CHAPTER 20: CHAPTER 19: INSIDE THE CAVE

In the first corridor the place looked like a big storeroom, rows of fruit and dried meat piled on the floor.

They were covered with huge, dry leaves. The masked man bent down and pushed the leaves aside with his hand.

He revealed pale orange dried fruits and strips of meat. Oliver stepped forward cautiously and stood beside him.

When Oliver saw the food he asked in a wary voice, "Is this safe to eat?"

The masked man answered without looking up, "The fruit is fine. The meat might be poisonous to humans."

As soon as the masked man finished, Oliver reached out quickly and took one of the small pumpkin-like dried fruits.

He bit into it and felt some energy return through his whole body.

The taste was a mix of apple and squash, with an unexpectedly mild sweetness.

The Sage watched him suspiciously at first, but when he saw Oliver eating the fruit with relief he reached out, grabbed a piece and bit into it.

Not two seconds passed before he murmured as he reached for more, "This... is delicious."

Then he began to eat greedily, as if he hadn’t tasted food in days.

In truth he was exhausted from hours of walking through the trees and from the weight of events since he witnessed Elinor’s death. He rarely left the tower, and now he was forced to walk long hours in a forest full of monsters among people who didn’t trust him and viewed him as a burden.

The masked man watched the two of them without speaking, then turned and saw them filling their arms with the dried fruit.

Oliver left the branching corridor carrying a large amount and placed it in front of the group that waited outside.

People hesitated; no one approached. They looked at the fruit as if it were a trap.

Not because of the food itself, but because of the masked man standing behind Oliver, watching them with his one eye.

The situation stayed like that until a small girl, about ten years old, stepped forward toward the fruit.

She reached for it despite her mother trying to grab her sleeve, but the girl was faster: she grabbed a fruit and bit into it before her mother could reach her.

The mother cried out, "Mariana!"

But the girl lifted the fruit and took another bite. "It’s so good."

Her mother hesitated for a moment, then took a bite herself.

Once people felt safe, they rushed to grab the fruit, and the sounds of chewing woke even those who had been dozing.

When they saw the fruit, the Sage rushed toward it and began eating as well.

Oliver pointed toward the passage. "There’s a lot more inside. But don’t touch the meat it’s extremely poisonous."

Two people went into the branch to gather more and found the Sage in a corner devouring it.

They gathered a large amount and brought it back outside. Soon everyone was eating ravenously while the masked man continued exploring the other branches.

Oliver saw him head to the next corridor and ran after him.

The second and third branches held nothing of interest: small rooms carved out of the cave, beds made of dried plants, primitive racks for storing weapons.

But at the end of one branch the masked man stopped and motioned for Oliver to stay back.

There was a large pile of crushed plants and torn leaves, flattened as if something massive had trampled them. On top, in a chaotic heap, lay many bodies of the gray creatures.

The bodies were mutilated, bones protruding, their heads completely smashed.

Oliver swallowed. The masked man remained silent.

He raised his gun and began to push the leaves aside gently with his other hand. There were many crushed gray bodies everywhere.

Gray blood and entrails were scattered all over. Bones protruded, and heads lay shattered; dark stains stained the rocks and leaves.

At the sight of it, neither Oliver nor Tell, who was tucked inside the masked man’s cloak, could bear the scene.

The masked man continued pushing the leaves away gradually.

Oliver didn’t understand the insistence, but he followed without question.

Finally the masked man’s attention was caught by something moving between the leaves.

There was a gray child, not yet dead, slightly larger than the other bodies. It clutched a short piece of rope tied around its neck, at the end of which hung a crude necklace made from a sharp fang. The child was smeared in gray blood.

The masked man lifted his gun like a hunter raising his rifle before firing at a wild animal in the forest.

Seeing that, Oliver lunged forward and put his body between the gun and the child.

"What are you doing?"

The masked man aimed the gun. "I’m getting rid of it."

"Getting rid of it? Why? It hasn’t hurt anyone so far."

"Do you want me to wait until it does?"

"But it’s just a child."

"These creatures grow fast, and even in a few days they can take down an ordinary man alone. They’ll harm your villagers."

"How do you know that? It’s not like it can do that; we are far stronger and more numerous than it."

"This kind of thinking will lead you to ruin. Do you think the outside world is as peaceful as your little village? Even your village’s calm didn’t last forever. Now you’re paying the price for dealing with those beings."

"That doesn’t justify killing it. We’re here to rest briefly, then leave."

"Child, let me make something clear: nothing in this forest is innocent. This little one will grow and start hunting the children of the autumn spirits and even humans if it finds a village."

"It can live on fruit and animal meat."

"Who will take responsibility for that? Don’t tell me you’ll stay here with it."

"I won’t but I’ll bring it with us."

"Do you think you can carry it all the way to the outside? You’re not from the outside, so you seem ignorant of how that world works. Even half mythical creatures aren’t welcomed there, let alone a forest monster."

The masked man gave Oliver a brief glance, then raised his gun again.

"So it’s better if we get rid of it here and now."