Chapitre 68: A Campfire Story
Orange flames spluttered and licked at old smoldering logs while powerful winds threatened to snuff them out. Snow melted and hissed when it fell on the flames with an almost musical tempo. Men huddled around the fire shivering, but none drew too close or blocked the heat from another. A large cast iron pot hung above the campfire swayed above the fire. Ladle fulls of hot soup were quickly divided out but it cooled too quickly. It wasn't enough to drive the cold back for long. This wasn't normal and everyone felt it.
The first week had past us by and everyday we traveled north the air grew colder. Before men had jovially drank soup around the campfire. Their furred coats and thick leather dusters were enough to protect them from most of the night's chill. After traveling further north that changed. The winds bit through leather and fur and dug deep to crunch on bones. It reminded me of the night we jumped from Dol's tower.
The biting cold wasn't natural, it was the aura of a powerful creature. I couldn't begin to guess what kind of creature it was. Power recognizes power and I sensed the knight rank in the aura.
I heard the crackled of Lewis's crack pipe and turned to the man. "Well boy's its safe to say we're all in a poor mood. This cold isn't natural, I'm sure the rest of you can feel it." The inquisitor said.
"My lord are we in any danger?" Janus asked. He shivered and clutched onto his weighted practice sword like a lifeline. I thought about adding a heating spell but tossed that thought aside. Any heating spell I used would probably burn him. The wooden sword might not take to it either.
The crackling sound of Lewis's crack pipe filled the silence. "You're in danger of getting raped maybe. I haven't told you boys of the Oakshield Town incident have it." The man smiled and took another draw from his pipe.
Priest Margos let out a sigh. "Are you speaking of the case file 130023AF5499?��� Priest Margos said.
"Yea, if any of you didn't know 13 is north east, since we're in the north their east of here. Directions are based on the capital. The double zero means it's a natural monster. Twenty-three stands for winter as in the monster's alignment. AF is all female, and 5499 is the number of people killed in the incident before knights were called." He took another drag from his pipe.
"The larger the number the more dangerous the incident. A knightly order will receive a different case file one that better illustrates the nature of the enemy and how dangerous they are. Case files are created after a conflict has been resolved. They are useful tools for any inquisitor." Sid filled me in.
"Why bring it up at all?" I asked.
Lewis pointed his pipe at me. "The incident started much like this one with an unnatural aura carried on the wind. A rookie inquisitor just out of his apprenticeship made his way dispatched from the capital north east of here. He even stopped at Hagerty Inn before taking the salt road east. Unlike us, he didn't know what he was getting into. That's the case for most rookie inquisitors. When he made his way from the salt road to the iron railway, he didn't notice the aura on the wind." Lewis said. I walked over to the firewood and grabbed a couple of logs.
After positioning them on the fire, I fed the flames some of my aura bolstering the campfire. "Surely, they had a magician or a priest to tell them something was amiss." I said.
Priest Margos shook his head. "A rookie isn't likely to attract a veteran mage or priest to his cause. Only the young and inexperienced feel the spark of adventure. I was a young priest when Lewis asked me to investigate with him. Most times the threat of a knightly order is enough to keep intelligent monsters from attacking. Even if they have killed, they will most often give an inquisition a wide berth. If not, other smarter stronger monsters will fascist their numbers." Sid said.
"In the case of oni and ogres, they beat the young dumb ones with clubs." Inquisitor Lewis took another drag from his pipe. "That rookie inquisitor shouldn't have been in any danger fresh off a train. When he took the elk trail to the village that sent the message many of his men vanished. If he was experienced, he would have turned tail and contacted a nearby knightly order. The beasts were nearest, they would have ended that threat quickly." Lewis sighed and kicked a piece of fallen bark back in the fire. "This case file wouldn't have caught my interest if the rookie had simply contacted a local knightly order to dispatch. The night grew colder and the inquisition shed almost half its numbers by the time they arrived in Oakshield town."
"Well, how did you find that out. Were there any survivors?" I asked.
"There were no survivors. The chaplains within the knightly orders count the dead. Most of Inquisitor Charles's retinue were found frozen in the snow. When Charles's retinue list was located their ID tags were collected to ease counting the dead. You aren't an official member, so you weren't issued a tag." Priest Margos said.
"The retinue entered the town and found that there were only women. Children played in the streets, but no males could be found among them. Mothers carried babes on their breasts each with unnatural beauty. At first the inquisitor was told a story about a monster that came to the village and took their men. Charles took that night to investigate and the road snowed over. Once the exit was closed, they began picking off the men one by one. Young girls would invite the men to their beds and the men wouldn't come back. One man escaped into the snow but died to the cold. That's about all we know. The search for the inquisitor started six months later. The beasts were called, and they invaded the village to find only the inquisitor's journal hidden, retinue roster, and badge under a floorboard. The monsters were snow woman. A parasitic species of mono gender women. The poor frost-bitten bodies of the men were found outside the village. The monster mated with the men then deposited an egg into the man's abdomen. When the egg hatches, the larva freezes and devours the necrotic flesh to grow. The men died paralyzed in agony slowly devoured by their offspring with monsters." Lewis said. A smile stretched across the Inquisitor's face. "Watch out for beautiful women on cold nights they may be snow women." Lewis said.
"What happened to the village?" I asked.
"It was repopulated, and a few knights visit it every week. They pay their taxes directly to the knightly order now." Priest Margos said.
It might have been my cynical side but what if the knights killed them all and reported the case file? Once repopulated the new town mayor would want protection. Still there were easier ways to get taxes. The knight probably didn't do anything.
"If they turn into larvae then are the snow woman some kind of wasps." I asked.
"It is theorized that they have some relation to wasp and spider monsters. Their proper name is yuki onna they were originally a spiritual entity if rumors are true. They've changed like many monsters have. Fortunately, its still the summer months. Its rare to find a yuki onna even on a cold summer night." Priest Margos said.
I nodded my head slowly. What about the aura of winter in the air? It felt powerful. Was it a yuki onna or something else entirely? Where was its source Gendry town or were, we passing by a monster of winter? Either way men shivered around me despite their proximity to the flames. Despite the wards surrounding the camp the cold passed through.
This world was more dangerous than I thought. Every smiling face might be a monster in disguise. I'd have to be more careful. In less than a week, I'd enter Gendry town. Then I'd also meet a vampire for the first time. That sounded exciting.
Suddenly, the wind picked up and I sensed something behind the aura. Eyes of ice blue peered at me from the aura. It was a curious feeling. Hungry bright blue eyes stared at me in wonder and perhaps naiveté. Whatever was behind this aura, it felt young and powerful. Perhaps, I should have leapt upon Oathkeeper and chased after the presence. Anything that could bear down on us with such a powerful aura must be formidable. I'd yet to have a proper fight since arriving on the surface.
Jacob
Jacob lvl1 Black Galaxy Noah lvl10
HP: 26,120
AP: 61,280
Cultivation
Refinery: Stage 5
Attributes
Constitution 211
Endurance, 251
Strength 171
Dexterity 161
Agility 196
Intelligence 504
Perception 363
Luck 101
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone