When, in this mid-afternoon which has nothing in common with all those she has experienced so far, Gina, who still hasn't been able to forget this spectacle of a desolation which has been haunting her mind ever since, enters a small village, her pretty eyes no longer have their usual glow.
...
No sooner had they turned their backs on Caius, than Gina, Jean and Branco rushed to Griven's stables to rent horses. After a triple gallop start, without ever slowing down, they reached an area where the air was full of earth and wood dust.
Inside this area, where Gina perceived an grubby energy, the horses were too embarra.s.sed by all the dust that was rushing into their nostrils, before spreading to their lungs for finally suffocating them. Judging that they could not continue on their frames, have become more c.u.mbersome than useful, they placed a cloth over the bottom of their faces to filter out the impure air, and all three rushed to what seemed to them to be the centre of this area.
They ran for about twenty minutes until many voices reached their ears. The source of these voices seemed very close to them, yet between the very thick dust and the remnants of the black vortex that still covered the sky of this part of the region and was slow to dissipate, the members of the group could not immediately see who had gone before them.
In an attempt to distinguish the large numbers of people and possibly rescue some of the injured, the group cautiously approached the area where the heat was unbearably hot.
"I don't know who you are, but if you don't want to fall into the abyss, stop your steps right here."
The first person to come out of the fog and warn them of the danger they were in was a captain in Griven's army. The man of impressive stature presented himself to them without too much formality, stating that he was returning to the Capital, when he and his men saw a vortex emitting an energy darker than the darkness itself.
The captain felt that in the face of such a catastrophe of such exceptional magnitude, his duty as a soldier was to head towards this place plunged in darkness. In his words, they were still about 5 miles from the edge of the present abyss when a deafening explosion was heard.
Their horses did not have time to panic, however, for he and his soldiers were swept several hundred feet away.
Groggy but still alive, when the Captain awoke the air was a mixture of dust and blood. Rendered 9/10th blind by the particles in suspension resulting from the explosion, it took him more than an hour to gather his men still alive and able to move.
"Can we move forward just a little to inspect the area?"
Gina was astonished when the useless, timid and lazy Branco cut off the Captain's speech to ask the question that was burning her lips.
"No civilians allowed to pa.s.s. Although from the weapons I see hanging from your belts, I a.s.sume you're adventurers, this whole area and the villages around are now under the protection of the King."
The Captain's response left no room for negotiation and Gina knew that even with one of even with the help of one of her mid-level wind spells it would be difficult to her to break through the thick wall of dust that kept spinning on itself.
Gina and Jean gave each other a knowing glance and politely greeted the Captain before retracing their steps.
When night came, the dust was still there, but not as thick. By adopting the same techniques as when they leave to hunt the monsters, it was not difficult to avoid the soldiers, because although they could not see them, spotting them by the sound of their laughter was not very difficult. They went around the various small camps set up in a hurry and the place made even more dangerous once darkness fell, using a stick, they moved around until their makeshift instrument found nothing but emptiness.
Time was running out. All three of them knew that the luck that had worked in their favour until now could very well turn against them at any moment. So Gina put herself at the center of her two companions. She took a deep breath, positioned her right hand at shoulder height and her magic wand slightly forward, and then simultaneously, she commanded mentally: (lighting) and (wind)
The heat emanating from this place, which increased as they got closer, had of course not escaped them, however, if Jean just shook his head, feeling violently nauseous, Gina put her hand over her mouth. More fragile and less experienced, the young archer, whose face had lost all its color, had thrown himself on all fours and vomited until he spit out only bile.
Imagining the little girl bathing in this ma.s.s of bubbling earth, composed mainly of corpses whose partially melted skin allowed their bones to be discerned, the young woman felt her heart break.
How many times had she cursed or scolded the little Hera? The sound of every bubble of boiling earth exploding like another stab in her heart, only increasing her regret and guilt towards the little girl. Remembering all the nasty things she had said to the unbearable little girl, and if it is true that this child who did nothing but nonsense deserved to be slapped on her little b.u.t.tocks, Hera was only 8 years old.
"Easy, Gina, we're not even sure that little Hera was in that town and then, if indeed she was there, smart as she is, that little rascal had to run away before misfortune struck those poor people. On the other hand, this place is not good at all. The energy emanating from this abyss is so dark that my sacred ring is beginning to turn grey. Gina, Branco, come to your senses. Staying here any longer wouldn't be healthy for our minds, so let's leave before this vision of h.e.l.l corrupts our hearts."
…
Always accompanied by her companions who are more friends than mere colleagues, Gina crosses the small main street of this village which seems to them to have been deserted by its inhabitants.
Following their night expedition, they slept on the ground, then in the morning they got back on their horses without any real convictions. However, convinced themselves that they could once again see Hera's little nose, the three of them decided to go around the small villages around them. According to the general opinion, the chances of finding the little girl in these places were very low, but more than the gold, which no longer seemed so attractive to them, only the slim hope of hearing this little mocking laugh motivated their actions.
With her tired face raised to the sky, Gina feels that once again her eyes are beginning to get wet.
In order not to embarra.s.s her so pretty misfortune companion whose heart is bleeding, Jean pushes Branco forward. Precisely after he has slightly heckled the young archer, the great swordsman, who until then thought the city was abandoned, sees a little brown boy with mud-stained clothes holding two huge wicker baskets in his arms.
…
"Oyo, kid, All your paraphernalia seems to be pulling its weight. Gimme that! A leprechaun like you can never succeed where a man like me would fail."
"Hahaha, what a fool. Hahaha, Jean, you're too stupid!"
It may not be glorious to play the fool, but see Gina finally regain her sublime smile on her lips, makes Jean is quite proud of him.
Who dares to come and steal his moment of glory? Eyes down toward the hands who clinging to his pants, Jean remembers this little brown boy whose existence he had already completely forgotten.
"Excuse me sir, but those are my crayfish that you stole from me. If I don't bring them back right away, Mommy won't have time to cook them into soup."
