Chapter-5 Something deeply wrong

Lith walked through the village, scanning the faces of the guards he passed. He needed to find out what had happened last night, but the guards seemed to be avoiding his gaze. He tried a different approach and struck up a conversation with one of them.

"Nice day we're having, isn't it?" Lith said, smiling.

The guard grunted in response, clearly not interested in small talk.

Lith cleared his throat. "So, did anything interesting happen last night?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I was just curious," Lith said, shrugging. "I heard some noises outside my window last night, and I was wondering if anything happened."

The guard looked at him for a moment, then seemed to relax. "Well, there was a bit of trouble at the inn on the edge of town," he said, lowering his voice. "Some kind of fight or something. But it's been taken care of, so you don't need to worry."

Lith's heart skipped a beat. "What kind of fight?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

The guard shook his head. "I don't know the details, and it's not my place to say," he said, his tone final. "Just mind your own business, young man."

Lith walked away, his mind racing. He had to find out more, but he knew he couldn't push the guards too hard. He tried a different approach and struck up a conversation with another guard he did not see before, hoping for a different result.

"Good day, sir," Lith said, smiling. "I'm new in this village, and I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about what's been going on lately."

The guard looked him up and down, then shrugged. "Not much to tell, really," he said. "Just the usual troublemakers causing a ruckus, you know how it is."

Lith nodded, trying to seem interested. "Have you heard anything about what happened at the inn on the edge of village last night?" he asked, trying to keep his tone casual.

The guard's face darkened. "We don't discuss that with outsiders," he said curtly. "Now, if you don't mind, I have duties to attend to."

Lith sighed and walked away, frustrated. He was determined to find out what had happened, but he knew he had to be careful.

As he wandered the streets, he overheard snippets of conversations between guards. They spoke in hushed tones about the missing guards, and the blood that had been found at the inn. Lith's curiosity was piqued, and he decided to try one more time.

"Excuse me, sir," he said, stopping a guard who was passing by. "I overheard you and your fellow guards talking about something that happened at the inn. Could you tell me more about it?"

The guard looked at him for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you," he said, leaning in closer. "We found a destroyed wall on the inn, blood everywhere, but no bodies. And three of our guards from last night's shift are missing."

Lith's eyes widened in shock. "That's terrible," he said. "Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

The guard shook his head. "We have no idea. It's like they just vanished into thin air. We've been scouring the area, but we haven't found any clues yet."

Lith's mind raced with the possibilities. Could it be the same creature that killed those two strangers responsible for the missing guards too? The thought sent shivers down his spine.

"I hope you find them soon," Lith said, his voice barely above a whisper. "No one deserves to just disappear like that."

The guard nodded in agreement. "We won't rest until we find out what happened," he said. "These men were our brothers, and we owe it to them to bring them home."

With that, the guard walked away, leaving Lith to ponder the mystery of the missing guards. He knew that his decision to leave the village was risky but staying here in Ravensworth with a number of missing people going up every day was like a suicide. Better to leave early than when it is too late.

He still had few hours before the nightfall but the light was already missing, and the sky was filled with ominous dark clouds that seemed to swallow up what little sunlight remained. It was as if the village was being consumed by the darkness, with only a few flickering lanterns casting a feeble glow along the deserted streets.

As Lith began his walk to the opposite end of the village, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease settling over him. The streets were eerily quiet, with no one in sight. The only sound was the crunching of his boots on the gravel path.

The houses on either side of the street were dark and foreboding, with no lights shining from the windows. It was as if the villagers had all vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but their empty homes behind.

Lith's heart pounded in his chest as he made his way deeper into the village. The further he went, the more he felt like he was being watched, like there were eyes on him from every direction.

He turned a corner and found himself face to face with a statue of a figure he didn't recognize. It was old and weathered, with a twisted expression on its face that sent a chill down Lith's spine.

He quickly averted his gaze and continued on his way, hoping to reach the edge of the village soon. But the further he went, the more he realized that there was something deeply wrong with Ravensworth. Something dark and malevolent that was lurking just beneath the surface.