Trail of Corpses (2)

"What are they after?" Viscount Renn asked impatiently. His anger was bubbling like the insides of an active volcano, threatening to spill out at any moment. Every second he spent staring at the pile of dead bodies fueled his rage even more.

Vincent turned over the body he was studying and answered without pausing his examination. "The murderers disappeared without a trace as soon as they collected all the death energy. Looking at all these bodies, the death must have been swift.

Assuming that this is a handiwork of a cultist, it's safe to say that they want to collect enough energy to hold a massive ritual or offer it to some entity. Adding the fact that the massacre took place during a night of red full moon, they must be trying to maximize the amount they can collect.

Given all this, I think this is just one of the many more massacres to come. I don't know what they are up to. But, whatever it is, it's going to require a lot more energy. This should be just the first batch of harvest."

His words added another layer of frost to the already cold and heavy atmosphere. Even Manuel, who was a battle hardened veteran lost his composure. The knight clenched his fists until they were white as he stared at the now dilapidated houses.

Harmon observed the knight and spoke out to calm the people present. "What Vincent said might be wrong. Let's not get too worked up about it. There's a very good chance that this might have been one the cultist's crazy experiment to create some sort of abomination."

"Not a chance." Vincent understood that the old wizard was trying to keep everyone cool headed. It might have been the right move in most situations but he didn't think this was one of them. If they didn't approach the matter with utmost caution, this could easily get out hand. "Were it an experiment to create an abomination, the victims would have been tortured for days on end. It's common knowledge that the chances of an abomination being born increases if the subject is filled with insanity and suffering."

"That doesn't change anything." Harmon saw the soldiers losing their morale and cut Vincent off before he could speak further. "We still have to stop these madmen from committing further atrocities."

"Enough!"

Viscount Renn silenced everyone. As the lord, he needed to ensure that his forces remained strong and united at a time like this. Suppressing the fury within him, he began giving out a series of orders.

"Manuel, have every knight be ready to take action at any moment along with their forces. I don't want any conscripts, with how well trained the opponents seem, they won't be of much use. I only want the best men from among their retainers.

Harmon, contact the neighboring lords and inform them of everything we have learnt. The next attack might not be within our fief."

As the knight and the old wizard left with orders, Viscount Renn allowed the peasants to come into the hamlet and take care of the dead bodies. After everything had been settled, he made the garrison soldiers gather all the livestock outside the hamlet and burned the place to the ground.

It would bring another wave of problems if a were to plague spread because of all the bodies.

*****

Vincent was sore all over his body when he finally got back to Renn castle. The entire experience in the hamlet had taken a toll on him. It felt as if he could still smell the burning bodies and it made him nauseous.

"Good work out there. Go get some rest. I will handle the rest." Viscount Renn spoke gently to his tired son. While he knew it was an unavoidable part of the world, he still hoped that his children wouldn't have to witness such sights.

Vincent was about to nod but stopped after seeing a few men waiting outside the castle gates. They all wore cloth made from animal hide and had most of their bodies exposed. Most of them were tall with slender limbs, making the soldiers standing around them look short.

Standing in the middle of the group was an old man. Though his hair had already whitened because of age, his body was still in great shape. Inked on his body were tattoos of various beasts he had slain along with the depiction battles he had fought.

They were Houjins, tribal people who lived in the forests to the north. While there were dozens more of similar tribes, differentiated by what they worshipped, Libsidians just referred to them as barbarians most of the time. The kingdom of Libsidia had entered into a non aggression pact with the Houjins thirteen years back. Since then, big conflict between Libsidians and Houjins hadn't broken out. Still, small skirmishes did take place every once in a while.

The head of guards ran up to the viscount immediately and explained. "The man in the middle is a great warrior of the Houjin. He said he came on orders of the Uruj and will only talk to you."

Uruj were the leaders of each tribes. The influence they held over Houjins were similar to what a monarch would have over his subjects.

Before the viscount could inquire further, the group of Houjins walked closer and the leader spoke loudly. "Leader of here people, the great Uruj ask for answer. Why your people come to our forest and kill our settlement. You even burn our home."

The tattooed man spoke very clumsily. The Houjins had their own tongue and only a few knew how to speak Libsidian. He could be said to be one of the best at speaking Libsidian given that his words could be made sense of.

"This is a misunderstanding. My men have done no such thing. I would never allow my men to set fire to the forest. I know full well how much importance it holds to you and your people." Viscount Renn spoke as slowly as possible. He already had his hands full because of the massacre, he didn't want to add angry Houjins to the mix.

"You lie. Only you people set fire to our home. Everyone in settlement die without fight. Only you, leader of here people have such power."

The tattooed man raised his voice in anger. In his opinion, the viscount was making excuses. The Houjins treated the forest as something sacred and would never set fire to it.

Seeing that the other party wasn't willing to listen, the viscount turned to his son. Vincent understood his father's intention at once. Getting off his horse, he spoke in the Houjins' tongue fluently. "Great warrior of the Houjins. I ask of you to calm down. We have done no such thing. In fact, a small settlement of ours got massacred by an unknown group as well. We would greatly appreciate it if you tell us more about your settlement as well. After all, it looks like we have a common enemy."

"He speaks in our tongue." Several of the Houjins shouted in surprise. While a few of them could speak broken Libsidian, they had rarely come across someone who could speak their language among these people who lived outside the forest. And standing in front of them was a young boy who spoke almost flawlessly. It was only natural that they were astonished.

After the initial surprise settled down, the tattooed man spoke with Vincent. After a drawn out conversation, Vincent explained to his father that a settlement of Houjins had been massacred in a similar fashion to the hamlet they had just returned from.