I woke up with a start, my back drenched in sweat. With my trembling hands, I hurriedly checked that my neck was still intact and that my head was resting on my shoulders. I was also happy to notice that the key, which I chained around my neck, was still there.
Reassured that no harm had been done to my body, I let out a sigh of relief.
After this short episode of panic, I closed my eyes and recapped the events that had occurred that night during my nightmare.
This silhouette, it had been years already, that I heard his voice during my stays in the land of dreams or rather my purgatory. But it was that night that for the first time, she exposed her appearance to me and revealed her identity to me at the same time.
However, this revelation had no other effect than to disturb me even more. In my mind, questions were flowing from all sides and confusion gradually set in.
"— But why would Death want to speak with me in my dreams and for what purpose was she making me suffer this nightmare?" I questioned myself.
All of these questions had planted the seed of doubt in my head as they piled up.
"— And in reality, would she really be Death or just an entity wanting to impersonate her for some purpose? I asked myself. Or else all that is happening to me now is just insanity. Polluting my mind gradually leading it into complete madness. "
These questions jostling each other, plunged my brain into total chaos. I was struggling to find any logic in all of this. I had to clear my thoughts to put it in order and there was nothing better than a hunting party.
With that in mind, I got up from my bed and decided to get ready, but first I had to defecate in my chamber pot.
Needs finished, I began afterwards with basic exercises to awaken my muscles.
Then I began to prepare my equipment by squatting in front of my bed, to extract a wooden chest from below.
I slid it with the strength of my arms over the wooden floor of my bedroom with a low creak, making my teeth clench my teeth being irritated by the noise.
With the container exposed, I hastened to pick up the key from around my neck. Then once in hand, the other still free, I ran my fingers across the surface of the safe to find a disturbing regularity of its relief, that is to say its lock.
It wasn't long before I found it, then slipped the key into the latch and twisted it clockwise twice. Then a click announcing its opening sounded.
I opened the safe and its contents were exposed. There were few objects there: a container loaded with vials filled with various substances, an arch engraved with rosettes giving it an elegant but at the same time simple appearance, arrows numbering approximately fifty, a dark quiver and so on. 'A complete hunting outfit as black as the night.
I took the outfit and put it on, so I grabbed about fifteen arrows that I put in my quiver. Subsequently, I fitted my quiver on my back.
Now I took the bin loaded with vials and placed it on the wooden table in my room.
I was going to open my bedroom window to have light allowing me to identify the different decoction.
When I opened the window, a magnificent spectacle presented itself before my eyes. Aurora released her orange hair over the village, giving it unparalleled beauty.
To the east of the village, the large mansion of the ruling family was bathed in light. It was the home of the Aertes, descendants of Mardrich Aertes, the founder of the village.
Around it were 8 other less imposing mansions, they belonged to the 8 founding families, those who accompanied Aertes Mardrich during the founding of the village, more than 200 years ago.
My gaze wandered lower where I could see the inhabitants swarming the streets of the village ready to work in the fields for some and others to maintain their businesses.
These groups intertwined with non-permanent residents who had come for various reasons such as trade, hunting or even the thirst for adventure leading them here. This set formed a special kind of uniqueness in the village and made Mardrich what he was.
After admiring the scenery, I went back to my task. I take the vials one by one. Then, I exposed them to the rays of the sun to identify their contents.
Finally, I chose to take 4 potions among the whole, for my hunting party. My choice fell on those of care, night vision, antidote and finally the necrotizing one, that is to say a very powerful poison.
I placed the four decoction separately on my table, then I went to take my haven bag and then my dagger which was planted on my bedside.
After taking them, I put the four potions in a small box with cottony walls which I then put in the bag. I put my dagger at my belt in a scabbard made for her.
I was now ready, I walked over to my window and jumped to the bottom of it. Furthermore, I landed with feline grace without any sound, it was then that a hoarse but warm voice sounded.
"Lloyd, are you going hunting so early in the morning?" The voice asked me.
