Chapter 14

  Heavy Hearts

  Ellyn pulled her fist out of the monster’s head as its body went limp. Its unblinking red eye was reduced to pulp and its side was wide cut open by Olivia’s sword.

  Olivia and Rigel looked with wide eyes at the raven-haired girl’s unnatural strength. That thing was large, heavy, perfectly capable of mauling an adult horse to death with its claws and fangs, and yet it lay dead at her feet. While they all cooperated, the truth was that she handled the heavy lifting and they couldn’t deny it. Yet what brought curiosity to Olivia was how Ellyn covered her face and reeled back, as if she were to vomit at any moment.

  It made her tilt her head in confusion. It was indeed a stressful situation, but was it really enough to warrant such a reaction? She figured she didn’t like fighting others, but even monsters could get to her? Although, Olivia couldn’t blame her for feeling like that in front of such a repulsive creature making a mess of the place even in death. After all, she also felt dizzy on seeing that thing’s entrails. On top of that, it's foul smell was starting to get to her, too.

  Yet, all of Ellyn’s behavior was brushed aside by Olivia’s amazement at her power. That was, without a doubt, the power she used to destroy the bandits, it had to be!

  “Haa... Haa...” Ellyn panted.

  “E-E” Rigel stuttered, “Ellyn...”

  “By the gods!” Olivia spoke, “You had that kind of power within-”

  Before she could finish, her body is frozen in place as a monstrous look is thrown at her. Ellyn wore an indescribable look of anger and scorn that distorted her otherwise beautiful face and turned her cafe-colored eyes into a blank spot of unfocused fury. Her senses screamed danger in for each passing micro-second she stared at such a monster.

  Perhaps, she found her eyes scarier than the ones of the actual monster that just attacked her.

  Ellyn lowered her head, and as her hair blocked her face, a single sigh seemingly returned her to her senses—As soon as it came, it was gone again.

  Both Rigel and Olivia were thrown aback by such a bizarre display, and by the look of Ellyn’s face, which had returned to normal, it seemed unlikely to receive an explanation about it.

  Ellyn pointed at the hound, “...What is this thing? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “That is... a Black Shuck.” Rigel replied.

  Ellyn tilted her head, “Black Shuck?”

  “A type of monster, or rather as some people believe, a demon that often appears on Vigram. Some say their type is native to this land, though most have only seen roaming old battlefields.” Olivia explained.

  “I heard tales about them,” Rigel added, “But it’s the first time I’ve seen one. I didn't even think they were real...”

  “This thing was injured, and yet it still was really though. Should we expect more?”

  “I don’t think so, but I think we should be worried.” Olivia pointed out.

  “…How worried?”

  Olivia cleared his throat as she prepared to explain, “While numerous and intelligent, the black shuck are incredibly violent to everything around them, except their own masters. As omens of death and bad luck, they function as harbingers of coming bloodshed. They set the stage for other apparitions to feast on the carnage. That is their purpose.”

  Ellyn reeled back from the awfully detailed explanation, “Is that... so. You seem quite knowledgeable about these monsters.”

  “It’s in the bestiary I’m working on. The black shucks have variations of them across the world, but it’s believed that in regions like Vigram is where their kind is the most active.”

  Ellyn looked at the body again. Its pestilent corpse was as repulsive as it was robust. Even the strongest of wolves would be crushed by its fangs. It truly was no understatement that it could brutalize a horse, let alone a grown man. By itself it was bad enough, but it being potentially a demon was just the cherry on top of her concern.

  “Is it common for things like that to just be roaming around?”

  “That’s why I said we should be concerned; any kind of demon doesn’t appear all willy-nilly, even on places where they are most likely to appear. Seeing one here of all places not a good sign.”

  Ellyn placed her hand on her chin, after a brief moment she realized, “The village…”

  Olivia nodded.

  “…” Rigel shivered.

  Ellyn had seen monsters before, but those she knew were just stronger than regular beasts, irregular but not illogical. Demons on the other hand were powerful, intelligent and their existence an enigma to men even now. To meet one in such a way was effectively being cursed with bad luck by its presence. To make matters worse, if what Olivia said was true, and this was a harbinger of death, and there was only one place where that could apply at all.

  “Marco... Darius... Maya...”

  “We better hurry and get those mercenaries before anyone at the village gets hurt.”

