Author's Note

Note : tags "Zecora" and "CMCs" were removed, due to the lack of future impact on the story. Sorry in advance.

BMIR, 2.02.23

Chapter 4

***

After Val left the town of Poniville - he retreated back to his cabin. It took him two hours of careful walking and hiding to finally be in security of the wooden walls. The next two days would be exhausting, so he would need to prepare himself for the upcoming task. So many things now were in shambles, because of this ban. Conserving even more in terms of ammo was impossible, that means he either need to venture in another town on the other side of the forest, or make his own ammunition.

Walking a high distance was not an extreme task and he could accomplish this, but to travel in summary 23 km every Sunday, instead of a 5 is going to be too time consuming. Not only that, but he didn't had the means nor materials to make his own ammunition. So the two choices he had now was either using Apples and buy ammo trough them by trading for goods, or use bow or crossbow instead of a gun. More work to load and less effective in firepower, but it's easier to make bolts, rather than ammo. Good alternative, after all he has the anvil in the shed and a hammer for shaping the bolt's tip.

The only thing now was to find a durable and thin material for the bowstring. Nylon, kevlar, kapron were his main candidates. Also the guitar string or two springs might be good, but let's stop at those three for now. The body of a crossbow is not hard to make, 2-3 hours of work and it will be done. Bolts might take some time... or work smarter and take what you need from those who don't need it anymore... Sure, the thought of returning to the Castle was terrifying the forester, but he didn't had much of a choice.

During those lines of thought - the forester was already in the process of looking trough his small closet armory in his bedroom. The old, tattered linen and silicone uniform that was slightly burned on the outside, an old helmet with hooded gas mask that undoubtedly could cover his head fully, a now empty pair of oxygen tanks in the shape of a backpack, his sawed-off shotgun on the holster... No, nothing that he could use. He exhaled in disappointment, standing up and closing the door of a closet.

Val's bedroom was consistent of a bed for one person, a doorless lockers on the right from his bed with clothes in them, most of the wall in front of the bed was covered in many paper sheets with hand-drawn and extremely detailed map of the Everfree, in far left corner was the closet's door, where Val was now. The curtains were long gone from the window, replaced with the pair of thick blwck blankets that kept the heat inside. He could've swore - he saw the nylon pantyhose not too long ago. Oh, now he remembered. Where his toolbox was, again?... In the shed, right... Might also pick the piece of wood for the body of crossbow.

***

The easiest way to get bolts is to get inside an old Castle's armory during the day. In the sunlight - the abandoned town near the castle was relatively safe to scavenge and venture trough. Old buildings held useful things, like a rare pouches with the old coins and gems, books and diaries with useful information or even something extremely useful like oil lamp or a pair of binoculars. The beast that lived at the top of the tower was absent, so was it's nest. It was a perfect time to go on a scavenge hunt.

Val took his single barrel shotgun with him this time, along with crudely made heavy hatchet. His knife was always with him. He could leave his hatchet or even his guns behind to flee out of necessity, but the knife? No, never. Too important of a tool and memory to leave without it. His backpack was almost empty this time, sacraficing materials of every day usage for the upcoming load. The only things inside were a bottle of rubbing alcohol, clean bandages, a filter for his mask, flask with water on his belt, a small flashlight, some dried bread with spices from the forest and a small worn leather bag with a handmade lockpicking instruments. The instruments were needed to access one room he missed the last time he was there - the archives.

Arriving at the entrance of the Castle - Val took an unsteady breath, watching the inner walls and floors of the hall with a concern look and furrowed brows. Those lunatics were here... The dried fountain was turned into a giant bonfire, where on the high wooden columns above the fire, with coals and ashes on the grounds, were three recent victims burned. They were tied to the wooden columns with hands and legs broken. The burned flesh, the agony of their suffering on the faces, the symbols of a sun that were painted on the walls in blood mixed with ink. Bloody handprints on the floor, the stench of a resent orgy. Those who died during this act became the fuel for the fire in the fountain. No regards for life among their members.

