The moon was high in the sky, but the townsfolk were still awake. A restfulness had spread across Eldenreach in anticipation of the hunt. The town was no stranger to monsters, yet with so few high-ranked beasts in the region, a C-rank hunt only came once or twice a year.
It was a time when the town came together. Not even the homeless were left to fend for themselves on the streets. The church opened its doors, while the taverns cleared their floors of tables and laid out bedrolls. Nobody was left to the elements.
But even with food in their belly and a roof over their head, the air was thick with unease
From peasant to lord alike, everyone waited for the ten bell chimes from the church to signal they were safe.
…
Mera was sitting at her alchemy station, jumping between tinkering with bottles, sorting out her dry herbs or re-reading books on herbs in the Northern kingdom.
Ding, Ding, Ding,
The bells began to chime. She froze, counting each chime.
"Nine, Ten," she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
The tension in the air instantly dissipated.
Mera stood up from her chair. Now that the hunt was over, she let herself feel the exhaustion she had been hiding.
As she walked across her room towards the stairs, she stopped.
Distant shouting was echoing from outside. Fleeting as soon as it reached her ears.
The shouting became louder, she finally recognised one of the voices.
Why is Hanitz shouting?
She walked to the door, reaching for the handle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mera jumped back, the door almost flew off the hinges.
"Mera! Open up! A deep voice boomed through the wood.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Mera! –" The door opened sharply before Hantiz could finish his word.
"Why are you banging on my door, you brainless goat?" she scolded.
Hanitz was startled by the sudden opening of the door.
The moon was hanging in the sky, illuminating Mera's porch. Standing there was a giant blocking the view of anything else in the area.
"Two of them injured, the lads worse than the girl".
Hanitz nodded his head to the side, signalling to Tess, who was standing next to him, holding her shoulder whilst grimacing.
"I can see her, you oaf. Where is the lad?" Mera replied
" I've got the demon here," The voice coming from behind Hanitz.
Mera's skin turned pale, a sudden panic flashed across her face.
"It's Gabriel? Get him in and lay him on the bed? What happened to him?"
Hanitz was suddenly at a loss for words. He had seen this woman insulting every patient he had brought her, regardless of how severe their wounds were. He had never seen her act concerned.
"Spit it out! What happened!" This time, she raised her voice to a quiet shout.
The voice behind Hanitz spoke up again, "The freak tried to take on a C-rank monster".
Mera stepped out of the house, brushing Hanitz to the side. The panic on her face had turned to anger.
"Get the boy on the patient's bed now, Gilbert"
Hanitz turned to the adventurer who was holding one side of a stretcher with Gabriel on and nodded.
The two adventurers proceeded to take Gabriel into the house.
Mera followed behind.
"He killed the Vampire" A pained voice came from Tess.
Gilbert scoffed as he placed Gabriel on the bed. Turning and leaving the house.
Hanitz stayed at the door, he hated entering houses in Eldenreach as they weren't made with someone of his frame in mind.
He gently put his hand on Tess's back and guided her in.
"Mera, if you need anything, I'm at the guild.
The apothecary ignored him as she continued tending to Gabriel.
He turned and walked away, leaving the door open, and Tess stood just in the entrance.
"Close the door and put some logs on the fire," Mera ordered. "I've applied a potion that should stop the bleeding inside. The wounds are deep, and fever's already setting in, so I need to wait until his body's stronger before I can start closing the tears."
Tess closed the door with a soft click.
I'm injured as well! She thought whilst moving swiftly to the fire pit.
Silence filled the room, only the sound of the firepit spitting out embers sounded out
Gabriel was lying on the patient's bed, motionless. His eyes closed, beads of sweat dripping from his head, still covered in his blood-soaked tunic. Mera was gently stroking his face.
Tess had sat down at the table in the corner, watching.
Is she going to see to me at all?
"Rest, Gabriel, I will fix you soon," Mera gently whispered into his ear.
