‘Kevin. It’s Kevin, right? Or Bruce?’ Garvin asked.

They were sitting around a campfire at the bottom of a hill. The Dragonslayer had said they approached Cord to a hundred miles. But closer still to the Black Temple. That was a place that Garvin wanted to avoid the same way his friend avoided honest work. They had just eaten some rabbit. The Dragonslayer had also found some herbs so they drank tea. He was squatting in front of the fire with his arms crossed. His companion had his arms behind his head and was looking at the stars.

‘No, I think your name is Lee.’

‘You ever wonder if there are other places like ours?’ the Dragonslayer asked him.

‘I will answer if you answer my question first,’ Garvin said.

‘It’s no.’

‘No to just Lee or every name?’

‘Every name.’

Garvin looked up to the night sky. ‘I never really thought about the stars before.’

The Dragonslayer got up in the blink of an eye. ‘Are you kidding me? Mister introspective, what-am-I-doing-on-this-planet.’ The Dragonslayer said.

‘I’m serious. I don’t know, maybe there are worlds out there like ours, but they move backwards or something. Plus, I barely had any time to think about this stuff.’

‘Dude, you had nothing but time!’

‘I have the book right here. You want to know? We had to run away from the last village after you knocked out the man that gave us a quest!’

‘Yeah, ask your magical book of objective truths.’ The Dragonslayer smirked.

‘Are you saying that it didn’t happen?’

‘Wait. I hear something.’

Of a sudden, the Dragonslayer got up and scanned the area. His muscles were tense, and all the lightheartedness was gone from his eyes.

Garvin sighed. Every time he would do this, he thought. ‘Just, admit we ran from that town.’

‘Dude, shush!’

That’s when Garvin could hear it too. Footsteps on the grass. Steps that were approaching rapidly.

‘What is happening?’ he whispered.

‘Shush!’

From the darkness stepped a man towards the campfire. Dry bloodspatters on his face, a muddy beard. it looked like he rolled off a hill and landed in a pool of mud. His pants were torn, showing scratched knees. Garvin saw he had bled from his ears. But most haunting were his eyes. They were spread open like two full moons.

The man fell down in front of them. He rolled himself up and shook.

Garvin was the first to react. He dashed to the man and placed his hand on his shoulder.

‘Sir, you’re safe now. Calm down. What is your name?’

‘Stanley,’ the man said eventually.

The Dragonslayer ran in the direction where the man came from. He quickly returned while Garvin was still trying to comfort the man.

‘I heard or saw nothing.’

‘No, you don’t understand!’ the man moaned. ‘We were attacked, we were camping in the forest nearby. And they grabbed him. They grabbed Lee!’

The Dragonslayer looked up to Garvin, who just shook no.

‘Its okay, you’re safe here. This man here is the Dragonslayer. There is nothing to fear.’ Garvin said. Then he grabbed a cup and poured the man some lukewarm tea.

The man barely touched his drink.

Garvin said whatever comforting thing he could think of and slowly the man regained his senses. The Dragonslayer was staring in the fire with his arms crossed. Occasionally he’d walk from one side to the other. But he never spoke.

The man gulped and his voice trembled as he told his story. ‘There was this sound, this screech. So high pitched I thought my brains would melt! Then I saw this creature, more than seven foot tall. White legs like spiders, the body of a starving man. Long arms with pointy ends. My friend, he didn’t stand a chance. It’s a miracle that I made it out alive. He was my best friend.’ He sobbed. ‘It should have been me. But Lee had pushed me away! It’s my fault he died!’

‘No it isn’t! You did the best you could,’ Garvin tried to comfort him.

‘I can’t go home and tell his children that.. that..’

He stared at the Dragonslayer ‘Do you think you could help me avenge my friend?’ Kill the monster that killed Lee. May he never hurt again!’

‘You should move on,’ the Dragonslayer said dryly.

The man stopped sobbing, Garvin stared baffled at his friend.

‘What? Its not like killing the beast brings his friend back. Just go home.’

‘What if it was me who got killed? Would you say the same? Then how can you expect the man to forget all this?’ Garvin asked.

‘If it was you I would kill every last of them,’ the Dragonslayer said. ‘But it isn’t.’

Garvin got up. ‘If you won’t, than I will.’

