Aridean’s eyes opened slowly and she let out a sheepish yawn. Her guest room was pitch black save for the little bit of moonlight that was cast along the floor. Dim light did illuminate the chair that Aridean had been sitting in when speaking with Rana earlier in the evening. Quiet snoring could be heard throughout the room, coming from just beside Aridean. The sleepy minotaur slowly began to sit upright in the bed, blinking her tired eyes.
What am I doing awake? Wait a second… wasn’t Maggie in that chair when I fell asleep? Aridean wondered to herself as she rubbed her eyes. As her hand came back down from her face, she could feel something grabbing at her wrist. With a gasp, she jerked her hand back from whatever was reaching for her.
“Oh, good, you’re finally awake,” whispered Magdalene’s voice from just beside the bed.
“Maggie? What are you doing?” Aridean asked while squinting her eyes. She had hoped to at least see an outline of the girl but found that the room was simply too dark.
Without answering, a bright glow began to emanate from Magdalene’s hand. Aridean’s eyes were still adjusting to the dark bedroom, so the illuminating light from Magdalene was simply blinding. Aridean quietly grunted while shielding her eyes from Magdalene’s magic.
“Oh… s-sorry. Look, I couldn’t sleep… I’m still hearing those creepy noises coming from the other room. I-I think it’s moved into my room now,” Magdalene explained with a hushed voice as she lowered her magically glowing hand.
As Aridean’s eyes adapted to the incandescent light, she could see a somewhat frightened expression in Magdalene’s face. Aridean drew in a deep breath before pushing the sheets covering her off. She shifted her legs off of the bed and her hooves landed on the carpeted floor. Stretching as she rose from the bed, Aridean acted as though she had had a good night’s sleep but really wished she could climb back into the bed. While the minotaur reached high over her head and took another deep breath, she listened closely.
There were several noises that could be heard throughout the guest room of the manor. First was a loud owl somewhere outside beyond the closed window hooting through the night. Next was the howl of strong winds blowing past the window; the wind also raced through tree branches and rattled leaves into a shuffle that could only just be heard in the room. Finally, Aridean could heard Vidor still snoring softly on his side of the bed the two had been sharing.
“Maggie, I’m not hearing anything,” Aridean whispered.
“Shh! Listen for it; it went quiet when I woke you up but I’m sure it’ll start again. It’s been going on all night after all,” Magdalene replied impatiently. The young girl then moved closer to the wall that the bed sat against. She then pushed her ear toward the wall after moving her hair out of the way.
Aridean watched the girl, somewhat confused and somewhat worried, as Magdalene waited. She had a particularly irritable look on her face as she awaited the noises she kept claiming to have heard. After a moment, Magdalene’s expression began to change slightly; the girl began to look more and more confused or maybe even embarrassed. Still wanting to climb back into bed, Aridean carefully considered what she could say to Magdalene in order to not get her to snap at her again.
Just as Aridean was about to open her lips, however, Magdalene’s fearful expression resurfaced. With only a second of hesitation, the girl grabbed Aridean by the wrist and pulled her closer toward the wall she had pressed her ear against. With wide eyes, Aridean simply looked to Magdalene with surprise. The girl glared up at Aridean as she gestured with her head toward the wall. Aridean glanced to the wall and then back to Magdalene before giving in. Having pushed her ear up to the wall, Aridean’s eyes near instantly went wide in astonishment by what she had discovered.
It's… just like she said! I-I don’t think I’d be able to sleep if I heard those sounds either, Aridean thought to herself as she listened to what was coming from the other guest room. Just as Magdalene had told both her and Vidor, it almost sounded as though a pack of wild animals were feasting upon something in the next room. On occasion, loud crunches could be heard. While it was near silent, Aridean was almost certain she heard a sort of splattering sound, like someone forcefully shaking water from their hands. Whatever was in the next room, it made grotesque squelching and smacking noises as it seemed to gorge itself upon its meal.
Aridean nervously swallowed before focusing on Magdalene, “D-did you want me to check it out?”
Magdalene, astonished, looked to Aridean for a moment. After giving the offer some thought, the girl nodded her head while still wearing a frightened look upon her face. Aridean, immediately regretting her offer, sighed worriedly as she hesitantly made for the door to the guest room. She could hear a quiet creak in the floor as she reached the door.
As she opened the door to the hallway, she felt a rush of cool air enter the room. Howling of the wind was particularly louder as it seemed a window further in the direction leading to the main hall was left open. She could see in the moonlight that poured in from the many windows lining the wall that the curtains by the open window were dancing. For a split second, she was entirely spooked by the curtains that rode the wind running through the hall.
