Been playing the RE 4 remake for a while now… and holy hell is it great! Only just got to the island after beating Salazar (really just taking my time exploring every nook and cranny so far) but man, it's been one hell of a ride so far.
Ammo had been especially scarce for me, often enough for me to have only a relative handful of bullets by the end of most enemy encounters save for a few exceptions, which really indicates to me how strong the 'survival' part of survival horror is in the remake. Tough but so far not too frustrating once you get used to some of the newer mechanics and enemy behavior compared to the original.
Just about my only complaint, if that, is the durability of the combat knife being a thing at all since if that breaks and you've no backup knife, then you're kind of shit out of luck if you end up having to rely on a knife. Thankfully, such a thing hasn't happened to me but the fact the possibility even exists does make me shudder at times.
But really, that's just about my only complaint for the game, otherwise it's been absolutely great! And evidently I'm not the only one enjoying the remake judging by all the praise I've been hearing about it online, ha ha.
Here's to hoping if – and I mean if – Capcom decides to also remake RE 5 and possibly 6 to fit whatever new chronology they seem to be telling here, that they're able to continue the success!
But enough of my rambling – let's just get onto the chapter!
P.S. Please considering purchasing any of my books, available on a variety of sites, from Barnes & Noble to Apple to Amazon Kindle and more! Universal links available on my profile page, just remove the spaces!
P.P.S. Somewhat important comment regarding this fic's story in ending AN.
Chapter 16
Within the brightly lit yet disquieting confines of Sword Maiden's personal library, there were only three people – Female Merchant and the water town's two foreign guests.
Though she liked to think she hid it fairly well, the young woman was feeling somewhat unsettled by the atmosphere that had been cast over Sword Maiden's temple since these two unknowns had arrived yesterday.
Yes, just yesterday.
Following their relatively brief conversation with Sword Maiden and being shown to their room for the day, Female Merchant had gone back out to issue orders for some guards and other workers to begin dismantling the dragon's corpse for any useful materials while disposing of everything else that was useless. Meanwhile Sword Maiden herself and her other attendants had taken to other matters at hand that had to be dealt with, such as announcements to the public of the danger passing amongst other things.
Needless to say, yesterday had certainly been an adventure in and of itself emotionally at least. In fact, it was one Female Merchant had been hoping to get some rest from for quite a while, if only so that she could process everything that had been happening recently and then go on from there.
Alas, she'd had a short and fitful night of rest before she'd been suddenly awoken by an attendant. As it had turned out, their mystery guests had gotten up very bright and early today with the intent of beginning their perusing of Sword Maiden's collection of books, scrolls and more at the earliest possible time… which in this case, had been just as dawn had barely begun.
Female Merchant had hastily gotten dressed in her usual wear and had gone to meet them outside their room and from there the three had gotten the multiple keys needed to unlock Sword Maiden's tightly protected personal library.
…It's been a few hours since then, still early in the morning but at the rate this was going, it wouldn't be long until noon struck.
Since then, not much had really been said beyond some quick and rather vague comments between them all, so focused were they on looking for something – anything – that could be of use to the foreigners' quest to return home.
"…" Female Merchant made a bit of a sound, indiscernibly quiet. The personal library, despite being meant solely for Sword Maiden and others permitted directly by her to use it, had several desks and tables placed throughout the rather spacious room. Currently, she was sharing one such table with none other than the foreigner known as Ranni, the four armed and blue skinned woman swiftly reading through several tomes concerning cosmology.
From across Ranni, Female Merchant subtly lowered the book she was reading in order to get a better look at the serene looking woman, as if staring at her for long enough would somehow unravel any and all secrets the foreign magic user had.
After a few seconds, she returned her gaze back to the book, concerning the history of magic itself and how it had gone from something very straightforward to branching out into the various types of magic known today. She read several pages in short order, though none of its contents were really registering in her memory. Instead, after a while longer, she took her eyes off the page to now eye the warrior who was silently pacing roughly ten yards away.
The warrior was completely unarmored, dressed only in casual black trousers and a grey woolen long sleeve shirt. When Female Merchant had first seen him this morning in such a state, she'd actually blinked, having not expected him to go unarmored in a place that he should quite frankly not be used to yet. But perhaps she'd gotten a bit too used to the antics of Goblin Slayer, the silver ranked adventurer that dear Priestess partied with.
