Flash Fiction February 2026 Day Nineteen: Faultless (Isabelle)

 Flash Fiction February 2026 Prompt: Fault (a small town reacts strangely to a minor crime) 

Hackdirt. What kind of a name is Hackdirt? Who in their right mind thinks to name a down Hackdirt?! There’s something off about this strange little village, though I’ve yet to put my finger on exactly what it is that makes it so odd. Even Shadowmere seems uneasy, something I didn’t know was possible. Why did I agree to come out here in the first place when I could be taking a nice nap under the big tree in the center of Chorrol, or continuing to work on my newly acquired castle not far from here? The area around the castle may have mountain lions by the dozen but quite honestly I’d take dealing with those over these unnerving townsfolk right now. They’re quite rude and refer to anyone passing through from Chorrol to Skingrad as an “outsider” and keep saying vaguely threatening things to me. I know I promised Dar-Ma’s mother I’d find her daughter but the longer I linger here the worse I feel about the outcome. Apparently the town was once much larger, though I don’t know what happened to it or what made it the tiny settlement it is today. Time to look around and see if I can find anything that will point me in the direction of the town's strange behavior, and hopefully Dar-Ma. I quickly look around to ensure nobody’s coming, as the townsfolk have been following me since I arrived, and pick the lock on one of the houses. Nobody’s home, excellent, though I should still be quick with my search. Almost every building I’ve been in has had trap doors in the floor and I don’t think they lead to additional dry storage to put things for winter. While in the basement of one of the homes I hear the low groaning sound I’ve heard repeatedly during my time here coming from deep in the earth. It makes my hair strand on end…I don’t want to know what's making that noise. My search for the day brings nothing useful and so I head back to the inn. Asking the innkeeper again about Dar-Ma is essentially useless besides being told she had stayed there before at some point. That little bit of information gives me an idea however as I remember the room next to mine is locked for seemingly no reason. Treading lightly up the stairs I break into the room to find it ransacked with a diary belonging to Dar-Ma hidden in a dresser. I consider confronting the innkeeper about it but decide its best to keep it to myself and continue asking around the town to see if I can piece together any more clues. The next day I run into a man named Jiv who tells me more about the town and what happened to it, and tells me he can help to find the missing girl. At nightfall, while the rest of the citizens are busy with “The Gathering” find a trapdoor in one of the buildings that will lead down to some caverns. There I should find Dar-Ma though I may not be alone in the caverns and should proceed with caution. Getting her back to Chorrol will be the more difficult part. Once the sun sets I find the trapdoor that was mentioned and descend into the caverns, that deep noise is louder down here. Quickly I find Dar-Ma in a cell and free her telling her we need to leave quickly and quietly. Returning to the surface and emerging from the building finds us essentially surrounded by a group of very agitated townspeople. They consider me at fault for the relatively minor crimes of picking a new locks and appear more agitated about that than rescuing their captive. I instruct Dar-Ma to get her horse Blossom while I fend off the now overtly hostile townspeople until I can get to Shadowmere. Once we are both on horseback we get out of there as fast as possible riding full speed until safely back in Chorrol. I reunite Dar-Ma with her mother who kindly offers to give me some training in handling business matters as thanks and return to the stables to take care of Shadowmere. Giving her something to eat and a few pats she settles in for the night, though the amount of noises make it seem like she’s telling me off for deciding to visit that town. “There was a girl in peril and we were surrounded. What else was I supposed to do?” I get a snort in return. “Fine. Fair enough. But don’t you think it’s odd they were more angry about the locks than the rescue?” Another snort in return before she goes off to sleep. “Alright, have it your way then.” I tell her and begin to gather my things for the night. Looking out into the dark forest beyond the city I see twinkling lights here and there, too large to be fireflies, and once again hear that deep droning noise from far into the forest. My blood runs cold as I scurry inside to the safety of the city behind its stone walls. Whatever’s causing it, there’s a shadow over Hackdirt, and I don’t want to know what it is.