Minos PoV [https://i.imgur.com/zDa3GEm.jpg]

A haze of orange light was breaking through the dark blue canvas of the sky above and Minos felt the misty breeze touching the back of his neck. All the windows in the manor had been shattered, and he could see outside where the walls and trees had surrounded them.

Watching Cassana's sob over Otheric made him feel sick so he stepped back and turned away, scanning the destruction that their fight had brought instead. On his left, where the door to the gallery once stood, he could see the bodies of the two drows they encountered last night, half buried in rubble. To his right, another drow laid on the floor, this one appeared to be a woman.

He approached her and quickly realized that she was still breathing. He turned her head to face him and he felt his stomach lurch from the sight he beheld. She did not appear to be humanoid at all; her skin and clothes had almost melted into a blob of heaving flesh. Her arms were white and covered in blisters and pus and her thighs had been fused together with her face being the only part that betrayed her drow features. She was also missing one hand.

The woman moved and opened her eyes and immediately hissed at the sight of Minos. The young nobleman moved his head closer to her ear and whispered, "Where is the weapon?"

The drow woman jolted back at Minos' words and glared at him with panic-driven eyes.

"I know about the weapon you found. I know it's here somewhere so let's not waste each other's time and just tell me where it is." Minos told the drow.

The drow sobbed, but no tears rolled out from her eyes. She looked around and found Nymgos' dead body, which by then had reverted to its humanoid form. She glared at Minos and after coughing out blood, she feverishly reached for his head wrapping her mangled fingers around his neck. "Die," she muttered.

He pushed her hand away without ado, and stood up. "Why does nobody wanna talk to me?"

Minos stepped out of the wall-less room and into the corridor, trying to trace back his steps last night. He remembered climbing up the stairs on one end, but he didn't remember entering the door on the other end. He reached for it, pushing it open as he did, but it fell off its hinges, making a loud banging noise.

With his little knowledge of architecture, he guessed that he had entered the main hall of the manor. He guessed that that door barricaded by a bunch furniture would be the main entrance, that left one remaining door, the one opposite him. He opened it and stepped through.

Minos was certain that he had entered the parlor room. He looked around and it was still mostly intact. He could smell the scent of burnt wood and smoke and as he looked in the center, he saw a charred circular hole on the carpet floor. He walked towards it and right in the middle was a painted box no longer than six feet in length. He could feel his heart about to burst out of his chest.

The young noble knelt on the charred floor and placed his palm on the painted box, feeling its warmth. He closed his eyes and recalled the last few days; from the journey he took that brought him to this place, to the grueling fight he faced that led to this moment. It was finally here, in front of him, the reward of his faith, the culmination of his journey, the end of his quest.

He twisted the knob that was holding the lid tight and opened the box, and what he saw sunk his heart. There was no sword inside, only a bow. Minos blinked to make sure he was seeing it right, but it was indeed just a bow. Granted, it was no ordinary looking bow, it was intricate and resplendent, almost comparable to the Sword of the Godslayer itself.

Minos picked it up to try its weight and was surprised at how well-balanced it carried. He pulled back the bowstring and was impressed at how smooth the motion was. He carefully returned the string to rest, and placed the bow back on its container.

Frustrated, he looked around the charred floor to see what else he could find. Outside the circle, sat another box, with papers and books arranged inside. He pulled one and skimmed through its contents. Minos had read a lot of books, but he had never seen this one before. He studied the binding and he was certain this wasn't made by any publication. The handwriting was uneven and cursory, this wasn't printed by a machine or a scribe, this was a personal composition. He looked for a name or a byline but the cover only bore the book's title.

Minos placed the book back inside and he let his thoughts run in his head. Otheric said that after meeting with the drows, Cassana went back home to grab her father's notes. These could be those notes, Tullius' notes. He felt his chest calm down, and his eyes were now filled with hopeful possibilities. The weapon he got may not be the one he was looking for, but at least he got his hands on something that could help him in his quest.

