Silence settled over the courtyard.
The villagers stared at the royal courier as though he had carried death itself into the valley. The cheerful conversations that had filled the clinic only moments ago disappeared, replaced by uneasy whispers. Mothers instinctively drew their children closer, while merchants quietly stepped away from the road.
Fear spread faster than any disease.
Doctor Rowan stood motionless, his weathered face calm despite the concern in his eyes.
"How long?" he asked.
The courier swallowed.
"Five days."
"And no physician has discovered the cause?"
The courier shook his head.
"They've tried everything. Herbs... prayers... even alchemists from the nearby city."
His voice grew quieter.
"Nothing worked."
Doctor Rowan lowered his gaze.
"Five days..."
His expression became grave.
"If the fever has continued that long..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Everyone understood.
Maren hurried back outside carrying two leather satchels overflowing with medicine.
"I've packed everything that lowers fever."
Doctor Rowan examined the supplies before adding several glass bottles from his own cabinet.
"This won't be enough."
"I know."
"But it's all we have."
Ayan silently watched the exchange.
Neither of them hesitated.
Neither asked whether the journey would be dangerous.
To them...
There simply wasn't another choice.
The old doctor looked toward the frightened villagers gathered outside.
"I'll be leaving immediately."
A farmer stepped forward.
"Doctor..."
His voice trembled.
"If you enter Red Hollow..."
"...what if you become infected?"
The question hung heavily in the air.
Doctor Rowan smiled gently.
"Then I'll rely on someone else to care for me."
The farmer lowered his head.
No one knew how to answer.
The old doctor looked toward the clinic.
"When I first became a healer..."
He adjusted the straps of his medical bag.
"...my teacher told me something."
He looked at every face gathered before him.
"'If fear decides who deserves your help...'"
His smile remained calm.
"'...then you stopped being a healer long ago.'"
Those words settled deeply over the crowd.
Several villagers quietly looked away.
Ashamed.
Ayan felt the Bridge pulse warmly beneath his skin.
The notebook remained hidden.
The lesson had already been spoken.
...
Preparations moved quickly.
The courier saddled his exhausted horse while another villager brought a sturdy wagon large enough to carry supplies.
Fresh water.
Blankets.
Bandages.
Dried herbs.
Simple food.
Within half an hour, everything was ready.
Doctor Rowan climbed onto the driver's seat.
Maren took her place beside him.
Then both looked toward Ayan.
"You still have time to stay."
Doctor Rowan's voice was gentle.
"No one would think less of you."
Ayan looked around the peaceful village one last time.
Children watched from behind their parents.
The old fisherman from the previous evening stood silently near the riverbank.
The carpenter's lesson echoed in his heart.
A lantern wasn't carried to brighten places already filled with light.
It was carried...
Where darkness waited.
He stepped onto the wagon.
"I'll come."
Doctor Rowan smiled.
"I thought you might."
The horses began moving.
As the wagon rolled through the village gates, the people lining the road slowly bowed their heads.
No cheers.
No applause.
Only quiet respect.
...
The journey toward Red Hollow took most of the day.
The farther they traveled, the emptier the roads became.
Fields that had once been filled with farmers now stood abandoned.
Wind stirred through untouched wheat.
Water wheels beside the river had stopped turning.
Even the birds seemed fewer.
Maren noticed it first.
"The roads are too quiet."
Doctor Rowan nodded.
"People are avoiding this region."
The courier riding ahead answered without looking back.
"They're afraid."
"No caravans pass here anymore."
"Merchants refuse to travel."
"Even hunters stay away."
Ayan looked toward the distant hills.
Fear had done more than isolate one village.
It had changed an entire region.
As afternoon slowly faded into evening, they reached the first checkpoint.
A crude wooden barricade blocked the road.
Several soldiers wearing the royal crest stood guard.
The captain immediately stepped forward.
"No further."
The courier presented a sealed scroll.
"Royal orders."
The captain quickly read the document before looking toward Doctor Rowan.
"So..."
"You're the physician who volunteered."
Doctor Rowan nodded.
"I am."
The captain hesitated.
"You understand..."
"...if you enter Red Hollow..."
"...you may not be allowed to leave."
"I understand."
"There is no guarantee of rescue."
"I understand."
"You could die."
Doctor Rowan smiled kindly.
"I understood before I left home."
The captain remained silent for several moments.
Finally...
He stepped aside.
"Open the barricade."
The heavy wooden gate slowly creaked open.
Beyond it...
The road continued toward a distant village surrounded by low hills.
Yet something immediately felt wrong.
No smoke rose from the chimneys.
No children played outside.
No livestock grazed in nearby fields.
It looked...
Abandoned.
The wagon rolled forward.
Behind them, the barricade closed once more with a heavy thud.
For a long moment...
No one spoke.
It felt strangely final.
Almost as though they had crossed an invisible border between two different worlds.
The sun had nearly disappeared when Red Hollow finally came into view.
The village was larger than Briar Hollow.
Larger even than the valley settlement.
Yet every street stood empty.
Doors remained shut.
Windows were covered.
Only a handful of lanterns burned weakly behind curtains.
An unnatural silence filled the air.
Then...
A cough echoed somewhere in the distance.
Another answered from a different house.
Then another.
Then another.
The sound spread through the village like invisible waves.
Not loud.
Not violent.
Simply...
Constant.
Maren's hands tightened around the leather medical bag.
"I've never..."
She stopped.
Doctor Rowan looked ahead.
"Neither have I."
The courier slowly dismounted.
"I can't go farther."
"The soldiers' orders end here."
He bowed deeply.
"May the Light watch over you."
With that, he turned his horse around and rode away without looking back.
Soon...
Only Ayan, Maren, and Doctor Rowan remained.
Standing alone in the middle of the silent street.
The wind carried another chorus of weak coughing through the empty village.
Ayan felt the Bridge pulse.
Once.
Twice.
Not with warning.
With purpose.
The silver notebook appeared in his hand.
Its pages opened by themselves.
The words beneath **Red Hollow** slowly changed.
**Darkness is not always evil.**
A second line appeared beneath it.
**Sometimes...**
The silver ink shimmered.
**...it is simply suffering that has been left alone too long.**
The notebook closed.
At that exact moment...
The door of the nearest house slowly creaked open.
A little girl, no older than eight, peeked outside.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were filled with exhaustion.
When she saw Doctor Rowan's medical bag...
Hope flickered across her face.
In a trembling voice, barely louder than a whisper, she asked the question that seemed to carry the weight of the entire village.
"...
Did someone finally come?"