CHAPTER 25: FOUR VOICES

The moment Charon saw the supplies, he grabbed Emerius by the arm, pulling him to the side and onto one of the pews.

His companion looked at him in shock, a question clear in his eyes.

Charon leaned in and whispered in his ear, glancing around to make sure they were alone.

"Someone, or something, is living here! The fire, the wood, the food! The fire is still going, so they must not be very far. We need to get out of here, fast!"

Emerius stayed quiet for a moment, considering Charon’s words before giving a single nod.

Sparing one last look around the room to make sure the coast was clear, they both stood and half-walked, half-ran towards the exit.

Once they made it to the doorway, Charon went out first, not wanting to wait for Emerius to take the lead this time.

Instantly, he heard footsteps echoing off the tree’s walls.

’Shit!’

Spinning, he grabbed Emerius once again and jerked him back into the temple, hissing at the same time.

"Something’s coming!"

The two ran back into the main hall, choosing the first side entrance they could and ducking just inside. Emerius drew his sword, and Charon held up his knife, both held at the ready to attack anyone who followed them.

Soon, they could hear the footsteps enter the temple, one set turning into two, then three, until at least four different people had come in.

’Or one beast with many legs.’

Emerius lowered himself until his mouth was right next to Charon’s ear, whispering into it.

"Do not trust anything you hear. Many creatures can shapeshift and take on human characteristics. If the Mangled Monstrosity could exist, so could a great many others."

Charon gave a slight nod to show he heard, but didn’t do anything else, worried he could make a noise to alert the intruders.

He heard rustling from inside the main hall, then the sound of wood screeching against stone as it was dragged.

Something fell on the wood and sighed, slapping the chair and whistling. Someone else from the hall entrance whistled back, and multiple breaths were released.

A male voice soon followed.

"No trails, that’s good. The arm ball wasn’t out there this time, must’ve found something else to eat. That should give us a chance to return to the Fort and get some more supplies."

Another voice, also male but deeper, responded.

"Screw that! We just got out here, I want to kill some shit! These dogs make for bad game, and taste worse! We should hunt near the shore, find something new that washed up."

Laughter followed, but Charon could tell it was only the second voice.

A third voice, distinctly feminine, spoke up.

"I agree with Darius. The lack of chains has me worried; something has changed here. We should return and report it to the High Elders. They will want to investigate."

The second voice groaned before speaking.

"Gods, that sounds so boring! My axes need blood! Who cares if the chains aren’t there? Maybe that old spirit got sick of watching us and decided to guard another part of the river? Who could blame him? Cmon, you guys-"

The first voice interjected, cutting off the second.

"The spirit doesn’t just change posts on a whim. The High Elders have been tracking his movements for decades. He shouldn’t have left for another couple of years. That never changes, never."

There was a firmness to his voice that reminded Charon of Emerius.

’Not a him, it. We don’t know if that thing is human, it could be practicing how to draw in lost souls, or something!’

Not for the first time, Charon considered how little he actually knew about the River Acheron and the Underworld at large.

The second voice grumbled some more, throwing out a few curses, but left the argument there.

The first voice, Darius, spoke up again. He sounded closer to the campfire, where the others were.

"Now that we are in agreement, we should rest for the night and set out first thing in the morning. We can finish eating yesterday’s hunt and pack up before bed. Red, are you able to be our watch again?"

A fourth voice responded. It was feminine and very high-pitched, like a child’s.

"Always, as it has been written."

An awkward silence followed before the second voice piped up.

"You are one strange bitch, you know that right? Like seriously, you’re great when we don’t know what to do, but would it kill you to talk normally?"

Something that sounded like a slap followed.

"I’m sorry, gods! She’s weird!"

The group continued talking back and forth for a while longer. Soon, something began to sizzle in the hall, which the second voice seemed to appreciate.

"Now that’s what I’m talking about! I’m sick of having to ration all the meat in the Fort. The shit they serve tastes like... shit!"

The smell wafted over to where Emerius and Charon were hiding, making their stomachs growl simultaneously.

’All the running and fighting has made me pretty hungry...’

Despite their hunger, they didn’t dare move. Charon had begun to assume that the people inside the hall were human, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to test that theory.

There was also the risk that, even if they were human, they were violent.

’Only the gods know what living in a place like this could do to someone.’

As time went on, they heard more and more of the group’s conversations.

They mentioned a place called the Fort often, referring to it as some kind of city. Charon also put together that they were on a scouting mission for this Fort, at the orders of the High Elders.

If these were the leaders or just the next rank up was unclear.

Charon also managed to learn all of their names over time.

The first voice, Darius, sounded to be the leader.

The second voice, whom he identified as Liam, was an absolute meathead. He kept going on and on about various methods of hunting and killing prey, especially with his axe.

The third, a girl, was Annie. She seemed to agree with Darius often, the two supporting each other.

Charon had the impression that Darius and Annie had known each other longer than the others. While Liam kept crowing about battles and slaughter, those two would have their own conversations about ways to return to the Fort, how to gather more supplies, and what the missing "chains" meant.

Whatever these chains were, Charon didn’t know, the voices never giving too many details.

Strangely, he barely heard the fourth voice, Red.

She seemed to be an outsider, not talking to anyone, and no one was talking to her.

As far as Charon was concerned, that was a good thing.

’If their group isn’t very cohesive, then we have a better chance of escaping. They won’t be used to working together.’

What worried him about escaping was how they had chosen someone to keep watch: Red.

’If she is more observant than she is talkative, she will spot us easily. We may need to get rid of her without alerting the others.’

He glanced up at Emerius, hoping to decipher his companion’s thoughts, but only steely determination looked back.

’We can talk once they go to sleep.’

It wasn’t long before that very thing happened.

Liam was the first, complaining about how they were "leaving already," and that they should spend just "one more day" trying to hunt some stronger beasts.

Loud snoring filled the hall only a moment later.

After that, Charon heard Annie tell Darius she was tired and that they could finish packing up camp in the morning.

The last to sleep was Darius, who checked in with Red one last time.

"Are you sure you want to take watch? You’ve done in the past three nights, no one would blame you if you chose to rest tonight."

The child-like voice responded in a strange melody, the words flowing like music.

"Only through dedication do we grow, and through growth shall I bloom. We all must bloom."

Darius sighed, offering a quiet thanks before rustling with something in the hall.

Charon heard more snoring join Liam’s soon after.

’Okay, we should be good to go any minute.’

Emerius seemed to think the same, whispering to Charon once some more time had passed.

"They have one on watch. We have two options: ignore her and run for it, or try and dispatch her, then flee."

Both possibilities had drawbacks.

If they ran for it, she could spot them and wake the others, causing a chase.

They had no idea how strong the four were, but if they were hunting in the River Acheron, they couldn’t be weak. Charon was sure of that.

On the flip side, there was no guarantee they could catch her off guard and kill her without making a bunch of noise.

’Do I even want to kill her? If they are humans, then they could just be survivors. I haven’t seen any proof they are evil. Can I really kill someone just to make it easier for me to get away?’

It was a moral decision he disliked making, especially because a little too much of his brain told him he should kill her and be done with it.

That wasn’t what the heroes would do.

Luckily, Emerius saved him the choice.

"I say we run for it."