Finding my Parents in Another World-Chapter 77: (Zoe) Abandoned Village

"Maybe we should stop here for now." Famina called out from in front of her.

"Oh thank god, yes please." Zoe let out a sigh of relief as she brought her horse to a stop, and then slowly climbed off it. She could never appreciate, or even get used to, the feeling of riding on horses for long distances.

"Where are we now?" She asked Famina, who had also stopped her horse and was securing it to a nearby tree.

"Let me check." Famina got out a small map from her jeans, a gift from Midir.

She traced the path they had taken with their fingers. It had been three days since they had left Satoky. As per Zoe’s insistence, Famina had agreed to go to Temuril first before returning to Father Andrews. The problem was that Temuril was very, very far from Satoky.

"Looks like another couple of days, at least." Famina said with a frown.

Zoe sighed as well. Riding on a horse throughout the day was taking its toll on her.

"Well," she said, trying to stay cheerful,"it’s almost dark now anyway, so you are right. Let’s set up camp here."

Famina nodded, and went back to her horse to get the supplies and tent hanging on it’s back. Zoe pulled her stationary horse and began securing it to the tree next to Famina’s horse.

The road they were following was quite deserted, which unsettled Zoe. It felt inherently unsafe, dangerous. Zoe didn’t really fear an attack per say, especially not after her experience in the Tal, but she was wary of unknown threats.

"Isn’t this the only road from Satoky to Temuril? Why is it so deserted?" She asked Famina.

"No one much wants to go to Temuril in the first place. And we are quite far ahead on the road, such that the only place you can reach from this road is Temuril."

"Why does no one want to go to Temuril?"

Famina shrugged. "Superstition. Old legends. Some stupid stuff. Not to mention, recently there was news that their Mayor was caught conspiring with a Demon. All in all its not the best place to visit even in normal times, and these are not normal times for Temuril."

"A demon? Is it like one of those imps I fought in the Caves of Bloodfell?"

"Somewhat. Imps are descended from Demon blood. However the one at Temuril was a named Demon. Named Demons are dangerous and immortal. They are older than our universe itself, they are like primordial beings of malice. I would never want to see a Demon, let alone fight one." Famina said with a shudder, and the look on her face convinced Zoe that she was serious.

"What about the other stuff you mentioned then? Superstitions?"

"Yeah. Well not completely superstitions, but close enough. Temuril is home to the last remaining known alive Dragon - Old Gotuj. He is kept chained in a forest near the town. People believe all sorts of things about them, especially since they are old enough to pass into legend. Almost no one outside of Temuril has actually seen a Dragon outside of books, so they make up all sorts of stories about Old Gotuj. Like he was once a human, or that there’s a Witch hiding in the forest who is manipulating him, yada yada yada. Like I said, quite stupid."

Dragons, Demons and Witches. Sounds like a cheerful place.

.XX.

It took about an hour for Famina and Zoe to unpack and set up their tents. By that time the dwindling sunlight had vanished completely and it was fully dark around them. It unsettled Zoe, she had become kinda used to the lights at Satoky.

They built a bonfire infront of the tent and sat down in front of it.

"How is your injury?" Zoe asked Famina.

"Almost gone." Famina said with a bright smile.

"Ah to be young." Zoe said playfully, winking at Famina who burst out laughing.

"Threat detected."

AD’s mechanical voice cut through the jovial atmosphere like a knife. Zoe immediately stood up, fully alert and looking around for where the threat may be coming from.

But there was nothing around her, and she couldn’t feel any approaching enemies either. She glanced at Famina and the young nun looked just as confused as she was.

"Hey hey AD, is this a prank? Are you even capable of doing pranks?" Zoe asked, trying to maintain her jovial tone as she looked at the Spear tilted against a tree.

"Negative. This is not a prank. A threat has been detected, but it is not moving towards you."

"What is it?"

"Unable to confirm. Can’t get a clear visual on threat."

"Yeah well neither can we. So you see why we would doubt the existence of this threat, don’t you?"

"I see. However facts remain unchanged. A threat has been detected in the-"

AD’s words were interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream that rang out in the night. It was a woman screaming her lungs out, from somewhere to the north of where they were standing. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Zoe picked up the Spear and dashed off towards the source of the sound. After a monent of hesitation, Famina followed.

"Be careful, this may be a trap!" She called out from behind.

"I will." Zoe said grimly. It would be better for this to be a trap, than for it to be genuine and for them to ignore it.

The screams rose in intensity as they dashed closer to it, before abruptly coming to a halt. Immediately Zoe stopped in her tracks, holding her hand up to let Famina know so that she doesn’t inadvertently crash into her.

"AD, were you able to pinpoint where the scream was coming from?"

"Affirmative."

"Great, lead the way then."

Following AD’s instructions, Zoe and Famina began dashing once more, weaving their way through the dense undergrowth. This was a small jungle, nowhere near the size and danger of the Tal, but still formidable in its own right.

Presently Zoe and Famina came out into a clearing of sorts, where AD declared, "This is the spot."

The clearing was quite large, even though it was surrounded by jungle on all sides. In the middle of the clearing though was a large village, the mud huts visible from where Zoe was standing.

"From that village?"

"Affirmative."

Zoe began to run, but Famina caught her sleeve, causing her to stop and turn towards her with a questioning look.

"We should scout the village first. I don’t see any lights in any of the houses." She said.

Zoe looked at the village once more and realized that she was right. The village was submerged in darkness, not one light shone in any of the huts. Weird, if there were inhabitants.

"Maybe an abandoned village?" She offered.

"Then who was screaming?"

Zoe had to concede this point, and then the two of them started sneaking forward. Zoe wasn’t sure what kind of monster or enemy could attack them here, but after seeing the Clackers in Tal, she wasn’t ruling anything out. Taking cover in the small bushes and crouching as close to the ground as possible, Zoe and Famina steadily advanced until they were upto the gate of the village.

It looked deserted from the outside. There was no guard posted outside, and there were no pedestrians on the streets. But Zoe saw there seemed to be a fruits market just ahead of them. There were fresh fruits on sale, but there was no one manning the stalls.

What the hell...

Zoe sneaked forward slowly into the village itself, and then the stench hit her. The rotten, putrid smell made her almost puke, and she had to hold onto the Spear to balance herself.

"What the hell is that?" Famina said, scrunching her face.

Zoe did not answer, moving forward slowly, her sense of unease building up. Something was not right. This didn’t feel like an abandoned village, but it was. And there were fresh fruits so someone was in the village not long before.

Zoe went to the fruit stall and touched the fruits gently. None of them were rotten.

She then looked at the huts. They were normal, simple mud huts with thatched roofs. Some of them had windows, but a lot didn’t, instead relying on holes in the roofs for ventilation purposes.

This isn’t right.

The uneasiness built up further and further within her. And then she remembered why she was feeling this way.

Zoltran.

This village reminded her of that village from the Goddess’ memories. The ominous feeling she got from the huts, the abandonment. The only thing missing were the corpses strewn...

Zoe stopped in her tracks.

The stench. What is that stench of?

She looked towards the nearest hut. She stepped forward slowly towards the door.

"What are you doing?" Famina asked in a hushed tone.

Zoe didn’t answer, moving almost hypnotically towards the door. She placed her palm on the door.

She pushed the door slowly.

It wasn’t locked.

The door swung open with a loud creak, made louder by the silence all around them.

And there they were.

The inhabitants of this village.

Or rather their corpses strewn across the floor.