Kasdan is an ancient forest. Elves and orcs alike once occupied this narrow strip of land between the Ice Fields and the Silvertooth Mountains, and the Matawa Hills that stretched northwest to the sea. The battle for the mouth of the Visa River was once fierce, but the Visa River has been diverted several times, and the raging waters of the river have swallowed up the towns and bones of the estuary.

When humans arrived here hundreds of years ago, the elves were long gone, and the orcs hid eastward into the mountains, or out to sea, but there were still some relics belonging to the elves and orcs hidden among the tall spruces. With the exception of adventurers and necromancers, the locals rarely approach those ancient ruins. In the eyes of human beings, the wreckage left by those alien civilizations always carries a bit of unspeakable mystery and horror, and the incomplete statues may hide lingering ghosts, which are difficult to identify and words and symbols may be some kind of curse, and even the wind that sweeps over the ruined walls seems to have a faint wail.

The Headless Ghost Mound, a place with a terrible name, is nothing more than a watchtower left behind by the orcs in Norvi's eyes. It towers over a small stream that joins the Muri River, and the water has not yet thawed, and the surrounding area is eerily silent. But other than that, there's nothing strange about it. The orcs liked to paint the walls with bright colors and metal spikes, but these have been erased by time, leaving only the most modest stones, covered in layers of plants and fallen leaves, and if it weren't for the sharp corners of the saucer, which had not completely collapsed, the elves would not have been able to tell which race it belonged to.

"Has anyone ever been in before?" asked Norvi. "Or maybe something happened?"

"The townspeople don't usually come here, but there are always some brave young people who like to go in and have never heard of any surprises...... There are only a few stories that catch the wind and shadows. I saw black shadows floating around, I heard cries and so on. "To be honest, I went in there a dozen or twenty years ago, but there was really nothing in it...... Except for the headless stone statue. ”

"No one has ever gone missing?"

Thornon was stunned for a moment: "That's there." But it's all forests around it, and even if someone goes missing, it's hard to know where they've gone. At least as far as I know. There was no one who could say with certainty that they were missing here. ”

Nori nodded, looking at the snow beneath his feet.

None of the snow has been heavy lately. But it always floated intermittently, and the footprints they had left behind were long gone.

"When you first went in, didn't you see the footprints of the prisoners and soldiers?"

"Nope. Thornoen sighed, "It was a very snowy day. We hesitated for a moment, and by the time we entered, there was no sign of anything. ”

From a distance, the watchtower is fairly well preserved, with a short section of wall remaining outside the tower, and a pile of unrecognizable rubble not far away, which should have once been the barracks of the orc guards.

But when you get closer, you will find that the wall has collapsed in several places, and you can get into it from several places. The stone above the original doorway was crooked, as if it could fall at any moment. Along the inner wall, a stone staircase still leads to the second floor. But the ground on the second floor had completely collapsed, and the third floor was left with a bit of crumbling walls. There is an open space in the middle of the first floor, and if you stand there, you can look up and see the gray sky without obstruction.

There is simply no place to hide here.

The legendary headless stone statue stands against the wall - a full-form, crouching humanoid with protruding bones. Place your hands on your knees and your nails are sharp and long. Like a dagger, the posture and image do not look like orcs. Half-buried in the collapsed stones, with only half of its body exposed, its lines simple but vivid and powerful, with a rugged style undoubtedly by orcs.

Norway stared at it for a moment, feeling a little strange that placing a purely decorative stone statue in the watchtower did not seem to be what a practical orc would do.

It stood there in decaying leaves and snow, a little eerie, but it looked like it hadn't moved in years. The elf looked around carefully, circled around, and finally returned to the stone statue, frowning, and a strange thought popped into his head.

“...... It didn't have a head in the first place. He said.

The place where the skull was broken was very flat—too flat, and perfectly parallel to the base, it didn't look like it had been cut or broken.

"Do orcs like statues without heads?" Tess poked her finger in the statue's chest in boredom.

"They do like to leave the enemy headless......"

"Poor fellow. Tess said, "If you don't have a head, you'll have to be cut off." ”

She felt a few marks that looked like they had been slashed by a weapon. In fact, almost all of this stone statue is covered with such marks, deep and shallow, mostly concentrated on the shoulders and chest.

Norvi's gaze fell on the nicks, thoughtful.

"Did you leave this behind?" he asked Thorne, turning back.

"No," Thornhorne replied, "......we never touch them." "Even the bravest of men have a bit of a taboo about this weird statue.

"Did you hear anything that night before those people disappeared?"

