As Baron Ciaphas lay in his bed, his chest still aching from the battle he had fought with the shadowy figures, he knew he had to take action. The villagers had seen him engulfed in a demonic aura, and witnessed him transform into a monster before their very eyes. They were scared, and he needed to silence them. But he didn't want them dead, at least not yet.
He called for Nathan, his loyal butler, to his bedside. "Nathan, I need you to find a way to silence the villagers," he said. "But don't kill them. Find a good excuse and make sure they stay quiet about what happened here."
Nathan nodded, his expression unreadable. He had seen the Baron in his transformed state, but he knew better than to question his master. Instead, he simply replied, "Of course, my lord. I will do my best to handle the situation."
The Baron sighed and leaned back against the pillows, the pain in his chest growing more intense. "Nathan, what do you know about the rune on my chest?" he asked, hoping for some insight.
Nathan feigned ignorance. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about that, my lord," he said with a respectful bow.
The Baron frowned, but he knew better than to push the issue. He closed his eyes and tried to rest, but his thoughts kept returning to the strange occurrences of the past few days.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nathan went to answer it and returned a few moments later, looking worried.
"My lord, the chief of the villagers is here," he said. "He's very scared and wants to speak with you."
The Baron nodded, indicating for Nathan to let the man in. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest was too much. Instead, he lay back down and waited for the man to enter.
The chief of the villagers was a small, timid man, his eyes darting nervously around the room. He approached the bed slowly, as if afraid of what he might find.
"Baron Ciaphas," he began, his voice trembling. "The villagers are very scared. They saw what happened, and they don't know what to think."
The Baron nodded sympathetically, trying to put the man at ease. "I understand your concern," he said. "But I assure you, everything is under control."
The chief of the villagers didn't look convinced. "But... what was that thing?" he asked. "What happened to you?"
The Baron hesitated, unsure of what to say. Nathan stepped forward, his voice calm and reassuring. "It was a trick of the light, Chief. Nothing more. You know how shadows can play tricks on the eyes."
The chief of the villagers nodded slowly, his expression still unsure. "I... I see," he said. "But what about the Baron's injuries? How did he get hurt?"
Nathan hesitated, then spoke again. "He fell down the stairs, Chief. A simple accident, nothing more."
The chief of the villagers seemed to accept this explanation, though he still looked uneasy. "I... I understand," he said. "But please, Baron Ciaphas, if anything else happens, please let us know. We're all very scared."
The Baron nodded, promising to keep the villagers informed. As the chief of the villagers left the room, Nathan turned to his master.
"I think that went well, my lord," he said. "But we need to be careful. The villagers are scared, and if they start talking to each other, they may figure out the truth."
The Baron nodded, knowing that Nathan was right. He had to keep a low profile, and he couldn't allow anyone to suspect what he had become. He had to keep his demonic power a secret...
At least, as much of a secret as possible.
Soon night came and Ciaphas was in the midst of a nightmare. He was drowning in a sea of flames and blood, a sea of screams that was slowly engulfing him. He fought against the tide, struggling to swim to the surface and breathe, struggling to escape.
"No!" he yelled as his lungs filled with blood. "Gah!"
He woke with a start, his head throbbing. The nightmares had been coming back frequently recently, haunting him throughout the night.
"They are linked to my other condition," the Baron thought.
The rune inside him had been restless lately, more so than usual.
He had been giving it more and more of his soul, allowing it to feast on his magic and his mind. He didn't know why he did it. He had seen the rune's evil and its bloodlust, but he was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. It was a part of him, and yet, it was an enemy, a parasite that fed on his soul.
Ciaphas had always considered himself a virtuous man. He always did what was right and never gave in to temptation. He would never let something like greed or lust control him.
But the rune was different. He didn't lust for it, but the power it brought was too good to pass up. He used it now with greater ease, and it was becoming a source of power that he could use to save himself from his enemies.
One of the reasons Ciaphas had managed to survive this long was that nobody knew about the rune. He didn't want to attract attention to himself, and he knew that letting anyone know about the power he had would be a monumental mistake.
He didn't even let Nathan know, although the young man had grown more and more tired and sickly recently, and Ciaphas suspected that he might be dying.
The rune had taken a portion of his soul, and Nathan sure as hell knew what was truly going on with him....