Chapter 11

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Chapter 11: First Chat With the Covenanter

Marion woke up from a deep sleep and let out a short scream.

Her memory stopped at the moment of losing consciousness, with human soldiers carrying weapons searching nearby, and survivors from the Wanderer Camp panicking in a collapsed hole. Marion had several bleeding wounds on her body, making her head heavy – and now it wasn’t any better, countless panicked thoughts rushing through her mind like a flock of startled bats. How is everyone? Did those people leave? Where am I? Am I still alive? What about that ghost? Oh no, Grandpa Oak is still left outside!

Marion suddenly sat up, realizing she didn’t have a single scratch on her. She started thinking she was dreaming. Since when had it become a dream? Marion hoped the Wanderer Camp had never been destroyed, but the dim cave in front of her didn’t look like the wilderness. Her necklace was still around her neck, and both daggers were placed on the bedside table, which calmed her down a lot.

Marion put away her dagger and cautiously reached out. A person was dozing with their back to her, indicating the lax security here if this person was a guard. She walked around to see a familiar face. The person was leaning on a stone table, sound asleep with drool on their arm.

"Ella?" Marion gently nudged her and whispered.

It took several nudges to wake up Ella, a petite woman who sleepily looked at her, all drowsiness vanished. "Marion!" she exclaimed joyfully, "You’re finally awake! Come on, I’ll take you to eat something!"

Ella cheered loudly, making Marion almost want to cover her mouth. The Wanderer Camp’s closest friends to Marion were Ella and the others who shared the same last name. These small individuals were said to be the earliest residents of the camp, all having short stature and warm hearts. Marion guessed that it was because of them that the camp later became a peaceful sanctuary for various wanderers, as most outcasts wandering around were not very easy to get along with.

But these small creatures were quite lacking in a sense of danger. If it weren’t for Oak Elder and Marion desperately trying to stop them, they would probably have taken all their belongings with them when leaving Wanderer Camp. It was a risky idea to meet at the headwaters of the stream without confirming that they had shaken off their pursuers. However, they had gathered there early. Marion’s heart nearly stopped when she heard their cries in the distance.

"It’s okay, it’s been two days already." Ella said, "We’ve settled down, the ghost provided us with rooms and food, such a kind person! It’s a bit dark here, not many people brought candles, so yesterday we picked some glowing moss nearby, now we can make do with it…"

A faint light shone in the corner of the room, coming from the glowing moss and fungi. Marion quickly glanced around the room, dismissing this unimportant detail. Two days! Reminded of this, her stomach started protesting, but it wasn’t time to eat yet. Marion could feel the presence of that contract, shimmering with unfamiliar words or symbols. The ghost provided them with rooms and food? What did it want? Marion’s inner alarm bells were ringing loudly, her hairs standing on end.

"Where’s the ghost?" she grabbed Ella’s arm, "I need to talk to it."

"You should eat something first!" Ella disagreed, hands on hips.

"I have something very important to say!" Marion said anxiously.

Putting on the most convincing expression, Marion finally got Ella to show her the way. Marion hurried through the dim underground passage, encountering many people along the way, all from Emma’s side, greeting her without a sense of urgency, almost driving her mad. But then again, probably apart from these optimists, the other outcasts wouldn’t appear here.

Marion crossed long, maze-like corridors, asking for directions several times, but still lost her way in the end. There was no night-glow moss here, she looked around in defeat, trying to identify the differences in these tunnels, but found nothing. Marion’s night vision could guide her through the forest to find her way home on moonless nights, but navigating in the dark underground was a different story. If it were not for the occasionally glowing stones in the passage, she would have been blind as a bat.

Rustling sounds came from the shadows, not sounding human.

After throwing a dagger, she saw the outline of the figure, a giant rat. The dagger bounced off its body, drawing no blood, just scraping off some dust. At this close distance, Marion realized the rat didn’t look like a living creature, it seemed like a moving statue.

The statue mouse scratched where it was hit with its hind paw, feeling itchy. It made some noises at Marion and ran into the darkness.

Marion hesitated for a moment, then chased after.

They went through a long passage. Marion didn’t know how many turns she made, just following the dark shadow in front of her. After another turn, the darkness suddenly cleared, and there was light on the dark underground. In a large cave, there floated a ghost that didn’t touch the ground.

Marion nervously swallowed.

This was the ghost she made a deal with, ghost, demon. The contract was done, but Marion wasn’t sure what she had lost. If she was a slave to the ghost, how could she warn it not to harm others? Marion remembered the slaves she had seen before, nameless and hopeless, crawling in front of their owners, curled up in iron chains. Now Marion had no name either, the thought sent shivers down her spine, slowly realizing what she had done.

"You don’t look too good," a soft voice said.

It was an adult woman’s voice, considering Marion and the ghost were the only ones present, it was obvious who spoke. It sounded unexpectedly ordinary, neither the hoarse roar of legendary spirits nor the strange winds she had heard before, just a slightly hoarse female voice, sounding casual.

"I’m fine!" she hesitated for a moment and quickly answered. "Thank you!" Marion hurriedly added on, realizing her injuries were mostly healed by the other, the ghost indeed had incredible power, "Thank you for saving us."

"It’s nothing, since we made a deal," the ghost chuckled softly, making Marion think of the contract, her heart sinking.

