Chapter 21: The Drag Trail
The next morning,
“Ryl!” Aspen banged on the door.
“Rylan, wake up! We’ve got work to do!”
Silence.
He sighed and pushed the door open.
Ryl was literally twisted in his blanket like a snake tied in a knot, snoring peacefully.
Aspen stared at him.
“He was accidentally born as a human…”
His eyes drifted to the water kettle beside him.
SPLF!
“RAIN’S POURING!!!” Ryl shot up, looking around wildly—only to see Aspen glaring at him.
“It’s morning.”
Ryl smiled sheepishly. “G-good morning!”
“Don’t ‘morning’ me. Get up.”
Aspen left and headed to Dior’s room.
He knocked.
No response.
“Dior, I’m coming in!”
He opened the door.
Empty.
“He’s gone.”
After breakfast, Aspen and Ryl headed out to search.
“Where did that iceberg go?” Ryl grumbled.
“Don’t call him that. And the receptionist said he went out early, but didn’t say where.” Aspen took out a small cloth with a reddish stain, which was brought by Flick.
“IS THAT BLOOD!!?” Ryl yelped.
“No, calm down. It’s not blood.”
“Then… what is it?”
“I don’t know. Flick brought it yesterday.”
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Ryl took and sniffed it once. “It's Sun Berry!”
“Sun Berry? You sure?”
“Yes! It still has the strong scent it’s famous for.”
“Hmm. Then let’s find the story behind it.”
Flick chirped and fluttered ahead, guiding the way.
_ _ _
“So this is where it was found?” Aspen asked, kneeling.
Flick chirped again.
“A-As–Aspen… l-look!” Ryl pointed ahead, trembling.
The path was splattered with dried blood, and long drag marks cut through the soil. Fresh footprints stood beside them.
“Someone just walked from here.”
“I-I don’t think we should follow that…” Ryl whispered, tugging Aspen’s sleeve.
“We’re going,” Aspen said simply, following it.
Ryl trailed behind, shaking.
The footprints ended abruptly.
“I-I think i-it’s a ghost… it flew halfway!!” Ryl groaned.
“And since when do ghosts take morning walks and quit halfway?” Aspen asked.
“Maybe… ghosts nowadays are like that?”
Aspen sighed.
GRRRRAAA!
A scream echoed.
Aspen sprinted toward it, dragging Ryl along.
They froze at the sight—
Dior lay on the ground, using his bow to push back a Blood Boar.
[ ]
“Dior!” Aspen yelled, throwing his dagger.
Dior kicked the boar away, caught the dagger mid-air, and sliced it cleanly.
He stood, breathing heavily.
Another Blood Boar lunged behind.
“Watch out—!”
Dior reversed his grip and stabbed behind him without looking.
Then he turned. “What are you two doing here?”
“We should be asking that!” Aspen shot back.
“I…” He paused, scanning the area.
“…came for sightseeing.”
“.......”
Aspen and Ryl just stared.
“You’re even terrible at lying,” Ryl muttered.
Aspen sighed. “Dior, it’s dangerous to come alone. You could’ve at least told us.”
“Why do you even care?” he asked flatly.
“We do!” Aspen snapped. “You’re our friend. You’re one of us.”
Dior’s eyes widened for a split second before he hid it.
“…I came to investigate.”
“This early?” Ryl scoffed.
“I’m not slothful like . If I came late, the evidence would’ve vanished.”
Ryl glared.
“So, what did you find?” Aspen asked.
“A young girl was dragged this way,” Dior said.
"And the claw maks suggests that a beast dragged her."
“Young girl?”
He pointed at the drag marks. “They’re shallow. Meaning the person is light. So, a child.”
Then he held up strands of hair.
“I found this.”
“It’s just hair! It could've been blown by wind,” Ryl said.
“It's possible. But there is no heavy wind and the nearest houses are far.”
“Makes sense…” Aspen murmured.
“And we found this cloth. Flick brought it from where the dragging started.”
Dior examined it. “It’s stained.”
“It's Sun Berry,” Ryl said.
“Sun Berry, they grow only in early sunlight. huh…” Dior’s eyes narrowed. Then he smirked.
“She’s smart. She left it intentionally.”
Aspen and Ryl leaned in.
“She knew that the beast was heading to the east. Symbolically she crushed the berries in it and dropped the stained cloth on purpose so that we can't take it as something random and we can know where she is.”
“It makes sense…” Aspen said.
“I knew that,” Ryl muttered, “just didn’t want the whole credit.”
Dior ignored him.
“Alright. East side it is,” Aspen said.
They continued until the forest twisted unnaturally. The mist thickened.
Then—
An opening appeared—a tunnel.
“A tunnel… and it's deep,” Aspen said, squinting his eyes.
“Let’s go back before we become the next victim to vanish!!” Ryl panicked.
Dior unfazed—lit a torch and walked in.
Aspen placed his hand on Ryl’s shoulder and said dramatically. “Ryl. Imagine finding the girl and the village calling you their hero. Doesn’t that sound amazing?”
The word hero flipped a switch.
He imagined villagers bowing and offering feasts and chanting his name.
Ryl strutted past Dior and Aspen. “Stay behind me. I’ll protect you all.”
Aspen and Dior sighed together.
“At least he’s moving…” Aspen whispered.
They walked and walked until they found no way to turn as they stopped by the wall.
“A dead end?” Aspen said, tapping the wall.
“There should be a mechanism,” Dior said, joining him.
“It's boring…” Ryl yawned and leaned on the wall against his elbow.
The stone sank and the door opened. Ryl glanced around wildly not knowing what happened.
“How did it open?” Aspen blinked.
“It was me,” Ryl declared proudly.
“Anyway,” Dior brushed past, ignoring him. “Let’s go.”
The room was big and luxurious but it was full of dust and cobwebs.
No signs of a person living.
They stepped deeper and discovered it was only a room of an enormous mansion.
“What in the world—!? This is bigger than Valen’s mansion!” Ryl gasped, blinking.
Dior paused as he heard him. “You went to Valen’s house?”
“We went to deliver a parcel,” Aspen said.
“Hmm.” Nodding he looked around the mansion.
“This place has been abandoned for decades.”
“I should just have stayed back…” Ryl mumbled shivering.
Creeeak… creeeak…
The floorboards groaned under every step.
As they moved forward, they saw a ruined portrait of a woman, hung crookedly on the wall.
Aspen leaned closer, looking for the date it was painted. “It’s eighty years old.”
“VERY old!” Ryl squeaked.
“It might be the owner’s portrait,” Dior said. “And this tunnel must’ve been an escape route.”
He looked up. “Let’s go upstairs.”
They followed.
Suddenly—
THUD.
“There’s someone here…” Aspen whispered.
“IT’S A GHOST!! LET’S GO BEFORE WE BECOME ITS FOOD!!” Ryl shrieked.
“Ryl! There are no ghosts during the daylight! It’s someone alive!”
They tiptoed toward the sound and opened the door—
And froze.
A little girl lay there.
Half-dead.
*****
Chapter 22: Pain Unnamed
