Here is an old story that must be told. Many years ago, before this town came into existence, this land was vast and abundant, but it was untouched by human hands. No kingdom laid claim to it. No map marked its name.
It was a place forgotten by all, or perhaps simply never known.
One day, a weary merchant passing through with his caravan, burdened and beaten by the road, sought shade and rested beneath a wide-branched tree. There, he noticed the fertile soil and the gentle breeze that carried the scent of clean earth.
With a gleam in his eye, the merchant rose to his feet and exclaimed, "Since no one lives here, I will take this land for my own!"
And thus, taking the land, he did.
He plowed the flatlands with his own hands and, stone by stone, built a village. That village grew slowly at first, then steadily into a bustling small town. As the population of his territory flourished, the merchant requested the temple to send a priest to build a shrine in honor of Solvantar, so the townsfolk might offer prayers to the great sun, the god of light and creation.
The temple obliged. But days after the priest arrived, he vanished without a trace.
The townspeople were baffled. Searches were conducted. Wells were checked, woods scoured, rivers questioned, but no sign of the priest was ever found. Confused murmurs filled the streets for a while…but weeks passed, and the subject was quietly buried.
Life carried on.
Then came the birth of the merchant's first grandchild. His daughter was in labor, and he once again sent word to the temple for a blessing, accompanied by a hefty donation. Another priest arrived. But once again, weeks later, this priest too disappeared without a trace.
Two missing priests raised eyebrows, but nothing more. And soon, it was forgotten.
Years later, the merchant's wife fell ill. As her strength faded, he begged the temple to send someone to perform her last rites. A priest arrived…and then vanished, just as the others had.
By then, the temple grew uneasy. A fourth priest was sent, this time, not to serve but to investigate. Yet the result was the same. The priest vanished. And so did the next, and the next. Each priest sent to that town disappeared quietly, swallowed by the soil or the silence.
Yet oddly, the town did not wither. It even grew. Fields flourished, trade expanded, and coins flowed like spring rain. The people prospered, and so did the merchant. Due to this, whispers crept in from the outside.
"He sacrifices priests to keep the land blessed!"
Some people countered, "The priests ran away with lovers they found there!"
Some hearsay, "It is a cursed ground. Solvantar's light does not reach it!"
But no proof ever surfaced. No graves, no blood, no witnesses. To this day, no one knows the truth. Some say this particular land holds secrets that even gods dare not disturb. Some say a deal was struck with a demon. Thus, the townsfolk refused to speak of it at all.
It was a story that once caught Kael's attention when he was stirring a large pot of soup to feed the poor outside the temple. If he heard this tale while he was still serving in the temple, then it happened three decades ago, or maybe earlier than that.
He'd never imagine he'd chance upon the same town, and worse, find out where those missing priests were!
Now, he understood why the crowd inside the diner turned their heads when they heard he was a priest. The regretful look of the cook wasn't only because he treated Kael poorly, but also because he felt sorry for the young priest!
Stumped for a long time, Kael failed to notice the presence of someone behind him. When he did, he immediately leapt away, ready to cast a protection spell on his person, but this presence became clearer as his senses returned.
It was a familiar one that held no malice or murderous intent toward him.
"Glad I caught up with you, Priest Kael. You delved too deep into this forest," Eryn murmured.
Kael heaved a sigh of relief. But at the same time, he couldn't help but doubt if it was truly the young handsome lad he had been with. Demons could change their appearance as they pleased.
"How is it that you don't seem fazed by this?" Kael asked. Ordinary humans would have gone faint or screamed at the sight, but this young man did not even blink.
Eryn looked around, and then he shrugged his shoulders. "I've seen something more terrifying than this," he gazed at Kael and flashed a small smile, "that things like this won't faze me now. Oh, did I mention that I am a mercenary?"
"No," Kael replied. Then it would make sense that he was used to gruesome sights like this. Seeing that the young man was not a threat, he dropped the subject.
Eryn grinned, unapologetic. He handed the basket to Kael. "But why are you chasing the woman's husband? Is it a demon?"
"...yes, and it took something important from me," Kael answered after a few seconds of pause. He mumbled 'thanks' as he accepted the basket. He sighed, "Who would have thought the missing priests were here? What place is this?"
"The forest of unheard prayers," Eryn mumbled.
Kael looked at Eryn, equal parts intrigued by the place and by how the young man seemed to know so much.
Eryn continued, "I've only heard the name of the forest once in one of my missions. They said it's a forest inhabited by loyal devotees of a god. But this god abandoned them, so their prayers were unheard. I didn't know that what inhabited the forest wasn't the living, but hanging corpses."
Kael lowered his head. These priests wore white robes with golden linings, and their yellow sashes were neatly wrapped around their waists, and on them, tied the medallion of Solvantar's temple, dangling on their hips. They were images of priests who lived centuries ago.
However, the merchant's story hadn't been circulating for that long, and the priests that the townsfolk were familiar with wore blue robes. After all, they did not recognize Kael as one, since he was wearing the old style.
Knowing about this, Kael abruptly looked up. He passed a few corpses until he was nearly at the end, and there, he found priests wearing blue robes.
"How could this be? The priests at the front had been here for centuries, and no one—not even a single person—ever discovered where this forest was!" Kael exclaimed in disbelief. He had thought the demon was simply dressing modern priests in the old priestly garments.
But if those priests were hanging behind… then who else could those white-clad corpses belong to, if not the ancient priests themselves?
Is the temple unaware of this? Why did something like this go on for so long without ever being found out?
"If that is true, then this forest is a demon's lair. Ordinary people won't find this place if it's hidden by a powerful array. This demon is strong. How else could a century-old corpse still not rot?" Eryn said as his gaze swept over the ghastly faces. He stood closely next to Kael, as though afraid of losing the priest from his sight.
Kael's gaze roamed over the hanging corpses. By rough count, there were over a hundred. His stomach churned at the sight. These priests were not only deprived of their rightful resting place, but were also violated.
"I'm sorry," Eryn whispered all of a sudden. Kael's gaze moved to him. Eryn gazed back at those golden eyes and continued, "It seemed the demon took something from you to lure you here, after it realized you were a priest. If I hadn't called you 'good priest' back at the diner…"
Kael shook his head. "Did you not see the corpses at the front? Even if you said nothing, this demon would know what I am."
Why is this demon targeting priests? Kael asked himself.
"So, what do we do with these corpses?" Eryn asked as he walked around. "Do you think the demon is hiding in one of them? Should I cut the ropes? Or perhaps…"
The young man's voice suddenly trailed off. Kael found him staring at a distance. "What's wrong?" he asked, then his gaze followed what Eryn was looking at.
Eryn replied, "That rope is missing its corpse…"
The two felt the chill in their bones. Not far from them, a tree with its trunk larger and darker than the other ones had only one rope tied to its thick branch. This rope was swaying slowly from the eerie breeze, empty. Unoccupied. As though a corpse that swayed on it once had finally escaped.
"That's scary," Eryn commented, though his tone was far from sounding frightened. Just before Kael could answer, a chilling laughter erupted in the forest.