  “Y-yeah, I’d like to be as further away as possible from THAT.” Rigel said.

  “I’m okay with it but, Ellyn, you haven’t had a chance to sleep yet, and you got hurt by that thing. Are you going to be alright?”

  Ellyn’s eye twitched. She placed her fingers right below her eyes to feel the bags that were slowly starting to form. Alongside it, a cold sweat went from her forehead all the way down her face. All the while her leg burned from the hound’s attack. Regardless, she can’t falter, they are close to Finglas, and staying near the corpse of the demon might attract more of its kind.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?” Rigel asked in a concerned tone.

  “If we hurry, we may reach Finglas earlier, that will give me time to rest, let’s stick near the road and avoid anyone just in case.”

  Olivia and Rigel exchanged worried looks, but after a moment, the two of them nodded at the raven-haired girl, not without some hesitation on their part. The trio abandoned the quickly rotting corpse of the creature behind and quickening their pace to the city, trying their best to ignore the exhaustion that washed over them as the adrenaline wore off.

  Back at the village, the people were already on the move as soon as the sun gave its first rays of light. Time was of the essence and everyone did what they considered right.

  Some decided to search frantically for Ray’s body, others looked for ways to defend their homes and family by any means necessary, commonly taking their belongings to barricade their homes, any leftover material available was turned into spears. Of course, against the archers and flaming arrows, which the Wood Fang was known for, these defenses would be of little use—but there was little else that could be done.

  Others looked for ways to escape the village. The fishing boat, even with its limited capacity, was the first option. Unfortunately, The Wood Fang had decided to keep its eyes on the sea by placing canoes at a long yet still visible distance. While they weren’t the wealthiest force in the continent by a long shot, the bandits had at least the capability of affording something as frivolous as a couple of two-man canoes to keep watch on the shoreline. Should they attempt to flee, the archers would shoot them all dead or even worse set fire to the vessel, burning alive the twenty-so people it could carry. Fleeing by sea was then discarded.

  The open plains also possessed several scouts placed the morning after the attack, who made themselves comfortable at the few trees among the ocean of grass, making use of the increasingly high terrain to look over the general area in case anyone would try to get out. This was the way they kept the villagers in check and prevent them from leaving their execution. Naturally, those scouts were already aware of the weapons being made. Although, they did not care in the slightest what brittle opposition they pose.

  Being surrounded did not stop the desperate, however. Some villagers already tried to flee by going east from the village, direction of the neighboring country Lamiegal. A group of young men had planned to escape and ask Lamiegi border guards for help. Tragically, they were ambushed and killed by the bandit scouts that encircled the village. Their bodies were thrown back into the main entrance of the village shortly after as warnings.

  That event dissuaded them not from attempting something similar however, and it just made clear to everyone what Roy’s true intent was. He said that he wanted the responsible for his brother’s death and nothing more, yet his actions spoke loudly even to the deaf. Still, it wasn't like the spirits of the villagers were emboldened. All villagers were well aware that the purpose of the ten-day period was because Roy was gathering every single Wood Fang member throughout their territory and more to then march towards some poor peasants that never had been to a battle before. Once all of his warriors were together under his command; he would bring massacre upon the earth.

  The despair filled the air and took a firm hold on the hearts of the people, but not everyone fell so readily into its dark clutches.

  As the people accepted or defied their fate, one still believed in negotiating with the bandits; a small group led by a young, white-haired man returned to the now closed in where Ray’s death took place. Alan, accompanied by a group of villagers, looked for anything that can shed light on the incident their mayor kept to herself. He knows that Ellyn did it, but the villagers don’t even know who Ellyn was.

  Only a relatively small group saw her during Roy’s attack, and everyone ran away shortly after. Even if she roamed around town once or twice, she didn’t have any explicit characteristics that made her stand out. “Average height, raven-haired young girl” was a descriptor too vague for his liking. Even her clothing didn’t make her stand out significantly.

  Even if a sizeable number of villagers recognized this outsider, however, a problem still lied in front of him: Nothing linked her to the incident, and by extension, their current predicament. Without any piece of hard evidence, anything that can help his case, he would have a hard time convincing Roy that a regular looking girl was their big culprit. He needed something, anything, to show her involvement to Roy. If he were to find evidence like that, Roy would funnel his fury to this one target and many others would be spared.