Calm down, just some curtains. T-there’s no such thing as ghosts, you moron… Aridean thought to herself as she took a deep breath. Her heart still beating quicker than normal, she stepped out into the hallway. She could just barely hear the creak of the floor behind her and noticed that Magdalene’s bright magic seemed to be following her. Although she did not turn around, she did feel relief that Magdalene was joining her in their investigation of the peculiar sounds.
With the girl holding a magic source of light for her, Aridean turned and looked to Magdalene’s guest room door. The hallway, dimly lit by the moonlight streaming in, looked entirely different from how it did during the day. Something about the eerie stillness and dark corners made Aridean feel as though something was watching her. She felt the only thing missing to complete the truly haunted feel was heavy rain and thunder after the dramatic flashes of lightning. However, the scene felt unsettlingly more terrifying by the consistent quiet save the howl of the wind.
“C-c’mon, c-check it out already,” Magdalene nervously commanded while standing directly behind Aridean. The minotaur, feeling immeasurably uneasy, took one slow and reluctant step forward. Magdalene stuck close to Aridean as the two quietly moved toward the bedroom door. When they finally stood in front of the room, Aridean hesitantly put her ear to the door hoping to hear nothing. Unfortunately, she could still hear the revolting sounds of some sort of animal devouring a meal in some atrociously messy manner. Aridean could feel her muscles tense up and she turned to look at Magdalene. The young girl was eyeing the door with a startled expression before looking up to her minotaur companion.
“D-do we really…” Aridean began to anxiously ask but found that she could not finish her thought. Magdalene let out a frustrated grunt; it was apparent she did not also wish to confront what was in the room either.
“J-just open the door already,” Magdalene ordered.
Aridean, taking a deep breath, turned to face the door again. Her hand reached for the doorknob. As her fingers wrapped around the cool metal, she slowly twisted the doorknob. Aridean paused for a moment before pushing the door open. She let out a quiet gasp at the sight that awaited her.
Although the room was mostly dark, Magdalene’s glowing hand illuminated enough to see within. There was a magnificent bed with far too many pillows for one person and a small table with two chairs opposite the bed. Vases of white flowers were held atop a nightstand on each side of the bed. A large backpack sat in one of the chairs by the table with Magdalene’s everyday white shirt and light blue skirt lying on top. Just like in Aridean’s guest room, there was a magnificent, wooden wardrobe and a single rug on the floor. Everything in Magdalene’s guest room looked entirely normal; just the same as Aridean’s. The only difference was that there was not a male minotaur sleeping in Magdalene’s bed.
“There’s… nothing here? But those noises were definitely coming from in here, weren’t they?” Aridean asked a bit confused by the mundane discovery. Magdalene was shaking her head in disbelief.
“No way, not again. I-I know I heard something in here,” Magdalene claimed in a hurry. Aridean felt the girl giving her a slight shove to her back, “Ari, go check it out!”
W-wait, what?! It’s your room! Why am I the one who has to check it out?! Aridean internally challenges Magdalene. She desperately wished she had the nerve to actually call the girl out but found herself looking into the room and sighing deeply. Slowly, Aridean took a step into the bedroom.
A long moan echoed throughout the room from the creaking floor beneath Aridean’s hooves as she reluctantly stepped inside. Magdalene’s light did not seem to follow, leaving Aridean to assume the girl was standing just outside the room in the hallway. The hesitant minotaur made her way to about the center of the room, just at the foot of the large bed. She looked around the corner of the bed but could not see anything out of the ordinary in the shadows where Magdalene’s light could not reach. Aridean then turned her attention to the table and chairs where Magdalene had set her belongings; nothing unusual nor anything that could have possibly been creating the sounds that she and Magdalene had been hearing.
Nothing’s here… but we both know we heard something. M-maybe we both just imagined it, i-it’s been a long day after all, Aridean thinks to herself as she begins to move toward the window. She can hear the hooting of an owl somewhere outside but fails to see any motion in the yard below. She heaves a sigh of relief but immediately feels the muscles in her shoulders and back tense up as Magdalene lets out a loud and shocked gasp from the doorway.
“A-Ari! B-behind you!” Magdalene shouts, prompting Aridean to hastily turn around. Her jaw drops as she sees the silhouette of someone’s hair falling from the ceiling right in front of the doorway. Two red glowing orbs are spotted just above where the hair has fallen. The hooting of the owl outside the window is drowned out by the sickening snarl of some sort of beast. Aridean is just barely able to see an outline of whoever or whatever it is through the shadows on the ceiling. Snarling begins to grow louder as the figure seemed to coil back against the wall it clung to.
