[center][u][color=black][h1]The Ninth Labour[/h1][/color][/u][/center]

[hider=Pawn Take King]"Pawn Take King"

Smoky. A wisp of twisting fumes, writhing up to the stagnant air. It escaped from the smoldering tip of a white tube being thrusted into the grey ashes. The mood was grunge, a heavy emotional drain upon the soul as the dim lighting above shone upon the onyx and marble squares inlaid in the table. Gold trimmed the edges of the board, gilded in the fine beaten luster over the dark mahogany wood. The drumming of fingers, tapping into the side of the eternal plane, waiting for the next move to come. There was no timer, no methodical passing of turns against the grains of sand or ticking gears. There was no hand which clicked the buzzer to signal the next move as the clinking ice slowly rolled around in the whiskey neat. Another puff of smoke, another sip of drink, look up at the television screen rolling in the evening news, relax at the table for time here has no end.

The battle was a deadlock, barely having begun and already grinding down to become to a standstill. Holding their positions upon the board the carved bones whittled away to resemble their roles. The skeletal pieces set in rows before beginning their danse macabre of burned bones upon bleached ones. Two pawns, insignificant henchmen, leapt forward for their king and queen, and in reply, a single pawn moved away for a sly queen’s bishop to swoop in to snatch away the pawn in the center cross by covering the awaiting knight. It was a game of grandmasters, as they titans towered over the broad deciding the fates of others. A White hand moved his king’s bishop moved behind the advanced pawns forming the rudimentary backbone of chess. Elementary as it was, this game had a particular twist, and so as a black hand offered the king’s pawn a victory over own another pawn which was prodded into the fray at center from the foot of the dark king’s bishop. Now deep in contemplation of the worth of this obvious trap, the real the battle begins. An inhale, and out comes the thick smoke.

How fragile was life? Like a withered leaf it clings desperately on the twigs to brace itself against the winter storm. Therein man finds the sad truth of our limited time, and wish to leave behind a legacy as proof of worth. Some find it in fame, to be renowned for one’s accomplishments, but mere utterances are echoes of the past, and portraits mere shadows of life.  Thus how far would one go to challenge the inevitable? How can you outwit Death? Certainly not with a knight, for death had ridden at his side long ago…

The beer mug had shattered. Dropped from a limp hand, and papers knocked over to the floor. An unfinished burger, still warm on the plate of cheesy fries loaded with ketchup. Natural causes, they said, as paramedics came to roll over the large man. Or was it? For moments ago he was alive, devouring his last meal ravenously while reading the news. As an older man, possibly in his mid-sixties, who had still patronized a dying information industry it was only natural that he was selected. Bound to die within ten years give or take, had he not choked on a chunk of meat and bun far too large to swallow. Yet, he lived through this as some quick rescuer preformed the Heimlich in time, ejecting the meal and saving the old accountant from death by asphyxiation. And yet the excitement of it all, wore out his heart. A brush with death, which would lead to death itself. For with a thud, he collapsed, his heart failing as the glass dropped and spilled the cold beverage over the flutter of newsprint. 

“So, who was he to you?”  A voice from the shadows asked the smoking man. Like a heavy sigh through ancient catacombs, dry and whispered, tired even of the game as Death watched his own masterpiece. Taking the pawn was merely the bait to draw this fool closer into the game as the shadows swirled around their table. The pale lager had stained the sections of the papers save for one, one that death smiled at most as personal pride. The obituaries of course were left untouched as the player in black returned to the table for his turn with a newspaper tucked under his arm. Black suits Death, after all, and with this game where the pieces were lives, who would you sacrifice? A lover? A brother? A friend? A close associate? How much would you give so that you may attempt to escape me? Nothing escapes me. No one escapes me.

Silent as ever though the smoking man, dressed in his lounge suit burning his smokes away like between his fingers as he takes the pawn exchange and calmly allows Death’s bishop to sneak past his line and strike into the heart of his formation. His rook now exposed to the threat cut across the diagonal as center gave way. To lose another friend, perhaps a father or brother of all things now. But alas forgiveness comes at the price of guilt. And this mortal wraps his fingers around his darling queen without a word to answer my question. Who was he to deny Death? For this I shall take his queen next for now he has threatened me with her. To put me into check, was to offend me.
His pawn to banish my pawn which had blocked forth his marked queen. It mattered not for I had nothing to lose but his soul. Yes, and I would trade all my pieces for his death for having the nerve to challenge me in a game like this. This was no movie nor play, nor was it a book to be told like a fairy tale, no one challenges Death and lives to tell of it! I move my knight, an old friend who shall now threaten his white queen. Who will she be? Who did he risk to save his own worthless hide? Let him come and lose all his pieces and perhaps then it would be more merciful for me to watch him beg for death.

There she was, and I looked upon her with my pitiless eyes like an artist would a canvas. Her skin already white as the marble gravestones I fill, her veins clearly visible as she relaxed in her warm bathwater. Her wet hair a fiery red, scarlet like precious rubies woven in slickened locks. How my opponent had selected such a ravishing queen to for me to ravage as my icy hand grazed itself upon her shoulder. I had to witness her personally, this death I shall savour second to his own. Her eyes could not see me, though she shivered at my touch, quivering and shuddering as my fingertips walked down her collar bone as I wrung my hands around her neck.  Oh yes, her sweet gasps music to my ears as I strangled the life out of her, the convulsions of her body writhing against my own as I took her. Darkness fell upon the room. They would see it as an accident, those to rush in to find her lifeless body submerged in the flooding bathtub. A faulty circuit, electrocution, a mystery of chance akin to being struck down by lightning. Yet they forgot that lightning once was seen as divine justice. Thus am I: Death.

Though as I returned, I found my opponent smiling, even as my knight executed his queen in trade for a mere pawn now ripe for reaping before my King’s rook. His smile mocked me as I looked into his heart, his failing heart which dared to laugh at me with each heartbeat. He had gone mad perhaps, as the liquor has gone to his brain, or perhaps the smoke which he had breathed in and out for the past few days. And yet, it seemed he knew something which had escaped me, something I had overseen. Why did he not flee before my knight? Did he care not for his queen? The women he loved so dearly? 

Then I saw it. For I was just as blind as I had silently taunted him for letting me slip into his ranks with my bishop. He now does the same with his own. The game was his now as he proclaimed checkmate. For his bishop had ran over to threaten my king who I had unwittingly blockaded in. No room to breathe nor move, and certainly now nowhere to run. No such piece had I to stop the inevitable, and the pieces on the board remained untouched as I, Death itself, was cheated out of certain victory. Had I forgotten how vile and despicable these mortals may become? To offer up an innocent soul to me in order to save their own worthless lives? And as my opponent chuckled away and drank the last of his liquor, I had to ask: “Who was she?”

“Someone I loved, but she belongs to another. It was her husband that shot me, and left me here for you to clean up. This game was just my last way to get back at him, for all he had done to me. He stole her from me long ago, and told her lies of how I didn't love her. For if I couldn’t have her in life, I figured you’d be so kind as to reunite me with her in death. So go on Death, in the spirit of the game, let Pawn Take King.”

With that, he threw his head back, and closed his eyes, as I in fury swept my hand across the board. The bone pieces flew across before vanishing into the air, the board disappeared as I leapt at him in rage. With one last drag he extinguished his smoldering cigarette, he too evaporated into the smoky haze. And so He had cheated me twice. Once for his own life, and twice for another. [/hider][hider=The Song]By [@WiseDragonGirl].

