Liam left Therim's tower, putting his shadow cloak back on. Traveling through the city he received a few suspicious looks, but it was still better than showing his identity.
The shadow cloak allowed Liam to leave the city peacefully, following the road towards the void-corrupted forest. He made a turn -ignoring the low-leveled boars attacking him on the way - and reached the first village.
It was a gathering of a few poor-looking houses. Being this close to the void-corrupted forest, fear could still be seen the villagers' faces. The surrounding luscious fields had obviously taken some damage and mage apprentices were working hard to keep the void energy at bay.
Liam would love to help the villagers but there was currently no way to do so. He could only focus on his quest to bring judgement to the culprit.
When Liam stepped on the village's small market square, he took a look around, searching for the NPCs marked by his quest. He quickly found the first one, a stout grandpa with defiant eyes.
Liam approached the man sitting on a crate with his questions:
"Old man, can I ask you something?"
"Adventurer! Sure, sure. Go ahead."
"Thank you. I would like to know if you have seen strangers pass through the village over the last month."
"Ha! Searching for those b*stards corrupting our forest, hm? It's about time!"
Suddenly the old man spit to the side, prompting Liam to take a step back.
"Why do you think someone is responsible for the corruption?"
"Youngster, I have lived long and seen much. The biggest problems for our village were always manmade! Wars. Famine caused by a stupid king. Bad weather because the priest pocketed the sacrifice for the gods. It's always the same.
The worst natural disaster we experienced was a starving bear!"
"This sounds…"
Liam struggled to find the right word, causing the old man to take over:
"Don't fret it. That's life. The corruption of our forest is just another catastrophe. However, I did indeed see something strange. On the day after that beast was slain, I noticed a tattered, dark green coat hanging from a tree."
"Great, did you keep it?"
"Youngster, did you not listen? It hung from a tree. In the corrupted area! I couldn't get it. And when I looked again a few hours later it was gone."
"Alright. This is still a great help. Thank you. Anything else?"
"No that's it. I hope you find the b*stard who did this!"
"Of course."
Liam nodded earnestly before saying goodbye and looking for more clues. Another NPC entered his eyes, a young mother selling apples with her daughter playing nearby.
"Adventurer, are you here to buy something?"
Hearing the woman's weak voice, Liam felt some pity, speaking with a gentle smile:
"Yes. Give me five apples."
"Five? Of course. Here, this makes ten bronze."
"Thank you."
Liam put the goods into his inventory, taking out a silver coin and laying it on the woman's stall.
"What? Adventurer, this is too much! Too much! I can't take it."
"If you feel like that's too much, how about answering my question to earn this coin?"
The woman hesitated, looking at Liam wearily. He didn't wait for her answer, asking gently:
"Have you seen anything strange last month? Especially before the void corruption appeared?"
"I…"
The woman looked conflicted, hesitating. But suddenly her daughter stood next to her, holding a white boar's tusk in her hand.
"Here, I found this.", stated the young girl, her big eyes transfixed on the silver coin, causing her mother to scold her anxiously:
"Mary! I told you not to show this to anyone!"
"But mommy…"
"You…"
The woman wanted to push her daughter away, but seeing her teary eyes she couldn't act against her instincts. She hugged her daughter, placating her:
"Ok, ok. Mommy knows you meant well. Don't cry."
Liam quickly chimed in:
"Mary, can you sell this tusk to big brother?"
Seeing the young girl's mood change on the spot, Liam almost felt cheated, but he took out another silver coin, exchanging it for the tusk.
The mother let out a light sigh before explaining to Liam:
"A few days ago, Mary went out to play. When she came back, she had this tusk in her hands. I immediately understood that she went to the forest.
But my daughter is NOT corrupted! I swear! Please don't tell anyone, adventurer!"
"Don't worry. My lips are sealed."
"Thank you."
Speaking till here, the woman advised her daughter some more, prompting Liam to leave. When she looked back, her eyes suddenly opened wide:
"Adventurer, you forgot your coin! Adventurer!"
Liam didn't turn back, leaving the village with a light smile on his lips. Although helping such minor NPCs wouldn't grant him any benefit, such acts still gave one a good feeling due to the immersive world where every NPC looked extremely lifelike.
In a good mood Liam followed the path to another village. As he didn't dare to cross the void-corrupted forest, he was forced to take a detour costing him a few extra minutes.
On his way he even watched a group of players enter the forest in search of adventure. But they soon noticed their HP decreasing rapidly. Realizing that they couldn't survive they hastily left the forest.
But the situation didn't get much better. Their HP still fell dramatically until everyone but their tank succumbed to the void energy.
Liam pitied them but he was certain their group wasn't the only one trying their luck. Only when the army gave out anti-void items could players explore the forest again.
To Liam's knowledge however, the forest didn't hold any more secrets. Thus, he wasn't curious, speeding up to soon reach the second village.
Walking down the main street it didn't take him long to find the first relevant NPC. It was a middle-aged man huddled against the corner of a building, his face painted with distress.
Liam approached him carefully to ask his questions:
"Sir. Can I bother you for a moment?"
"Ah! Who are you?! I don't recognize you! Stay away!"
"Sir, I'm an adventurer investigating the void. I have a few questions."
"Void? Demon! Demon!", cried the man, horror reflecting in his eyes.
"Sir, please. What demon are you talking about?"
"Benareg!"
The man shivered, crawling into the shadows, his skin paling by the second. Luckily a gentle-looking woman appeared, putting a cloak around the man's shoulders and speaking to him quietly.
After the man had calmed down, she turned towards Liam:
"My apologies, adventurer. My husband hasn't been the same since he saw something in the forest."
"Can you tell me what he saw?"
"Benareg! At least that's what he says…"
"Do you have any idea what Benareg is?"
"Yes. Benareg is a demon used to scare kids. It has a human body and a boar head, coming out of the forest at night."
"Could it be that your husband saw this demon around the time the void corruption occurred?"
The woman pondered for a second before nodding slowly.
"Yes. This seems about right."
"Thank you. You helped me a lot."
The woman smiled politely while leading her shivering husband away.
A picture formed in Liam's mind, but he couldn't continue the quest without talking to the last NPC. Thus, he walked towards a man knocking heavily on a door, a deep frown on his face.
"Morning, Sir. Can I ask you a question?"
"Hm? Adventurer? Come back later, I'm not in the mood."
"Sorry, but what put you in such a sour mood?"
"Hmpf. Still here? Can't you see it? Sam isn't opening the door! Must be drunk again. Lazy b*stard!
Hey! Sam! You promised to help me on the field today! Open the door!"
"This alone makes you so unsettled?"
"Well, it's not the first time this week! Odo promised me some meat, but that idiot didn't open the door either!"
"Odo is…?"
"How can't you know Odo? The hunter?! No? Ah, whatever!"
The man grunted angrily, threw one last poisonous glance at the house before turning and leaving.
Liam looked at the man's back while his quest updated. His brows furrowed as he was presented with multiple options of whom to ask for more clues. Liam shook his head and left the village towards a hut outside.
It was closer to the forest, half hidden behind some shrubbery. When Liam approached, he noticed a faint fog in the air, giving the hut an eerie appearance.
The view around the corner came into sight. Suddenly Liam froze in place. He drew a sharp breath. Next to the hut laid a dead boar missing one of its tusks, its empty eyes causing everyone approaching to shiver.
Not expecting it, even Liam was startled before he adjusted his mind and walked towards the door. He knocked three times, the sound reverberating through the surroundings.
A few seconds of silence later, the door opened slowly with a grating noise. A pale faced, quiet young man with a stubbly beard peeked through the gap.
"Who?!"