In any case, taking one good look at how tall and powerfully built his body is certainly made it clear to her how he could have snapped that dragon's neck – why, practically every muscle that his clothes didn't hide seemed to just ripple with unmatched power, a testament to how much effort he had put into forging and honing his body and skills. And while this may seem a bit rude to the burlier warriors out there, the simple sight of this musclebound warrior being completely engrossed in the Four Cornered World's history books made for such a shocking dichotomy that the young woman had nearly gaped at first.
But his build and surprisingly warrior prince-like looks aside, the warrior was just as committed to finding anything of potential use as Ranni was.
It was… rather unnerving in a way.
Female Merchant could understand, if only intellectually, the strong need to get back home as soon as possible yet she couldn't help but find these two foreigners' behavior a tad bit odd.
The drive to get home was definitely there, the two having evidently not wasted a second longer in getting down to it, but there was no sense of panic or anything else of the like in their movements and words.
While this could be chalked up to them being more than experienced enough in keeping their cool and focusing on the task at hand, something about all this just felt off to the young woman and it made it hard for her to focus on actually helping them.
"Anything of note yet, my dear?" Ranni suddenly spoke up, startling Female Merchant slightly.
"Sadly, no." It was the warrior who responded as he closed the book he'd been reading with a small sigh. "As interesting a read as this is, I've yet to find anything particularly helpful. Then again, this book appears to be merely one of at least several others out there, each focusing on something specific."
Ranni hummed. "I see. Well, we've still the day ahead of us, so time is plentiful." She then looked up from her book at Female Merchant. "And what of thee, young one? Anything ye believe to be useful?"
Female Merchant spared just a glance back down to the page she'd currently been on before replying. "Afraid not, sorry. This book right now seems to be explaining how to imbue certain items with elements."
The blue skinned woman hummed, not quite disappointed by her answer but not outright dismissive of it either. "While not what I'd like to hear, tis almost humorous to see how alike the magic of this land is to the magic back in our homeland."
The warrior, having placed the history book back in order to grab another, chuckled. "Indeed. What is that that phrase…? The more things change, the more things stay the same?"
The rather tense atmosphere now seemed to let up as conversation finally seemed to begin in earnest. "I do believe that is the phrase," Female Merchant replied, the slightest of smiles on her face. "Though judging by what you spoke of to our lady saint yesterday, it seems that the study of the stars is quite prominent where you're from?"
A ghost of a smile graced Ranni's face. "Correct. Why, it is in fact from the stars themselves that the magic of my homeland originates from. Tis why we're in search of such knowledge here."
Female Merchant made a noise of understanding. Looks like this conversation will be quite the eye opener if she could keep it going. Not that it had been her intention originally to get these two to fully open up to her, but this was now turning out to be a good opportunity that couldn't be passed up.
"That's actually very interesting… but also rather… well, forgive me if this comes across as insensitive, but it's also rather odd," Female Merchant said. Her eyes squinted in confusion. "I mean, if by the stars you're referring to constellations, then wouldn't they be the same no matter where you're at in the world?"
"Technically, ye are correct," Ranni answered. While one pair of hands continued to hold her current book, the other pair of hands gently interlocked their fingers together, not unlike how Female Merchant recalled some professors doing when lecturing students. "However, the position of the stars can change with surprising regularity, even beyond what most would consider normal. Furthermore, the type of sorcery I and others in my homeland make use of is just as much dependent on perspective itself as it is on the stars."
"Mm. While I'm hardly a magic user myself, I'm familiar enough with the mechanics behind it to confirm what Ranni is saying," spoke the warrior as he approached the table, his massive form towering over them both. "Were it just a matter of looking up into the night sky for a while, finding our way home would've been accomplished days ago. Alas, more specific knowledge of the stars' position from this land's perspective is needed to properly make use of what is already at our disposal."
Murmuring a simple 'huh!' in response, Female Merchant could only lean back in her chair. The only bit of magic she knew was the Lightning spell passed down through her family, a very specialized magic that had not required her to learn much of anything else about magic at large. So needless to say, this conversation was serving as a good eyeopener to her.
…Perhaps she and the others were being too wary of these two after all…?
…No, no. She couldn't allow herself to get too relaxed here. Sword Maiden herself had confirmed these two were very much abnormal. Even if they themselves meant no harm, there was no telling what a prolonged stay could do.
…Though at the same time, their power and skillsets would prove most useful in continuing to combat the increasingly rampant forces of Chaos out there… ugh. Politics and subterfuge were always such pains! No wonder the King acted the way he did at times, even if he could have his moments of being annoying too.