  It was easier said than done, however.

  “Ngh... Damn it all” Alan thought, “What is it with the secrecy around that girl? Why did the mayor agree to hide her like that for so long?”

  It was truly frustrating. The inn had been cleaned up and the bodies of the bandits taken away. The girl stayed with Marco for five months in bed and each time a villager would go there she would be confined to a faraway room. It was clear Marco protected her, but why would he?

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Rigel told me it was to not interfere in her healing, but I wonder why that man had taken so many steps just for one person…”

  “Hey Alan,” One of his companions called out, “There doesn’t seem to be much here either.”

  The young man shook his head and politely smiled, “Please keep searching. Open up the floor if you need to.”

  “It doesn’t seem right to do so but alright...”

  “Are ya’ even sure that girl you are talking about did it?”

  Alan frowned, “The owner of this place is dead and had no relatives. What’s more, the mayor is sitting idle as the bandits close in to kill us all. They already got some of us who tried to escape, and yet she has done nothing about it!”

  They all looked at each other with worried expressions. It was easy to feel the weight of what was at stake, and the urgency in Alan’s voice made it sink deep into their hearts. He was speaking from his own concerns and anxieties, without a hint of malice, and because of that, it resonated with them.

  “Don’t give up! Turn everything until we find anything that can be useful! Our families depend on it!” He screamed.

  “Yeah!” The villagers replied.

  Alan smiled softly, yet worry still went through his mind. Was there something he could find to at least make a case?

  “The only two witnesses are not likely to cooperate, and there’s not much left to his inn… maybe the bodies of the bandits?”

  It was honestly a long shot, and he had no way of knowing what the corpses could give him in the way of clues or even proof of the events. Especially after five months of being hastily being buried in the middle of the night, according to what he knew. They are most likely are nothing but bones at this point, if that.

  He still had no real lead. He was short on time and needed to find a way to expose the culprit for Roy to see. That way they would only take action against her. If it happened, then everyone else will be saved. As his only silver of hope, he truly believed that.

  They can't fight the bandits and not expect to be slaughtered. This was the only way.

  What else could be done?

  Marco closed his eyes as he knelt in front of a grave, closed his eyes, and prayed in silence. The grave was placed far and deep into the back of his house and possessed a small, amber-colored pendant wrapped around the tip of the stone. No one would bother him here.

  He had never been much of a religious man and neither was the person he prayed for. Regardless, he felt that it didn’t hurt to pray to the Lord of the South to continue watching over her. The Southern Goddess was the Goddess of Death, Matron of the Waters, and Warden of Souls. Known as the kindest and youngest child of the Major Gods, she was tasked to look after the weary whose journey’s had come to an end. The Goddess wept for the souls of those who had passed and took them below through her rivers and into the depths. There, she would put them to sleep for eternity, carefully watching each with one of her infinite shadows. It was the way the Goddess would show her love and affection towards all living things.

  She was considered the kindest God. So surely, his teacher would be in good hands. So, he prayed for her soul to rest.

  “I knew you were here.”

  A familiar voice called out to him. Being interrupted here was annoying, but given that he was almost done, he decided to let it slide.

  He stood up and cleaned the dust off his clothes. A tired look in his eyes glanced back at his old friend. She who had seen him since they were both teens, parted ways and then reunited again. Someone with whom he had many squabbles and caused him headaches on a daily basis, yet he could never imagine a day without her presence. So it went with dearest friends.

  “You need anything, Maya?”

  “I’ve just been wondering how you’ve been doing, that’s all.” Maya’s voice was soft and calm. Her usually hyperactive demeanor was replaced by an almost elegant attitude. Her hands behind her back, her legs put close together, and a lonely look on her face, all expressed a particular reluctance towards taking another step, to continue talking. After all, this was the grave of Marco’s teacher, a woman who had taken him under her wing and gave him a second chance to start over. To do something inappropriate here would be unforgivable.

  Marco was unsure of how to respond. Maybe a simple ‘I’m alright’ would suffice as an answer, yet his current state wouldn’t allow him to lie to himself in such a way. Of course he wasn’t fine, yet didn’t know how to say it, or if he should.

  Suddenly, Maya’s lips parted, “Almost ten years now. Time sure goes in the blink of an eye.”

