Free (World of Valdira 01) The Way of the Clan by Dem Mikhaylov Page B

the first moaned strenuously like his viscera was coming out then stood on his feet clumsily and ran away. He was limping, stumbling and falling over in a step but he was still running away! I had just woken from a stupor when the second stirred, turned around himself on the spot, crouched as if he was looking for trails and then rushed away in the same direction. And so fast – he disappeared in a moment… oh… when I’m thinking about it, it gives me the creeps… Such a story, Rosgard. That’s the way I lost my oaklings. And I nearly lost my mind and my life as well. Thanks heaven, it doesn’t let it happen, it saved me.
    -           What happened next? – I couldn’t help but ask.
    -           Who knows… - the hostess shrugged her shoulders. – As soon as I fetched my second wind, I went home, locked the door tightly, supported the door by the bench and was shaking with fright till the morning. Only the sun-rise brought me some relief. I didn’t tell anyone about what I had seen to play it safe. No one would believe me anyway, it could just lead to gossips.
    -           I believe you, auntie! – said I firmly. And looking forward to quests I tried to look serious when asking the next question, - dear Vlasilena, would you like me to find out everything for you? To know who was at your house that gloomy night and who is responsible for the death of your oaklings?
    The reply actually shocked me to the bottom of my heart.
    -           No way! No way, Rosgard! – Vlasilena flourished her arms. – Stop thinking about it! I don’t want to know anything about them! Don’t you think I want you to die? No way! It was long ago and long forgotten. That’s all! Oh, it’s so late… we shouldn’t have stayed here so long. I’ll go to bed. I’ll have to get up very early tomorrow. Saying it Vlasilena stood up and disappeared in the house leaving me alone dumbfounded. The door banged sullenly, the latch snapped, and my jaw snapped when I forced myself to shut it.
    There won’t be any quest. It’s as clear as daylight. I leaned to the table to blow out half-burnt candles subconsciously, then I tore candle-ends from the bowl and put them directly into my knapsack. I’m a provident person. I would take the bowl too, but I’m afraid Vlasilena would notice the missing plate.
    I spent some more minutes sitting in the darkness, then stood up without any enthusiasm and went to the barn where my bed was waiting for me. A sack thrown over itchy straw and a thin blanket is the best a naïve idiot like me could deserve. I hoped, you see, to get something peculiar, a cool quest of the private type, something really faery and phantasmagoric… but all I got was a usual scary story before going to bed.  
    Closing my eyes I reached for the hidden game interface.
    Exit
    Opening the lid of the game cocoon wide I stayed lying for a while looking at the ceiling blindly, then shook my head angrily and got out. The first thing I did was to sit at the computer although my bladder happy to feel that his master was awake started dropping a broad hint at going to the restroom.
    Entering the game forum of Valdira, I found the search box and typed some key words in: the Cradle, Vlasilena, quest, to fell withered trees.
    As I had expected a lot of appropriate topics appeared on the screen and I had to read everything separating the wheat from the chaff. I wasted an hour on that silly stuff and when I took a break I clicked my tongue thoughtfully.
    There wasn’t anything. There wasn’t a single word about the story, I had heard from Vlasilena, on the forum. They didn’t even mention Vlasilena’s name under most topics. She was called an uptown lady, a hostess of the house, ‘a local at the entrance’, a quest NPC. Only in two topics from fifty two most meticulous gamers had found out the name of the hostess and informed others about that fact. But no one seemed to know the scary story about two