Chapter 15

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Chapter 015: Raven Hill

"Did you see that, the white thing?" Jesse pointed and said.

Greed squinted for a moment, then asked, "Could it be a pig from Elwynn that fell into the water and washed up here?"

"Not livestock, but a person." The priest woke up at some point and patted the carriage, shouting, "Stop, there’s someone in the water!"

"A person?" The Paladin at the front peeked out, and the carriage shook before coming to a stop.

After the sound of horse hooves, the rattling of the boxes, and the creaking of the carriage disappeared, leaving only the sounds of water, birds chirping, and the rustling wind through the trees, it became eerily quiet.

Jesse jumped off the carriage and approached the edge of the water. The white object among the water plants was indeed a person, appearing large not due to swelling from being in the water for too long but simply muscular, indicating not much time had passed since their death.

The priest took off his robe and waded into the water, swimming over to the body. With effort, he flipped the person over, revealing that it was a woman.

Along with her distinctive physique, and the presence of nearly invisible blond hair on her head, they could almost guess her identity.

Everyone helped pull the woman’s body onto the shore, noticing that she was missing half a leg, the cross-section already turning pale, covered in various horrifying wounds, especially on her lower body.

Greed furrowed his brow and asked, "What’s going on here, this definitely isn’t a suicide by jumping into the river."

"Gnoll." A traveler said, "There’s hardly any other possibility, don’t forget Gnolls are humanoid creatures, lacking many of our strengths while not short on weaknesses."

"Do you remember those people we met at the inn last night?" Jesse asked Greed.

"Do you mean…" Greed leaned in to get a closer look at the face, and said, "It really seems to be the woman with the bow."

"Do you know this lady?" the priest asked.

"It must be her, we met briefly yesterday," Jesse said. "This woman and two men are a group of bounty hunters planning to hunt down a Gnoll leader with a bounty in Stormwind. But they left the inn last night, and we haven’t seen them since."

"I have heard of the new leader of the Riverpaw clan," Paladin said.

The old priest glanced towards a tall patch of marsh grass in the distance and said, "We should leave this place. If she was alive last night, where she was killed may not be far from here."

"What should we do with the body?" the young priest asked.

"Let’s push her into the river, further away," Paladin suggested. "Let the river carry her to Stranglethorn, or even farther. If we bury her here, nearby sick animals might dig her up. It would be unfortunate if she gets tainted by dark magic, a powerful undead would be hard to deal with and bring trouble to Raven Hill."

"Can’t we cremate her?" Jesse asked.

"We don’t have enough fuel with us, and collecting materials on the spot will take a long time. It may attract Gnolls," said the Paladin. "Although I don’t want to say this, but if we do that, it’s like preparing a barbecue for them. I’m sure this lady wouldn’t want that to happen."

"Let’s do it then." Greed rolled up his sleeves and helped push the woman’s body back into the river with the others.

The priests recited prayers to cleanse the soul of the deceased. The travelers, whether followers of the Holy Light or not, remained silent, watching the body drift away.

Jesse looked over there, then turned to the north, gazing at the endless Elwynn Forest.

He always felt like the story between him and Hogger was not over yet.

After the body disappeared from sight, everyone washed their hands and clothes before returning to the carriage.

During the rest of the journey, everyone remained silent, not asking about the possible fate of the other members of the bounty hunter team.

As they entered South Elwynn, the sky grew darker the further they went. Checking the priest’s pocket watch, it was only 2 or 3 in the afternoon, yet it was almost as dark as night.

The Dark Energy lingering here for years since the explosion of Karazhan will continue until the people here either despair and die, or move away, and the darkness will not cease.

Objectively speaking, it was quite optimistic that only a small area was destroyed due to the energy surge within Medivh.

After all, the spirit possessing him was the true master of the Burning Legion, the dark Titan Sargeras, who could destroy a whole planet with one sword.

Gradually, the forests on both sides of the road became very gloomy, with thick fog obscuring the view. The torches set up along the road were meant to illuminate the way for travelers, but in the fog, the scattered torch lights along the road seemed eerie like ghostly flames.

Occasionally, cries could be heard in the forest, whether they were human or wolf sounds. Sometimes, the sudden passing of crows broke the silence, reminding people that there were still creatures around.

The only continuous sound was the turning of the wooden cartwheels. Jesse felt as if their group was being watched by countless unseen creatures in the forest.

As the carriage reached a crossroads, it was possible to see the shadows of several buildings and a small church nearby in the thick fog. Some windows in the shadows appeared to be lit.

The priest sitting at the front turned around and said, "We have reached Raven Hill, everyone."

Is this Raven Hill?

Without being told, Jesse would have thought this was just a larger inn. After all, this so-called small town was not as big as Sentinel Hill, and far inferior to Goldshire.

Maybe because they were used to seeing much bigger towns and cities, suddenly coming across a small place that wasn’t as well built as in the game made them feel a bit uncomfortable.

After a short break and unloading on the church carriage, the priests continued their journey, aiming to reach the next stop before it got completely dark, even though Jesse didn’t know the difference between day and night in Duskwood.

Raven Hill was very quiet, with not a single soul in the small square in the middle of the town, except for an old man sitting by the door of a nearby inn, watching them.

Jesse and Greed rented a room in the only inn in the town for just a few copper coins a night, as cheap as if it was free.

Even though the inn was dirty and messy because it lacked cleaning staff, covered in dust everywhere, they had no other choice.

Jesse checked their luggage and tools, sat back in a wooden chair, looking out at the gloomy forest outside the window, saying, "Let’s try to avoid any fights, and if we’re unlucky enough to encounter undead, hide, run, if we encounter wolves or other animals, avoid eye contact, avoid conflict."

"I was thinking the same thing," Greed pulled out his sword and waved it, saying, "It looks like this town doesn’t have much to treat wounds, if something goes wrong, we might end up dying here."

After speaking, he turned the sword handle and handed it to Jesse, saying, "Take this."

"You use this sword," Jesse picked up an axe, saying, "I’ll use this."

"Why?" Greed asked.

"Using a sword requires skill," Jesse said. "I don’t have much fighting experience, but I have chopped a lot of firewood. I know how to put force behind this axe. You are a seasoned soldier, much better with a sword than me."

"This sword is designed for human size, not really suitable for a dwarf," Greed lifted the sword and inspected the blade. "Luckily, it’s not too long. I can still use it."

The dwarf put the sword down but kept staring straight at the doorway.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"