Episode 3 The Day of the Semites - Part 4

 Linda the Seer, the little queen of Paro, was locked in a small room in the tower with Suni, the daughter of the barbarians, and sat still in the darkness without a window.

 Separated from her companions, she was locked up with a Semitic girl who could not speak, and who was a woman. If she had been an ordinary girl, she would have been moved to tears by the fear of her fate and the horror of falling into the hands of the enemy.

 But Linda was a girl with an uncommonly fierce temper and a keen sense of destiny. In her heart lay an unyielding fire and an uncanny faith in her own destiny. So, like an adventurous boy, she forgot her own predicament, sat down on her knees, and was completely absorbed in trying somehow to establish an understanding with Suni.

"The Wall."

 Linda pointed at her, and Suni, the daughter of the ape-man tribe, who was only about a meter long, mimicked her,

"Kabe."

 He said in a curious tone.

"Hands."

"Ikku, Nini, Leadra, Imi."

"You wouldn't understand if I talked that much!"

 Soon Suni grew tired of being Linda's quiet pupil, and, with all the haughtiness of a princess, Linda tried to teach her Paro's words, but at the same time she showed no interest in learning Shem's words. So she began to speak Shem's words in a high-pitched chirp, much to Linda's dismay, and the girls looked at each other and blew up at the same time.

"If only the legendary 'magic tongue' could touch my tongue and make me understand every word as soon as possible."

 Linda said closedly. Suni sat at her feet, his eyes visible even in the dark, and gazed adoringly at Linda's white brow, platinum blonde hair, and lithe height.

 It was clear that this impromptu lesson had apparently failed. So Linda decided to change her approach and rely on more direct means, namely gestures.

"You--" pointing to Suni--"from where--" indicating vaguely the other side of the wall-- --come?"

 Suni's face, with its short, uneven hair, was bent over in thought, and he began to say something in high-pitched Semitic and to indicate shapes with his hands.

 Through a muddled exchange of words, Linda finally learned that Suni and some of his Semitic companions had been found by the knights of the fort in the middle of the Kes River, some of them killed on the spot with crossbows, and some of them had been hacked to pieces without compunction. Linda understood that the Semites had probably been hunting the creepy creatures that dwelled in the river according to their dubious customs.

 Suni made a violent gesture, apparently saying that his people had been terrorized by the Gora many times in this way.

"I don't know, because I've never seen the Semites before in Suni, but I've heard that beyond the Kes River is what we Middle Plains people really call the frontier, where anything can happen, and the only god there is The only god there is Doll, the incarnation of evil, right?"

 Suni looked at Linda with a puzzled look on her face and shook her head as if she didn't understand.

"The Gora are enemies to us, too."

 Linda continued on regardless.

"The Gora have destroyed the land of Paro where we live, trampled the crystal city with their boots, and torn down the silken curtain of Paro with their savage hands. Since Suni has no way of knowing, I will tell you that we - I and Remus, the heir to the throne of Paro - fell one after the other before the Black, Blue and Red Knights of Gora, the knights of the court, and were cut down by our father King Aldross III, the scholar and chief priest of Janus. and scholarly father king of Janus was cut down and drowned in a sea of blood. Bogan, the nanny, and Leah, the minister, came running and said, "Now we must put the hope of Paro on you both. Remus and I ran through the smoky Crystal Palace and entered the Tower of Janus, which we had been warned never to approach.

 Bogan and Leah rushed to lead us, and Remus and I entered the crystal pedestal beneath the Tower of Janus.

 When Liya raised her hand a red knight ran at her and his brim pierced her breast. I closed my eyes and heard the knight shouting, "I have found the head of Paro's heir! I heard him shout and raise his sword. Remus and I fell in each other's arms.

 Hey, Suni, can you believe it? Just then, everything went dark and Minister Riya said, "The coordinates have gone crazy! May Yarn have mercy! May Yarn have mercy!

 When I came to, Remus and I were lying in the deep meadow behind the Fountain of Ludes. Vernon, the Black Count, called it Paro's black magic, but I don't know, to tell you the truth, how on earth Remus and I could have come from the black, smoky city of the Fallen Crystal to this remote part of Gora in an instant.

 I can't say it made our fate any easier. Remus and I spent two days in the bushes of the vasja tree, not knowing what country we were in or how close we were to the frontier. The only food we ate was vasja fruit and the nectar of flowers and grasses... We were told by the Black Knights of Gora, who were passing by, that we were in a remote rude forest on the outskirts of the Grand Duchy of Mongol, near the lands of the Enchantment, and that the knights were men of Fort Staphorus, who guarded the frontier. I learned that the knights were from Fort Staphorus.

 We had the incredible good fortune to spend two days safely in the forest of Ludo - and in that forest, just as we were about to be captured by the knights of the fortress, we met Guin. We met a leopard-headed warrior who didn't know where he came from except for his name, Guin, and the word Aura.

 Surprised, Linda kept her mouth shut.