“Ahh!” Aridean shrieked as the figure leapt in her direction. Aridean herself dove under whatever it was that had just attempted to attack her. As she rolled on the floor, a loud shattering of glass could be heard from behind her. Upon regaining her footing, Aridean turned to see that the window she had previously been standing in front of was now shattered. Cold and howling winds could be heard rushing by the new opening, immediately followed by two doors in the hallway outside the bedroom opening.
“A-Ari, w-what was that thing?” Magdalene asked, eyes fixed on the broken window as she approached. Aridean could still hear her heart racing in her ears as Vidor and Rana appeared in the doorway. As Aridean collected herself, Rana joined Magdalene at her side as Vidor moved to the broken window.
“What happened in here? I heard screaming and then the window bre--,” Rana began to ask.
“That is one weird dog…” Vidor spoke as he looked out the window. Rana and Magdalene both looked to him with confusion as Aridean continued to take a few deep breaths. Magdalene moved to join him by the window; Vidor pointed out something outside. Magdalene, clearly annoyed, groaned her displeasure.
“You think just because it’s running on all fours that it’s a dog, dummy?! I don’t know what it is, but that’s the thing that almost attacked Ari,” snapped Magdalene aggressively. Vidor merely rolled his eyes at the girl’s unfriendly response. With a gasp and eyes wide, Magdalene turned to Aridean, “Is that the thing that knocked you out behind the inn yesterday?”
“Maggie, did you see it? That thing had bright red eyes… T-the last thing I remember seeing before passing out last night was a red glow just like those eyes,” Aridean replied anxiously. Her answer was met with another quiet gasp from Magdalene and expressions of concern on the faces of her friends. Aridean noticed Magdalene shiver as she and Vidor looked back out the window.
“I don’t know what’s scarier: that this place might actually be cursed or that dummy may have been right about it trying to take Ari,” Magdalene spoke as she turned back around.
W-was that the thing that caused me to pass out the other night? First that… Vici thing and now I’ve got something else chasing me? What did I do to deserve this? Aridean thought to herself, dismayed by the sudden appearance of these supposedly supernatural beings.
“I heard that, y’know,” returned Vidor with an annoyed grunt as he too turned back to Rana and Aridean.
“Enough of that you two; is whatever it is still out there? What is it doing?” Rana interrupted. Vidor shook his head while Magdalene moved past Aridean and Rana. The girl had gone to turn on the room’s lights, the glow surrounding her hand fading as the bulb overhead began to illuminate the room.
“Whatever it was, it ran through the yard and hopped that brick wall and disappeared into the cemetery,” Vidor answered while looking to his sister. Rana focused her attention toward the shattered window as she began to think to herself. Magdalene had now moved over to her backpack and began rifling through her belongings. Aridean’s eyes quickly bounced between her companions before she thought about speaking up.
“Uh… maybe we should inform Vladimir. If that thing is what is causing the disappearances around here, he’d want to know about it,” Aridean suggested after a moment of awkward silence. Rana turned to face the younger minotaur with an understanding expression and nodded her agreement.
“That would likely be the best course of action. Let’s go find--,” Rana began to order before a knocking on the door was heard.
“You needn’t look far for me,” Vladimir announced his arrival. Aridean immediately turned to the nobleman that was hosting her and her friends for the evening. She immediately found it odd that the man was still dressed in his fine clothing that he wore all throughout the day.
“Count Impalivik,” Rana called out, her tone sounding somewhat curious by the man’s timely arrival.
“You believe you’ve made a discovery worth sharing, yes? Hm? Gracious! What happened to that window?” Vladimir asked as he entered the room. The man’s one visible eye had gone wide at the sight of the broken window.
“There was some kind of monster in here! It had been making noises all night long and it almost got Ari! She thinks it might have been what made her pass out behind the inn, too,” Magdalene begins to explain as Vladimir examines the broken window.
“We were thinking that maybe that creature might be what’s causing the disappearances here in Cortonne. Let’s go after it and put a stop to it,” Vidor chimes in somewhat enthusiastically. Aridean noticed Vladimir hesitating, turned away from his guests. His shoulders lifted as he drew in a deep breath and slowly lowered as he let the air out in one long sigh. Turning back to the group, Vladimir had his signature smile on his face.
There’s something about that smile of his… it’s like I can feel just how worn out he must be. It’s impressive he’s able to put on such a mask when he’s clearly troubled by something, Aridean thought to herself about the kind, yet fatigued, looking man. Rana and Magdalene both started walking toward the door to the hallway. Vidor turned to Aridean and gave one his goofy smiles.
