"Huhuhuhu… forgive me, okay? I was just joking with the three of you! Only a harmless jest!!!"
The boss of the entire village cried as we eyed him simultaneously in his plead.
Right now, it is evening.
Thankfully, in the face of the ridiculous and unnecessary accident, the boss had the initiative to clean out after his own mess. After the uprising of the accident followed by his unwarranted accusation, the villagers practically became furious about us. However, with the passionate hits coming from our swords, the boss rephrased his absurd words and helped with the combat against the flames. They had a difficulty in fighting off the ever-growing fire so we also helped out (although we don't have the push inside of us to do it anyway). In the end, the boss clarified his own lies to the villagers and apologized to us many times.
Seriously, are you an adult in your stature right now?
After the accident, he guided us to our lodges where we will spend the night in the meantime and talked about us regarding our swords.
That brings us about now…
"You got it coming! Seriously, why did you even called our names in that accident if you are going to put us in harm?! We were actually close in being chased by a lot of villagers at that time!!!" I chastised angrily.
"That is why, I am pleading you to overlook this silly accident for our sake! Please, do our favors to you, oh three Myrmidons! I am still going to hold into my promise of awarding you after you took care of the monster so… please!!!" he bowed at us in a prostrating manner.
Haaaay. How are we going to say 'no' to that face?
In the end, we were powerless to admonish him in his request because of the hopelessness feel that we can definitely grasp on his expression.
Before saying his goodbyes, the boss said:
"Redhead, there seems to be something that holds back the power of your fiery sword. I cannot tell you exactly what it may be, but I am certain that we will know for sure one day! Well then, my energetic Myrmidons, I am expecting great things to you!"
Followed by the ragged man, the boss exited the lodges.
It is still too early for the midnight to come so we made ourselves busy by talking and strategizing in hopes to combat the invisible monster.
Amidst the intense strategizing plans that we have theorized, we finally proceeded to eat our supper.
The two boys casually ate their festive dinner while I was also facing them in the same table- my whole attention tranced in a booklet that I brought.
I almost forgot how awkward these two can get if the silence reigned in between them. Even without looking at their faces, I can assure to myself that they look like they wanted to say something to each other.
"S-Say, Malthur…"
Ah. So Roy cannot take it anymore, huh? The silence, I mean.
"Hmm? What is it, Redhead?" Malthur grunted a bit.
"It is Roy! Remember my name for goodness' sake! Augh, never mind. To get to the point, why did you suddenly agree to the request of the village boss? Correct me if I am wrong but, aren't you too reluctant in the prospects of being a Myrmidon? I was just wondering since I noticed the drastic change in your motives in these events…" Roy seriously said.
"Does it concern you though, Redhead?" he quickly rebutted.
Ah, that phrase takes me back.
That is the same question that he posed to me the first time we met.
"Well, it doesn't really concern me on a personal level. But… I guess I just want to know your original intentions in the act of yours that you are portraying right now. I do not know if you are aware, but we are Myrmidons! So… please, take your duties seriously." with a sound that he was defeated in a heated, yet nonliving debate, Roy slowly replied to Malthur
"Well now, you do not seem to have any connections to the nature of my actions so buzz off, will ya?' he obnoxiously said.
Hey there, now… Roy isn't the type to absorb insults and mean-sounding words effectively.
Well, at least, not for me.
Feeling the sudden tension in the room, I interjected.
"Malthur here is just shy to talk to you Roy, so he does not want to bother you with idle chit-chats. However, if you observe him closely, he wants to express a lot for you…" I giggly said.
"HA? I never said that! What are you talking about you small smitha? -"
"Furthermore Roy, earlier when the boss was talking with us, Malthur here is extremely terrified in his boots that he gripped in my attire while wearing the face that spells: 'Please make Roy stop this guy!' in his expression. You are oblivious in his face since you are facing the boss in an extremely-close manner, but he looked like he wanted your help at that instant!" I said some more, trying my utmost best to hold back my laughter.
Malthur slammed the stable, moving some of the contents of the food in it.
"Hoi! Smitha! I do not know where you are getting those fantasies of yours, but you better cut them out! What are you trying to do here, honestly? –" he said with an irate face.
"Ahhhh! I see now! I cannot believe that the son-of-the-Marquess is a timid one! Pshaw! You could've just told me from the beginning!" out of nowhere, Roy said some cheerful words towards Malthur while smacking his back in a light manner.
There goes the misunderstanding that will not do any damage!