 There was a great change in Suni's expression. She suddenly stood up, staggered, and raised her hands upward, as if begging for mercy.

"Aura!"

 Suni shouted.

"Aura! Aura!"

"What's wrong with you?"

 Linda screamed and ran to Suni.

"Does Suni have any idea what the word "Aura" means? Come on, tell me! Do you know the leopard-headed warrior Guin? What was the only word he remembered, 'Aura'?"

"Alfettu, lini, imiyal!"

 Suni ranted. Linda did not understand Shem's words, but from the tone of Suni's voice, she understood what he meant.

"God of Alfetu, protect us!" That must be it.

"Well, Sny--"

 Linda frowned, knowing that Suni was terribly frightened. Was Aura a word that could frighten Shem's daughter so much? If so, what was the fate that had befallen Guin, who had remembered the name?

 Considering that his head was changed into that of a Leopard, as if he had been cursed by the angry goddess Ilana, and that he could not even take it off, it seems somehow predictable.

"Suni! Tell me. What is Aura? Why was Guin turned into a Leopard-head and appeared in the Forest of Ludes without anything? Hey, Suni! I want to know about Guin!

 Linda briefly grabbed the barbarian girl by the shoulders and shook her, as she continued to shake her head in fear.

"Imya, Imya!"

 Suni raised her voice and twisted her hands together in fear. This gesture made the Paro girl more and more irritated.

"Suni!"

 Linda grabbed Suni by the shoulders and looked into her eyes to get whatever she could out of her, but then...

 In Linda's thin but firm hands, Suni suddenly stopped struggling and opened her eyes wide.

 His eyes have gone white and crazy, and he keeps staring at something over Linda's shoulder.

"What--"

 Linda stopped her hand when she noticed Suni's expression. She had forgotten about her current situation, and the dangers and bad omens that surrounded her, but they suddenly came back to her mind.

"What's wrong with you, sonny--"

 Linda's voice faltered and faded. The incredible fear in Suni's eyes washed over Linda, and even though she was such a brave girl, she hesitated fiercely as she turned toward the wall to see what Suni was looking at over her shoulder.

 But more than that, she was terrified of exposing her back unprotected to the thing that frightened Suni - and she wanted to know. Linda bit her lip tightly with her pearly teeth and slowly turned her body away from Suni, feeling her small hairy hands clinging tightly to her.

 And I saw it.

 The walls are about to crack loose!

 On one side of the stone wall, where there was not even a window, hung a heavy tapestry, the pattern of which could not be clearly seen in the darkness. And the wall was opening to the left and right, as if it were melting away.

 Linda unconsciously squeezed Suni's small hand and held her breath. She could feel Suni's violent trembling. Linda's eyes saw the dark space behind the wall that was opening up to the left and right, and her nose smelled the musty, stifling odor that was coming from there, making her shiver with indescribable discomfort.

"Who's there? Who's in there?"

 Linda's muffled voice was closer to a scream.

 The hidden door in the wall seemed to lead directly to Hell, the dwelling place of the doll. Linda felt a scented breeze blowing slowly from there, as if it were alive and had a will of its own, and she felt it brush her face, making her feel nauseous. Linda cut the sign of Janus, and made a low sound.

 In the dark hole, a figure appeared.

 At first, it looked vaguely like a white outline rising out of the darkness. But Linda soon realized. The person - if it was a person - wore a jet-black cloak with a long hood that completely covered his head and his feet, so that the darkness behind him seemed to have stiffened and appeared. It looks as if the darkness behind him has appeared.

 As the figure in the cloak wavered, Linda felt a chill run down her spine as she realized that the face that looked slightly white in the hood was apparently roughly bandaged.

The Black Count!

 The name immediately came to my mind.

 The shadowy figure in the cloak raised his hand in a terribly faltering gesture, as if to beckon. His hand, too, was covered with bandages, and a spare piece of cloth fluttered down from his misshapen hand.

"Alfetto: ..."

 I could hear Suni groaning in terror as she lost the power to scream.

 Surrounded by a pitiless wall of stone, Linda and Suni tried to keep up with the ghosts as they stepped forward, inch by inch, until finally they had their backs to the wall on the other side.

 All the while, they could not take their eyes off the tall, black apparition as he moved slowly. A stifling odour began to mingle with the musty odour and choked them. But they were so seized with fear that they did not even notice the smell.

 The figure in the cloak raises his hands in front of him, as if he were blind and senseless, and gropes his way forward. It was as if even moving herself in this way required an extraordinary effort. Linda felt nauseous, and shivered with disgust, and yet the man - if it was a man - stood there, in the middle of that lukewarm breeze that had reached Linda's face. But it was strange to notice that the hem of his cloak, which hung heavily, did not sway in the wind.

"Heee!"

 Suni finally broke the spell and screamed. Linda gasped.

"Vernon..."

 My voice is muffled. I licked my lips with my tongue a few times.

"The Earl of Vernon, if you are the Earl of Vernon: ..."

 He tried to persuade her with words, but those words immediately froze on his tongue.

