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Chapter 13 - Chapter 13: Shadow Beneath Haresh

Sylas hauled his axe into the heavy forest with a snort. The job was simple: chop sufficient wood to finish the irrigation system. He had been dawdling at it, but now that the project hung over his head, he couldn't avoid getting it accomplished.

The forest remained quiet, the only sound his axe on the tree. He removed the sweat from his brow and exhaled. The air hung thick with silence. Even the birds were quiet today. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something wasn't right with him.

> [Quest Log – Active]

– Build Irrigation System (Ongoing)

– Master Local Language (Complete)

– Shadow Under Haresh (In Progress)

Sylas glanced back at the quest log once more. Irrigation system was a breeze. But the other one, the Haresh one, still nagged him. He couldn't help but wonder that it had something to do with the way the town itself felt. The silence. The emptiness. Everything just did not feel right.

He was about to strike again when he noticed the commotion coming from behind. His hand instinctively went to his dagger, but looking around, he saw a girl coming out of the forest.

She was no more than sixteen or seventeen, dressed in plain brown robes. She had an armload of herbs clutched under her arm, her gaze meeting his. She wasn't afraid—she was only bewildered.

Sylas removed his hand from the dagger. "Uh. do you need something?"

The girl blinked at him in surprise. "Oh, no. I didn't interrupt. I was just picking herbs."

Sylas exhaled. "It's okay. I'm just splitting wood on a project."

The girl walked closer, interested eyes. "A project? Here?"

"Yeah. Part of a quest," he said, gesturing at the pile of logs. "Building an irrigation system."

The girl cocked her head. "I see. I've been noticing you hanging around Haresh. working in the fields?"

"Yep," Sylas said, surprised. "Getting myself established. Been working like a maniac."

She smiled warmly. "I'm Selene." She held out her hand.

Sylas shook it. "Sylas."

They stood there for a moment, neither of them really knowing what to say after that. The trees in the forest around them were quiet. Then Selene began speaking, her voice louder.

"You know, something strange is happening in Haresh," she said, looking around as if not wanting anyone to hear.

Sylas's brow jumped. "Strange?"

Selene's face grew stern. "They've been talking about the crypt. Some people say it's haunted. Others claim there's something beneath it."

Sylas shivered. He'd heard it himself, naturally. But hearing someone else voice it made it more real. And a bit scary.

> [Quest Log Updated]

– Shadow Under Haresh (Quest Information Updated: Visit the Crypt)

"You think so?" Sylas asked, trying to sound cool.

Selene stopped, looking down at the herbs in her hand. "I don't know. But. I've heard enough. People disappear there. It's not rumor."

Missing people. That interested Sylas. He had heard nothing of it, but now he wondered if there was something to the strange occurrences in Haresh.

"Maybe I should go check," he grumbled, to himself more than to her.

> [Quest Log Update]

– Shadow Under Haresh (New Goal: Explore the Crypt)

Selene gave him a stern stare. "You shouldn't. It's unsafe. Those that go there never come back."

Sylas breathed slowly, weighing. The crypt had bothered him since he'd arrived. He couldn't help but feel it was important, though he wasn't quite sure why. And now, with this. he felt as though the knowledge he sought lay there.

"I'll be okay," he told her, half to himself.

Selene shook her head again, her eyes set in a concerned expression. "If you do go, be careful. The crypt. it's nowhere. There's something older there. Something you don't want to have anything to do with."

Sylas nodded, but some part of him wasn't certain what to do about her warning. She had some information she wasn't providing, but he didn't press her for what it was. He was already being pulled toward the crypt. He had to check into it.

"Thanks for the warning," he said, returning to the pile of wood. "I'll be careful."

Before he was able to start chopping again, Selene had one last thing to say. "I'll see you around, Sylas."

"Yeah," Sylas replied, as she vanished into the trees. "See you."

As she went out of sight, Sylas had a constant pull in his chest. The crypt. Something didn't feel right about Haresh, and he was starting to think that the answers were down there, buried under the town.

He stood before the tree once more, raising his axe again.

> [Quest Log Update]

– Shadow Beneath Haresh (Task: Explore the Crypt)

[New Quest – Unlocked: Secrets of Haresh]

He brought the axe down once more, but this time more forcefully. The task was easy, but the work—the quest—had just started.

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