[b]The song[/b]

Evening fell over the city of Arnheim, as the light of the sun faded people ignited candles or oil lanterns in their homes. While most people headed towards home, tomorrow would be another day of work after all, those who had no obligations at home or at sunrise chose to spend the evening in one of the many taverns.

Two people walked alongside of each other. The taller, black-haired man wore the fine clothes of a nobleman. The other had chestnut-coloured hair, he wore simple and worn-out travelling clothes and he carried a lute on his back. Mikhal, the travelling bard, knew Lemitsa for a couple of years now and regarded him a friend. Even if the somewhat cold and distant nobleman didn’t show it, he too considered Mikhal as a friend, despite him being of lower class.

Like others they walked up to one of the taverns in town, laughter filled the street as Lemitsa pushed the door open. The bar-room was lit by oil lanterns, the smell of burning oil mixed with beer and sweat was a common one for places like these, even if it wasn’t the most the pleasant of smells. At least it was a smell they would adjust to easily, unlike the stench in the crypt just outside the city with the Liador, the carnivorous monkey-like creatures who lived there. That foul smell was impossible to get used to, no matter how long you would stay down there, with the proper precautions of course, those ferocious creatures had killed many people. He knew this, because he had been down there himself one day, with Mikhal.

“Do you think the father of lady Catheryn will be impressed with the amount of coins you collected so far?” Lemitsa asked as they walked through the bar-room.

“I can only hope, I did my best.” Mikhal walked up to the bar and ordered two beers. As the bartender put two mugs on the bar, he turned to face his friend again. “I will go there tomorrow and ask for her hand in marriage.”

The bartended pushed the two mugs with beer towards them. “I wish you the best of luck, Mikhal. If you manage to do that, you’ll achieve what hardly any commoner can: marry a noble.” He watched the young man smile to that. “When will you start?”

“Allow me to smooth my throat with your fine ale and then I will sing for your customers, as agreed.” 

With a nod of his head the bartender gave his approval and the two friends walked towards one of the tables to sit, talk and drink a beer together. Lemitsa hardly drank anything as they talked, but Mikhal had little problems with finishing the mug, he was thirsty.

“You have hardly drunk at all,” Mikhal mentioned as he looked inside Lemitsa’s mug.

“I do not enjoy the taste of this cheap beer,” Lemitsa answered with a shrug. He turned around in his chair and tapped on an in green velvet covered shoulder. “Anthony, take this one. It is my treat.”

Anthony, another noble, turned around to face Lemitsa, his face showed the redness of someone who had a beer too many. “Thank you kindly,” he slurred as he took the mug. “Cheers!” He took a big gulp from the mug and turned back to his friends.

“That is friendly of you,” Mikhal said as he looked at Anthony’s back, “although I am not certain it was wise to give your beer to someone who obviously had his share of drinks already.” He noticed how Lemitsa shrugged to that. “Are you close with him?” He knew Anthony, but only from face and reputation. As far as he had heard, Anthony and his family had a good reputation and a decent amount of money, but status-wise they stood below Lemitsa and his family.

“Truthfully,” Lemitsa said as he leaned over to the table and lowered his voice. “I cannot stand him. But let that not be a concern to you.” He showed a smile. “When you sing, will you sing your ode to king Han again? I like that song.”

As Mikhal took his lute he nodded to Lemitsa. “Of course, let me start with it.”

Lemitsa watched Mikhal stand up and take a place between tables with a smirk. “Please do,” he muttered. He glanced towards the side where a few Royal Knights sat. Perfect. He turned his attention back to Mikhal who played the strings of the lute to produce a simple but happy melody.

[i]“There once was a leader, a glorious man,
the wise and the fair and the noble king Han.
His reign had brought peace and prospe-”[/i]

Before he could even finish the first verse he had to duck to avoid a mug of beer that was thrown at his head. He looked at the man who rose to his feet and pointed a stubby finger at him.

“No king ever d-deserved to have their own sssong,” Anthony slurred. “Bringing p-peace and p-prosperity? Kings are g-good for nnnothing expect collecting taxes!”

“If that’s how you feel,” Lemitsa whispered to Anthony, “maybe we need to stand up against our king?”

“We hhhave to ssstand up against our king!” Anthony exclaimed. “Down with the king!”

As Lemitsa expected, the Royal Knights wouldn’t stand for that. They came up to Anthony, but he turned towards them and called them puppets and evil swordsman working for an evil king, suppressing his freedom to have an opinion. As one of them took his arm, he spat in the knight’s face. The knights were now adamant to take away and with force if they had to. He struggled and cursed, but he was no match for the knights and they took him with them. The common people all looked at each other, unsure what just happened. The people of nobility who had shared the table with Anthony looked worried, a noble being arrested for speaking about a king like that would have consequences for the nobleman himself, his family and his friends. A careless drunk statement could have a big impact on his and their status and it was uncertain how far this event would carry in their ranks. 

“Mikhal!” the bartender said to the baffled bard. “Please finish your wonderful song.”

By that request Mikhal seemed to regain his composure and he started over.

[i]"There once was a leader, a glorious man,
the wise and the fair and the noble king Han.
His reign had brought peace and prosperity for all,
from the oldest to the youngest, the tall and the small.

People were jealous and wanted his wealth,
they tried to get closer through force and through stealth.
No man was able to touch the good king
for he could take on what any foe could bring.

None was more cunning, more clever or smart,
the swing of his sword was a form of art.
And the mighty king Han had men on his side,
all loyal and strong and they stood there with pride.

His foes did he conquer, his foes found defeat,
the king could sit down on his ivory seat.
The glorious leader, a victor once more,
his men erupted in a praising galore.

Here comes the tale of king Han to an end,
for always remembered by foe and by friend."[/i]

As the customers clapped for the song, Mikhal bowed to them and he started another song. After five more songs he collected some coins from the people and he returned to the table where Lemitsa still sat. 

“Let us go,” Lemitsa suggested. “You can stay at my place again.”

Mikhal nodded and followed his friend outside. The city was a lot more quiet at this time of the evening and he looked up at the star-lit sky. “It is a shame what happened to your friend.”

“I told you, Anthony is not a friend.”

“Indeed you told me,” Mikhal said as he frowned at Lemitsa. “Why exactly did you want to hear the Ode to king Han again?”

Letmitsa didn’t answer to that, but the pleased smile was all Mikhal needed to see.

“You gave him more beer so he would be properly drunk when he would hear that song and you know how he feels about our king. You knew how he would react.” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “You do not care how people think about our king, you just wanted him arrested and punished, because you do not like him.”

“You are a smart man, no wonder I can see you as a friend, but that is not all.” Lemitsa looked at Mikhal. “His upcoming wedding with lady Margareta would push his status closer to my own, I did not like that idea. And I wish to court his sister, but he does not approve. Now I can do as I please.”

“What about lady Trialca?”

“I got bored of her, we are not together anymore.”

Mikhal stared at Lemitsa. “This is the second time you used me to get what you want! Did you ever consider this could have a serious impact on me? What if he or his father will blame me and my song for this? Do you know much a noble can hurt a commoner? Did you even consider that if his family will come after me it could damage my chances with lady Catheryn?”

“Of course I considered all that.”

“And still you did this? You set this scheme up for your own personal gain and you used me for it? This is not how friends should behave! I should-“

“What? You should what? Go to the sheriff and tell him about this? Do you think the word of a common man weighs up to the word of a noble? I will tell the sheriff I had nothing to do with the unfortunate incident and he will believe me. And I will tell you this: before we went to the tavern I told my friends I do not like your simplistic ode to a fictional king and since it was the bartender who requested you to finish the song, people will assume that if the song had been requested and not chosen by you, he will be the one who requested it.” Lemtisa looked at Mikhal with a smirk. “You have no proof I set this up.”