 The figure in the cloak swayed sideways, and then stretched out his bandaged hands to touch them, as if in prayer, or as if asking for help.

"Hiiii!"

 It was Linda who screamed, this time. Her cloak wavered, the bandage covering her face slipped--

 From there, the indescribably horrible remains of a human being peeked out, a rotten, disintegrating black cocoon.

"Help me!"

 The pride of the Little Queen of Paro and the courage of the seer were swept away from Linda's heart. Linda hugged Suni tightly, and as she fell back against the stone wall, she began to scream in rapid succession. The corpse in motion, like an unholy carrion that had been wiped clean of life, was unbearably horrifying, but what frightened her most was the thought that this horrible thing was indeed a human being, none other than the nobleman of Mongol, the lord of Staphorus. But the eyes that peered out from the bandages, nearly blocked by sores and black flesh, shone with obvious humanity, and their eyes seemed to be trying to appeal to them.

"Heee! Heee! Heee!"

 Suni was screaming for all she was worth. The smell of rottenness was so strong that she almost fainted, and Linda was shaking her head violently without being aware of it.

 The monster drew closer and closer. There was an unmistakable gleam of thirst and mad desire in his narrow, almost crushed eyes. The bandage slipped from the melted flesh, revealing a corpse-like hand with almost all the bones of the fingers.

 The monster slowly raised its hand and stretched it out as if to grab the shoulders of the two terrified girls!

 In Linda's arms, the Shem girl suddenly fainted and gave all her weight to Linda.

 Linda's violet eyes were frozen in place, as if she couldn't get rid of the monster. If it were possible, Linda would have liked to pass out easily. But if she did, the shudder that she was now at the mercy of this living corpse gripped her whole body, and Linda just stared at the monster with fascinated eyes.

 A dislocated, disfigured hand moved up and down a couple of times as if to say something. Then it came down, almost touching Linda's shoulder. Linda looked at the horrible face, more grotesque than a skeleton, peeping out from between the blackened, pus-soaked bandages, choking on the horrible stench, unable to move. But just as her bony fingertips were about to touch the smooth skin, the paralysis that had bound Linda's whole body fell away in terror, and she screamed in a throaty, screaming scream.

"Don't touch me, wraith! Oh, I'll bite your tongue if your hand touches me! No, no, no, Remus, Remus! Guin!"

 He then closed his eyes in horror and fell on top of Suni, who was still lying on the ground, and covered his face with his hands so that he would not have to look at the monster who was trying to lean on him in a strangely sorrowful way, as if he were a passionate lover who wanted to kiss him.

 That's when.

"Linda, where are you? I'm coming to get you, Linda, Linda!"

 Remus's voice - Linda had no way of knowing, of course, but it rang in her head as clearly as Linda's voice had rung in Remus's.

"I'm here, Remus! I'm scared!"

 Linda screamed. Even with her eyes closed and her palms covering her face, she could see the cursed man's hand coming closer to touch her, and she could clearly see the monstrous rotting of her skin from the touch. She sobbed.

 And then the bells rang out!

 The bells of the castle are ringing with a sudden, urgent, rushing sound!

 It heralded a crisis - a crisis incomparable to that of the deserters of Valakia or the fires of the Rude Forest - that rang out fiercely and deafeningly throughout the castle, with no sign of abating.

 Linda looked up - and screamed in horror.

"I can't find the monster!"

 Indeed, the ghost in the black cloak that was supposed to be peering over her has disappeared as if it were the ghost itself.

 There were no hidden holes in the wall either. The tapestry swayed loosely from side to side, and when Linda sprang up and pushed it aside, all that was there was a flat, solid stone wall that did not seem to have any mechanism for movement.

"It can't be--I saw it!"

 Linda put her hand over her mouth and screamed. All the while, the urgent sound of bells kept ringing out.

"It's true that I smelled that vile smell, and I saw that horrible figure! But... but... but... but... but... but... but... why was I so close to a black death disease, a chronic disease that is contagious even if it comes into contact with the air, and I'm fine? But Suni saw it too!"

 Linda looked around in bewilderment. But the hot walls were blocking her view, and the only sound was the screeching of the bells, deafening her in waves that came and went--kahn, kahn, kahn, kahn!

 Through the intervals between the bells, the crack of sword fights, the roar of horses, and the unmistakable hint of a disturbance could be heard, and soon screams and shouts began to mingle with them. And then a cry from nowhere--

"The Semites are attacking!"

 Linda sprang up like a spring. But there was nothing she could do but wring her hands. She was a prisoner in the fort anyway.

 Somehow the sound of the bells had ceased, as if the belfry striker had fallen down with Shem's poisoned arrow in his throat. Linda twisted her hands together again and let out a cry of anguish - then, suddenly, she ran to Suni, who was lying like a rag on the floor, picked up her small body, and began to shake and slap her cheek with all her might to bring her to her senses. He picked her up and began to shake her and slap her cheeks with all his might to bring her to her senses.