The handler was pleased, or at least it was what Lith hoped for. He could hear her taking notes the whole time.
"I called because I met a human settlement. Do you have my position?"
"Positive. Call me back once you are done. Do not lower your guard. Based on the images collected it's a medium sized village, so it's likely to be run by a renegade mage or a deserter."
"Once I'm done doing what?" Lith said. "If I get down there, either will be a massacre or they'll run away as soon as I leave. If our purpose is collecting taxes, then it's better for me to stay away from the village and let you do your job."
"Negative. Our duty is not collecting taxes, but ensure the safety of the citizens. You must make sure that no one there is forced to stay against their will or is being subjected to the practice of illegal magic.
"Taxes are just an excuse to prevent bureaucrats from bothering us with budget issues. In the wilderness we are the law, young Ranger. Today, you are the law. So get down there and call me back once you are done. I expect a full and detailed report."
Cursing at his bad luck, Lith descended to the ground. He activated Life Vision while Solus activated mana sense. They could perceive about 100 life signatures but no arrays or magical protections of sorts.
'Do I go there incognito or do I keep my uniform?' Lith pondered.
'Incognito? How exactly?' Solus chuckled at the idea. 'Aside from your uniform, you only have light clothes suitable for disguising yourself as a farmer or a hunter back in Lutia. Your skin and hair are too dark to pass yourself for a man of the north.
'Also, you have no backpack. No one in their right mind would think you got here by chance. With your build and well fed appearance, they wouldn't believe you are lost or have been robbed either.'
As it happened most of the time, Solus was right. Lith had not bothered packing disguises or makeup.
'Point taken. I'd say it's better to check the outskirts of the village before going deeper inside. It's unlikely we'll meet a dangerous opponent, but after Nalear I don't like the idea of getting surrounded again.' Lith thought.
He was surprised by the lack of watchmen. The path to the village was clear, making things too easy to be true. The closer he got to the settlement, the more Lith became aware of his surroundings.
The houses were made in hardwood and looked solid. Lith could smell a fresh coat of tar mixed with other substances used to fill gaps between wood to insulate the heat and prevent drafts.
'Two things. One, this isn't a makeshift camp. It's been made to last. The lack of guards doesn't make sense. Why are they not afraid of hungry monsters or magical beasts raiding the place for food? Two, how did my predecessor miss all this?'
Lith stopped the moment his eyes caught an anomaly near his left foot. There was a thin tripwire a few centimeters above the ground. He followed both extremities, one at a time, discovering they were tied up to trees, not to an alarm.
He focused on his sense of smell, detecting a lot of metal lying around coupled with a sour scent. Lith used air magic to float above the ground and by following the scent he discovered several traps, all coated with poison.
'This should be Death Pepper.' Lith thought after licking a greasy substance off a sharp blade placed at the height where the thigh of an average man would be.
'It's a nerve paralyzing poison that kills fast but leaves the meat available for consumption since it loses effectiveness when cooked. They say it even gives the game a spicy flavor, hence the name.
It makes you wonder if these nice villagers have a taste for human flesh.'
Soon Lith understood the trap maker's pattern. Tripwires were actually double traps. If one noticed them and stepped over them, they would fall into a spike pit, the same if they missed it.
All the other traps were connected to long wires running towards the village that Lith imagined being alarms to announce the hunter that dinner was served. He could have disabled them, but it would also mean leaving a trail of his passage that could alert anyone returning to the village after him.
Once he got close enough to the settlement, the matter became even more serious. Life Vision spotted the last line of defense. The traps right before the village were all comprised of enchanted poisoned blades.
'What the heck is this? The set of the Texas chainsaw massacre? Why I always stumble into hornet's nests?' Lith had already lost his patience. The situation was a waste of time for him. He only wanted to reach the ruins and learn from them as much as he could.
'The villagers may just be trying to defend themselves.' Solus replied. 'Also, you need merits to obtain access to top secret tomes. I get you are tired and cranky, but we have to play this by the book.
'First impression matters. A poor job could trigger an internal investigation and further slow us down.'
Lith took a few deep breathes to calm himself before moving forward. He reminded himself of the words of both his handler and Commander. His actions would be investigated and evaluated, so he had to be smart.
The outer rim hosted only livestock and carriages. The small houses were actually barns, henhouses, and stables.
'This is good news. Over half of the life forces are harmless animals. The odd thing is what do they need all these carriages for? Why do they have so much wheat? There isn't a single plot of cultivated land here.' Lith thought.
The sun had yet to set, but the daily activities seemed to be already over. All the human life forces were in the middle and inner rim. Those in the middle rim seemed to be already asleep, while the people of the innermost rim were assembled in the biggest building, located at the center of the town.
The buildings in the middle rim were even smaller than those in the outer one and with much better locks. The doors were barred and secured with a heavy chain. They had a chimney but no windows. Life Vision revealed two individuals lying still on their beds.
At that point, Lith had no need to check inside the houses. All the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place but one.
'Seriously, how could a Ranger miss this place?' Suddenly the missing landmarks on the map acquired a new significance. Lith walked towards a man that was approaching his position while Solus refused to believe in Lith's cynical conclusion.
She left his right hand, assuming liquid form to sneak under the door. The two inside were a boy and a girl of undefined age. They had their wrists chained to a metal pole placed right behind their bunk.
Their hair was disheveled, stained by several streaks of coagulated blood. Solus used Invigoration on them to check their condition. Both the youths suffered from severe malnutrition. Their bones were cracked in multiple points, their bodies covered in bruises and lacerations.
During the fifth year at the Academy, when Lith had worked in the ER of several hospitals, they had seen this kind of injury several times, but seldom with such deliberate cruelty.
