Chapter 2: Wailing
Ragnar had just requested for the details of the 10th Hamlet when a sudden, bloodcurdling scream from outside seized his attention.
The pitch of the scream was feminine and deafening. The cause was unknown, but Ragnar could already tell that it was something very serious.
Almost immediately after the scream erupted, a few hurried footsteps could be heard outside, and several muffled voices lingered.
Ragnar grew curious at the commotion outside and rose quickly from his previous sitting position. He rushed towards the locust-infected wooden door and opened it.
He was quickly exposed to the new environment of this place.
Above him, the sky wore a beautiful dark-bluish hue, the crescent moon, surrounded by bright little stars, provided a pale illumination over the poor settlement.
Ragnar spotted a few huts about a dozen in number, each of them in dire states — some were missing parts of their roofs. There were even two huts directly opposite his that had some part of their walls fallen, seemingly from harsh weather conditions.
The ground was filled with grass that had grown so much, some even reaching knee-length.
With a simple glance, Ragnar saw how impoverished and unkempt the place was, causing him to heave a disappointed sigh. He had a long way to go in his mission.
After observing his surroundings, his eyes fell on a hut not so far away. There were few people gathered around this particular hut so he immediately deduced it was the cause of the earlier commotion.
Curious to find out what was going on, and also to know more about the condition of this place, Ragnar began strolling towards it.
As he got closer, he began to observe the state of the crowd gathered outside.