The Last Dainv-Chapter 28

The Last Dainv-Chapter 28

Gale's boots crunched on the dry soil. Two different environments met each other at a border. Behind him, a lush, vibrant forest that felt damp and humid. In front, a dead forest that had no leaves on the trees. The trees in both forests were of the same size, except they were not alive.
A new environment posed a different challenge to Gale. There could be different types of monsters here, yet he saw no marks, no tracks, no nothing. Maybe the soil was too dry to leave any prints, but no. Dad had even taught him how to track animals through sandy deserts. They'd still leave something for him to be able to track.
His eyes caught a blurry pattern on the dried up soil. Getting closer to it, he brushed away the surface dust. Pinched the soil and rubbed his fingers together. The soil was compressed. Something hard passed by with a print that was smaller than the beasts.
"What are you doing?" Ollie asked, crouching down as well.
Gale ignored him. He pinched another part of the soil and put it close to his nose. There was a hint of a familiar smell.
Lick.
"Dude, what the hell," Ollie scurried back.
"Shush, Gale's on to something," Rachel said.
Gale stood up. "There's humans that passed by here that used leather shoes."
"Woah, how can you tell?" Annett asked.
"It smelled and tasted like leather, and the dirt was compressed, but the depression didn't have the usual softness at the edge like a beast would."
"Wait, so you're saying there's survivors? We have to find them!" Rachel said.
Gale patted both of his hands on his pants. Finding other survivors? That's crazy talk. There's a high chance they are hostile. And the shoes they used were probably hand crafted. Something about this didn't feel right. How would they eat or drink in this dry dead land?
"Wait," Annett said. "We don't know who these people are or what they're capable of or if they're even friendly."
Ollie nodded, side-eyeing Annett. "What if they have an Aurian and destroy my only weapon left?"
"You're the one that broke my sword, idiot." Annett crossed her arms.
Anna stepped forward. "Usually I'd agree, but our survival has to come first. We can't risk everything for strangers."
Rachel looked to each of their faces. "But there's people too. They could maybe-"
Annett held a hand out to stop her. "Look, your thoughts are admirable. But in rift runs, survival always comes first. Rescue operations are secondary."
"What do you think, Alex?" Gale turned to the only one who hadn't talked yet.
Alex's mouth opened and closed before finally saying, "Maybe... maybe we should scout first? See who they are before we make a decision."
Gale blinked, surprised by the suggestion. He thought the small girl would've caved in to the majority and not followed through with Rachel's wants. It was better than just knocking straight at the enemy's door and also just leaving potential survivors.
"Alex is right," Gale said. His own suspicion was still just a suspicion. "We aren't taking chances with these people. We'll move carefully. Any sign of danger, we run. Immediately."
"What do you mean?" Rachel eased her clenched fist.
"When people are desperate, they do things. Crazy things. It's like that old book, 'Lord of the Flies.' When people are put in a survival situation, anything's fair game. And you never know how much of their sanity is left."
"Fine," Rachel said. "We'll scout first. But if they need help, we help."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Gale said. "Ollie, you're mobile enough. We'll scout. Follow these tracks, see where they lead. The rest of you, find a safe spot to set up camp. We'll be back before nightfall..." he looked up. Still night. "Relatively nightfall."
Gale and Ollie got ready, putting down their extra luggage of smoked meat but keeping the leather water pouch. Rachel caught Gale's arm as he was about to leave.
"Be careful," she said. "And... if you do find them..."
"We'll do what we can
if
we can do anything," Gale said, letting her hand fall off from his arm.
The two boys set off across the dead forest. Dry leaves scattered the forest floor, crunching with each step. Twigs cracked loudly whenever he stepped on one. All of these were fuel for a potential forest fire. A dead forest fire, the most dangerous one.
Ollie followed Gale as he led. Every now and then, he crouched to examine the tracks. Getting closer. Fresher tracks went forward. He didn't even need the red marble.
"Look," Ollie pointed ahead.
A manmade structure up ahead, visible through the dust blowing up and dead trees. Breath of the Void's tendrils caught movement up ahead around the structure. Gale's hand went up immediately, signalling Ollie to stop. Both of them crouched behind a fallen log.
Gale sent over the tendrils through the haze of ash. A thick stone wall stood tall in contrast to the desolate forest. A medieval gate made of iron with iron stakes at the bottom and all. It was a clear sign of long-term human habitation. These weren't the survivors that Rachel was looking for.
Their technology was much more advanced than just people who got dropped into this world like them. There's a chance these people have lived here for longer. Remembering the camp's crude wooden walls and poor living conditions, it was the difference between cavemen and modern cities.
"We should head back," Gale whispered.
"Why? I haven't seen anything yet," Ollie said.
