Chapter 249
Chapter 249
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 249
Chapter Title: Omen of Disaster? (9)
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The next morning,
we shared the stew and bread we'd boiled the day before, tidied up our bedding, and put out the campfire. Feeling the cool air between dawn and morning, we passed around hot tea.
If we kept up a steady pace for a couple of days, we'd reach Quarzen. We moved faster than ordinary travelers, thanks to our group of people who rarely tired. The moment we arrived in Quarzen, we'd need to gather new information and plan our next steps. Quarzen wasn't as big as Corin, but being adjacent to other nations, it should yield plenty of valuable intel.
On top of that, I'd send a letter to Jamil in Roshan to check on him, and ship Legion's shed skin to Khalid in Sollen. I'd compile a list of questions for Khalid and include them too...
Khalid treasured Legion's shed skin so much that he even crafted a special magic box just for it. This transport box maintained perfect temperature and humidity to keep the skin intact, had security spells so only Khalid or I could open it, and even cast an illusion to make it appear empty to any third party who tried. (In fact, El only ever saw an empty box inside.) In short, it was the world's safest delivery box.
If I needed to send something important or a message to Khalid, I'd slip a letter into this ultra-secure magic delivery box—no worries about thieves or prying eyes. Of course, I didn't always send serious stuff. Sometimes I'd tease him with a note about how well Legion was growing. Heh heh...
Anyway, there was a lot to do once we hit Quarzen. With intel gathering, compiling, and sorting to decide our next destination, yeah.
"Alright, shall we get going?"
Today, it was my turn to drive the wagon, switching off with El. The weather was pretty chilly, so I planned to keep Legion and Pippy inside with El. Pippy hopped obediently into the wagon with El, but Legion fussed so much I had no choice but to tuck him in my pocket.
"Let's go, Storm!"
-Neigh!
Storm, who'd chowed down on hay and fresh apples, pulled the wagon energetically. As we descended the gentle slope of the hill, the thicket we'd spotted last night drew closer. That was the spot Calisto had checked out. I should take a look as we passed. It was a small grove, but... ecosystem collapses often started in places like this.
The grass near the thicket was mostly withered too. Could be the season, but linking it to the whole dried-up thicket, it might not be that simple. Was some blight hitting just this area? With those questions in mind, we approached the thicket—and that's when it happened.
-Rumble...
-Thud! Crack!
"...What?!"
Something fell, and the ground shook. It wasn't my imagination. The earth caved in, and the wagon sank right into it. Luckily, I leaped toward Storm the instant I felt the vibration, avoiding the pit.
In the chaos, I grabbed Storm and patted his neck to urge him forward. Horses startle easily, but thankfully Storm kept his wits and followed my lead.
-Grind...
Storm strained to pull, but the wagon only sank deeper.
"What in the world...?"
I turned in alarm, and there was El, poking her head out the door of the tilting wagon.
"Careful getting out, El!"
"Yes, Master!"
Pippy, perched on El's head, fluttered down to my shoulder. El scampered up the wagon like a monkey, onto the roof, and leaped to the stable roadside.
-Thump!
The wagon kept sinking. A quick glance down showed the pit was deeper than it looked.
"Theodor!"
Calisto called to me, hurling a hooked rope onto the wagon. Lloyd did the same from the other side, and their horses pulled. With three horses now hauling, the wagon—tilted like it was about to plunge—slowly dragged free.
-Clunk!
It caught briefly, but the wagon rolled safely. We parked it far from the pit, in a secure spot. No major damage—minor scratches we could fix in Quarzen, no sweat.
I wiped cold sweat from my brow and scanned around. Just vast open fields, nothing else. Weird.
"Master, is this... a trap?"
El asked. I shook my head slowly. It could pass for one, but this wasn't a trap.
"If it were a trap, someone would've attacked us by now."
No one had. Plus, an ambush needed cover, and this field offered none. The thicket was too low to hide in. Bottom line: no place for an ambush.
More importantly, if it was a trap, they'd want something—usually loot. But travelers on this route from Sequoia Forest were rare. Not a bandit sweet spot.
Maybe targeted us specifically? Nah. Calisto would've spotted it during last night's recon of the thicket.
"Calisto."
"Theodor. I swear by Queen Peha, this place was completely safe..."
"I know. If someone was after us, you'd have noticed."
"Yes."
"Just to be sure, scout the area again."
"Understood, Theodor."
"El, you and Ayla too."
El, Ayla, and Calisto headed out to scout, while Lloyd and I inspected around the wagon. Approaching the nearby thicket, I saw the dried leaves and fruits Calisto mentioned.
'...Not that long ago.'
Couldn't tell with leaves, but branches and fruits showed it. I dug lightly near the roots and checked the soil. Roots were dry, but soil was fine—no drought signs. So...
'No issue with the ground.'
It felt like the life force of the thicket itself had been sucked out.
...
Beyond the bushes, something else bugged me: no bugs. Plenty on the hill, but this thicket? Eerily lifeless, like they'd all fled en masse.
Animals fled quakes, floods, tsunamis sometimes... but no signs or traces here. So, inference...
Like birds fleeing the lakeside when Legion shed, did something powerful pass through?
'But for just a thicket?'
Suspicious, but no more clues. The pit seemed like a sinkhole, not a trap... No one to blame, so onward. We were in a hurry anyway.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Let's head back."
I'd been crouched checking the ground, so I stood, brushed dirt off my hands. Heading back to the wagon...
-Grunt...
Huh?
A faint, weak sound.
-Grunt...
From underground.
"Theod..."
"Shh."
I held a finger to Lloyd, ear cocked. Another feeble grunt, like it might cut off any second—from underground again.
I crouched low. Grunt. Barely audible. Not enough; I lowered further, till I was flat on the ground, crawling toward the sound. It moved slowly, almost imperceptibly, with faint scratches, crunches through soil.
How long did I crawl, ear to the ground? I stopped at the pit's edge.
-Grunt...
Clearer now. Source probably hit bottom. Cautiously, using [Leaf Step], I dropped into the lower pit. [Cat Lord] let me land silently, feather-light. I scanned slowly.
...
Just a normal pit. Well, sinkhole big enough for the wagon—not normal. Quietly, I waited for the 'grunt...' source in the dark, damp hole—even after sunrise.
-Gruuunt...
In a corner hard for human eyes to spot, soil stirred. Twitch, twitch, heave, heave. Bits of dirt trickled.
'Maybe a Giant Worm?'
Like an earthworm but anaconda-sized, with saw-like teeth—subterranean beast. Sunlight enraged them, so if one burst out, best flee now. But...
-Crackle...
-Crackle...
Too small, pathetic for a Giant Worm. Embarrassing I'd worried. Arms crossed, I watched the tiny mound.
-Crackle...
-Crunsh...
Finally emerging was...
-Grunt...
A tiny baby mole, dirt-caked like a potato.