Marion was suddenly distracted by thoughts about her future, and when she snapped back to reality, a ghost was floating in front of her, its glowing white light illuminating her face. Marion hesitated whether to look directly at the featureless face or bow respectfully.

"You’re hungry," the ghost said. "You should eat something."

Its voice was soft and cold, showing no emotion. Marion wanted to protest instinctively, but her stomach growled loudly, making her blush. "I will bring you some food," the ghost said firmly, and then the giant mouse that brought Marion here ran off.

With the interruption, the scene fell silent again, leaving Marion unsure of how to speak up. She was better with her hands and feet than her words, nobody expected her to negotiate, especially with such an important figure who could decide their fate. Just as she gathered courage to speak, the ghost spoke first.

"You have a special name," the ghost said, "It looks like a painting."

"The names of Worgen God descendants are totems. Before birth, parents choose a name, and the High Elder divines its form for us at birth," Marion explained. She hesitated and said, "I like my name."

"It is indeed nice," the ghost replied.

"Can I keep it?" Marion blurted out, "I mean, you can continue calling me that. If you want."

The trainers would have punished her for such boldness if they heard. But Marion loved her name; it was the only thing her parents and tribe left her besides the necklace. "You have sold your name to the demon!" her grandmother scolded her harshly in her mind. "You gave the demon the name chosen by your parents, the name blessed by the Ancestor Spirit and Worgen God! You will no longer be protected!" She kept apologizing silently, looking at the ghost who had her name, with faint hope.

At least she tried.

The ghost didn’t immediately answer Marion. The few seconds of silence made her sweaty palm tight. After a long moment, the ghost said, "Okay."

Marion sighed in relief, feeling almost unable to stand. She realized how tense her body was. The wounds were gone, but she still felt weak from the battle, and she was very hungry. Then Marion smelled a very delicious scent, her mouth watered a lot, and her eyes subconsciously followed the smell of grilled meat. She saw Big Rat had returned to the room with a tray on his back.

The ghost reached out and touched Big Rat’s head, signaling Marion to take the tray.

Marion thanked them and couldn’t help but eat hurriedly. The tray contained very fragrant meat, grilled crispy on the outside and tender inside, evenly sprinkled with spices and salt. Marion couldn’t tell what kind of meat it was, but it tasted delicious, making her want to eat her tongue, definitely not the sour and bitter taste of the local rodents. She ate a large portion directly with her hands and teeth, while the ghost stood on the side watching her eat, as if finding it amusing.

However, maybe they weren’t watching her. Marion couldn’t tell where the ghost’s gaze was directed, as they had no face. Maybe they were lost in thought, maybe they were looking behind Marion, maybe their gaze could see the whole room, focusing on the back of her head. Thinking this, Marion subconsciously glanced behind the ghost, the room was large and poorly lit, she couldn’t make out what was there.

"Fifty-one bodies," the ghost suddenly said.

Marion stopped, feeling the food in her mouth losing its taste.

"Their people and your people, in total fifty-one died," the ghost said. "The remaining people prefer cremation, I told them I burnt the bodies, but that wasn’t true."

Marion nodded stiffly.

"I did not separate them, whether they are enemies or your people. Sorry, resources are very scarce now," the ghost continued with that casual and calm voice, "I need to use these bodies to help those who are still alive."

Chunks of meat burned in Marion’s esophagus, her hands shaking badly, but she managed to at least put the plate down properly. Her freshly filled stomach felt like it was soaked in acid for a moment, and Marion couldn’t help but bend over and vomit uncontrollably.

"You shouldn’t eat so quickly," the ghost said, surprisingly sounding concerned, "Oh, you haven’t eaten for so long, maybe you shouldn’t eat meat."

She didn’t vomit all of them out, although she wanted to. She wanted to tear her stomach out, cut it open, and burn it in a fire, apologizing countless times to the deceased. Marion’s eyes burned, her whole body trembling, wanting to rush over and tear the ghost into pieces, knowing she was overreacting, they needed to survive, but, but…

The humans would take away the Hybrid who died from illness, and then the other slaves would eat thin meat soup that day. Marion never knew the connection between the two. At first, her mother didn’t drink the meat soup, nor let her eat it, until she fainted from hunger – those darned guards only gave them a small amount of food, too little for a growing girl. So her mother stopped throwing away their soup, she fed all the soup to Marion, quietly and sorrowfully.

The day Marion found her mother’s teeth at the bottom of the bowl, she understood everything.

She was so hungry then, eating so happily. She was hungry now, just a few minutes ago she was feasting. She had made no progress, greedy, ignorant, helpless, powerless. Worgen God!

"What are you thinking about?"

The ghost crouched down, hoping Marion wouldn’t be scared by this human-like gesture. Through her tears, she saw a layer of silvery mist ahead.

"Your imagination is too vivid," the ghost said, sounding different from before, a bit resigned. "It’s not what you think, Marion. Do you think fifty bodies can last you two days? This is magical food, with bread and fruits. I just thought you might want meat – considering your kind."

The ghost’s hand passed through her cheek, feeling a bit cold. Marion’s overheated brain cooled down with this touch, slowly realizing her misunderstanding. "Uh?" she opened her mouth, making a silly sound.

"It’s my mistake. I shouldn’t have said this while you were eating," the ghost said. "I just thought you saw them."

Drifting back, it illuminated the nearby space. There were neatly arranged mounds of dirt, if counted carefully, exactly fifty-one.

Marion blinked rapidly, her head roaring, feeling her face burning up.