  As she spoke, Marco simply remained silent and Maya instantly regretted opening her mouth. Despite being used to their exchanges, she was never good at handling him when he was like that. He, however, took no offense on her good intentions.

  “...Yeah. Back then I was a huge idiot, now I’m a huge, old idiot.” He said as he closed his eyes.

  Ten years ago, the village had hit the height of its issues, with many bandits from various places harassing the villagers frequently; three times per week on average and resources running scarce all across the board. Vigram was falling apart. It's Economy falling thanks to the new advancements in Western God’s magic, as well as better agricultural exports, had made Vigram’s privileged position as the number one export of all kinds of high-quality products a memory of the past. Combined with the king's failings to alleviate the problems at hand, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

  Five years later, it would only get worse with The Father’s Famine, the deadly plague that killed the very soil the population farmed. As each day the prices went up, food, clean water, and shelter slowly became more difficult to come by. More people turned to crime to feed themselves and their families, while others took the opportunity to take what they wanted from the crippled state. Somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, was the Wood Fang.

  The effects of the famine naturally reached the village and its neighbors as well. Being the oldest village among them, however, gave them the advantage in population, materials, and food stock. In comparison to the others. Even if it wasn’t by much. Despite the heavy blow they were under, if they all worked together there was a slim chance for them to weather the storm that was the famine.

  Alas, such things were not meant to be. As the situation in Vigram worsened, more bandits appeared. They organized into larger, more efficient groups and push them beyond the realm of petty crime. The desperate became the perpetrator, invigorated by the intoxicating power trip that provided stuffing their mouths with what little food remained. More scarcity created more desperation that created more perpetrators who created more scarcity…

  That’s what happened to the neighboring villages. The number of bandits snowballed out of control as they took anything that could be of use to continue living and those that opposed were killed or absorbed.

  Initially no more than desperate men looking for a piece of bread. Then they quickly gained power as they gained weapons, bought or self-made. The bandits then realized they needed not the sympathy of some villagers, but only their money and food.

  It wouldn’t be long until murder became commonplace.

  One after the other, the smaller villages were torn asunder by the wave of rising crime. Some suspected people of the other villages were joining the bandits in order to get things for themselves. Others blamed their neighbors for failing to protect them, it all helped destroy any form of communication and unified community before it even had a chance to begin in earnest.

  The village itself had been struck just as bad by bandit attacks, unable to defend itself from it. The situation only go more difficult after one of the villages was burnt to the ground, causing some of the people would flock towards them for shelter.

  At the time, Marco already lived with his teacher and in medicine and surgery, Karen. She was a lively woman with endless compassion for everything and everyone. Firmly believing that everything alive was meant to be joyous and thrive. Even during the dark days the country lived in, her tender smile did not fade. It didn’t matter how many there were injured, nor how bad those injuries were. She would drag Marco along and do everything in her power to save and protect their lives from further harm. That tender smile was seared into his eyes, a smile that convinced his heart that there was truly a way to push on to a better tomorrow. Forever now a part of his dreams.

  A smile that was missing as her head was pierced through from the right side as she shielded him from incoming arrows.

  The lifeless, surprised expression that the last of her consciousness experienced as it firmly locked eye contact with him. All burned into his nightmares.

  Karen Sone, was the daughter of the village mayor Akira Sone, died at the age of thirty-nine while shielding a young Marco.

  “I understand how much it hurts but, you know we can’t stay like this, right?”

  “You’ve said that plenty of times.”

  “And I’ll keep saying them until you listen to them. Maybe this time you will.”

  Marco went silent once more, not letting the conversation die, Maya gave one step forward as her breath left her lips, but it has him who spoke first.

  “Tell me, do you think she would forgive me for pushing my troubles unto the girl?”

  Maya’s expression went serious, “No. I’m certain Ms. Karen would beat you senseless for how you use her and the girl. I surely would. That’s why you sorely disappoint me, Marco.”

  “I... I see.” He replied

  “I may not know what lies in that girl’s heart, but I sure know she is disappointed in you too. You can’t even be honest with yourself.”

