43. A loud crash in forest
"Your highness, a week ago, we heard a loud crash in the forest. It was so loud that the ground beneath us trembled wildly. All of us came out of our houses to see what had happened, only to see that some deeper part of the forest had caught fire.
We watched for sometime and saw that soon the fire was gone. Hence we didn't give it much of a thought.
But the next day, one beast ran out of the jungle and started destroying our crops. By the time we could complain to the water palace, the beast count was increasing day by day. And then all this happened." The village head explained.
"You mean that this might be related to the fire you saw that night?" Asterion asked.
"Yes, your highness." The village head agreed.
Asterion looked at Ether, both of them having their own doubts and suspicions. Asterion turned back toward his father.