“But you did! If you planned around my song so well, I know you planned to have Anthony in the same tavern as some Royal Knights when we were there, and you know about Anthony’s drinking habits! Nobles can overlook the drinking, even if they do not agree with it, but they cannot overlook this.” Mikhal let out a resigned sign. “But I have no proof,” he agreed unwillingly. 

The smirk made way for a more serious look and he nodded. “You are correct when you say you have no proof,” Lemitsa stated.

It was bitter to admit it, but Lemitsa was right, there was no way he could go to the sheriff and explain what happened when things would go down-hill because of the event. Lemitsa would make his life even more miserable. Now he was just collateral damage, if he would be the target of Lemitsa’s scheme he would be crushed. If he wanted to avoid that, he had to remain silent about this. And not just that, Lemitsa was a friend and even though he pulled stunts like this, he couldn’t bring himself to hate him. Lemitsa had been a good friend to him in the past, a real friend and not materialistic, and he valued his friendship with him. He didn’t want to lose that too.

They stopped walking and looked at each other. “I used you,” Lemitsa finally said. “That is what I do, I use people around me for my own benefit. You know that. Maybe it is wise to reconsider your friendship with me.” He nodded a greeting. “I wish you a good night, Mikhal.” With that, Lemitsa walked away, leaving Mikhal behind to deal with the results of his action. [/hider][hider=Just Take A Stroll]By [@PlatinumSkink].

[b][u]Just Take A Stroll[/u][/b]

'You're cured,' the doctor told him, the middle-aged white-bearded face holding a light smile as he spoke the fateful words.

The individual who had been spoken to stared in confusion at the doctor. Aaron was a tall and scrawny black-haired young man who looked like he'd fall over from a gust of wind, and right now he sat unblinking like melded into the chair which he was sitting on. He was... cured?

'H-how?' he asked, stunned and unbelievably relieved. 'They all said it was terminal. How is it possible that I'm...?' Awe, confusion and bubbling joy all intermingled in the strangest of ways in his voice. Doctor Hogan, a slightly wide man in white clothing with a retreating white hairline and a decimetre of white fluffy beard, nodded understandingly at the young man.

'It's a new prototype treatment,' he told the boy, looking proud of him. 'It isn't licensed yet, and there may be unforeseen side-effects, but your condition was grave enough that we decided to try it. We'll need to call you in to monitor you then and there for a while to ensure you're scot-free, but there's no sign of the bacteria still in your body. You're effectively cured.' The doctor nodded at him. 'Congratulations. You're free to go.'

Aaron sank back in his chair, daring to smile. His life, which he had already given up on, had been given a new miraculous chance. A new treatment. He couldn't believe it. That was so...

'Th-thank you, thank you so much, doctor,' he said, looking forward at him still in disbelief. The doctor just raised his hand, palm forward, to inform him that it was alright.

'I really should apologize. We weren't really allowed to administer this treatment, but we couldn't just let you go without trying all we had,' the doctor told, smiling at him. Aaron breathed out in relief, his mind blank. He had assumed this was the end. What would he do, now? He'd given up all his plans for the future. It didn't really matter. First, he'd have to tell his whole family. Then, he'd find something. He was cured.

'That said, there is one thing that I'd like you to do for me,' the doctor said, still smiling at him. Aaron blinked a little at that statement. Did doctors usually ask things of their patients? But, he really wasn't in a position to deny, so...

'A-anything within my power, sir!' Aaron responded, feeling slightly uncertain about this, but this was the man who had saved his life, after all.

'Good!' the doctor exclaimed, standing up. 'Come with me!'

______________________________________________________

Aaron stared into the grey, square room. There was nothing in it. It was totally empty. Just a grey, cubical room, that didn't seem to contain anything. It was extremely flat. Just the way in, which was one of those filled with equipment made to ensure a scientist was extremely clean before entering with a sealing door by the end of it, but the doctor hadn't made him use any of it and just left the door completely open. He turned his head and looked questioningly at the doctor, who after having opened the door had gotten himself seated behind a row of computers which were facing away from Aaron in the room behind him.

'Just take a stroll,' Hogan instructed, nodding with a smile at his patient. This... had to be something for his treatment, Aaron figured. He had to assume the room was lined with sensory equipment on the outside, and he was to walk inside it to check for health-issues? If there had been something dangerous in here, the doctor wouldn't have left the door wide-open like that. Something felt weird about this, but if it was just a stroll, then he could do that. His over-active imagination imagined the door would close behind him and he'd be locked away forever for an evil scientist's devices, but what the heck. Aaron decided to trust his faith in humanity.

So, with that thought out, he lifted his foot, and took his first step into the grey, cubical room.

______________________________________________________

Many Ghinitian miles from there, there was a city. A city comprised of buildings made of bright transparent goo in all the colours of the rainbow. The city spread out as far as the eye could see, and way beyond that. The city was built on a landscape of white semi-translucent matter, which looked like some form of jelly that probably could be perfectly shaped by just picking it up and shaping it with the use of hands. And, if the buildings were of any indication, this was true. The perfectly ordered buildings were of many different colours compared to the stale, white landscape, but otherwise it looked like they were comprised of the same material that had just been shaped into more-or-less rectangular structures with odd spherical deformities here and there. Inside these buildings and everywhere around them, were Ghinites.

Ghinites were slime-like creatures, seemingly composed of green semi-solid liquid that was kept upright by their own cellular structure. To move, they simply slid along the surface below them, their fluids making a rolling motion under them like they were all on treads. They had organs, a brain that kept them operating, a nerve-system to send around their brain's commands and a centre that contained digestive fluids contained in their bodies. On their front of their bodies, there were two, huge circles right next to one another of paler green that were lit up by their sensory organs, which qualified for being their eyes.

The streets of the city were littered with them, Ghinites drawing themselves back and forth across it. Smaller blobs of green followed their mothers as they slid down crossroads. The streets in the middle were reserved for rolling, a seemingly faster way of travelling for those who dared make themselves into a ball and roll. Larger Ghinites mixed in on the roads, carrying wares in their middles which were to be moved to the population at large, mostly salvaged food or processed building-jelly for construction. All in all, it was a functional society, as far as the eye could see.

In a nearby tower, Akheria stood, as per that could be described. She stood in her own room in her own stable fluid tower in front of a desk made of the same substance. She was reading information from a tablet comprised of even more of the same glued-together organisms, the words on the tablet having been shaped by someone simply moving the organisms on it to form indents shaped like the letters of their alphabet. Herself, she didn't visually look any different from the rest of her species. They were all very similar pieces of translucent green sticky matter with two lit-up spherical spots for eyes that'd likely look creepy to a human, but any other Ghinite could easily recognize one another by the taste of the matter each was subconsciously giving off. And Akheria's in particular, was easily recognizable for being quite bitter.

'Akheria, you called for me?' Another Ghinite, somewhat larger yet slimmer, bubbled out in their unique language created by the sounds made by moving and splashing together their gelatinous bodies at ”mouths” which were recreated every time they were to speak, made possible by the absolute control they had of all the liquid in their bodies.

'Bohkon. I've called you to discuss the matter of leaving this place,' she informed, glaring forward at him. Ghinites don't sigh, but noticeably relaxing their structure to sink down in height and spread out along their edges meant pretty much the same thing.

