It is depressing

The road to Merton is oddly free of monsters. I can only assume it was the troll’s hunting ground after they took over the previous village and that caused the weaker monsters to flee. No complaint from me. This way I can get home faster and hopefully find my mother. I do hope she made it there, because I have no idea where else she could be. When we do get there, part of me wishes I had never come.

As we approach Merton, we are finding dark spots on the grass which some of us recognize as blood stains. They are pretty big too, so that was probably a spot where someone died. But strangely, there are no bodies around. Merlara says that the monsters which came through here probably decided to eat the people that were killed. We then have to stop for a moment as Cal starts feeling unwell. I can’t blame him. The idea that people we’ve known for 10 or 15 years were reduced to food is quite unsettling. For a moment, the image of a warg ripping flesh off Jax’s dead body flashes through my mind and it makes my stomach churn.

As we get into the village itself, we quickly notice the damaged buildings. It is a very weird feeling seeing my home village in ruins. A year ago, I lived here. I know what the buildings are supposed to look like. I remember the way people walked along the streets. Yet now the houses are almost unrecognizable and the streets are empty. Seeing Merton as a ghost town now is so very disorienting that it makes me feel like I am not in Merton at all, even though I know I am.

The ranch, owned by Mia and Emma’s parents, has been completely destroyed. I can see Mia standing in front of the rubble that used to be her home. There must be so many thoughts going through her mind. Fortunately, she has Roland by her side.

“Are you two holding up alright?” Kiara asks Amelia and me.

Amelia is silent but I say, “As good as I can.” I point at Mia’s home and say, “That’s where the ranch was. Mia’s parents were taking care of the horses. Making sure our farmers had and merchants had beasts of burden that could pull our carts or ploughs.”

I turn around and point at another building. “That is where the smith used to be. I remember Drogan forging my sword there.” I pull my sword partially out of its sheath and continue, “Since then, this sword has helped me go through several quests and even got me through the tournament. It’s been upgraded too. Meanwhile, the place where it got made is gone. And the smith who originally made it is probably dead.”

Then I turn to the inn and tell Kiara, “That is where Oliver and his parents lived. It is where he learned how to be a cook. They had the best food in town.”

“If they had food there, then I’m afraid we may need to raid it.” Kiara says. “We are getting low on supplies. So, it’s either raiding the inn or searching the forest.”

I don’t like taking food from the inn. It feels like stealing, even if Oliver’s parents are dead. But we also need to eat. Pragmatically, the smartest thing to do would be to raid the inn for food. I tell Kiara that while it is a good idea to loot the inn, it should not be done by me or Amelia. We simply have too much of a connection to it.

Amelia and I continue on to where our houses are. Or rather, used to be. I always thought that when I returned to Riledo, I’d be returning to a home and my mother. That I could sleep in my old bed again. But apparently, that has been a lie. The room that I have slept in my entire life is completely buried under wood and stone. There is nothing left for me here.

I look around and see Amelia has already moved on. She is standing in front of her own home and is barely keeping it together. As I am walking towards her, she falls on her knees and starts crying. I kneel next to Amelia and embrace her. I don’t really know what to say at a time like this so I think about what Kiara would say?

“Don’t be afraid to cry.” I tell Amelia. “Sometimes it is necessary to let the tears out. You shouldn’t carry this pain with you.”

My words cause Amelia to hug me tight and start crying.

“It’s all gone! My whole life! My mom! My dad! My room! There is nothing left! I’m all alone now!”

I place my hand on Amelia’s head and start caressing her hair.

“I’m still here.” I tell Amelia. “I am here for you.”

Amelia looks up and stares into my eyes for a moment, then she grabs my face with both her hands and places a kiss on my lips.

“Yes. I have you.” She says with quivering voice and eyes filled with tears. “At least I still have you.” She says after another kiss. Then she hugs me and continues crying while I try my best to comfort her.

Amelia and I keep hugging and comforting each other for quite a while. I lose track for how long. Eventually, we get interrupted by 2 of Mia’s party members finding us.

“Hey, are you two alright?” The girl with the bunny ears asks.

“As fine as can be.” I say as I stand up.

“Yeah, I grew up in a small village as well.” Leonora explains. “When going through the other affected villages, I started wondering how I would feel if my own village got attacked like that. I can only imagine what feelings I would go though, and you guys are actually going through it. I’m starting to think that maybe I should quit the guild and go back home so it has a better chance at being defended, you know.”

I can perfectly understand what Leonora is saying. What if I skipped out on the tournament and came here instead. What if I was in Merton at the day of the attack. Would my presence have been able to save the village? Doubtful. My entire party was not able to take out 50 trolls, let alone all the other monsters. Could I instead have helped more people escape to safety? Perhaps. But I probably would have died while trying.

“So, Darx.” The guy with the bunny girl says. I think his name was Craig. He is standing close to my house and is looking over the ruins. “Did you by any chance step through the rubble?”