“Looks like our work here won’t take as long as we thought. Still, you should probably go grab your gear,” Vidor recommended as he gestured toward the door. Aridean nodded her agreement and began to follow back into the hallway. However, it was as she stood in the bedroom doorway that she noticed Vladimir. The nobleman was standing still as a statue; Aridean was questioning whether or not the man was even breathing. She felt a little unnerved that the smile he had just shared with her had faded and left behind a most apathetic expression upon his somewhat pale face. Aridean saw the man’s lips move but could not make out what it was he had spoken to himself.
“C-Count Impalivik? Are you alright?” Aridean called from the doorway hesitantly. Vladimir’s one visible eye shot open wide with surprise. Looking to Aridean, the man put on his smile again before moving toward the doorway.
“I must apologize… let us be off then,” Vladimir spoke as he exited the bedroom. He gently shut the door behind him before making his way down the hallway to the main hall. Somewhat concerned by the peculiarity of the man, Aridean watched intently as the man exited the hallway through the door leading to the main hall’s upper walkway. The minotaur shook her head before making her way to the bedroom she had been assigned.
Aridean noticed that Vidor had left the door to her room open when he ran to check up on her and Magdalene. Peering into the darkened room, Aridean could only just make out the bed with the little bit of moonlight streaming in from the window. Luckily, she was able to locate the light switch near the door. With a flick of her finger and a click of the switch, the room was lit by the glowing, filament bulbs overhead. However, Aridean was immediately filled with confusion by what she saw, or rather what she did not see.
W-what? Where’s… where’s father’s axe? I-I left it right there by the table, didn’t I? Did Maggie move it? Aridean slowly started to internally panic as she found that Simon’s axe was missing. She felt her heart sink in her chest just from the thought that she had lost such a valuable memento and proceed to search the room. Opening the wardrobe revealed nothing but empty storage space. Beneath the bed was, for whatever reason, a ridiculous number of spare pillows. There was no indication of where her father’s blade had vanished to. The more she desperately and fruitlessly searched, the more intense her abnormal breathing became.
“Ari! Hurry it up! We can’t let that thing get away!” called Magdalene from down the hallway. Practically panting in her panicked state, Aridean continued to pointlessly search and re-search the guest room. A minute or two later, the tread of footsteps coming from the hallway could be heard approaching. Both Vidor and Magdalene entered the room, each looking confused by Aridean’s frantic rummaging of the bedroom.
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“Uh, Aridean? You okay? What’s going on?” Vidor asked gently. Aridean was a bit startled by Vidor and Magdalene’s appearance. She had become so engrossed in her quest to find her weapon that their entrance had been entirely ignored. Taking a few deep breaths, Aridean turned to the two that had come to check on her with uneasiness in her expression.
“M-Maggie, d-did you maybe move my axe? I-it’s not here,” Aridean stuttered with embarrassment and worry. Vidor turned to Magdalene, who had raised her eyebrows by the question.
“Ari, that thing is almost as big as I am and probably weighs as much as I do. You really think I could move that?” replied Magdalene as she crossed her arms over her chest. Vidor turned back to Aridean, shaking his head. He approached Aridean and took one of her shaking hands. Without a second thought, he had given Aridean one of the daggers that he kept.
“Ignore her for now and we’ll find your axe later. Right now, we have to go after that thing. C’mon, Rana and Vlad should be waiting for us at the cemetery gate,” Vidor spoke. He gave Aridean a friendly smile as he gently pulled her to the doorway.
“I heard that part about ignoring me, y’know,” Magdalene snapped as she followed. At the doorway, Aridean stopped and looked back into the bedroom she had been assigned as one of the count’s guests.
Wait a minute… didn’t I…? Aridean began to think to herself, confused by what she only just noticed. Before she could speak up, Vidor had grabbed her hand again and had begun to lead her back down the hallway. After her search, the bedroom looked a total mess. Open wardrobe, unmade bedsheets, excessive quantity of pillows tossed about, and so on. The only thing that did not appear disturbed by her searching were the curtains dancing in the breeze that entered the room through the window.
Vidor led both Aridean and Magdalene down the hallway and into the main hall. The trio quickly made their way down the stairs and proceeded toward the grandiose, entrance door. Two of Vladimir’s attendants stood at attention by the large double doors. As the group approached, the well-dressed servants grabbed a handle on the door and pulled open their own door. Cool air entered the main hall as Aridean, Vidor, and Magdalene exited. Although the light from the moon was dim, Aridean was able to spot Rana and Vladimir standing by the large gate leading to the cemetery just as Vidor said.
With haste, the three quickly made their way to join their leader and host. As the party regrouped, Rana quickly surveyed her team with a gentle smile on her face. However, as she examined Aridean, her smile vanished as surprise entered the minotaur’s expression. Speaking softly, Rana asked, “Aridean? Where is Heaven’s Edge?”
