Lian nodded, he agreed too.
He checked the direction of the arrow. The blood trail continued in that direction, but there were no clear footprints.
He decided to follow the path from a distance, not on the straight line of the sign, but parallel to it, from a higher part of the bones.
If there was a trap, he preferred to see it from outside.
About half an hour later, they reached a broken skull.
The upper part of the skull had collapsed, and one of the eye sockets was left open like the entrance to a large cave.
The SAFE sign pointed exactly toward it.
One did not approach the entrance. Through Hive Link, discontent and fear intensified again.
Lian got down from it.
"Stay here." He commanded it not to touch anything and to warn him through the link if it felt any movement.
Seris stood at the entrance. The inside of the skull was dark.
Lian took out a light crystal. The white light revealed the interior, and there were traces of an old camp there.
The remains of a dead fire in the center, a few dried food packages, a piece of bloody cloth.
A broken sword, and lines drawn on the ground to divide the guard posts.
At first glance, the camp could have belonged to a group of Awakened ones, but upon closer inspection, the differences became clear.
The food packages were made of compressed leaves and animal skin. The broken sword was not metal; it was made of black bone.
The patterns carved on the handle also belonged to the Lizardman tribes.
Lian bent down next to one of the packages. A small mark was on its knot, three broken lines on a red background.
The symbol of the Varkesh.
"It’s not humans’."
Seris looked at the items.
"It was one of the Varkesh groups."
Probably the same groups that had been sent to explore the Giants’ Graveyard years or generations ago and never returned.
The traces of at least six people were in the camp. Six sleeping spots, six containers, and six separate marks for placing weapons.
This was probably a real camp.
But no skeletons or corpses could be seen, not even signs of intense conflict.
A few items were on the ground, the food was half-opened, a stone cup was overturned next to the wall.
As if everyone in the camp had gotten up at the same moment and disappeared without taking anything.
"They probably stayed here for the night to rest, but something happened to them." Lian added and frowned.
Why did the signs lead them here? Why did it seem like someone wanted to pull them here?
What exactly had happened to the Varkesh? What had they encountered?
And what exactly was this place?
Seris looked at the inner wall of the skull. The walls gave her a very bad feeling, as if they were watching her.
A weak sound was heard.
Tap.
Both fell silent, and a few seconds later again.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound came from inside the bone, not from behind the skull, not from the ceiling, but from inside the wall itself.
As if someone was trapped inside the thick bone tissue and gently knocking.
"Did you hear it too?"
"It could be the sound of the wind?"
"I doubt it."
Lian looked at the entrance. The daylight outside had decreased rapidly.
It shouldn’t have been evening yet, but the mist had become thicker and was swallowing the valley’s gray light. The map showed that the next open space was far away.
The eye socket of this same skull was the only area that was apparently protected from several directions.
Lian didn’t want to camp inside it. Every instinct told him this place was not safe, but continuing in the thick mist also had its own risks.
He decided to stop only for a few minutes. Not to rest. Just to check their equipment and understand what had happened to the Varkesh group.
One remained outside the entrance, and Seris examined the inner parts.
Lian looked at the items one by one. On the handle of the broken sword, a name was carved in the old Varkesh language.
Part of it was not readable, but the military insignia next to the name showed that the weapon’s owner was probably the group’s commander.
The same tribal symbol was also on the bloody cloth. No doubt remained, this camp belonged to one of the Varkesh groups.
But none of the people from this group were there.
No bones, no bodies, and not even armor pieces. They had completely disappeared.
Lian looked at the guard lines on the ground. One of the lines stopped near the wall.
Next to it, a few scratch marks could be seen, as if someone had tried to pull themselves back on the ground.
But the scratches went straight to the skull’s wall and ended there.
He went closer and placed his hand on the bone. At first, he felt nothing.
The surface was cold, dry, and hard. Then the wall contracted very gently, a weak movement like the skin of an animal whose muscle beneath it twitched.
Lian did not immediately pull his hand back. He waited a few seconds, and the contraction repeated.
"It moved." Seris also noticed.
Lian stepped back. Very thin lines opened on the skull’s surface, like veins appearing under the skin.
A weak black light flowed through them, from the bottom of the wall to the ceiling and then spread around.
A panel appeared before Lian’s view.
[Unknown Colossal Remains]
[Condition: Dead]
[Secondary Condition: Occupied]
Lian narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the last word.
Occupied.
Something was present inside these remains. Not necessarily the soul of the skeleton’s owner, not the giant itself, but another creature using this corpse as a home, nest, or body.
"Now I understand what this place is." Lian said slowly.
"This is a monster’s lair. The Varkesh camped here but didn’t know this place had an owner, and they were killed by that same owner."
"Probably the same monster we felt a few hours ago, the one that killed those Bone Scavengers, but left us alone."
"And that monster wanted to pull us here, because it clearly thought we were dangerous and wanted to face us here, in its own lair, where it has the advantage, to make sure it could kill us..."
Suddenly, both of their senses of danger peaked!
Seris drew her sword, and at that same moment, the knocking sounds stopped.
The tapping inside the bone suddenly went silent. Complete silence ruled over the skull’s space.
Lian and Seris both remained motionless.
"Welcome to my home." Then a voice said from behind them... exactly like Lian’s voice!
Exactly the same tone, the same inflection, and the same short pause between words!
Both turned around at the same time.
At the entrance of the eye socket, someone was standing.
The height... the hair... the armor... the face, and even the blue band tied around the wrist... everything looked like Lian!
But its smile was too wide, the corners of its mouth stretched almost to its cheeks.
Its eyes did not blink, and beneath the skin of its face, something like white strands was moving slowly.
The creature tilted its head slightly, and its smile grew wider, as if it was happily looking at its new prey.
"It looks exactly like you." Seris looked at the old Lian and the new Lian.
The resemblance was too strong!
And a new panel appeared before both of their views.
[Grave Doppelgänger]
[Level: 25]
[Rank: Fallen]