No one came to pick us up, and there was no one waiting for us.
We spent the day scattered around the mansion, each looking for clues. Amid the rubble and sweltering silence, we found more than twenty skeletons hanging from the surrounding trees—arranged in an almost ritual fashion, as a macabre reminder that someone, at some point, wanted to mark territory there.
In the late afternoon, the decision was unanimous: we would wait another day before acting. We settled as we could inside the ruins, each in a distant corner, as if physical distance was necessary to avoid trouble.
It was there that I realized — none of them were innocent. Everyone had their own malice, their rotten side. And it was not something that was easily hidden; Everyone was always on their toes, every look and every gesture revealing the combat experience of a master in hand-to-hand fighting.
So I spoke as little as possible with them. I avoided any conversation that might reveal weaknesses or information about me. After all, in that place, any word could be a weapon.
It still didn't make sense to me. Why did the little boy appear to me in that dream? To the others, he only whispered. And when I was at the place where he died... Why didn't you say anything else? The question kept hammering in my mind, and the absence of answers only made everything stranger.
Unable to solve the riddle, I closed my eyes. The body was asking for rest. I had studied all day and spent the afternoon in meditation, so as soon as night fell, around eight o'clock, sleep came quickly.
Even though I was sleeping, I didn't fully relax. I kept my guard up. The perception of the light of life around me had diminished, but I could still feel any presence within five meters.
If someone crossed that line, I would wake up right away. And of course, my sword was already positioned next to my hand—ready to act before I even opened my eyes.
I enjoyed my sleep quietly for a short time... until, to my surprise, a cold touch woke me up in the middle of the night.
I didn't hear anything. I didn't smell anything. I did not perceive any pulsation of the light of life. Then, when a wet, icy hand touched my face, my reaction was pure: panic.
I jumped to my feet, and that's when I saw him—the same boy, crouching before me, still with his axe stuck in his head.
"You came... They didn't hurt you, see? I'm not a liar" he said, with a smile that would even be beautiful, if it weren't for the fact that his head is almost completely separated from his body.
I tried to calm down. Behind him, several motionless silhouettes watched. They were tall, twisted, with expressions that ranged from empty to grotesque. Shadows... distorted and impossible to understand.
"Thank you for helping me" I said, already taking a deeper breath.
It was then that I noticed something curious: the boy was talking in Rurh. This language was common two hundred years ago, but time had changed everything. Peoples fight, foreigners mix, languages transform... it is the nature of history.
Languages are rarely forgotten... but there is always one that overrides the others.
"You're polite and charming, a good boy... Why don't you approach this aunt?" a voice came from the background, charged with a strange timbre. It was one of the shadows. Its limbs were long and thin, and the silhouette looked distorted, as if it was being seen through murky water.
"Yes... He looks so cute... as a pet. I want to touch you... feel its warmth... I want..." another shadow whispered, each word slurred.
A flood of voices came from the tree, and my mind began to buzz, as if someone was clutching my temples from the inside.
"Don't listen to them... They became bad after so long trapped in the trees. I'm the only one who can leave" said the boy, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Are they stuck?" I asked, rubbing my temples. Even standing, he could see that the creatures couldn't take a step beyond the shade of the tree.
"Yes" the boy confirmed, without hesitation.
"Why didn't you contact me sooner?" I asked, looking around. Everyone was still asleep, the silence only broken by the distant sound of the leaves blowing in the wind.
"I don't know... We slept as soon as I called you. I almost couldn't call you. I woke up just now" he replied.
"So you sleep during the day?" I asked, trying to understand.
"I don't know, but we can only see and talk at night" he replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I have some questions... Do you feel anything when I touch your bones?" I asked, curious.
"Nothing" he replied without hesitation.
"Then why are they stuck here and you can move?" I insisted.
"I don't know" the answer came simple, dry.
"Do you know where we should go?" I continued, trying to get something useful.
"I know, but I can only speak if you promise me something" he replied, seriously, almost as if he were imposing a pact.
"Of course... I owe you one" I said, even though I had no idea what he was going to ask for.
"They are suffering... They turned into shadows over time and I don't know how to help. They can't move... But I can. The great man said that they can find peace if I find someone to burn their remains. If you promise to help me, I promise to tell you what the man said" he spoke with an unsettling calm, as if it were something natural.
"Of course, I promise" I replied without hesitation.
"Really? Do you swear?" he insisted, looking straight at me.
"Yes" I confirmed.
"Oath finger?" he held out his pinky finger. I sighed, but I did the same.
"So I have to set them on fire? Including yours?" I asked, wanting to confirm the madness I had just heard.
"No! All of them, except mine! I can't go without my sister!" he said with such certainty that it seemed obvious... for him, at least.
"Alright, alright" I said, smiling, only to see the boy look a little more relieved.
"The man in black asked me to warn them about the golden galleon. He also said that, buried at the bottom of the well, he has a map. You must continue to the destination" he explained, seriously, as if he were repeating something very important.
"Why did the man ask you to do that?" I asked, trying to make sense of that strange story.
"I don't know... He wanted to confirm if I could get someone to see me. He asked me to try to talk to everyone directly. Hey... If you find my sister, can you make her come back? She went to the mill after Daddy... I miss her," she said, with a sincerity that took me by surprise.
"Of course... If I meet her one day, I'll tell her to come and see you" I replied, forcing a smile that, deep down, came out a little uncomfortable.