SWY 91

Chapter 6: Lahan

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”

When they set out early in the morning from the place they had stayed the night before, the sky had been clear. But gradually, it had grown cloudier, and now it was so dark it looked ready to pour at any moment. The air had grown humid, moisture thickening in the atmosphere until the dampness clung to their skin.

“Lestel, let’s stop around here and find somewhere nearby to rest for the night.”

It was just past midday, but if they kept pushing on and got caught in the rain, it would be a problem. Even though it felt a bit early, it was safer to find shelter now. The journey ahead was urgent, yes, but the safety of all three of them mattered more than speed.

Sharhan and Lestel looked around from atop their horses. But no matter how hard they searched, all they could see was the increasingly desolate plain and the ever-present moving corpses. When things got tough, they had sometimes taken turns standing watch while camping out in the open, but with rain coming, they needed a roof over their heads.

The group slowed their pace more than usual, not wanting to miss any chance of shelter, and pressed on a bit farther. Soon, the rain began to fall in a light drizzle. It was still a soft mist, but it was clear the downpour would soon intensify. Even the wind blowing across the once-calm plain felt foreboding.

Sharhan pulled up the hood of his robe and wiped the raindrops from his face with the back of his hand. Rain infused with midwinter chill, it was the worst. In no time, his clothes were soaked, and his body trembled. His hands, clutching the reins, were flushed red and frozen stiff.

“Are you okay? You look really cold.”

Lestel’s face, pale and frozen, showed he wasn’t faring any better.

“I can manage.”

“We need to find shelter fast. The rain’s getting heavier.”

Lestel swept back the wet strands of hair plastered to his face. Water dripped steadily from his soaked hair.

“There seems to be a small village over there.”

Derry, eyes wide and scanning the surroundings as if he wouldn’t miss even the smallest detail, pointed with his arm. Derry, with his exceptional eyesight, often noticed things before Sharhan and Lestel did. Following the line of his finger, they could indeed see a small village in the distance. Sharhan turned to Lestel and asked,

“What do you think?”

“Let’s go.”

Villages were more likely than plains or forests to hold survivors, or moving corpses, which made them riskier. But there was no choice. Derry might be protected by his enchanted robe, but Sharhan and Lestel’s body temperatures were dropping rapidly. If they stayed out like this, hypothermia was a real threat. Bracing against the thunder and lightning, the group cautiously headed toward the village.

“…Ah.”

Sharhan let out a low sigh. From a distance, they hadn’t seen it, but most of the village had been completely burned down. Judging by the thick, acrid scent of smoke still lingering, the fire hadn’t happened long ago. They stared in silence at the ruins, the rain falling on the blackened wreckage adding to the desolation.

“Do you think there’ll be a house intact?”

Derry’s voice was tight with unease. The village was in such a horrific state that even in their urgency, he didn’t seem eager to enter. Sharhan felt the same, if they had any other option, he’d avoid it too. But the rain and wind were growing fiercer, and they had no choice but to stay in this village for the night.

“Not sure. I’ll climb up on Thunder and take a look.”

With a swift motion, Sharhan leapt onto Thunder’s back and scanned the inner part of the village. There, near the back, he spotted a structure that was still more or less standing. He returned to his saddle and said,

“There’s a building deeper in that looks like it could shelter us. Let’s check it out.”

Even the wooden fencing around the village had burned away, and it collapsed easily under Thunder and Lightning’s kicks. The group dismounted and entered cautiously, weapons drawn and ready for an attack at any time.

The deeper they went, the stronger the stench of smoke became. Occasionally, there was also a foul, sour odor. No signs of life remained. Judging by how thoroughly the houses were reduced to ashes, the fire must have been massive. The villagers had likely fled in a panic, so it made sense no one was left. Still, they remained alert and moved carefully.

They came to a stop as they reached the village’s center, which seemed to be the fire’s point of origin. In the wreckage of a collapsed roof, several partially burned corpses lay scattered.

“So that smell was… burnt flesh. A family, maybe?”

Sharhan murmured. He had seen more death than he could count. People being devoured by others who were once the same as them, just food now. And yet, he could never grow numb to tragic deaths. Seeing the corpses that seemed to belong to a family hit him harder than he expected. The small bones that might have belonged to a child especially left a painful mark in his memory.