The Dragonslayer noticed the resolution in his friends eyes. ‘Dude, you’ve never seen a creature like that, it is created to hunt humans down.’ Garvin didn’t budge. Silently he cursed his stubbornness. Then he thought of the marshes, this towering white giant bursting out of the water. He closed his eyes not to shudder. ‘Fine we will avenge his friend.’

‘And?’ Garvin said. And added after a silent moment, ‘an apology?’

‘I will need your sword, Stanley!’

Garvin turned to the man. ‘It’s the best you’ll get.’

At dawn, they followed Stanley back to his camp. He had run straight uphill, making it easy to follow his tracks. On the way they found Stanley’s sword, laying on the grass. It was rather short but well maintained. He wiped the morning dew with his sleeve.

‘My sword, I lost it while I ran for my life. I should have died carrying it to battle.’

‘Death is overrated,’ the Dragonslayer just said. ‘Let’s continue.’

The trees got taller as they continued to venture trough the woods. As it took longer to find out where they had to go, but not everything was in vain. Garvin found a bush filled with delicious berries that made the day easier. After some time of searching for clues, which none of them were extremely apt at, they found the camp. Stanley dared not to enter the camp. Garvin understood why. The soil was soaked with Lee’s blood. He could see smears against the trees high above his head. The fire was kicked out with great force. Ashes were everywhere. The sleeping bag of both men were against a tree, feathers poking out. A piece of cloak was hanging on a branch. Like the banner of a lost fight.

There was nothing salvageable. Garvin bowed his head in silence.

‘I think the beast went this way,’ his friend said and Garvin promptly followed him. As did Stanley after making a large circle around the camp.

Shadowbeasts seemed somehow hard to track. Especially considering their height and sharp legs. He asked the Dragonslayer about it.

‘I told you they are created to kill humans. See them as the ultimate hunters. They only come out at night, ambush people, and kill them. Like spiders they suck dry their prey.’

Garvin did not ask for more, Stanley had turned white.

‘We’re on the right track!’ the Dragonslayer suddenly yelled. He stopped and turned around, there was a sword laying on the ground. Gooey blood covered the first ten inch of the blade.

Stanley came forward and inspected the sword. ‘It is his sword. He was the better swordsman of us two. He came from a family of mercenaries.’ He gave it back to the Dragonslayer. ‘Keep it. He would be honoured to know a hero would use his sword.’

Soon after they found a tree smeared with blood, like humans would use banners to point out their territory. There was a hill made of solid rock. Inside there was a crack. The three stood in front of the dark cave and shivered.

The Dragonslayer was the first to notice the debris around the gaping mouth of the hill as he stepped into the clearing. There were hilts, pieces of wood and metal. Remains of crates.

‘This used to be a mine,’ he said to the others as they came to a halt behind him.

Nobody responded. They just stood there and waited.

‘You can have my sword as well,’ Stanley said.

‘Keep it. In case I don’t come back,’ the Dragonslayer simply said.

Garvin wanted to disagree, but knew he’d just be a liability. ‘Good luck,’ he said.

‘I’m going in now,’ the Dragonslayer said determined. ‘Don’t wait too close, just peek from somewhere safe.’ He grabbed a stick from the floor and wrapped some rope around. He touched the tip and the wood started to burn. So he entered the cave. He did not look back it.

‘Thank you, Dragonslayer. This will never be forgotten. If you find something that belonged to Lee, please take it. Except for his ring it is all yours.’

The Dragonslayer nodded. He took in a large breath, then walked in the hole.

‘It’s like the rock’s vulva,’ he muttered.

Garvin heaved a sigh as the two hid themselves in the bushes.

The Dragonslayer had to squeeze himself trough at some points. The walls were dark and smooth yet uneven. What is this place, he wondered. The cavern slowly descended and turned left then right. His torch withered as he passed the last turn. What he saw next utterly amazed him. The cave suddenly opened. There were glowing mushrooms of all sizes. The ceiling was covered in fluorescent moss, lighting up the place like a full moon. There was a wooden shack built in the middle of it all. Standing there like an innkeeper behind his bar. The rest of the round cave was desolate. The Dragonslayer tightened his grip on the hilt and dropped the torch. Fighting his temptation to move straight to the house, he snuck via the side. There was not a trace of the shadowbeast. Behind the shack and directly opposite of where he came in, there was another tunnel. This one was carved in straight angles and studded by pine wood. Too low for the shadowbeast to pass trough, he thought.

