Day 49

As the first light of dawn crept over the horizon to bathe the world with soft hues of gold, Silvia and I were packing up our camp for the journey to the next village. The air was crisp as morning dew-kissed grass scents wafted past through the hills on which we walked. Digging my hand into my pocket, I took the emblem I had taken from the assassin in my encounter with him last night.

It was an infinitesimally small, pure black, finely carved sigil. "Do you recognize this?" I asked as Silvia turned her head as I showed it to her. Her face immediately went dark. She stumbled in her step, gazing at it as if she disbelieved her eyes or, rather, what they'd witnessed. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"Last night, some guy tried to kill me. He poisoned himself before I could extract any information. Under his clothes was hidden this emblem." I said calmly. "Holy shit..." Silvia muttered, a nervous edge in her voice cutting through the morning calm. "Someone has put a price on your head." "What does it mean?" I asked. Silvia glanced around instinctively, lowering her voice as if the trees themselves might overhear.

"That's the emblem of the Dark Guild," she explained. "They're not just any guild. They're a shady organization made up of assassins, killers, mercenaries—you name it. They've been around ever since the adventurers' guild was first established. Every kingdom has banned them, but they always find a way to operate in the shadows. Their headquarters is still unknown, but they scattered their branches across the whole continent. Many adventurers attempted to suppress them, but it was impossible to eradicate them completely."

I turned the emblem over in my hands, feeling its edges catch the sun. "So they're of the type that don't take kindly to interruptions," I murmured. "Exactly," Silvia said grimly. "Whoever hired them must have a serious grudge against you. Maybe you crossed someone powerful without realizing it. Or…"

"Or perhaps I disrupted their plans when I killed Malker," I concluded, piecing it together. "He's the only one I've killed who is notable enough to have connections to an organization like this." "That's a big possibility," Silvia admitted. "But what's really scaring me now is that they might get you, too," I added. Silvia immediately stopped in her tracks and turned to me.

Her response came in the form of a sharp punch to my arm, hard enough to sting. "Don't treat me like some deadweight!" she snapped, her fiery glare meeting mine. I smiled at her stubbornness. "Whatever you say, partner," I said with a carefree air. Whoever had sent the assassin wouldn't stop at a single attempt.

Hours later, the journey dropped us at a small village. The sky was covered with thick, unbroken clouds as far as our eyes could go. There was no appearance of the sun, and the air that surrounded us also carried an unusual stillness. As I passed the entrance part of this small village, an abnormal chill ran across my spine. Not one person was in sight.

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Doors hung loosely on the hinges, swinging lazily in the breeze while vines and patches of wild grass filled windows and crept up around houses. It was as if it had been years since anyone had been there, a ghost town left to decay. "We'll stop here awhile and rest," I suggested, though my voice seemed heavy in the silence. Silvia nodded, but her hand never strayed far from the hilt of her sword. The unease was mutual.

Moments later, a strange feeling of foreboding passed us and pricked the hairs on the back of my neck. A sound—a faint rustling in the grass and bushes—broke the silence. Both of us sprang to our feet, drawing our swords and scanning our surroundings. "Who's there?" I shouted, but only the wind responded in the usual whispery tones. And then, out of the darkness behind us appeared a towering Clay Golem, 9 ft tall.

It swept one colossal arm at us, but we dodged just in time so as not to get crushed by that impact, which sent the earth-shaking. We quickly counterattacked, slashing and stabbing at the golem with everything we could muster. But no matter how fierce our attacks were, our swords seemed useless. The body was impervious to physical attacks; our strikes were nothing on its soft surface, like sticks against mud.

"Savvy!" Silvia yelped as she dodged another devastating attack. "There has to be an Earth Mage around controlling it! Find them! If we take them out, the golem will fall apart!" "Got it! "I said, leaving Silvia to distract the golem. Using my Keen Senses, I scanned the area for any sign of the mage. It wasn't long, though, before I caught sight of a dim figure cloaked in darkness hiding among the ruins.

I didn't hesitate before I dashed toward them at full speed, the sheer force of my movement creating a shockwave behind me. As I closed in, I kicked with a strong force that threw that figure through the air, and it crashed through tree after tree. The effect was instantaneous—the golem collapsed into a heap of dead clay. Silvia arrived a few moments later, breathless. "Killed him?" she asked.

"No," I said, standing there, gaping at the trail of demolition. "It's the first time someone's survived the full force of my kick." "For reference, my kicks usually leave craters the size of small villages," I added dryly. We walked together toward where the guy had fallen. What we saw froze us in our tracks. It wasn't a battle-scarred mage lying amidst the smashed trees, but a boy—a child, no more than eight.

His bright red hair was matted with dirt, and curling from his head were... Horns? "What the hell…?" I stammered out in disbelieving confusion. "Why does he have horns?" "He's a Cambion," Silvia said in a tone of awe and disbelief. "A what?" I asked, confused. "A Cambion," Silvia repeated, looking at me.

"A half-demon. My adoptive father told me about them. They're rare—half human, half demon. They inherit their human parent's form, but the horns give them away. Most Cambions are said to possess demonic personalities, taking after their demon parent. But there are exceptions. Some have been known to align themselves with good. I never thought I'd actually see one." she explained.

I kneeled down, looking at the unconscious boy's face. His features, despite the horns, seemed delicate and innocent. "So, does that mean he's evil. or not? "It's hard to say," Silvia admitted. "Most Cambions lean toward their darker side, but. I've heard stories of a few who've defied their nature." I stood up, considering my options. There was no way I could kill an innocent child.

But then again, I felt that there was more to this boy than his demons. "Tie him up," I ordered curtly. "I want to see if I can tame him." "You're crazy! We can't keep that monster! What if it fails? What if he flips the fuck out!" Silvia objected. "Have a little faith in me. I am sure I can handle it." I replied calmly. She stared at me a long time, then let out a deep, exasperated sigh and produced a length of rope.

"Fine," she muttered. "But don't come crying to me when this all blows up in your goddamn face." Silvia then reluctantly tied the boy's hands behind his back while I began to set up camp at the ruins since it was becoming late.