The townsfolk hurried them through the muddy streets while shouting for space and light. Lanterns swung wildly in the wind to pierce the thick fog, throwing trembling shadows across the slick cobblestones.
They were led into a nearby building which was an old tavern by the looks of it. Its door slamd shut the mont the last one of them entered.
Inside, the air was thick with smoke from the hearth and the sll of damp clothes. A few townsfolk helped Ryn onto a long wooden bench near the fire.
His face was pale, his arm trembling as blood soaked through the torn leather sleeve.
"Hold still," said a woman with a thick shawl around her shoulders. She grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the wound.
Ryn winced and biting back a curse.
Elrin threw her hood back. Her hair damp and clinging to her cheeks.
"You should’ve opened the gate sooner!" she snapped. Her voice was sharp with fatigue and anger. "We were surrounded out there! He nearly lost his arm!"
The townsfolk exchanged uneasy glances, but one man stepped forward. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, with gray streaks in his beard. His coat looked more like sothing once worn by a guard captain and looked weathered and patched.
"You think we didn’t want to?" he said. "We’ve seen things moving out there. Not just the wolves or animals. They have shapes that don’t make sense and they are moving fast. Before you ca there were things that whispered outside the walls. We lost three n two nights ago when soone thought they heard a child crying and opened the gate."
Lira frowned. "And?"
He nodded grimly. "Its just sothing pretending to be a child. We can’t take chances anymore. No one wanted to open it today either until I swore I saw your torches moving right under the walls and convinced them that you all are man."
Coren stepped closer, his jaw tight. "So you almost left us to die because of those shadows without bothering to look out first?"
The man t his glare without flinching. "Because those shadows have teeth, stranger. They could kill us easily."
The room went silent for a mont except for the hiss of the fire and the distant rumble of thunder.
Elrin lowered her staff slightly, her anger softening to sothing closer to dread.
Ryn groaned as the woman finished wrapping his arm with a strip of linen.
"But now we made it," he muttered, forcing a shaky grin. "Next ti, I’ll bite the wolf first. Argh..."
That drew a weak chuckle from Lira, even though her eyes still flicked toward the boarded-up windows. "You said you’ve seen dangerous things out there. Can you give us more explanation about that?"
The man hesitated before answering. "We don’t know exactly. They co with the fog just like today. So nights we hear the sound of claws on the walls. Other nights we heard whispers. No one who’s gone out after dark anymore after those deaths."
Coren exhaled slowly, staring into the fire. "Then this storm is hiding more than beasts."
The woman tending Ryn looked up. "You’re lucky you reached the gate when you did. Another few minutes and we wouldn’t have heard your shouting over the wind."
The room fell still. The fire crackled softly.
For a long mont, no one spoke. Outside, the wind wailed against the shutters, and sothing faint — like sothing big knocking — echoed from beyond the walls.
Coren’s hand went to his sword.
"We should post a watch," he said quietly. "If whatever’s out there wants to get in, it will not stop now."
The leader nodded grimly. "Yes. We’ll double the guard. You and your friends rest here tonight. You’ve earned that much."
Coren looked to his companions.
Lira was still alert by the window, Elrin staring uneasily toward the door, and Ryn half-conscious by the fire.
The exhaustion pressed heavy on all of them after that brief encounter and a colder thought ford in their mind. They might be fighting sothing on par with the ancient forest god that ti.
—
Rain hamred against their cloaks and armor as the groups of adventurers pushed through the storm. The horses moved in a staggered line, their hooves splashing through deep puddles on the winding forest road.
The day was a blur of water, wind, and fog that drifted between them.
"Damn this storm," growled the man in front to his group, pulling his hood tighter. "It ca out of nowhere. One minute the sky’s clear and the next thing we’re drowning in this!"
"Quit complaining," said a woman riding beside him. "Storms don’t just appear for no reason. Sothing’s stirring the air."
Behind them, a younger man struggled to keep his horse steady.
"You think it’s the corrupted Magic the Archmage spoke of?" he asked, squinting through the fog. "The fog is also too thick. I can’t even see the trees anymore."
"Keep your eyes ahead. The map said there’s a small town not far. If this road’s right, we should reach it soon." replied the last of them, who was their leader.
The thunder rolled again, shaking through the soaked forest. Sowhere in the mist a long and deep howl rose then fading slowly into the rain.
"You heard that, right?" the man in front said.
"Keep moving. Eyes sharp, hands ready. The town should be less than half a kilotre ahead."
The wind carried another sound. Faint but heavy like a faraway thud echoing through the fog.
None of them spoke this ti. Even the usual grumbling died in their throat.
As they rode on, the outline of rooftops began to erge through the mist and the faint glow of lanterns barely visible behind thick wooden walls. Relief flickered across their faces.
"There it is," The leader said. "The town!"
"Finally," the man in front muttered, wiping water from his beard.
But as they approached, the sound of another knock ca again from sowhere beyond the walls. It was slow, deliberate, echoing through the storm. This ti it was closer.
All the seven groups tightened their grip on the reins.
The fog shifted around them, swallowing the sound of the rain for a heartbeat. The horses trembled in fear. The adventurers exchanged wary glances. The storm was pressing down heavier than before.
Sothing was waiting between them and the light of the town.
—
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