Dragomir - The Swamp of Maledictus | Wattys2024

Intruders

May was coming to an end, and with it, it seemed, spring. Summer was around the corner. Hot days grew in number, and clear skies grew numerous. Insects were buzzing around, and the farmers animals collected themselves on the meadows, while the final gardens were planted with potatoes, carrots, onions, and much more.

It was a very warm morning, and the night had been uncomfortably hot. The air was humid, and the skies on the horizon had the faint blue colour of a thunderstorm in preparation. In the air, there was a faint whisper of rain, even though not even a drop had yet fallen.

In the distance, Avery heard the barking of the dogs as more people walked through the fort. She was leaning against the wall of the western Fort Adreliron gate, chewing on a piece of grass, guarding the entrance.

Her comrade, a soldier she knew not, was keeping on dozing off ever since they had been put on post since five in the morning.

Avery kept swatting the tiny flies buzzing around her head, who tried so eagerly to attack her eyes. Sometimes she attempted to catch some of them, clapping her hands together and waking her comrade in the process, yet the number of flies never vanished and her comrade never managed to stay awake. She smelt his breath of alcohol even from the distance.

She watched the road leading towards the western world, leading through the lands of Flaweton and eventually back into Serpentu. Yet her eyes lay on the green mountains roaming the horizon. They were a beautiful sight. The forests on them were dense and vivid alike, while the snow had vanished from most of their summits.

The Affidat's in the south never lost their snow, yet Avery knew that the Affidat's were more dangerous in summer, and most soldiers and Fri-destom people left the highest places since the winds grew to dangerous speeds.

Avery chewed on her grass, watching the Affidat's. The urge to see their high plateaus and summits hadn't left her. It was a deep desire.

A loud thud woke Avery from her daydream, and she turned her head to see the dust cloud rising into the air where her comrade had fallen to the ground in one of his naps. He was climbing back to his feet, yet rather slowly. Avery could understand him. It was a sleepy day. The change from spring to summer had a weird sleepiness to it. Avery could've liked a nap too, and the constant humming of bees and the twittering of birds—especially of the tits—wasn't helpful either.

The second guard cleared his throat, looking over to Avery to make sure she hadn't seen it. But she looked at him. He blushed. »Tripped there. «, he mumbled.

»Happens to all. «, Avery winked. The guard grinned and beat the dust out of his clothes. »Indeed, it does. «, he whispered to himself.

Avery brushed the hair out of her face. Sweat pearls were dancing on her forehead. The sun was rising ever so much and stood rather high behind them above the fort. They had their duty until midday, which Avery wasn't very happy about. The summer sun and she weren't cooperating very well.

It was six days ago since the troops of Castor and Evergreen had reached Fort Adreliron and the men of General Summer had caught troop leader Adney Farnham. Since then, he has been sitting in his cage, yet not long anymore, before departing into the mines of the blue gold high up in the Affidats.

Yet, Avery's main thought hung over the nightly terror she had experienced, one that hadn't felt like the usual tricks her mind played on her. It was odd. And to Avery, it almost felt as if the girl in the dream and the boar, whom she thought to have hallucinated, had been connected. Without a doubt, she truly noticed herself losing her usually cool mind and began to feel a faint understanding of how and why Adney Farnham had lost himself.