It was not just any voice, it was that of my father, Larth, the owner of the Hunter's Inn, An Inn passed down from father to son for 3 generations already.
— "Yes Dad, I intend to make us a feast of game for tonight. I answered him.
— Lloyd, you seem very happy to go hunting, but it seems to me that you did not have your breakfast this morning. My father tells me in a concerned tone.
— Ah ... You're right Father, I completely forgot to take it, my head was in the clouds apparently. "I confessed to him with a little shame.
His words put balm in my heart when I saw him concerned by my well-being and able to admit my forgetfulness with a glance.
I was so focused on the idea of going hunting to relax that I forgot one of the fundamentals of getting in shape: a meal giving energy to perform the tiring actions that hunting causes.
If my father hadn't warned me, I think I would have passed out during my trip to the forest.
It was then that my father grabbed a purse hanging from his belt, took a few coins and handed them to me.
"Lloyd, hold 9 pieces of copper, go buy yourself some bread from the old baker Zephir. He said to me.
— Thank you dad. I thanked him. I'm leaving now, so see you tonight ".
With this sentence, I went to Zéphir's bakery located on the edge of the main road which crossed the village from north to south.
On the way, I could admire the dynamism of the village and the inhabitants. Some returned from the golden fields with baskets more or less loaded with vegetables in their arms. They greeted me with smiles at my sight and I did the same for them.
After a while, I finally reach the main village road. It was the part of the village where various sectors of activity were gathered such as tailors, blacksmiths, baker, innkeepers and others. I continued my way towards the bakery of Zéphir passing next to the villagers and jostling some by accident.
Many riders passed from time to time on the road. The hooves of passing horses giving rhythm to the street like percussion instruments and the heckling of the villagers formed the morning song of the village.
Under this melody, I finally reached old Zéphir's bakery. I walked directly into the bakery where I saw six customers choosing what to buy and at the counter, an old man was standing behind, scrutinizing all the customers with his dark eyes, then his eyes fixed on me. Quickly, a smile appeared on his lips and he let out in his voice sounding dated from ancient times:
"How are you little Lloyd? He asked me.
— Quite well the ancestor. I replied. I would like to buy you 3 buns.
— Alright little one. He replied. Little lately a lot of knights of the kingdom come and go in the Mardrich mansion, my guts tell me that some bad things are coming up so be careful Lloyd.
—Okay old man, I'll be careful. "I replied.
With that, he bent down and took three still steaming buns under the counter window then put them in a small package and then handed them to me.
— "Hey Lloyd, the whole thing will make 9 copper coins". He told me.
I grab the package. Then I paid him the necessary sum. After receiving the coins the crumbling old man exclaimed:
"Until next Lloyd, it's always a pleasure to do business with you."
I nodded in response and walked out of the bakery.
I found myself once again on the main road then I walked towards the South gate while eating my sweet brioches among the small crowd of villagers.
After a few minutes, I finally reach the south door while having finished my breakfast expressly on the way. Sentries were positioned around the gate and on the wooden city walls. At the same time, a dozen villagers crossed the entrance with vegetables in hand, indicating that they were therefore returning from the Golden Fields further to the South-East.
More remarkable, a group of hunting bow in hands made up of 4 hunters narrated their hunting with the guards. They came back from this hunt with a boar of a meter and a half in length suspended with the help of a solid branch by two of them, this indicated that they came from the forest of Vert-Verdoyant located in the South.
I greeted the soldiers and villagers. Then, I approached the hunters to learn about the little information of the day on the forest. They informed me that there was less prey than usual in the forest, and they suppose that a new predator would have settled there then causing the other animals to flee.
On this information, I crossed the southern entrance heading towards the Vert-Verdoyant forest. At the same time, in me, my thirst for the collector of animals whispered to me to go find this chard and eliminate it.
On this new morning, where the problems and worries of the night had cluttered my mind, I was going to set my sights on this beast.
It reminded me that this nightmare was unreal and that it will never happen, for me and my village, we are here and still alive and well on this new morning.