Echo reads

Valerie-Shadowstone-Outside of town

Valerie quietly put the rough wooden bow back on her back. Her palm left fresh blood on the bowstring. She can feel the ache in her both arms because of the long holding position. Her heart was fluttering. This was the first time she had shot an arrow at a living person. She refrained herself from imagining the pain of the arrow piercing the man’s calf. Although Old Grist repeatedly whispered in her ears that they didn’t have other choices. They hardly escape from The Thousand-Tier Drain canal and could not throw the freedom they fighted for. 

It’s okay, just shoot him in the calf, take what’s on him, and we’ll escape.

This is what Old Grist said to her before she shot the arrow. For our freedom. 

When she collected her thoughts again, Old Grist had already walked past her through the window towards the man, and she followed him quickly. 

“Well,” Old Grist muttered as he looked at the man who was crawling on the ground in pain. He pondered and then said, “We don’t know who you are and where you’re going, but you better give us your valuable things, or you’ll be like the corpse next to you.”

Valerie stopped herself from looking at the pile of corpses. The stench made her want to vomit. These bodies were piled together by her and Old Grist. They were hanging on the beams of this broken house before they found this shelter. They also did not know if anyone was alive back then. They saw that some had their hands pierced by arrows, some had their legs pierced, and one lost his both eyes. Just in case, Old Grist let Valerie shoot a few arrows to see if anyone in the house reacted.  She pointed the bow at the ropes to drop them down. She was always praised for her sharp eyesight. Five arrows were shot and three bodies fell down. No unusual noises, then they went in to search. Unfortunately, there was nothing. They put down the rest and searched again. Empty. No strength left in them by the midnight. And they didn’t want to draw any attention. They choosed to endure the stench and stayed here for nearly a week. 

They went out every day, searching for any food that could be eaten, and a few times Valerie found traces of squirrels, but her bow was broken, so the old grist made a new one with firewood near the house. This is not a city, their means of theft are useless, they can only find other ways. 

Until this day, they met him. 

Now, after Old Grist finished his speaking, Valerie raised her bow, aiming at the position of this lying man’s heart. 

“Ah,” He was clearly in pain, saying, “Who are you? ” After that, he passed out. 

“I should have known it.” Old Grist put his hand to his forehead and covered his disappointed expression. He turned around and said to her, “You check.”

Without thinking too much, Valerie knelt beside him, picked up the light, and took away his dagger. She watched the man closely: his dark blue cloak had several dried blood stains, and the lining was black. Although it was worn, it seemed to be well made. She put aside his arm and began to search his lining, just some jerky in his waist pocket. Besides this, a ring was found. The ring was inlaid with a coarse crystal, and the color flowed from green to blue. She quickly handed the ring to Old Grist and stood up. 

Old Grist put the ring in the palm of his hand. The light of the crystal gradually faded. It seemed that he suddenly remembered something. He quickly leaned down, tucked the ring back into the palm of the person’s hand. 

He turned his head, said to Valerie, ” Hurry, we must leave.”

“Why?”Valerie was puzzled, “What happened to that ring?”

“He’s from Glintlure,”Old Grist said sternly. “This ring is only for those who are important.”

Valerie was more confused, but before she could ask more, Old Grist had grabbed her hand. 

“Where do we go?” They have nowhere to go now. 

“I don’t know, but we have to get out of here quickly,” Old Grist squatted down, staring at her, eyes flickering, “This person is a big trouble.”

Before the words had even left his lips, Valerie heard the sound from outside. She subconsciously held her bow again. Old Grist heard it, too. He took his short sword out. He used gestures to command Valerie to hide under the window and hide the lamp, while he immediately locked the door behind him. The room became darker and the rotting smell was more pronounced in Valerie’s nose. 

What is happening exactly ? Valerie gripped the bowstring tighter and stared at out of window. 

The sound in the distance became more and more louder. It was heavily breathing. The dwarf bushes moved around it. Valerie saw it now: it was a spotted wild dog, with scars of various sizes. It looked strong, and larger than ordinary dogs. But what surprised Valerie most was that its eyes flashed strange green light. It hanged its long tongue out. The saliva was pulled long, touching the ground. Before Valerie could think more, she immediately fired an arrow in its direction: shoot it right bwtween its eyebrows. 

