"Let's see how shitty my luck can be." As he walked closer and closer to the bottom of the crater things became a little clearer.
The source of light was a burning torch at the entrance of a village. There were two people sitting around the light. When he came even closer he saw that both were old and shivering from the inherent cold inside this crater.
When Kael came even closer the two old men turned their heads in his direction.
"Althar... where have you been all this time? Do you have a death wish? And where is your torch? Don't tell me you went out without one?" One of the old men spoke with a lethargic voice.
"Come in the shade of light young man, the night is about to descend." Another one spoke.
"Hmm?" Kael got a little confused. He did understand their language perfectly but he didn't understand why they said the last sentence and why a torch was important. Maybe it had fallen into a bush near where he woke up.
Nonetheless, he wasn't going to ignore that. Everything mattered for his survival and he would rather follow their advice since they knew him. "Althar huh..."
He immediately came near them and sat down in their stance.
"Young man you really are bold, going outside the sanctuary without a torch. Days are much shorter in this month, you were just five minutes away from death."
Kael just listened silently. He wanted to gather knowledge about everything but in what tone he should phrase his questions. Should he just act like he lost his memories somehow? "Let's see..." "I was sure that I would return back but why do we have to go through this..."
He said it in a tone of reluctance. It wasn't a question but this might open up talks on this topic which could leave him with enough knowledge perhaps.
"Sigh... young man, it's fate, there is no denying it. From now on don't risk your life like that."
Kael sighed. He got nothing from that answer. Just as he was thinking about what he should do to get something out.
The sky became a sheet of darkness as the sun finally set. Even the whole crater was plunged into absolute darkness. All the houses which were visible were gone from his perception. The only thing that was visible was the torch light they were sitting beside.
Kael was stunned. "What kind of ominous night is this?"
"I hope that no one falls victim this time." One of the old men spoke while shaking his head.
"Human heart is fragile... some are just victims of circumstances." The other one responded.
Kael just listened carefully while making sure to sit as close as possible to the light. He didn't want to get even remotely close to this absolute darkness behind him.
After half an hour later Kael's ears perked up and both old men also turned to see the veil of darkness.
Thump! Thump! ...
Faint sounds of footsteps were heard through the absolute silence and by the increasing sound it was evident that a few people from the village were coming towards them.
"Sigh another group, did their torch get snuffed?"
"I wouldn't be surprised, this is the reason why most of us are falling prey these days. Given the fact it's a whole group, it's likely the case. Let's see who it is, this is the reason we sat here anyway."
"Young man try to strip them of any valuable material, even the clothes. We have very limited time..."
Kael frowned as he wasn't that dumb not to understand what they meant but his question same why? Well no point in contemplating blindlessly.
He watched carefully towards the veil of darkness. If what was happening was because these guys were plunged into darkness due to their lantern getting snuffed then he wanted to see what happened to them.
Slowly the footsteps approached them and finally someone entered inside the circle of light their flaming torch had created. It was a boy of 19 to 20 years old and he was walking straight with his eyes open wide.
Simultaneously two more people followed up, one man and one woman. They all were wearing old tattered clothes just like his.
"Althar, strip the boy fast by pulling his clothes and no matter what happens don't come in front of him." The old man nearest the woman spoke and immediately stripped caught the hem of her cloth and pulled away.
Kael immediately looked at the boy who was coming towards him since both old men had left the boy for him. He immediately grabbed his clothes and pulled hard. It didn't matter if they got torn as the old men had done that too.
The body of the boy tilted but his balance didn't break. He was still walking in a straight line as if he was totally unaware of what was happening to him.
There was also a snuffed torch in the man's hand which was collected by one of them.
The shade of light wasn't much bigger so the naked group of three people left it quickly.
Kael was in a little shock right now. Seeing three people walking like dead zombies was not something he was expecting. The worse part was that he saw the boy was still breathing but his eyes were totally dull.
"It was Edrin's family, sigh."
"May their souls rest in peace even when their bodies won't."
Kael looked at the cloth in his hand and sighed. This trial was getting weirder and weirder.
"Put that here kid."
When Kael heard that he put the cloth along with other collected items. He really couldn't delay getting the knowledge about it. The more he delayed the more unknown danger he would put himself in if he was alone.
"What will happen to them?" Suddenly he remembered the bones in the river and added, "Will they become part of the river?"
This again was just a twisting question without giving much about his current state and given their grief they might ignore anything and just answer.
"What else? Once they are eaten by that monster, they would be husks of bone buried in the river. I don't think this village will last long. We are running out of flaming grass and collecting them in this month is almost impossible. Soon we will be part of that river too."