Capítulo 26: Debut II
PH1RE'S P.O.V
I hauled the last boar to the tree and securely tied the chain around it, which was difficult because the chain was draining even my own mana.
Dusting off my hands, I observed the boars, which had passed out from exhaustion after having their mana drained completely. Satisfied, I joined Maya and Bryn on the other side of the clearing.
We had successfully coerced the workers to continue construction, confident that we could handle any further issues.
"Hey," I called as I approached them.
"Loid's back. So, how did it go?" Maya asked, turning her attention to Bryn.
The cyan-haired boy was perched atop a tree branch. He looked up, pondering for a second before responding. "Boring!"
"That's it?" Maya complained.
"Yeah! The forest is quiet. I didn't find anything."
"That's... good, right?" I asked, unsure of how to interpret his tone.
"I said I didn't find anything—not a single bug or insect, even with Leo's sense of smell. And then, out of nowhere, those boars showed up," Bryn paused, his expression turning serious. "It's like the whole forest went dead. No creatures, no birds—nothing. That's not normal."
"Now that you mention it, if you ignore the construction sounds, there's no wildlife noise at all," Maya added, her brow furrowing.
"Any idea what's causing it?" I asked.
"Usually, this kind of phenomenon happens when there's an even bigger predator around—something powerful enough to scare everything else away," Bryn explained. "But the scale of this is too much. Insects, birds... everything is gone. And with neither Leo nor I able to find anything, it just doesn't add up. It's weird, especially considering how crazed those boars were."
I was surprised by how serious he sounded. Bryn was usually so carefree.
"We should report this to Ethan," I suggested, trying to hide the unease creeping into my voice. "If there's even a chance something else is out there, we need to be prepared."
Bryn smirked, his usual carefree attitude resurfacing. "What, scared of some animals, Loid?"
"Yes," I replied honestly.
"Oh," Bryn said, taken aback by my bluntness.
In Raize, silence in a place like this never meant anything good. Mems, the creatures and people long dead, behaved the same way in the game as they did in this world.
"Fine. But if we're just being paranoid, and there's nothing out there, I'm going to need something more exciting than this," Bryn warned, grinning.
Leo, lounging nearby, let out a low growl, almost as if in agreement with Bryn's sentiment.
I turned my attention back to the workers, who were steadily rebuilding the wall. Despite the earlier attack, progress was being made. Still, the eerie silence of the forest made my skin crawl, and Bryn's observation only heightened the tension.
"Let's check in with Ethan," I finally agreed. "If there really is something dangerous out there, we need to know what we're up against."
Maya and I started making our way back to town, leaving Leo and Bryn to guard the workers. I dragged the unconscious Sparkhogs behind me by the chains, fatigue quickly building in my limbs due to the mana leaving my body. I took one last glance at the unnaturally quiet forest before shaking my head and turning away.
'It's probably just my imagination,' I told myself.
As we neared the town gates, Maya broke the silence. "Do you think the mayor knew about this?"
"Knew about what?" I asked.
"About the forest being this dead. If he did, he didn't mention it when we arrived."
"Maybe he didn't know," I said, though I wasn't entirely convinced. "Or maybe he didn't think it was important."
"Or he didn't want us to know," Maya muttered, suspicion lacing her voice.
"You're too quick to doubt people," I said with a sigh.
"It's better that way," she replied.
As we entered the town, I got a few curious looks due to the creatures I was dragging, but people quickly lost interest once they noticed our guild attire. We made our way to the inn where Ethan was supposed to be "scouting." Inside, we found him sitting at a table, casually sipping a drink like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Can I get either of you anything?" asked one of the waitresses walking up to us.
"No, we're here for someone," said Maya as we headed to Ethan.
I alerted him to our presence by dropping the boars on his table, surprisingly not startling him.
"Nice of you to join me," he said, raising an eyebrow at our entrance. "How's the wall-building business going?"
"Forget the wall," Maya cut in, getting straight to the point. "There's something weird going on in that forest."
Ethan leaned back in his chair, looking mildly intrigued. "Weird how?"
We explained what Bryn had seen—or rather, hadn't seen—during his scouting. As we talked, Ethan's usual laid-back demeanor slowly faded. By the time we finished, however, he looked as if he were about to fall asleep.
'What? Did you expect him to take this seriously?' I thought to myself.
