Chương 29: The Hollow Granary

"So where are we going, anyway?" Sable asked. It'd been another day's time, and Marnie had assured us that we were close to reaching our destination. As for me, I'd never traveled much. Born in L. A. and had never left. Reborn in Bramblewick, and much the same story. I was finding the entire thing… exhilarating. The openness of it. The freedom. I had nothing but the road before me, and nothing to go back for. The air smelled different the farther we got from Bramblewick.

Less like old farms and familiar smoke, more wild grass, flowers, and whatever waited for us just beyond the next bend. Sable picked up on my mood and tried to play an upbeat tune, only for it to sour soon after. She went silent, as she was prone to do. Vaelith ate far more rations than the rest of us, but she was particularly good at foraging for various fruits than I would have given a demon princess credit for.

One more day of walking passed before we came upon a stretch of road that had previously been cobblestone. I say previously as dirt had been thrown upon the stone, and weeds grew within the cracks in between. It had no maintenance to speak of. The old stones were uneven beneath our feet, half-buried in soil and roots, as if someone or something had tried and failed to hide the road.

"Ah," Marnie said.

"Here we are."

"And where is here?" I asked.

"The old town of Millstone," she replied.

"Emphasis on old." The path diverged between old cobbled stone and dirt.

"What would make someone create an alternative path around this old town as opposed to going straight through it?" Marnie smiled.

"That's the reason we are here. You see, Millstone was an old mining and grain town. The tunnels run deep, and yet why has it been abandoned? A minotaur, that's why. Frequent earthquakes collapsed many a tunnel, and every time a band or a company tries to reopen it, the minotaur appears. It is smart, however. It picks its fights. Never taking on more than it can handle. This territory is the monster's, and so merchants like myself have taken to going the long way around."

"And what about you?" I asked.

"As you say, you're just a merchant. Why are you even interested in this town or this minotaur?" Marnie flicked her nose.

"Well, you see… I'm a bit of a drinker. A boastful one at that. One day I may have drunk a bit too much and a local lord got handsy with me. One thing led to another, and soon I was yelling that I could bring the horns of the minotaur of the Hollow Granary, and if I did, he would give me one of his villas."

"Hollow Granary?"

"Aye," Marnie nodded.

"This place used to be called Millstone… but people call it the Hollow Granary now."

"Are you lot going to just sit here and talk all day?" Vaelith asked.

"Come on, we've a minotaur to kill. It will sway the hearts and minds of the people to become my loyal subjects. Speaking of… Marnie—""—No," she raised a single hand.

"You won't find me swearing loyalty to any such lord—demon or otherwise. No offense to you; I'm sure you would be a fine ruler." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Vaelith grinned.

"Suit yourself." She turned to Sable.

"Oy, Bard, how about it? Become my subject?"

"And how many subjects do you have again?" Sable asked. Vaelith pointed to me, then to Darwin, and finally to Moolisa.

"Three in total, and a lot more to come." Sable smiled fondly.

"I'll think about it. Who knows, maybe you'll be the reason I can finally sing—I mean, maybe I'll make a song about your exploits. Could help you gain a subject or two. Could help me earn some coin. You just gotta do something… exciting!"

"Like killing a dragon?" Vaelith replied.

"Cause I've already done that."

"Technically, I killed the dragon," I replied. Vaelith stared daggers at me. I raised my hands in mock defeat. Sable nodded.

"Aye, that you did… but preferably do it when I'm around next time. I'm more of a… visual learner."

We buckled down and followed the road, and the farther we did, the clearer the abandonment of the place became. Old buildings of wood and stone lay crumbled, pulverized to near dust by the constant, unrelenting weight of time. Roofs sagged inward. Doorways stood open and empty. Vines crawled through windows where glass had long since vanished. And, off in the distance, I could see the large silos of the granary, open, transparent… and hollow.

I stumbled on the remnants of a cart nearby, which had become little more than dust. I even found an old, abandoned toy. It had been something like a teddy bear, yet the stuffing had long since disintegrated, and the vague form of the child's toy was only held together by the original stitching. The atmosphere was eerie, despite it being daytime. Every once in a while, the wind would blow through one of the buildings, letting off a soft whistling sound as if someone was calling to our group… Or warning us away.

Sable, picking up on the mood, began to strum her lyre. Yet, once again, the soft upbeat noise gave way to melancholy clamor. I eyed her, but she turned from me the moment she noticed.

"So where do you think this minotaur is hiding?" I asked.

"From what I've been told, deeper… beyond the town itself," Marnie replied.

"In the caves where they used to mine. Don't worry, we should have time to prepare." And prepare I did. We'd killed a fair few more dire-rabbits, and I made some skewers—enough for everyone in the group. Yet, instead of eating them, I told everyone to hold off until something happened. Only eat them when they found themselves in need of the stats, and not before. I noticed that when the system screen showed me the Dire-Rabbit Heart Skewers, it now displayed the time to expire.

Apparently, the skewers at the current level would last three days before expiration. My prep took us well into the night, and Vaelith had scavenged for some strange-looking blue mushrooms that she swore were safe to eat. I boiled them, added a few sprigs of herbs… and the taste was still nothing more than earthy mushroom. Whatever magic made my recipes taste so delicious did absolutely nothing if I wasn't following said recipe. We'd set up in the ruins of a building, one that looked to have the least damage.

The walls were all stone, and the other buildings surrounding it had kept the worst of the weather from wearing it down. Still… it looked rather unsafe, and we stayed together in the main room, clearing out old furniture and setting up our individual bedrolls. Dust rose with every stray movement. The floor was cracked in several places, and roots pushed up through some of the gaps. Moonlight slipped through holes in the roof, painting pale shapes across the stone.

Somewhere in the abandoned town, loose wood knocked softly in the wind.

"Sable," I said, drawing her attention. The woman had been tuning the strings of her lyre, but she now looked at me expectantly.

"I can't help but notice that when you play, you are… troubled. Like something is forcing you to do something you don't want to do." Sable smiled sadly.

"Picked up on that, eh? Truthfully, I don't even know why I still play. I guess I'm hoping that time heals all things. I'm hoping that my hands will finally listen to me. That my voice will say what I'm actually feeling." She sighed and locked eyes with me.

"I guess I'm hoping that one day my curse will finally be lifted—" There was a loud rumbling noise, and before I knew it, the ground opened beneath me, and I was falling into darkness. I hadn't even the time to scream before rubble and dirt engulfed me as everything went black.