Judging by the blood marks - they were here not too long ago, maybe four or five hours? Val crouched above one of the hand marks on the floor, trailing the dried blood with his fingertips. Small one, more slender, with a couple strands of a long brown hair... A young female, she broke a couple of her fingernails trying to get away. So they were here in the high noon. After this deal with Beatrix Glowstone - he should hunt them down. But now - he need to finish his search, it will be dark in three hours. And being here at the night time alone is the last thing Val wanted. Standing up - he looked around carefully, listening into any possible sound of this place and proceed to move deeper into the Castle, already preparing the filter.

***

The silent corridors were dim, half dark but still held some light that was coming from the cracks in the roof. Those lunatics were occupying the main hall, but didn't dared to come down here for one reason. Gas. Thick, fog like bright purple gas that smells like copper with a hint of sulfur, burning lungs, nostrils and eyes with every unprotected inhale and just by being in the cloud itself. Stay in this cloud for too long and you will suffer from lung collapse and necrosis of respiratory canals. Strange, that nowhere in the forest Val couldn't find anything like this gas. These clouds were preventing anycreature to go on the lower level, in the library, archives, armory, dungeons and The Gates. It was a good thing the forester could protect himself from this obstacle, down there were no insects, vermins... nothing, only the occasional corpse or skeletal remains in this long hall.

Val reached the end of the corridor in ten minutes, finding himself on the crossroads. Ahead was the stairs that led into the dungeon, on the left was the armory, on the right - library. He fully removed his gas mask and wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead. His skin was slightly itching from that damn mist. He put the mask on his belt, blinking a few times to adjust his eyes and after short rummage - found his flashlight, turning it on. The walls and floors were dry, but the air smelled like old water and rotting wood, probably from down there. He didn't had much time, should be heading to the armory with haste... Val turned left and in a fast pace headed to the armory.

The heavy double doors of armory's rooms were ripped long time ago from the hinges, even before Val came here first time a couple of months ago. One was laying on the stone floor, the other leaning on the wall. Others might think that the Castle must have some kind of a barracks for guards. They would be correct, the barracks were in the next room, but the corridor collapsed under the weight of time. The armory was split on two big rooms, divided by the wall with arc-shaped passages. Stands with rusty swords, spears, bows and crossbows, shields and maces were almost empty. All of those weapons were already too rusty or broken in one way or another to be repaired. Walls were decorated with old flags : red background with drawing in the middle that looked like decorated moon and sun, split in two. Probably banners for the war time flag bearers.

After some inspection - Val found what he needed. Two boxes, filled with almost intact arrows and bolts with dusty poaches near them, laying on the floor. Being conscious about the weight - Val filled a couple of quivers with bolts, loading them in his backpack.

Before leaving - he inspected the present crossbows. They were old and couldn't shoot more than two bolts, but this wasn't what Val wanted. He was intrested in the construction itself. A simple, shaped piece of wood for the body with a hole hear the middle for a lever, that held the string. A carved canal for placing bolt and another piece of wood on the 'head' of the weapon, that held the string. He could build that in less than two hours, but this design was too uncomfortable to hold, not to mention the ability to aim. The body itself was incredibly heavy too, Val couldn't carry this weight all the time. He furrowed his brows one more time and after exhaling - headed to exit the armory. In the future he might need to return for more bolts.

***

He lowered his now weighty backpack on the ground and after digging trough - extracted prepared earlier cubes of dried bread. He was now sitting on the floor of the library, finished with one more rummage trough shelfs with old books. As he expected - nothing. The sole purpose of going inside archives were to find information about Fort Blackrock. In truth - the pieces of memories that he had about Blackrock were already disturbing, but the more he feared that place - the more he wanted to know about it. That closed off island wasn't just a simple jail with mines, it couldn't be. Too much signs were showing that. Val slightly shook his head, dismissing the nagging thought, and threw a couple of bread cubes into his mouth, producing a loud crunch while chewing. He should change his ration, maybe take dried meat instead? He could lower the smell of the meat, so the predators wouldn't sense him... no, too risky. Bread and water will do.