"I take ye have some knowledge of magic, yes?" Ranni suddenly asked of her. "Specifically, knowledge that is entirely specialized."
Female Merchant looked at her with slightly widened eyes. "You could tell?"
Ranni nodded. "I'm quite adept when it comes to magic-," she laughed very lightly as she said that. "-so being able to notice such specifics is hardly that difficult for me. Back on topic, however… hmm, a lightning user, I presume?"
"…Yes." Female Merchant nodded, somewhat taken aback. "…Just a single spell though – in some ways, a family heirloom."
"Interesting. Combined with your fencing skill as well, I'd wager you're a fairly well-rounded combatant as well," the warrior now spoke, rubbing his chin with his free hand. He tilted his head to the side in thought, causing his high ponytail to sway along in that direction. "…Yes, I can see it now. Fairly capable indeed. Your only true weakness would be inexperience then."
Female Merchant switched her wide-eyed stare to the warrior now, amazed by how much he could discern simply by looking at her so casually. "I actually used to be an adventurer, which naturally required some combat skill, yes – fencing as you could tell."
He nodded, smiling at having his thoughts confirmed. "But instead of continuing down that path, you chose to take up your current occupation, only focusing on keeping in shape rather than actually improving your martial skill."
His words were spoken casually and without judgement of any kind, yet they made her flinch nonetheless. "That's…"
"Ah, please, take no offense – I was merely stating my thoughts." He held up his free hand in a placating manner. "Whatever path you believe is best for yourself, please keep at it – you owe yourself nothing less." He smiled softly. "I only wish you will always stay true to yourself as you continue moving on."
Her gaze, still locked on him, now shifted. "Thank you. Truly." She bowed her head in gratitude, a smile on her face.
His previous statement about her giving up adventuring… well, it had brought up those horrible memories from when she'd been on that mountain at the 'mercy' of those goblins. The young Priestess and her friends may have helped her find the strength to move on, but that hadn't meant she was suddenly free of the pain those memories brought her, which is why the warrior's previous words had gotten her to react almost viscerally.
However, his most recent statement just now, uttered with genuine sincerity was able to put her back at ease.
While she couldn't just dismiss the possibility of these two being potential risks, she could at least tell that they didn't seem to intentionally mean any harm.
"…Pardon me."
From the personal library's sole entrance and exit came an attendant. "Milady, a message had come in just now from the capital and requires a quick reply."
"A-Ah, of course! I'll be right there," Female Merchant uttered, experiencing a mild case of whiplash from the sudden progression of events here. "Until I return, could you please remain here with them in case they need anything?"
"Of course," the attendant said with a bow.
Female Merchant then looked to the two foreigners. "…Sorry about this."
"Tis fine, young one. Thy duties take precedence," replied Ranni. "We shall be just fine until thy return."
The warrior merely smiled and nodded in understanding.
With nothing else to do other than to smile gratefully in response to their understanding, Female Merchant left at a brisk pace, only to speed up once she knew she was out of their line of sight.
She had to make this as quick as possible.
Once Female Merchant had left, the attendant had asked in a quiet tone if they'd like a light snack or at least a drink as they went about their business. Both Ranni and her dear consort politely declined and went back to their research.
"Surprised we've only the one watching us," Ranni commented in a tone so quiet that only the Tarnished could hear her. He responded with an equally quiet hum of agreement.
Neither the Lunar Princess nor the Tarnished were oblivious to what was happening – Sword Maiden was having them watched to make sure they really were just trying to research this world's field of astrology. The two of them took no offense to this barely subtle measure. If anything, their opinion of the water town's leader grew.
It was, after all, rather rare for a leader so gentle to possess such hidden steel to them. Normally those who were just as kind and even delicate as Sword Maiden tended to take the words of others at face value.
That said, just the one attendant watching them was hardly an obstacle at all to them, even if the two really were just reading through the texts available.
Ranni resumed her reading in earnest while her consort took to pacing once again albeit at a slower pace this time around. His footsteps were incredibly light for a man his size, barely even discernible. It certainly made it easier for her to concentrate on the text before her.
And so their reading continued for several minutes in uninterrupted silence.
Until…
The Tarnished hummed.
"Something the matter?" Ranni asked as she flipped through the pages with a delicate finger.
"Perhaps. Look…" He approached and placed his book down alongside her own. "This section details the emergence of gods' faith – the amassing of their followers and the history that came after."
Ranni's gaze fell where the Tarnished pointed and read through the text, with increasingly narrowed eyes.
