Something Striding Through the Mountains

After one large tremor, the shaking subsided briefly.

But then a series of smaller, persistent tremors began.

Moreover, their frequency was regular.

Almost as if something enormous were walking…

I immediately grabbed my weapon.

Everyone else had sprung out of bed right after the first tremor.

"What's happening?!"

"Earthquake?"

Ramiza-san's startled voice and Alexia-san's calm one came at the same time.

When Elza-san pulled open the curtains and threw the window wide, a strangely warm breeze drifted in, brushing against my clammy skin.

Along with the warm air, I caught a faint acrid smell.

Like… rotten eggs.

"Elza, can you see anything?"

"It's too dark. But it looks like the shaking woke quite a few people. There's a bit of a commotion."

"I'm sure there is. We won't learn anything staying in here. Let's get our gear on and head outside."

I nodded at Alexia-san's words and began putting on my usual equipment.

There was no telling what might happen, so we needed to be as prepared as possible.

Ramiza-san hadn't even changed out of her sleepwear and was sniffing at the air intently.

She seemed deeply focused on something.

"Ramiza-san? What's wrong?"

Her demeanor was serious enough that I asked what was on her mind rather than telling her to get dressed.

"Is this hydrogen sulfide? Why would there be any on flat land like this, with no volcanoes or hot springs…?"

Ramiza-san didn't seem to hear me. Still in her undergarments, she sat on the bed and manipulated her right hand to pull items out of her bag onto the bed.

In no time, the bed was covered with instruments.

"Azu, what's wrong?"

"It's… Ramiza-san started doing something."

Alexia-san called out, having noticed I wasn't moving.

Everyone, Elza-san included, was ready to go.

When Alexia-san looked in Ramiza-san's direction after hearing me, she started to say something but stopped herself.

She must have judged that what Ramiza-san was doing was important.

I felt the same way.

Ramiza-san wasn't someone who fooled around at a time like this.

She poured some liquid into a test tube, sealed it, and shook it.

Then she opened the lid near the window to capture some air and sealed it again.

I had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

"Got a flame?"

"There's the candle."

"Bring it."

I did as she said and brought the candle over.

The intermittent tremors were still ongoing, and if anything, they seemed to be slowly growing stronger.

I wanted to get outside and figure out what was going on as soon as possible, but…

She opened the test tube and held it near the candle flame.

The candle's flame turned blue at the point closest to the tube's opening.

Ramiza-san clicked her tongue.

"Worst case. Most of it is still diluted in the air for now, but if the concentration keeps rising, we're in trouble."

"Ramiza-san, please tell us what's going on!"

I raised my voice, deciding we couldn't afford to just stand around any longer.

It came out louder than I'd intended, and even I was startled.

"Sorry, sorry. I just had to check this one thing first."

Ramiza-san immediately slipped into her clothes and made several sweeping motions with her right hand.

Most of the instruments vanished.

They'd been stored back in her bag, no doubt.

Truly convenient.

"I don't know what's causing the sound, but I figured out what the smell is. It's a diluted form of a deadly poison called hydrogen sulfide. There's something else mixed in too… probably another toxin of some kind."

"Poison?"

I hastily covered my mouth.

Ramiza-san gave a wry smile at my reaction.

"Yeah. That said, it's still just a faint smell right now and not dangerous. It's dispersed in the air, so the toxicity is negligible. People with weak constitutions might feel unwell, but it won't kill anyone. But if the source of this smell is heading our way… meaning if these tremors are the sound of it approaching, that's a different story."

"Oh, good. Well, actually, not good at all. In any case, let's get outside."

We all left the room together.

The inn's proprietress had also woken up and was watching the commotion outside with a worried expression.

"Oh, you're up too."

"Yes. Does this area get earthquakes often?"

"Goodness, no. This is a calm, quiet area. Earthquakes are extremely rare."

"I see… We're going to step outside for a bit. We'll come back for our things later."

"Understood. I'll leave everything as is."

Outside the inn, far more people than during the daytime had emerged from their homes and were talking with their neighbors.

The one thing they all had in common was the look of unease on their faces.

"The sound is… coming from over there."

"Seems like it. I thought at first it might be something happening in the Poison Labyrinth, but the direction's wrong. Doesn't seem related."

I pointed to the west.

That direction led into monster territory, beyond the kingdom's borders.

On its own, that sounded dangerous, but a rugged mountain range blocked the way, so monsters never made it through to this side.

The only thing that could come from over there would be something capable of crossing those mountains.

I stared toward the mountains, but in the nighttime darkness, I couldn't make out anything.

"Ah, soldiers are coming."

The city's garrison soldiers came running, torches in hand.

Citizens crowded around the soldiers demanding to know what had happened, but the soldiers themselves didn't seem to have a handle on the situation either.

"Everyone, please stay inside your homes until we've assessed the situation! Do not go outside unnecessarily!"

Moomya was shouting commands at the head of the group.

Whether it was trust in the soldiers or not, those who had come outside went back into their homes for the time being.

The area had been noisy with chatter, but once the civilians cleared out, all that remained was the sound of soldiers' footsteps and the vibrations.

"You're out here too, I see."

"Good evening, Moomya-san. After a sound like that, there was no way we could sit still."

"Under normal circumstances, I'd tell you to stay inside as well, but…"

"Let us help if we can. Even I can tell this is an emergency."

"I'm sorry to ask, but thank you. Lend us your strength. Nothing like this has ever happened in all the time I've been here. The soldiers are holding it together on the surface, but they're shaken inside."

Moomya-san issued orders to the knights and began assembling forces in the direction of the sound.

Then she had them prepare large arrows fitted with small fire magic stones and brought in a mobile ballista.

"I'm going to use a fire magic stone to illuminate the source of the noise. The magic inscription sacrifices attack power in exchange for brightness as intense as daylight. That should tell us what's making this sound."

We watched the preparations unfold.

Behind me, Ramiza-san leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"If it's really more than we can handle, think about running."

"I know. Our lives don't belong to just us."

"Right. Keep that in mind."

I swallowed hard.

The ballista launched its arrow, and the magic stone shattered in midair, flooding the ground below with light like a miniature sun.

The light reached the source of the sound.

What stood there was… a land-crawling Dragon.

But something was wrong with it.

It looked like it had suffered fatal wounds, and its flesh was rotting away.

The smell, it seemed, was coming from the Dragon's decaying body.

"Dragon Zombie…"

I heard someone murmur.

At the same moment, the Dragon let out a roar and spewed a stream of purple sludge at the ball of fire illuminating it.

The light was swallowed up and extinguished in an instant.