13 – Gory findings

There was a small forest of shriveled and dried trees in the middle of a bowl-like depression in the desert. Among the dead forest were scattered large rocks made of compressed sandstone, red against the backdrop of orange sand. The duo approached the forest carefully, looking around for hidden threats, for they had met a few monsters on the way here and knew more were bound to be roaming around. Granted, they either killed or avoided them without much problems, but it paid to be careful and this looked like a place for an ambush. Cal slipped behind Julian saying that since he was a mage it was only right that he would be behind, covering the rear, and the two continued on.

Julian nodded. It was fine, and he could see that despite the joking attitude with which Cal had explained that he had to go behind him, he was quite worried and not really at ease. All this despite him being the one who had suggested they come here, and being the ‘expert’ on all things tower of the two. Julian knew very well why this was the case. It was either they did this, or something even more dangerous and the sly alien had chosen the lesser of two evils.

His musings were interrupted when he noticed a small glowing orb beneath the thin shadow of a tree’s branches. He went to pick it up, and examined it closely as the ball slowly morphed into an item. The process was fascinating, but he was distracted by the bigger excitement of what could be hiding inside it.

“It’s a book,” he said.

Cal perked up. Julian showed him the book, and he studied its cover. “It’s a spell book. You can use it to learn a spell.”

“Just straight up use it, like an activatable item, or do I need to read it?” He wondered.

“Just use it.” Cal said.

“Here, then. I don’t have a staff or the skill necessary to do magic.” He said. Not yet.

Cal thanked him, and used the book. It withered away into small motes of ash as soon as he did, slipping between the alien’s long cyan fingers to be scattered by the hot wind.

“What was it?”

“Fireball,” Cal said. Then his face grew excited. “Fireball!”

“Nice.” Julian said as he walked away. “Let’s go find something to shoot at.”

The trees grew denser, soon becoming an actual forest of dead wood. Julian walked slowly, careful not to get tangled in the sharp branches that protruded from the trees and invaded the little path they were walking on. Then his gaze, wandering randomly around, fell upon an odd shape in the distance. He decided to investigate, leaving the path and only checking once that his companion was following him as he ventured deep into the dead forest.

He slashed at the branches with his sword, and they snapped easily without needing much force. The thing he had seen was hanging from a tree in the distance and the closer he got, the more he was sure it looked like a man. A hanged man, dangling limply from a particularly large branch.

It wasn't long before he could see it clearly. He signaled for Carl to stop walking, putting a finger on his lips, and then crouched behind a dead shrub. He scanned the area. It was hard to see through the dense jungle of tangled wooden limbs, but there didn't seem to be anybody else but them here. He motioned to continue.

“He’s dead,” he said. He poked the corpse with his sword, making it oscillate on the thick rope it was hanging from, and making the branch groan under the added stress.

Cal’s face was contorted in a mask of horror and disgust. The hanged man was human, almost naked and with visible signs of torture. It smelled of decay, and the small red pool at his feet was coagulated and opaque. There was something else, an item resting at the foot of the tree. It was a small dagger, adorned with small gold gilded figures on its handle and a winding green pattern on the blade. Beside it was a note. It read: EAST, written with shaky calligraphy.

“What does it mean?” Cal asked?

“It means we go East.” Replied Julian, but he was immersed in thought, barely giving out the answer he had prepared for the inevitable question.

The shadows were getting long, fingers and bony hands grasping at their feet as the setting sun hid behind the angular branches of the trees. A cold breeze sometimes swept through the crater, blowing away for just a moment the hot desert air and sending a shiver down the two adventurers’ backs. Julian’s mind raced, a million thoughts and theories flying around in a swirl. Was this something the system had put here, or was he close to other people? This was only the second floor after all, and countless people were bound to have already found their way here, and were roaming the immense floor.

“We set camp here, tomorrow we investigate.” He said.

Cal gulped. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”

Julian only nodded in response.

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They set out at the first light of dawn. A small plume of smoke was now visible rising in the air above the dead canopy looking East.

“We must have missed it yesterday, but that’s where we are going to find some answers.” Julian said.

They walked. The forest had thinned to almost nothing, and by mid-morning they were walking on almost bare land, where the landscape of sand and dunes sometimes left space for small patches of dried dirt and small rocks. The cracks in the ground suggested that this place hadn’t seen water in a long time.

The sound of a bell echoed faintly in the valley, reflected off of the tall red mesa that overlooked the crater.

“We must be getting close, keep your eyes peeled.”

Cal spotted it first, a small town built in the middle of the valley, surrounded by the only greenery they had seen in a several kilometer radius. The few buildings were all facing towards a small square, and they were made of wood or orange bricks, all save the church and its tall bell tower, and what looked like a small mansion. The church was made of grey bricks, and its dark wooden door was laying wide open off its hinges, slumping to one side.

“Is this fucking Westworld?” Julian said out loud, hastening his steps and unsheathing his sword.

Cal gripped his staff, matching the pace with huge steps.

When they reached the town, Julian’s suspicions were confirmed. The place was deserted, the houses had all shattered windows and torn down doors, and barring the broken door the church seemed to be the only place that hadn’t sustained damage. There was a well at the center of the square, its bucked hanging on the rope with a small round hole blown into it.

“Wait here,” Julian said, knowing full well that Cal was not going to do anything that could even remotely be dangerous, “I’ll check the houses.”

He approached one of the smaller buildings first. Even from outside he could smell the rotting stench coming from inside, and the closer he got the stronger it became. He crossed the threshold and was hit by a solid wall of flies buzzing around the room. There was blood everywhere. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he took careful steps around the living room. There were corpses on the ground, a man and a woman, and the body of a small child holstered to a chair.

He left the house and let go of the breath he was holding.

The other buildings were the same. Dead bodies, dried blood and flies everywhere. Entering the saloon, he saw more of the same. The wounds on the bodies matched what he had seen in the houses too: bullet and slash wounds. He stepped over the cadaver of a man and squatted, examining it.

Ah. He slid the gun out of the leather holster and examined it briefly before whistling to himself. He got up, and eyed the liquor wall behind the counter. A few bottles were smashed to pieces, the alcohol long since evaporated or dipped down on the dead bartender. There was also a set of small vials next to the alcohol bottles, and two of them were full of a clear red fluid.

Julian hummed, pocketing the vials. HP pots. He left the saloon, stepping over the shards of glass and broken chairs, shaking his head. There was a constant thought in the back of his mind. A sign to point us here next to a hanged body. A massacred village with no clues but useful items, everything suggesting we should check out the church. This is system-generated, along the shit lines of the rest of this second floor. I really hope we get better stuff on the next floors.

“There’s a dead body in the well.” Cal said, pointing down the round shaft of the well.

“There’s more in the houses, and in the saloon. What do you think happened here?” Julian’s voice carried far despite the wind.

“I have no idea,” Cal said. “But I think we’re meant to find out.”

Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Meant?” he asked.

The answer came as he predicted. “Yeah. I just got a system quest.”

“Well this confirms it. Alright, fuck the system, I got an idea.”

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