But it did not respond, it was still moving forward, the arrow instead accelerated it, and it began to sprint. Valerie opened her eyes wide, and shot a few more arrows: first one, the forehead, no reaction; second one, the chest, again, no reaction. The third, shooting it in the calf, it finally struck, but still struggled to sprint. 

Old Grist heard the movement on her side, he trotted and crouched next to her. He was as stunned as she, shocked by the dog’s reaction. Unhesitatingly,  when he found the calf arrow slow it down, he ordered her to shoot another one. 

However, Valerie missed this time. 

This dog, no, this creature, it was less than 20 steps away from them. Old Grist pushed Valerie away, ready to meet it. She sat down on the ground heavily. The sticky blood penetrate through her pants, a damp and cool touch. 

“Whoosh-” It jumped into the window and pounced on Old Grist. Old Grist grabbed it, tried to lock its around his arms. Soon they were wrestling together. Valerie could see Old Grist using his short sword to stab frantically, but the dog was still biting. The deep red blood was flowing from OldGrist’s forearm. Valerie raised her bow based on her instinct and aimed again. 

“Forget about the bow,”Old Grist said, gritting his teeth. “The rope! The rope!”

Valerie understood immediately, looking up and holding the rope in her hands. She rushed towards them. Eventually, she put a rope around its neck. 

“Hang it up–” Old Grist took the rope from her hand and tied a dead knot. He is strangling it to death. 

Valerie looked up, threw the end hard, let the rope wrap by the beam. Then she pulled it on the other side. The dog moved up little by little, struggling. 

“It’s no use–” An unfamiliar voice scared Valerie to almost loosen the rope. He woke up, the stranger. He was catching his breath. He slowly turned his body, holding his calf in both hands, “This can’t kill it.”

“Then how?!”Old Grist rushed over like lightning, lifted his collar, pressed him against the wall, which made a muffled noise. 

Valerie did not dare to let the rope go, she was not sure where she should tie the dog, she said out loud; “Then what should I do? Hurry up, I can’t hold on much longer “

“The Head, cut it off,” he said with soft breath. 

“Head?”Old Grist and Valerie looked at each other. Finally, Old Grist went on, “You put it down slowly and I’ll do it.”

“To cut it off completely, not simply to slash the neck,” the stranger laughed a little, making Valerie feel uncomfortable. 

The dog was still kicking. The green light of its eyes was still shining brightly. His neck was tied up so tight, but it did not affect him, and his limbs kicked hard. Valerie slowly to put it down. Old Grist stood aside like an executioner, holding his short sword in both hands. 

She saw him took a deep breath, then wave. First cut, he did not succeed. However, the rope was gradually soaked with blood, and the dog did not even scream. Then second, third, fourth swing, Old Grist’s hands landed faster and faster.The room echoed with the muffled sound of flesh and blood friction. 

The fifth cut, finally, the dog’s head fell to the ground, with a bang. 

Valerie noticed that its greenish eyes were dimming. 

“Is it possessed?”Valerie blurted out. 

“You can say that,” the man slid back down the wall to the floor, “he was manipulated by one of the devourers.”

“The Devourers,” Old Grist frowned, and Valerie looked at him, not knowing what to say. 

“Didn’t you just find my ring?”The man continued to talk. He spread out his palm, and the ring actually lit up again. “This ring attracted them.”

“Who are you?” Old Grist said coldly. 

He did not answer, but put the ring back in his lined pocket. “Karman,” He began to breathe heavily again. “You are also the target of the devourers now, but as long as this ring is on me, everything will be fine.”

“Why should we trust you?”Valerie said eagerly, and she could hear her own heart sill pounding. “Why does this ring attract them?”

“Because this ring is your contract with the Devourer.” Old Grist raised his arm, pulled out a piece of cloth and began to slowly bandage his wound, “anyone who dares to hurt you will be pursued by the Devourer to meet their death.”

“Urgh–” The man who called himself Karman tried to stand up bit by bit, and the sweat flowed on his forehead. He closed his eyes and said slowly, “That’s right.”

“Good riddance then,” Old Grist said, and go straight to the door. He staggered, and Valerie followed. 

“Wait,” he called out, grabbing the door frame, “you can’t go, you won’t make it far. You have been marked by this ring, you must escort me now, otherwise it will not be just one or two wild dogs to hunt you. “He finally stood up, raised his head, and hanged a smile on his dirty face. 

Disclaimer: This is an original English work of the site owner. All rights reserved.