'This, again, Akheria? You know we can't even if we wanted to,' he said. Akheria was not satisfied. She used her body's structure to form an outstretched limb, with which she shoved the tablet she had been reading towards Bohkon.

'Our population is swelling, but only because of food provided to us by the Adidas,' she told him. The Adidas, as the Ghinites called them, regularly supplied them all the nutrients they needed to survive and grow. But... 'We're a society completely based around food which we cannot procure ourselves. It's how it has always been, and nobody questions it. Bohkon, shouldn't we-'

'Akheria, don't suggest this to an audience,' Bohkon interupted her, a hint of warning in his ”voice”. 'Our population has grown into billions, everybody's happy, nobody even bothers to think of the outside world. Why would you?' he inquired, glaring right back. Akheria looked unhappily back at him, grabbing another tablet by her jelly desk and presented it to him.

'Because just a few mimillions ago, our population was threatened with extinction by the Zoroan invasion. We had our scientists working non-stop, until we FINALLY found the means to kill them,' she told him, her irritation coming through, and she saw Bohkon sink together once again. 'Those came from outside,' she continued. 'The same way our food comes in. I believe the Adidas sent them at us.'

'Akheria, the Adidas gave us things to help us research their demise along with the next shipment of food! They helped us!' Bohkon informed, pretending this was new information, just to state the obvious to this obviously delusional miss.

[i]But if so, then why did they not just kill the Zoroans themselves? Why not give us the done weapons, and not the means to research a countermeasure? Was it a test?[/i]

Akheria grew silent. Then there was the fact their supply of the weapons had been extracted by what only she could assume were the Adidas after the war was only stranger. What did they have for use of that? She had a few theories, but with all likelihood, they could be attacked again.

'Regardless, such an attack could come again. And the next time, we might not be so lucky,' she argued. Bohkon just stared back at her, unconvinced.

'… ”Regardless”, we can't leave. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a giant wall in the way. Even the noted ”Black Wall”, different from the rest of the wall, seals us out perfectly. But you know that. There's a reason you made your way to become mayor of the Black Wall District, isn't it? Because it's rumoured to ”disappear” at times...'

Bohkon was exactly right. Of course, Akheria hadn't mentioned this intention during her rise to power. It'd have severely hurt her chances. She had specifically moved here after the Zoroan war for the sake of getting to put scientists on experimenting on ways to get past the Black Wall, so far in vain. Now it was Akheria's turn to sink together a bit.

'… But, if we, as a species, make a unified effort, then we can-'

'Mayor Akheria!' a separate voice sounded out across the room from a tube sticking in from the wall, made from a similar gelatinous substance as the wall but in a shade of dark green. This tube transmitted vibrations especially well, and the tube reached down into the landscape and could therefore be used for communication on a long distance. Of course, just talking into it you had no idea if there was anyone on the other side, that was always a gamble. Bohkon and Akheria both looked over, noting the panic in the voice. Akheria quickly slid over, linking her own body to the tube so to transmit her own words.

'Report,' she demanded, as concisely as possible, the message sent along the tube to the other side.

'Th-the Black Wall, it's gone!' … That was quite the announcement. Elation filled Akheria, and she could pretty much feel Bohkon flinching in the background.

'Get the exploration team ready! Get them there immediately! I don't care what they're currently doing, I want them there!'

'Y-yes, ma'am! B-but, there's something odd,' the other side told, making Akheria listen attentively. 'It looks like something might be intending to-' The line suddenly grew silent. Akheria did wonder what had happened, but she wasn't given a lot of time to consider it.

At first, she just felt the sheer force of it. A loud boom, and the force of it grabbing onto her gelatinous form. She almost jumped, her fluids just barely sticking to the floor. The sound had come from behind her, in the middle of her district. An outcry of panic and despair from thousands of Ghinites sounded out, the warning alarm of their kind raised everywhere from different buildings. Agitated, Akheria launched herself from the wall where she had been talking over to the open window, desperate to see the cause of this.

Something had descended straight down onto their city. Something impossibly large. All she could see from here was the extremely large white wall curving around her city quarters. The... the wall was moving. It appeared to have a mostly flat underside, but it had descended on an angle to hit an edge, so now it was periodically crashing down the rest of its mass, crushing the panicked Ghinitian district. It had already squashed the houses and lives of thousands of unsuspecting Ghinites, and as it was rolling forward it squashed thousands more, their cries of panic cut short but to be replaced by the cries of so many others.

Akheria was stunned. This was... this was impossible. The way that thing moved... It was solid. It wasn't gelatinous. It was just like the walls that contained them to this world, entirely solid and impossibly large. Except... it was unmistakeably alive. She looked up. Above the white rim of what had smashed into their city, a blue colour replaced it and ascended beyond the height which she or any Ghinite could clearly see. But, at the very limit of what she could see, there was a comparatively small but still absolutely giant shiny object attached to it, and on it was a symbol that she could not read, but still she could discern two symbols of unknown kind.

”BK”.

______________________________________________________

Aaron had placed down his right foot inside the room. Yeah, it was solid. He hadn't fallen through the floor or anything. A normal, if empty, room. What's up? He gave a questioning look back at the doctor.

'Go on, go in!' Hogan smiled and encouraged brightly. Was it Aaron's imagination, or was he smiling wider than he had before? It felt a little creepy. Aaron wasn't sure what the occasion was for smiling so widely. Eh, suppose there was nothing else to it, then? Aaron shrugged and lifted his other foot and took his second step into the room, before shifting his weight over to his left foot so that he could lift his right, beginning a normal stroll through the room.

______________________________________________________

'A-AKHERIA!' Bohkon called her attention in a panic as she watched the giant unidentified object lift itself up, the object bending as the rear part of it lifted first before the whole thing lifted from the crushed district. She stared at the strangely patterned underside of it. Miraculously enough, that pattern had saved the lives of many Ghinites that had happened to be between the cracks, but many, many more had their fragile bodies and buildings squashed by the massive object's descent. And now... it was continuing further into their city-society. Ghinitians were fleeing in panic in the streets, not sure where to go. What... what was she to do? This wasn't like the Zoroans, they could hurt the Zoroans. This... this was...

'AKHERIA!' Bokhon called out again, this time lightly tackling her from the side to get her attention, which he immediately got as she winced at his impact. After having blankly stared at him for a few moments wondering what he was on about, it quickly occurred to her.

'Right. War map,' she confirmed, and both then immediately took off, sinking their organs into their bodies so their outer parts could swiftly roll through the building without trouble, down the slopes into the basement. The basement was placed inside the white mass that was their landscape, still above the grey absolute ground of the room they were forced to inhabit. Down here, was a map of their city divided into sectors.

Slated on a table, this was a map divided into dark-green squares. Their city was divided into 19 by 19 pieces, each column represented by a number and each row by a Ghinitian letter. A few of the tiles were lit up in yellow by light from underneath. They represented where the things were located right now. The operators were fast. This map had been used during the Zoroan wars to track the movements of the enemy, connected by tubes going under the white mass along the entire land, linked with all other similar maps. When something changed on one, it transmitted and did the same change to the other maps. And of course, there were tubes for vocal communication, too. Not hesitating, Akheria spun forward and linked herself to a tube to get access to the network.

'There's two of them!?' She heard the mayor of... some district exclaim. It was difficult to remember all of them, they were so similar. Indeed, there appeared to be two places where the giant objects were settling down. However, they were in a straight line. And... one vanished. Before appearing on the other side of the one remaining, brightening up two squares.