“Heaven’s Edge?” Vidor asked, entirely confused by his sister’s question. A hint of panic had returned to Aridean’s face and her eyes had gone wider than normal.
“Heaven’s Edge is the name of her axe… Ms. Gray, where might it be?” Vladimir also asked. Aridean looked to the man and was surprised by what she saw. Vladimir had a particularly apathetic look upon his face; as though he had no interest whatsoever despite being the one to reveal the name of the blade to her.
Aridean simply shook her head as she took in a deep breath, “I-I don’t know where it is. C-can we make this fast so I can go find it?”
“Well… alright, I suppose. Count Impalivik, do you know where that creature may be hiding?” Rana followed up. Vladimir turned to Rana, maintaining his uncharacteristically indifferent look.
“If my guess is correct, there is a large, underground tomb at the center of the cemetery. Perhaps this creature uses that resting place as a nest of some kind. We should begin our investigation there,” Vladimir reasoned as he pushed open the iron gate. Without turning to ensure his company was following, the man began to march along the pathway in the direction of the tomb he had mentioned. Aridean and her friends kept close to the noble that led them through the cemetery.
No matter where she turned, Aridean saw numerous gravestones. They all seemed so well maintained; even in the dim moonlight every headstone appeared clean and well-polished. It appeared that many would come by to pay their respects as Aridean failed to find a single grave that did not have a bouquet of white lilies. What seemed odd, however, was the seemingly countless number of markers within the graveyard.
Pushing the thought out of her mind, Aridean noticed that Vladimir had reached the tomb that he was directing everyone toward. A large stone monument stood over the doorway. The door, solid iron, was rusted and slightly opened. Aridean let out a gasp as Vladimir pushed the door open, revealing claw marks on the stairs that led down into the darkness. Aridean nervously swallowed as Vladimir began to move into the tomb.
“A-are you sure about this? If this is that thing’s ‘nest’, wouldn’t we be giving it an advantage walking down there?” Magdalene asked, clearly a bit spooked as well by the prospect of entering a tomb. Vladimir turned, silent, showing a most deadpan expression had taken over his face. Rana shook her head as she turned to address her team.
“I realize this is a bit much, but we don’t have much of a choice. We need to take care of whatever it is down there,” Rana replied sternly. She moved to join Vladimir just inside the tomb, “After all, we promised to help Count Impalivik.”
Vladimir, one visible eye wide with astonishment, quickly turned his back to Rana as he proceeded down the stairs. Aridean could feel herself shaking slightly, but she elected to follow down the stairs leading into the underground tomb. Just a few steps down, she could hear a snicker behind her.
“You’re free to stay up here. Not that you’d be much help anyways; I saw a rat running down the stairs,” Vidor teased with a hearty laugh.
“Rgh! I hate you, dummy!” Magdalene retorted as she pushed past Vidor.
Everyone made their way down the stone stairs and entered into a pitch-black room. Vladimir struck a match that he must have brought and lit two torches that sat adjacent to the stairs. While the torches did little to illuminate the room, they helped reveal something particularly odd about the tomb. Walls of smooth stone and flooring of the same makeup created the room that the group found themselves in. However, there did not appear to be anything else in the room as far as Aridean could tell.
How far back does this tomb go? Where are the coffins or sarcophagi? Are they just beyond the reach of the light? Aridean thought to herself as she followed Rana and Vidor. Together, the group began to walk further into the tomb. Their advance into the crypt was halted by a long and tired sounding sight from Vladimir. Each of them turned to see their host had not been moving into the tomb with them.
“What I do now… can never be forgiven. But I beg of you… please… make this easy for me,” Vladimir pleaded with his head held low as he stood by the stairs. For whatever reason, his voice sounded weak and pitiful; entirely unlike how he conducted himself previously. The only way Aridean could think of describing Vladimir’s sudden and peculiar state was that the man seemed utterly defeated.
“What? What are you talking ab--,” Vidor began to ask before being cut off by a manic fit of laughter. Everyone immediately turned in the direction of the sudden laughing. Whoever was the source of the apparent glee was shrouded in total darkness. Even through the amusement, Aridean could hear the clicking of shoes on the stone floor.
“Oh, Vlad, you’ve done well yet again,” came a feminine voice from within the shadows. Clicking of shoes on stone continued to sound throughout the chamber, volume increasing as the source must be getting closer. Surprised, Aridean watched as a leg covered by a white dress emerged from the darkness, “But you know how this game works. You must play your part regardless of whether it’s easy or not!”
