The wooden stairs cracked under Nido's weight, the expensive rugs threw dust into the air. Deatt felt unnerved moving through the house. As much as it seemed abandoned, he felt like it could not be. Most of the rooms they already walked by had a great layer of dust on the ground, obviously left forgotten. But the hall wasn't, not fully.

  Nido walked to one of the crates, already having enough of sneaking past them without checking them first. He grabbed the top with both hands, expecting the crate to be bolted strong. Instead he almost stumbled back as he opened it without any. resistance. Then he almost stumbled again when he saw the contents.

  Deatt immediately smelled the strong scent of roasted meat. Not rotten. Not stale. It was as if the crate kept the meat freshly roasted, even with the veil of dust around it.

  "Witch huh?" Deatt whispered quietly, suddenly much more open to the idea.

  Nido could not answer him, having his mouth full already.

  Instead of berating Nido for a hasty action, Deatt reached inside and bit into a very tasty chicken leg. Then he grabbed another and finished it off with a some pork belly.

  Full and suddenly joyous, Nido smiled at Deatt as he cleaned his teeth with a chicken bone.

  "Can we stay here boss?"

  Deatt was surprised that he was actually thinking of saying 'yes' for a short moment, but he knew they could not. Not only did they not understand the situation in the house fully, already risking by eating the food, but the issue of lacking other human contact would persist.

  "We can eat how much we want here and enjoy any drinks if we find some, but we cannot stay here." Deatt stood up. "Come on, let's check the rest before nightfall."

  "Alright." Nido stood up energetically.

  Deatt led the way, checking for anything out of the ordinary, until he found exactly what he was looking for all the while.

  Deatt arrived at doors to the next two rooms, and one of them lacked the ever-prevalent layer of dust on the ground. Meaning it was used.

  Signaling to Nido behind them to be quiet. Deatt opened the door slightly, looking threw the slit inside.

  It was the library. Bookcases reaching the very ceiling of the room, with numerous ladders with different sizes around the one wall. He was listening to any sounds coming from inside the room, but heard only silence.

  "Something smells nice."

  "We have literally just eaten. Rein it in."

  "I wasn't talking about food."

  "Just shush." Deatt replied as he walked inside.

  Now the full extent of the giant library hit him. There must have been thousands of books around him. Most stacked in neat piles on various pieces of furniture, others placed into the bookcases with great care. But most importantly, there was no dust. The room was cared for, somehow.

  Deatt was getting convinced that they truly weren't alone in the house, the idea setting a running chill down his spine.

  There were so many books that some must have been expensive, but Deatt soon realized he had actually no idea how to spot those. Some might have been covered or written in gold, but even those he decided not to steal. First, he had no idea if it would curse him and second they were heavy. Who would buy books in this situation anyway?

  He returned to the hallway, following the tracks of lacking dust. On the way, he encountered a number of open crates, most empty, though some had sheets of paper, ink and other various items.

  They slowly lead further into the west part of the manor, until they reached a door at the end of the hall.

  Deatt signaled for Nido to stop and continued alone. Not that his friend was not stealthy, but he was not as stealthy as him.

  He slowly crept to the door, took the small knife he pocketed on the way and opened it.

  He was greeted by a clean room, the drapes closed shut around the windows, even more books in piles and pristine dishes on tables and, right in the middle of the room, was a queen sized bed, in which someone was peacefully sleeping.

  The 'witch' was a young woman, possibly somewhere around Deatt's age. Her long blond hair was spread on the duvet, reaching the far end of the bed.

  He was prepared for many things. For a fight, for an empty room, maybe even for a portal somewhere. This situation however, completely caught him at wit's end.

  He stood there motionless, watching the sleeping woman in the bed. Blinking as if the situation would change if he did it enough.

  Suddenly, Deatt felt like a creep.

  Deatt stayed watching the door for full five minutes after he closed them. The confusion keeping him locked in place. Only after Nido gently tapped on his shoulder did he manage to move.

  Ushering him to the library and closing the door behind them, he looked at his companion with wide eyes.

  "There is a woman sleeping in there."

  "The witch?"

  "Yes...no...maybe?" Deatt answered, still flustered. "I have no idea."

  "Maybe we should ask her?"

  "Sorry ma'am, you a witch? Oh and don't mind us barging inside and eating your food." The still somewhat frantic Deatt answered. "Sorry, sorry." He held out a hand in surrender immediately. "I just got to calm down."

  Nido nodded and walked into the middle of the room, then returning with a leather chair.

  "Sit down." he said gently.

