--One Month Later--
Kaiser quickly got over being grounded. This was a trial that had to be endured for him to beat his friend.
He could endure something like this.
However, the sword his father mentioned was stuck in his mind. His curiosity for it overflowing, almost against his free will. He was tempted to ask more about it, but he didn't think that would get him anything.
After all, why give a time of when to tell me about it?
Nothing else happened during the month except that most of the adults and elderly were more on edge. They appeared to be unsure which was highly unusual in their small village.
His dad also was more busy during the day. None of this made sense to him, maybe he was seeing things?
--Another Month Passed--
Now he knew something was wrong. The villagers no longer looked happy and calm. There was a feeling in the air, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. Deciding he couldn't hold back he asked his dad.
"Father, why does everyone look so upset?"
He looked at his son. There was sadness in his eyes and his face was tired. He'd been working nonstop as of late. Exhaustion was beginning to show, even if he tried to hide it.
"Do you remember the meeting from two months ago?"
How could he not know? That's when he was grounded.
He continued, "Well, we were talking about how monsters started appearing in the forest. I believe you have an idea of what this means."
Kaiser was shocked.
'Was this the reason he got so mad at the meeting? Wait, does this mean we're going to have to fight the monsters? I'm only 10 years old, I can't fight yet.'
"Dad, are we going to have to fight them?"
"For the sake of the village, I hope not. But we have to prepare for the worst. That's why I want to give you something."
Kaiser thought, 'I wonder.. will it be the sword? It's not as great now that I might have to use it, but still exciting.'
With that, his dad retrieved a long cloth that was wrapped around something and handed it to Kaiser.
He took it with excitement and wonder, it looked like it could be the sword, but maybe it was something else.
As soon as it was in his possession though, it shrunk much to a much smaller state.
'Woah, that was pretty cool.'
Taking the cloth off, he saw a pitch-black fixed-blade knife with engraved grey decorative lines running along the blade. It was small and fit Kaiser's hand perfectly.
When he first laid eyes on the knife, he was astonished. The knives used for cutting meats couldn't compare to this.
This was perfect and looked menacingly cool.
His dad started speaking, "This is the sword I told you about. It shrunk as it automatically adjusts the owner's preference. It was your mother's."
Sadness took over his dad's face. "I believe it was an heirloom."
"This was moms? Incredible."
But before he could inspect it or ask more questions, his dad moved him along.
"Put the cloth back on it and I don't want you using it unless something drastic happens. Do you understand?"
Kaiser wanted to ask more questions but all he said was, "Yes, father."
Nothing else happened after that.
All Kaiser could do was watch as everyone worked more worriedly. They even began making spears and barricades.
'The forest must truly be infested now and I haven't seen a few people around either. Did something happen to them?'
--The Next Day--
Kaiser woke up feeling that something was wrong. Uneasiness crept to his mind and threatened to consume him.
'I should step outside.'
As he stepped outside, he noticed a drastic difference in the sky. It was no longer the peaceful blue he was used to. No, it was bright red with dark red clouds.
"What is this? This... this shouldn't be caused by some monsters, right?"
He didn't know why this phenomenon was happening. Kaiser was only a kid in a small village.
He looked around the village and saw many others also looking at the sky. They were confused as well. They weren't told that this would happen.
A minute passed and he calmed down. He had to ask his dad, what if he knew something?
He ran inside and looked for him but to no avail. It looked like he was already out working.
'Should I take the dagger? This was considered drastic right?'
He decided to take it with him anyway, he only hoped it wouldn't have to be used. Then came the next problem, how to carry it around.
'I wish this thing was easier to carry with me.'
Like the knife could read his mind, it shrunk even further in the shape of a ring.
'That's so cool and very convenient. Whoever made this deserves some money.'
He tried willing it back to the knife and then to the ring a few times with success.
Feeling confident, he went back outside and noticed everybody was gone already.
Kaiser was just about to start looking for where everyone went but then saw Jak running to him.
Distressed, Jak said, "Kaiser, come on. Did you not hear the alarm?"
'What in the world is Jak doing here? And an alarm?'
Realizing he ignored his friend he said, "No? But I was just going to look for everyone else."
"Well come on. We're going to get in trouble if we don't arrive soon."
He trusted his friend and decided to follow him.
They quickly ran through the village to a more open area. This is where the Chief would make announcements to everyone in the village.
He saw his dad and his uncle, the chief, on the platform at the front.
His dad looked relieved seeing him arrive.
The Chief then started talking.
"Everyone, as you can tell, the sky is the color red. We believe this to be a bad omen, as it is the color of blood. Even worse than a monster attack."
Everyone whispered to their friends and family, speculating what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened since the beginning of their village history.
How does someone even deal with this?
The Chief continued, "Please quiet down. Now we may not know what's happening, but we're going to stick to our original plan. We're going to defend ourselves as best we can. Everyone capable of fighting please meet at the eastern exit, where the forest is."
With that, the capable men and women went to the designated location. Everyone loved their home and wanted to fight for it. Even if you weren't physically capable, other tasks could be handled.
"Jak, what should we do?" Kaiser whispered.
Jak was at a loss too. He tried to be upright and act like an older brother to Kaiser, but he was lost.
Putting on his best smile he responded, "Well we can't just stand around doing nothing."
Kaiser looked up to Jak and treated him as his best friend, so he didn't doubt his words.
"Then let's get going." Kaiser smiled, trying not to be affected by what was going to happen.
Deep down, he was worried about today.
Everyone was walking there slowly while all the elderly people started returning to their homes.
"I bet I can beat you there Jak."
Once Jak heard that, he instantly felt better.
"We'll just see about that."
Then they dashed towards the meetup point.