As the figure stepped into the light of the torches mounted on the walls, it appeared to be a human woman approaching in a white and red dress. However, Aridean gasped at the sight of the woman’s unusual facial features. Her eyes were entirely a deep red color, they looked more like globs of blood sitting in her eye sockets than actual eyeballs. Her forehead was slightly scarred whereas her neck had been horrifically maimed as dried blood painted her visible upper body. Even through the deformities on her face and body, the woman was smiling brightly. Perhaps even too brightly, she was showing off some massive fangs contained within her mouth.
“W-w-what in God’s name is that thing? W-what happened to her?” Magdalene anxiously began to ask. The woman now stood in the light given off by the torches and eyed the group before her.
“‘Thing’? Oh, Vlad, what sort of rude company have you been keeping?” the scarred woman chided with a devious laugh. Vladimir remained silent behind the group with his head held low. Aridean could not quite see his face but felt as if she could sense the despair radiating from the nobleman. Just standing near Vladimir seemed to envelop the atmosphere in a powerful sense of dread and hopelessness.
“Oh, it really wasn’t a dog… I’m kinda wishing it was though; she is creepy,” Vidor whispered aloud. Magdalene turned to Vidor with vicious irritation in her expression. Clearly the girl wanted Vidor to be taking the situation a little more seriously than he seemed to be. Surprisingly, however, Rana continued to examine the woman in silence.
“I… feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before,” Rana finally announced to the group. The woman before them began to laugh again before crossing her hands over her chest.
“Perhaps you have. Go ahead, take your time. I’ve time to kill among other things,” the woman replied as she focused on Rana.
Rana thinks she’s seen her before? Actually… I kind of feel like I have too. But from where? I think I’d recognize such painful looking scars in an instant, Aridean thought to herself. Both Rana and Aridean intently focused on the peculiar woman before them. Something about her dress and posture was eerily familiar. Magdalene had started to inspect both Aridean and Rana, curious about their fixation on the strange woman. Vidor stood silently watching the woman; his hand was slowly inching toward the crossbow strapped to his waist. After a solid moment thinking, Aridean heard Rana gasp her surprise. The two female minotaurs turned to one another.
“Spirits… Aridean, doesn’t she look similar to that portrait in the count’s lounge?” Rana asks incredulously. Aridean’s brows rose slightly as she took a moment to reexamine the unordinary woman before her. Her eyes widened as she realized that Rana was correct, this woman did appear to resemble the woman in the painting from Vladimir’s lounge albeit with various painful-looking wounds on her body.
“That’s… Carla Impalivik? H-how? She’d have to be over a hundred years old! Humans don’t live that long,” replies Aridean, confusion and astonishment in her voice. The gruesome woman began to giggle loudly, her laugh quickly developed into a maniacal cackle.
“I suppose you could call me Carla, you’re not technically wrong,” the woman taunted as she moved her hands to her hips. Aridean watched as the red eyes quickly surveyed her and her friends, a particularly devilish grin upon the woman’s face all the while. Upon concluding her examination, the woman’s grin widened to show off her inhuman fangs again. Her eyes locked with Aridean’s as one of her hands receded into the darkness that veiled the area behind her in total obscurity. As the woman’s hand returned into the dim torchlight, Aridean gasped in astonishment.
“What was your name again? Something Gray? Eh, doesn’t matter,” mocked the woman as she flaunted what she had pulled from the shadows. Her blood-red eyes ran up and down the prize she held in her hands, “Do you think yourself worthy of something such as this? Absurd. A whelp like you isn’t worthy to even clean my shoes.”
F-father’s axe! H-how did she get it?! What is she doing with it?! Aridean internally panicked as Carla held the massive weapon. The woman brought the large blade up and pointed it directly at Aridean, maintaining her cruel smile throughout.
“Forgive me…” muttered Vladimir from behind Aridean. The minotaur turned to see the noble standing still as stone, just as he had before the appearance of scarred woman. However, he had raised his head only just enough that Aridean could see the eye that was not covered by his hair. Aridean could see nothing but emptiness in his eye; while he non-verbally begged for forgiveness, it was clear he did not expect it. Just looking into the dispirited eye, Aridean’s own filled with disbelief and horror.
“Vladimir? I don’t recall giving you permission to speak to our… guests,” Carla spoke with aggression and authority in her voice. Vladimir bit his lip with such force that Aridean felt a chill run down her spine at the appearance of blood running down the man’s chin. She took a single step back from the silent man as Carla began to laugh again.
“Forgive me…” Vladimir pleaded as he held his head low again.
H-he’s… working with that thing? What is their goal here? What is happening? Aridean began to internally panic as Carla’s laughter began to quiet down again.