  "Thank you." Deatt said with a deep sigh as he sat down.

  Nido, knowing that Deatt would need a couple of moments, made his own way around the books, looking at their covers and flipping through the pages. He might not have the ability to read, but he liked the intricately written symbols none-the-less. Nido thought that maybe he should have Deatt teach him sometime. When he saw that Deatt's breathing was stable again, he came back.

  "Better?"

  "Yeah, yeah." Deatt answered. "So to summarize. We entered a house that was boarded up, supposedly holding a witch inside..."

  "Suspicious."

  "...It seems it was locked up for a long time, yet there is fresh food..."

  "Delicious."

  "...and a woman is sleeping soundly in a room next door."

  "Egregious"

  "Stop it." Deatt flashed Nido an annoyed look. "This is serious."

  "I know. Humor helps."

  Deatt shook his head and closed his eyes, rubbing his temple. "She didn't do anything to us and we did nothing to her. I think we should leave it at that and just go."

  Suddenly a crack at the door took Deatt's attention.

  "So soon?" a disappointed voice came from the door frame.

  Nido's full brows ran up his forehead as he looked to the woman and back at Deatt. He must have had a similar expression.

  "Hello?" he said to the woman. "Sorry we let ourselves inside but..."

  "Don't mind that! You know how long I have been waiting?" She snapped and a small ember flew from her hands to the chandelier. The room was suddenly bathed in light.

  Now, when both could see clearly and the woman was not covered in her duvets, Deatt had to stop himself from staring at the woman. Not that her blouse was provocative, but he was in prison for a long time. Rather than her slim figure, he focused on her face. She had soft features with a small nose, her long blond hair reached the floor and her eyes had a distinct blue shine to them.

  She quickly moved around the room, throwing books off of a table and preparing chairs next to it.

  "Come! Sit by the table, I will be right back!" she ran to the hall, the steps of her bare feet echoing in the empty space.

  Deatt and Nido looked at each other, at the empty door frame, and at each other again. Then, with mutual understanding, they sat at the table. Whatever was happening, they decided to act like nice guests. The woman did just use magic. Who knew what more she could do?

  After just a few moments she quickly returned, now dressed in more formal clothing, holding a silver tray with three silver cups a small bowl full of sugar and a pitcher with a dark liquid inside. Nido inhaled deeply, smiling with delight.

  "Coffee." he said.

  The woman gently put the tray on the table and started pouring the coffee to the cups, then she added three cubes of sugar to hers.

  "Want sugar?" she reached with the bowl to Deatt.

  "No thank you."

  When she turned to Nido, he grasped around eight cubes and dropped them into the steaming liquid.

  After her 'guests' were given their coffee, the woman finally made herself comfortable and sat down with them.

  "Did my parents sent you?"

  Deatt's instincts immediately told him to act as if that was the situation, but he decided against it. He did not know why, but the woman felt actually rather warm, instead of the cold and calculating witch he expected to find here.

  "No, unfortunately not."

  The woman's mood worsened at an incredible speed. Her energetic eyes turning to the coffee before her.

  "We were just passing through and saw the house. In all honesty, we thought it might be abandoned."

  She did not reply, instead mixing the coffee with her spoon.

  "Did you expect us to be your parent's messengers?"

  "Something like that." she said sadly. Then she shook her head and smiled back at Deatt. "Don't get me wrong, I am glad I have company. I just thought that I might...you know...go outside."

  "You can't?" Nido asked after he downed his cup in one gulp.

  "I...I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind. Instead, why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves? What brought you here?"

  "Well, we escaped prison..."

  "Nido!" Deatt shouted at his companion. "I will get it from here alright?"

  The half-orc shrugged as he poured himself another coffee.

  The woman turned to Deatt, her eyes wide open in surprise.

  "It's true, but it sounds worse than it is. We just stole something we shouldn't have, believed someone we shouldn't have." He took the sip from the coffee to give him time to continue. At the lack of possible ways to shape the conversation, he continued sincerely. "How much do you know about what is going on outside?" he asked.

  The woman, a tidy bit unnerved, answered. "Nothing."

  Nido stopped pouring himself his third cup at the answer. Deatt understood that. The woman was completely isolated before they entered. The whole village around her was butchered and she had no idea.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Now Deatt wrestled with what he should tell her. They could leave her here and board her up again, leaving her in relative safety. Clueless and possibly sentenced to a life of solitude, but safe.