'E6, E7,' an operator announced as those squares lit up, making Akheria shiver a bit thinking of all those who lived in those grids. That was no small sum.

'City-line E is being evacuated,' someone said. Not good enough, Akheria thought. Even if it was moving along the E-line, it would soon reach a wall. What would it do, then?

'… KHAA-' one voice screamed out, before suddenly being silenced. 'E10, E11...,' a different voice informed, and it was quite clear what had just happened to one person who had been attending the map. Akheria did her best to just ignore it. Bohkon stood ready by her in case she needed something quick. Appreciated, but Akheria needed something else. Judging by this...

'It's bipedal,' she stated. 

'What?' someone asked from the other side. Time to explain this concept, Akheria figured. As Ghinites that drag their whole body forward in a semi-liquid state, this was a bit tricky. 

'It's a theory among scientists, about how larger solid life-forms would move,' she explained. Solid life-forms was a strange concept to a Ghinite, but. 'Essentially, they already have two or more solid limbs which they were born with, and they use these to move forward by-'

'E14, F15,' an operator warned, reminding that there wasn't time for a long explanation. 

'I-it's a single life-form!' Akheria skipped the details. 'And we can assume it has no idea we're here! It's too big to see us! We just need to move out the way!' she called out. There were sounds of agreement and then questions of what to do next. Suddenly, Akheria had somehow been placed in charge of the operation. Yeah, it really seemed like it had no idea they were there.

[i]But then, why is it here!?[/i]

______________________________________________________

[i]But then, why am I here?[/i]

Aaron threw another look at the doctor sitting behind a monitor past the door while he could. He had now walked straight through the room to the other side, stopping a little by the wall. The doctor hadn't revealed any reason for why he was taking this stroll. If he was being exposed to something, then why was the door wide-open? If it was just a check-up if he could walk, then why inside this room? Given the cleaning-hallway, this was clearly a room intended for scientific purpose, and he was walking in here with his dirty shoes with the security-lock wide-open. Guess that meant this room wasn't in use?

Maybe he was thinking too much. It was just a stroll. The doctor surely knew what he was doing. Would be so horrible if the doctor didn't know what he was doing, so it was a lot more comfortable to simply act like he did. With that, Aaron shook off all other thoughts currently inhabiting his mind, plotted out a course for walking around the room via the wall, and took his next step.

______________________________________________________

The huge object with a strangely patterned underside fell down from the sky once again. The sheer shock-wave of force and escaping air underneath it levelled buildings on its own, but the underside of the object slammed straight into Ghinitian city, squashing an unfathomably large area of populated rural space, ending thousands of helpless Ghinitian lives. However, Akheria wouldn't see it. 'F17, G17.' Those words and two small panels that lit up was all she got to confirm the coordinates of the city-grids that had been destroyed. The whole experience... was so surreal...

'… And you wanted OUT THERE, where THOSE THINGS live...?' Bohkon inquired with angry victory. … His assumption about her thoughts was mistaken. She still wanted out, especially if this could happen in here on bad days! They could do nothing to stop it! At least, out there, maybe they could find a place to hide, depending on how the real world actually looks like!

'Not now,' Akheria told Bohkon, this was so not the right time for such an argument. … It was turning. It was approaching the wall on the other side, turning and starting to move alongside the wall...

'… Evacuate people the people to along the walls! Things that large cannot get too close to the walls!' she commanded, and the messages were transmitted throughout the city. Acknowledgements were heard, and shouting started on the other sides. She heard more coordinates from the operators. It was... moving alongside but with a set distance away from the wall. Ghinites were going to die regardless of what measures they took, but she could save as many as possible.

'… Get people away from city-lines 16-17, C-D, 3-4 and P-Q!' Akheria demanded, seeing that the steps were turning to walk along that particular line, that fixed distance away from the wall...

______________________________________________________

… Clever little bastards. Doctor Hogan sat, watching his monitors displaying the current numbers on the little creatures as Aaron walked around inside the room. Already, the tiny beings had started moving in huge masses to place themselves alongside the walls where he wouldn't walk, and they also seemed to somehow know where he was heading despite their short sensory-range. Like directed by a voice of reason, the Ghinites moved to avoid being stepped on, despite the seeming impossibility of that. Still, thousands of their numbers were being crushed with each step despite the best of their efforts. They were simply too many to get away scot-free.

Ghinites. Such ridiculous creatures. So tiny they cannot be seen with a naked eye, yet intelligent enough to rival humans at their best. With but the means at hand, a white semi-solid landscape created by what their own stomachs leave behind after eating, they created a whole complex society with absurd technology using said landscape. And with that, they had somehow cured the disease which Hogan had worked his entire life trying to cure. The same disease which would have killed Aaron if it wasn't for them.

Hogan's expression twitched a bit as the numbers of squashed Ghinites increased with the next step of Aaron's. It should have been his glory. Sure, that the disease was cured was nice and all, yay for health. But he had been so close. Hogan had been so close to curing it himself, give it two or three weeks more. Then these little creatures were introduced to the disease, and they invented a cure within a matter of days. DAYS. The disease did threaten their entire civilization, so they had a bit more incentive to research, yes. But they made Hogan appear like a complete fool, wasting so much valuable time and money on something that eventually turned out to have been a waste. His reputation and pride had taken a painful blow. There was a horrible annoyance that travelled through Hogan's veins from what had happened. An anger, a hatred...

Still, he was a mature adult and could act like one. So he was one-upped by tiny creatures that don't even remotely matter in the grand scale of things. Big deal. He could move on and focus on new things. But first, he saw it as his own personal privilege to have a little vengeance. To see them crushed by one of the very souls that they had helped save the life of. Of course, neither side knew that the Ghinites had helped save Aaron's life, but... Hm, a lot of them seemed to be gathering in that corner...

'Hey, Aaron!' Hogan grinned as he looked in at Aaron, who by now had walked a whole lap around the room. The young man stopped and looked questioningly at him. 'Could you do me a favour and step as deeply into the corner behind you as you can?'

Aaron looked behind him. There was a nondescript corner, the floor as grey as anywhere. Was he aiming for something? After having frowned a bit, Aaron turned and put a hand on the wall, balancing himself as he placed his foot down as close as he could to the corner in question, squeezing it into the square walls. Nothing happened. The young man looked questioningly at the doctor once again, who beamed back at him happily.

'Wonderful! That'll do. You can come back now,' doctor Hogan said, nodding with a satisfied smile. Aaron felt reasonably perplexed, but shrugged as he turned to walk back to the door.

______________________________________________________

'S... 19...' a broken voice announced, and all Ghinites connected by the system stared helplessly at their maps. Akheria couldn't say anything, staring down powerlessly at the glowing panel in the corner. She had been so sure. So sure she had read its pattern. But... this seemed too deliberate. It really felt like it had identified the closest concentration of Ghinites, and intentionally squashed down on it. There had been millions of lives in that square. Millions. Not even Bohkon could find the words to berate her, because she had clearly tried her best to save them, but... Reason did not help them now. Not if it was intentionally aiming for them. Then it didn't work. Nothing worked.

'R17, R18,' she heard someone say. … Huh. That was a comparatively small step, Akheria's dulled mind noted. That's new. It had always taken so large steps before.

'Q14, Q15,' was the next coordinates she heard. Akheria immediately realized. The small step was to turn. [i]It's heading back.[/i]

'Evacuate the line between Q14 and E1! It's heading back to the Black Wall!' she shouted out, and immediately she heard scurrying on the other sides. However, another priority quickly occurred to her. There was no way in blotboil she could let this pass her by!

