"My name is Adolph"

Mycen and the two young men behind him heard it loud and clear—Adolph—the name that would soon change the course of their lives.

"What are you doing here, Adolph," asked Mycen.

"I've come to make a proposal. To all of you."

Runick stepped forward and butted in their conversation. "Why did you plunder the camp?" His question cut straight to the main topic that had been gnawing at everyone's minds.

"To start my work here," Adolph answered.

"Yeah... You bet your savage mask we'll let you work around in here—"

"Easy, now..." Mycen pulled back Runick before his aggressiveness did something funny with the knife in his hand.

"I've come in peace. My proposal would... benefit all of you," said Adolph.

Mycen's eyes narrowed, scanning Adolph's face for any hint of truth in his words just now. He took a step forward—his posture tensed and ready for the slightest hint of danger. With his voice steady, Mycen let out another question.

"And that proposal is?"

"I was asked to become your benefactor."

"Asked by who?"

"A god." Upon hearing Adolph's answer, Runick clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Oh, come on Sir Mycen. Let's just drown this clown in the river already." Runick again pushed his body forward—only Mycen's firm grip on his shoulder held the young man back from confronting Adolph.

"No—no... no, Runick. No more blood tonight on my watch."

"But, Sir. That monster doesn't bleed!"

"I know. I was talking about your blood." Runick paused after Mycen's 'subtle' warning.

"Calm yourself. They said they came in peace. They'll honor their words, right? Adolph?"

"I will."

Charon pulled Runick away from the front. "Get a grip on yourself, Runick. Let Sir Mycen handle this." Runick exhaled slowly, nodding his head to agree, albeit reluctantly.

A restless atmosphere settled over them—the stinging cold air only adding to the heavy tension between the two parties. Relentless, Mycen continued to fire more questions at Adolph.

"What is the name of the god you serve."

"I don't serve him. I also don't know his name, nor if it was a real god. But they said they know of my purpose here."

"When did you talk to him?"

"When I got to the base of this hill. That time—everything stopped still. All colors distorted, as if the world cracked to a new dimension. I could hear their voice call out to me. Then, the talk happened..."

Mycen found it hard to believe Adolph's eerie story. Yet, the strange events recounted by Adolph were so captivating that they held Mycen's attention throughout their entirety.

"When we finished discussing things, everything was back to where it was. T'was like it didn't happen in the first place. But it did... It was real."

"What exactly did the two of you talk about?" Mycen pressed on, hoping to uncover the roots of Adolph's reasons.

"What we had was an agreement. Their terms were for me to become your benefactor and aid you in what you're doing."

"And... what will you get from this?"

"My death."

A strong word, feared by all mortals—something that disturbed Mycen deeply upon hearing it. Charon approached Mycen from the left, his face a mix of confusion and terror.

"What's all of the god talk about, sir?" he asked Mycen.

"I... believe this poor man was cursed by this god he was talking about. He had an agreement to help us... in exchange for his death."

"That's to be a... benefactor?"

"Yes. Someone who provides help to another one in doing their cause."

Runick's eyes widened. "What? Then... he knows what we're doing?" he asked Mycen as he listened on the side.

"Maybe... Or it was that god of his," Mycen replied.

"Their offer... sounds too good to be true, I think," Charon pondered as visible skepticism etched lines on his brow. "And... if he's cursed... this isn't good at all."

"Yes—and I don't intend to get you boys, nor the girls at home, get caught up in it."

Adolph suddenly took a single step forward. His action seemed to halt the developing doubt of the three with his intentions. "No. I'm afraid this isn't a curse, Sir Mycen," he refuted the whispering between the three.

Shocked, Mycen felt threatened by Adolph's exceptional hearing. "Looks like those long ears of yours work wonders, Adolph."

Adolph dropped the torch resting on his hand and walked up towards them—his steps were short but steady. A nerve-wracking moment for the three before him. As he approached them, each step that crunched pebbles beneath his feet echoed and steadily grew louder. Mycen and the two young men behind couldn't help but tighten the grip of their hands on their blades.

Adolph stopped close in front of Mycen, his left arm extended with a tight fist. He twisted it around and slowly opened his fist, revealing what was inside his palm.

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A blue stone.

"The god asked me to show you this—a proof."

Runick's eyes bulged wide at the sight. Surprised. But that surprise was quickly replaced with anger—seething anger. Like a gnarling beast, his sharp eyes fixed on the blue stone resting in Adolph's palm.

"You're one of them!" Runick's voice echoed as he lunged at Adolph, wrestling him to the ground. Clouds of dust got flung up beneath their bodies. Runick effectively pinned down Adolph's body, securing both of his unarmed hands in place while pressing down the cold blade of his knife against Adolph's neck.

"Oh no—List! NOLAN! OVER HERE!" Mycen swiftly slid down to Runick's left and seized Adolph's hand. Charon watched in stunned silence as the sudden engagement unfolded before him—his mind frozen and unable to react in time.

"CHARON! Get the other hand!"

"Wha—Right!" At Mycen's command, Charon dropped to his knees and seized Adolph's other hand—the one clutching the blue stone that had triggered Runick's chaotic reaction.

"Charon. Pry open that fist and take the blue stone. That's the one Nolan was talking about!"

"What? That was the drug we're finding?!" Charon exclaimed in utter disbelief. "Then Adolph... This man was one of those thugs? A dealer of the drug?"

"I see... So that's the story of that stone and why your party was there..." Adolph's voice hinted that he just pieced together the story behind the stone he brought with him. Without further resistance, he loosened his grip on his fist.

