Amentia

Chapter 58 - Direction

"I don't know how this village was before, but you should prepare yourself to see a very lifeless place today," said Zoe grimly to Az just a few hours after beginning the day's journey. As they drew closer to it, Zoe had a clearer picture of their destination, and it didn't really seem like a village anymore; there weren't enough people there to make one.

Azariah lowered his eyes; this was a sad disappointment. He had tried to hold onto a sliver of hope that a small village like this one hadn't seen the worst of the situation, but it seemed it had been a pointless effort on his part. Still, he kept his hand on the magic symbol that moved the caravan forward. They had to stop somewhere at some point to get food, and if everywhere else was just as broken as Ehlevit, then this village was just as good as any.

So, that afternoon, when they turned away from the river and into the forest and reached the Istrish village, Az found Zoe's words to be perhaps too true. No one came to welcome the Theater as it was customary in small places like this, and there was no movement to be seen on its main road. In the disconcerting silence, the troupe could hear their own footsteps as they walked around to see if they could find anyone. No one left their houses; the troupe saw each villager —the very few that were left— working in their own farm and eyeing their surroundings with distinct fear in their eyes. These creatures had probably been in a hell of their own just like in Ehlevit. Would a story even be wanted in a place that had seen most of its neighbors lose their lives in gruesome ways?

Zoe could feel several bodies disintegrating in the ground, meaning that it hadn't been more than two days since this place had seen its latest tragedy. And what few lives hadn't been taken had still fallen under that nightmarish sleep. It was no wonder there was this much silence all around.

But that wasn't all that she could feel. There was a lot of movement underground, and it wasn't the regular movement of insects, snakes or magic. It moved so erratically she had to be extremely careful not to let it touch her by accident. But upon further inspection, she began to see a pattern in the movements. It was gathering itself, strings of it traveling from distant places to reach a bigger and denser portion of it. This wasn't like the regular movement she'd been following all this time; this had a clear and distinct purpose. She followed along the string that had ravaged this village and found it was heading to the east end of the continent, where the bigger piece was gathering. And that main big portion of it was also going somewhere specific, though its direction was difficult to pinpoint due to its slow speed: it could be headed towards the mountain range near the volcano, or could just as well intend to keep going west along the mountains until it reached the Temple again. Both options were possible. Maybe it was going to the Temple to finish what it had started a few weeks ago, or maybe it was going to the mountains to cover the last area of the world with itself and needed extra strength. Zoe had been curious about those mountains for a while now; every time she tried to take a peek inside them, it was like a barrier was put up that prevented her from passing through. And it was a very natural barrier; it didn't feel like a magic spell to keep out prying eyes or trespassers. It was like the inside of those mountains were naturally hidden from the world.

When Az and Ruvyn finally managed to approach someone without them scurrying away, they kindly asked if anyone around would be up for a story that night. Az put on his nicest and most comforting smiles to try to convince the locals that they could use a distraction after all they'd been through. It was futile, however. Everyone was too afraid to gather in one place, even though there were only fifteen creatures left awake in this village. They had learned their lesson; they'd tried to come together at the beginning and it hadn't worked. Their loved ones just kept dying. And in a small village like this, where everyone knew everyone since birth, each death was an enormous loss for the entire population, not just the close family. And so with each new bloody passing, the village broke a little more, until this was all there was left: fifteen creatures that were too afraid to walk by a neighbor they'd known their entire life.