The passage, as her consort stated, concerned itself with the advent of various faiths coming to be. It primarily concerned the major ones known throughout this land such as the Earth Mother and Supreme God, but it did also mention the rise of several other religions that were notably much smaller in scale. Perhaps not to the point of outright being consider secular, but it was clear from how little information there was that these religions didn't achieve the same level of following that the others had. The passage made clear that many of these faiths died out over time while the major religions continued to flourish.
Little in the way of depth was given to these now long dead faiths… but it did make mention of a minor god or two that governed the void beyond the world itself – in other words, the stars.
Her attention now fully focused on it, Ranni plucked the book off the table for a closer look. "…Ah…" She let out that little noise after a moment as she did her best to gleam what other information could be provided about such a minor following.
"Sadly, there appears to be no known name for this god," the Tarnished murmured as he folded his arms across his chest. "However, as you are likely seeing right now, it seems that this god's followers had kept the faith going long enough to establish some traditions. And if we can perhaps discover a book that explains what these traditions could be…"
"…Then that may be where our answer to our dilemma lies," Ranni finished with a smile. "Well founded, my dear. And fret not – I believe I've a good idea as to where we may find such a text."
She closed both books and rose from her seat. Now turning to the sole attendant, Ranni beckoned her over. "Pardon me, young one. May ye help us?"
The attendant blinked in mild surprise but nodded. "Of course. As per our lady saint's wishes, I will do whatever I can to help."
"Much appreciated." Ranni then interlocked all founds hands together, almost childishly eager now. "Then pray ye be able to tell us which section contains either folklore or lists of religious sites?"
The attendant looked somewhat taken aback by the oddity of the question, but replied nonetheless. "Please follow me…"
Ranni and the Tarnished did as instructed, the duo feeling rather invigorated now.
Ranni's reasoning for those questions was really quite simple – whether large in scale or not, stories about old traditions and more can eventually lose touch with their intended audiences and soon be reduced to nothing more than stories that can be told to anyone. This can apply to what could have once been considered holy scriptures and the like, reduced from a status of sanctity to merely be a fable for others to enjoy telling. As for the latter, it was not uncommon for any faith of a big enough size to have to have established an area as a holy site for them to carry out prayers and other ceremonies. That this religion was just notable enough to be mentioned in historical texts should hopefully mean that there may exist places the two of them can search for better clues, assuming the folklore angle turns out to be a dead end.
"Here we are," the attendant spoke, having led them roughly halfway through the private library and to the side. "This section concerns folklore as you requested, sorted by age – that is, from the oldest known folklore to the most recent in history. As for possible lists of religious sites, that could be found close to where we came from, within a subsection of the history area. As this was the first thing you spoke of, however…" The attendant looked rather ashamed of having led them both away from a potential source of the information they sought.
But the vassal of the Dark Moon and her consort merely waved off her indirect apology. "Worry not. This is what we wish to focus on first."
Having memorized the era that the small religion first appeared in, Ranni zeroed in on a few texts that fit this single criteria and promptly pulled these books from their shelves. Handing one over to the Tarnished with one pair of arms, she used the other pair to open the first text and started to swiftly skim through it.
The text in question, an old but well-kept paper book, was fairly large in size, meaning she'd have quite the search.
No matter, though.
The answers she yearned for felt close now. Waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt her.
Priestess frittered about, antsy as she walked.
She wasn't the only one who felt rather wound up, though the others didn't seem to show it quite the same way she was.
"It would not do to wear yourself out so early on our journey," Lizard Priest spoke from beside her, his tone only lightly chiding.
"S-Sorry. I just…" she mumbled.
"Can't help it," Dwarf Shaman finished from nearby. He grunted. "Hmm, can't say I blame ya for that, girlie. Not every day a missive is sent everywhere concerning dragons of all things."
And that right there was the source of her concern.
Just yesterday, news had traveled faster than the wind seemingly across the whole frontier about dragons going on something of a rampage. Lands and sky burning, people screaming and dying, and ruin in general being brought to multiple corners of the lands just beyond the kingdom's borders and within the kingdom itself.
For all the experience she's gained fighting alongside her friends against goblins and other sorts of creatures that they've haphazardly encountered, she was nowhere near confident enough in herself to be able to stay calm after hearing something like that.
Then again, it wasn't as if she was the only one in general who'd nearly started feeling ill upon hearing such news; plenty of other adventurers, from the freshest of greenhorns to the most experienced ones, had reacted negatively to the news of dragons flying amok now.