"No creatures at all?" Ethan repeated, yawning. "That's... not a good sign."
"Exactly. Bryn thinks something might be scaring everything away, but he says the scale of it is too large. And it contradicts the crazed behavior the animals are showing," I explained.
Ethan nodded thoughtfully. "If the forest is that quiet, it could mean there's something big and dangerous nearby. Either it's scaring the animals away or influencing their behavior. We need to figure out what it is before it gets too close to the town."
"Bryn didn't have any luck finding anything?" he asked.
"No. He made it VERY clear how boring it was," I responded dryly.
Maya crossed her arms, looking concerned. "So what's the plan? Do we wait for it to attack or go looking for it?"
Ethan let out a heavy sigh. "Normally, I'd say we wait and let it come to us. But if it's already driving out the creatures, it's probably getting closer. We might not have that luxury."
"So, we're going to be the ones looking for it?" Maya asked, not sounding thrilled.
Ethan shrugged. "Looks like it. We'll head out at dawn and track down whatever's causing this. Bryn will stay at the site to guard the workers tomorrow."
"He's not going to like sitting around doing nothing," I pointed out.
"We all do things we don't like," Ethan replied.
'In your case, that's doing anything at all,' I thought to myself.
"In the meantime, get this off the table," Ethan added, poking the bodies of the Sparkhogs. "The only reason we haven't been kicked out is because we're adventurers."
"Yeah, sure," I said, grabbing the chain and hauling the Sparkhogs off the table, a familiar wave of fatigue washing over me.
"By the way, did you find any place that buys or inspects magical creatures while you were 'scouting'?" Maya asked, raising an eyebrow at Ethan.
"Hmm. No inspecting, unfortunately. Gwyn's not here. But I'm pretty sure there's a butcher's place somewhere in town. It's a small town, just ask for directions."
"You could just lead us there," I suggested.
"No, I'm busy," he responded, waving us off dismissively.
Lazy, I thought, rolling my eyes.
Maya and I left the inn and started walking around town, asking for directions to a butcher's shop. The townspeople were hesitant at first, but after noticing the Red Ravens insignia on our gear, they warmed up and pointed us in the right direction. Eventually, an elderly woman directed us to a small shop near the edge of town, close to the marketplace.
The butcher's shop was modest and unassuming, with a weathered wooden sign creaking above the door. As soon as we stepped inside, the strong scent of raw meat hit us, and I wrinkled my nose. Behind the counter, a burly man was chopping through a large slab of meat with a heavy cleaver.
"Can I help you?" he asked without looking up from his work.
"We've got a few magical beasts we'd like to sell," Maya said, nodding toward the Sparkhogs chained behind us.
The butcher paused mid-chop and glanced over at the creatures. His eyes narrowed as he took them in. "Sparkhogs, huh? Don't see too many of those around here. You adventurers?"
"Yeah, from the Red Ravens," I answered, a bit more confidently this time.
The man grunted, wiping his hands on his apron as he stepped out from behind the counter to inspect the Sparkhogs. He crouched down, prodding one with a practiced hand, carefully lifting a few quills.
"Not bad," he muttered. "I can give you a decent price for the bodies, but if you're smart, you'll sell the quills separately—they fetch a higher price. I don't deal much with magical components, but I know a trader in town who might be interested."
"How much are we talking for just the bodies?" Maya cut in, nudging me aside, her business instincts kicking in.
The butcher rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "For the meat alone? I'd say five silver per hog. They're in decent condition, and their meat's a bit of a delicacy around here."
Maya and I exchanged a quick glance. It wasn't a fortune, but considering we hadn't gone out to hunt them, it seemed like a fair offer.
"Deal," she said, offering her hand.
The butcher shook it firmly, nodding. "Bring 'em around back. I'll handle the rest."
We led the Sparkhogs to the back of the shop, and after the transaction was complete, the butcher handed us the agreed five silver per hog.
"You should come back tomorrow if you want the quills. It'll take a while to get them out," he said before heading back inside.
"Five silver each isn't bad for a bunch of crazed pigs," Maya remarked as we stepped out of the shop.
"Yeah, but we shouldn't sell all the quills. Gwyn would be thrilled if we brought her some magical components," I suggested.
"Good point," Maya agreed.
"Come on, let's go dismiss the workers before Bryn does something irresponsible."
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