Once we saw the giant shape on the lake, Astrid and I had to make a decision. Were we going to continue forward and risk fighting a creature without our weapons, or would we head back to gather our stuff and then go after Michael and Pamela?
"Do you think we can make it before they reach the other side?" I asked the Frosted Lumberjack.
I knew that her lack of weapon was more of an issue than mine. After all, even without the Frosted Staff, I could just use any other thing as my weapon. If needed, my skills could be channeled through my own body instead. But she didn't have the same luxury. Because of the way her class was set up, most of her skills required the Frosted Axe, otherwise she wouldn't be able to activate them.
She glanced at the lake again and saw the shape moving forward and then turned her head towards the location where the light was. The place where Michael and Pamela were going to. I could almost see the math in her eyes. Calculating how long it would take to go back and then rush towards them. I was doing the same thing, and honestly, I wasn't confident we could make it before the two arrived at the shore.
With a frown, she shook her head. "No. We keep going."
Unfortunately, I had to agree with her. If we went back, Michael would probably arrive at the shore before we were able to return. Not to mention that it would be risky to pass by the festival again. Maybe people would see us moving around, then question why we were carrying our weapons, so instead, we just pushed forward, doing our best to stay hidden.
We continued running through the road that would lead us to the light by the lake. But the main problem was that we couldn't just go on a full sprint. The matriarch was supposed to be following this path in just a few moments and if she saw us, we might be in trouble. But at the same time, it wasn't like we could move slowly. There was something going after Michael and Pamela. Something big, something that was living in the lake. And from this angle, we could see that whatever followed them was truly massive. Its size could potentially be even bigger than the Ice Devil. Although it was hard to say if that really was the case, considering we were looking only at the reflection in the water.
There was a part of me that wanted to follow Michael and Pamela along the lake. But I also knew that it was stupid to do that. If that creature did anything with them while they were in there, there was absolutely nothing we could do. Even if I had a System, I wasn't crazy enough to think that I could fight a giant monster underwater, so instead, we pushed through, trying to reach their destination before them.
But something else also got in the way. While running, I started hearing some noises coming from the back along the road. I had seen a single horse in the entire village and it seemed like the matriarch was using it to arrive before the two people who were marrying the lake.
Astrid didn't seem to notice the matriarch approaching, forcing me to pull her to the side and tell her to hide in the bushes as we waited for the horse pass by. It was risky since we had no clue what the matriarch was actually doing. However, we were too far gone to go back now. Pamela's story was worrying me and I didn't want her and Michael to suffer some unknown fate.
And we couldn't afford to let Amelia know about our doubts. Especially if we considered the fact that Pamela was already looking around. Hell, maybe Pamela was only picked because she started asking questions even after I told her not to. Marrying the lake would be a way for them to get rid of people that were causing problems.
The horse approached, forcing Astrid and me to be very quiet. The last thing we needed was to be seen by the matriarch. But our hope was that all we had to do was wait for her to pass by before we could continue moving. That's not what happened. Instead, the horse started to slow down and stopped just a few meters in front of us. The matriarch glanced in our direction and I could only pray that the moonlight wasn't enough to reveal us. Maybe we were well hidden by the forest around the lake, and if not... Well, we would probably have to deal with this in an unpleasant way.
Amelia continued to stare in our direction. Her form mostly covered in darkness, but the white of her eyes reflected a little bit of moonlight that was able to appear through the tree line. Thankfully, after a long couple of minutes, she continued moving, seemingly unaware of our presence. Or choosing not to expose us and reveal her hand.
It was hard to say, but I believed in our abilities to hide from a human without the System. Once she was far enough away, I tapped Astrid on the shoulder and signaled for us to continue. Michael was starting to gain some ground over us, but he would never be as fast as we were on land. And despite our levels and Body attribute, a horse was still much faster than either Astrid or I. Which meant the matriarch would be far enough ahead of us so we wouldn't have to worry so much about being caught by her. That is, unless she decided to stop again. But that did not happen.
We continued walking over to the light on the shore without being interrupted. Even if the matriarch had stopped to look at the lake again, she did so before we arrived where she was waiting. After about 10 minutes of half running, we arrived closer to the light on the other end of the lake. But calling it the other end wasn't fair. It was just part of the shore to the right. The actual other end seemed to be a few kilometers northwest.
It wasn't difficult to see what was going on near the lights. There was a very large table filled with various types of foods. Mostly fish and baked goods and there was a group of people there just talking and waiting. Without any real sense of worry or anything of the sort. Once more, it was hard to tell if this was truly something nefarious. The people there were too relaxed for it to be something dangerous.
The one thing we noticed was the presence of a tent by the side. It wasn't something anyone had mentioned before. But considering that the people who married the lake would generally stay out the entire night, this could be the reason. Maybe there was some part of the ceremony that required them to be sleeping out here. But if that was the case, why the secrecy? Why was no one allowed to know about it? No one except the people who were here.
We were able to hear the voices of the people who were waiting for Michael and Pamela, but we were too far away to be able to understand what was being said. But the tone of their voice seemed to be very casual and relaxed. Like if that was just part of the festival. Which, in a sense, it was, but still felt a bit strange.
Leaning to the side, I touched Astrid's shoulder and sent a message through the System.
Cassandra: I'm going to get closer. Sit back and if something were to happen, I'll call you.
Astrid: okay. Nothing seems dangerous here. But be careful.
I nodded in agreement, but realized that maybe it was a bit too dark for her to see it properly.