That was to say nothing of the public either, who'd all gotten much more tense and had effectively gone about their business at breakneck speeds, as if by doing so they'd somehow be able to get home in time to board up and remain safe. Not that such a thing would help them against a dragon's breath or claws, but it was simply the only way the people could respond without actually causing panic.
In any case, dragons being out and about or not, people still had to keep on making a living. Bakers baked, merchants peddled goods, blacksmiths forged and refined…
….And adventurers still went on adventures.
Just like they were, for example.
Early in the day yesterday, they'd picked up a goblin slaying quest, the nasty little creatures having begun to terrorize a fairly large village some ways away from the frontier town.
"Kinda weird that those stupid things would be able to get so far inland," High Elf Archer grumbled with hands behind her head as they walked. Even though she still moved with all the deftness and grace her heritage granted her, there was no denying the tension in her slender body. Whatever was going was gnawing away at her quite visibly. So much so that not even her usual disdain for doing goblin slaying quests was present right now.
"…Given the current situation, it's not improbable for goblins to take advantage of things. That is one thing they are good at," spoke Goblin Slayer as he led from the front. His gait was as bold as always. If the latest incident had affected him in any way, he wasn't showing it yet. "Goblins will always strike whenever there's any kind of opening."
"But won't doing so put them at risk of being attacked by a dragon?" asked Priestess. She was genuinely perplexed, stupefied even.
After all, for as impulsive and arrogant as goblins are, surely even they would have just enough of a survival instinct to not go and do their usual acts of horror when it seemed like the world around them was being laid to waste.
"Normally, that would be the case," Goblin Slayer admitted. "But there have been times where if there's nothing else to lose, they may as well try and go down swinging. Not so much out of bravery, but out of a simple desire to kill those they deem as beneath them. Usually, a suicidal action."
"Hrmm. As usual, those little buggers sure don't like to make things too easy for others," Dwarf Shaman commented as he stroked his beard. "I mean, bad enough we already have to travel on foot so much, but them now getting up to who knows what the closer we get? Gotta say Beard-cutter, I'm not looking forward to this."
Goblin Slayer merely grunted in acknowledgement.
As for Priestess, she could only let out a little sigh as she recounted what had happened so far.
Following the acceptance of the request, they'd been unable to obtain a ride of their own in time to take off, which had necessitated having to travel out of the town with a merchant who'd owned a large wagon. Unfortunately, the merchant hadn't been too willing to travel beyond a certain point and nothing they'd said to him had been able to change his mind. The man had been too worried about venturing out into what could now be deemed dragon territory and so had dropped them off.
They'd made quite good timing thanks to the man's help but now were forced to traverse to their destination on foot, at least until they can figure out another way of getting to the site of their quest faster.
And that likely wouldn't be soon since there were no other villages or towns out this way for a while.
"Can't you use some catalysts and a fancy little spell to get us there faster, you whiny dwarf?" High Elf Archer asked without any real bite to her tone.
"Che, if there was a spell that convenient, I'd be using it to carry all the alcohol I could ever want with me!" Dwarf Shaman retorted.
High Elf Archer rolled her eyes. Lizard Priest, for his part, chuckled somewhat. "Our lady ranger's tone aside, would it not be possible for you to make use of your Float spell, master spellcaster?"
"Would if I could, scaly, but it ain't built for long time use like that." Dwarf Shaman sighed. "At best, we can just levitate ourselves a few yards off the ground and maybe move a little forward, but that's about it."
Priestess tried to picture such a scenario in her head… and the mere thought of them levitating and effectively trying to swim through the air actually got a light laugh out of her. For just a few brief seconds, her worries were forgotten about.
"Mm, it was worth the thought, I suppose," Lizard Priest replied with a lick of his lips. "Still, it is certainly worth noting just how many things have been changing as of late. I'd dare to say it almost as if the end of the world is slowly dawning upon us all."
And just like that, Priestess' mood came crashing back down again. "…Do you truly think so?"
With how sudden all of this had been occurring and how much worse things seemed to be getting, it was all too easy to actually think the Four Cornered World may be meeting its end. However, it was a thought she hadn't actually entertained until her friend spoke of it just now.
"Sheesh, think you could've said something else instead?" The party's sole high elf lightly jabbed an elbow in Lizard Priest's side after walking up to him.
The lizardman's eyes rolled about within their sockets before he spoke. "My apologies… it wasn't my intention to sound so glum as some would say."
"…It's fine. I think…" Priestess replied as she raised her head. "But things really have been getting worse. Do you think there's a cause to all this?"