'I'm sorry, I'm taking this,' Akheria quickly stated as she reached with a green limb and stuck it into Bohkon's side. Bohkon, who had been completely focused on the map, was extremely unprepared for this sudden moment. He inevitable yelped in panic and threw himself backwards away from her. He did so way too late, though.

'Wh-whawat-!?' Bohkon stared at her in surprised panic where Akheria now took the bit of green slime she had taken from him and melded it into herself with a determined Ghinitian expression. His reaction was really natural, she had just dipped in and taken something directly from his genes. That is, what she needed from him in order to reproduce. Having taken what she needed, in a manner highly illegal by Ghinitian law, Akheria spun around. She had no intention of letting Bohkon recover in time.

'AKHERIA! WAIT!' Bohkon screamed after her, most likely realizing what she was about to do. She gave him nothing. 

She pulled herself in tightly, letting her organs focus in the middle while lifting herself up to become sphere-like. Now... she needed [i]speed[/i]. She began rolling, starting out rather slow due to having to roll up the slopes out of the basement, but eventually she came out on the streets. They were almost empty. Everybody had fled, leaving only those gathered in the map-room. A speaker connected to a tube way over there was shouting out guidelines for evacuation, the last citizens moving in panic to get out the way. However, Akheria had another goal in mind.

According to her calculations, judging by the length of its steps and the speed of their movement, he'd appear... THERE! Having judged a likely location, Akheria took off. Her body rolled around her, her eyes having been drawn in so to still be able to see outwards through the rest of her form. Being somewhat skilled at the arts of rolling, she quickly gained speed. Manoeuvring past remaining fleeing Ghinite citizens and demolished buildings, she quickly moved through the streets towards...

This was where it had once stepped before, on the way in. The white landscape they all lived on had been completely squashed, creating huge valleys down to the grey floor which the gelatinous landscape was slated on. Falling down there would be troublesome. There were huge inter-linked islands sticking up inside the valley, perfectly shaped like the underside of the object that had fallen from the sky. No matter. What she had use of here, was the white hill that had been cut in half over there, creating a ramp. Turning on her side to turn, Akheria slid into the perfect position to get onto the ramp, and-

This was the first time she had actually seen the item descend herself. It was monstrously fast. It was impossible for anyone to dodge. It mercilessly squashed anything that came in its way, be it landscape, building or Ghinite. She had barely realized she had seen it before the sheer impact of it stepping down caused her to make a little jump before the hill and lose some speed. However, at that moment, it was already too late. Akheria drove onto the hill, and flew off it.

While the noise she made with her semi-liquid body flinging in the air hanging on to her organs for dear life wouldn't sound like anything to a human, in Ghinitian it translated roughly to ”AAAAAAAAAAH”. A panicked Akheria whole-heartedly doubted if she didn't regret this. She flew straight at the blue wall of the item that had descended, her altitude rising above the huge white bottom rim. Coming closer to it, she could see that the blue wall was actually composed of many, many tubes bound together to form a complex pattern knitted together, but even these tubes were impossibly large to her. And... she was about to fly straight into one.

______________________________________________________

Aaron came out of the room, passing the open useless hallway filled with equipment for keeping things clean on the way. The doctor sat smiling happily at the monitors, looking proud.

'Well done, young man. That is all I needed from you,' Hogan stated with satisfaction. 'You may go home now.'

Aaron felt a bit unsure, biting his lower lips a bit, frowning just the tiniest. Something felt very off about how pleased the doctor seemed. He felt a bit nervous about questioning Hogan about it, but he could not deny how very much he wanted to know.

'So, um... Why did I take that stroll? Is there something in there?' Aaron asked. The young man flinched, because for the slightest moment, doctor Hogan's expression changed into extremely annoyed impatience masked under his smile. Then, the white-bearded man looked like he considered something, which seemed to brighten his mood considerably. After a while of thinking, he suddenly turned one of his monitors around. On it, was a square room, with lots upon lots of tiny green dots. Though... they were creating valleys that looked a lot like...

'See this?' the doctor asked, newfound excitement in his voice. 'There are tiny life-forms, invisible to the naked eye. The room over there is full of them. This was a little experiment to see how they adapt to sudden intrusion. And look!' Hogan announced, pressing a button and showing a recording. The recording showed Aaron's location as he stepped into the room, and how the little dots eventually dispersed in front of him with impressive pre-recognition of his patterns. 'The little geniuses saw that you just walked along the walls with impressive accuracy! They were moving out of the way WAY ahead of time!' the doctor said excitedly.

Aaron flinched a bit as the recording came to where he stepped into the corner. It had been impressive that they moved to get out of his way when he walked in straight lines, but... so many small dots didn't get out in time. Their movements in his footprints were thinned out, panicked and sporadic. In addition, the tight concentration in the corner had been completely unable to move out of the way or prepare themselves for Aaron's step outside the identified pattern. He knew they were just tiny lives that probably were not worth any time at all, but... There was a guilty feeling burrowing in his heart.

'They're wonderful little creatures, very good at adapting. When we introduce diseases to them that threaten their way of life, they automatically start working on cures. Little miracles, that's what they are. And they even respond to PHYSICAL threats, that's amazing,' the doctor grinned. G-guess that's pretty amazing, Aaron assumed? … Cure diseases? Does that mean that they were the ones that cured...? But, if that's the case... Then why [i]EXACTLY[/i] did he need it to be Aaron that stepped in on them? Hogan could have done that himself... There was a heart-wrenching feeling in Aaron's heart. He had stepped on those that cured his terminal disease, huh.

'Y-yeah, it is...' Aaron said, quivering a bit. S-still, this was pretty amazing for science. Aaron's part was over now. While he felt bad about them, it wasn't as if he could do something about it. They were... tiny creatures. They didn't have human rights. And the doctor looked so excited and happy now, he felt bad thinking about such a negative subject. He must have imagined that momentary look he thought he had seen previously. Aaron had to assume that the doctor knew best. Yeah, the doctor knew best...

Drawing this conclusion, Aaron eventually got dismissed, and it was time to turn and leave.

______________________________________________________

[i]Oh, my.[/i]

It had been on a complete whim that Hogan had shown the young man what he had stepped on. The look of complete anguish on Aaron's face as he realized what he had done... it was beautiful. A sense of downright sinister joy filled the doctor as he saw the boy leave. Had Aaron worked out that these were the creatures that had cured him? What a lovely expression of despair. Hogan mentally made a note not to make a habit out of this, he could get addicted, and as a doctor he knew the price of addiction. It'd inevitably lead to a downwards spiral that'd end in more illegal actions and his own eventual imprisonment. But, just this once, he'd enjoy it to the fullest. 

The grin on the doctor's face didn't drop a single time as he wandered over to the door of the chamber. He didn't really need it, any of the Ghinites that got out of the door wouldn't have the means to survive on their own, the world out there was harsh for creatures as tiny as them. The fact they actually had organs made them extremely fragile compared to other creatures of that size. They likely wouldn't survive very well in a natural environment, seeing how their mutated origin was inside a lab to begin with. However, now there was numerous footprints in their lab left behind by Aaron's shoes that Hogan had to clean up. Worth it. This also meant that he could personally visit a disaster upon the Ghinites in addition to Aaron's stroll. Ooh, he could already imagine their unheard screams of panic and despair. Yupp. So worth it.