After his break - Val crouched above his bag and after another short search found the lockpicking instruments. He knew a couple of things about locks, but didn't held his breath for a successful procedure. The chances were too little for those locks to actually work, let alone be used ever again. Fishing out two slim rods - he inserted them into the lock, trying to find notches of mechanism inside.

The door that led to the archives was strange. A gate door with thick bars, seemingly made out of gold. Behind the door Val could see the stairs down with another crossroad. The corridor itself was spaceous, no less than five meters wide and six in hight. This was another question with presumably no answer - why those halls behind the gated door was so big? Coraline Sol and Beatrix Glowstone were the only one that could enter the archives, according to the diary of Beatrix. Careful moves of Val finally helped him find the right notch, now he needed to turn and... The lock clicked.

Val gave out a breath of relief, pulling out the rods, after which packaging his instruments and preparing to move. The doors gave out a long, loud metallic creak while being opened, but that was not too surprising. He put his backpack on once again and pulled out his sawed-off, holding his flashlight in left hand. The unknown territory could hold anything, better to be prepared.

***

Silence. The unnerving atmosphere of the archives could be the worst enemy for any knowledgeable scout. Any sound was spiking Val's attention. He was so used to hearing the sounds of the forest, that being in the archives was wrecking his nerves. Even in the armory he was constantly hearing his quiet steps or gentle whistle of wind above his head. Now? It was only his steps and their little echoes trough the shelves.

Archives were dark, being underground and not having any light source. Countless books, attached to their designated places with thin chains. Shelves, after shelves, after shelves, fifteen rows in total with one table and two chairs in the middle of the room. By Val's count - he had only one and a half hour to search trough, so he need to hurry. Walking between two first stands - he brought light to the books before him to know the title, keeping his weapon ready. He was looking for the historical books or something like 'secret files', as the would be holding the needed information. Row after row, everything that he saw was either related to magic, specie of this world or some dangerous or important artifact. Half an hour later and he could finally find something related. The list of jails and penal colonies across the country and what role they had. The small book at the sight was often used and had many bookmarks, even at the one he was looking for.

"...Fort Blackrock was built by the order of Princess Coraline Sol in the y... .. ... ... for the purpose of being holding facility of Level 4 (four) 5 (five) security containment. The facility is represented as an island fort in the middle of Lake Murk, having the total count of 2500 prisoner slots for convics with highest rank of committed crime (according to the Law book of Equestria, year 921 ATU). Convincted person, after being tried and judged as guilty must be transported in groups of 6 (six) trough the tunnel system, starting from the Royal Castle of Two Sisters' dungeon to the Fort Blackrock. After arrival - the guards of the group must undergo 'Memory Wipe' and return in the dungeons for their next assignment. The prisoner, after being led to the Fort Blackrock, must recieve their numeral mark and led to their holding cells, until the next cycle of 'Gathering'..."

This information filled the gaps. A prison for dangerous convics, hm? And there was something that only prison guards could know? Something is not right. Val hummed and left a book mark, continuing his search after the book was returned to it's place. There must be something else.

Alas, nothing. Only mentions of this place and that's it. Princess Coraline must know the real story about that place, since she was the one who approved it's building. But this is fruitless hopes, he has no chances of meeting her face to face. The time is almost out, he should take that book he found and get out.

***

With book in the backpack - Val already crossed the tunnel with gas. He unattached the filter, hiding it in his bag and carefully, peaking around every corner, headed back to his cabin. The sun was already settings, so he should be more careful with his surroundings. Another corner behind and he was back in the main hall with bonfire. Everything was as it was, only corpses from the columns were missing. The beast must've took them, while Val was down there.

