Joyous laughter echoed throughout the spacious halls and dull noise followed in rhythm as tankards struck down onto the long, decorated tables stretching along the stonewalls of the building. There wasn’t a shortage of liveliness from anyone inside. Villagers sat down and watched as others arm wrestled, danced, or even brawled the night away. Men, women; demons.
Dunrug heaved out a laughter as he spread his arms into the air. He fully faced Murrol, standing beside him, “This... This is a feast.”
Cheering loudly, then waiting as the other villagers replied in the same way, he headed for an empty spot by the far end corner on the left side. He sat Enru down first by the enormous table, before taking a seat himself. There wouldn’t be much of a feast, if his partners left him before the night had even begun.
Enru furrowed her brows. They sat too far away from the exit, not to mention she was stuck -between the table and two demons.
“Not as bad as you imagined, right? Food’s free for the night and the drinks are on me!” Dunrug reached for a grape, “Order anything, whatever you want. You too, Murrol.”
“I-” Enru gazed with a defeated expression over the various delicacies decorating the table, “...Some grape juice.”
“Water.” the blue demon reached stiffly for a small berry floating in a bowl of melting ice.
Dunrug tilted his head, looking back and forth between the two before standing up to find someone serving the refreshments. He came back soon after with one glass of water, and another holding a dark purple liquid. Placing them down on the table, he walked away once more, returning shortly after with a large tankard of wine.
They stared back at him, sitting in silence, as Dunrug returned. Every bit of the large hall was filled with laughter and joy.
Everywhere except for the spot he had chosen.
“Well you two sure are fun...” slumping down on his seat with a sigh, he took up his tankard to drink.
It would take a while for the useless drunkard on Enru’s right side to let her go for the night. By the pace he was downing the wine -at least another five rounds. She took a sip of her grape juice and gazed over to her left.
Murrol still sat in silence, holding the glass of water in his hands as he stared into a stone pillar close to the exit. A faint mumbling escaped his lips and, as Enru looked closer, his forehead was glistening under the flickering flames.
“Murrol,” Enru leaned further in to whisper, “help me get ou-”
“The hunters are here, but I promised Dunrug...” the hoarse voice, near inaudible under the lively atmosphere, had no time to bother with the problems of others, “I should leave while I can, but I can’t let him down...”
It seemed like he wouldn’t be of any help to her, either. Enru placed her chin on the table with a sigh. Tankards full of ale, large bowls filled with oval grapes and enormous boars, grilled over open fire, towered above her head.
Even the fish seemed larger.
Picking a grape from the red bowl, she sat back upright and glanced around.
Every table, wall and even pillar had been decorated nicely in the colors of red and golden. The village hall had really transformed into something other than the modest appearance she remembered. Torches were warming the halls, the dusty pillars were glistening, and even the sculpture of the sun and moon, standing in the far back, had been replaced.
“Who is that even?” Enru furrowed her brows and took two more grapes to her mouth. She tried to keep her eyes open as the sour taste quickly spread itself on her tongue.
The large statue appeared in the image of a young human. A boy holding something toward the ceiling with his left hand while smiling. A merchant’s child, if she had to guess from appearance alone.
“Well I’ll be... That idiot really brought that out yet again.” Dunrug placed his second tankard on the table as he looked up, “I swear, he worships that boy way too much these days.”
She glanced back at Dunrug with furrowed brows, only to slowly shift her gaze back toward the detailed statue, “Do you know who he is?”
“Tus appeared with him one day... Ah, the living one, of course... rambling on and on about how the runt had saved his life.” Dunrug stood up, gazing over the hall, “Back then, it wasn’t every day you’d see that man give praise to someone.”
He walked off and came back with two new tankards. Both filled to the brim with red wine.
Dunrug brought one up to his pale lips, chugged half of it, then slammed it onto the table as he instead brought up a piece of grilled meat with his fork, “Meat tastes sho much better with this... You’re missing out.”
