Chapter 213: The Corpse in the Cave

"I don't think that's realistic," Aive said, her pointed ears twitching. "Listen to the wind whistling through the stone passages. It must be traveling through some very complex terrain to reach us here, which means we're relatively deep inside this cave system. Finding our way out won't be easy."

"But it's always worth trying to head out," Ron said after examining the nearby earth and stone. He pointed in a direction. "Let's go this way. We should be able to find a water source not far from here."

Although they hadn't brought much in the way of rations or water, that wasn't an issue with a Priest in their party. Still, if they could find a fresh water source, it would mean finding a way out of here was no longer a problem.

"Good idea," Silvia said, glancing at Ron. "You've chosen the path with the strongest stench of blood."

"Even though the bloodstains on the path must be over a month old, I have a natural advantage in this regard. I can still smell them."

"Over a month?" An idea struck Ron. "Seymour reported that he first discovered the camp around that same time, didn't he?"

"Are you suggesting they might be connected?" Silvia considered this, then summoned a Night Howling Hound from the Astral Plane. "Go. Scout ahead, and don't touch anything you find!"

About half an hour later, the Vampire Descendant was thankful she had added that last command. Getting a ferocious Night Howling Hound to ignore a mangled corpse—one with only its upper half left, its organs and intestines strewn across the ground—was clearly beyond the beast's self-control.

Following the light steps of the Night Howling Hound, they found a body that was more than halfway decomposed. Flies and maggots scattered, revealing the half-corpse to Ron and the others.

"How pitiful..." Aive frowned, looking at the long, dark-brown streak trailing behind the corpse—blood that had long since dried. "Did he drag himself all the way here with only half a body? His willpower must have been incredible..."

"He must have known there was a Teleportation Array here," Victoria said. "He crawled all this way, clinging to that hope, but it's a shame he never reached it."

"Did he lose the strength to go on? Or did his friends abandon him? Seymour did say that when they first discovered the camp, a crazed figure fled the scene."

"Maybe he's the one who wasn't teleported and went mad watching his comrades disappear," Delaford shrugged. "Silvia, can you just let your dog eat him? It's creepy looking at him like this."

"Victoria?" The Vampire Descendant gestured toward the Priest. Victoria understood instantly and, just before the drooling Night Howling Hound could lunge, cast Communication with the Dead, temporarily "awakening" the corpse.

"So... much... pain..."

This was the first time Ron and his group had encountered a corpse that spoke before they even had a chance to ask a question.

"He was holding that in right before he died. He can finally let it out now," Victoria sighed. "Why are you in pain? Who hurt you?"

"Traps... Ratmen..." the corpse sighed softly, as if still reeling from the pain—despite being as dead as dead could be.

"Ratmen..." The group exchanged glances. While these caves fit the typical habitat of Ratmen, there was no way they could have created that Teleportation Array.

"What about your companions? Are they all dead, too?"

"Sol... not here. The others... captured..." The Sol mentioned by the corpse was likely the madman Seymour had described. As for the others, they had probably become food for the Ratmen.

Creatures captured by Ratmen rarely met a good end. These beast-like humanoids held an immense hatred and malice for most races. Given the chance, they would flay their prey alive, devouring the flesh and sleeping on the skins.

Goblins were a civilized race by comparison—at least their ancestors had been prosperous, and they were, after all, a Spirit Type.

"Well, this just got complicated," Delaford said, crossing his arms. "Ratmen are masters of setting traps and contraptions. If we're planning to go deeper, we need to be extra, extra careful."

"Why did you all come here? There's a village nearby. Why did you choose to make camp instead of seeking shelter there?"

The corpse groaned. "Searching for... lost treasure... Our ancestors came from... Farama..."

"Couldn't... risk... tipping them off."

Perhaps the complex questions were too much for the spell to handle. The corpse's eyes suddenly dimmed. The Night Howling Hound, having waited for so long, could restrain itself no more. It pounced, sinking its teeth into the body and tearing ferociously.

"Descendants of the Farama Kingdom. Just as I suspected." Ron turned his head away, refusing to watch the gory scene. "The golden dragon and the Pollution Worm Demon each only told us half the story. After the Farama Kingdom fell, its people split into two branches. One followed the Pollution Worm Demon deep into the mountains; the other left Delusional Land. But what have they been doing for the last few hundred years? Why come back now, of all times?"

"You're forgetting, it used to be quite dangerous around here, especially for people like them who aren't even experienced enough to be called rookies," Aive said calmly. "We were attacked by a band of Lizardmen on our very first day in Delusional Land. Do you think they could have survived that?"

"No," Ron said after a moment of thought. "In fact, if it weren't for the goblins, we would've been in deep trouble ourselves."

"When the land was wild, they couldn't handle the beasts; now that it's occupied, they're afraid of being discovered. A difficult situation," Sera said, shaking her head. "It's a shame you were all in such a rush. You could have asked if they'd made any progress."

"What if they got a head start and have already found part of it?"

"You'd have better luck relying on this dog," Silvia said, pointing at the Night Howling Hound as it crunched on the bones. "Didn't you hear his phrasing? 'Treasure.' They don't even know what it is they're supposed to be looking for!"

The barbarian nodded. "True. Only your dog would call that thing a treasure."

The Night Howling Hound looked up at the remark but was smacked back down by Silvia. "Get back to eating, you're disgusting!"

The hound whimpered, snatched the last piece of rotting flesh, and retreated back to the Astral Plane. With no sunlight there, it could travel freely between the two worlds.

"It looks like we'll be facing Beastmen next," Victoria said, taking down her Kite Shield. "Delaford, have you ever fought them? What makes the Ratmen so tough?"

"I haven't fought them myself, actually. I just heard Lord Klade talk about it," Delaford said, thinking back. "I was just a cub at the time. A pack of Ratmen had been driven out of the mountains by their own kind and came to steal our territory—that's right, the same stony mountain range where Aive escorted those merchants. Lord Klade fought a huge battle against them and barely scraped out a victory."

"They're skilled at setting traps and are excellent at camouflage. A few of the stronger ones are even proficient with invisibility. When they hunt, they'll place jewelry or other valuables in plain sight, set a trap beneath it, and lie in wait. The moment someone takes the bait, they launch their attack."

"Oh, and it seems just like that corpse—"