______________________________________________________

Aaron eventually ended up standing outside the hospital. He had a few new things to think about now. So, there was a distinct possibility there were some of those creatures stuck on his shoes. Aaron looked down momentarily, staring down at his British Knights shoes, blinking a little. So... these tiny creatures had saved his life, huh? Maybe if he tried to set up an environment at home, he could breed his own little pen of them, maybe? It wouldn't repay for what he had done, but maybe it would give him some comfort. Yeah, having a little aquarium with the creatures that saved him. That'd be nice. He thought he'd do that. He didn't know if they'd actually need some form of food, but he'd experiment. Satisfied with his choice of redemption, Aaron could once again smile as he started walking. Back home, for the first time in forever.

______________________________________________________

[b][i]… SURVIVED![/i][/b]

Akheria stuck to the enormous strings of the shoes, clutching on for dear life as ”BK” kept moving. She didn't know where he was heading, or what would await her at their destination. She didn't DARE let go. At least, wherever this life-form went to sleep, there should be a relative amount of safety. … At least to it, couldn't say for sure about for herself. Regardless, this trip had already been really informative.

Because, just a few extremely huge steps outside the room where she had spent her entire life, the life-form she had stuck to had stopped beside another one of its kind. Another bottom of the bipedal giants composed of woven tubes and giant rims. On it, she had recognized a mark. It was the humongous mark of the Adidas. Ghinitian ancestors must have seen this very same mark at some point in the past when they were being fed, and remembered it. This with all likelihood meant that the Adidas, those who provide them with food, were also the ones who let BK in. That could mean they also were the ones who let the Zoroans in. That likely meant more disasters would happen in the future, too.

Akheria, a green tiny bit of living slime on the side of BK, clutched her grip tighter with determination. In there, their city was but something the big creatures were experimenting on. Providing foreign elements, like the Zoroans or BK. To see how they reacted to these threats. How many Ghinites had died to their experiments? … Granted, the Ghinites likely wouldn't have prospered as they had without the help of the nutrients that the Adidas had provided, but that still didn't give them the right to terrorize their city as they pleased!

Akheria didn't know where she was heading, but blotpot if she didn't have a plan. She'd use these genes she had taken from Bohkon to create her own colony! And she'd do her BLIMIEST to find a way to communicate with BK! She'd have her demands, and she'd have her preparations for anything he might answer her with! She'd find a way to set her people free, yet! This was but the beginning!

A Ghinitian confident laughter went unheard as Akheria stuck to the side of Aaron's shoe as he headed home...

[hider=Minor Note]I would like to apologize to everyone who knows more about micro-biology than I do. I just thought it'd make a cool story. Have a good day. Haha.[/hider][/hider][hider=The Silver Bullet]By [@Holmishire].

As the smell of gunpowder drifted back to him from his outstretched pistol, a wolf tumbled into the brush, dead. Abiorn recocked his gun, fired, missed. Recocked, fired, and another wolf fell, bleeding from its side.

The three surviving wolves ignored their fallen brethren, and rushed towards him.

Without the time to reload, the missionary turned tail and ran.

Tall, fit, and lanky, the man was fast—but nowhere near as fast as a pack of a forest's chief hunters. He'd barely made it five yards before one tackled him to the ground, raking his back with its claws. Though painful, Abiorn wasn't ready to give in just yet.

He swung his elbow behind him, catching his assailant in the chin and granting him enough momentum to move into a crouch. He had barely rghted himself, however, when the second wolf sunk its teeth into his forearm, dragging him off balance as the third lunged in for the kill.

As death approached with jaws open wide, he was too terrified to even close his eyes.

An immense form slammed the wolf aside, swatting another to the grond as it attempted to retaliate. With a yelp, the wolf scrambled back to its feet and tore off in fear—its two companions were not far behind.

The beast turned to face Abiorn as he lay prone and bleeding out, helpless in the face of its looming mass. As best he could tell, it was a dire wolf, almost the size of a bear and with dark brown fur to match.

As it considered him with intelligent eyes, he found himself drifting out of consciousness.

A gunshot sounded nearby, and the wolf listened momentarily as it echoed through the trees.

[hr]The wounded man was heavy, but Ulfarr was nothing if not strong. Woodsman by trade, it was not uncommon for him to hoist large quantities of lumber or the body of a great beast across the forest floor.

The man in his arms was far younger than he, and dressed in a fine mix of red cloth and polished steel bespeaking of one of the greater inland kingdoms. No doubt he was here to link the 'wildmen' back to civilization—or perhaps to prove himself to some grand royal cause.

Little time passed before he crossed paths with three men of the village: Huldr, chief of the guard; Hundi, his absentminded brother; and Fiak, the baker.

Huldr scowled. He was a large man by most standards, but more round than thick compared to Ulfarr's beastly trunk. "Where'd you find him?"

Ulfarr motioned vaguely behind him with his head. "The forest. Where the hell else?" Hundi and Fiak stepped forward to take the injured party from Ulfarr's arms, and he moved to comply. "He's bleeding pretty badly, better to take him to Felsi and Vitní quick." He looked back to Huldr, who had yet to move as he glared at Ulfarr, rifle gripped tightly in his hands.

"Wolves?"

"Aye," Ulfarr replied casually. "Found two shot dead—your rifle scared the last one off."

The guardsman nodded, and then turned his back on the man. "Let's go," he grumbled.

With the man's body supported between them, Fiak and Hundi followed, the latter giving a quick smile to the woodsman as he left. "Thank you," he said.

Ulfarr gave no response, merely watching them disappear back into the trees, moving towards the crags at the top of which their village had been built.

[hr]Abiorn awoke to silence.

Lying face-down on a soft woolen bed, he quickly pushed himself up on his arms and glanced around. The room was well-lit, an opening in the wall letting in a light breeze and the welcome rays of the afternoon sun. The walls were made of a light-grey stone, thick and worn down with age. No decorations adorned the room, and no furniture save the bed on which he lay and a small wooden chair in the corner, next to a wooden door.

A chair currently occupied by a napping man, clad in a long robe and heavy cowl.

Abiorn rose from the bed and glanced down at his body. With his armour removed and shirt folded neatly beside the bed, he was greeted with his own bare chest, a few white bandages tracing across its length. His left forearm was nearly entirely wrapped—and these bandages were a less welcome carmine. Feeling his back, he knew the multitude of bandages there were likely in a similar state.

The missionary quietly approached the door beside the sleeping man and creaked it open slowly so that he could glance outside.

Judging from the series of pews stretching out across the hall, he was in a side room of a small church. Seeing only one figure sitting near the front of the hall, he opened the door fully and walked down the aisle.

Wearing the same dark green robes and cowl as the man Abiorn had found when he awoke, she looked up to him as his footsteps reached her ears, and smiled. "Goodday, missionary of Nardja. I am glad to see you well."

"Your work?" he said, designating the bandages.

"Mostly Felsi's. I hope you did not wake him?"

"No."

"Kind of you. He's not been sleeping much, of late—always awake late at night, studying and translating bestiaries of old." She patted the wood of the pew to her left. "Would you care to sit?"

The man eased into the seat nervously. He was used to grand cathedrals, so long that even a hundred people could sit within and still feel as if alone with the Lord. The bishops and priests he'd become familiar with were distant and powerful, unquestionable authority figures. The young and demure woman—as well as the intimate confines of the church—was to him rather… unsettling. "How do you know that I'm from Nardja?"

"I recognized the emblem on your tunic. We wild folk are not as uneducated as is commonly believed."

