The journey to Oakridge stretched longer than anticipated. What should have been a half-day's ride became a grueling trek as they encountered signs of disturbance across the landscape areas where the normally parched earth appeared blackened and cracked in unnatural patterns, vegetation withered in perfect circles, and wildlife was absent.
"The land itself is wounded," Elara observed as they paused to rest their horses near a stream that ran sluggish and cloudy where it should have been clear. She knelt to examine the water, her expression growing troubled as she dipped a testing vial into the flow. "There's contamination here, similar to what we found in the fort's well, but more concentrated."
Kael surveyed the surrounding terrain with growing concern. The stream flowed from the direction of Oakridge, suggesting whatever had affected the settlement might be spreading through the watershed.
"We should move more cautiously from here," he instructed the group. "Mira, scout ahead with Corporal Tomas. Look for any unusual markings or disturbances, but maintain distance from anything suspicious."
The girl nodded, her young face solemn with purpose as she and Tomas urged their mounts forward at a measured pace. Kael watched them go, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind about bringing someone so young into potential danger. But Mira had already proven her value, and her keen eyes might spot details others would miss.
They continued northward, the landscape growing increasingly disturbed as they approached Oakridge. By mid-afternoon, they crested a ridge that offered a view of the settlement in the valley below.
From a distance, it appeared peaceful; a cluster of simple buildings surrounded by fields that had, until recently, been showing the first promising signs of growth after irrigation improvements.
But even from here, Kael could sense the wrongness. No smoke rose from chimneys. No figures moved between buildings. The fields, which should have been green with new growth, had a grayish cast, as though covered in ash.
Tomas and Mira returned from their scouting, both visibly shaken.
"It's as Dorn reported," Tomas confirmed grimly. "The buildings stand intact, but the people..." He trailed off, glancing at Mira as if reluctant to continue in her presence.
"They're husks," the girl finished for him, her voice steady despite the horror of what she'd witnessed. "Like dried leaves. Their skin is gray, their eyes open but seeing nothing."
"And the markings?" Kael asked.
"A perfect circle around the settlement," Tomas replied. "Burned into the ground as if by intense heat, but the pattern is too precise for natural fire. Symbols are carved at regular intervals along the circle, similar to what we found at Stonehollow, but larger, more elaborate."
Kael exchanged glances with Garek and Elara. This was beyond banditry or political machinations. Whatever had happened at Oakridge was connected to the ancient practices documented in the Stonehollow tablets, the ritualistic draining of life energy that had created the Desolate Wastes centuries ago.
"We proceed with extreme caution," Kael decided. "No one crosses the circle of markings until we've had a chance to examine them. Elara, your expertise will be crucial here."
They approached Oakridge in tight formation, weapons ready, though all sensed that whatever danger had claimed the settlement had already passed. As they drew closer, the extent of the devastation became clear.
The circle Tomas had described was burned deep into the earth, at least a foot wide and blackened as if subjected to impossible heat. The symbols carved at intervals were complex arrangements of lines and curves that seemed to shift unpleasantly when viewed directly.
Elara dismounted at the circle's edge, her healer's bag in hand as she knelt to examine the markings. Her fingers hovered above the blackened earth without touching it.
"This is recent," she murmured. "Within the last day, as Dorn reported. But the preparation would have taken much longer. These symbols..." She gestured to the carvings. "They're anchors, like the markers we found in the fields and at Stonehollow, but activated rather than dormant."
"Activated how?" Kael asked, dismounting to join her.
"Blood," she replied simply. "A significant amount, applied with precise ritual intent. The tablets described this as a circle of binding that contains and focuses the energy being drawn from within."
"Drawn into what?" Garek demanded, his hand tight on his sword hilt, though there was no visible enemy to fight.
Elara pointed southward, toward the distant haze that marked the boundary of the Desolate Wastes. "Into that. The ritual expands the Wastes by transferring life energy from fertile areas. What we're seeing is the aftermath of a major expansion event."
The implications were staggering. If someone was deliberately accelerating the Wastes' expansion through these rituals, the entire March, perhaps even territories beyond, could be at risk.
"Can we cross safely?" Kael asked, eyeing the circle that surrounded the settlement.
"I believe so," Elara said after a moment's consideration. "The ritual appears complete. The circle served its purpose and is now just a mark on the land. But I wouldn't touch the symbols directly."