"Take it, Charon!" shouted Runick, which made Charon reluctantly take away the drug from Adolph's palm.

Charon couldn't put his mind on it, but his guts told him that something was not right. He was confused—about Adolph's story, the terms of his crazy proposal, the reason why he possessed the drug, and the lack of resistance he was showing them right now. His grip could barely feel any strength on Adolph's hand he was holding down. No—there was none at all. He could only wonder why... After all, the answer to his confusion only lies beyond Adolph's mask.

"Take good care of that, Charon," Adolph said calmly. To Charon, his voice carried an ambiguous tone—unclear whether if it was a genuine concern or a sarcastic threat.

"Shut that mouth, or I'll burrow this knife deeper than what you had earlier!"

"No, Runick! We need to restrain him. We still need to question him!" Mycen shouted urgently to Runick

Runick eased the strength he was putting on the knife he held over Adolph but maintained his fierce look. He acknowledged that Mycen was right about the importance of Adolph concerning their goal. List and Nolan arrived promptly, moving to secure Adolph's feet.

"Talking didn't work?" List asked Charon beside him.

"More like Runick snapped again," Charon replied.

"What now, Sir Mycen?" Nolan inquired, but Runick interjected with his suggestion.

"How about we start by having a good look at this bastard's face?" Runick smirked, reveling in the power he held over Adolph.

"I'm interested, but kind of scared at the same time," Nolan admitted hesitantly.

"Let's pop open that mask off now, shall we?"

Runick set aside his knife and gripped each ear of Adolph's mask. With all of his strength, he pulled onto it. Forcefully. The veins in his arms bulged, and his face reddened from the prolonged struggle. Pausing to catch his breath, he tried again, exerting even more strength. But despite his efforts, the mask didn't budge. Not even the long ears broke free.

"Interesting..." Adolph commented.

Runick felt taunted. Enraged, he abandoned the mask and instead focused on removing the entire helmet Adolph wore. With all his might, he pushed and pushed—gasping for air in his efforts. Yet in the end, it bore the same failing result as his first attempt.

"What the... did you nail your helmet to your head or something? It won't even budge!" Runick exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"Maybe you're just nervous?" asked Nolan.

"No! I already gave it my all."

"I see. So you couldn't take it off..." Adolph again spoke, his words expressed an honest discovery about the fact but it sounded sarcastic to the other's ears.

"Acting high and mighty now? Is your face too ugly you don't want us to see it?" Runick mocked Adolph in return.

Adolph found it amusing and engaged the angry young man in a heated conversation. "I'm also interested to know. Your name is Runick right?"

"And what of it?"

"Alright, Runick. I permit you to take off my head."

"You think I couldn't take your helmet off without your permission?"

"Yes."

"Cocky bastard!"

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

Challenged. Runick had been on edge the entire time, and Adolph's final challenge pushed him over the edge. Unable to endure it any longer, Runick was prepared to use any means necessary to remove the helmet. Yet, with one final, powerful push, he managed to take it off. Suddenly, the body he had been grappling with seemed to vanish, collapsing as if deflating in an instant. The same happened to the other four who had been holding each of Adolph's limbs. Runick held on to the helmet but what they saw inside of it—was nothing.

"Fucking hell—" Runick dropped the helmet from his hand and stood up abruptly, his body reacting faster than his mind could process the fearsome sight he had uncovered. He retreated towards Nolan and List behind him, backing away as he slipped on the ground and crawled out of Adolph's flattened armor. Mycen and Charon on the side were next to recoil in shock, almost simultaneously. List and Nolan were the last to react, with Nolan even kicking away the empty legging armor he had held earlier.

Everyone was terrified. Aye... Genuinely terrified.

"No head, I presume?" Adolph's voice emanated from the helmet, which rolled down the path toward the sled. The mask turned to face the five on the ground, who were too stunned to stand or flee. Their feet betrayed their bodies—like they had been drained of energy by their surprise.

"Goodness... From what hell did you spawn?" Charon asked Adolph's disembodied helmet in the distance.

"It isn't hell that I—Well, in a sense you could call that place 'hell'... but it isn't the hell with fires and demons that you think of. I'm sorry to scare you like this, but I am also clueless as to why I didn't possess a human body when I woke up."

"Wait, what do you mean... I—uhh. There are too many things we need to ask of you right now. But you will not bring ill things... or curse to us, right?" Charon asked him with much uncertainty.

"It isn't curse that I will give you, but the help that you need."

"So... you're good? Are we good? Everything is good? I mean, you're not here for revenge or anything, right?" Nolan asked—he was talking about that time earlier when he accidentally shot Adolph in his torso.

"You must be the one who shot me earlier... Nolan, right?"

"Shoot what—shoot you? No! Whoever would do such... schu... stupidity?" Nolan refused, his voice stuttering and cracking in fear.

"What's the plan now, Sir Mycen?" List asked from the side.

"We'll continue this discussion in the barn. Charon, fetch the blanket Haela gave you earlier and wrap that head up," Mycen instructed.

"Yes, sir..." Charon affirmed, though deep inside was still scared of the idea of carrying a talking helmet.

"I would appreciate it if you could also take care of my body parts, please..."

"You wish, demon. You and your belongings will be burned come morning. I'll see to it," Runick solemnly vowed.

"No, Runick... You see, I'm not a demon."

"Then what do you call yourself, eh?"

Adolph, with a calm and straight voice, answered Runick's question...

.

.

.

"Your future benefactor."