Only the sound of my blade cutting into the shadow reached me, with my blade being the only thing that reflected light in that shadow,
I'm sure it was here...
I looked around the streets and down the alleyway,
It's impossible to hide on these empty streets.
It's not here anymore... what could have disappeared this fast?
I slowly sheathed my blade with each step I took forward.
A soft chime sounded as I pushed the door open.
The smell of alcohol and meat reached me as I walked in.
Loud voices came from every direction, all kinds of people filled the room—each group keeping to themselves.
Just look down.
I kept walking until I reached the counter.
"Uh..." A high pitched voice reached my ear,
I looked up and saw a young man, one far younger than the one in the previous guildhouse.
Is he around twenty?
"Uhm, do you know where you are?" He raised his eyebrows as he spoke.
"Yes, I do—I have a job to report on," I said, reaching into my pockets.
His eyebrows drew together as he said,
"Let's not joke ar—"
He looked me up and down a few times, his face tensing as he said,
"Are you alright?"
I should not tell him about it, not even Wode could regenerate...
I smiled softly as I lifted my gaze, locking it with his,
"I have a few cuts, but I'm fine. Is there something wrong?"
His blinking increased with each word I said,
"But... your clothes..."
My smile broadened, and I said,
"Ah, these are clothes I took from home."
His mouth opened slightly, clearing his throat, while fumbling through an apology.
He is obviously new here.
"So, can I submit the task report now?"
"Oh yeah, of course you can. Please show me your identification."
I took my hand from my pocket and held out a copper plate, something I had to pay for after my assessment here.
A guild card.
"Here." I reached up and put it on top of the counter that reached just below my eyes.
After he scrambled underneath the counter, he came out holding a piece of paper.
"Please tell me what happened, and I will fill it in." As I opened my mouth he added,
"And if there is something suspicious or incoherent—we will find out." He said, putting the form on the desk.
"Okay thank you—I will tell you everything." I lowered my head to him.
"If you have any other questions feel free to ask them, and just make your answers simple." He smiled before looking down at the form.
And began talking as if reading from a prepared list—starting with just basic information:
Name age
*Tjer 11
I readied myself for the real questions,
Withholding some information shouldn't be forbidden, right?
How many people did you start with?
15"
How many people returned?
"1"
What happened to the ones you lost?
"6 were killed by raiders and the 8 by monsters."
He wrote as I spoke, then followed up with questions about monsters.
Where did you encounter them?
"The northern part of the Sonian Forest."
When did you encounter them?
"Around afternoon today."
What kind of monsters? Give a description
"Shadow-like monsters, it moved in a pack with a leader. "
"A fog followed them. The leader was bigger than the rest. "
"When it died the rest disappeared and fog cleared, headless beasts of the same kind appeared. And we defeated them all."
Even Wode was surprised at its appearance—I should leave the humanlike form out.
Did you defeat them? If yes, how? If no, how'd you escape?
"Each carriage had two people fight the beasts, while the other one rode the horse."
"We were the carriage closest to the rear, but we managed to pass the others, before the beasts could catch up. So the other took down most of them, as Ren and I fought them off. When there were a few left, Ren was taken down, he was bigger so their weapons reached him before they reached me."
"As he was taken down, Wode jumped towards me and took the rest down."
"But as we went to the other carriages to pick the cargo up, I was ambushed from the back. Wode who was standing next to me jumped in front of it, took the fatal hit in my stead."
I made sure Ren was mentioned,
It's hard to disprove he tried to kill me—especially without witnesses.
This should be fine. I didn't show it on my face, as I continued to answer his questions.
The last questions were about the cargo.
These don't have to be covered up too much.
Were you able to safely deliver the entire, some or none of the cargo?
"None"
If "some" or "none", what went wrong?
"*During the attack the two carriages were destroyed, and along with them the cargo disappeared. And for the last one the cargo couldn't go on, so we strapped some onto the horse. But the cargo was taken from the horse, and the horse cut up in the process."
"Sigh..." My throat had dried from all that talking.
I'm finally done. I want to rest...
"Perfect, we're done for now. That went by quicker than I expected," he said, twisting his wrists as he finished writing.
"It happened today after all, so it wasn't too difficult to recall."
After looking over the form he looked back at me,
Did I say something wrong?
"Are you alright?" He pointed at his eye.
I raised my hand to mine, and a damp feeling met my finger.
"Y-yes it's nothing..." I quickly wiped them away.
He tilted his head as his eyebrows drew together,
"Are you sure you are fine?"
I swallowed before I spoke again,
"It was just a heavy day..." My eyes shifted down while I spoke.
He put the form away on the counter while hearing me talk.
Unable to look at me, he brought his hand to the back of his head.
I heard soft taps from his feet,
"Please sit down for a bit, you can rest up for a while."
"Is there something you want to eat? It's on the house tonight—for you alone."
"Uhm... are you sure..."
"Don't worry order whatever you want." He said, while showing me a smile.
My head shot up, I matched his gaze, hiding the smile that had appeared,
"So what can I order?"
An audible gulp could be heard from the clerk.
Whose expressions had already changed as soon as he met mine.
I knew what I wanted, after he told me the options on the menu,
"I want three pieces of steak, two bowls of soup, four loafs of bread and milk please. And is there something I can use to take food home with me?"
