Chapter 13: Village Below the Mist I

Chapter 13: 13: Village Below the Mist I Chapter: 2 The Village Below the Mist- --- The wind carried the scent of ash and wildflowers as John led the group down the hill. Behind him followed ten men, each one marked by exhaustion and silence. They had no armor, no weapons, only their freedom and the memory of the tunnels that had nearly become their graves. Some walked with a limp. Others kept a hand on the shoulder of the man beside them. But none turned back. The village below sat nestled in a shallow valley. It was half covered in morning mist. Smoke from cooking fires rose into the sky, thin and harmless. Wooden homes lined a single dirt road that cut through the center like a scar. To the left stood a weathered temple, and to the right, a crumbling wall of stone barely tall enough to call a fence. John paused at the ridge. He could see people moving between the buildings. Children carried buckets of water. A village merchant cart rolled slowly past a pair of workers stacking hay. A wild dog barked somewhere in the fog. It looked peaceful. Too peaceful. The System whispered in his thoughts. [Host body stress level: mild. Mana core integration: stable Inventory: Ten units of Raw Mana Crystal. Blueprints: one weapon registered. Portable Base Blueprint available. Recommended action: Establish Forge Anchor or Temporary Shelter.] John looked at his hands. The faint glow of void energy had faded beneath his skin, but he could still feel it. A quiet pressure that moved with his breath. His new power was awake. But power alone would not feed them. It would not keep them warm at night. He turned to the others. "We move in silence. No weapons. No threats. We ask for water and shelter. No more." They nodded without any questions. He led the way down. The village did not greet them with open arms. A few heads turned as they entered. Eyes widened at the sight of the men with torn clothes and dirt stained faces. Conversations stopped. Doors were shut. A merchant pulled his cart closer to the side of the road. Children were called back into homes. John approached the nearest well and stopped. The water was clean. He turned to the man beside him. Gael. Middle aged. Thick beard. Quiet eyes. "Drink. Then the rest." Gael nodded. He bent and pulled up a bucket, offered it first to the man behind him, then drank second. The others followed in a line. John stepped aside and waited. He expected the tension. He expected the looks. What he did not expect was the woman who approached him. She came from the temple, wearing a plain brown robe tied at the waist. Her face was young, but her posture was confident. Eyes sharp. Her black hair was pulled back behind her shoulders. She walked with purpose. "You are not from here." she asked. John met her gaze. "No." "You brought a group of miners. Escaped slaves. I can see it in their hands." He said nothing. She stepped closer. "You are injured. But not broken. You are not like them." Still he remained silent. She tilted her head. "Then speak. What do you want here?" John answered simply. "A place to rest" She studied him for a long moment. Then she nodded. "Follow me." The temple was small. Stone walls patched with wood. A single open chamber with faded murals on the walls. Symbols of balance. Circles drawn over stars. Candles lined the edge of the floor, many of them unlit. The woman stood at the altar and gestured to the wooden benches along the sides. "Sit. Eat if you have anything. This is neutral ground. No blood spilled here." John stepped forward. "You are the priestess?" "I am the guardian. The temple’s only voice" she replied. "I am John." She nodded. "I am Sera." Behind them the others settled slowly. Some sat. Others leaned against the wall and closed their eyes. The temple offered warmth. That was enough. John stepped closer to Sera. "One day I will repay you." She raised an eyebrow. "For what." "For not calling the guards. For not casting us back out." "You do not owe me. But you will explain. Later." John nodded. Sera glanced down at the faint glow beneath the skin on his arms. "You carry power. Old. Dangerous!" "I was born with it." She smiled faintly. "That is a lie. But I will accept it for now." She turned away and lit a candle. "You may stay for one day. Then you tell me what you are." That night the temple was silent. John sat alone near the doorway, watching the stars through a crack in the roof. The others slept behind him. One snored. Another muttered in his dreams. The System pulsed again. [Blueprint suggestion available. Recommended item: Portable Forge Table. Material requirements: two Storm steel ore Mana crystal: one. Construction time: sixty minutes.] John whispered into the dark. "Begin the construction." [Confirmation received Building core module.] A soft glow appeared beside him. Lines of energy traced a shape into the air. Slowly they solidified into metal. A square table. Smooth surface. Small compartments beneath for storage. A single circular slot in the center, outlined with runes. [Item complete. Forge Table added to slot two. Linked to Administrator ID. Crafting functionality: active.] "Show me the table." He ordered the system. With a magical Poof it came out in front of him. John ran a hand over the table’s surface. It was warm. Solid. The System whispered again. [What would you like to build?] The system voice echoed in his mind. It was steady and neutral, but with a strange weight behind it. Like it was not just asking a question but offering a door. A door only he could open. John closed his eyes.