Worse still was when one of the charred corpses twitched. Despite having most of its flesh melted away by fire, the body reached out with blackened fingers, sensing the movement of living humans. With a sigh, Sharhan drove his sword deep into the corpse’s skull and turned away.

They pushed deeper through the rain and wind until the building they had spotted from outside came into view.

“Looks like a barn.”

Just as Derry said, the structure appeared to be a barn. It was only half burned. Part of the roof had collapsed, and the walls were blackened with soot, but it seemed stable enough for a night’s stay.

“It won’t collapse. The rain might get in, though.”

Lestel tapped the barn wall with his axe.

“If we stay under the part of the roof that’s still intact, at least we won’t get soaked.”

“In weather like this, that’s a blessing.”

The three of them approached the barn entrance, leading their uneasy horses, Thunder and Lightning, whose hooves clattered nervously. There, they spotted a bar wedged across the door to keep it shut from the outside. That meant there were moving corpses inside.

“Get ready.”

Sharhan removed the bar and handed it to Derry. The moment he swung the door open, corpses burst out from within. Sharhan and Lestel swung their weapons furiously. Derry stayed out of their way, only jumping in to help when an unnoticed corpse lunged at them.

Sometimes he stabbed them in the neck with the bar, and other times he burned them with magic. They had dealt with this kind of situation more than once already, so the three of them dispatched the ten or so corpses with practiced ease.

“Looks like that’s the last of them.”

Lestel knocked against the wall with his axe again. Just as he said, nothing else stirred. Finally, they looked inside. It was spacious enough for both horses and the group to stay together. Judging by its size, the barn had likely been used by the whole village.

They quickly dragged the corpses piled in front of the door to the side and brought the horses in. As the rush of adrenaline from fighting wore off, the chill crept in again, making them shiver to the bone.

Sharhan took off his drenched robe, wrung out the water, and looked around the barn. He saw piles of hay, firewood, sacks, various household items seemingly thrown in hastily, and carts strewn about. From the mess of footprints and cart tracks, it looked like the villagers had tried to move supplies here when the fire broke out.

‘So they were planning to use the barn as a shelter?’

But once someone turned into a corpse, the place would’ve turned into chaos. In their panic, they likely fled without even time to gather their things, jamming the door shut with a bar on the way out.

While Sharhan was piecing things together, Thunder and Lightning shook off the water and trotted to a hay pile on their own, munching eagerly. Despite his efforts, the poor conditions of the world meant they hadn’t been fed properly. At least there was hay.

“Let’s get a fire going. We’ll catch colds at this rate.”

The most urgent thing was to dry off.

“Agreed.”

The barn walls were made of wood, but the floor was dirt. Lestel dug a pit with his axe, then brought over hay and firewood. Derry lit the fire. As the flames roared to life, Lestel threw in more chopped wood and said to Sharhan,

“Shan, change your clothes. Dry off properly too.”

Only Derry, protected by his enchanted robe, was still dry. Sharhan and Lestel looked like soaked puppies. Shivering from the cold, Sharhan nodded and quickly stripped down. He wiped himself off with the towel Lestel handed him, then changed into dry clothes, carefully packed by Simon.

When he wrung out his wet clothes, water streamed down in rivulets. Sharhan twisted them again and again, then spread them out to dry and sat close to the fire. Even in front of the flames, he still trembled.

“Still cold?”

“A little.”

“Come here.”

Lestel sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. His body was just as cold, but Sharhan didn’t pull away. Even if he was cold now, he knew that Lestel’s warmth would soon be more comforting than anything else.

“Oh, right. We have heatstones.”

“Let’s save them. We might not be able to light a fire later.”

Derry had started to reach for them but nodded at the roaring fire and sat back down. They hadn’t used a single one of the heatstones they’d brought from Lestel’s estate. Winter was still long, and who knew what hardships awaited them in Serman. It was better to conserve resources.

“Where are we, anyway?”

When Derry asked, Lestel pulled out the map and studied it in silence.

“You don’t know where we are? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Sharhan urged him, and Lestel finally looked up, expressionless.

“Lahan…”