Unfortunately, since we didn't know this, that's not what we did, and the enemies followed us to the area beyond the lake and the mudflat.
Once outside the wooded area, the lake also ended, leaving the ground much firmer and allowing us to fight the enemies without much more trouble. These also seemed to be restless dead, but without armor and dressed more like villagers, and much easier to deal with, but more disconcerting.
From this fight we only managed to get some scraps of fabric and we moved on, stopping in front of a large iron gate. Large, but thin, with various designs on it.
Beyond the gate we could see several stone sculptures, mainly in the shape of crosses.
–What's this place for? – Max asked before I could.
–Another one of the strange places in the Trial? – Anna said.
Cali took a deep breath and replied.
–Judging by the smell, I'd say this is a breeding ground for restless dead.
We also took a deep breath; the stench of rotting things really grew stronger the closer we got to the gate. With a tree nearby (thankfully an ordinary one, not one with any body parts or corpses), I climbed it to see the terrain ahead.
From the top, I could see that the place seemed as large as the "mud pi"t; I couldn't even imagine its size through the fog. Always present, but much thinner than at the beginning.
However, I could see, with perfect clarity, that this place was infested with restless dead.
Some wore knights' armor, like the first one we encountered, others wore villagers' clothes, and some places also had a kind of blue fire moving through the mist. We had seen some of them on the way, but here they were more frequent.
I went down and told the others; now we had to decide how we would proceed.
–I say we should continue. The more dead we eliminate now, the easier it will be the next time we come. – Cali said emphatically.
–That's usually the case, but this is the Trial. We've proven, in every way, that the creatures here always return after a while – Mav countered.
–That's with living beings; restless dead don't count. And Connor said he recognized the knight, so it's likely the Trial used the corpses from before, meaning a limited resource. – Cali insisted.
– We still don't know for sure how the Trial deals with restless dead. – I said. – We saw the goblin shaman using impure magic to raise flesh puppets, but we have no way of knowing if that was really just his power or the Trial's.
–What are you trying to say? That the Trial can spontaneously create restless dead and impure magic, or worse, intentionally? – Cali asked, lowering her voice by an octave, proving she was truly angry. "
After a bref pause, she said.
–If that's true, your village will have far more problems than a simple relocation, besides giving the Baron every reason to destroy this whole place with the full support of the kingdom!!!! – Cali shouted.
–I KNOW!!! – I yelled back, louder. I think it was the first time I'd yelled at any of them since I met them.
I took a brief breath and said.
–I know that, but if it's really true, however bad it is for my village, it will be better if we leave the Trial. So the risks to people...
I didn't finish the sentence, after all, the risks to people would indeed be reduced. But the risks to the people in the village wouldn't be so simple.
Cali calmed down, Max and Mav exchanged glances, unsure what to say, while Anna remained silent the entire time.
–Aaahhh!!!! The point is: we only came here to do an initial check, and the time for that is already up. It's best we go back now, tell them what we found out, and hope for the best
–I still think we should continue, even if only a little, to see if there's some kind of source that's generating the dead, and if there isn't… there are orders that can help make things safer, without you having to leave here, and without risks. – Cali said, but didn't seem very confident.
–I agree with Connor, besides the fact that we have to check the effects of the items we've obtained. – Max said, much calmer than at the beginning of the exploration.
–I agree more with Cali. Even if there isn't any source and it's the Trial that creates the restless dead (spontaneously or intentionally). If we can demonstrate that it, or even they, don't represent a direct risk. Even the laws of the kingdom can be… bent to a certain extent, to keep your village safe. – Mav said, sounding a slightly more forced than usual for him.
–What do you think, Anna? – Once again, the four of us turned to the youngest. How many times have we left the biggest decision to her?
As someone five years older than her, I can't say I'm proud of it. But it's undeniable that she's one of the smartest among us, and she often makes the best decisions (though not always).
She looked at the mud and the still lake we came from, at one of the trees with a corpse swaying slightly, at the ornate black gate ahead, at our clothes, and finally at us. She looked into each of our eyes, seeming to linger a little longer on mine.
–Hmmmm, with everything we've seen, the best would be–
********************
In the end, we decided to return without going through the gate. But not without a certain commitment from all of us.
Cali activated the return crystal, somewhat reluctantly, and soon we were in the alcove of the fallen temple on the surface.
We were blinded for a few moments by the sudden difference in light. On the "second floor," the light was so low that even though it was daytime, we had to constantly remind ourselves that it shouldn't even be noon yet, because of how dark that place was.
It was as if it were perpetually a sunset shrouded in dark clouds with a whitish-gray mist further obstructing the view.
Considering the time it took us from waking up in the cabin, along with the meeting time, a little exploration of the goblin "village," until the time (or a little later) of exploration on the "second floor," I think it's safe to say it must have been around noon or mid-afternoon.
Generally, it would be a moderately busy hour, with some groups rushing to grab the last spots in the Trial, or with most people leaving to wash the items they obtained back to the village. Some being transported to the lower classes to receive emergency treatment or leaving them after recovering.
Basically, it would be a busy but not overcrowded time of day.
Generally.
"–Can anyone understand what's written here?
–What creatures are those?
–Is that a restless dead person?
–Don't be an idiot!!!
–How was the fight with the demo-goblins last night?
–Did you really see the black monster?
–Were the Baron's forces still there?
–Is Piqval's circus still going to perform?
–When are Connor and the boys coming back?
–Why did they let a bunch of kids go to an unknown place like that??!!!
–Why did they let a bunch of kids go to a gold mine like that??!!!!
–ARE YOU IDIOT??!!!!!!!"
The cacophony of voices began soon after the blindness; it was almost common to hear some muffled voices, some excited, others frightened, and even quite animated, in the area near the "reception."
But something of this magnitude?
I think it had only happened on the way back from the first expedition.
We glanced at each other briefly and agreed to be as discreet as possible. We couldn't take two steps outside the alcove of the magic circle before being noticed.