"W-What are you on about suddenly, Redhead? Oh… Hoi! Stop smacking me like that! What do you mean by timid, huh?! Hey, listen to me!!! Argh… hey, smitha! A little help here?"
Oh, there goes the turntables also!
"From now on, tell me if there are things that bother you when it comes in our duties, alright? You can definitely count me on it! I am a good listener! Ask Tori if you think that that is not true…" ignoring the javelin of angry grunts and words of Malthur, Roy continued his friendly words toward him.
It almost feels like the two of them are getting close out of a sudden!
"I tell you, stop smacking my back like that!!! I thought that you are a great listener? If so, then why aren't you grasping the context of my words?"
This funny charade lasted for a great minute while I was laughing out loud with them.
"HEY!!! ARE YOU LISTENING!!?-"
"It is okay… I know…you are scared."
Amidst the loud bickering of the two, the silence reigned in an instant after the sudden outburst of Malthur, followed by the unexpected words of Roy.
He is scared? Of what? Is he afraid from the monster that we will face, or…?
Ah, I think I know what may be the context that he wanted to imply here…
Thinking back, when we first saw him, Malthur looked like a sheltered boy who knew very much little of the world outside him. Just judging from his behavior when we first met, - all of his facial expressions, gestures, and the way he talked, all of them were connected into one thing:
He- a boy that belongs from a noble family, is a scared boy.
I may be just speculating things; but I think, thanks to this certain scenario that I can see the hidden facets of Malthur von Aldendrite for the first time. I pointed out in my mind that when I first met him, it is as if, he was living in the shadows of his father- the Marquess. Having that kind of lineage, I can feel that he spent his entire life trying to become like his father, if not pushes his own self to be better than him. I know, I am just overthinking it too much but from the way how he acts timid, then becomes bashful and rude afterwards, says a lot to his past… a past that he wishes to escape from.
I understand… I think I can somehow see you in the limelight now.
Malthur got stuck in his sitting position after hearing the words of Roy. His eyes became shocked for a second and trembled in his own arms the moment Roy stopped his smacking. Alongside with his trembling arms, his mouth opened and closed as if about to say something but experiences the difficulty on weaving the appropriate words to utter. In the end, the only phrase that he managed to say were:
"W-What… are you talking about?"
Alright that does it. It is time for my turn in the conversation.
With a loud smack that I created by closing my booklet in a forced manner, I suddenly said:
"Hey you two, let me make a quick survey…"
The two of the boys stopped in their own expressions and looked at me with confusion when I uttered my announcement.
"Let me explain this short survey. I am just going to ask you a simple question and when I say 'go', the three of us will honestly answer that said survey. Got it? Oh… and when I say honestly, I mean it, okay?" I further instructed them.
"Hmmmm… A sudden survey, eh? Count me in!" Roy enthusiastically remarked.
On the other hand…
"Ha? Why on Earth am I going to do that in the deepness of the night, smitha?" the Mal-git rudely answered.
"Hoi, if you will not play along, I will give you a penalty by letting Roy know that uncharacteristic remark you have just said when we entered the village!" I darkly warned him.
Hearing that penalty I just imposed in him, Malthur suddenly became red and drooped in his face, then said silently: "Okay… then."
"Here it goes!"
I inhaled a lots of air for a second before asking my one and only question…then asked loudly.
"What is your goal in becoming a Myrmidon?"
I let the silence envelop us for a short while. Through it, we heard the loud cicadas outside when I gave an interval to the question, then shouted: "Go!".
"To fight for my country!"
"To get my long-deserved wish!"
"To marry the princess of the capital!"
…
"AH…" x3
Yup…
Thanks to this, I think I know their inner selves now.
We kept our silly conversation like this up until an hour before the midnight.
Roy kept his lively self in this hour while Malthur seemingly and obviously isn't keeping up with us right now. I guess that these two have a conflicting temperament towards keeping awake late at night. For my case, all is good for me as I can see and feel well even if we had a tiring day earlier.
Perhaps it was thanks to the revitalizing sleep that I had since morning!
See kids? Having a good sleep in the evening helps!
"Alright. I think it is about time that we start our patrolling!" Roy said to the both of us.
"We are right behind you! But, hey Roy… how are we going to divide the wearers of these three masks?" I said in my confusion.
In the end, before starting our patrol in the village, we selected our own mask to wear as part of the 'plan' to lure the monster in the dark. Roy selected the chicken mask, I reluctantly picked the cat mask, and… because he got the remaining one, much to his dismay…
Malthur got the onion stalk mask.
