"Manuel, did you pay the hamlet a visit?" Viscount Renn asked as soon as he saw the knight waiting for him.
"Of course my lord. I must say it's not a pretty sight. I am not sure if Vincent will be able to handle it." The well built knight replied as he glanced at Vincent who was walking with no motivation.
"He will just have to man up. He's going to be an adult soon. It's time he started seeing the ugly side of the world."
The viscount began giving orders one after another. Soon, a group of elite guards along with the viscount and his entourage began moving towards the hamlet where the massacre had taken place. After a few hours of horse ride, they stopped before a garrison in a relatively large village.
The leader of the garrison ran out in a hurry and welcomed the lord personally. Doing his best to hold down his nervousness, he explained the situation. "Everything was alright till the 18th of the tenth month. A few people from the hamlet had come to the village to buy some nails and tools.
Nothing seemed out of line. It was only after a villager went to the hamlet to visit some of his relative three days later that we learnt of the massacre. After confirming it with my own eyes, I sent word about it to you as soon as I could. Sir Manuel too visited the hamlet with some of the wizards."
The viscount nodded once and turned to Manuel, "Does everything add up?"
"It does my lord." The knight answered swiftly and continued. "The hamlet was attacked on the 20th of tenth month. Judging by the wounds on the bodies, the attackers were highly skilled. Most of the bodies show a single lethal wound. A few were even killed while they were asleep, completely unaware of what was happening."
"So you are saying there's a group of highly trained combatants, possibly a military unit inside my fief. And that we have not a single clue about their identity or motive?"
"I am afraid so." The knight replied to the viscount's question.
Everyone went silent as soon as his words ended. The implication of the previous sentences made everyone present aware that things could take a turn for the worse at any point. Given that all of them were either warriors or combat personnel, the chances of them getting embroiled in the upcoming mess was almost a certainty.
"Harmon, what do you think?" The viscount asked his most capable wizard. Harmon too had already visited the hamlet with sir Manuel previously.
The old man sporting a cape collected his thoughts and answered. "The 20th was a night of red full moon. In the arcane world, red full moon often signifies the peak of negative energies. Given how the entire hamlet was massacred with not a single survivor, I think it was a sacrifice to some evil entity."
Harmon's words worsened the viscount's mood even more. Suppressing the rage and worry growing in his heart, he commanded loudly. "To the hamlet."
The group marched towards the hamlet joined by the members of the garrison. Upon reaching the site, Vincent could see the garrison members stationed there holding a few civilians back, the latter of which were worked up and confronting the former.
"What's all this ruckus?" Sir Manuel rode ahead and inquired.
"Sir Manuel, these are the relatives of the victims. They want to bury the dead as soon as possible." A soldier answered to the knight's question with a difficult expression. While he was following orders in order to keep the entire hamlet untouched for further investigation, it weighed on his mind greatly that he was keeping the relatives from burying their loved ones.
The knight understood the situation instantly. Looking at the twenty odd people who were demanding they be allowed to bury their relatives, he hardened his heart and ordered. "Send them away. The investigation will proceed for now. No civilian is to be allowed anywhere near the hamlet until the investigation is complete."
A commotion broke out among the civilians but they were suppressed immediately. Having received the orders, the soldiers killed the guilt they were feeling and chased the people away.
Viscount Renn turned to his son and asked softly, "Do you think that was too harsh?"
"No, I am perfectly fine."
"That's good. Let's get to work." The viscount nodded in satisfaction after seeing that his son wasn't bothered by the hard method.
Vincent, the viscount, Manuel, Harmon and a few elite guards entered the hamlet while the rest made a perimeter to ensure no one got inside. Under the guidance of sir Manuel, they made their way to the centre of the hamlet.
A gruesome sight greeted them. A small mound about as tall as a person had been made out of corpses. The area surrounding the mound was painted red by the blood from the carcasses. The stench coming from the giant lump of human flesh had attracted flies that were buzzing around everywhere.
While he thought he was prepared for anything, Vincent still grew uncomfortable at the scene. The putrid smell assaulted his nose, driving the fluids inside his stomach up his throat. Closing his eyes shut, he swallowed everything that had climbed up his oesophagus.
Even some of the elite soldier's had a tough time holding down their urge to vomit.
Vincent calmed himself and got down from his horse. Walking to the mound, he crouched down and examined a man's corpse. The body lacked any warmth and was ice cold to touch. His cloth had become stiff after the blood had dried up, making it unpleasant to feel.
"Found anything Vincent?" Harmon came beside him and asked. He had guided Vincent in magic when the boy was but a child and was very fond of him. He was also one of the first people to realize just how gifted the child was. Harmon was sure that Vincent would be able to accomplish great things if he put his mind to it. Only thing was that the boy was very mischievous and free spirited.
"It's strange. There are so many dead bodies, but I can't detect a single trace of death energy."
"Was it a ritual after all?" Harmon rubbed his chin as he looked around.
"Highly unlikely. There are no remnant energies of any kind. Nor are there any signs of a ritual. If I had to guess, this hamlet was probably used to harvest death energy."
As soon as Vincent put his thoughts into words, Viscount Renn asked with a little anger mixed into his voice. "What does that mean?"
Harmon let Vincent continue his examination and answered. "Whenever a living organism dies, death energy is released. The higher the vitality that the organism possessed, the more death energy its death will yield. This energy is the fuel for undeads. And it is exactly because of this that many graveyards and battlefields give birth to undeads like ghouls or zombies.
For an entire hamlet to be killed and the place to not have a single ounce of death energy, it can only mean one thing."
"You mean to say that the murderers used the lives of all these people to harvest death energy?" The viscount asked, his voice laced with fury and ill intent.
Harmon didn't answer. He was well aware that his lord was only voicing the question in rage. He sighed internally and turned to Vincent, "Anything else?"
"Nothing that I can be certain about. But I think I have a good idea about the intent of the murderers."