East Road Quest

Chapter 66: The Village Without Children

Varsh, Chakan, Hur, Jade, Saph, and Ruby had walked all night and arrived at the village by dawn.

“I’ve walked more these past few days than in my entire life,” Jade mused, exhausted and weary. Though accustomed to staying up all night, it was usually in the company of books, a stark contrast to this fatigue.

Saph seemed unfazed, following without complaint. In fact, she appeared more concerned about Jade than herself.

As always, Ruby overflowed with energy. Yet, he rode leisurely atop the tyrant, even indulging in bread and cheese pilfered from the Zuphea Cathedral.

Jade had been offered a ride, ‘If you’re tired, you can ride here too,’ but no amount of fatigue could compel him to mount the back of a demon.

Throughout their journey, the tyrant had not resisted. With each threatening breath, Ruby’s fist would ensure silence, and now the creature barely made a sound.

Still, Jade felt uneasy.

No matter how docile, a demon was a demon. The village they reached was a gathering of twenty Kun tribe nomadic families. Around a dozen red brick houses, dozens of conical-roofed tents were haphazardly arranged, a recent and rushed configuration.

With the sun yet to rise and the moon tilting, Jade could barely make out the tents’ placement, let alone anything else. No lanterns or torches lit the village, and no movement caught his eye.

The silence was eerie, unlike any nomadic village he knew.

“Seems I was wrong. This place is already destroyed,” the tyrant declared with newfound confidence.

“What are you bragging about? If you were right, you might have had a chance to survive,” Ruby threatened quietly, and the tyrant fell silent again.

Ruby dismounted and said, “I agreed we should check the situation, but we risk giving away information to the enemy. We should’ve gone straight to the Goat King.”

As Jade pondered silently, Varsh approached with a stern face.

“We’ll check the village ourselves. You three wait here.”

“Is that wise?” Jade asked, recalling that the nomads had exceptional vision. “Are there no monsters?”

“No monsters in sight. But our tribe never extinguishes torches while hunters are away, not even if they die, for a whole month. The darkness suggests something’s terribly wrong.”

Jade remembered the Kun’s customs.

“So the torches guide the hunter’s spirit back to his family, so it doesn’t wander the plains?”

“Your souls may ascend to your gods, but ours return to our families. To us, children are as sacred as your deities.”

Varsh spoke bitterly, then nodded.

“I’ll signal if it’s safe. If we don’t return, flee.”

Varsh and the other two hunters, armed, headed into the village, enveloped by darkness.

“Shouldn’t I have gone?” Ruby mused.

“And leave this one behind?” Jade glared at the tyrant, who ignored him, fearing only Ruby.

‘Would showing it the light of annihilation scare it?’

Jade pondered, then shook his head.

‘It’s a lesser demon. It might not even understand what light is. Even if it does, it’s not the light of annihilation it fears, but the one who wields it. Like a child with a knife is not as frightening as the knife itself.’

“Ruby, keep an eye on the village, just in case.”

“I am. But it seems safe. No monsters. Still, the village has clearly been attacked.”

Saph joined Jade’s side.

“It’s a curious belief. To hold children as sacred as our gods.”

“The Kun have their own myths.”

“What are they?”

Jade considered waiting but spoke to calm his nerves.

“It’s a creation myth. The first gods birthed humans, then fled to the heavens in fear. From the abandoned infants’ placentas, trees grew and bore fruit. The children fed on these fruits and became today’s humans.”

Jade continued, watching the village.

Saph and Ruby listened intently.

“Each person has their own fruit tree, and upon death, their body and soul nourish it. Their children tend the tree. The Kun believe all people are connected to trees, which is why they never build homes from them.”

“It’s odd, isn’t it? Myths usually reflect the environment, but the Kun are nomads, and there are no trees on these plains.”

“Perhaps the scarcity of trees made them more precious. They see trees as the soul of humanity. Ah, but that’s just my interpretation.”

Jade squinted, watching the hunters inspect the tents.

“Our beliefs are sometimes born of necessity. Keeping torches lit when hunters are away was likely a way to protect the tribe from wild beasts.”

Jade’s voice carried softly on the winds of the vast plains, “But surely, they must have also hoped for the men’s return. The night torches on these open fields serve as a kind of lighthouse.”

“Their fervent hope must have evolved into the belief that ‘torches guide souls back to the embrace of family.’ If a husband died in the hunting grounds, which wife could easily accept his death? Perhaps a month’s time is also a period of mourning. So, it’s conceivable that they might keep the torches lit all year round.”

Jade continued, her gaze fixed on the tyrant, “Thinking about it, I can see why the Goat King would kidnap only the children instead of annihilating the tribe.”

The tyrant, ignoring Jade, turned his head and snorted dismissively.

“Ah! The fire has caught,” exclaimed Ruby.

Jade too noticed a torch rising from the direction of the village.

“It seems safe. The torch is lit, and… Barshu is signaling that it’s secure from the side.”

Ruby mimicked the hunter’s signals of the Kun tribe that he had learned earlier.