Having the feelings of comical air while slowly closing the door of our lodge, we started our midnight patrol.
"Argh, first the mask, and now that stupid chant? Are we really going to do this as prescribed by that weird boss?" Malthur annoyingly asked.
About that 'chant' that he pointed out…
When the boss was discussing some ways on how to lure the invisible monster, he pointed out yet another way on how to do it. In his instructions, he said that the monster is extremely sensitive to sounds and when called by its 'mating call', the monster will immediately spring up to its nest and go to the origin of the sound.
The way how to do the said chant is rather… embarrassing in more than any ways.
"Yes, Malthur. That is what the boss told us to do so, if this is the chance to lure that monster to its nest, we better use it!" Roy said while walking slowly.
Right now, we are in the center proper of the village to start our investigation. Amidst the dark of the night, we can still see our surroundings well in a faint light since the moon is at its bright-self this season. We gingerly walked around the houses for our patrol and with it, we finally wore our masks.
Ugh. This is unnerving, to say the least.
"Well? Who wants to start the chant?" I asked.
The two boys twitched in front of me the moment I said that.
"W-What? I-It is definitely not me who will start that atrocious sound? Hey! Redhead! You said that you will protect your country, right? Well? This is the first step in that dream of yours!" Malthur shouted while trembling.
"Ugh. You are too helpless! Very well then, Malthur…" Roy replied while sighing.
The two of us stopped in our walk when Roy stepped-in forward in front of the dark-blue tinged houses of the villagers.
He inhaled heavily and bellowed:
"Puuuuuuuuuot! *Tst* *Tst* *Tst* *Tst* *Tst* *Tst* Puuuuuuuuuuot!!!"
Yes, that is the so-called chant.
Roy repeated the chant for a lots of times when something made a commotion.
To be specific, the commotion came in Roy's front.
"HEY!!! It is already midnight! What in the name of the forgotten Heroes are you doing!!?"
A voice of an irate villager opened the windows of their house and shouted at us.
"Hey dear, what is with the angry voice that you are shouting right now?"
"Oh dear. I am extremely sorry, I woke you up! It is because of these damned swordsfolk making odd sounds in the middle of the night!"
Suddenly, next beside the other house, the lights flickered in the right building and also opened their respective windows.
"Hey, Alois! What is with your eerier shouting? Wait… are those stupid swordsfolk are on their move again to make any troublesome actions?!"
"First the greenery pastures, and now, our long-deserved sleep?! That does it! Come now, Berkout! Let us hunt down these infernal swordsfolk and drive them out of the village!"
Hearing these irate villagers and their threat, it was now our turn to run away!
***
We ran as fast as we could and finally, we sensed that no one is following us anymore.
All of us wheezed slowly from running and tired our weary legs out. The sound of our heavy breathing under these absurdly-looking masks can be heard by ourselves. In our hasty effort to escape, we did not have any idea where in the part of the village we are currently resting right now…
"*pant* *pant* So much for us being the so-proclaimed 'Myrmidons' of the lands!" Malthur said in his best display of sarcasm.
"Haahh. My legs are tired out of a sudden. Hey Roy, can we get a brief break?" I tiredly requested to him.
Amidst our heavy panting, I can faintly see the posture of Roy- still standing up and not breathing tiredly, unlike me and Malthur.
Huh? So he is not tired from this intensive run?
"What? You two can get tired after that small sprint? Really, you two are not oh-so athletic enough for your duties!" he suddenly said with a smug when he saw us in our knees, practically gasping for air.
What is with that unnecessary attitude?!
"Well, Mr. Athletic, if you are so capable than us, please continue your chanting while both of us can recover from our fatigue! Afterwards, it is our turn then to do the job!" I irritably said.
"Very well! I cannot say no to that air-deprived face of yours."
Hoi. You want me to hit you?
Roy then continued willingly in shouting that embarrassingly-loud sound while walking around the vicinity of a surprisingly-empty lot. I cannot see well enough to the entire detail of the place due to the darkness, but I can see enough that the place is rather barren of anything.
He has been shouting the same sound for over a half of minute now…
Then-
"Hey Roy, look!"
In the far-side of the woods in the area, I faintly saw a rustling motion in the leaves of some trees. To further suspect, I heard a small and screeching sounds coming from the same direction of the trees.
C-Could it be?
I swiftly moved towards the rustling sounds of the woods and tried to seize that 'something' that moves in the dark. Luckily for me, I uncannily grasped the moving creature right away and embraced it carefully to show it to my companions- its screeching cry intensified.
