Short Story: Palthree Underfoot (Unfinished, 1st Incomplete Version)

A Short Story about a couple's travel to the island town of Palthree to unravel a dark secret.

(This is a test post, I'm familiarizing with how this works since I want to write small stories here)

(Last updated Sep 20th, 2nd Incomplete Version)

Steam billowed from a distance. A coal-powered ferry, bearing the resemblance of law and order, made port in the Palthree Town. Vacation's not long to end, Eri thought to himself. His career as a law enforcement detective was a boon to his life of crime and sin. Rigid disipline made him a crime specialist with a keen eye to solve mysteries and puzzles. Another eye-opener for him was marrying the love of her life, Rae. At just 30, she was an equally accopmplished woman who had carried a sports title that earned her the ultimate rank of master. A fencer for the national team, she coasted to an easy victory and won the World Fencing Tourney. Soon after, they both tied the knot in what was typically referred by local megazines as a 'dream couple'. They were not only the realization of dreams for most aspiring bachelors, but they were often seen as the dream.

Their accomplishments naturally made them adventure seekers. They were able to secure a sanctioned sea-voyage to a mysterious town without spending a single cent of their earned fortune. Owing to good connections, their home state comissioned a tireme specifically to explore Palthree. Palthree town looks like an exotic getaway attracting adventures risking fortune and malice equally. However, what appeared alluring to the eyes soon became a dull vacation. They've gone through most of their trip without incident and despite the island's somewhat deserted status, its port town was reasonably active. Market criers shouted advertisements daily, as local travellers walked among the dense marketplace. Stalls withdrew their blinds as the sun rose over the horizon, and their elevation from the sea allowed a modest view of the sea. Fishing trawlers shifted throughout the seascape, and smaller boats followed in their lead.

But today, Eri and Rae was having their last day in town. With the port being more of a tourist hotzone than an actual adventure, they had sought to find things inward, nestled more deep within the island. Throughout their trip, they had made a new friend. A self-described hermit, he was as unkept man who went into town to deliver cattle. The hermit left a pleasantful impression on them during their once in a lifetime conversation in port.

With a mysterious aura surrounding the lands outside town, they realized that they just had to have another social outing with the hermit. So began their long journey further inland, where civilization was vanishing with each step they took.  In the midst of a coming storm, they’ve begun small tredges through the deep forest. The unyieldy fauna was dry but alive. Even to their seasoned and athletic personalities, there were alot of uncertainties. But they kept their composure. After all, they were once referred to as the 'dream couple'.

“He lives in such horrid conditions” the Eri first broke the still air with his raspy voice. His wife, Rae equally conscious of their surroundings, took the que for a conversational turn, “I scraped through our paid antiquities and found one I think I don't need, while the rest are valuable to us. I don't think this hermit of a man would mind this cheap gift and the preserved food is something I think he will like.” Mossy vines and loose gravel made their journey hostile. Along the trail, a rabid racoon had laid just outside of their trail. Foams trickled from his mouth alongside a gaping hole in its stomach,  prompting Eri to brandish his pistol musket. "Is it recent?" Rae squinted. Eri made an inquisitive approach, crouching down closer before ending his steps a yard away from the animal. It was still breathing. "It looks parched. Either it succumbed to a parasite and was left for dead, or a larger predator had dug deep in him." 

"So it is recent. But that gaping hole. no animal would dare a hit and run. A bad omen, honey. Maybe we can send a carriage with a love note instead. We should turn back."

"This late? We've succeded in most things. Perhaps it is time for us to try ourselves for a friend."

They were looking for a broken and abandoned church, which flanked an equally deserted house for which their friend lived under. They had a pleasant discussion with the man in town, and his unfortunate circumstance of having lived alongside the watchful eyes of a malevolent 'landlord' willed them to good favors and prompted them to be good neighbors. They often discussed about how it would be a shame not to see such an enigma before setting sail at sea.

Noise descended on them, a distant vibration of an invisible engine humming itself to life. A sign of civilisation. We’re here, they murmured to each other. In the distance, the shadow of a man carried a stack of papers, browned on the edges and wet in the center. He wore an all-black dress, concealing his head and and barely exposing his sandals. He called himself a hermit, and now they understood why. He was carrying what looks like papyrus scrolls stacked on top of each other. 

“Hey friend!We came and brought something!” Eri exclaimed loudly.

The hermit paused at the surprise of their arrival. He struggled a smile before walking to greet them at the church, “Have we made plans?”

“I didn't think we would, given how well of an impression you made to us”

"No, no. You need to make plans. This is not how friends work. You're lucky he isn't here to torment both of you."

A silence crept. the hermit, sensing uneasiness of travel with which they went through to get here, prompted himself as an accommodating host instead of a paranoid one, “well, I've got food, tuna and potatoes. Make yourself at home. I'll join you after delivering my papers to my carriage bag and locking the broken church”.