Chapter 5 - Heaven's Isle

The ship was docked in the small harbor. It cast a shadow over the tiny fishing boats next to it. A group of people started to congregate within shouting distance. Arnest ordered the elf soldiers to wait in the boat’s interior and he took his fifty men from Fox Village with him. As he approached the group he saw an older man who stuck out with his peppered hair.

“How can I help you?” the older man politely asked. Some were nervously eyeing the sudden visitors with fear. There were others further back behind some huts who were peering out of their slightly opened doors. The group that faced him were all men who carried crude weapons, probably a defensive force mustered after the fishermen alerted their village.

It was perfectly logical that they would be received with some apprehension. Arnest and his men also had sheathed swords around their waists. Their numbers seemed about even and if a fight did break out, it wouldn’t be an easy fight. Men who are defending their families will fight harder then men with no good reason to fight

“We are travelers. We were admiring your large mountain and decided to pay a visit. I hope you won’t mind.” Arnest said with a friendly grin.

Hearing this, everyone's expressions started to relax. “Ah, so you were travelers! I welcome you to Heaven’s Isle.” The man returned a homely smile, exposing a few of his missing teeth.

“My name is Rogar, the chieftain of the village.”

“I’m Arnest. Glad to meet you, Rogar.”

“Come to my house, friend. I’ll have my wife cook us a meal.” Rogar led Arnest back to his village, closer to the base of the mountain.

Night fell on Heaven’s Isle and a milky moon rose to the sky. The tiny but infinite stars gleamed with a divine splendor. Within Rogar’s hut, a few candles lit up the room. His wife was roasting fish caught that morning on a fire outside while the two inside talked.

“So where are you heading to, Arnest?” Rogar asked as he poured him a drink.

“I’m not exactly sure yet, but perhaps one of the great cities. I’m just heading west to explore.” he answered, while taking a sip, yet it felt like a fire was set ablaze in his mouth. He spat it out almost immediately. “What kind of water is this!?”

“Haha, that’s not water. It’s wine! It’s fine if you don’t want it. More for me.” Rogar laughed and picked up the wooden cup, downing the entire thing in one chug.

“Could you tell me a little bit about your village?” Arnest said with a slightly pained face. He could still taste the harshness of the wine.

“Of course. We live simple lives, mostly fishing for food but on the mountain we go collect medicinal herbs. We send a few of our boats each year to sell them at Zanabo, the great trade city. That’s where I got this wine from too.” he said while pouring another cup.

“Would you allow me to explore your mountain? I’m quite curio-” Arnest said but Rogar’s wife overheard and ran into the hut.

“Don’t go onto the mountain! A monster lives there!” she screamed.

“Gretta, stop! You’ll scare the boy with your nonsense!” Rogar face turned bloody red in anger. However Arnest’s eyes were gleaming with unconscious excitement.

Gretta fell to the floor sobbing. “Little Tanya was taken by the monster. Don’t you remember the horrible howling that night?”

“Enough. Drink some nightshade and go to sleep.” Rogar picked up his wife and laid her on the bed.

“I’m sorry, Arnest. I’ll have to take care of my wife for a while. Don’t worry about what my wife said, I’ve personally went up the mountain and collected some herbs the other day. It’s safe.” he said while mixing a dark purple herb in some water.

“It’s fine. I hope your wife feels better tomorrow.”

Arnest walked out of the hut and saw the three skewers of fish still roasting, now completely black. He grabbed one and bit into the charcoal fish. “She’s a better cook than my grandfather.” He smiled as he remembered Black Fox roasting meat for him.

Looking up to the mountain’s cloudy peak, he thought to himself “I wonder what’s really up there.” He took another bite and started to walk towards the mountain at an even pace in the dark night.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

This was the first place he’s visited, outside of his home in Fox Village. Curiosity overwhelmed him and he felt like his wanderlust was finally able to slightly sated. All the stories he had heard from the villagers, wasn’t he now experiencing an epic tale? A girl taken by a monster up a mysterious mountain. He could be the hero that slays it. This, could be the start of his legend.

It was fairly easy to climb the mountain. From afar it looks especially steep but once you actually get closer there are gentler paths. Weaving right and left, upwards the path he went. Like Rogar said, there was an abundance of green that could be seen under the moonlight. A suitable place for medicinal herbs to grow.

After a few hours he arrived at where the clouds were and everything was foggy. Arnest could only see within arms length around him so he slowed down his pace. He thought of perhaps turning back but suddenly he heard a beastly wailing.

“ARGGHHH!”

Arnest located the yell’s direction and started running further up the mountain. The fog started to clear and he saw a cave and quietly peeked inside. A man was lying on the ground, bloody all over his chest. Another man was standing over him with a clawed hand dripping red.

“Halphas, after running for all that time, look at you now. I'll make you watch as I drink her blood and then I will slowly torture you.” the standing man sneered. Arnest noticed that behind the man on the ground there was a small girl who was shaking in fear. The bleeding man looked like he was trying to say something but he coughed out blood instead.

Seeing this, Arnest quickly drew his sword and chanted “Darkness, embrace me.” With [Shadow Step] activated he jumped through the darkness, his invisible sword piercing the man in the back through the heart.

“Eh?” the man felt the impact and looked down to see the bloody point of Arnest’s sword sticking out of his chest. In disbelief he fell to the ground and burst into ashes.

“So it really was a monster.” Arnest thought to himself.

Arnest had already released his mana and was fully visible. He walked towards the man and little girl. “Are the two of you alright?”

But as he drew closers to inspect the heavily wounded man he noticed his pale complexion, dark red eyes and beastly fangs. “Another monster?” he thought, drawing his sword to finish him off.

“Don’t kill him!” the little girl yelled.

Arnest stopped his blade at the monster's neck. A small trail of red streamed down it. “He’s a monster, right?”

“Halfy is my friend! Save him please!” she pleaded.

He stared at the girl for a while, then back to Halphas. Sighing, he took off his shirt and started ripping it so it formed a long narrow linen. Arnest wrapped the makeshift bandage around Halphas’s abdomen to stop the bleeding.

“Thank you for saving us. I am in your debt.” Halphas said while coughing a little blood.

“Halfy don't talk! You're have a big boo boo.” the little girl said while hugging him tightly. Of course this caused him further injuries and the bandage became a bit darker with blood. But Halphas just happily smiled to reassure her.

Arnest plyed the girl off the injured Halphas. “I'm going to take her back to the village. You should be fine here.” he said while dragging her away. Halphas nodded and watched the two of them exit the cave.

“How did you get caught up in a fight between monsters?” Arnest asked

“I was playing with Halfy and then that other guy came out of no where. Halfy carried me to the cave to hide.” she said yawning.

He carried her in silence for a while and then he remembered. “Hey, is your name Ta-” he started to ask but snoring drowned out his voice.

A sun was starting to peak over the horizon. By the time Arnest had arrived to the base of the mountain with the girl on his back, the villagers were already prepared to go foraging. Seeing the shirtless Arnest they didn't really pay him much mind but one depressed looking woman noticed the girl on his back.

“Tanya?!” she exclaimed.

“Aunty?” the sleeping beauty woke up in a daze.

“My silly girl, It’s really you! Where did you run off to?”

The other villagers looked at the commotion and realized the missing girl had returned with the visiting traveler. They all rushed over to welcome back Tanya and her savior.