Cassandra: Will do.
I sent the final message before stepping away from my companion.
As I approached, slowly, their conversation became more than just random mumbling and I could discern what they were actually discussing.
"You have outdone yourself, Amelia," one of the men who was there nodded. "This all looks delicious. Do you mind if I…" he reached out to pick a small piece of pie but got swatted away by the matriarch.
"No, you cannot. This is exclusively for the bride and groom. And I don't want to hear anything about it from anyone. This is how things are supposed to be done," she huffed.
"Come on," the men pressed, "just a small bite won't do any harm. Those two won't be able to eat all of this, anyway."
The matriarch gave the man a flat stare. "Do you want to be the one responsible for ruining the ceremony this year? Are you willing to risk losing everything the lake has done for us because you wanted to eat something else? After having inhaled two entire cakes in the festival," Amelia huffed, making the man look away.
"No, I don't want to do that," the man sounded really dejected.
"Then stop complaining and just wait. By their pace, they should be here in around 10 minutes or so." The matriarch turned around. Unlike everybody else who was just enjoying and in the same mood as the rest of the festival, the matriarch was more tense. Clearly worried about something. It could be just the weight of being the leader of this village, but once more, I started to get suspicious. Maybe she knew something else that was about to happen. Two other people seemed to match her mood. But it was hard to see them since they were far from the light.
Suddenly, there was a noise behind me. It was very quiet, and I had a feeling that if it wasn't for my high level and body, or mind. I wasn't really sure which attribute affected my hearing, I wouldn't be able to notice that.
Looking back, it came from roughly the same direction where Astrid was. Meaning that maybe it was just the Frosted Lumberjack getting closer or shifting in her place. But it could also be something else. A monster or an animal who was approaching. And that's when I realized I had no idea the type of things that could live here.
Sure, we were going off the assumption the lake would protect everybody, but what if that wasn't really the case? What if not all animals feared whatever was in the lake? The fact was, we should probably have gone back and picked up our weapons. But in their absence, we would need to deal with whatever was going to happen with the tools at hand.
Near my foot, I found a sturdy-looking branch and quickly triggered {Compression} to make it smaller so I could use it as a staff. I was pretty sure this piece of wood wouldn't be able to handle my skills properly, but it was better than nothing. I just wish there was something I could give Astrid, but that really didn't seem to be the case.
Eventually, Michael and Pamela arrived at the shore. They were both tired, the Hawaiian men much more than Pamela but they were greeted warmly. Receiving a change of clothes and the matriarch just praising them for their dedication to the cause. The matriarch said a few words once again and her speeches were starting to get boring. While she was good with the theatrics and her voice carried, she was basically saying the same thing over and over again. We thank the lake, the lake is great and everything is because of the lake.
But after it, before Michael and Pamela started eating, the other villagers left. The only ones who stayed behind were the matriarch herself, along with the foreman for the construction crew and the head fisherman. The same two men that seemed to be anxious like Amelia.
"Now please, eat," the matriarch said.
Pamela didn't really wait to drink some water, but Michael hesitated. He was looking around, not entirely sure if he should be having this meal.
"Can I ask what is this? What kind of food are you serving us and why is it special?"
"This is just something to appreciate your efforts. I am an old woman and I'm not as spry as I used to be. That's why cooking is a bit of a chore for me. I only prepare this kind of meal on very rare occasions and I do hope you enjoy it," Amelia said with a smile.
"Don't get me wrong, but can I not. I don't like being out here in the middle of nowhere," Michael added.
"But this is part of the ceremony, we need you to stay here to confirm your dedication to the lake."
"Look, I think I'm doing pretty well so far. I mean, I helped the fisherman, and I did everything you asked of me. But I am really not that comfortable sleeping out here alone. Much less with some woman that I never really had any interaction." Michael glanced back to Pamela who was already sitting on the table, but he froze seeing her state. And so did I.
Pamela wasn't just eating. Her head was laying down on top of a plate of fish and she seemed to be completely unconscious.
But How?
Michael was the one who had to swim all the way here. He was clearly much more tired than her, so having her just pass out of exhaustion didn't really make sense.
"What is going on?" Michael asked.
"You could have made this easier on you," Amelia shook her head and turned to the two men, "grab him."
The foreman and the head fisherman jumped on top of Michael and at the same time Astrid burst out of the forest.
"Hey stop that," I yelled, "what are you doing here?"
"That doesn't matter," the matriarch snarled. "What are you doing with him? And what did you do to Pamela?" I asked, but Astrid started to slowly walk towards the two men.
"Amelia? What we do now?" the foreman asked.
"Doesn't matter. That's just more food," the matriarch pulled a small whistle from her pocket and blew on it.
While the foreman and the head fisherman tried to fight Astrid off but she simply pushed them aside and stepped between Michael and them. The moment Amelia blew on the whistle, a soft noise echoed in this area of the lake. It wasn't loud or imposing, but it sounded very much like a rooster. A tiny one that was struggling to sing properly, but a rooster nonetheless.
As soon as she did so, the three village elders started to run away. They didn't even bother trying to stop us or to talk to us. They just put their tail between their legs and dashed out. Which was obviously a bad sign.
"What is going on," Michael asked, but before anyone was able to answer, we heard the sound of splashing water as a gigantic shape emerged from the lake. A shape with eight large blue legs and a pair of gigantic pincers, along with two eyes that protruded from the front of its head.
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Emperor Flathead - Tier 2
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