WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES Chapter Twenty-One

 WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES

Chapter Twenty-One

The first gloom of night was spreading across the land when the three knights reached the Retinue. This one had already made camp and the cowboys were positioning themselves for the night. Rodrigo was the name of the leading cattle driver of the Campaign. As soon as the knights arrived at the center of the camp, he went to welcome them and take their pulse. He was a little calmed when he noticed that the three of them were wearing a police badge. But he didn't neglect security, he signaled some of the cowboys to position themselves strategically, in case the newcomers weren't exactly who they appeared to be... the movement didn't go unnoticed by Juvêncio, but he didn't give any sign that he had noticed. .. after all, the cattle driver was right... it's better to take precautions when driving such a large herd, right? They remained mounted, waiting for the invitation to dismount, an invitation that was made after exchanging a few words. The three thanked them and accompanied Rodrigo, who invited them to share his meal. They had recently butchered a animal, and the smell of roasting meat wafted through the air. Soon they began to cut the pieces of meat and devoured it along with a mouthful of cornmeal and - to accompany it - a good mug of coffee. Some cowboys drank brandy. After a day of work on the road, they needed to relax. And Rodrigo left them at ease, but always made sure they didn't overdo it... after all, drunk cowboys wouldn't be very useful in an emergency...

After confirming the visitors' identities, Rodrigo gave another signal to his men, and everyone relaxed, welcoming the visitors. Some even offered a drink to the visitors, who thanked them and explained that the best thing, at that moment, was for no one to drink anything other than water or coffee... the more sober they were, the better they would face the hardships of their walk. Nobody understood anything at first, so Santana called the cowboy for a serious talk. Upon seeing the formal tone of his interlocutor, Rodrigo decided to give him his full attention. and he listened to the whole story, nodding from time to time, agreeing with some points, asking about others. Their biggest concern, when informed about the latest events, was knowing if they were already within the danger perimeter, and they were informed that there were still a few leagues of safety... although, as they didn't know exactly what they were facing, they couldn't guarantee anything. ...

Santana made the usual recommendations... not leaving any cowboy alone, walking in a group with at least three members, and always leaving the fire burning... Just because they were still far from the points where the incident occurred doesn't mean they should lower the guard. Rodrigo agreed. He called some of his men, gave the new instruction and then distributed a guard roster among the various groups formed. They talked, and Rodrigo asked everything he could about what happened, so that he could really understand and take the necessary measures. It didn't take long for two violas to appear, where the caboclos began to share their sorrows on the pine...

The night passed calmly, as expected. But Santana knew that, somewhere in his jurisdiction, he would have a body with its head almost severed. For a brief moment he wanted to continue his journey towards the sunrise, to other places far away from the problems he faced. But he knew that wasn't possible. He had a case on his hands and he had to solve it. And he counted on the help of the Punisher, who worked tirelessly to try to solve the mystery that was plaguing the region. Yes, they hadn't managed to advance much in their investigations, but at least he had found a clue, something that Santana hadn't seen yet... the claw collected in one of the places where the tragedy occurred...

When he finally showed Santana his find, the three men examined the claw without really understanding what they had in their hands. Sometimes it looked like the claw of a feline, sometimes like the claw of a large bird. Well, whatever it was, it wasn't small. A bird couldn't be... given the size of the claw found, this bird would have the capacity to carry two oxen at once, without feeling an ounce of tiredness... a jaguar couldn't be either... it would be much bigger that two men, one on the other's shoulder... a mystical animal? It wouldn't be possible either... the moment he was injured, he would return to his human form... including his lost claw... Yes, the three of them felt like they were in a forest without a dog... they would have to make do with their hands. clues they had... and they would have to find a solution. Because if things continued as they were, panic would certainly end up exploding...

The party took another route... they would lose three or four days of travel, but at least they wouldn't get anywhere near the danger zone. Santana breathed a sigh of relief... at least one problem solved. Well, not exactly, since if he started pushing all the walkers away from his city, it would end up becoming a ghost place. There had always been a cattle crossing route, and this brought prosperity to the region. But if people started avoiding the city... well... commerce would be the first to feel the blow...

Juvêncio remained silent, thoughtful. He knew he would soon solve the mystery. After all, there is no problem without a solution. The problem was finding the root, and from there starting to unwind the ball of thread. But at least for now he hadn't found the tip yet, so he still didn't have anything to unwind. His hope was that the good Doctor Carneiro would recognize the object he was going to present to him... the found claw. If he had even a vague idea of what this could be, then finally a sliver of light would begin to clear the clues. Yes, his hopes were pinned on the good doctor in town...

Torquato was discouraged... that claw couldn't have been Jurupari's... it wasn't what he expected to find. After all, Jurupari wouldn't be that big... it would, at most, be the height of a man... no more, no less. But that claw demonstrated that the monster they were looking for was much bigger... and that was what intrigued him... how could such a huge monster go unnoticed by an entire community? Even though it was a mystical entity, it couldn't hide from everyone forever... in a way, this was a relief... after all, at some point someone would see it before being attacked... and manage to escape. Then, yes, they would have the monster on their hands...