He continued to sneak, then he popped his head in the mine. There was the muffled sound of water. The wooden studs were old, thick spiderwebs hung at the corners. Where is the beast, he thought. This was the wrong place to be ambushed. Should I go venture deeper, or have my back exposed? He decided first to investigate the shack.

There was no door but a blanket hanging from the door post. He pushed it aside with his left hand and let his sword enter first. Dust blew in his face. There was a dried corpse in a red robe. There was an open chest and a backpack who seemed heavy. A small chimney with a rusty kettle in the fireplace. He inspected the corpse some more. The skin had turned darkish brown, the mouth was open. Empty eye sockets. The Dragonslayer decided to turn back. Then he noticed a large trap. The Dragonslayer grabbed it and tried to pry it open, it barely budged. He grimaced and placed it in front of the mineshaft. Inside the house he found two pokers. With some luck and dexterity, he managed to open it without the jaws closing. Then he teared the blanket off, placing it over the trap. Too obvious, he thought. He pulled the blanket off and placed it on the table. Then he grabbed the old charcoal and brushed the fabric black.

He smiled. If the beast follows me, at least I have a backup, he thought.

On the bottom of the shaft was more of the moss and mushrooms, though smaller. It created just enough light to see where he placed his feet. The sound of the water became louder. Halfway trough he saw dark smears on the floor. He dabbed in it, it was blood.

Then came a second clearing, the place smelled like death. The cave was much smaller than the other one, though the same moss grew on the sides.

On the floor, lying there was a corpse. Strange bubbles were laying on top of him. He carefully stepped closer. There were babies inside the corpse. The chest was ripped open, as was the stomach. Inside were sacks of fluid, and inside, human babies. Or at least they appeared so. Their eyes were closed, tiny fists pressed against their chests. Stupefied he gazed at the helpless creatures. What are they, he wondered.

‘AAARGH!’

A loud screech filled the cave and bounced off the wall. His head seemed to burst. He dropped the sword as he grabbed his ears and fell on his knees. The eyes of the babies opened. White, radiant and haunting. The Dragonslayer recoiled. He placed his hands on his ears again and got up. No screech followed anymore, yet at the other side stood a shadowbeast. The Dragonslayer picked his sword up and ran back. His boots echoed in the tunnel. Other legs clucked behind him in strange patters. He dared to peek behind his shoulder. A shadowbeast was on his tail. Behind that one, others. He saw the end of the tunnel and jumped over the last feet. He rolled on the ground and shot back up. The first shadowbeast stepped right in the trap and fell forwards. It smashed trough the shack. Another that followed close tumbled to the ground. They were not fully grown. They were barely higher than he was.

The Dragonslayer charged at them. His sword was a gush of air as he slashed over and over at everything that was deathly white. Goo spat on his face as he cut the first one open. The monsters tried to screech but their voices weren’t as potent as those grown up. He withstood the sound and continued to slash. A second one fell, he cut off it’s head. The one that smashed through the shack was still on it’s back, the legs kicking around like a fat spider on it’s back. He cut off the legs and then pierced the monster through the heart. He roared as the sword slid trough.

‘This one is for Aegle!’ he yelled.

He walked back trough the same tunnel, ready to finish the job. He could hear echos of the crying babies. In the middle of the tunnel was the bigger shadowbeast. It looked at him with his intelligent eyes and human smile. Its head was slightly tilted.

‘Yeah, I killed your kids. And I came to finish you next.’

The beast did not move.

But he did not wait for it to move. With all his speed he ran at the monster. He dodged the swooping arms and stabbed it right in the chest. The beast fell down.

He panted. Blood came out of his ears. He heard a beep, a constant tone, louder than a whisper.

Slowly he went back to the crying babies. He heaved his sword. And stabbed.

‘There you are!’ Garvin yelled, coming at the Dragonslayer from the bushes. Full of excitement he ran up to him, but he stretched his arm.

Garvin stopped dead in his tracks. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Have you found Lee’s ring?’ said Stanley from behind Garvin.

‘I didn’t get it. But rest assured he is avenged.’

‘Can’t you go back to grab it? His eldest son will want his father’s wedding ring.’

‘Then go get it your bloody self!’ the Dragonslayer cried out.

They stared at him in silence. I avenged, he thought.