The mont Charon saw the supplies, he grabbed Erius by the arm, pulling him to the side and onto one of the pews.
His companion looked at him in shock, a question clear in his eyes.
Charon leaned in and whispered in his ear, glancing around to make sure they were alone.
"Soone, or sothing, is living here! The fire, the wood, the food! The fire is still going, so they must not be very far. We need to get out of here, fast!"
Erius stayed quiet for a mont, considering Charon’s words before giving a single nod.
Sparing one last look around the room to make sure the coast was clear, they both stood and half-walked, half-ran towards the exit.
Once they made it to the doorway, Charon went out first, not wanting to wait for Erius to take the lead this ti.
Instantly, he heard footsteps echoing off the tree’s walls.
’Shit!’
Spinning, he grabbed Erius once again and jerked him back into the temple, hissing at the sa ti.
"Sothing’s coming!"
The two ran back into the main hall, choosing the first side entrance they could and ducking just inside. Erius drew his sword, and Charon held up his knife, both held at the ready to attack anyone who followed them.
Soon, they could hear the footsteps enter the temple, one set turning into two, then three, until at least four different people had co in.
’Or one beast with many legs.’
Erius lowered himself until his mouth was right next to Charon’s ear, whispering into it.
"Do not trust anything you hear. Many creatures can shapeshift and take on human characteristics. If the Mangled Monstrosity could exist, so could a great many others."
Charon gave a slight nod to show he heard, but didn’t do anything else, worried he could make a noise to alert the intruders.
He heard rustling from inside the main hall, then the sound of wood screeching against stone as it was dragged.
Sothing fell on the wood and sighed, slapping the chair and whistling. Soone else from the hall entrance whistled back, and multiple breaths were released.
A male voice soon followed.
"No trails, that’s good. The arm ball wasn’t out there this ti, must’ve found sothing else to eat. That should give us a chance to return to the Fort and get so more supplies."
Another voice, also male but deeper, responded.
"Screw that! We just got out here, I want to kill so shit! These dogs make for bad ga, and taste worse! We should hunt near the shore, find sothing new that washed up."
Laughter followed, but Charon could tell it was only the second voice.
A third voice, distinctly feminine, spoke up.
"I agree with Darius. The lack of chains has worried; sothing has changed here. We should return and report it to the High Elders. They will want to investigate."
The second voice groaned before speaking.
"Gods, that sounds so boring! My axes need blood! Who cares if the chains aren’t there? Maybe that old spirit got sick of watching us and decided to guard another part of the river? Who could bla him? Cmon, you guys-"
The first voice interjected, cutting off the second.
"The spirit doesn’t just change posts on a whim. The High Elders have been tracking his movents for decades. He shouldn’t have left for another couple of years. That never changes, never."
There was a firmness to his voice that reminded Charon of Erius.
’Not a him, it. We don’t know if that thing is human, it could be practicing how to draw in lost souls, or sothing!’
Not for the first ti, Charon considered how little he actually knew about the River Acheron and the Underworld at large.
The second voice grumbled so more, throwing out a few curses, but left the argunt there.
The first voice, Darius, spoke up again. He sounded closer to the campfire, where the others were.
"Now that we are in agreent, we should rest for the night and set out first thing in the morning. We can finish eating yesterday’s hunt and pack up before bed. Red, are you able to be our watch again?"
A fourth voice responded. It was feminine and very high-pitched, like a child’s.
"Always, as it has been written."
An awkward silence followed before the second voice piped up.
"You are one strange bitch, you know that right? Like seriously, you’re great when we don’t know what to do, but would it kill you to talk normally?"
Sothing that sounded like a slap followed.
"I’m sorry, gods! She’s weird!"
The group continued talking back and forth for a while longer. Soon, sothing began to sizzle in the hall, which the second voice seed to appreciate.
"Now that’s what I’m talking about! I’m sick of having to ration all the at in the Fort. The shit they serve tastes like... shit!"
The sll wafted over to where Erius and Charon were hiding, making their stomachs growl simultaneously.
’All the running and fighting has made pretty hungry...’
Despite their hunger, they didn’t dare move. Charon had begun to assu that the people inside the hall were human, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to test that theory.
There was also the risk that, even if they were human, they were violent.
’Only the gods know what living in a place like this could do to soone.’
As ti went on, they heard more and more of the group’s conversations.
They ntioned a place called the Fort often, referring to it as so kind of city. Charon also put together that they were on a scouting mission for this Fort, at the orders of the High Elders.
If these were the leaders or just the next rank up was unclear.
Charon also managed to learn all of their nas over ti.
The first voice, Darius, sounded to be the leader.
The second voice, whom he identified as Liam, was an absolute athead. He kept going on and on about various thods of hunting and killing prey, especially with his axe.
The third, a girl, was Annie. She seed to agree with Darius often, the two supporting each other.
Charon had the impression that Darius and Annie had known each other longer than the others. While Liam kept crowing about battles and slaughter, those two would have their own conversations about ways to return to the Fort, how to gather more supplies, and what the missing "chains" ant.
Whatever these chains were, Charon didn’t know, the voices never giving too many details.
Strangely, he barely heard the fourth voice, Red.
She seed to be an outsider, not talking to anyone, and no one was talking to her.
As far as Charon was concerned, that was a good thing.
’If their group isn’t very cohesive, then we have a better chance of escaping. They won’t be used to working together.’
What worried him about escaping was how they had chosen soone to keep watch: Red.
’If she is more observant than she is talkative, she will spot us easily. We may need to get rid of her without alerting the others.’
He glanced up at Erius, hoping to decipher his companion’s thoughts, but only steely determination looked back.
’We can talk once they go to sleep.’
It wasn’t long before that very thing happened.
Liam was the first, complaining about how they were "leaving already," and that they should spend just "one more day" trying to hunt so stronger beasts.
Loud snoring filled the hall only a mont later.
After that, Charon heard Annie tell Darius she was tired and that they could finish packing up camp in the morning.
The last to sleep was Darius, who checked in with Red one last ti.
"Are you sure you want to take watch? You’ve done in the past three nights, no one would bla you if you chose to rest tonight."
The child-like voice responded in a strange lody, the words flowing like music.
"Only through dedication do we grow, and through growth shall I bloom. We all must bloom."
Darius sighed, offering a quiet thanks before rustling with sothing in the hall.
Charon heard more snoring join Liam’s soon after.
’Okay, we should be good to go any minute.’
Erius seed to think the sa, whispering to Charon once so more ti had passed.
"They have one on watch. We have two options: ignore her and run for it, or try and dispatch her, then flee."
Both possibilities had drawbacks.
If they ran for it, she could spot them and wake the others, causing a chase.
They had no idea how strong the four were, but if they were hunting in the River Acheron, they couldn’t be weak. Charon was sure of that.
On the flip side, there was no guarantee they could catch her off guard and kill her without making a bunch of noise.
’Do I even want to kill her? If they are humans, then they could just be survivors. I haven’t seen any proof they are evil. Can I really kill soone just to make it easier for to get away?’
It was a moral decision he disliked making, especially because a little too much of his brain told him he should kill her and be done with it.
That wasn’t what the heroes would do.
Luckily, Erius saved him the choice.
"I say we run for it."
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