Elias's face twisted with a bright gleam dancing in his eyes when he heard the voices from the clearing. It was the same place where the scent of scorched earth and blood still lingered beneath the late morning sun. The grass was flattened and streaked with soot and ash, and the blackened trees bore deep claw marks as if the earth itself had been torn open in a violent rage.
At a distance, he could see noble officials in pressed coats scribbled into their ledgers. They were questioning the commoners in low and wary voices as they examined the wreckage. A few of them bent near the charred remains of a cart, while others inspected deep gashes on the tree trunks and cracked soil. There were various commoners whispering theories of beasts or rebellion.
Their conversation fell silent when Elias stepped into view. A few of the commoners who had been answering the officials in the serous voice about the scene, stiffened. None of them met his gaze. One man's hand trembled around the brim of his cap. A woman looked down, her lips tight with something that resembled shame.
Elias took in their reactions with narrowed eyes but said nothing. Two noble officials broke away from the group and made their way toward him. one holding a report scrawled in ink and half-smudged by the wind. Their boots crunched over the brittle grass and bits of ash.
"Lord Elias," one of them greeted curtly. "We were hoping to find you."
Elias offered a lazy smile. "You have found me. How can I help?"
The older official furrowed his brow. "We are investigating what happened here last night. There was considerable destruction. As you can see the place had been attacked and even burnt last night. And we could not come to a conclusion. The laborers say you were here before it began. So, we hope you can explain what had happened."
Elias tilted his head and feigned a puzzled expression. "But as you said that i was here before the accident happened. So I am not sure how I could explain the accident in detail to you?"
The younger official stepped forward with the report in hand. "Not only that, several of the workers claimed you noticed something and told them to flee. Moments after, the place was engulfed in chaos. No one saw the attackers, but everyone agrees that something violent had occurred here."
Elias gave a light shrug. "I am afraid I have no idea what you are talking about."
The officials exchanged a glance looking unconvinced.
"We have testimonies," the older one pressed. "Too many who believe that you know what is going to happen, my lord. Or else why would you ask them to run away out of the blue? What did you see, Lord Elias?"
"I told you," Elias said in a voice calm and almost pleasant. "I saw nothing. I only felt something. I was laying down on the ground when I heard a strange thumping in the ground, like a stampede. I thought perhaps a herd of wild boars had been disturbed. They are very dangerous creatures, you know." He smiled again. "So I asked everyone to run. I did the same. I only returned now to say that the damage was already done."
The officials frowned.
"Wild boars?" the younger one echoed skeptically. "There have been no reports of such beasts in this region ever."
Elias blinked and adopted a thoughtful look. "Hm. No wild boars, you say? Then perhaps wolves?" He arched an eyebrow. "Or… something larger?"
The older man's lips thinned. "It was not an animal."
Elias's smile faded just slightly. The silence pressed in again as his voice lowered.
"Then tell me," he said, his tone measured and quiet, "how do you know that?"
The officials faltered for the first time. The younger one opened his mouth to speak, then closed it.
Elias took a step closer with his gaze unblinking. "You said you knew it wasn't an animal. Then what was it? What creature could do this?" He gestured to the devastation around them. "Because unless you have seen the beast yourself, that would be a difficult claim to make."
The commoners exchanged another glance, but their posture stiffened.
"Beasts could not burn the land." the older one muttered. "Something more than a beast had attacked here."
"Perhaps lightning struck the grass at the same time or any other natural occurrence. Though fire could not be explained, claw marks and such amounts of destruction could only be created by animals." Elias said softly, "you should be asking different questions. Not to me, but to the ones in charge of these occurrences or perhaps look around the records. If the wild herd had created havoc here, they must have destroyed the surroundings too. You should make barricades and provide security." the men gritted their teeth.
He wanted to reply to Elias, but controlled himself. He stared at Elias as if searching for something. Elias noticed the gaze and his lips curved into a mocking smile.
"Or you have already decided to blame me for that? Do you think a human could destroy the land like this?" His voice had a hint of sarcasm that made commoners confused.
They narrowed their eyes and looked at the officials with a doubtful gaze. They could feel the challenging rebelling in their eyes.
"We are only making a report for the crown. Since you do not know anything, we will look around for the time being. But if you know anything about it, do inform or you would be charged for lying to the crown and deceiving it. It would be no less than treachery." Elias smiled and nodded but one could see the nonchalance in his eyes.
And they had never seen commoners with the courage to look at them directly. It felt like if Elias commanded, they would attack at once. The officials felt uneasy.
"Then we would leave for now." he repeated in a threatening tone, waiting for Elias to apologize and stop them. Then he would ask Elias to change his behavior. But Elias only nodded back.
"Then we will wait for you to bring a satisfactory reply for us, officials. Thank you for your hard work."