Rustle, rustle...
Stell emerged from the undergrowth and stepped onto the path.
This was supposed to be the safest route through the forest, a well-traveled merchant road. But now, it was the scene of a massacre.
The ground was a chaotic mess of footprints, human and monster alike. Blood was spattered everywhere, and the mangled, half-eaten corpses of men and women lay scattered among the wreckage of several overturned caravans.
[Confirmed casualties: 14 individuals.]
[Cause of death: Lacerations consistent with monster attack, and... sharp-force trauma.]
Sharp-force trauma?
As Stell was processing this anomaly, Takson appeared, guiding the young girl through the bushes behind him.
"Did you find anything, Teacher?" he asked, walking over to one of the bodies. Alice, terrified, hid behind his large frame, peeking out at the gruesome scene.
"Answer: Total casualties, 14. Primary cause of death, tearing and bite wounds, consistent with monster attack," Stell stated. "Conclusion: Alice's testimony was truthful."
"Fourteen people..." Alice whispered, her face paling.
"Addendum: The DNA of these two individuals shows a familial link to the subject 'Alice,'" Stell said, pointing to two bodies lying near the base of a large tree.
The girl's head snapped up. She ran from behind Takson and stared at the two headless corpses.
"Father... Mother..." she choked out, falling to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
Takson stood by, unsure of what to do, giving the girl space to grieve.
Stell, however, was focused on the bodies. Do monsters decapitate their prey? She didn't have enough data on this world's fauna to be certain, but it seemed unlikely. A predator, driven by hunger, would not be so precise.
"Takson."
"Yes, Teacher?" He had been about to comfort the girl, but he immediately turned his attention to me.
"Announcement: Gather all the bodies. Bring them here."
"Right."
He understood immediately. A few minutes later, all the remains, including those of Alice's parents, were gathered in a single pile.
"Endo Armament: Activate"
A torrent of fire erupted, consuming the bodies in a clean, efficient blaze. Within seconds, all that was left was a pile of white ash.
Alice, her tears finally spent, wiped her eyes. Her parents had wanted her to live. She had to be strong. For them.
She still had the payment for the commission. The coin in their caravan's lockbox should be more than enough to hire these two adventurers to escort her the rest of the way. Her destination had been a relative's house in the next city; they had been on their way to visit, and to do a little business. All she had to do was ask.
But they never could have predicted this.
Alice made her way to the wreckage of the caravans and began to search through the debris.
"Huh?"
….
While Stell was cremating the bodies, Takson stood silently by her side, his hands clasped in prayer. It was a ritual the old priest had taught him as a child, one of the few "cleric" behaviors he still practiced.
When he was finished, he turned to comfort Alice, but stopped. The girl was frantically rummaging through the splintered wood and torn canvas of a ruined wagon.
Curious, Takson walked over to her. As he got closer, he could hear her muttering to herself in a panicked whisper.
"It's gone... how can it be gone?"
"It should be right here..."
"Monsters don't need... these things..."
Her frantic searching and panicked words made Takson's brow furrow. She was so engrossed in her task that she didn't even notice him approach. He knelt beside her.
"What's missing?" he asked gently.
"Eep!" The sudden voice made her jump. She looked up and saw Takson's kind, concerned face.
After a moment's hesitation, the girl decided to tell him the truth.
"It's all gone," she said, her voice trembling. "All the valuables. Everything."
….
After dealing with the remains of the unfortunate travelers, Stell turned her attention to Takson and Alice, who were still kneeling by the wreckage of the caravan. Her auditory sensors had picked up every word of their conversation.
All the valuables are gone?
That was the key. Monsters killed to eat. They had no use for human currency. And according to Alice's earlier testimony, there had been no dragons among the attackers.
Therefore, someone else must have come by and looted the bodies. That was the most likely scenario. My initial scan of the scene had revealed far more than just fourteen sets of human footprints. Even if two people wore the same type of boots, differences in height, weight, and gait would produce unique impressions in the dirt. My analysis had identified over thirty distinct individuals at this site.
It was common for bandits to scavenge the remains of a caravan that had fallen to monsters. But the details here didn't add up.
When I reconstructed the scene based on the footprints, a disturbing picture emerged.
The monsters had not simply passed through. After slaughtering the caravan, they had stood guard, waiting, while another group of humans arrived and took the valuables.
My gaze shifted from the tracks on the ground to the path leading away from the massacre.
If this had been a simple monster attack, it would have been a tragedy, a matter of bad luck. But if someone had deliberately lured or commanded those monsters to attack a caravan for profit... that was something else entirely.
A cold, logical conclusion formed in my mind.
….
"Don't worry," Takson said, trying to comfort the distraught girl. "It's possible some other adventurers, or maybe even bandits, came by and took the valuables. It's been a whole day, after all."
But his words did little to soothe her.
"No, you don't understand..." she stammered, her voice choked with tears.
"The commission... I... I can't pay you..."
She had been raised to be a person of her word. To make a promise and not keep it was, in her mind, the greatest of failures. She had commissioned these adventurers with the promise of payment, a payment she could no longer provide. She had become the very thing she despised: a liar.
….
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