Kael nodded, then addressed the group. "We'll enter in teams of four. First team with me to secure the central area. Second team with Garek to examine the eastern section. Third with Tomas to cover the west. Elara, stay with my team. Mira "
"I stay with you," the girl finished, her tone making it clear she would accept no alternative.
They crossed the circle with tense caution, but as Elara had predicted, nothing happened. Inside, the air felt different - heavier, as if reluctant to fill their lungs. The ground beneath their feet seemed to absorb sound, their footsteps falling with muted thuds where they should have echoed between buildings.
The settlement itself was eerily intact. Doors stood open, tools lay where they had been set down, and meals remained half-prepared on tables. It was as if the entire population had simply stopped in the midst of their daily activities, frozen in a moment that stretched into eternity.
And the people... Kael had seen death in many forms during his years as a soldier, but nothing like this. The bodies, if they could still be called that, retained their human shape but appeared desiccated, drained of all moisture and vitality.
Skin pulled tight over bone, eyes sunken into hollow sockets, lips drawn back from teeth in rictus grimaces. Yet there were no signs of violence, no wounds or blood, no evidence of struggle or pain.
"It was quick," Elara said softly as she examined one of the bodies, a woman who had been kneading bread when whatever happened occurred. "They likely felt nothing. One moment alive, the next... empty."
"How is that possible?" Garek asked, his voice hushed in the unnatural stillness.
"The ritual doesn't target the body," Elara explained, her clinical detachment a thin veneer over obvious distress. "It draws out life energy directly. The physical effects are secondary, the result of that energy being removed all at once."
Mira moved through the scene with quiet purpose, her young eyes taking in details that others might miss. She paused at a small dwelling near the settlement's center, her expression changing from solemn observation to sharp focus.
"Sir Kael," she called. "Something's different here."
Kael joined her at the dwelling's entrance. Unlike the other buildings they had examined, this one showed signs of deliberate searching; drawers pulled open, contents scattered, furniture moved from its original position.
"Someone was looking for something specific," Kael observed, stepping carefully into the single-room home.
The dwelling appeared to have belonged to an older resident, possibly a person of some status within the community. Shelves lined one wall, holding books - a rarity in frontier settlements, and various small objects that suggested a scholarly interest in the region's history. A desk in the corner held papers covered in neat handwriting, diagrams, and what looked like translations of ancient text.
"This was Harkin's place," Mira said, recognition dawning in her voice. "Old Harkin. He visited our settlement sometimes, trading stories for meals. People called him a drunk, but my sister said he knew things about the March that others had forgotten."
Kael examined the papers on the desk more closely. The handwriting was surprisingly steady and educated for someone dismissed as a village drunk. The content confirmed Mira's assessment that these were historical notes, records of local legends, and most interestingly, observations about the Desolate Wastes and its gradual encroachment over generations.
One page in particular caught his attention, a rough map of the March with locations marked by symbols similar to those in the circle outside. Next to each symbol was a date, the most recent being Oakridge, marked with yesterday's date. And there, marked for three days hence, was Fort Marrow itself.
"They're working through a sequence," Kael realized, a chill running through him despite the day's heat. "Systematically targeting settlements throughout the March, with Fort Marrow as the culmination."
"But Harkin isn't here," Mira pointed out, looking around the disturbed dwelling. "No body. And look..." She indicated a small chest beside the bed, its lock broken and contents missing.
"Whatever was important enough to keep locked away is gone."
"Taken by whoever performed the ritual," Elara suggested, joining them in the small room.
"Or..."
"Or Harkin escaped with it," Kael finished. "Possibly the only survivor, and now a target if he possesses knowledge that threatens whoever is behind this."
They conducted a thorough search of the settlement, confirming that while forty-two residents had fallen victim to the ritual, one was indeed missing. Old Harkin had either escaped or been taken, along with whatever documents or artifacts had been valuable enough to secure in a locked chest.
As the search concluded, Kael felt the familiar warmth of the system activating, providing an assessment of their discoveries.
***
[Critical Intelligence: Ritual Sequence Identified]
[Target: Fort Marrow (ETA: 3 days)]
[Missing Person: Harkin (Potential Ally/Information Source)]
[Recommendation: Immediate Defensive Preparations]
***
The system's evaluation aligned with Kael's own conclusions. They faced a threat far more immediate and dangerous than anticipated, with Fort Marrow directly in its path.