He had no good response to that—he couldn't tell even if the remark was directed at him, or just his homeland. Instead, he held out his hand. "My name is Abiorn. You and your kith have my thanks."

She shook his hand firmly. "My kith?"

"The three men who brought me here." He paused, and glanced back at the open doorway. "And Felsi, of course. I caught glimpses of them in the haze of my unconsciousness."

"I see." She hesitated, looking to the altar ahead of them and kneading her hands quietly. Finally, her smile returned, though her cowl prevented him from seeing whether or not it extended also to her eyes. "Hundi, the man who brought you here… He's not one I would call my [i]friend[/i]. A good man, but circumstance has driven us apart. I take it you met my father?" At his questioning gaze, she lifted the cowl from her head, revealing sombre grey eyes, thick eyebrows, and long curly locks of dark brown hair. "Ulfarr, a giant of a man if ever there was one. You must have been in too much shock at the time. I'm sure you'd have remembered him had you seen—"

The toll of a large bell rung out through the hall, silencing the priestess. As the fifth and final beat was struck, Felsi stumbled into the aisle, clumsy and bleary-eyed.

The woman clapped her hands and rose to her feet, pulling Abiorn to his. "Come, missionary. Tonight you shall dine with the village."

Felsi moved to the church door and the woodsman's daughter waited for him in the aisle as Abiorn quickly donned his tunic and armour—hoping to make a good first impression on the village. He then joined her in the aisle.

As he was led through the pews, Abiorn tugged her hand so that she would face him. "I never had the pleasure of learning your name."

"Vitní. Now come." She pulled him along with her right hand, and as she passed Felsi, she snatched his arm with her left.

As she threw open the church's doors, the missionary was greeted with warm red skies and a modest view.

Wood and stone buildings were scattered across the rock, of fine but simple make. Sheep, oxen, children, and a few hounds wandered loose between them, while a splattering of men and women made their way down the road towards the centre of the village. A short walk past the buildings, he could see a short stone wall encircling the higher level of the crag—and beyond it, a great expanse of forest, then distant mountains, from whence he'd come.

Following the other villagers and receiving curious looks and comments as they went, the three approached the largest building of the village. Standing at what appeared to be three storeys tall, a thick column of black smoke sprouted forth from a chimney at its top, while the wildsmen streamed in through a broad door. As they came closer to the great hall, Abiorn could tell from the stone that this building was far more ancient than even the aged stone of the church they'd just left.

Once inside, he saw that what he thought must be a multi-storey building was instead but one immense dome. For such a heavy building, such height was far beyond his expectations—perhaps even rivalling the architecture of his home.

A dozen or so tables were laid out across the hall, and food was just now being brought out to them from the bonfire-like stove raging at the centre.

He was pulled from his fascinated stare by Vitní, who led him and Felsi to a table near the back.

The table was already halfway filled by the time they arrived. A man stood up to greet them, grinning wide. "Vitní! I see you have brought the guest!" He stepped close and embraced Abiorn in a tight hug. "I am Geirr, hallkeeper of the village. On behalf of those gathered here, I welcome you!"

Introductions were passed around—besides the hallkeeper and the two from the church, he was also 'reacquainted' with Fiak, the baker, and Huldr, the guardsman. "What brings a man like you to these parts?" asked Huldr, his voice low but clear.

"I was sent from Nardja by the bishop of Giurdholme. There is said to be a castle, far from here, where the ocean loops back around the land. It is my hope to find this castle, and bring back the relics it holds."

"And you thought to take this journey alone?" he scoffed.

"Well, no, I did not [i]set out[/i] alone." He smiled with a hint of melancholy. "We parted ways some time ago—I am the last willing to try."

Geirr laughed and smacked him on the back. "Good on you. If the world were filled with naught but cowards, never'd there be any legends to share."

Guldr grimaced. "Legends have a way of making fools of men. Better to be a coward and a alive then to be a legend leaving a child without a father."

The menfolk continued to chat merrily, drinking and eating as they shared stories both of Albiorn's homeland of the village itself. Vitní remained mostly silent, occasionally smiling at a joke or whispering something to Felsi.

Eventually, Albiorn asked of Hundi, the third man that had brought him back to the village.

"He's at the gates, keeping watch. Pity he couldn't be here," said Geirr.

Albiorn glanced at Vitní. "And Ulfarr?"

He was met with silence. Only after Huldr had taken a great swig of his drink did he speak, his words slurred with drunkenness. "That damned basterd ain't welcome here no more."

Vitní scowled. "No thanks to [i]you[/i]."

"I ain't sinned like 'e did! I'm a man, like he ain't!"

She set down her knife and pushed herself up from the table. "Thank you Geirr, as always, for your hospitality. I'll be taking my leave now."

As she left, Huldr too rose from the table to follow her shouting angrily back at her.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea—"

Albiorn was interrupted by Geirr. "Make no worries of it. Ulfarr is Huldr's problem, and Huldr's alone. If he's going to damn the man in front of his own daughter, he can take the fallout it brings." He glanced around. "Still, perhaps it is time for us all to retire. Felsi, could you walk the good man to his room for the night?" Though phrased like a question, his tone made it clear it was anything but.

Felsi nodded nervously, and drew Albiorn away from the table. Once they had left the hall, Albiorn stopped him.

"What is Huldr's problem with Ulfarr? Why is he not allowed within the village?"

Felsi muttered to himself for a few moments, scratching at his knuckles. "Paranoid… Vitní's mother, Huldr's sister—Huldr blames Ulfarr for why she leaved. Can't stand the sight of him."

"And the others allow this?"

"No, no, Huldr has sway, but not so much. Ulfarr respects the man's wishes, stays away on his own."

Albiorn thought this over momentarily. "And what of—"

A scream tore through the air. It took the two a moment to process it, but once they did, they quickly came to the same conclusion—it was a woman's scream, and with the other villagers still cleaning up the great hall, it could only be Vitní's.

Having loaded it as he dressed himself in the church, Albiorn drew his pistol and ran down the road in the direction of the scream, Felsi limping after him.

As he ran, he heard shouts from ahead, just past the front gate—now left wide open. He recognized the shouts as being from three men, one of which definitely Huldr's drunken snarl, but none of them decipherable.

Soon he was rushing through the trees, the shouts growing closer, then punctuated by a loud cry of pain. He breached the brush and skidded to a halt, quickly taking stock of the scene.

Closest to him, he saw what could only be Hundi, Huldr's brother, lying in the dirt and bloodied by a gash across his chest. Kneeling in the dirt at his side was Vitní, trying to stem the flow of blood. A few steps away stumbled Huldr, holding steady a bloody silver knife despite his inebriated state. Further on was a stout wooden building amidst the trees, coated in lichen and moss.

Most striking of all, however, was the immense wolf staring Huldr down.

Recognizing it as the dire wolf that he had last seen before succumbing to his wounds, Albiorn was quick to cock his gun. Nearly as tall as a man on even while standing on four legs, its fangs were bared and its thick brown fur on end.

Catching Albiorn out of the corner of his eye, Huldr dropped his knife and cried out to him. "Its struck Hundi! Help us!"

He didn't need to be told twice. He lifted his weapon, took quick aim, and fired, just as Vitní cried out [i]"No!"[/i]

The bullet struck the wolf on the side of the chest, tearing through its lung. It crashed into the ground, and Vitní rushing over to it.

As she leaned into the body, it slowly shifted in form, shrinking to the size of a dark-haired man.

Ulfarr was dead.[/hider]