"Whoa- hey! The two of you! I g-got something! I have it!!!" I tried to embrace the unknown creature with my might when-
…The little and unknown creature in my embrace suddenly escaped due to its quick movements and relentless squirming. I tried to embrace it again, but it was agile enough to escape.
S-Sharps!
"Hey! It got away! Come with me! Let us follow it!!!" I said to the two when I started in a swift sprint.
Come on, Astoria! Follow the sounds of the rustling! Prove to this idiot Redhead that you are athletic!
I briskly ran towards the dark path while also listening carefully to the sounds of the woods. The winds touched my face as I ran swiftly and I can feel that it gently invigorates my skin a little.
"Hey, Tori! Where are we going exactly?" Roy confusedly asked.
"He is right, smitha! What is up with you all of a sudden?" Malthur followed.
Ah, so you two are following! Who is the athletic one now?
I ran as fast as I could when we eventually reached an area where there are no body of trees anymore to rely on. Suddenly, I saw the little silhouette of the creature that we have been chasing for and it entered a sheltered body of a gargantuan rock formation.
Oh no! It is escaping!
It must be it! I mean, what other creature in this village can pester the people in that same manner in this hour of midnight?
Due to my rashness and the feel of boil raging up inside of me that wants to catch the creature, I half- mindedly entered the same entrance where the little creature took refuge on.
"Hey, Tori! Not so fast! We don't have any idea what awaits us in that place!" with a warning, Roy instructed me to be mindful of the matter.
"I know but… we should definitely go in in order to capture the-…"
I was about to say my rebuttal to Roy when I realized something.
Hold on a minute…
Since we started this patrol, there has been a looming problem that we experienced while walking around and just kept patrolling with it anyway. We have been going around for an hour now, after all…
To be precise in the problem… we have the difficulty in seeing our surroundings- due to the darkness of the night.
I haven't realized it until now, but this guy behind me is carrying a sword that literally catches on fire!
Agh. I am an idiot. We are all idiots!
"Hey Roy…" I said in a disappointing manner: partly wanting to console him, while the other half wanting to smack him.
"What is it? Do you have a plan? If so, let us hear it!" he said in a curious tone.
"I do have a plan alright. Hah, what an astute observer you are. Say, why won't you help us in seeing things better, huh?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that? I am not so sure if I can follow your words clearly-"
"YOUR SWORD! USE YOUR INFERNAL SWORD TO LIGHTEN OUR PATHWAY!!!" I shouted at him.
Wordlessly, Roy unsheathed his sword and raised it in the darkness, then bellowed:
"I beckon thee: Gugurang! The fang of volcano!!!"
The Flamberge sword exploded in a familiar-looking sight of flames with a large volume and it doubled the height of its overall blade. Now, with the presence of flame amid the darkness, the light of the Flamberge made us see the contents of the giant rock formation.
Huh, it is not just a giant 'rock formation', it is a cave!
Well, we clearly did not expect that-
!!!
The three of us jolted in surprised when we peeked the insides of the cave…
Oh, now we have done it!
Inside, the little creature cried its jittering sounds into a far-larger creature relative to its kind.
The large creature towered in a humungous size of 31 feet (9 meters) which was about the size of our own watch tower in the city. It has a large physique which is surprising, concerning how it managed to enter this very cave. It is resting in a fetal position as to keep its head at check into the small crevices in the cave itself.
However, its positioning in sleep is not the only worthy thing to stare at, well at least, not in this case.
The large creature is quadrupedal- a creature that is living with its four legs. The legs themselves are odd enough as each pair of legs carries a sharp claw on them. Its gargantuan body is somehow covered in a brown and thick coat of fur that shines faintly from the glows of the fire. Its sleeping head is wedge-shaped and is clear of its aforementioned brown skin. In its back though, unlike its other normal characteristics, this creature boasts a unique visual on it…
Situated in the back of the gargantuan creature, are big chunks of diamond-like rocks that are shaped in a sharp and thin needles.
Ah… I see. I am honest enough to myself to admit that I have made my mistake.
That is not a monster…
These creatures are called as Iron Hedgemoles!
Famous from its iron-like armor coming out from its back, these endangered and special species of moles are not that exotic from the islands of our continent. They tend to live far away from humans and they usually build their nests underground or other rock formations such as caves. These said creatures are extinct because they are famous from their rock-infested backs, making them a prime target for hunters and swordsmiths alike.
…Okay! That is enough for our staring session for tonight!
