Chapter 13 – As All Comes Crashing Down

Willow and the child lay on the beds. The town’s healer, an elderly woman and her son were caring for their wounds, and they chased Arwen and Midhir out of the room.

“We were getting dressed when the wall décor started falling off.” She explained as she sipped the warm tea Lianne gave her. “Most of it was small, harmless things, but apparently one of the decorative flowers was metal, so when it hit her forehead she just started bleeding everywhere.”

Midhir bit his lips. “The painting fell,” he pointed at the painting still standing leaned against the wall where he left it. “And roof tiles. That kid could have died.” Had he not been smart enough to cover his head after the first hit, he would have been wounded much worse. Those bruises and cuts on his back and arms could have been his head and face.

“Alistair stayed behind to help the townsfolk clean up.” Arwen looked down. “I want to go back and help but…” She glanced out the window.

A storm had begun to rage. The strong winds blew against the walls, whistling as they found cracks to come through. The sound of rain was almost deafening. It had been years since Midhir saw so much rain, and such a strong storm.

“I hope the airship is well secured.” He muttered absentmindedly. The crystals couldn’t be damaged by the water, but it’s wings were made of cloth. The crew likely didn’t have any forewarning that a storm was coming, so they probably didn’t get the chance to fully secure the wings before the storm started.

He shot a glance at Lonan, who was forced to change his clothes since he was also outside when the storm started. He was sitting by the fireplace, with a towel in hand as he tried to dry his hair. Lianne was sitting on a stool by the counter, and the wounded child’s parents were waiting on the upper floor, by the door of their room.

He let out a sigh and approached the window.

It was difficult to believe that three similar incidents could happen in three different places at about the same time for seemingly no reason. With a scowl, he leaned against the wall and watched the storm raging outside.

It wasn’t an earthquake – one so strong would have been felt throughout Lohssa. Nobody had noticed any tremors, and only three incidents had happened. Three incidents, two of which had injured people.

He couldn’t help but feel like this was intentional. He breathed out in annoyance. How could it be intentional? Either it was someone using a crystal to move objects from afar, or… He shook his head, unable to come up with any other possibility.

A silhouette running towards the inn under the rain caught his attention. “Alistair’s back!” he called out, prompting both Arwen and the innkeeper to start on their feet. Lianne snatched a clean towel she had prepared and tossed it to Arwen as the door creaked open, letting in the full sound of rain and thunder.

“Veil’s curse,” Alistair grumbled as he stumbled inside. He was soaked, water dripping from his hair and clothes. He looked like he had fallen into a lake. “Apologies for the mess, miss Lianne.” He grimaced, vaguely gesturing at the small puddle of water forming under him.

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“Take this,” Arwen gave him the towel, “Take your shoes off, then go get changed.” She looked worried. “It’s cold, you’ll get sick.”

Alistair chuckled as he wiped the worst of the water off of himself, then did as she said.

It wasn’t much later when a slightly less wet Alistair came back downstairs, taking his seat next to Lonan by the hearth. “How is Willow?”

“She’ll be fine,” Arwen repeated the healer’s words. “But she should rest for tonight. Apparently the healer here knows how to use healing crystals, though only for surface wounds. Willow is very lucky.”

Midhir pursed his lips. He wasn’t so sure – she was one of the two people wounded in a freak accident. Or an intentional sabotage. Which one was it? “Let’s share what we know, starting with the food issue.”

Lonan’s ears perked up. He shifted his weight a little, listening to Alistair as he explained their findings in the storehouse.

“I see,” Arwen mumbled once Alistair finished. “We spoke to the townsfolk, and they mentioned something similar to what you said. Fresh grain and fruits suddenly rotting. Even dried meat going bad within days – it honestly makes no sense at all.” She pouted.

Lianne came out of the kitchen with a tray in hand, carrying bowls of stew for everyone. “Are you talking about the food?” She asked as she placed the bowls in front of everyone.

Midhir nodded. “Is there anything you can tell us about this whole thing?” Perhaps she knew some detail they didn’t.

“Well, it’s the food in the storehouse that goes bad.” She pursed her lips. “But we can’t really keep it anywhere else because we don’t have another cold crystal.”

“Does the food in the houses not spoil?” Alistair started on his feet. “Is it only the storehouse?”

Lianne shrugged. “I haven’t seen the food in my pantry spoil yet. But I can’t store all the food in the storehouse, the fruits, most of the meat, the vegetables, they’d all spoil without the cold crystal. You know they need to be kept frozen.” She sat on a stool by the counter. “We don’t have anyone who can move the cold crystal either.”

Arwen’s head jolted to the side as her gaze fixed to the window. She stood up from her seat and walked to the window, peering outside into the stormy night. She seemed tense, her hands clutching the curtains as she narrowed her eyes to try and see better.

Unable to curb his curiosity, Midhir approached her. “Did you see something?”

Arwen flinched. “No,” She replied quickly, though her gaze remained fixed outside. “I thought I saw something but…” Her voice faded as she leaned closer to the window. “…I suppose I was mistaken.” She let out a sigh. “We’re all tired, a good night’s sleep will be good for all of us.”

“Agreed.” Alistair stood up, then visibly shuddered. “Let us excuse ourselves, and rest. We can reconvene tomorrow.”

The room they had been given had a window looking north, towards the forest. Despite the curtain being drawn and the door closed, a cold wind carrying the scent of rain and wet earth penetrated the warmth of the room.

The girls were in the room next to theirs. Midhir hoped their room was a bit warmer at least. Laying under the heavy blanket, his eyelids soon began to close. He hadn’t noticed just how tired he was until he climbed into bed. His mind drifted away, and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

It was cold, so very cold. He couldn’t feel his body at all from the cold inflicted numbness. It drained his strength and willpower, leaving behind nothing but a maddening hunger. He felt like starving – when was the last time he had eaten something?

He couldn’t remember. The hunger was too great to think of anything else. He needed sustenance. He needed to consume something. Anything.

A frightened scream brought him back to the waking world.

image [https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=1AE26oxRJ1VLUwn9TY2qt61ati41Cd6bv&sz=w2400-h400]