29 The Third Ogre (2/2)
You see the ground littered with bats.
With every blow from Skybreaker sending creating massive shockwaves — most of the bats near you and the ogre now lie dazed and injured.
The other bats disperse — freed from the ogre's control.
You wonder how the ogre managed to control so many bats.
You flick Skybreaker a few times to rid it of all the blood and gore, before strapping it to your waist.
You take out a dagger and begin the tedious task of harvesting cores.
It turned out to be a futile task.
After taking out the ogre's core and brutalizing a few bats, you discover that none of the bats had developed magic cores.
It's true that the bats didn't exhibit any magical abilities — but you thought their changed appearances and larger size might have been due to magic.
It seems you were mistaken.
You check the ogre's body one more time to see if it carried anything valuable — but like the two previous ogres, it didn't.
After pulling a new set of clothes from your pack and changing, you decide it was time to head back to camp.
The adventurers would be in charge of the watch at this time — but you still hold your shield in front of you just in case.
You approach the camp expecting to see one or two people standing guard — only to find that most of the guards were up and at the ready.
”It's me,” you loudly proclaim.
You see the questioning and confused look of the guards.
”The bird was right,” you exclaim. ”There were three ogres.”
The soldiers start asking questions — but you just smile and make your way through them, with the excuse of being tired.
”A third ogre, huh?” Marco asks as you reach the adventurers standing watch.
”Yup,” you answer as you sit on the ground and pretend to sleep.
The rest of the watch was uneventful — but the camp started stirring once dawn arrived.
A flock of carrion birds descended on the downed ogre and injured bats — creating a ruckus that woke most of the people in the caravan.
You keep your eyes closed, enjoying the solitude pretending to sleep affords you.
”A bad omen…” whispers one of the guards as the constant cawing of the birds penetrates the camp.
”Fool!” interrupts another guard. ”Death behind the caravan is a good sign.”
You smile upon hearing their conversation and you hear the galloping of horses as a few of the guards inspect the site of the battle.
Stories of bats and ogres start spreading through the camp. A few of the guards became a little more cordial to you — while the rest completely avoid you altogether.
The caravan starts to move after a few minutes.
You stay in the rear of the train to avoid most of the stares from the guards.
”They say you summoned a horde of bats to help you fight the ogre,” says Lineva as she approaches you on her horse.
You give her a smile that neither confirms nor denies the accusation.
”The others were suspicious when you left,” she recalls, ”Why would you summon so many bats and what would have happened if you didn't come by that ogre?”
”I'm no summoner.”
”Then why did you leave?”
”Everyone has their secrets,” you answer. ”But the bats are not one of mine”
She hesitates. It's as if she wanted to ask more questions — but she didn't want to pry.
”We heard the battle from the camp — it didn't seem like the ogre was hampered by the bats.”
You give her a faint smile.
”One of the guards found a skewered bat,” she gestures at your crossbow, ”probably from that.”
”The giant commanded the bats,” you admit.
”Yet you come back unscathed and even your clothes are unmarked by even a trace of blood.”
You laugh.
Appearing without a drop on your clothes after the fight with the ogre, probably made you seem like an extremely formidable figure.
”I changed clothes before coming back,” you explain. ”I was a very bloody scene — especially with the splattered bats.”
”I see,” she replies. ”It seems that you may not be as formidable after all. At least you can't summon a horde of bats to do your bidding.”
”Not just yet,” you joke — but she did plant an idea into your head.
Bats. Maybe you could train a few bats in the future….
You dismiss the idea almost immediately.
Better to train men than simple-minded beasts.
Of course, animal companions like Elm had their uses — but when it came to battle, it's better to have trained men beside you rather than trained beasts.
”I lost you there,” says Lineva.
”I was just musing about trained animals — like Dune's hawk.”
”That hawk is no summon,” she exclaims. ”I'm not even sure if it's a real hawk.”
She shakes her head as if to dismiss the idea.
Marco comes galloping from the front of the caravan — just as the caravan stops.
”One of the forward guards spotted a dead horseman on the road — Bowen wants us all up front.”
”Bandits?” you ask.
”I'm not sure,” he answers, ”but the guard was pretty shaken when he got back.”
You follow Marco to the front of the caravan and meet up with Dune and Bowen.
”The dead body was one of my guardsmen,” Bowen shudders.
”An assassin? But whe-” starts Marco.
”One of my guardsmen who died over a week ago,” Bowen finishes.
”He was left on the road?”
”No. He d-died f-far from the city.”
”What's going on?” you ask the clearly shaken merchant.
”S-someone is sending me a m-message.”
”Who?”
”A necromancer.”
And there it was — death in front.