"I will bring it all to you, please wait for a while longer."
"In the meantime I will look over your report, so when you're done eating please come to the counter," he said, with a smile returning on his face.
"Thank you, I will see you then." I turned away, and I walked to the empty table in the corner of the room.
It's impossible to leave, even if I were to lie—it's too great a risk.
I sat down between the packed room, this being the only free table around, I put my scabbard next to me on the table, drifting into thought until something pulled me back.
"Ahem...!"
The food had already filled the entire table, it was even fuller than I had expected.
I have never seen this much food on one table.
This would normally cost at least thirty Hansea...
I could feel the stares burn, along with the whispers of the people surrounding me.
But everyone kept it between themselves.
I looked at the plates,
Where do I even start?
I shrugged my shoulders and stabbed my fork into the entire piece of steak, the weight pulling on the front as I lifted it to my mouth.
As soon as I took a bite of it, it became clear—it was too much.
Impossible to chew through, straining my jaw with each bite.
I swallowed the piece whole, burning each spot it touched in my throat—coughing while hitting my chest.
Calm down...
I looked around to see whether there were others I could follow, and there was a guy a few tables away.
I watched him attentively, making sure he did not take notice of me.
I understood it—I held the piece down with a fork, while cutting through it with the knife.
I normally just eat bread or soup on a good day.
I took a bite in the way shown to me before, and a warmth rose up inside of me,
So this is what steak taste like.
It was the first time I had eaten steak, having heard about it before.
I slowly worked through every plate—leaving two loafs of bread, and one piece of steak for home.
Should I just eat the rem— I shook the thought away and stood up.
I grabbed my scabbard and put it through my belt, walking over to the counter.
"Have you finished looking it over?" I asked the man behind the counter.
"Yes—yes I have."
My hands were sticking to one another as I escaped his gaze.
Did he find something?
He looked up from the form trying to meet my eyes as he said,
"All of it looks fine for the moment—"
I lifted my eyes,
"Si—" He didn't even let me finish my sigh before he continued,
"It moved different from the way we know—the monsters you described. Can you explain it?"
Is that why Wode was that surprised by those beasts?
"What monster was I talking about?"
"The Kludd, right?"
"Yes it i—"
"How are you able to understand it..."
"I heard of them when I was younger." I looked him in the eyes while I continued,
"So what is wrong with what I said?"
He didn't respond, silently looking over my shoulder as he said,
"Follow me, I'll tell you whatever you need."
Can I trust him...? I followed him as he left from behind the counter, passing by me.
I have no other choice.
We took the stairs up, and walked through the long hallway.
He looked through every window, until he entered one of the rooms.
Without any wait he started talking after closing the door,
"So let's start off, my name is Eden."
I've never heard of that name before...
"I'm Tjer, but you already knew that." I raised my shoulders.
"Hahaha, it's nice to meet you—Tjer." He brought his hand for me to shake.
I took hold of his hand and shook it.
He led me to a pair of couches with a table in the middle—separating them, and we sat down.
"Here we can tell each other everything, don't you think?" A smirk showed on his face, with his eyes looking right through me.
"Uhm... I'm sorry?" I avoided his eyes.
The smirk faded off his face.
It was followed by a loud silence, one longer than preferred.
Then he broke it again.
A loud grin on his face, followed by laughter louder than that of the mercenaries downstairs.
"I was just testing you, curious to what you would come up with. But see—I told you that we would find everything out."
I felt like I could sink into the couch entirely, my face red, blending in with the couch.
"I thought you were exaggerating, but what even gave it away?"
He pointed at his temple and said,
"Knowledge."
I just looked at him with my eyes narrowed in silence.
"So when you described the Kludd's behavior, it was strange."
"Strange?"
"Yes, but you won't be able to hear it probably." He stared me down with his narrowed eyes.
"So what did you lie about?"
"About the headless being the end of it all."
"Nothing else?" His eyes narrowed even further.
"Yes nothing." I looked back at him.
"You don't need to keep up the lie, you know."
I did not respond, just looking in his eyes proved to be enough.
"Okay, I thought so... but it's strange..." He muttered under his breath knowing I wouldn't be able to understand, I could hear one part only of what he said,
"It can shapeshift—the more humans it kills, and the more energy they absorbs—"
"Essence?" My eyes widened as I heard it.
I thought it was just something I called it...
His eyes widened alongside his mouth, which was wider open than when he spoke,
"How do you know about it? Did you awaken it already?"
"I don't know what it was, but I just felt a surge of it as I fought those beasts."
He buried his forehead into his palms, and started mumbling to himself—all of it sounded like a blur to me once again.
"I know you are unable to understand most of it, you have lived in Kage after all."
He lowered his arms onto his laps, his face pulled together as he looked me in the eyes, saying,
"But you will understand this—you are the one who understands it the best." His voice had changed into a deeper one—a natural one—replacing his previously jolly voice.
"From the moment you started using essence, you doomed your body."
"Slowly breaking down, am I right?"
I was unable to answer, lowering my head,
"There is just one thing that is waiting for you."
It was clear what was coming,
I was the one who felt it all,
Please... no...
"Death."