"Bring the chair over to the alchemy station and sit down."
Tess looked around, surprised.
"I'm talking to you, do you want me to check your wound?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Tess sighed.
Why is she so nice to the demon-eyed freak, she thought whilst moving the chair.
Tess removed the robe Gabriel had placed on her and sat down in the chair. Mera stood behind, checking over her injury, poking around the melted skin. "What happened?" Mera asked her voice gently this time.
Tess sighed, whimpering every time Mera touched the scorched skin.
"Mine and Gilbert's parties approached the cave where the lesser Vampire was nesting, his party taking the lead, went into the cave. We waited outside, setting an ambush in case it escaped. We were ambushed by the other. The scouts had only seen one when checking."
Mera was nodding along behind her.
"We fought it off, and I gave chase. I ordered the others to wait in case Gilbert needed help. I lost sight of it near the goat's path. It jumped out behind me and slashed my chest. My breastplate took the brunt of it, but two of its claws made it to my shoulder."
She paused to breathe through the pain.
"I ran off, ended up at the Goat's path, and he was there. Everything becomes fuzzy after that." She dropped her head.
"What I do remember is that demon-eyed freak held me down and burnt my wound with some kind of liquid"
The air grew heavy as Tess finished speaking.
Mera froze, withdrawing her hands from the injury.
"You shut your mouth," she snapped, her voice low and agitated
Tess's eyes widened. She had no idea what she'd said wrong.
"That boy goes through enough every day," Mera hissed. "Whilst you and everyone else in this god forsaken town do nothing but ostracise him, call him demon-eyes, scream when you see him. He stays silent, hoping you all leave him alone, but his silence only makes things worse.
Her voice broke, "he has been through so much… given so much." Tears began to well up in her eyes."
"I will tell you about that 'Demon', tell you the kind of man he his."
She turned away, staring blankly into the fire.
"Three years ago, I took a trip to Galvestone. The capital of Ardentia. I make the trip every harvest season to stock up on herbs you can't find around here. " On our return, our carriage was ambushed just after we left the Winding Woods, the path leading to Eldenreach.
Her hands trembled. "We were held. The women were brutalised by the bandits, while we watched them toy with and eventually kill the men and children."
"Six real monsters."
"When they were finished with the woman, they would hang them from the trees and move on to the next. Ten of us made the journey out, only two of us came back."
Tess shuddered as she listened.
Mera's breathing became shallow "I was second to last. When they were finished with me, they wrapped the rope around my neck. I closed my eyes and prayed to the Creator whilst those monsters laughed."
She swallowed hard. "I didn't pray for a knight, I didn't pray for Hanitz, or any of the adventurers. I prayed for a demon."
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "A demon to come and wipe these monsters from this earth".
"Then it happened. First, the air grew heavy, and a warmth washed over me, not a holy warmth, no. This felt wrong. Exactly what I prayed for."
"My eyes remained closed as their laughter turned to screams, then to silence."
"I don't know how long I kept them shut, but when I finally opened them, he was there, standing among the bodies of the bandits, with his two blades slick with blood. Surveying the carnage he had wrought."
"A thick red fog swirled around him, moving with a life of its own. I blinked, and it was gone."
"Most rescuers would've stood there, basking in the gratitude of those they'd saved. But not this boy. He just removed the rope from around my neck and left. Didn't mutter a word. Didn't even take one of the bandits horses."
"Simply walked away."
Tess sat there, unable to move. She had no response.
Mera wiped her eyes, turned towards the adventurer and continued dressing her wounds.
Her voice softened again.
"You see, Tess," she said quietly. "He is a demon, a demon sent by the creator. A demon sent to save us."
Her grip getting tighter on the wound.
Mera leaned close, her breath brushing Tess's ear.
"And if anyone gets in his way…" She whispered, her tone almost tender.
The fire still crackled as the sun began to rise.
"I will kill them".