Ghost Story - Part Six¶

The long Night
Part II

However! It doesn’t matter if a brave hero would have been able to stand such a calm blooded night, I wasn’t. The sounds of the night were too sinister, too unnatural, for me to have a single calm minute. Eventually I couldn’t stand it anymore. I grabbed a burning branch from the campfire, which I could use as a torch, and followed the strange noises.

The diversity of impressions, which, shortly after I left the campfire, assailed me, were gigantic. Already after a few steps, all that was left to see of the safe campfire was a small blurry flickering light. The shadows of the trees hidden in the fog seemed so menacing and intimidating. And slowly and unstoppable the cold creaped into my limbs. Nevertheless, I continued striving through the forest. Without a destination and not minding any direction, I marched through the fog.

I turned around scared, as, very close to me, I heard branches cracking and rustling. But in the dim light of my torch, I could see nothing but grey wafts of mist. I spread my ears and listened to the strange noises around me. The rustling was still there. It gained more distance. Must have been a Yubo I scared up.

„Didn’t I warn you?“ a cold whisper reached my ears, more of a breeze than spoken word.

“Hello?” I asked into the gray emptiness surrounding me. “Somebody there?”

”Be aware!“ it whispered againg, but this time I was able to determine the direction it came from.

Hoping to get a glimpse of the person belonging to the mystic voice, I pointed the torch into the direction of the voice, but nothing was there.

A sudden breeze, as if something with a very high speed was passing by, made my flicker heavily and in the dancing shadows I think I saw the phantom of a homin.

“Who is there?” I asked again, but got no response.

The shadows in front of me were fighting insanely as I stepped into the direction in wich I thought I had seen the stranger. And as a matter of fact, I thought to see a guise in the fog, trying to hide from the light.

I picked up my pace, didn’t care about what could have been hiding in the fog surrounding me. I was totally focused on catching up with the stranger.

I didn’t care about anything anymore, I just didn’t want to be alone any more. But the more effort I put into catching the stranger, the faster he seemed to evade.

The Distance between us didn’t seem to become less and again and again I heard his whisper: “Be aware! Be aware of the one who haunts the souls!”

I was so concentrated on trying not to loose sight of the phantom, that I didn’t watch where I stepped anymore. So it came that the inevitable happened! My feet got caught up somewhere and before I realized what happened, I hit the ground in full pace.

The Torch flew out of my hand; I rolled and slid over the ground, getting what I deserved for my carelessness. All my limbs where hurting badly as I finally lay still on the forest ground.

As I got up, cursing and swearing, I realized what I had done. By Jena, what had possessed me?

Not a single glimpse of my campfire was still in sight and the wood seemed even more menacing and darker than before. I thanked Jena with all my heart as I caught sight of my torch, which lay a few feet away from me and luckily hadn’t extinguished. Still cursing I managed the few steps, but just as I wanted to pick it up, a wooden panel sticking out of the ground caught my eye.

Who might have positioned it there, I can not tell, but the text written on it I remember very well:

“Dedicated to those, who left their life defending their country as the force of those who were known as the “Cutthroats ” seized to take over. May Jena guard their souls and haunt those of their murderers. May the goddess elevate the ones to her side and throw the others before the Devourer, that they will vanish form the countenance of Atys forever.“

For a last time Ciosso interrupted his tale and took a close look at each of his listeners. Open mouthed some stared at him, while others had dealt with his last words faster. But in each and every face anger arose for those homins who had then occupied the area around the “Kamicircle”