74 Mystery of The Forest of Towering Rocks Part 1 (1/2)
Four days later, entrance of 'The Forest of Towering Rocks'. 21:45
”Woah.. this place is beautiful.” Said Ligart, mesmerized by the beauty of the scenario that appeared before him.
Daniel and the rest of the group were standing at the edge of a thick forest, and in front of them, a large expanse made out of thousands, if not tens of thousands of tall and thin rocks formed 'The forest of Towering Rocks'.
The place was a common crossing point between different sides of the empire, so it was usually filled with crossing merchants, and travelers despite its resemblance to a labyrinth made out of stone. But due to recent news that a high-ranking beast had kidnapped and killed people, the place had become much less populated.
The only groups that traveled this path were mostly those powerful enough to not fear a high-ranking beast, or the numerous groups to whom the Krehan empire had assigned the investigation to.
”Thanks for taking us here by flight.. We would only be halfway if it weren't for you” Said Heimart to Daniel.
Daniel sighed deeply, and while shrugging his shoulders he said ”Don't worry about it.. Better to spend fifty hours flying by myself, than listening to your cousin ask to stop every twenty minutes..”
Heimart couldn't help but smile, and say ”True.. and at the same time we got three days of vacation in the creepy castle.”
”You guys should have trained..” Responded Daniel while looking back at him with narrowed eyes.
Heimart responded through gritted teeth ”We tried to.. Imblen never got out of that training room. I've tried to spar with Jerigh, but that guy is crazy.. It's worse than practicing with the dummies.. Anyway, let's set camp. We'll investigate tomorrow”
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After a quiet night, morning came once again.
”We have to find the location and time in which the attacks took place. Also, we could use the help of groups from other factions. We can't ally with other groups from the legion, as the legion rewards only one group, but nobody said we can't make an alliance with a group from another power..” said Alis while looking at the other members of the group.
”We should split into two groups.” Said Daniel decisively.
Heimart looked at him and said ”How do you think we should split?”
”You, Ligart and Jerigh should go look for groups willing to ally. I'll enter the rocky forest with Alis to gather informations.” He said after a minute of consideration. He then added ”You still have my 'Ki Flag', if something happens, I'll teleport next to you in a matter of seconds. So try not to call me when you are surrounded by other objects.”
Once agreed on how to split, and which group would take which job.. Ligart, Heimart, and Jerigh departed towards the edge of the rocky maze, while Daniel and Alis followed the cleared paths that lead inside.
The Forest of Towering Rocks already covered an immense area, and the fact that the numerous rocks made the paths curve continuously, only made exploring it a harder job.
After a full hour, Daniel and Alis had only gone through thirty kilometers into the rocky forest.
Suddenly, they both heard voices coming from further into the path.
”..It's this way I tell you.. I've really seen it!” said a voice in a high pitched tone, seemingly belonging to a child.
A hoarse voice responded to the first one by saying ”Quit playing with your old man.. I just want to get out of this damned forest and reach Kripka” The second voice seemed to belong to a man in his mid forties, and it sounded like he was chewing on something.
Daniel and Alis proceeded further into the forest, and after the seventh turn, they found a five to six years old boy followed by a fat middle aged man. They were both at the head of a cart, next to which ten guards walked orderly in formation.
The moment Daniel and Alis appeared in front of them, the guards immediately walked in front of the two and formed a wall of protection.
”Excuse us sir, you seem like someone that would travel through this forest often.. May we ask for a few informations?” Said Alis politely, trying to make the guards drop their fighting stance.
”It's alright” Said the fat man. He then walked past the barrier of guards and said ”Ask away. It's been two weeks since we've been in here, a bit of new company doesn't hurt.”
Alis smiled at him and bowed gracefully. She then removed her hood and said ”We have been sent here by the legion to investigate the accidents that happened in the forest. Could you tell us something about that?”
”Oh, the legion.” Said the fat man with a surprised expression. He then swallowed whatever he was chewing before, and continued ”Of course.. The accidents have started about eight months ago. At first, merchant reported the disappearance of members of their caravans. It was only after a couple of similar incidents happened that a few mercenary groups started to send searching parties to look for the bodies.”
”I assume that a few bodies have been found.” Commented Alis before asking ”What can you tell us about their deaths?”
”Not caused by humans. From what I know, not one clean cut, puncture or sign of human magic arts were found in the places where the bodies have been found.. That's why simple homicide was ruled out, and the conclusion that a high-ranking beast was the culprit was formulated.” Responded the fat man patiently.
”What caused the victim's deaths then?” Alis asked in confusion.
”All the injuries suggested that the cause of the death had something to do with trauma caused by the collision with.. Rocks.” Responded the fat man.
Alis's face twisted in a deeper confusion. She then asked ”Rocks? You mean that rocks were the weapons that caused all those deaths? With no exception?”
”With no exception. One was impaled by a tall and pointy rock, another had his thoracic cage destroyed due to being sent flying against a stone wall, a third person was found buried by tons and tons of rocks, and so on.” Responded the fat man while slowly brushing his chin, trying to remember as many details as he could.