Every bone half-buried on the battlefield was picked clean long ago, but still, crows land on them. At least… They look like crows from afar. Do you get closer? What do you see?

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

This time, Cithis managed to sleep peacefully – no vengeful spirits came to torment her in her slumber, neither did she have nightmares about getting chased by a pack of hellhounds, hungry to sink their teeth into her flesh.

After a quick meal and stretching, the two Coursers resumed their journey further into The Moor of Sleep. After the melody of the drum calmly ended when Mothra stepped off of it in exchange of once again sitting on the grullo’s back, the spirits and atmosphere of the surroundings came back to their creepy state, and the crows started croaking once again, louder than before.

On the ancient battlefield, Coursers and humans were buried alike, remaining in the soil of the Ruined Kingdom for eons to come, their bones picked clean long time ago, serving as a meal for the carnivorous crows occupying this space. It seemed that even now, when there was nothing else left for them to feast on, the dungeon vultures clad in black kept coming back to land on the half-buried bones sticking out of the ground, as if acting as the battlefield’s grave keeper.

“Better not get close to them. They might not be as dangerous as hellhounds, but they’ll definitely chase us until we leave The Moor if we as much as disturb them by breathing too close.” Logue spoke out, glancing at Cithis, who in turn gazed at the red-eyed crows, with the birds watching her warily. It seemed like they were watching the Coursers every move as they trotted through the dungeon, her heads turning with the horses’ every move.

As soon as the grullo takes only a singular, small step closer to them, the crows start croaking loudly, fluttering their wings as a warning sign towards the Courser and she immediately takes a few steps back in return, moving to follow beside Logue once again. She couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at the crows anyway – from a safe distance this time.

They seemed like regular, normal crows… well, except their blood-red eyes that kept staring at the two Coursers, no matter which route they took. Even if they walked on a path that was seemingly clear, the crows would soon silently follow, letting out a few warning croaks in-between to remind the horses about how to behave in this place, and to not cross any unspoken lines. Not only the crows were creepy – the soil scattered with bones sent shivers down her striped spine, and she felt anxiety squeezing her stomach uncomfortably. Were those Courser bones? She wasn’t sure she wanted to take a closer look, at least for now, when she’s being watched so closely. Even Mothra was disturbed by their presence, and unsuccessfully tried hiding in Cithis’ mane.

“Weirdos…” Cithis sighed, and immediately a nearby crow croaked in offense, making the Courser jump up slightly and quicken her pace. They might not be dangerous, but they sure as hell are terribly creepy… How could mere crows be so terrifying? Well, it was all probably because of The Moor of Sleep’s grimy atmosphere all over… Even something as casual as a drum could suddenly turn out to be infused with ancient magic, so who knows… maybe the crows also had their magical secret, linked to their oddly coloured eyes. Maybe even linked to the bones all over The Moor? Maybe they, too, were infused with some kind of ancient magic, some sort of spiritual power that now resided in the bodies of the crows? The thought of them just sitting there, picking every piece of flesh left on the bones until they were clean… Eww, she didn’t even want to imagine it any further. “Gah! Sorry, sorry, I won’t call you names anymore!” she squealed, a bit spooked by the sudden noise being so close to her.

“Are you sure they’re crows? Like, sure sure?” Cithis swallowed nervously, turning to the mercenary at her side. “Like… They won’t try to bite us, inject venom, wait until we drop dead then feast on u-“

Her words got cut off by Logue’s hearty laughter.

“Do you want to find out?” he asked innocently, although a grin was adorning his muzzle and Cithis groaned, quickening her pace to get out of the weird, bone filled graveyard that was the whole ancient battlefield of the past they were journeying through.

“You’re the worst, I swear! Next time, I’ll be choosing a different mercenary at the guild!” the grullo scoffed in mock offense, holding her head up high, and not many heartbeats passed until she let out an another squeak, as a singular crow flew right beside her ear, making an unpleasant shiver run down her spine. After she’s back on the surface, she’s definitely taking a longer break from the dungeons after this eventful dive deep into the remains of the Ruined Kingdom…