The blast collided with its target with a BOOM! Followed by a familiar “OUCH!”.
“Ignatius!?” Katherine shouted before running towards the sound.
“Wait! Don’t just run off!” I called out, following her.
We arrived to find Ignatius, flat on his back and rubbing his head. “Katherine? Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes. Perhaps give me a bit of warning before throwing spells, didn’t even have time to block it properly,” he chuckled and Katherine helped him to his feet.
“Who are you?” Reggie asked, drawing his weapon, “And why are you here?”
Katherine knocked his weapon to the side with her sword, “Calm down, Ignatius is an old friend and a renowned archeologist,”
Ignatius dusted off his jacket and smiled at the group, “Pleasure to meet you all! Though I wish we could’ve met in less dire circumstances,”
“And what are these circumstances?” asked Reggie.
Ignatius shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, “Terrible, truly terrible,” he shook his head, “A friend of mine called me here, saying he had found something that related to my research but by the time I got here…” He looked over towards the town, “Well, I’m sure you already know,”
“Do you know anything about what happened to these bandits?” Gus asked.
“I’d like to find that out myself,” he replied, “There were still a few of them running about when I got here, there was a sound, like the ringing of bells. One of them started screaming about a monster, but no one else could see anything. Next thing you know, the man is silent and falls over, dead as can be,”
“W-what happened next?” I asked.
“I don’t know, I ran away as fast as I could, hearing the screams of bandits,” he shuddered, “And that horrible ringing,”
“Why did you return?” Reggie asked with a raised eyebrow.
“My previously mentioned friend, Frederick, I need to find out if he survived the attack. He gave a description of where he found the object of my research. I’m hoping to find him there,”
I shook my head, “We haven’t found any survivors in or around the town,”
“He mentioned a cave to the West of town; however, it seems that the bandits came from that direction,”
“Which means whatever did… this,” Gus gestured to the body of a bandit, “Likely went in that direction as well.”
“Bandits, I can handle. But even with my detection magic, I could not see whatever was killing them,”
“Well, that inspires confidence,” I muttered.
“Well, let’s not wait around to have our hearts blown up by an invisible monster!” Gus said in a feigned cheerful tone, “Lead the way, Ignatius!”
Things only became bleaker as we followed the archeologist.
More and more bodies, bandits with their faces painted with a twisted expression of sheer horror. But the most concerning thing, something we all must have realized but dare not point out.
Some of these bandits were killed mere hours ago.
I could tell first by the smell, I’m sure the others noticed by other features like complexion, warmth, muscle tension, etc.
But it was an unmistakable fact that these killings were recent.
Adding to this issue was the silence. A forest like this, even after a bandit raid, should have sounds of some kind. If not birds and crickets, at least the sound of branches swaying the wind. But there was nothing.
I shut my eyes and began to form a mental picture of the area. Even if it revealed nothing new, it would at least give me a chance to practice my technique. The sounds of Gus’ footsteps and Katherine’s armour echoed all around, bouncing off of trees and rocks, creating a detailed image of our surroundings.
The more I focused the more I saw and heard, even down to our individual heartbeats. Never a pleasant sound for me, even if it weren’t for my fear, I’d always have the quickest heartbeat because of my size. But I was taken aback, for once, there was someone whose pace exceeded my own.
“Gus?” I said aloud.
“Something wrong?” he replied, calm as ever.
“Oh, nothing, thought I heard… wait,”
No, it couldn’t be. I shut my eyes again and focused. Nothing, of course, just my imagination. No, there it was again!
“Mak?” Katherine asked questioningly.
It was far off, but there was no mistaking it.
“Spit it out!” Reggie yelled.
“Bells,” was all I could say.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
