The storm that had gathered above the city the night before hasn't broken. The sky is a heavy lid of cloud, bruised purple at the edges, pressing down on the streets. The market is quieter, tense. People speak in hushed voices, like they expect the air itself to listen. Soldiers are more restless than usual, rumors spreading among them like fire on dry grass.
Come morning, Caden was back on the streets, busy as ever, trying to trade the bundle of wires he'd saved the day before but something felt off about today.
"Did you hear, small families have begun to disappear around the outskirts of town."
"Yeah, a close friend of mine didn't return home and when his family went to look for him, they were not seen again."
"Apparently there's a crazy farmer going around going around the outskirts trying to talk to anyone that has the time to listen."
"Something about his livestock turning inside out. I want to believe him but he sounds insane."
"I feel you, he explains it in such vivid details yet speaks like his mind isn't all there."
"Poor guy is probably traumatized by whatever happened to his livestock."
Caden hears whispers all across the market about strange occurrences that begun after the storm clouds gathered. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wrong was about to happen.
As he moved, he passed by a group of children singing a very crude song of old. But instead of the words being jumbled, wrong or misplaced, the children had changed everything and kept the beat.
The message the song conveyed sent a chill down his spine. The shadows that eat. His mind immediately went to the glimpse of shadow activity he had seen last night.
Caden tries to push these things to the back of his mind but the very air itself feels like it's trying to warn him of something.
Caden continues to pick up scraps of conversations. Occasionally, the words shadow cult drift through, though most people hush themselves after saying it. He knows better than to ask questions though, knowledge gets people killed.
When he finally decides to start trading, it doesn't take long before he manages to trade his bundle of wires for two loafs of bread which is a luxury so few can hope for. He would have been lucky to gain half a loaf for the bundle but he figures the one who traded for it must be in real need of the bundle.
On his way back home, Caden notices some strange things. In a dark alley made darker by the clouds overhead stood an unfamiliar man. The man looked shaken up, muttering to himself, his hands smeared with ash. 'That must be the farmer who's livestock was devastated.' He assumed but wouldn't say it out loud.
A shadow passes. He hears a dog whining at something but doesn't see whatever it is. He keeps on moving and sees two soldiers dragging a man who was kicking and screaming a mix of random words. Something about black stars falling.
He feels a pair of eyes looking intently at him. He continues walking but feels the eyes follow him persistently, and when he finally turns around. Nothing, there's no one there.
Back at home. Caden is greeted by Mara who is sewing as always.
"I heard a few wierd sayings at the market today. What's this about a shadow cult abducting people around the outskirts of town." Caden asks.
The mood around the house suddenly shifts.
"Now that you say it, I did notice something wierd before I slept last night, I heard what sounded like chanting in the night but it was feint, carried by the wind from somewhere far, probably out of the city." Taren mentions.
"Now now, there's nothing wrong going on. Taren, you probably heard a few people praying last night, it's not that wierd considering the city's state. And Caden, people in the market are always whispering about one bizarre thing after the other, you're not supposed to take their words to heart. Come now, am sure Taren's almost done with the meal, I can't keep you here all day, you're a busy young man." Mara said to the two boys.
After that, Mara goes quiet and continues to sew and Caden couldn't help but notice that she was trembling slightly. Clearly she knew more about the situation than she was letting on.
Later in the day. Caden goes out again but this time, to fetch water for the family. It doesn't take long for him to reach the well but when he approaches to fetch the water,
"Move"
Caden is shoved by a soldier who then continues on to the well to fetch water. Instinctively, the space around his hand flickers wrongly, pulling in nearby dust and bending light slightly. Caden feels this change and catches himself just in time as he shoved his hand into his pocket. Luckily, the soldier didn't notice anything wrong.
"Huh." A very low voice sounded silently into the wind.
A hooded figure across the street looks at Caden, his gaze lingering on the youth for a while.
Night falls once again. The storm above hasn't moved, only thickened. Caden can't shake of this wierd feeling within him and it has kept him awake at this late hour. Finally, he decides to walk out for some fresh air.
Stepping out of the house, Caden is met with the visage of the shadows once again but something doesn't feel right. The shadows, they weren't just watching anymore, they seemed to be moving ever closer. No matter which direction he looked, the shadows seemed to have surrounded the house and were closing in on him and his family.
Then, he hears it, chanting, very feint at first but seemed to be getting louder. The oil lambs around the house flickered one by one.
Something felt very wrong, sickeningly wrong. Up above, the storm splits with unnatural light, and a distant horn echoes.