  But that was exactly what Deatt was trying to avoid for himself, so he would feel like a hypocrite if he decided that fate for somebody else. Also, the look Nido gave him spoke volumes on his stance on the matter. Instead of making something up, he started to slowly tell her everything. Or most of what he knew.

  It was a lot to digest for someone utterly disconnected from the world. Especially if that someone was expecting their parents to send people to free her from...well Deatt did not know. For most of his explanation, she sat with an utterly horrified expression. At parts she was looking at the pair as if they were joking, but eventually, she seemed to believe them.

  "That...that is horrifying. If that is going outside..." she shook. Then she turned at the men, switching who she was looking at. "Want if you stay here then? I have food reserves long enough to last decades. I could use the company too, I read through most of these already." she pointed at the books around her. "Maybe we could even bring in more people! Make a community here. The house is big after all and this whole thing should pass sooner or later. We could even-"

  Deatt stopped her with a raised hand.

  "You are very kind, but..." he stopped himself.

  But what? Why not? Deatt did not want to stay at one place for too long for the lack of company, but if they managed what the woman wanted to do...

  No. She was ostracized for being a 'witch' even before the area around turned to shit. Who knew what would happen if people found her now. Also, Deatt did not like how quickly he started to trust her, he didn't feel any magic thread pulling on his mind, nor an alure of some perfume influencing his thoughts. He saw a lonely young woman in need of help. He made the mistake of helping one before, and that landed him and Nido in jail. He did not want to fail as his companion again.

  "...why are you locked in here anyway?" He asked, trying to detach himself from the sympathy he felt for her.

  Her eyes full of hope and ideas as to how to survive turned grim. Her shoulders slumped and the full cup of coffee took her attention again.

  Deatt said nothing, letting her gruel in the silence of the question. He felt bad about it, she was a very kind host, even offering them a place to stay, to live through the mayhem outside. Such nice propositions often came with unsaid clauses. He needed to know the answer if he was to trust her.

  She opened her mouth, about to answer, when Nido broke the silence.

  "It doesn't matter." He put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Then he turned to Deatt. "Right? You were just curious."

  Deatt did not like when Nido did not follow his plans, but he was almost relieved when Nido broke the tension.

  "Yes, sorry if it is a...touchy subject." He said, taking a sip from the coffee.

  The friendly and nice mood did not come back that day, leaving Deatt feeling guilty about his decision, even though he still felt it was the right one. You never knew what people were capable of until they showed you.

  But the saddened look on the girl's face did make him question himself, as she slowly excused herself back into her room. Of course, to further Deatt's guilt, she showed them a room and told them they can stay however long they please.

  Deatt and Nido continued the silence even after she walked away. Not that Nido was angry at Deatt, but there was nothing much to say at the moment.

  Before going to bed, Deatt decided to open a few more crates, only to look inside.

  It might have spoiled the food, but the woman had enough to last her ages, a few crates meant nothing to her.

  Going to the hall where they came from, he had chosen a few crates at random.

  Turns out they were not filled with only food. First crate he opened, golden twinkling dishes smiled brightly at him. Pitchers, plates, cutlery even glasses. The contents of the crate must have cost a fortune. He caught himself slipping the golden spoons into his pocket on instinct.

  But due to today's events, even he felt bad taking them, so he left them on the top of the crate.

  The next crate was food again, not meant by fresh fruits of all kinds. He picked out a bunch of small orange ball-like fruits and pocketed them. The third one he did not understand, it held some trinkets, iron tools with seemingly no purpose. But he did find a tool that seemed passable as a lockpick, so he took that too.

  Any time he opened a crate, the gambler side of him enjoyed the reveal. After opening the three, Deatt could not help but open just one more. Then in the next one he found oil. Only oil in big flasks. He could not stop just there. So he decided for one more crate. When he peered inside, his guilt came in full force. There were children's toys inside. Plushies, dolls, knights and dragons. All that he always lacked in childhood, but forever wanted. One of the plushies held a heart, with the name "Evelynn" written on it. He realized he still did not hear the name of the woman, although now he had an inkling that this might just be hers.

  He returned to Nido with a heavy mind. They ate the sweets and slightly sour fruits and gone to sleep immediately after. At least he pretended to. While Nido dozed off immediately, Deatt stayed awake, guarding him against any enchantments the woman might have tried to cast on them during their sleep. But she never came.

  Instead, though just barely, he could hear gentle weeping, coming from down the hall.

  Deatt knocked on the door to the bedroom.

  "Hello? Are you awake?"

  "Y-yes." The woman sniffed from inside.

  "Can we talk?"

  After a few moments of things rustling inside, the woman opened the door.