"Dunno," Dwarf Shaman grunted out as he finally took a swig from his jug of fire whiskey. "No matter what Fate or Chance have in store for people, there's always some kinda trigger. Sometimes, it can be undone… sometimes it can't. No way ta tell about all this just yet though."
"…No matter," Goblin Slayer suddenly said. "Whatever happens, we just do what we can do. No point worrying about things we've no control over."
His tone sounded off, as if he was recalling something. It was enough to make Priestess frown a bit in confusion, but not worry.
For quite some time now, the adventurer known as Goblin Slayer had been changing. Whether for better or worse was unknown still… but changing nonetheless.
This fact was enough to give Priestess some pause but also oddly some sense of hope. Another sign of how much trust she's come to have in him? Maybe.
In any case, he made a simple but effective point.
"Milord Goblin Slayer speaks true." Lizard Priest nodded in full agreement, almost enthusiastically so. "Let us try and avoid being so overwhelmed by the state of the world and merely focus on what immediately lies ahead of us-."
A shrill howl filled the air suddenly, causing them all to immediately stop in their path and take up combative stances.
However, despite the sheer intensity of the noise, nothing immediately happened. It would be another tense few seconds before they finally decided to slowly drop their guard.
"Phew, talk about timing there, scaly! I think the gods musta wanted to play a little joke on ya for those words!" Dwarf Shaman guffawed, the odd occurrence having restored his usual mood for the time being.
Lizard Priest rolled his shoulders, embarrassed. "My, it would seem my words hold more power than I'd ever thought," he quipped in good humor.
"…" Goblin Slayer turned around slightly. "Hear anything?"
He'd been addressing High Elf Archer, her face scrunched up in concentration. "Something's happening up ahead, but it's kind of far – can barely make out anything too concrete here. That howl had just been the lucky exception."
At her response, the others allowed themselves to unwind just a bit more. After all, whatever had just happened was evidently still a distance away.
Except for Priestess, whose already pale skin lost what little luster it had. She began to feel clammy and an intense feeling of dread and unexplained terror filled her heart.
Her reaction didn't go unnoticed.
"What's wrong?" Goblin Slayer asked in a hard tone, her reaction more than enough to make the ever vigilant adventurer prepare himself again for action.
"That had sounded… human," Priestess murmured.
Yes, that was one of the causes behind her sudden shift in behavior just now.
As for the other cause…
"What lies over there?" Goblin Slayer asked of Lizard Priest who had pulled out the map upon Priestess saying those words.
Lizard Priest licked his lips almost nervously. "A small village, milord Goblin Slayer. Specifically the one that was to be our next stop to hopefully procure transportation."
"Don't seem all that likely to happen now," Dwarf Shaman grumbled. "How about it, Beard-cutter? Wanna check it out?"
"…" Priestess felt Goblin Slayer look back at her. "…Yes. Let's go check on the people there."
"…!" Priestess made a sound – the beginnings of an objection on her lips – only to stop herself and take a few seconds to steel herself before nodding in agreement.
If Goblin Slayer noticed this, he didn't indicate so. But it looked like High Elf Archer might have picked up on her feelings if the frown on the high elf's face was anything to go by. Nonetheless, she said nothing.
"Then let's pick up the pace a bit. Assume our usual formation in case of attack." Goblin Slayer uttered his commands before breaking out into a controlled jog, Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest following suit.
Priestess and High Elf Archer brought up the rear, though the former did her best to speed up a bit so that she was in the center of the formation where it was safest for a support type adventurer such as herself.
"Don't push yourself too hard…" High Elf Archer's whisper carried itself on the very wind so that only Priestess herself could hear it.
The young blonde could only manage a feeble nod as she jogged along with her party. Her terror was simply too strong for her to do much more than this for the time being.
For it seemed like she was the only one of the bunch to detect it – the sheer madness that had tinged that howl so heavily. It wasn't so much something that could be noticed through conventional means such as hearing, rather it was a sensation that only those attuned to certain things could notice.
Lizard Priest, Dwarf Shaman and High Elf Archer… for all their exceptional abilities and skills that were unique either to themselves or at least their respective races, they dealt with nature in one form or another. As for herself, she was a follower of the Earth Mother, faith in a higher power that meant to guide humanity.
In other words, it could be argued that with a high enough level of faith, it became possible for one to perceive things that dealt more closely with living and sentient beings that could hold faith in something as well. And though she still considered herself a novice, both as an adventurer and a practitioner of the Earth Mother's teachings, Priestess was still devout enough to achieve some measure of skill in this regard.