"Nope. Thornoen shook his head in frustration: "As I said before, the wind and snow were so strong that we only faintly heard what seemed to be talking, but we couldn't hear what they were saying. ”

"No fighting?"

Thornon thought about it, but still shook his head: "No, even if there is a fight, it shouldn't be very intense." ”

Norway reached out and brushed away the thin layer of snow on the stone statue's shoulder, his fingers resting on a long, deep notch. Its edges were a little blurred, but the elongated marks on both sides seemed to be fresh, as if someone had repeatedly slashed it with a knife.

The stone statue with a severed head, covered in scars—it reminded him vaguely of a little story he had seen somewhere and had never taken seriously.

"Tess ...... Scratch a line here with your dagger. He said.

It's a bit of a strange request. Tess shrugged. Without asking anything, she pulled out her dagger and swiped it down exactly the mark that Norway had pointed out to her.

The ground shook slightly, barely noticeable. Under the staircase, which had been clinging to the wall to the second floor, a square hole appeared almost silently.

“...... Strange mechanism!" Tess finally became a little interested, "How do you know?"

Norway just smiled at her and drew his sword.

They left one person outside. Norway was in the front, Tess followed him, and Thorneen and another companion followed them, carefully descending the stone steps. The staircase that is hidden underground is more complete and sturdy than the one that is exposed. It was already dawn, and the light from the hole illuminated the stairs. But it made the secret room below the stairs even darker.

Norway stood still on the last step for a moment, looking around the chamber. It was like another watchtower, with a circular space with a few small barrels and bags piled up on one side of the wall. A wooden door leads to the depths.

There was a sweet smell of putrid in the air, and even if the smell was not as good as that of Tess, Norvi could tell that it was the smell of some kind of rotten fruit.

Someone lives here.

Hidden in the darkness, someone else had disappeared here without a trace—he could only speculate that he might have met their old friend again.

"Was there ever an undead haunt around here?" he asked, lowering his voice.

“...... No. Thornon was silent for a moment before answering, his voice a little nervous, "You mean there's a necromancer here?"

"Hopefully not. Norway sighed slightly. When he used to travel around, there were only a few chances to meet a necromancer or an undead to talk to, but since he got that silver coin. You can come across it almost anywhere you go.

Tess looked left and right, slapped one hand on the wall, and the exit leading to the upward release was quietly closed. The room was dark.

"Wait!" Thornon subconsciously exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Tess's brisk voice came from the darkness, "I can turn it on if I can, and I can turn it on again if you're scared." ”

“...... Never mind. Sonorn said.

When he lit the torch, Norway didn't stop him. If there really are undead here. The breath of flesh and blood was as bright as fire to them, and it was impossible to hide it at all.

The place they first entered seemed to be being used as a storage room. The barrels were filled with quite good wine and oil. The bag contained moldy hard bread, sprouted potatoes, rotten fruit and broccoli......

"The master is not at home. Tess said.

The people who lived here didn't seem to have returned for a while, and those who went missing apparently hadn't consumed the food either—judging by the uneasy whispers of Thornon and his companions, they had realized what that meant.

The missing people have either left here or are already dead.

Tess walked to the only door, and before her hand could touch the handle, Mochi suddenly slipped out of her arms, and the shrill screams startled Thornoen and them.

The little mongoose that spends most of the time sleeping in cold weather probably instinctively senses danger.

"Oh, don't be afraid, little one. Tess scratched Mochi's neck lightly and tucked it back into her arms, "Wait." ”

"Be careful," Thorne's words had barely ...... come out when Tess had already opened the door quickly.

"I guess there's not just rotten fruit behind this door!" she said, with even a hint of anticipation in her voice.

“...... It's been a long time since I've seen a truly adventurous adventurer like you. Sonoen had no choice but to say so.

Tess smiled back, a little smugly, and then swooped forward, nimbly avoiding Norn's hand that was about to take her aside.

"I'll go ahead this time!" she announced.

Norway shook his head helplessly and followed.

Behind the door is a narrow passage that can only be passed through by one person. Tess walks slowly - she does like to take risks, but she's also careful enough not to die from taking risks.

Although the stone bricks on the ground have strange patterns, there are no traps in the passage. After making sure there were no traps on the other door at the end of the passageway, Tess reached out and pushed it away.

A strange stench came over them, and the previous door slowly closed behind them. Norway subconsciously pulled Tess behind him, but the sound that followed made him stunned for a moment—at first like a series of slightly trembling bells, and then the faint sound of singing made him involuntarily move forward.

It was a voice he hadn't heard in a long time.

(To be continued)