“So, who’s the boy?” Enru reluctantly reached her hand out for another grape.
“Oh, an interesting kid for sure!
He walked into the village that day with the same kind of short-sleeved shirt, vest and short pants. The large hood you see covering his neck and shoulders, he said was a magical item given to him by his mother, wherever she disappeared to...” Dunrug sipped on the wine as he glanced back at Enru, “Had a thing for puzzles and riddles, too...“
About to bring the tankard to his mouth, the demon stopped and grinned instead, “You should’ve seen our faces when Tus came back with a kid -a human at that- instead of his right arm. Everyone thought he had brought the kid as his food!
But apparently we were all wrong. To think that runt would end up-”
Dunrug furrowed his brows, and looked over at Murrol, who blankly stared at an extinguished torch stuck in the wall by the exit. The half-emptied glass was still in his shaky hands.
“Murrol... Hey, Murrol!” he swiped the glass away, placing it down on the table as he pointed toward the statue, “Listen, do you still remember that boy?”
Murrol blinked rapidly, searching around the bustling hall for the voice until stopping his gaze on Dunrug. Following the purple demon’s finger, he had to turn his head in order to fully see the statue.
His face was contorted as he turned back with a glare, “...Yes.”
“Oh come on! Stop sulking already. Sure, you have plenty of reasons to dislike him... Like, when he stole your boots, dropped them in the water and such... Or when he broke your horn-”
“Both of those were you.” Murrol narrowed his eyes, snatched the full tankard from Dunrug’s hands and chugged it all in one go.
“See?! It wasn’t even the runt that-” Dunrug furrowed his brows as he noticed the lack of weight in his right hand. He glanced around, then stood up, slowly leaving the table, “Be glad it was just one of the horns...”
Enru had a quick glance. A scar ran down from the left side, right under what was left of the broken horn. The other white horn, still there on the right side, curved back around his ear.
Just like the two horns growing on Dunrug’s head.
You two need to get to the tower.
Enru glanced toward the statue. The voice had softly echoed into her ears. It was deep and clear, even with the loud laughter around her... Something similar had happened before. It wasn’t as sudden as the first time, easing in rather than outright jumping at her.
The statue seemed oddly familiar, the longer she stared.
“...Anyway!” Dunrug appeared with two new tankards, filled with ale compared to wine. Placing them down, he sat and turned toward Enru, “That boy, he- What are you glaring at? Something on my face?”
“No,” Enru sat back on her own spot, “go on.”
“Well... He quickly got accepted by the rest, even though he was a human and all... His name was Sam- Sammy, something.” Dunrug raised his large mug toward the statue, “Whatever it was, I suppose that in the end he was just another one of us.”
Taking in the scent of the foam lingering on top of the ale, his face beamed as he was leaning in to treat himself to a sip. He closed his eyes, ready to enjoy the taste on his tongue, only to have the large mug swiped out of his hand.
“Thatsh-” Dunrug raised his head in an instant, “...Not mine. Welcome home.”
A red-skinned demon stood on the other side of the table -chugging down Dunrug’s ale. His horns, as dark as charcoal, reflected the flames of the torches on their jagged surface.
Cold shivers ran down Enru’s back.
There he was, right in front of her... His appearance hadn’t changed at all after all the years. The fur on his leather cloak hastily waved back and forth as he slammed the wooden mug onto the sturdy table.
“His name was Samuel Ferren.” the demon released his grip of the mug to point at Enru, “A man whose strength you’ll never reach.”
The demon clenched his teeth as he continued to glare at the short girl on the other side of the table, “...You are nothing alike-”
“Right!” Dunrug reached for the other tankard of ale he had brought to the table, “His name was Samuel Ferren. Thanks, Tus!”
Tus narrowed his eyes onto the other nuisance, then over to the amber-colored liquid held in that drunken demon's hands.
Dunrug flinched, immediately covering the tankard with his body. Taking a quick glance behind his back, he gulped down the ale before anyone else had the chance to take it from him once again.