With Castle behind him, Val traveled from one building to another, staying off the main street. The sun was down and finally the old town showed it's ugly face. From the all sides - the town started to get filled with hordes of fungals. They were a strange beings, as to Val's observations. In the most basic explanation - fungals were something like an undead, infected with some kind of a sentient plant. The plant itself was absurd, as it partly eats the flesh and infuse itself with the dead body.

Tough walkers, slowly walking like an actual zombies, having no eyes, nor mouth, had a strong layer of carapace-like skin and sharp, short clawed hands. Those grunts could be clad in the pieces of an old armor and carry weapons like a longsword, mace or a spear, they were a real danger. Awkwardly stumbling hives, that walked on all four with their backs towards the ground, spounge-like warts growing out of their stomachs like a disfomed blisters. Hives still had their eyes and were producing a pheromone that controlled walkers, leading them. There was hunters, that had the new body growing out of their spine, having four arms with blade-like hands. They had no eyes, but did had a nose and a disgusting mouth, that was often filled with a half-chewed remains of their last victim. Of course - this was only the streets. There was once a local park, now the lair for the Gallow Tree, a infected semi-sentient being with yellow meat under the layer of bark. And of course - on the branches of this tree were hanged corpses, long forgotten and absorbed by the parasitic plant. It was a good thing that they were there only at night. During the day they either sleep or migrate to the Swamps.

Behind the Castle was an old courtyard, filled with insects. Val was not sure - what or who resides there, but he once saw a dead mosquito, the size of which could be compared to a equestrian child. What a weird and dangerous place it must be...

***

Maria Smith was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book in silence of the evening. Her grandkids were out and about, enjoying their youth and having fun in the town. Or at least - most of them. Eva was sitting with her grandmother at the table, trying to learn the art of solving crosswords. Jackie was with her fashionista friend, while Anna with her two classmates playing in the local arcade. The annoyed blonde girl was chewing on the pen between her fingers, trying to remember some extravagant word, while her grandmother only silently snicker at the torment of her oldest grandkid. The silence was interrupted with three firm knocks on the open window. Both Evangeline and Maria looked at the window, noticing a slim hand in black, fingerless gloves and grey sleeve of the coat, that slowly waved to them.

"Ah, come in, sonny. I was waitin' for ya. Don' be shy." - Said Granny with gentle smile, putting her glasses at the top of her head and her book aside. Eva did the same with her newspaper, only she didn't had nor needed any glasses.

The hand retreated and soon enough - the owner was standing in their living room. Both Eva and Granny now could see their guest - the famous forester Val. He nodded to both of them, removing his gas mask, but leaving the lower half of his face concealed. Val now had makeshift crossbow instead of a gun with bolt quiver on his belt. Both equestrians noticed this instantly, frowning a little.

"Those no good guards left ya without any ammo?" - Asked Eva, crossing her arms, while Val fumbled with his bag, searching for something. When he did found what he searched for - he sat down at the table, pulling his notebook and charcoal pen.

《It's rough. The only way for me to get ammunition now is to venture to the town on the other side of the forest.》

"Ya mean all the way to the Dodge Junction?!" - Exclaimed Granny. - "That's half a day on th' train!"

《Because of that - I wanted to ask for a favor. Could someone from your family buy the ammunition? I'll pay for it accordingly.》

"I can do that, sure." - Said Eva, smiling a little. Her inner gun lover waking up. - "What caliber are you using?"

To this - Val pulled from his coat pocket two bullets - one shell and one rifle round. Eva carefully took them, inspecting both of them, furrowing her brows a little.

"Th' shell isn't that hard ta find, but this rifle round is expensive... What weapon do ya shoot?" - Eva asked, while Granny decided to put the kettle on for some tea.

《My old service rifle. The old lady saw a lot of things, but never betrayed.》

At this moment - Val had a look, that the old people have when they remembering something.

"Oh, are ye was th' part of th' military?" - Inclined Eva with curiosity and a raised brow.