“No, I haven’t, why?” I ask.

“Because I am seeing footprints here.” Craig tells me. “Not troll or goblin prints, either. These are human sized.”

I come over and take another look. I see some footprints in the dust, but I can’t tell who they are from. I want to get in for a closer look, but Craig stops me. My own footprints might mess up whatever trail he is seeing. Instead, he pulls this little marten out of his pocket and tells it to follow the footprints. The marten skitters through the rubble in the direction of where my mom’s room used to be. Once there, he runs in a circle three times and stops to look at us.

“Looks like whomever went through here took a lot of time on that spot.” Craig says. “Do you know anyone who would want something from there?”

“That is my mom’s room.” I say. “I guess that … maybe my mom came here and got some of her stuff from the rubble.”

Saying it out loud made me realize that my mother must have made it back here. She should still be alive.

I look around with my hands to my mouth and yell “Mom! Mom!!!”

Amelia does the same and calls out, “Ilene!!” But she too receives no reply.

We walk through Merton, calling my mom’s name, together with Leonara and Craig, but no matter where we go, there is no response. We walk past the inn and notice that Shalia has made two trees grow at the entrance to push the rubble up. I guess using earth magic to push some dirt or stone away would have made the building more unstable, unlike these trees which seem to support the weight of the walls.

As we are searching for my mom, we eventually come to Mr. Enzo’s mansion. A lot of it has been damaged, but some parts are still intact.

It would make sense for my mother to seek refuge in there. Hope grows inside me and I yearn to go inside and check the place out, but Amelia grabs my hand and holds me back.

“I don’t want to go in there, Darx.” She says. “I just have too many bad memories.”

That’s right. This is the place where Kase blackmailed her.

“I see.” I tell her. “You don’t have to go in. But I at least have to see if maybe my mother has been here.”

“I’ll take her to where we are setting up camp.” Leonora suggests. “It’s close to some waterfall. You know where to find it?”

“Yeah, I can find my way there.” I say.

“Good, then I will stick around and help you explore.” Craig tells us.

When Craig and I enter the mansion, we see the place is just as ghostlike as the village. There are no people to be found. Bloodstains, yes. And bloodstains, and broken furniture. But no bodies. It makes me feel like maybe some creature is still hiding here. Waiting for us to bring our guard down. I’m probably just being paranoid, but I made sure to be ready to cast [Water Shield] on either myself or Craig at a moment’s notice. Luckily for us, there was no such thing as a monster hiding in this mansion. But I also didn’t find my mother.

We do come across an office where Craig quickly mentions one of the couches had a used blanket on it. A sign that someone might have slept in it. I take the blanket and try to check if I can catch her scent on it. Which I do.

“Really?” Craigh asks. “You can just recognize a person’s scent like that?”

“I have always had a keen sense of smell. Or at least better than most.” I explain. “But yeah, my mother’s scent is on the blanket. She slept here but …” I smell the blanket again a few times. “… there is also a different scent here. One that feels familiar but I can’t quite place it.”

“Well, that can depend on where she found the blanket.” Craig says. “Like, it’s not as if damaged buildings are famous for having fresh blankets lying around. At least if I was in her place, I would have taken the closest blanket around.”

Yeah, that’s probably it. Nothing for me to get myself worked up about. I should be happy I found this blanket. It is evidence that not only was my mother still alive after the monster attacks, but she was healthy enough to sleep here, and then move on again. But where did she go to? Maybe she went into the forest to search for food. I doubt she would have gotten into the inn without magic. Shalia needed to grow some trees to get in there. Perhaps it is best if I go to the waterfall and discus my findings with Kiara.

When we get to the waterfall, I can see several tents, all placed in a circle. Several people are bringing firewood and building a campfire. Later Mia comes along and uses her fire magic to set the campfire on.

I find Kiara and Amelia and tell them about what I’ve found in the mansion. It lifts Amelia’s spirits a bit and gives her a shy smile. I would have loved to search some more, but Kiara says it is getting dark. It will be hard to find anything at night, so suggests for us wait until daybreak.

Our two parties enjoy a large meal, and we also share some stories. Especially the beastkind on Mia’s party and Leona have a lot to tell each other. Merlara is the only one who steps aside with some food and eats separately. From a distance, I notice her taking her helmet off and letting her hair out for once. I never knew Merlara had blonde hair. And now I am wondering what her face looks like.

When it is finally time for us to go to bed, Amelia and Kiara both insist that they join me in my tent. They also insist that I sleep in the middle. It is the first time that I am going to bed with two girls. At any other time, i would have been thrilled. But after having seen what happened to Merton left me so depressed that I just can't see the joy in anything right now. Or even be interested in some of the wonderful things I could be doing with two girlfriends. If only my first time going to bed with two girls had been under different circumstances. But right now, I just feel like sleeping.