บท 75: CH75
Helag glanced at the spot Robert pointed to, right at the mouth of the valley, at the entrance to the narrow gorge.
"Why did he die?" Helag pondered, not rushing in.
The squirrel's earlier cries had caught his attention. Animals usually had keen senses, and those were warning calls.
Of course, it could also be that the squirrel was warning its companions about the presence of strangers.
"Deep Blue, scan the surroundings for any anomalies," Helag said cautiously, instructing Deep Blue to conduct a thorough scan.
[No anomalies detected.]
[No magical energy flow detected.]
[No magical residue detected.]
Helag carefully reviewed Deep Blue's scan results. Everything seemed normal.
He glanced at the valley and took a step inside.
Nothing unusual happened.
Helag closed his eyes and sensed the area. The ambient energy particles were normal, with no unusual fluctuations or flows.
The narrow gorge was dimly lit, with damp cliff walls and occasional trickles of water.
Helag followed the mountain path, quickly passing through the gorge. The view opened up to reveal a small town nestled on a distant hillside, with wooden houses scattered among the mountains and occasional people walking by.
At the town's entrance was a small tavern. When Helag and Robert entered, there were only three people inside, sitting at two tables with butterbeer.
The tavern fell silent as Helag and Robert walked in.
Two of the patrons looked like hunters, while the lone man appeared to be a blacksmith.
The hunters frowned at Helag and Robert, seeming wary of them.
They quickly downed their butterbeer and left without a word.
The blacksmith glanced at them, smiled, and took a sip of his beer.
His mug was still half full, indicating he wasn't planning to leave anytime soon.
Helag approached and smiled. "Mind if we join you?"
The blacksmith, a burly man with a beard, smiled back. "Not at all. You two are new faces. What brings you here?"
Helag pulled out a chair and sat down, ordering two butterbeers from the bartender.
After placing the order, he turned to the blacksmith and said, "I won't beat around the bush. Do you know if someone died on the mountain path outside two months ago?"
"Two months ago?" The blacksmith scratched his beard, thinking. "No, this is a small place. If someone had died, we locals would know. But I've never heard of such a thing."
He took another sip of beer and continued, "This place is usually peaceful. We rarely have incidents. The community is small and close-knit, with few serious grudges."
Helag's beer arrived, two large mugs filled to the brim.
He had initially found the taste odd, but he got used to it over time, mainly due to limited options.
After taking a sip, Helag said, "We just heard about it and came to ask."
The blacksmith nodded in understanding. "I see. It must be a false rumor. You know how stories get twisted as they spread."
"Yes, we'll ask around some more," Helag nodded.
The blacksmith continued, "You must be from Stormwind City's investigation team. Hearing about a death, you came to check it out. But you'll probably find nothing. I've been here for years, and I'd know if there were any deaths."
"Investigation team? Stormwind City no longer has such a group. The Adventurers' Guild handles these matters now," Robert interjected.
The blacksmith looked puzzled. "Adventurers' Guild? I must be out of the loop, haha."
He laughed and took a big gulp of beer, sighing contentedly.
After chatting with the blacksmith for a while without gaining any valuable information, Helag paid for the drinks and prepared to leave.
"Thanks!" the blacksmith called out, as Helag had also paid for his drink.
Helag pushed open the tavern door and found it was already dark outside.
There were no streetlights, so apart from the lights in some distant houses, the roads were pitch black.
"Robert, have we been inside that long? If I remember correctly, it was just afternoon when we came in," Helag sensed something was off.
There was no response from behind him. When he turned around, Robert, who had been following him, was gone.
Helag re-entered the tavern. The lights were still on, and the butterbeer on the tables was still bubbling.
But the tavern was empty.
The blacksmith and the bartender were gone.
Helag checked Deep Blue's feedback on the surroundings. The entire tavern was silent, with no signs of life.
He picked up a mug of butterbeer but found nothing unusual. The drink was normal.
Taking a deep breath, Helag walked out of the tavern.
The distant houses still had lights on, and he could see shadows moving behind the windows.
He walked towards a house that seemed to have more than one person inside.
At the door, he could hear faint conversations and a woman's laughter, like an old couple chatting.
He knocked on the door, and the sounds inside instantly ceased, replaced by a deathly silence.
No one answered or opened the door.
Helag's knock seemed to have frozen the world inside, with no further sounds from within.
After a moment, he heard a dragging sound and a sharp noise, like something hard scraping the floor.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed, sounding like an axe hitting flesh.
Bang!
Bang!
…
The rhythmic sound of the axe reminded Helag of butchers cutting meat.
Bang!
The door suddenly shook as if something was pounding against it from the other side.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The entire house trembled with the force of the blows, as if something desperately wanted to break through the door.
The door's quality was surprisingly good. Despite the house shaking, the door remained intact.
A regular wooden door would have shattered after a few hits.
Helag felt a strong sense of danger from behind the door.
Get away from here!
Instinctively, he quickened his pace and left the house.
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