Chapter 24: Traumatized
It was already well into the dark hours of the evening when both of them arrived. Fortunately, Merlina had already prepared something for them to eat to replenish their bodies. She invited them inside the hut to eat.
Ragnar spent two hours discussing with the twin. Most of their discussion was casual, but the matter of the monsterborn came up several times.
"We should go check out the barn tonight. We might be able to catch some hints on how to kill it," Noah suggested as Ragnar prepared to leave.
Ragnar quickly rejected the suggestion: "We should stay away from the storage house as much as we can during this period."
"And why?" Noah frowned. "Have you lost the courage to challenge that evil bastard?"
"Not really," Ragnar shook his head and explained, "The monsterborn is smart according to Old Man James. Since it killed one of us, it knows we’ll be out searching for the killer, so it will be more vigilant in its heists from now on."
Noah thought about it for a second and nodded.
Scratching his head, he apologized for being wrong.
"No need—you were only concerned, and we can’t actually tell who is wrong among us," Ragnar smiled as he strolled closer to the door.
He turned back to the twin and bade them farewell.
"Be careful, Ragnar," Merlina warned before he left. Ragnar simply nodded and left.
On his way back, he couldn’t help but notice the solemn silence lingering across the huts he passed—everyone refused to strike up even the lightest conversation, scared that the killer might be around the corner.