His night wasn’t over just yet.
Leaving a dent as he struck the table with his empty tankard, Dunrug gazed back at Tus with a smug smile. He had outsmarted them all. Now, he wouldn’t risk losing his precious beverage... He just had to get a new one.
Tus straightened his back and glanced at Enru one more time before leaving the three to themselves. A group of four demons -all with a sword sheathed by their hips- were all waiting for him further inside the bustling hall.
Are there others hiding here?
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Enru flinched, covering her ears. It jumped at her, from outside the building, reverberating through the hall -loud and clear. Yet nobody else reacted, as if they couldn’t even hear it.
Once it quieted down, Enru gazed toward the exit with a frown. Something, someone, was reaching out to her, and only she seemed to hear it.
It had to be the scar’s doing.
“But I must say... The number of ‘Hunters’ seem to have almost halved since the time they left.” Dunrug followed the group of five with his eyes, “Hurun, Inra... Even Narg?..”
He brought the tankard to his mouth, only to put it down, standing up, “I’m gonna need another ale for this, dammit.”
The purple scales on Dunrug’s back glimmered under the flames as he walked away in search for another drink. The way out was finally free of obstacles; a straight path. She could head home. Murrol was even sound asleep to her left, his face stuck on the table. A perfect opportunity in any other case, but...
She couldn’t just abruptly leave now. It wasn’t right. Not without making sure that someone could watch over that drunken oaf.
“Murrol, wake up...” Enru lightly shook his body, “Wake up! I need you to watch over Dunrug, so-”
Let’s hurry to the tower.
The deep voice caught Enru off guard again. She almost flew up into the air from the surprise alone. It was louder than the last one, but that was the least of her problems.
She had really done it now... Her hands were wet and, as she looked through the gaps between her fingers, so was the table along with Murrol’s black hair. After spilling water everywhere, the glass had crashed into the ground. If someone noticed, she wouldn’t be left alone for a long while.
Enru could even hear Dunrug’s hearty laughter for when he’d come back to witness the mess.
“That won’t wake him up by a long shot,” The muscular demon sat down, raising his filled mug toward Enru, “but it did help me a little... Cheers.
...May their spirits finally rest from the curse.”
Alcohol seemed to have saved her.
“What curse?” Enru turned her head and sent a puzzled look toward Dunrug while trying her best to dry Murrol’s hair with the red table cloth.
“Oh, right. You got thrown out of the group early by Tus...” he glanced around himself, before leaning in closer to whisper, “They leave the village to, simply put, defend us and other places from the curse slowly devouring the lands.
You’ve heard things from Grendol before, right?”
Enru gave a nod as she sat down, “Dark creatures; beasts.”
“Well there you go. You can trust his words,” Dunrug leaned back with a smile, “he used to be in the group long before taking on the job of chopping up the meat for the rest of us.”
“But that doesn’t tell me-”
Anyone still alive needs to retreat!
Enru covered her ears, but she could still hear it clearly. Faint screams echoed in the background of the voice, the sound of metal striking against metal... Pain.
“Hm? What’re you covering your ears for? Headache? Or, don’t tell me...” Dunrug Leaned in, sniffing the air around her, “Drunk? On the smell alone?”
“The only drunk one here is you!” she brushed him away with one arm, “Can’t you hear it? The fire... The screams.”
“You’re drunk.” he back away as a fist came flying toward his stomach, “An angry drunk.”
Enru stood up and tried to force her way past Dunrug, but easily got blocked by his legs. The pathways just had to be so narrow...
How is this possible? They just keep coming!
“My ale!” Dunrug quickly placed his tankard away to have both of his hands free, “Easy there, don’t want to fall and hit the ground, do you?
It’s hard.”
Enru raised her head, blinking rapidly, as the voice had faded away yet again. She was held up by Dunrug’s arms, just before her knees would have hit the stone floor. Released from his grip, she swiftly crawled past his legs while she had the chance. Something was wrong... The scar was wrong...