“Then let’s go,” Jade said, and Ruby, pointing at the tyrant, added, “I’ll wait here. Bringing this one into the village would startle the people.”

“That’s true. They must already be startled by such an attack.”

“I’ll keep watch, and if necessary, I’ll hobble this one so he can’t go anywhere.”

At Ruby’s words, the tyrant shouted, “That’s not what was promised!”

“As I said before, I never promised to leave you unharmed,” Ruby retorted, and the tyrant, eyes wide with fury, was unable to respond.

This gave Jade a sense of reliability but also an odd unease.

“I’ll be back, Ruby. Stay here.”

“Hm,” Ruby responded briefly.

Jade walked towards the village, with Sapp following closely. Halfway down the hill, Jade looked back at Ruby, who was smiling innocently.

‘Why do I feel uneasy?’ Jade muttered to herself.

“What’s wrong?” Sapp asked, noticing.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Jade continued down the hill. Ruby and the tyrant stood prominently at the hill’s edge, motionless.

From a distance, the village appeared orderly, with sturdy tents lined up in rows. But up close, most of the tents were torn or collapsed, their poles uprooted. The nomads’ belongings were scattered everywhere.

The two headed towards the village center, where three hunters waited with their torches lit.

Villagers, hidden among the ruins of their clay homes, began to emerge one by one, their faces weary and terror-stricken.

A woman, her face caked with dried blood, stood beside Barshu. She seemed startled at the sight of Jade and Sapp, but calmed down after Barshu explained the situation in the Kun language.

Tears soon flooded her eyes.

“This is my wife,” Barshu said, comforting the weeping woman.

“Just as Hur saw, the village was attacked by beasts at night. The women and elders took up arms, but they were no match, and they couldn’t prevent the children from being taken. Fortunately, due to their weak resistance, there were no deaths.”

Barshu didn’t consider this a blessing. Tears filled his eyes, and his voice trembled.

“Both my daughters were taken.”

As he spoke, more villagers gathered around them.

“The villagers are ready to set out to rescue the children. So let’s go together. Let’s… fight together.”

Barshu spoke with force in the awkward language of Rome.

“I know Ruby’s strength is formidable, but the Goat King has an army of hundreds of wild animals. If we fight together, we’ll have a better chance of saving the children.”

Barshu waited for Jade’s command, but Jade shook her head.

“It’s better if you don’t get involved.”

For the first time, Barshu looked angrily at Jade.

“You’re telling us to stay out of this? That’s impossible!”

Barshu raised his voice at Jade.

“We are a forgiving people. When Gran of Kunlan Batilan was assassinated by the assassins of Parens, and the Roman army drove us back to being nomads, we forgave the western kingdoms because they left our children alone. We even forgave them when they took our warriors on a crusade to reclaim the holy lands from the eastern kingdoms of the Roman Empire, sacrificing them in the process. In return, they promised a future for our children. But if they touch our children, we will not forgive.”

A few villagers who understood the language of Rome also shouted in excitement, but Jade remained resolute.

“I understand how precious children are to the Kun people. That’s why I cannot take you with me. It’s precisely that sentiment the Goat King is targeting.”

Jade tried to decipher the Goat King’s actions and thoughts from the stories she had heard.

He was more akin to the demons of the Red Desert than those like Duor of Zerba or Autis of Rome.

Rather than concealing his presence and secretly instilling terror, he chose to reveal himself and lead fear. He turned wild animals into minions and even appointed tyrants as scouts, attempting to establish his own kingdom.

“He intends to establish an ‘Empire of the Grasslands.’ To do so, an army composed solely of wild animals would be insufficient. However, the Kun tribe’s army, which once terrorized the western kingdoms, could make it possible.”

“Why would you think we’d join the demon’s army?”

Barsch asked.

“You would do anything for the children,”

Jade continued, gesturing towards the villagers.

“I’ve been wondering all the way here why the Goat King hasn’t slaughtered the people behind these walls. The tyrant has been lurking around Gran, stirring up fear. With an immortal body, he could attack at any time and annihilate everyone. He intends to manipulate you all.”

Barsch asked with a trembling voice,

“So if we go together…”

“It would only hinder Ruby.”

“Then Ruby is going to fight alone?”

“No.”

Jade shifted his gaze to Saph and then pointed towards Ruby, who was supposed to be outside the village.

“Ruby, Saph, and I will do it together!”

After saying this, Jade noticed Ruby was missing.

Narrowing his eyes, Jade looked towards the hill and asked Barsch,

“Barsch, do you see Ruby? It’s dark, and I can’t seem to find her.”

Even the hunter with keen eyes squinted.

“Ruby alone might be missed, but not that giant horse.”

Barsch turned his gaze to Hur, who also shook his head.

Suddenly, Jade felt his heart sink.

‘Could it be this guy?’

Without time to explain, Jade hurriedly ran up the hill where Ruby had been. Saph naturally followed, with Barsch and Hur trailing behind.

Reaching the top of the hill, Jade exclaimed,

“Good heavens!”

Where Ruby and the tyrant should have been, there was no one—only an empty sack remained.