And that madness… it was horrifying to feel. In that moment, she'd vaguely recalled the way High Elf Archer had reacted to that stranger's brilliant golden sword and could now understand just why she'd reacted so viscerally to its presence.
If the unknown blade had been akin to outright anathema for High Elf Archer, then this madness felt that way to young Priestess.
It was something that must be stopped from spreading but at the same time posed a danger to herself and to her dear friends that she desperately wished to avoid at all costs.
Torn between an intense desire to flee and the desire to help those that may still be saved from the madness, Priestess could only clutch at her thin chest as she continued to briskly jog alongside her party. The strain on her heart nearly felt palpable by this point and would undoubtedly worsen the closer they got.
But even so… as terrified as she was, she had to press on.
Uttering a quiet prayer to the Earth Mother for her guidance, Priestess suppressed the tears of fear that threatened to well up in her eyes and picked up the pace.
Out in the desert, the influence of the Scarlet Rot was steadily thriving. And in turn, everything within this particular section of the desert was suffering in equal measure.
What few natural ponds or springs the desert itself could call its own were steadily corrupted, once clear and fresh water turning into pure liquid Scarlet Rot that infected and broke down anything living that stepped into it.
Dry trees cracked and snapped apart, a white substance almost akin to coral forming and coating the plant life. Said strange new growths sprouted up and outwards, blooming like sickening flowers that reached meters into the air. Roots thickened and quietly burst out of the ground, tearing up entire sections of the land with ease.
The very sky itself, once a clear and ever vivid blue now turning a scarlet color, clouds forming from seemingly nothing and bloating out the sun itself so that the only way to even tell if it was night was when the crimson clouds themselves darkened.
And one unfortunate caravan found itself all but stuck in the middle of the entire desert.
"Keep those flames going, ya hear?! Don't ever let them go out!" called out the leader to his several helpers, all of whom fervently nodded.
Once thirty or so members strong, they were now barely half that number at best. The others had perished due to the corrupted land around, accidental missteps into puddles of this strange substance or breathing in too many of those scarlet spores from increasingly huge flowers that had released some strange pollen when they'd gotten too close unknowingly.
Ye gods, the way those poor souls had perished… how they'd grown sick and how their bodies had violently writhed and even mutated to the point of outright death… the remaining members would not forget such sights for as long as they lived.
It was these horrible and all too fresh memories in addition to sheer vigilance that had allowed them to practically stay awake and on their toes this whole time, nearly two days total now.
They were all exhausted, with the only reason they were able to go on still being due to having enough supplies meant for thirty plus people now available for half that amount. But it wouldn't allow them to keep this up indefinitely and they all knew it.
"Oh gods, why…?" someone murmured, a young man who'd been fairly stocky but had somehow become a little skinnier in just these two days alone, having been one of the few to eat or drink anything. He was simply breaking down under the pressure of it all. "How much longer will we be stuck here?"
"Knock it off! Don't think like that!" yelled the caravan's leader, an older man with a lean build. While hardly built for any sort of combat, a life of constant travel and other misadventures had left him fairly strong and wiry for his age. Not that it was doing him much good right now. "You keep that up, this desert might as well just eat you up!"
Easy for him to say, it went unsaid by the others nearby. Though they all shared such a bitter thought, they still kept at it, that is, taking whatever things that wouldn't be missed and using them as kindle for various sorts of fires.
Shreds of clothing tied to extra bits of wood and dabbed with some small amount of oil to make torches or outright campfires that burned away at the strange and twisted land around them all.
Discovering that the odd changes to the desert had shown quite a weakness to flames had been a very lucky break when one of them had dropped a torch at night during their desperate attempt to cross the desert quickly, which had exposed them to a flower burning intensely upon making contact with the flame.
Since this discovery, the leader had ordered the others to help him essentially try and create a path out of here by literally burning it into existence. Little by little, they set up whatever sorts of fires they could to create a wide path while chucking torches ahead to forge a way forward.
Alas, despite the desperate ingenuity, it was doing them little good now.
To be perfectly frank, the sheer amount of fires they were starting was simply too little to truly affect the land around them greatly enough or for long enough to allow swifter passage. Not only that, but whatever was occurring with the desert was still ongoing, causing sections of the land to break apart and either rise up or lower. Already, they've had to change course several times, the only good thing being that they were still remaining relatively on the intended path out of here.
