75 Eerie Silence
"Wha-what's happening? Where's everyone?" exclaid Lanzo, putting the wagon to a stop. He jumped out and hurriedly headed toward the nearest hut.
"Jacob!" Ery called out as he also got out of the second wagon and went after the old man. Lanzo followed suit, although a bit limping behind, but the two youngsters had drawn their swords, in case of any danger that might head their way.
"Hey! Is anyone there!" Jacob's muffled shouting exited the hut but only the eerie silence replied in return. Ery almost bumped into Jacob, but Jacob didn't mind him not one bit as he entered another hut.
Ery and Lanzo entered the second hut where Jacob seed to have already turned inside upside-down but just like the first one, aside from the ss Jacob had created, everything that seed to be of value stayed untouched.
"Did the marauders attack?" Ery asked, waving the torch around for better visibility.
"I don't think that's the case… there aren't any horse tracks or signs of fighting… this looks like—"
Lanzo didn't finish his words when Jacob suddenly shouted, "Daisy, Greg, where are you? Anyone! Can you hear , please…"
Jacob this ti pushed his way against Ery and Lanzo and proceeded to check more huts. The population of Misthire should be around thirty people but after searching about a dozen or so huts, even a single soul was nowhere to be seen. Jacob then sat on the ground, trying to catch his breath. He stutterlingly said, "W-w-we must've passed them along the way… hahaha… T-t-t-they must have gone to another village… Yeah, that's p-p-probably it…"
Ery knew these words were just words of comfort, and although he had barely known these people, he himself was starting to feel his heart pounding against his chest. His thoughts then were drowned out as Lanzo spoke.
"Let's go, there's still one place we haven't checked out yet," Lanzo said, giving a knowing look at Ery and Ery nodded in reply.
Lanzo's words had only aning, Granny's place. Unlike the rest of the Mistshire settlers, Granny's hut was located at the farthest edge of the settlent near the trees. Ery then followed Lanzo's limping hurried steps with the torch only providing the faintest of light from the darkness that seed to be wanting to swallow them alive.
As the two youngsters neared Granny's hut, a faint moving shadow and the sound of digging entered their perceptions. They headed toward the unknown and when they got there, the shadow of a man was scooping the earth with what appeared to be a shovel. Ery shone the burning torch on the person and saw Obed, one of the Mistshire settlers, who seed to be out of sorts.
Lanzo had just caught up to Ery and when it was his turn to see, he fell to knees and vomited a greenish, foamy barf.
"W-w-what? H-h-how?" Lanzo said, heaving hard while wiping his mouth.
Jacob arrived not long after and had the sa reaction.
Ery fought off the urge to cover his nose. He opened his mouth to ask Obed what had happened while they were away but decided against it and let the man continue to dig in tears.
Just when Ery turned toward the hut, the door opened and Granny stepped out. In a mont's notice, Obed had already thrown away the shovel and ran toward Granny.
"How is my wife!" Obed kneeled and grabbed Granny's robes, but the old woman kept silent and shook her head. Her eyes exhibited deep sadness as she watched Obed who was now wailing and hugging his poor, poor, wife inside her hut.
Jacob stood before Granny and asked, "W-what happened? Is e-e-everyone…"
Granny sighed heavily as she took a seat. Her shoulders slumped as she explained that when the three had left, everyone in the settlent started exhibiting coughing, which spread within just hours. Granny worked nonstop brewing potion but despite her best efforts, one by one, the residents soon beca unable to move and died.
Lanzo, standing beside Ery, had a grim expression as if he had rembered sothing terrible. He said, "These symptoms… Granny, please don't tell it's following us…"
Granny shook her head once more and buried her face in her hands. From that, Ery could tell it was the sa disease that Lanzo's family had suffered. More on that, however, it seed that the sa thing had happened during their almost two years of travel.
Granny then stood up and rummaged through the countless bottles before finding three bottles with greenish content and asked the four n to drink the potion.
"Even though you weren't here when it happened, it's better to drink this potion as a prevention. This will help you to resist the disease," she said while handing the potions to them.
Lanzo and Jacob chugged the potion without delay but sohow for Ery, the back of his head was screaming that there seed to be sothing out of place. He stared at the green potion when a wild idea flashed through his mind. He trembled and then looked at Granny whose saddened eyes earlier now seed to have disappeared altogether.
"What's wrong, dear? Drink it, it should be good for you," urged Granny.
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