.We began to turn on each other, suspicion and paranoia consuming us. Every noise, every shadow, was a potential threat. One night, we awoke to find that another of our group had been murdered in his sleep, his throat slit from ear to ear. None of us claimed responsibility, but we all knew that one of us had done it, driven by the madness that now ruled our minds. And then there were only three of us left, your Majesty. We fled, abandoning our comrades to whatever fate awaited them in that accursed place. We ran through the night, the shadows clawing at our backs, until we finally reached the edge of the province. But even now, as we stand before you, we feel its grip on our souls. We are haunted by the faces of those we left behind, by the whispers that still echo in our ears.We don't know how we survived, but we know we can never return. The province is cursed, a place where the dead walk and the living lose their minds. Whatever ancient evil dwells there, it claimed the others, and it will claim us too if we ever dare to go back."The entire mass along with King Henry remained silenced for quite some time. The veil of silence was first broken by Marco."My Lord, I think we should take them to the infirmary and get them treatment as early as possible.""Y..yes...yes you are right! Someone take them immediately and provide them with some food and water. "The crowd fizzled out after that. No-one were in their right state of mind after hearing such horrendous incidents from the surviving scouts."Marco!""Yes, your majesty!""Do you still want to go to those hallowed grounds after what you saw? After what you heard today?"Marco didn't answer. It seemed he was trapped in some invisible misty veil, something that only worked its effect on Marco. Something which would not allow him to sleep that night. Marco had changed irrevocably. His fate was about to be flipped upside down, with Marco at the helm of the chaos.