  Her words were harsh, her tone cold, and her expression dead serious. From the bottom of her heart, she hated how her friend tortured himself by projecting something so painful into a person who had nothing to do with it. It was unfair for him, for her, and for their long departed friend. However, Maya reached out and took a hold of the man’s hands. The warmth he felt remained kind and gentle as it ever had been, yet at that moment such kindness threatened to burn him alive. Then, when looked at her and saw the maelstrom of emotions barely holding back from her amethyst eyes, his breath was caught in his throat.

  “Please! How long will it take? Until you can give yourself peace?!” Maya pleaded with a cracked, teary voice, one that he hadn’t heard in a very long time.

  “Hagh!! HYA!”

  At the village's center, Darius was conducting emergency training with as many men as he possibly could. His diligent training and duty as a local guard had at least taught him how to fight. Thanks to that, he could train the men into being capable of fighting back in an organized manner against the bandits.

  “Keep your eyes on where the weapon is going! Pick up and move your feet!”

  “OUOH!” “HAA!”

  The men, some older, some younger than him, were practicing the bare basics of wielding a spear with some sort of proficient, sparring with each other, as well as the bare minimum of form and technique. Darius himself was technically self-taught; the basics were explained to him by the men before him, who were also helping with the training. Most of his real experience was learned by repelling the wild animals or the very rare monster that wandered too close to the village. He also sparred with Olivia frequently, who showed great talent for the sword.

  Unfortunately, monsters were very rare in that part of Vigram and thus making his opportunity to practice in a real environment rare as well. Inside the Kingdom of Vigram, most monsters were located at the north, and spread towards the central regions. Life in the northernmost settlements was harsh in comparison to the south and so most swords for hire; adventurers and mercenary groups took residency there in order to better operate on all levels. It also contributed that mayor port cities were located in the north as well. Bandit groups like the Wood Fang rose to power during the kingdom near collapse, which they only recently began to recover from, making them still out of the law’s reach.

  Monsters decreased in number as one traveled further south. There were still some of them, located in the depths of the forests, caves, and mountains, although they only went outside those places to hunt for food. But it was hard to come across them by just wandering off the path. They were considerably smarter than wild animals. As such, they carefully hid from hunting parties and preferred ambushing lone travelers should they come across.

  Monsters varied by region but the bestiary in Vigram included the likes of goblins, giant three-headed reptiles known as trechends, rock boars, and many more are depicted in a book he once read. One step further was demons like the black shuck and other kinds of terrifying creatures that only showed themselves as preludes to tragedy. Though the line between demon and monster was blurry at best, it those that met the former would always tell the difference deep in their souls.

  With such varied types of monsters and beasts, warriors had every ounce to grow stronger as they saw fit. Darius, however, had only seen one singular goblin, a few rock boars, and one goblin. All in all, his opportunities to test himself and improve were not many. It deeply worried him. He still felt inexperienced and unprepared for the struggle ahead of him. He had fought Roy alongside Ellyn just merely two days ago. In his view, however, that wasn’t much of a fight as it was desperately trying to stay alive and getting into his partner’s way. The thought of facing them again to the death made his body sweat cold.

  Not just for his life, but the others as well, all other men who knew how to fight were all self-taught like him, on top of that they were just at a mild beginner stage, hardly a level good enough to teach someone else, let alone fight animals like the Wood Fang.

  Yet there were no others that could take their place. Akira counted on her plan to sneak a small group into Finglas to then bring help from outside. However, if he were to be honest, the whole thing was too… desperate. He possessed no confidence in that plan, and the idea of a beginner like him preparing others for the return of Roy was just a guarantee to get too many people killed.

  He hated it. He hated every single aspect of it. The situation had gone so out of control in such a span of time that part of him felt like he hadn’t had time to properly process it yet. Even still, time was of the essence. Finding Ray’s killer was certainly not going to happen, so they needed to sharpen their spears.

  He did not believe in any way that a man such as Roy would be satisfied with being handled Ellyn or whoever was to be Ray’s killer, or if he even cared. Roy knew how much people hated them, having lost so many to them already. Their scars ran deep with hatred, and Ray’s death, as far as he was concerned, was the fault of the entire village regardless.

  Bloodshed backed by vengeance, an excuse to indulge in a rabid frenzy, a murderous rage. Leaving these villagers who knew not of war with a choice: Fight or Die.

  Darius believed that much. That’s why, despite his problems with these hurriedly made plans, he carried them along with the best he could.

  He prayed that it would work.