"We make camp here. Tomorrow at sunrise, we will resume our journey." The tattooed man informed Vincent as he observed the burnt area in an experienced manner.
Vincent stopped thinking about the matter of death energy and nodded to show he understood. "Can I ask how many people lived in this settlement?"
"I don't know for sure. But it should have been around three hundred in total."
"Were the murderers chased away?"
"No, we only learned of the massacre the next day."
Vincent crossed out the possibility of the murderers escaping because of lack of time. Now the only reason for the death energy still being present was that the culprits left it here on purpose. He wanted to get to the bottom of the matter but knew that it was impossible with the current knowledge. Suppressing his curiosity, he asked the man again. "Won't the undead rise up if we leave the place as is?"
"The guardian of the mountain ensures that no dead may rise up in these parts. Besides, the guardian would grow angry if we tampered with the dead. Our job ends the moment we take care of the bodies, everything else that remains of their life is taken care of by the guardian."
Listening to the man, Vincent was intrigued. While he knew of the Houjins language and their culture a little, not much about them had been documented. "Is the guardian a deity?"
"Not a deity, but one of the firstborns. He might even be one of the very last firstborns."
"Firstborns? You mean.... a titan?" Vincent asked with great enthusiasm. "Didn't all of the titans perish during the third planar war?"
"No, the guardian is alive."
Listening to the man's confident answer, Vincent grew even more excited. "Are you certain? Have you seen the guardian with your own eyes?"
"I have not seen the guardian with my own eyes, but I, Sorlinn, a great warrior of the mistborn tribe can bet my life on it. Without a doubt, the guardian is still alive."
"Mister Sorlinn, what makes you say that?"
"Just Sorlinn is fine." The tattooed man told Vincent to not be so formal and continued, "While I may not have seen the guardian myself, the Urujs convene the great mountain conclave under the watch of the guardian."
"Are you saying that the Urujs have met the guardian of the mountain?"
Sorlinn answered positively and went away to guide the warriors under him. He needed to ensure the safety of the camp. Besides the usual beasts, the murderers could be lurking around after all.
As soon as the Houjin warrior left, Vincent retrieved a notebook and jotted down everything he had learnt. Sorlinn may not have given him concrete evidence that the titan was still alive but he believed the old warrior. For the Houjins, the title of a great warrior was only granted to someone who was a silver ranker.
They were an elite combatant and were similar to knights in position. If he was willing to bet his life on it, it meant that he sincerely believed it.
Vincent closed the notebook with a satisfied face. The conversation just now changed his mood completely. Titans were said to be the first life forms and possessed great strength. Anything related to them were things that greatly interested wizards, scholars and warriors alike. Many believed they held secret to hidden powers and such.
"I can sense many people surrounding us. They might be the murderers that killed everyone." Nora suddenly warned Vincent after confirming that Sorlinn wasn't within hearing distance.
"I know. They aren't the murderers though."
"How can you be so sure? They are hiding like dirty rats."
"Sorlinn wouldn't make us camp somewhere the murderers know about without reason."
The ghost girl couldn't make sense out of his words and asked confusedly, "What do you mean?"
"We are bait. The men hiding are the fishermen and the murderers are the fish."
"But isn't it still dangerous?"
"I don't think so. The murderers probably won't even show up. Looks like the Houjins are desperate to put an end to the massacres. Does the mountain worship really matter that much?"
Nora lost interest after learning that they weren't in danger.
"I am surprised that you spotted them. None of my guards noticed it."
"Hehehe. Are you surprised?" The ghost girl spoke in a smug manner. "I have always had sharp senses. I could even hear the neighbors talking from several houses away when I was a kid. I still haven't lost my touch. Pretty impressive for a human right?"
"But you are a ghost now."
"Shut up stupid Vincent. Don't nitpick my words. What I meant was clear."
The ghost girl replied angrily and stopped talking to him.
*****
Like Vincent had predicted, nothing happened that night. He was tired and wanted to sleep soundly but the ghost girl kept him awake by constantly complaining about how careless he was being.
She only ceased talking when it was morning. Thankfully, he did manage to catch some sleep here and there throughout the night.
As the sun appeared on the horizon, the Houjins began leading the way once again. As they headed deeper, it felt more like a jungle than a forest. The trees blocked out the sky and strange plants grew everywhere.
Even the animals found here were larger in size. On the third day, they had encountered a wild boar the size of a horse. Its tusks were almost as big as human palm and it was extremely aggressive. It charged at the group as soon as it saw them but was dispatched of by Sorlinn smoothly.
Since then, the group feasted on boar meat constantly. It was only after reaching a small settlement that they had something different.
On the fifth day, the group finally reached their destination. A huge settlement of the Houjins covered by dense mist. Everyone except the Houjins were fascinated by the sight. Even with the trees blocking out most of the sun, there wasn't supposed to be such a thick mist here, specially not at this time of the day.
And the most interesting part was how there was no mist where the gate was. The gate was made up of giant animal bones and came off as very intimidating for someone not from here. The Houjins stationed at the gate greeted Sorlinn with respect and led them inside.
As Vincent passed through the structure made from bones, he observed the mist with great curiosity. As he ran his hand through a thick wisp nearby, he concluded that it was artificial. He forcefully pushed down his inquisitiveness and followed Sorlinn.
An huge array of thatched wooden houses came into view. The roofs were weaved intricately with a strange straw like black vegetation. They were made into various shapes and some houses even had decorations all over the thatch. Even when being surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of similar houses, all of them seemed different because of how differently the roofs were constructed.
Hanging off the edge of the roofs were smoked meat and other dried fruits. Unlike outside the barrier of mist, there were no tall trees inside and the sun shone strongly everywhere. Everyone wore cloth made from animal pelts. The men were sleeveless and some even topless to cope with the heat while the women were all sufficiently covered.
Groups of kids ran around playing and it wasn't rare to see many boys wrestling each other. The Houjins grew up in such an environment and hence had a lot of capable warriors among them.
Vincent and his group caught everyone's attention and crowds would form wherever they went. The kids and women looked specially amused at the group's strange clothing.
This continued all the way until they reached the centre of the city. A massive house with golden roof came into view and Sorlinn informed Vincent that it was the Uruj's house. Vincent nodded once and took a deep breath to calm himself.