"See? That white thing." Jesse pointed and said.
Gerred narrowed his eyes and looked for a while. Then he asked, "Could it be that a pig raised by people in Elwynn fell into the water and drowned, and its body was washed here?"
"It's not livestock. It's a person." The priest woke up at some point. He patted the carriage and shouted, "Stop! There's someone in the water!"
"A person?" The paladin in front stuck his head out. The carriage swayed and stopped steadily.
After the sounds of horse hooves, the rattling of boxes, and the creaking operation of the carriage all disappeared, only the sound of water and birds, the movement of the wind blowing through the forest remained. It was so quiet that it was a bit frightening.
Jesse jumped off the carriage and approached the shore. The white thing among the water plants was indeed a person. Judging from her rather large build, it was simply due to being physically strong. It didn't seem like abnormal swelling due to being soaked for too long and becoming bloated like a giant. This indicated that her time of death wasn't very long ago.
The priest took off his outer robe, waded into the water, swam to the corpse, and with great effort turned the whole person over. To his surprise, it was a woman.
Combined with her rather distinctive build and the golden hair on top of her head that was like prickles and had almost no presence, one could almost guess her identity.
Everyone helped pull the woman's corpse onto the shore. They found that she was missing half of her leg. The cut surface had been soaked white, and her whole body was covered with all kinds of terrifying wounds, especially on her lower body.
Gerred frowned and asked, "What's going on? This definitely isn't suicide by jumping into the river."
"Gnolls." A traveler said. "There's almost no other possibility. Don't forget that gnolls are also humanoid creatures. They don't have many of our advantages, but they don't lack any of our disadvantages."
"Remember those people we met at the inn last night?" Jesse asked Gerred.
"Your meaning is…" Gerred leaned closer and looked at that face. Then he said, "It seems to really be that woman with the bow on her back."
"You know this lady?" The priest asked.
"It should be her without a doubt. We met her once yesterday." Jesse said. "This woman and two men are a group of bounty hunters. They were preparing to hunt down a gnoll leader who has a bounty on his head in Stormwind City. But they left the inn last night and we haven't seen them since."
"The new leader of the Riverpaw clan. I've also heard about it." The paladin said.
The old priest looked into the tall water plants farther away and said, "Everyone, we'd better leave here. If she was still alive last night, then the place where she was killed may not be far from here."
"What about the corpse?" The young priest asked.
"Push it back into the river and push it farther away." The paladin said. "Let the river take her to Stranglethorn Vale or even farther. If we bury her here, nearby sick animals might dig her up. If she is unlucky and gets infected with necromantic pollution, such a strong zombie will be very difficult to deal with and will bring unnecessary trouble to Raven Hill."
"Can't we burn it?" Jesse asked.
"We don't have enough fuel at hand. Collecting materials on the spot will take a long time and might attract gnolls." The paladin said. "Although I don't want to say this, but if we do that, it's like preparing a barbecue for them. This lady must not want this to happen."
"Then let's do it." Gerred rolled up his sleeves and followed everyone to push the woman's corpse back into the river again.
The priests recited prayers for sending off the deceased.Several travelers who were hitchhiking, whether they were believers of the Holy Light or not, remained silent and watched as the corpse drifted away.
Jesse looked over there and then looked back at the continuous Elwynn Forest to the north.
He always felt that his story with Hogger hadn't ended yet.
The corpse finally disappeared from sight. Only then did everyone wash their hands and clothes and return to the carriage.
For the rest of the journey, everyone was much quieter, and no one asked about the possible fates of the others in that bounty hunter team.
After entering southern Elwynn, the deeper they went, the darker it became. Looking at the priest's pocket watch, it was only two or three o'clock in the afternoon, but the sky was almost as dark as night.
The dark energy from the explosion of Karazhan had lingered here for several years and would continue until the people here died in despair or moved away. The darkness would not end.
Objectively speaking, it was already a very optimistic result that the energy inside Medivh lost control and only destroyed such an area.
After all, it was the soul of Sargeras, the true master of the Burning Legion and the Dark Titan who could cut an entire planet with one sword, that possessed him.
Gradually, the forest on both sides of the road became extremely gloomy. Thick fog obscured the view. The torches specially set up on the road were originally used to light the way for travelers. But in the fog, the fire points extending out one by one as the road went on were as strange as will-o'-the-wisps.
From time to time, sounds of unknown creatures, whether human or wolf, came from the forest. Sometimes, a passing crow suddenly broke the silence, letting people know that there were still living things here.
The rotation of the wooden wheels became the only continuous sound. Jesse felt as if their group was being watched by countless pairs of unknown creatures' eyes in the forest as they advanced.
The carriage came to an intersection. In the thick fog, one could see the shadows of several buildings and a small church nearby. It seemed that there were still a few windows with lights on in the shadows.
The priest sitting in front turned back and said, "We're at Raven Hill, everyone."
This is Raven Hill?
If he hadn't been told, Jesse would have thought this was just a slightly larger post station. After all, this so-called small town was not as large as Sentinel Hill post station. Compared to Goldshire, it was a far cry.
Perhaps he had become accustomed to seeing towns and cities much larger than in the game. Suddenly seeing a small place that wasn't much better than the modeling in the game, he was even a bit unaccustomed.
The priests on the church carriage took a short break and loaded and unloaded. Then they continued on their way. They wanted to reach the next post station before it got completely dark. Although Jesse didn't know what the difference was between day and night in Duskwood.
Raven Hill was very deserted. There was not a single person in the small square in the middle of the town. Only an old man was sitting at the entrance of the inn not far away and looking this way.
Jesse and Gerred rented a room in this only inn in the town. It only cost a few copper coins for one night. It was so cheap that it was almost like giving it away for free.
Although this inn was dirty and messy due to lack of manpower to clean it, and there was dust everywhere, they had no choice.
Jesse checked his luggage and tools. Then he slumped down on a wooden chair and looked out at the gloomy forest outside the window. He said, "We should try not to engage in any battles. If we are unlucky and encounter the living dead, we should hide and run. If we encounter wolves or other animals, we should avoid eye contact and avoid conflicts."
"That's what I think too." Gerred pulled out the sword and shook it. Then he said, "This town doesn't seem to have any conditions for treating wounds. If something unexpected happens, we might die here."
After saying that, he turned the sword upside down and handed the hilt to Jesse. He said, "Take it."
"You use this sword." Jesse picked out an axe and said, "I'll use this."
"Why?" Gerred asked.
"Using a sword requires skill." Jesse said. "I don't have much combat experience. But I've chopped a lot of firewood. I still understand a bit about how to exert force with this axe. You are a veteran. You are much better with a sword than me."
"This sword is made for a human's build. It's not very suitable for dwarves." Gerred lifted the sword blade and glanced at the edge. Then he said, "Fortunately, it's not too long and can still be used."
At this moment, the dwarf put down the sword but didn't move his gaze. He stared straight at the door.
"Who are you? What do you want?"