Something was wrong with her.
Dunrug stood up and grasped her sweater before she had the chance to run out of the hall, “Calm down. What’s going on?”
“I need to leave, I-.” Enru struggled to drag herself out of the long-necked sweater, “I need fresh air!”
She stared at Dunrug with teary eyes, trying until the very end to not leave too much of a bad impression, “I need to head out, so please-”
“Enru,” Dunrug’s eyes looked serious for once as he pointed toward the base of her neck, holding the wooly sweater belonging to the girl in his other hand, “Your neck is...”
A silvery light glowed faintly from the base of her neck, all the way up to her left ear. Enru’s neck wasn’t covered by her sweater any longer. The scar was completely exposed. She quickly covered it with her hands, but it was already too late. Everyone had already seen it... It would only be a matter of time before they would surely throw her out.
“What was that?” Dunrug reached out with his hand, causing Enru to flinch, “Let me- Hey, wait!”
Enru couldn’t hear his words. She had already dashed out of the village hall and simply continued forward under the rain. They wouldn’t be able to catch up with her as long as she kept running.
The pathways darkened as the lanterns grew more scarce with every step. Underneath her, the gravel gave off a sharp rustle which echoed under the cloudy night.
By the time Enru got out of the village, she couldn’t distinguish between raindrops and tears, both running down her cheeks. Everything was over, all of it. Soon, she wouldn’t have a place to belong to anymore.
Have you savages lost your mind!?
And it was all because of the voice.
Tears escaped from her cheeks as she abruptly changed direction to where the voice came from. Jumping over sticks and stones, she slowed down once reaching a clearing in the forest.
I’ll never surrender! I shall die, knowing that the others survived with my sacrifice.
Enru fell onto the wet grass with her knees first, covering her ears. She could clearly hear the clashing of metal and the crackles of the burning flames reach out to her. From inside her house.
As the pain from her head faded, she hurried toward the door and slammed it shut once inside. Enru carefully glanced around the entrance room, then the kitchen, before heaving a sigh. It all looked the same as when she had left.
You cripple me, yet you still can’t bring me down.
The shelves shook as the deep voice appeared again. Compared to before, however, it didn’t disappear after a few seconds. It was only getting louder... She had to stop it herself. Somehow.
Enru held her ears while moving up the stairs as fast as she could. The cottage was trembling and everything inside moved along as if they were glued on their spot.
Come! All of you at once!
Not a second too soon.
With her body, Enru pushed the door to her room open and began searching for the source of the voice. Her eyes stopped at the corner behind the bed. It really was...
Hurrying to her bed, she froze on the spot and just stared at the wooden mask. Ever since back then, it had all been...
Do you know who I am!? I-
Enru reflexively grabbed the blanket from the bed and tossed it over the strange item in an attempt to block out the loud noise.
It worked. The trembling stopped and the voices disappeared -it turned silent. Awfully silent. She stared toward the blanket held down by her hands. It was too quiet. Releasing her grip, she was ready to jump back in if something strange occurred...
But nothing happened. The mask made no loud noises. No fire, no clashing swords; not even a muffled whisper. Only the rain, as it pattered against the window, filled her room. A puff of air escaped through Enru’s nose.
She stood up with the wooden mask in her hands. It had all just been her imagination.
It couldn’t have been the mask after all.
Is that all you got!?
The broken mask clattered as it struck the ground and Enru followed shortly after, onto her knees. Covering her ears didn’t help. It was all so, so very real. The flames burning the houses. The swords striking down the screaming men, women and children as they beg for mercy...
Images continued to appear inside Enru’s mind, as if they were her own memories and always had been. Her eyes were closed, but she could still see them so clearly.
The pressure on her head only got heavier. She couldn’t breathe as waves of images hit her and once it seemed as if it would stop, another wave crashed in with the new screams and voices it carried.
It just continued, endlessly...
Her sight flickered. Tears dripped onto the ground as she passed out.