“Count Impalivik, what is the meaning of this?” Rana inquires with a stern and forceful tone in her voice. Vladimir drew in a deep breath but remained silent. Carla leaned in with a smug look on her scarred face; it was clear she was contemplating something. She crossed her arms over her chest as she stood up straight again.
“Go ahead, ‘Count Impalivik’. Tell them exactly what is going on here,” Carla ordered with a condescending voice. Aridean could see Vladimir’s entire body shiver. The defeated nobleman shook his head as he raised his hands, palms up, toward his face. The man silently looked into his palms for a moment before gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into balled up fists. His hands were returned to his sides as he took another deep breath.
“Ms. Gray… you… know how much it hurts, don’t you? How much it hurts to have caused someone you love such pain,” Vladimir quietly started. His soft and somber tone did little to ease the tension in the room.
“W-what? What are you getting--,” Aridean began to ask. Her thought was immediately cut short as Vladimir looked her in the eyes. She could see the desperation and hopelessness in his one dispirited eye.
“What would you do if you were given the chance to make amends? What would you do if the pain you caused could be undone? How much would you sacrifice if you could undo killing your own father?” Vladimir almost interrogated with a renewed sort of purpose in his voice. Aridean’s eyes went wide and jaw dropped.
“H-how did you—I never told you that,” stuttered Aridean, breathing becoming erratic and heartrate rising rapidly. Seeing his friend so distraught, Vidor’s face immediately filled with anger as he stepped between Aridean and Vladimir.
“Leave her alone; her dad wasn’t in his right mind. She did what she had to in order to save her village,” Vidor explained with aggression in his voice. Rather than respond, Vladimir looked from Vidor to Aridean and, strangely, began to giggle. His giggle quickly escalated into an unnerving cackle. Aridean, a bit frightened, took another step back from the man while Vidor’s anger expression began to mix with confusion over the peculiar response.
“Ahahaha… I see… so you too know just how hard it is. We tell ourselves that we made the right choice, yes? How the decision we made saved those around us. But at what cost? Not just those we loved, but we’ve sacrificed a part of ourselves in the process. Would you not agree with that, Ms. Gray?” Vladimir exclaimed with a sort of manic lunacy to his voice. Aridean watched as the clenched fists at his sides began to glow a dark, red color. His hands were enveloped in a glow as the man began to channel some form of magic, “But there is a difference between us… I can correct my mistake.”
All those tired smiles… he was forcing them like I do? W-we’re… alike? Aridean wondered to herself as her heartbeat could be heard in her ears. Vladimir locked eyes with Aridean, remorse and frustration mixed in his expression. Frozen in place by the man’s desperate speech and gaze, Aridean heard someone gasp nearby. She watched, petrified, as one of Vladimir’s glowing hands were brought up over his head. Almost immediately, a rumbling beneath her could be felt in the ground. The next thing Aridean knew, she had been forcefully shoved, toppling over onto the ground and in the place she had been standing was a large stone pillar.
W-what? D-did he just try to… Aridean pondered as her heart raced faster and faster. Her eyes focused on the stone pillar that had been magically erected in her previous position as she tried to process what was happening. After a moment, Vladimir lowered his hand with an anguished sigh. Aridean, still dumbstruck by the sudden act, looked up to see that Rana was standing over her.
“Spirits… that magic is tainted,” Rana announced as she offered a hand to Aridean. She focused her attention on Vladimir as she pulled Aridean up onto her hooves. After briefly looking over Aridean for any injury, Rana returned her hateful gaze to Vladimir, “You asked what magic we know but you never told us what you know.”
“Evil dwells in this hamlet and it is all because of my foolish actions… I never intended for any of this but I was desperate to set things right,” Vladimir frantically replied. Behind Aridean, the twisted Carla could be heard loudly clapping her hands together. The look upon her mangled face, however, did not depict any sort of celebrating or congratulation.
“Vladimir, I think we’ve said enough, don’t you?” the frightening woman called out, annoyed. “I told you that I will handle that one myself. You’re free to allow the rest of them quick deaths.”
Vladimir, silent again, hung his head low. The glow of magic around his hands had not subsided. His entire body shook for a full minute. With a raspy, deep inhale he quickly lifted both of his hands outstretched to his sides. As he did so, the rumbling of the stone ground returned. Inches from her hooves, the ground began to move as the stone itself began to rise up at an alarmingly fast pace.
“Aride--,” Vidor called out with his hand reaching for her. His voice was cut off, however, as the sky bound stone separated Aridean and him. With a loud crash, a wall of stone had been formed, perfectly splitting Aridean and Carla from the rest of the tomb delvers.