Through the loud cries of the little one, presumably its pup, its mother- the larger creature in front of us, stirred itself in its peaceful slumber.
…
Right… we should be running off by now.
I have my outmost certainty that these creatures are not the 'monsters' we are supposed to hunt. Why? Well besides the fact that boss did not even mention any of its name, thereby eliminating it from our list, these creatures are generally conceived as gentle and peace-loving animals.
However, if you were about to endanger the life of its child, or even disturb its peaceful slumber, this timid nature will fight back!...
And when we mean fight back, this creature will be ready to fight up until death in order to drive its attacker!
The mother Hedgemole finally realized the cries of its pup and now wide-awake. Its large black eyes now staring at us and growled its warning for its defense.
Oh… sharps… why do I even have this bad tendency to stare at the face of an extremely dangerous event?!
The mother Hedgemole stirred up even more and now faced us while exhaling a lot of air coming from its nose. The sound of the air, combined with the brown dust, made its way into our senses and practically covered our faces with it!
I want to move my own body but… I am frozen in fear!
Out of nowhere, when the dusts covered our bodies, Malthur screamed in terror:
"AWAHHHHHH!!! Dust! Terrifying particles from the ancient ground itself! AHHHHHH!!! Take it off! Take it off of me!!!"
I have never seen him freak out like that in the shortest span of my memory with him.
Malthur frightfully shook his entire body by pounding it with the pair of his hands. He jumped from sheer panic and shouted the same words over and over again.
"WATER!!! WHO HAS SOME WATER??! GIVE ME SOME, QUICK!!!"
Suddenly, while Malthur panicked like a madman, the mother Hedgemole growled in an intense manner in front of us. From that mighty growl, the cave shook itself in its every vicinity and made us jump in terror. Finally, being wide-awake now, it charged itself into our direction and took itself in a curling position- exposing its diamond-like needles.
"WAHHHHHHHH!!! RUUUUUUN!!!"
The three of us once again committed in a fast and heated run but this time, it is basically for our survival reasons. We ran in the orange-tinged pathway, thanks to the Flamberge of Roy and cried our lungs out to ask for help. Seriously, I never ran this fast and intense in my whole existence!
"AHHHHHH!!! IT'S GOING TO KILL US! IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO KILL US!!!"
"WAAAAHHHH!!! FLEMEROY 'FLINTSTON' ARSONSTEL! RUN FASTER!!!"
"HEY, DON'T BLOCK MY PATHWAY, TORI!!!"
We ran straightforwardly while practically screaming in fright. This ridiculous 'race for your life' lasted for a lot of minutes.
"Hey! Do something, Redhead! Attack that creature with the flames of yours!!!" Malthur cried in our backs.
"Are you sure? Very well then-" he said, about to call his sword.
"No wait! Do not do that, Roy! These creatures are endangered and realistically, they are important to the lives of the villagers here!" I shouted to prevent Roy in attacking the raging creature that is still chasing us.
Indeed, the Iron Hedgemoles are important to the lives of the people who are living the kind of industry alike to the villagers of this area which is, plantation. These creatures can help the villagers in forming the landscapes perfect for planting vegetables and other greeneries while maintaining its lively stature to sustain them. Furthermore, they ward off other parasites and harmful insects that may pose a threat in the growth of these plants.
In summary, for a land known for its farming commerce, these creatures are vitally important.
Roy realized what I was about to point out and refrained in calling the flames of his Flamberge.
Basically, the three of us now are running for our lives until someone will offer us some help in driving this irate creature off!
Well, to its credit, this creature has a lot of reasons on why it is chasing us right now and frankly, I cannot blame it!
Coming to its nest, uninvited? Check!
Disturbing its peaceful slumber? Yeah, we clearly did that!
Endangering the life of its child? Indeed! We are the suspects!
But please, oh gentle creature! Kindly overlook this silly mistake of ours and spare our bodies!
We were still running intensely, about to give up in our tiredness when the Hedgemole suddenly stopped.
In the darkness of the night, a long and piercing howl rang in our environment.
The sound was so intense and eerie, that the mother Hedgemole shivered in its armor and quickly ran away.
Huh… so what happened??
We waited for a lot of minutes by staring and making sense in our environment to piece out the reason for the withdrawal of the creature in its assault to us, but afterwards, we just gave up.
The three of us, now devoid of any fleeting energy in our bodies, decided to go back in the lodges, and call it a day.
We walked and continued pushing forward in the darkness of the night- still mum and didn't bother to talk at all, until we reached our beds.
In that night, none of us had a good sleep.