Minos collected the two boxes and stepped out of the room. He placed them on the main hall just beside the door to the hallway. He found a rope used to hold the curtains and pulled it off. He then went back to the destroyed gallery room and proceeded to tie the rope around the female drow.

She tried to resist, but Minos easily overpowered her. She pulled her away and secured her on one of the columns. "We can send for Duke Owen's men and they can deliver this one to the Capital." Minos announced to no one in particular. "Or if you know a bounty hunter we can commission, that'll work too."

Minos glanced at Cassana who remained sitting beside her lover's body. He then looked at Rei who simply gave him a nod.

"Can you..." Cassana started, "can you help me get Otheric back to the village? Please?" She asked without looking at Minos. The young noble looked back at her, she was holding Otheric's hand, but she was looking away from him. She tried to hide her sniffles by looking stern and stoic.

"Sure, of course," Minos answered. "I left our horses out by the woods, I'll go around and fetch them. Just stay here and rest, both of you." He walked past Cassana and Rei, giving the latter a tap on his shoulder, and hopped over the broken window, grimacing as he landed. The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off and he could feel the pain on his wounded leg again. He shook it off and traced back their steps from the previous night.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Backtracking his steps through the bushes proved to be more difficult. He lost his way around several times, before finally arriving back at the mountain trail. He climbed down until he saw their two horses still tied to a tree. Just below them, on a sleeping mat, laid Robb, deep in slumber.

"Hey, kid." Minos shook the boy awake.

The boy quickly woke up and saw him standing, "Minos!"

"I thought I told you to get back to the village?"

"Yes... but... I thought it would be safer for me to spend the night here, than to... climb down." Robb stood up and noted the wounds and bruises covering Minos. "What happened?"

"We... defeated the guys, and we saved Cassana."

"That's great!"

Minos started untying the horses, "Come on, help me get these to the manor."

Robb fastened the bedroll he used back on one of the horses. They both walked quietly up the mountain trail. Minos was itching to talk but held his tongue. He didn't know how to begin explaining to the kid everything that happened last night. In times like these, he usually resorted to small-talk.

"Do you shave your head?" he asked the kid, noting the prickly stubbles that had now started growing on his top

"Ashvell shaves my head. I'm too lazy to wash my hair, so I prefer it this way."

"Well it looks good on you." Minos ran through a list of typical small-talk topics he uses when the air goes silent, but nothing seemed appropriate for the situation he was in. Moreover, this was the first time in weeks since he started this expedition that he didn't actually feel like talking at all. So he welcomed the awkward silence and continued pulling the horse behind until he reached the gate to the manor.

Robb offered to open the gate, and the two climbed up the tricky stone steps leading to the courtyard. Minos saw the other horses in the stables and added his and Rei's palfreys to the mix.

He sighed to brace himself, and placed his arm over the boy's shoulder. They walked around the house until they reached the side that they sneaked through last night. Minos hopped over the broken window and motioned for Robb to follow him.

"What happened here?" asked the boy.

"We fought a werewolf," Minos bragged.

"For real?"

"Yeah, it was pretty big too. I think they call it a Primal."

"I... I read in a book that the wizards wiped out all the werewolves."

"They didn't wipe them out," explained Minos, "they cured them. And those who were cured, became immune from the disease. Of course they didn't get everyone, some people actually do like to stay as werewolves."

"Cool!"

"Not cool. Totally not cool, kid. I almost died."

Robb paused and regretted what he said. "Sorry..."

"It's okay." Minos rubbed the boy's head and dragged him inside the gallery. Robb couldn't hide the look of awe from his face. Despite the terrifying events that happened here last night, the resulting destruction was still a sight to behold.

"What are you doing here?" Cassana asked with a cracked voice as she saw Robb enter the room. "You shouldn't see any of this, go back to the village. Go."

"It's okay, he's a big boy," defended Minos.

"Robb. Go home," ordered Cassana.

Robb noticed Cassana holding Otheric's hand, as the drow laid still beside her, "Is that Otheric? What happened?"

"Don't look. Go." Cassana pleaded.

The boy's face quickly turned from awe to concern. Minos grabbed him again by his shoulders and led him further inside the house, to the main hall.

