Against Death part 1

A cold wind was now blowing in their direction from the graveyard. Rotten plants were taking up too much space on both sides of the road. No one could hear a sound but the whispering wind and the hoofbeats of four horses trotting along the road.

Carlos, christophe, Bennett and their new companion, Amaryllis Mortalhart, were riding their horses in silence to the vicinity of Pinewoods forest. Christophe and Bennett rode in the back and were deep in a quiet conversation. Every once in a while, Bennett's voice would get louder and he would comment," But I think it would be a much better option for me to stay with George back at the church."

Of course the young woman, Amaryllis, had thoroughly explain to him that he would be in danger if he stayed back because of the Diligo treasure he carried. However, despite carlos's numerous attempts to find out, Bennette had never spoken a word about how he had got his hands on a piece of the sacred Diligo.

The further they went on along the road, the darkness of the night grew heavier as more trees began to appear on the horizon. The wind also, began to pick up pace.

Carlos gently led his horse closer to Amary's black, Friesian stallion and said," Amary, I think we shouldn't have left George alone like that. His injuries were quite severe."

Amary answered," This is just a night patrol. You don't need to worry about anything. We'll be back at the church in an hour. This has to be done every night. Otherwise, who knows what creatures can crawl out of the forest and creep into the churche's stables?"

An excruciating silence took over, but soon, Bennett's loud voice said," Amary? Is that short for something?"

"It's short for Amaryllis. My name is Amaryllis Mortalhart."

"Mortalhart! Why does it sound so familiar? Are you related to King Jason?"

"Remotely. Don't try to ask me why."

She then, turned around on the saddle and added," Specially, when you yourself never said a word about how you found the Diligo's liver."

"Why is it so important for you to know?" Bennett asked.

Amary look at Carlos in surprise and said," Unbelievable. As if everything I said at the church has gone out of his other ear!"

Christophe chuckled and said to Bennett," Godric is trying to conquer the Ancient Islands because of that bird and its powers. Obviously, if he finds out you got a piece of it here, he's going to do anything to get his hands on the liver."

Amary added," Since that bird has been hunted down, many of the more advanced creatures must have felt its power. It's not just Godric. Any creature may try and attack you if you're on your own. The power of the Diligo is cosmic. Like the presence of a deity, so many living things can sense the existence of it."

Silence came again. Bennett was thinking about the theatre group bag at Crescent City. He had never told them about the liver, but they had tried to kill him anyway. Moments later, he finally decided it was time to tell the story.