Bill's Perspective*****
"What on earth has happened here?"
We stumble upon the decaying body of the sheep, ruptured and lacerated at divergent angles. There are also traces of multiple bite marks akin to the dire wolves inhabiting the forest. From the phenomena that we had gathered, dire wolves were only non-violent around the territories of the village. They do not attack other creatures except for the horned rabbits.
'Then why is this the case?' I ask myself a question while surveying the crooked environment. The incident was only four miles away from the gates, covered by the sea of trees at the side.
"Did you notice anything strange here in the outskirts?" I turn to the guard standing at my rear, clearly shocked upon witnessing the mosaic sheep.
"No sir, Bill. I have seen nothing peculiar." The soldier seems to tell the truth, judging by his reactions. And he was not at fault for letting the sheep out from the wilderness. He could not have guessed that the animal broke free, thinking we were accountable for our actions.
"I see," I curve to my behind and return to the village, noticing that the sun is ready to depart.
"This is a lost cause," I blabber, as I race to the road, wanting to inform Lake, our current mayor of the town.
"Don't tell me?"
"Yes," I stop on my tracks and take a deep breath to calm my senses. "The horde is approaching."
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Back to Lake's Perspective*****
I watch Bill's back moving towards the road, alongside the friendly man who lost his sheep. However, the exchange left me oscillating on my post, trying to decipher what he had said.
"His son?" The words kept repeating inside my mind, making sense out from the context.
After realising the clue, I rush inside the austere tavern and check the boxes near the ball. Confirming what Bill mentioned, a hat that has the size of a fist rolls towards me. It was as if the cryptic wind blew it unto me, helping me realise the situation.
Right next to the hat was a knitted scarf made from wool. The materials used were questionable for my taste, yet filled with patience and love. I can sense the passion of the knitter for the little boy to use.
However, the more that I think about the situation, the sadder I become.
"Lake, are you here?" Izz's voice apprises me from the back of my ear as she went inside the open doors of the house.
She looks around and spots my statued body while looking down on an item clasp on my hands.
"Where did you get that?" Izz points her fingers at the green muffler, with her eyes kindled with interest.
"It's from Bill's kid," I gloomily answered whilst looking down on the ragged cap.
Following my line of sight, Izz picks up the straw, unsure of what to do with it in her hands. After a while, a group of footsteps sprints at our direction, and immediately stops at the entrance door. I shift my gaze and see the children waiting for Izz outside, curious why she has not shown up thereafter.
"Izz, we've been waiting for you!" One kid yells while raising his hands in the air, trying to get her undivided attention.
"Ah, sorry! I wanted to invite brother to our game," Izz retorted, which the group of kids had bought already. Their sadness from before abruptly changes from excitement, waiting for me to go outside and join them.
"And who told you I would play?"
After hearing my exclaim, Izz puffs her eyes and gazes straight at my face. She wants me to feel responsible for the children's emotions. If I decline her offer, these kids will be downhearted, unless I would play their game.
"It wouldn't hurt to spend the rest of my time with the villagers," I commented, admitting my defeat to the pure youngsters waiting for us to go outside.
Cheers coming from Izz and the children made the scene look vibrant as we all headed out and resumed their game of catch. I am not particular with their rules, but I have a vague idea on how to participate in their game.
It took us half an hour to finish the entire game, which made the children deplete their remaining energy from running around the field. Izz, who appears to be lively as ever, offers to carry each of the children to their respective abodes.
It frightened some families at the sight of a goblin humping their sons or daughters to their homes. But when they saw their children's faces, they felt satisfied and commended the act of Izz, unnatural for a jester green sprite.
After guiding the apathetic children back to their lodge, Izz and I stroll down the field where the farmers are taking care of the plants that I suggested. Although the shrubs have yet to appear, the farmers share the same smile on their faces, knowing that they would not have to worry about the approaching winter. One problem solved and pushed off from their troubled minds.
"What do you think about this village?" I started a conversation with Izz, wanting to learn more about her personality.
She ambles around the rustling weeds, not minding the gentle push of the wind, before having the interest to answer my question.
"I don't know, but they seem really genuine."
"Genuine?" I asked again, wanting to know the meaning behind her words.
"Yeah."
"Why so?"
The whistling breeze grew louder, gusting the oval leaves and the streaming vines to a single direction. Izz grips the hat tighter on his hands, not letting the wind buffet it over upwards to the clouds. It was a good thing that I secured the scarf inside my bag, with the rest of the items I picked up along the way (herbs). But I still need to ask for Bill's permission after taking the comforter without his knowledge.
"I have never thought about making human friends. Having you, my brothers, beside me is all I need to live in this world," She said while nodding feverishly. "But it won't hurt to have a comrade or two with the humans, especially the children."
"And I'd bet Grer would have felt the same," I concluded while wishing him a speedy recovery.
Thumping sounds coming from our sides arouses us from our seat. As we turned around, we saw the two aged men walking heavily with their exasperated expressions, Bill being more displeased than the guy right next to him.
"Bill!"
"You ain't gonna be happy from what we had found," Bill states while continuing to walk forward, not even batting an eye to my figure.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"The monsters around the forest are beginning to get agitated," Bill answered while intently staring at the hat between Izz's digits. "And we need to hasten up our defence-where did you get that?"
Switching the topic's gears, Bill points his finger at the hat we found inside his homestead. His eyes enlarge, making him more inflamed than what we have seen from earlier.
"Take your filthy hands off from my son's cap,"
"I am sorry. I just-,"
Izz panicky throws the hat away from her hands, just as Bill had ordered. He strides at our direction, picks up the sombrero, and returns to his residency. Without uttering a single word, he motions his hand, specifically for me, to tag behind and carry on with our unfinished conversation.
"This won't take long," I turned my back and assured Izz, still petrified from the sudden loathing she did not deserve. Although she may have grabbed his son's hat without permission, that does not mean he can openly act the way he wanted.
"Can you wait for me in the shed? This won't take long,"
Izz weakly nods as she acknowledges my request.
'I need to talk about this with Bill,' I thought along the way.
The entryway creaks piercingly in my ears as Bill zealously opens the front door. Even the kind man beside me promptly shields his earlobe, unable to withstand the pressure of the sound waves. As the resonance stopped, our nervous breaths occupied the room.
Bill recklessly throws the hat from his hands and hits the aligned plates and cups from their shelf. Some of them, absorbing the impact, plummets on the ground and eventually breaking them into shards.
The old man did not concern himself with the damaged glass and resume the relevant topic as if nothing tedious had happened
"We found the bloody sheep near the border of the forest," Bill states, wiping the scarlet stain on his shirt. "And that's never a good sign."
"Maybe the sheep got randomly killed?" I suggested, taking the problem lightly from our hands.
"It means that the horde of monsters is coming our way!"
After scowling to his added announcement, both the father and I stared at him in astonishment, unsure of what to react to his perturbed feelings.
Bill then glances over to the cap hanging on a lengthy glass, reminiscing about something that I did not know.
"We cannot determine when they can arrive in this village. Thus, Lake-as the mayor of this town, what advice should we need to take to repel these forces?"