Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 166: Book 3: Chapter 21: Lavender Town

Read chapter 166 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 3: Chapter 21: Lavender Town Chapter 21: Lavender Town [Time Remaining: 619 Days, 09 Hours, 36 Minutes] Wagon wheels bit into gravel and loose stone as the caravan creaked on through the highland road. A mountain range loomed in the distance, the peaks sharp as spear-points, shadowed in the red-gray light of dusk. The day’s travel had passed without much trouble, only a few hungry wolf-drakes and a swarm of ironwing gnats daring to test the wagons’ defenses, both were dispatched quickly. The mood among the mercenaries was almost easy compared to recent days. That mood broke when the village appeared. It was a small collection of hovels and sparse wood buildings which lay crouched at the base of the mountains, tucked between some tall forest pines. A few wooden houses sat huddled together, their walls crooked, shingles patched with tar and moss. They heard no laughter from the settlement as they approached, no dogs barking, nor did any smell of cooking smoke greet them. There was only the flat, still silence of a place that had all the appearances to be too lived in to be abandoned, but too hollow to be alive. When the villagers did appear, they were… strange. They came out smiling, speaking politely, helping the wagon-drivers direct the caravan into the central square. But their eyes didn’t linger on the goods, the mercenaries, or the worldstriders. They didn’t ask about trade, or the journey, or where the caravan had come from. Their only questions were: “How long are you staying?” and “When do you leave?” Even Ghrukk was left frustrated, his tusks grinding. “Don’t like this. Too quiet.” His squad all agreed, each of them watching the villagers with hands on their weapons. Selka stepped a little closer to Sarson, the man placed himself between the world and her as they walked. It was an unsettling feeling, and he felt it as well, something that he couldn’t exactly put words to for the why of it all. But, it was undeniable, something fuckity was going on in this village, Alex felt it. That night, the strangeness deepened. Alex sat awake by the window of the inn’s room, watching the dark streets. The “guards” the villagers had stationed had some rather peculiar patrol rotations. Just watching them for an hour clued Alex into the fact they weren’t protecting the settlement. In fact, their patrols circled only around the inn itself, as though keeping the outsiders contained. During each guard change, a few would split away, slipping into the treeline, ostensibly heading up the slope toward the mountains. What was worse was that across the road, all the way up and down the street, Alex could see faces behind shuttered windows. Pale shapes of villagers standing in silence, watching the inn from the dark. Not moving. Only watching. The rest of the team were also still awake, so Alex pointed out what he found. “It fucking creepy right? I’m not just being paranoid?” No one disagreed. “Feels wrong,” Holly said, her right hand gripping the hilt to her jian blade tightly. “Like they’re waiting for us to do something. Or waiting for something to happen to us?” Even Lance, happy enough to usually explain things away, rubbed his arms uneasily. “Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of creepy NPC villages in games, but this is a little too on the nose. Feels like we are going to get the ‘Forest has Eyes’ treatment, you know what I mean?” They all simply nodded and did their best not to look out the window, even Alex. The more he watched them watching him, it just felt super off-putting, he had to just focus on something else. The next morning, the team moved out into the streets to try buying supplies. The few shopkeeps and stall-owners they found around the village hurried them along, barely bartering, practically throwing bread and dried meat into their hands to make them go away. Every sale ended with the same words: “Safe travels. Don’t stay too long.” When Alex pressed one shopkeep, the man wrung his hands, sweat on his brow. “We… we don’t like no