Beneath the same mass of dark clouds, several figures leaned against the tall outer wall of the town battlements, occasionally peering through the gaps in the stone to observe the situation outside.
They had already stood watch for half the night, yet the guards waiting for their relief had lit fires in front of them. At this dawn hour, the remaining flames, no longer fed with wood, had visibly dwindled.
The people in leather armor also leaned behind the stone wall, yawning and chatting from time to time. Only the hands clutching spears and daggers to their chests never strayed far from their weapons.
Beyond the high wall lay a pothole-ridden gravel road, marked by old hoofprints as it stretched toward the vast, shadowy forest in the distance.
To be honest, it had become difficult lately to see anyone or any caravan passing along this road.
Ever since trouble had arisen in the farmland and logging yards not far outside town, strange disappearances had reportedly begun occurring at the mines as well.
The people who had managed to escape back seemed scared out of their wits. Even the most seasoned hunters among them no longer dared venture rashly into that shadowy forest.
Something had gone terribly wrong in the woods. Some inhuman "thing" was attacking people in the dark!
Even when facing the worried mayor, the survivors, whose clothes still bore bloodstains, answered in the same frightened manner.
No one could say what it was. Some thought it was a treant, some believed it was a demon, while others claimed it might be werewolves.
But regardless, the final fact was plain for all to see—recently, even merchant caravans had gradually begun avoiding the road leading to Grayrock Town.
That undoubtedly corroborated the dangerous claims of those townspeople who had escaped