As they trudged along the land string, something odd mingled in with the noise they made. William wanted to stop up for a second to hear what it was, but Remony wasn’t too keen that. She persistently tugged on his sleeve to make the mule walk faster. She wanted him to keep moving even though she also heard the noise…

With each step the faint noise became more distinguishable.

It was a distant breathing that came closer and closer. Along with it, the sound of something carefully stepping on gravel followed. William and Remony felt the suspense build up, as their blood rushed faster down into their connected palms. Both had their eyes on the road ahead. Trying with all their might to act oblivious to the unknown creatures that sneaked beside them.

When the danger finally seemed to have passed, William couldn’t resist the urge to look back… What he saw in the dark looked like a sack floating in midair… Before he turned his back to it, he saw it weakly budge and curl…

William was immediately disturbed: Something living was inside of it!

The two girls quickened their steps, without seeming to be in too much of a hurry. As soon as they reached safety inside the castle walls, they whimpered. Remony shivered as she asked William, “Did you see what it was!?.. Ugh! I’ve never been so scared in my entire life!”.

William didn’t know how exactly he should put it… “I’m not sure… It looked like a moving sack magically floating through the air… It was about as big as… Oh no! We have to go back and check!”. Remony sprung her eyes wide and exclaimed in a high-pitched, strident cry, “What!? No! Are you insane!?”. William gave Remony’s hand a warm squish, before he abandoned it, “If I don’t check it out now, I’m afraid the evidence will have disappeared… If my suspicions are correct, we could be in deep trouble if we let it go unheard!”.

Remony took back her hand and held it tightly. Her heart was shot into a billion pieces, all because of this unnatural fear that haunted them.

William took the lantern from her and said, “I’ll go have a quick look… You stay here!”. Remony missed the chance to protest for her friend was already gone. She stared at the flickering light that ran into the distance, “No… Mirabelle!”.

Other than stumbling a few times over small rocks, William quickly reached the land string. He tried to figure out which side the creature passed them. When he was sure which, he began followed its edge down towards the mainland…

With each step his senses sharpened. They were on the lookout for any strange noises, like the ones they heard before… His eyes were locked to the ground. Scanning it for the evidence he needed…

And there it was!.. He kneeled down to inspect it closer. The water from the lake hadn’t washed it away yet. But it threatened to. He could feel the calm waves from the mass, soaking his shoes… Indeed, he found that his intuition was spot-on. “It’s the same footprints as that day… I must warn the lord!”.

Remony managed to catch up to William, who sprinted towards the guard tower. He knocked on the stern door until someone from the nightshift opened it. The guard seemed baffled, that someone would seek them this late. He asked, “Is there an emergency young miss?”. William panted and said within the gaps, “You must… Tell the lord!... There are evidence that… The Ravaging Shabes have returned!”. The guard seemed a bit blank on the topic “The Ravaging Shabes?..”.

William wanted to shoot this guard for not remembering the hardship they brought the last time they were there, “Yes! The ones that they suspect did the last bandit raid!”.

The guard finally seemed to grasp the idea. He was about to question them further, when suddenly an aggressive voice snarked, “Stop blocking the door rookie! Move aside! We must let the lord know of this as soon as possible!”. Another guard from within the tower flung the newbie aside and without a word he guided the two girls towards the council chamber.

They were let inside and told to lighten the candles and fireplace. Meanwhile the guard would fetch the lord and other important personnel. The castle that was snoozing on a ostensibly peaceful night, soon woke up in uproar. William felt tension clog his heart. Although he was sure of his conclusion, he was afraid that his proof would soon dissipate and leave him hanging. Literally!

A middle-aged man, with blazing hair and fierce eyes approached the servant girls. He commanded, “Which one of you saw the bandits?”. William stepped forward and stated, “We didn’t see them, my lord! However we heard something pass us by on the land string... When I turned to look at it, I only saw what looked like a sack, floating in midair… After the menace was gone, I went back to check their tracks and found that they look exactly like the ones from that day. The one the bandits came… If you hurry, they should still be there!”.

While William tried to appear trustworthy to the utmost degree, the lord’s people began to gather in the room. With his last sentence, the lord was sold. He flung his head around to pinpoint his people. The first one he pointed out was a shady looking fellow.

Lord Blaise commanded of him, “Mattis! Go fetch a hunter and seek out those tracks… Bring this girl along with you, she knows where they are... If you find them, follow them and locate the bandits hideout but do not engage with them! Instead, retreat and guide our knights to their base so they can wipe out those troublemakers once and for all!...”. Then the lord turned around to one of his more decorated servants and demanded, “And fetch me that good for nothing knight: Sir Castonale!”.

Mattis glared at William for a few seconds, before he out of nowhere, lifted him up and over his shoulder. Using him as if he had become inspired by the talks of sacks and what-not. Although William was tempted to cause a fuss for being treated like a sack…

He figured that this was the fastest way to travel for both of them. He resigned himself to the fate of being a deadweight. Mattis ran out of the castle to find and wake up the best huntsman in town, who unlike William’s father and other peasants, did it for a living.

William felt that his heart controlled his whole body. Every fiber of his being felt the rush of blood and unsettling thumbing. For right now he could do nothing but hope and pray to the gods, that subtle waves hadn’t washed away the trail yet!..

WinterFairy

Just wanna give a huge "thank you" to MidnightJayguar! (ノ^∇^)