"Trust me. These aren't survivors." Gale glared at him.
"You sure? Let me see first." Ollie moved up, but Gale's hand caught his shoulder.
"It's dangerous."
"Ok, ok, if you say so." Ollie sighed.
The two retreated carefully, trying to make as little sound as possible as per Gale's suggestion. They retraced their steps through the desolate forest and then found the resting area where Rachel, Annett, Alex, and Anna sat.
Gale saw the campfire. No stones around the fire at all, nothing to keep the flame from spreading. He quickly stamped out the fire, kicking up dirt on it.
"Hey, what gives?" Alex said.
"Fire hazard."
"Sorry." Rachel looked around, taking in the view of all the dry material that could catch fire. "Did you find anything?"
Gale took a deep breath. "There's a settlement. Walls, people, lots of people. I say it's dangerous."
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Are you sure?" Rachel looked at Ollie.
Ollie put his hands up. "I dunno. I never got close enough to see anything, but he did. Not gonna argue about it though."
"So Ollie never got close enough. How are you so sure those people are dangerous?" Rachel stepped once into Gale's space.
Because we'd need to talk to those people, and they might have other intentions. Didn't she listen to him earlier talk about Lord of the Flies?
"Something doesn't feel right. That's enough evidence," Gale stepped forward as well.
"It doesn't matter, we can talk to them. We just have to go there and see for ourselves," Rachel looked to Annett. "Right?"
Annett shook her head. "It's too dangerous. We don't know anything about these people."
"But again, it doesn't hurt to talk to people who can actually talk instead of, I don't know… the beasts that can't talk?" Ollie said.
Anna hugged herself, looking small. "What if they're hostile? Just like Annett when we first met her?"
"Again, that was just a misunderstanding. I just saw…
that
guy." Annett crossed her arms.
"Hey! You attacked me first!"
"Because you shot at me!" Annett said.
The settlement could be a trap, a haven, or something in between. How could these people not see it? They already had enough people to worry about, and now they want to worry about more people.
"Fine. We go," he said. "But I'm totally against this."
"We'll approach carefully. The moment I see danger, we can go out, ok?" Rachel looked at him, asking for an answer that he didn't know how to give.
"Nnnn." he said, if that was even an answer.
Rachel looked to the others and said, "Keep your guards up just in case. If we get inside, stick together."
"Got it," Ollie said.
"Let's take a look at this 'settlement' as he calls it," Annett said.
The group picked up their items and hiked to where Gale and Ollie went. It already wasn't that far. Just a couple of hundred metres close to the edge of the lush forest.
"This is where he stopped me. Couldn't really see anything from here," Ollie fake smiled to Rachel.
"Well, Gale's senses are sharper than ours. But we still need to check." Rachel continued walking forward. "This way, right?" she asked, looking to Gale.
He nodded.
The group continued, cresting a hill. This time, they saw human footprints with actual boots.
"So, the boy who lived with the wolves is right. Or maybe lived with the beasts." Annett forced a laugh. "Don't know if I should be nervous about this. What if Gale's right?"
I am right. I think. The situation screamed of the books he read, so maybe he's not. Now I'm starting to doubt myself.
They crested the final hill, and the settlement came into view. The tall stone walls greeted them, standing multiple stories wide, at least 30 feet. Interesting height.
Gale spread the tendrils of his senses beyond the walls. 20 feet thick. Interesting thickness. Clearly medieval inspired. Tendrils spread further, and he felt tens or even hundreds of people inside. Each one of them carried no exact expression from what Breath of the Void said to him.
Suddenly, the gate thudded and rose up. Chains clanged together as it opened. Once fully open, a figure appeared. He walked to the group, the figure becoming clearer. The man was tall, taller than Annett, who was the tallest in the group. Graying hair, neatly trimmed beard. He looked young, but the fine lines around his smiling eyes didn't say so. His clothes were white with deep blue trimmings that looked to be a priest's outfit. It was hard to tell whether the clothes were based in this world or back on Earth's design. One thing was for sure, Gale didn't like the smile he showed. Breath of the Void whispered to him that the man wasn't smiling, yet he was visibly smiling.
"Welcome," the man called out, spreading his arms in welcome. His voice somehow carried itself through the clearing. "I'm Elliot, leader of Blue Haven."
The way he talked, the way he smiled, the way he spread his arms as if he was a saviour. All of it bothered Gale. And his face was punchable. He never did like characters with a messiah complex.
Rachel stepped forward. "Thank you. I'm Rachel, and this is my group. We've been travelling for a couple of days and stumbled upon this place. May we come in to talk?"
Great, now tell him about our camp, and maybe he'll take that too, Gale couldn't say. It was the first time he saw her smile that much since the beginning she met her in the forest.
