No matter what, gathering some information first is surely not a mistake.
As for whether to spend the night in this seemingly suspicious village, the group might need to consider and discuss it further.
Indeed, it was getting late, and there wasn’t a good place to settle down in the wilderness.
"Sorry, our Rolling Stone Village... doesn’t welcome outsiders. There are no vacant houses for you to rest in, you’d better... continue on your way."
His refusal was straightforward and even somewhat cold and inhuman.
It was almost dark now, yet asking travelers to continue their journey.
Hearing this, Sorin immediately furrowed his brow into a knot.
In a muffled voice, he spoke: "Hey! Old man! We’re not staying for free! We said we’d pay! In this wilderness, where do you want us to find a place to sleep, are we supposed to sleep in the wild and feed the wolves?"
Startled by the dwarf’s loud voice and his somewhat fierce expression, the old man subconsciously took half a step back, but stubbornly shook his head again.
"No... it just can’t be done! Money... money is useless too. You should leave quickly, before it’s completely dark..."
By the end, there was even a hint of pleading in the old man’s tone.
Just then.
The Priest Elton’s voice suddenly called out, interrupting the old man’s increasingly urgent urging.
His gray eyes did not look at the old man but instead gazed in the direction of the other dilapidated houses in the village.
"Are there sick people in the village?" His tone was not questioning but carried a certain certainty. "More than one?"
When he first entered the village, he hadn’t felt anything unusual, but after staying for a while, he finally sensed something.
The old man’s body jolted abruptly, and his cloudy eyes filled with horror and vigilance as he looked at them, gripping his cane tightly with both hands.
"Don’t... don’t talk nonsense!"
Elton stepped forward and gently and firmly raised the holy symbol in his hand, a soft white light flowed around him, emitting a calming tranquil aura.
"Sir, please do not be afraid. I am a priest, serving the light, perhaps... may I take a look at those who are ill? Even if they cannot be healed, at least the Holy Light can relieve their pain."
Looking at the Holy Light on Elton and his sincere and gentle face, the old man’s resistance slightly diminished, but when his gaze shifted to a certain place, he instantly became hard and cold again.
"Please, all of you, leave Rolling Stone Village quickly."
Gauss and the others exchanged glances.
The dwarf Sorin rubbed the back of his head, then looked at the others and nodded.
"Let’s go first and talk later."
Amidst the many wary gazes from the villagers, the group continued along the village path.
However, they hadn’t gone far when Sorin stopped the group.
"He seemed very afraid of us." Gauss recalled the old man’s expression just now.
"Is it a demon? Or people influenced by demons?" Sorin looked at Nancy.
Nancy shook her head: "Just ordinary people."
However, Serdur was frowning all along, as if pondering over something.
Gauss turned to look at him.
"Any clues?"
"The atmosphere here feels somewhat familiar, let me think..." Serdur scratched his head.
"Let’s set up camp nearby," the dwarf Sorin suggested.
"Nearby? Would it be better if we went farther?" Gauss confirmed.
They were just outside this suspicious Rolling Stone Village.
Sorin casually rubbed the back of his head: "Let’s camp here, nearby the village, there are neither wolves nor big cats, we can sleep more peacefully."
Can we really feel at ease...
Gauss silently retorted in his heart.
But seeing Sorin had made a decision, and considering that he was the organizer of this relic exploration activity after all, Gauss swallowed back the words he had in mind.
He didn’t believe Sorin couldn’t see the anomaly in the village, but knowing there was a problem and still choosing to stay must mean there was a reason he was unable to share easily.
Soon, they cleared a flat piece of land outside the village, built a fire, and set up tents.
As Sorin continued to prepare dinner, smoke quickly rose above the temporary camp, with strands of enticing aroma carried by the evening breeze.
The dishes were similar to those at noon, just a few more vegetarian dishes added.
Gauss ate heartily, even contemplating whether to consider culinary skills as a priority for the next member in his team.
Just as everyone was focused on their meal.
A slender figure suddenly flashed and emerged in the shadows beside the campfire.
It was a girl who looked about twenty, wearing a coarse sackcloth dress that was washed to a faint white, with patches sewn on, so thin it seemed a gust of wind could knock her over.
Her face was pale, her lips bloodless, but her eyes were very large, with pupils firmly fixed on the food by the campfire.
Her sudden appearance was so abrupt that Sorin, who was engrossed in dinner, almost spit out his drink.
However, Nancy seemed to notice first and had already moved a few steps closer to where Gauss was.
"Can you spare me some?"
She licked her tongue.
The tongue was sharp and thin, not appearing as a normal human’s should, and upon closer inspection, her skin was starting to peel and rot.
Gauss silently observed her, then reached over to grab a skewer of roasted meat from the grill, slowly handing it over.
Suddenly, just as Gauss’s hand was about to get close to the girl.
"Bang!!"
Her skin seemed to be torn from the inside by countless small claws, bursting open dramatically.
A sharp claw covered in glossy gray-black rat fur lunged towards Gauss like lightning.
"Clang!!!"
Gauss suddenly had a Fine Steel Longsword in his hand.