Chapter 687 - v4c67 The Hunter Siblings(3) (1/2)

“…… The legends of the Green Folk of the forest have a long history, and the mountain folk of Manoweirl and the Lantonilan region refer to them as the Treetop People. Some say they are descended from the Miirnas, and after the War of the Holy Saints, a portion of the Miirnas did travel the route we pa.s.s through today to avoid the middle of the Stained Frost Forest Labyrinth. They went over the Falling Needle Hills Avenue, out to sea from the area of today’s Silver Pine Coast, and headed north, never to be seen again.”

“No one knows where they ended up, but some say that the Miirnas of the forest split in two back then and that the leader of the group who led them was unwilling to give up his worldly power and coaxed a group of them to stay. These descendants came with predictable results, and the horses that remained became the Green Folk that followed. But they had a.s.similated into the forest – cheeks like the grain of the wood, dull eyes sunk deep in, and bodies covered in roots. And they always wandered the forest, regretting the decisions they had made day after day. ”

“The dark magic turns this regret into resentment, and they are like heartless ghosts lost in this forest, killing all the creatures they meet. Most of these Mirrnas who remain are n.o.ble among the Mirrnas, and they are adept at using language to confuse people, especially when that language contains the magic of the forest. Many who have seen them go on to never return.”

The young prince was the only one who huddled in a corner, s.h.i.+vering from what he had heard. He intended on going away and not listening, but he could not resist his curiosity.

“Where are the Miirnas who left?” Medissa was a little curious. She put a dead branch into the campfire, the brightening up of the fire reflected the redness of her face.

Brendel picked up the roasted fish from the campfire and tossed it over to the side of Haruz, and the young prince froze, unconsciously reaching out to catch it and throwing it away with an ‘ouch’. Then he reacted and hurriedly grabbed the wooden stick to pick it up, but was somewhat at a loss for words as he stared at the mud and snow dust that was smeared all over the grilled fish.

Brendel sighed and shook his head. He handed the other grilled fish to Maynild beside him, who reached out to take the grilled fish from the young prince’s hand before replacing it with the one she received.

“Thank you ……” Haruz muttered quietly, with his face blus.h.i.+ng like an apple.

“To take on responsibility, Your Highness, you must first learn to overcome your fears.” Maynild reminded him, “The world is full of legends, but Your Highness you are long past the age of believing in bedtime stories.”

“I am… I am not afraid.” Haruz stared at the grilled fish in his hand, a little aggrieved, “Because my sister said that Lord Marsha would shelter every one of her people ……”

This reason to comfort himself made Laurenna on the other side of the room giggle, “Prince, you’re so cute.” She replied with some amus.e.m.e.nt.

Brendel shook his head, he really could not expect much more from this prince, at least these days he had become much more independent than before. He would not have dared to say what he was thinking in front of so many people if it was before, so this was at least an improvement. So he went on to answer Medissa’s question, “Those Mirrnas went over the Falling Needle Hill Avenue, and some were seen going out to sea from the area around today’s Silver Pine Coast, but it was just too long ago. Instead, the souls of those dead Mirrna ancestors still linger in the Gorge of the Ancient Days, north of the Falling Needle Hills Avenue, and pieces of s.h.i.+pwrecks are often recovered from the ocean floor in that area.”

“What about the knights who have lost heart?” I’ve heard similar legends like that.” Laurenna asked, every day these days Brendel had told them many tales of this forest. It seemed to her that there was nothing that this Count Trentheim would have not known.

“The knights who have lost heart? That’s another story-” Brendel was about to open his mouth when an almost mournful wail from the distant forest interrupted him, a sound that rose and fell beneath the forest beneath the silver moon, almost like a wolf howling. But Brendel heard it, it was a human voice, a woman’s voice.

The young prince shuddered with fear, while everyone turned back in that direction at the same time, the sound coming from the south of the camp, in the direction of the hunters’ original camp.

With a ‘clatter’, someone suddenly rushed out of the bushes, and it was Scarlet, who was carrying a spear. She looked at Brendel somewhat at a loss for words, but the latter already understood, “What’s happened?”

“She ran out ……” the young mountain woman replied in a whisper.

“Ran out?” Brendel was slightly startled, “You didn’t stop her?”

“But she said she was going to find her brother.”

“Her brother? Is her brother among those hunters?”

Scarlet shook her head slightly, indicating she wasn’t sure.

……

The second time Brendel had seen the female hunter was when he was in that hunter’s camp during the day, when she was kneeling in the snow, sobbing quietly. The young girl had long, thick, dark brown hair that fell over her shoulders, slightly curled, and was gorgeous. She was wearing a thick hunter’s leather outfit, but the longbow and quiver of arrows on her lanyard had been nowhere to be found long before she was found, and the bare skin around her hands and neck was somewhat dark, somewhat like Sue, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, but was much more mature than Maynild or even Freya.

The young female hunter was lying on the edge of a hole that had been dug in the snow, her hands gripping the frozen earth, making an almost beastly whimpering sound, which gradually turned into a low wail. Freya, who was beside Brendel, was somewhat unbearable at this sight and walked over to help the other girl up, but Brendel stopped her. He looked at the body of the hunter that had been re-excavated from the pit and asked back, “Is her brother in there?”

Maynild shook her head gently, “The bodies buried earlier were identified by her, there were no remains of her brother in them. The surrounding woods have been searched as well, and no trace has been found.”

“Which means her brother might still be alive?”

“Not necessarily, or maybe the corpse was taken by a wild animal in the forest. Or maybe like the corpse we encountered earlier, it fled further away to die.” The female knight was not optimistic.

Brendel nodded slightly, acknowledging the speculation. But also added, “We can’t rule out the possibility of him being taken away, as Arreck will always need a guide.”