Elliot's smile widened, showing teeth. "Of course, of course. Haven is always open to those in need. Please, come inside."
The group moved towards the gate, entering it through the small gate that could only fit humans. Gale kept his eyes on Elliot, observing him with all his might. Anything the man did, he would know. Any kind of hesitation or weird behaviour, his eyes were wide open.
Inside, Rachel and the group awed at the activity. A man moved two buckets on a plank balanced on his shoulder across the street. A window opened just as an old lady brought out a pie to cool under the cool breeze of the eternal night. The street itself was paved with stone just like in medieval settings, except better, as there was clearly some sort of sanitation system in this place. It looked so normal, so civilized, betraying what Gale saw from Breath of the Void of the blank faces. Each one had the same expression of people during rush hour.
Elliot led them down a wide street, gesturing to the building they had passed and then pointing down the street to the left. "Our kitchens are there, and over there is our infirmary. We can treat most wounds as long as it's not fatal. The offer is there if you want."
Rachel's eyes beamed, taking in all the view. "This is… amazing. How long have you settled here for?"
Elliot laughed, "We've been here for quite some time. I can't tell exactly, but we've been here for years. This world is harsh, and we can't even tell night from day. There's no way to count."
Gale's ears pricked at that. Settling here for years meant that they had flourished in the harsh landscape before them. It meant that not everyone arrived at this place at the same time. These settlers knew more than them when it came to
this
world.
He noticed other details that set his nerves on edge. The villagers moved with a strangeness to them. It felt like the way they entered the settlement was a script to show how bustling it was. And everywhere they went, he felt eyes on him. Not the kind of eyes where you'd just pass people. The kind of eyes that drilled behind his head.
"Here we are," Elliot stopped at a large building that said 'Inn'. They all went inside and saw the neat furniture and clean wooden windows that opened outwards. A freshly swept porch. Yet it made it all the more suspicious, as though it was just cleaned up not but minutes ago.
"Our guest quarters. You'll be comfortable here while we prepare the hall to
discuss.
"
Huh? Discuss what?
"Thank you," Rachel said.
Elliot's smile widened. And there it was again. His teeth bared as he smiled.
"It's my pleasure," Elliot said as his gaze swept over the group, settling on Rachel. "We're always happy to welcome new members to our family so we can all survive this hell together."
As Elliot left, the group settled into their lodgings. Gale's unease grew. He paced the room back and forth, his eyes switching and staring from window to door, like a cat waiting to defend against an attack.
"Something's not right here," he said. "Did you see the way the people moved? Like they were all following some unheard rhythm. It feels scripted."
Rachel sighed, shaking her head. "Gale, you're just being too paranoid. This place is lively and welcoming. Maybe you're just not used to being around so many people after living alone for so long."
Annett nodded. "I think everything's fine. What's the deal?"
In the corner of the room, Anna huddled. Her eyes went wide and unfocused.
"The eyes, the eyes, the eyes," she muttered repeatedly.
Alex edged away from her. "Rachel, she's starting to do it again. I don't like it."
Ollie, seemingly oblivious to the tension, lounged on a chair.
"It's too bad we didn't see any pretty girls around," he said.
Annett rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You're already surrounded by some of us. What more could you want?"
"Seriously? A giantess, a crazy girl, a suicidal girl, and..." Ollie said as his eyes turned to Rachel but didn't continue his words.
"There's just... a feeling. Things may not be as they seem. It's too good to be true," Gale said.
"I don't feel any other signatures other than us here," Annett pointed out. "If there was something off, wouldn't we be able to tell?"
Ollie nodded. "Yeah, I haven't seen any sign of Ether usage or anything unusual."
"Then how were they able to defend this place? Think about it. We've seen what's out there. How could they survive without some kind of edge?"
Rachel fully opened the window. "The stone walls are much sturdier than the wooden ones we had back at the encampment. That could explain a lot."
"And they have way more people," Alex added. "Way more able-bodied men to fight off threats. Most of ours are women, children, and old people."
Gale shook his head. "It's not enough. Something
is
odd. Why aren't they trying to find an exit? This place could've taken years to build. How long have they been here?"
Rachel stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his arm. "Enough, Gale, please. I really think they're good people. We can rescue all of them and find an exit together. Let's not look for problems where there might not be any."
He wanted to argue, but the way she said it, while her eyes pleaded with him, made it hard to argue.
Fine. He would investigate this himself. Dad did say,
When in doubt, find evidence. Hard proof no one can deny.
He remembered dad's fights with mom, arguments under the stars that she always seemed to somehow… win anyway… He shook his head. He needed evidence. That'll show them.

.
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Chapter 28