"Is he... is he alright?" The boy asked Minos.

The young nobled sat on his haunches to level with Robb and took a deep breath. "He's gone."

"What? But... he was a good drow. He wasn't one of them, he was nice."

"I know. He helped us. But... he fought bravely, you know... but his luck ran out..."

"But... I brought Cassana's staff. She could save him with magic."

"No... magic can't fix everything. It's not the solution to all our problems. I wish it was, I really do. This is life, kid. People die, and there's nothing we can do but move on." Minos explained, unconvinced with his own words.

Robb shifted on his feet. He wasn't crying, but the look of upset was clear on his face.

"Look buddy, I have a task for you." Minos reached for the boxes he placed on the side of the room earlier. "See these?"

Robb glanced at the objects and immediately recognized the box filled with books and paper, "I know that, those are from Cassana's father..."

"Yes. Now I want you to take these, including that box, and bring them back to the village with you. But don't let anybody see you with them, be discreet. And don't tell anyone about them, not even Cassana."

"Why not?"

Minos was already prepared with the appropriate lie he was going to tell Robb. "This is what caused all of this. Okay? And Cassana will be traumatized by what happened here, and if she sees these, it will upset her."

"Troma- what?" asked Robb, curiously.

"Traumatized. It's when... something bad happens to you, and it repeats over and over in your head, like a memory or a nightmare, you know..."

The boy nodded. He seemed to understood what Minos meant.

"So promise no one will know about these, okay?"

"I promise."

"And when you get to the village, hide them somewhere nobody would find. I'm sure you know a place. Just keep them there, and I will get back to them in a few days. Understood?"

"Gotcha." Robb grabbed the box of notes while Minos placed the painted box under his arm.

"You good? Not too heavy for you?"

"No. I can do this."

"Alright, but you need a different way out..."

Minos walked to the barricaded wall and cleared a path towards the main door. Afterwards, he let Robb leave dragging the boxes behind him. He waved the boy goodbye.

Minos grabbed a piece of cloth lying on the ground and went back to the destroyed gallery room. "I sent Robb back to the village," he told Cassana.

"Thank you."

Cassana's tears had dried up on her face and she was still holding Otheric's hand. Minos laid out the cloth on the floor beside her and motioned for Rei to come and help him.

"No, it's okay, I'll do it." Cassana sniffed. She finally let go of Otheric and she placed her arms under his shoulders. Minos grabbed his leg and in unison, they gently moved the drow over the cloth. He folded it over around his body starting from his leg, and Cassana gave her lover one last kiss on the forehead before covering his head.

"I got it from here." Minos declared, lifting Otheric's corpse from the ground.

Cassana looked around the wreckage of the manor. There was a gaping hole on the ceiling that reached up to the roof, showing the clear blue sky above. The drow mage was on the floor, roped up, unmoving. Rei was struggling to get up and Cassana reached for him.

"Are you okay?" she asked the foreigner. She noticed blood coming from his shirt, "You're bleeding."

Cassana tore a hole in his shirt to study the wound.

"Is this a bite or a scratch?" she asked him.

Rei shook his head. He appeared like he was going to speak, but eventually chose not to and instead shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't remember?" Cassana clarified.

The foreigner affirmed by shaking his head again. Cassana took another look and called for Minos. "I think Rei was bit," she stated.

"What?" Minos was about to move down the hallway, with Otheric's body over his arms.

"This looks like a bite mark." She tried showing Minos Rei's wound despite the distance.

"Seti's breath," Minos cursed.

"Let's get you back to the inn. We need to tend to that as soon as possible."

Minos bit his lip. He couldn't get himself to tell Cassana what happened to her inn. "What about her?" he asked Cassana instead, pointing at the disfigured drow lying on the floor.

Cassana moved towards the drow and grabbed the end of the rope that's tied around her body and arms, "Get up," she ordered.

The drow only hissed and snapped at Cassana.

"Get up or I swear to Eirene I will drag you down this mountain," she seethed. The drow complied.