《No, more like a worker that required a gun. I don't want to talk about that.》

"No problems, Val. Yeah, I can buy th' things ya need. What amount?" - Eva pulled the newspaper closely, ready to write off the amount.

《The prices are the same?》

"I think so..." - She said, unsure.

《Then two boxes of rifle rounds for a hundred each and three of the shells for fifty. That will be... 350?》

"Yup. If ya can - better to give more money, in case the prices got higher. I'll return 'em if they don't needed." - Said Eva, while Granny put three cups with hot tea on the table and sat back down.

Val nodded to this, pulling out a poach that he had specifically for spending on ammunition. Instead of usual bits - there were small, unpolished gemstones the size of roughly one and a half cantimeter in diameter. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, even a couple of half cantimeter diamonds. At that - both Eva and Maria bugged they eyes out. Before them was the treasures that could buy them half of the house!

"Where did ya find those?..." - Silently asked Granny, looking at the gems before her.

《Collected them last time I was in the abandoned town, near the Old Castle. I have no use for them in the forest, so if you want - you can take a couple.》

"Are ya serious, sonny? This is a large sum o' money..." - Said Maria, concern in her eyes.

《I'm aware, but as I said - I have no use for them. After all - you can use them more appropriately for your farm. And set aside some money for Anna, if she decided to go in the college. I can get almost everything I need in the Everfree.》

Maria exhaled, picking with Evangeline a couple of gems, two for each member of the house. That left Val with only fifteen or so, that he hid into his poach and put it back on his belt. Now Apple family will not be in need of money for a long time. But Val left one gem at the table, a small ruby, and wrote a little message.

《And this one for the ammunition and another favor.》

After which he tore out one of the notes that was written earlier, handing it over to Eva. It was a list of some things, like a couple of pens, notebooks, medical instruments and other things he couldn't get from the forest. Eva readed the list and nodded with a small smile.

"I can get those thangs fer ya by tomorrow. You'll be here, as ya said, right?" - She asked.

《I must be. Otherwise they will get lost, or even killed.》

"Why were ya at th' Old Castle anyway, sonny? I heard that those ruins are dangerous." - Asked Granny, sipping her tea.

《Crossbow bolts and information. I was able to get inside Castle's archives for the latter.》

"Information 'bout what?" - Continued Maria.

《Fort Blackrock.》

"Fort Blackrock? Never heard o' that place. What's that?" - Asked Eva, looking at the forester with curiosity.

《What I found didn't told me much. Fort Blackrock is an old prison in the middle of Lake Murk, at the edge of The Old Woods. If what written in the book is true - this was a prison for those who committed serious crimes. I have been there once, but I don't want to go back.》

"Then... What? Ya readin' bout' it just to know history?" - Asked Granny, finishing her tea.

《Something doesn't add up. This island can be accessed only by the underground tunnel under the Castle. Guards that led the prisoners there have their minds wiped after every visit. Too secured for a prison with mines. Now - this place is avoided by birds. Something is not right, and the only one who could answer those questions is Princess Coraline Sol, since she approved this to be built.》

"Then yeah... That does sound strange. But, ya said yerself that it was a place for really bad ones. Maybe they messed with their noggins so they wouldn't tell others - how to escape?" - Suggested Maria.

《Maybe, I can't tell for sure. I already have too many things on my mind. We will go tomorrow evening, and presumably will stay the night at my cabin. Walking there in the dark is suicide.》

"That dangerous?..." - Asked Eva with a concern voice.

《Verily. Even I don't go out in the dark, only scouting from afar or sitting at home.》

"Be careful, sonny. I can't express - how much I will be worried for all of you and your group."

《What must happen - will happen. I can only do my best and hope it will be enough.》

***

Both Eva and Granny Maria watched as the grey figure got farther and farther, walking on the road into Evergreen, before getting out of their sight behind one of the trees.

"Do ya think - he will be alright, Granny?" - Asked Eva, having a worried look.

"We could only hope, sugarcube. We could only hope..."