“Vidor… Rana… Maggie…” Aridean softly called out while facing the wall with eyes wide open. As she slowly began to reach out to the unnatural wall, something struck her with an immense amount of force. Swept off her hooves, Aridean was sent flying away from the wall that split her from her friends.
“Aguuughh!” gasped Aridean as she collided with the stone wall opposite the one that Vladimir had magically created. The force of the blow had taken all of the air out of her lungs. She fell to the floor, desperately gasping for breath through pained coughs. Carla’s laughter boomed off the stone walls that surrounded the two.
“Ahahaha! So, you are the last of your kind, hm? Not at all what I had expected. I had hoped that maybe you’d make this at least somewhat interesting. A pity that you’ll join your ancestors, bringing with you such a shameful and dishonorable defeat,” the wicked woman taunts. From the shadows behind her, Aridean can see large, fleshy tendrils. They begin to flick back and forth, as though waiting for a command before acting. She began to laugh maniacally, “Ahahahahaha! Just think how ashamed your father will be to see you in the afterlife after what you did to him! Ahahahahaha!”
It's… it’s just like back then; back in Byrden. She’s… just like Raltor? S-she’s a demon?! Aridean quickly surmised as the abominable Carla continued to laugh. The woman’s laughter only ceased as the barrier or stone that Vladimir had erected exploded, sending bits of rock and dust all throughout the space that Aridean and Carla occupied. Aridean shielded her eyes with on hand as the dust obscured her vision to the other side of the barrier while Carla looked on with impatience and annoyance. A bright, green glow could be seen emanating from behind the dust cloud.
R-Rana… Aridean thought to herself upon registering the familiar glow of her friend’s magic.
“Oh, Vlad, always so quick to give in. But it is that vain hope that makes your despair all the more delicious,” spoke Carla with a sigh. She looked toward the dust, or perhaps even through it with her ghastly eyes, as she addressed Aridean’s friends, “You mortals… always so persistent; always so sure that you can win. Sorry to break it to you, but life just isn’t that simple. A shame, Vlad likely would have at least given you head-start in an attempt to escape. Not that it would have mattered, but it would have been more fun for me.”
As the glowing green light behind the dust began to fade, the monster turned her attention back to Aridean. Still struggling just to catch her breath, Aridean slowly attempts to just sit up straight. Her arms give out underneath her and she falls face first back to the cold stone floor she had been dropped upon. She could hear the tread of someone rapidly moving in her direction coming from the dust cloud.
“Regardless, you all will die here,” Carla declares as one of the tendrils behind her coils backward. Like a snake preparing the strike, the tentacle-like appendage is then thrown directly in Aridean’s direction, “Starting with this whelp!”
Eyes shut tight and her entire body petrified with fear, Aridean held her breath as she waited for the attack. Aridean was sure she could feel her heart stop as the sickening sound of flesh being impaled echoed off the stone walls.
Hesitantly, Aridean opened her frightened eyes nervously, afraid of what she might find. They slowly shifted as they scanned what of her body she could see from her position on the ground as she searched for any wounds. Confused, Aridean could not locate any injuries on her body; she did not feel anymore pain than she did having been thrown against the stone wall. Even so, she noted that there were sprinkled droplets of wet blood scattered upon her snout and arms as well as the ground in front of her.
What? I… wasn’t hit? But then… that could only mean--, Aridean began to realize internally. Having reached the conclusion that it was not her that was bleeding, Aridean quietly gasped. With eyes wide and terrified of what she might discover, she reluctantly raised her head.
Another gasp, eyes having grown wider, utterly mortified and in horrendous disbelief. Aridean’s heart sank in her chest and she felt her entire body seize up. The very blood in her veins felt ice cold just looking at the sight before her. After several seconds trying to process what she saw, her voice cracked, “N-n-no… n-no… y-you—w-why?!”
Before her stood the one who had fallen victim to the attack from the monster. Their arms held outstretched to their sides. Aridean watched, petrified, as the arms fell slack at their sides. She could see their head fall forward and knees buckle as their legs gave out beneath them. They appeared to be held up solely by the abominable tendril that had impaled them. Aridean could not take her eyes off of the monstrous appendage that had broken through the front of the body and now protruded out of the back. All Aridean could do was watch, holding her breath, on the floor as the tentacle quickly retracted itself through the body. The one who had saved Aridean quickly slumped to their knees and then fell face down onto the stone-cold ground. Within seconds, a pool of their own blood began to form around their still body and a raucous laughter could be heard coming from the monstrous entity.
Aridean, eyes wide and quickly filling with tears, shook her head back and forth in disbelief, “N-n-no… you can’t… n-n—"
“NOOOO!!” screamed a familiar voice, their anguished cry thick with despair.