But with how many little detours they've had to make to get around the increasing number of obstacles, it wouldn't be much longer until they simply ran out of enough resources to keep their fire starting efforts going.
Morale had been far from high and it only continued to lower as time passed.
Over the next thirty or so minutes – it was hard to keep track of time in these circumstances, the caravan leader realized – three more members of the group collapsed dead, sheer exhaustion and overly strained mental states being the causes. As much as he would have loved to give them proper burials and mourn them, he couldn't do so; the changes were speeding up and fires they'd lit before were only really serving as meager barriers at this point.
Heart feeling heavy, the leader could only press on, praying for the first time in a long time to any god who would hear him. He didn't know what insane forces of Chaos were responsible for this monstrosity of a dilemma but he fervently prayed to the gods to lend him any sort of aid.
Unfortunately for him and the others, though the gods were currently preoccupied with other things, the dice were always being rolled…
…And just now, they'd gotten a bad roll indeed.
"…Hey, look over there! Are those… vultures?!" cried out one of the caravan members from nearby. A rough looking woman with keen eyesight, she served as their spotter when it came to dangers.
She pointed in the direction off to the right and the leader had to squint pretty hard to see what she spotted. But sure enough, he could see the vague outline of several vultures… and their forms seemed to be getting bigger. And closer.
"Why the hell are they on the ground…?" someone murmured from nearby, baffled.
Yes, the vultures seemed to walk on their legs across the ground though they did occasionally take some small leaps via a flap of their wings.
Still, how strange – it seemed like they were far away yet their forms seemed too… large, warty.
Then one of the vulture finally turned their way and let out a screech that caught them all off guard with the sheer volume of it. It then began to charge their way and the others, alerted by the first one's screech, followed suit.
It was then in the following few seconds that the caravan leader realized the truth as the vultures now properly came into view.
Easily four times the size of the average vulture and still seemingly growing bigger from the looks of it, with skin that was mixture of flayed fleshed and lumpy white pustules akin to the coral like structures in the desert now, these things were monstrosities of a different sort from any other type of creature the caravan members had seen during their many travels.
And these things looked decidedly unfriendly.
One caravan member screamed as the first of the mutated vultures leapt a shockingly high distance into the air before descending upon him with all its weight. It screeched and chirped as it jabbed its twisted beak violently into the downed man's flesh.
Whatever sense of discipline the caravan had was broken by this point as the other vultures now caught up and repeated the first one's method of attack.
By dumb luck, the leader, ever so quick witted, thrust out the torch he held and struck a leaping vulture directly in its chest. It let out a sound most horrible as it jumped back and thrashed about. Whatever changes it had undergone seemingly made it just as susceptible to fire as everything else here in the desert now.
Not that this new fact did anyone much good – the leader got blindsided by an especially wild vulture, knocked down and stomped on by the thing's heavy leg. He coughed and hacked and wheezed as the pressure upon his chest promptly increased, the vulture looming over him like a reaper before lunging down with its beak.
The leader nary got a chance to do anything else before the beak stabbed into his face over and over, flesh plucked and torn and eaten by the vulture.
His life ended in a brief flash of pain and horror and the same could be said of the rest of the caravan, all of whom had been slain and devoured with a viciousness never before seen.
With the latest meal now in their stomachs, the vultures' aggression dissipated and they proceeded to turn around and make their way back towards their initial stomping grounds… only to seemingly change their minds and head westwards, in the same direction the caravan had been attempting to go in.
Their minds, broken and warped by the Scarlet Rot, now was filled only with the desire to feast on whatever they could find. And food can no longer be found here.
With little cries of communication shared between them, the vultures began their trek in search of their next meal.
Man, it really does seem like I keep making the situation worse and worse in the Four Cornered World, doesn't it?
Well, as they say, sometimes things are going to get worse before they get better. And I assure you guys, things will be getting better eventually. Try and think of the situation as something akin to the Shattering in Elden Ring, where everything went to complete shit. Remember, whatever semblance of normalcy and routine that could be said to exist during the game itself only came about after who knows how many decades or centuries of combat between numerous factions.
That said, I will say right now that the Four Cornered World will not be reaching such a state – the Tarnished and Ranni simply won't allow it. That said, they and the denizens of the GSverse will be pulling out all the stops to keep things from reaching the point of no return in due time. I simply hope you all will bear with me as I work to that point.
Anyways, soon enough – that is, within the next chapter or two – you all will finally be seeing an actual positive change for once in this whole mess. Here's to me hoping it will live up to expectations.
Until next time, everyone. Take care!
