The Forest Deep
Part 12
Yavan felt a sense of cold creeping up his spine. Was this truly the beast’s lair? If it was as bloodthirsty as the villagers had painted it out to be, to the point of leaving carcasses, how did this meticulousness add up? Was there another being here? Carefully, the knight swept a fingertip against the large desk’s surface and then examined it before rubbing it against his thumb pad. No… The deposit of dust seemed consistent with the short time since the creature had been felled. Still, he remained alert.
Moving deeper in, Yavan, followed closely by Menzo, discovered what must have been an artificial hot spring, now cold, as well as long swaths of fabric that rendered a partly closed off area cosier and, at the same occasion, gave it an air of grandeur.
“Had you come in this deep?” Yavan inquired.
Menzo shook his head. “Only far enough to see the bedding, from the desk over there. With what I saw, I thought it would be better for you to be here. Oh, and I didn’t touch anything, either.”
“Hm. Sound thinking,” Yavan replied, nodding appreciatively, before reaching towards one of the drapes to test the rich and heavy fabric between his fingers. Although the surface of things was unlikely to have been affected by the new Companion’s touch, Yavan was still glad all the same that Menzo had good instincts.