  Her eyes were read and the blue in them seemed a duller shade than yesterday.

  "First I want to apologize, I should have been more careful. You are a very gracious host and you deserved more than that. So...sorry for that." Deatt rubbed the back of his head. "Also I thought, don't take it the wrong way please, I wouldn't want to stay here. It's a beautiful house, but it's mostly empty. I told you what's happening outside, but it's dangerous, but I feel like the world is worth the risk. What I mean to say is, if you would like to come with us to Zenwall. You are free to."

  "I..." the indecision was drawn on her face. She looked into Deatt's eyes, trying to find the answer there, then she turned to her room, her eyes moving over the bed, the books, then finally the drapes, where only a slight hint of light protruded into the otherwise dark room.

  "I would like to." she said.

  "Then you have today to pack up, we will be setting off once you are ready." a part of the guilt dropped from Deatt. He spent the whole night trying to decide if this was the right move. He would have her on his conscious if anything happened to her, he was the one taking her from the safety of her home after all.

  "Oh and, I am Deatt. The green hulking mass of muscle is Nido."

  "Evelynn."

  "Nice to finally meet you Evelynn."

  When he came back to his room, Nido was already snacking on some cheese he took from the crate.

  "Did she agree?" he asked. Deatt did not divulge his plan to propose that Evelynn might come with them, partly because Nido was still asleep, partly because he knew he did not have to. The half-orc just knew him too well.

  "Yes, she is preparing now." he answered.

  Nido nodded his head contently.

  "That also means that we have to be more careful now. Zenwall is four days away. So stack up on food as much as you can. We are not stopping before getting there once we set out."

  That Nido was not as happy about. He turned to the crates lovingly, a slight frown on his face.

  "Sorry ladies, it was nice."

  With a pack full of food, tools and rope, and admittedly some golden cutlery, Deatt stood prepared next to the back entrance of the house. Nido was meanwhile trying his best to stuff as much food into him as he could before they went on their way.

  They both wore new clothes, as Evelynn showed them some of her father's closets. Deatt went for a light brown jacket that was very flexible, allowing him quite a bit of movement, leather boots that made little sound and baggy black pants.

  Nido dressed himself like a lord, with a long purple tunic adorned with fur by the neck, a shirt with golden laces, brown pants with deep pockets and black solid boots, probably meant for winter.

  Evelynn appeared on the top of the stairs. Deatt underestimated he preparedness.

  Instead of flashy simple clothes he expected her to wear, she arrived in a light brown tunic, brown pants with the same hue and solid boots for traveling. Her pack was smaller than Deatt's, but it hung low, meaning it was fairly heavy.

  Yet the steps of the woman could not be more light as she jumped down the stairs.

  "Before we set of, a few rules." Deatt turned to her. "You have to listen to me and Nido. We have experience outside, something might sound illogical to you, but even then listen intently. Don't believe people outside. Most just want something out of you."

  Evelynn nodded with a serious expression, hopefully taking his words into heart.

  "Lastly, I hope it doesn't happen but if it did, if we get separated, you need to get into Zenwall by yourself. You got some of that gold as I told you?"

  "Yes."

  "Good, then you can pay your way inside if nothing else will work."

  Deatt turned to the door, gently opening them, he looked outside. It was clear, no turned on this side of the house. First he got outside alone, to check how the things were looking. It all seemed clear, but when he rounded the corner...

  Right down on the main road, a huge group of turned stood motionless, as if dormant. They did not look around, only staying still, waiting.

  A shiver ran down Deatt's spine. Thankfully they could circle around the church and walk into the forests without alerting the small horde, but they must have come here in the night. Why would they stop? Why here?

  The intent behind the turned's behavior and movements was still a mystery to Deatt, which frustrated him to no end. It would be so much easier to deal with them had he known what makes them tick.

  Thankfully, they were far enough not to notice him or his entourage walking into the woods, or things would turn ugly.

  He slowly returned to his companions and motioned them to go outside.

  Nido walked through the doors, his pack almost too wide for the entrance.

  Then came Evelynn and right when she crossed the threshold, an incredibly loud alarm sounded around.

  It was ear-piercing for Deatt making him kneel to the ground, holding his ears.

  Nido, in much the same pain as Deatt, managed to turn around and pick up Evelynn, hauling her inside.

  Once she was back in, the agonizing sound stopped.

  Deatt tried to quickly get up, but his balance was off from his ears still hurting. He managed to fall inside the house, where Nido quickly grabbed some of the crates and pressed them against the doors.

  But the turned were already running to the manor.