Inside a bar somewhere in a walled city, three adventurers entered to eat dinner and rent a room. The place seems livelier than before – new faces dine in, and new servants takes the orders. One of the three, an orc adventurer named Olguk, choses their seat near the window – a single round table with four wooden chairs. They sat on the chairs, and synchronously sighed, with faces of tired workers.

Oliva: What a day… I want to rest already!

Olguk: This place… does it have many people before?

Thoral: Don’t ask me that, all I care about is the food! Aaaaaand – we’ve got some fine ladies here.

An elf adventurer, Thoral, whistles at a female demi-wolf with fluffy brown hair. That demi-wolf went near to their table and hands them some glass of water then stands by, but she’s noticeably nervous. She then pulls out a little notebook from her apron’s pocket.

Servant demi-wolf: Can – can I get your order?

Thoral: Can I know your name, cutesy?

Servant demi-wolf: I’m – I’m Hilda… Hilda Ingot of tribe Ingzt.

Oliva, a human adventurer, smacks Thoral’s head.

Thoral: OW!

Oliva: Sorry about that, he’s a bit of naughty. Hehe…

Thoral: Wait, wait, wait! Ingot of Ingzt?! Like, Herol Ingot?! The demi-wolf from Ravine?!

Hilda: He’s – he’s my brother… you – you knew him?

Olguk: We… we just heard stories…

Hilda immediately bows at them.

Hilda: I’m – I’m sorry for my brother’s crimes!!!

Oliva: Wha – no! We didn’t mean that!

Thoral: What do you mean? Your brother is a hero! Saving the humans from a nation that most of its inhabitants hate – okay, I’ll shut up now…

Oliva: Better be, you might say something stupid again!

Olguk: Umm… can we order now?

Oliva: Olguk! What in the world, don’t be rude!

Olguk: But I’m hungry…

Hilda: Sorry! It’s my fault… what can I get you?

Hilda writes the orders of the three adventurers, sprints back to the counter and waited. About thirty minutes she came back, holding up the plates of grilled meat chops and cream soups from their kitchen, serving it hot to the three.

Hilda: Enjoy your food!

Oliva: Wait, don’t leave yet. Take a seat here.

Hilda: Eh? But I have to –

Oliva: I know the owner, he’ll understand.

Olguk: It’s alright, kid. We got your back, don’t worry.

Hilda takes the seat Oliva offered, making her side to her very close.

Oliva: So… how am I going to start this…

Thoral: Tell us what happened back there!

Olguk: Yeah! I would love to hear that story!

Oliva punches the two for being compulsive. She grabs the two and pinches their ears.

Oliva: Don’t you have any decency? This kid was… you know it!

Olguk: Oh… sorry…

Thoral: Alright, alright… geez…

Hilda: It’s fine… it’s been done, all I can do is tell it and learn from it.

The three stared at the demi-wolf, she grabs a glass of water she gave to them and clears her throat.

Hilda: Before we got to Ravine… we were living normally in a forest… but then a herald attacked us and conveniently the Altruis knights saved what’s left of us…

Oliva: Altruis? That’s – that’s something…

Hilda: Yeah… they were known for hating demi-humans but they helped us, however we got conscripted because of that debt and that’s why we were at the Ravine.

Thoral: So, Altruis went for an alliance with the Church of Ravine, huh?

Hilda: I guess, but I don’t know the details… my brother was promoted to knighthood with the Altruis’ recommendation and that’s how we started in Ravine.

Olguk: Intriguing… a demi-human being turned into a knight by the nation who hated them…

Thoral: I’d say it’s bull!

Oliva: Thoral!

Hilda: I guess it is bull…

Oliva: So… ummm, about two days ago when you managed to – how do I say this… escaped, right?

Olguk: Escaped sounds a good way to say it…

Thoral: Wait, they saved the others that time, right?! They didn’t just escape that – that thing! What was it?

Hilda took the meat from Thoral’s plate and chews it down.

Thoral: What in the –

Hilda: Sorry, I’m hungry…

Oliva: Okay, okay… what about that ‘thing’?

Hilda: You mean the explosion?

Olguk: Explosion? More like something was summoned and it leveled the whole damn city!

Oliva: Are there any dragons? Demons? Any legendary beasts wreaking havoc?!

Thoral: Oh! OH! How about sea monsters?!

Oliva: Sea monsters? Really?

Hilda: Like I told you, it was just an explosion.

Olguk: Really? Something like that wiping out the whole city of Ravine?!

Hilda: Look, if it was a monster or something, it will take time. But THAT didn’t, like ‘poof’ then gone. Not even reaching five seconds…

Thoral: Man, this is ridiculous.

Hilda: If you don’t want my story, I’ll just go back serving food.

Oliva, Thoral, & Olguk: WAIT!

Oliva: Can you shut up! Like, shut up!

Olguk & Thoral: Sorry…

Oliva: Uhm… so, what’s next?

Hilda angrily grits her canine teeth at the three.

Hilda: So, being conscripted by those bastards were the worst thing happened. We’ve been put to work like… like slaves!

Oliva: Mining mana ores?

Olguk: Underpaid servants?

Thoral: Prostitutes?

Oliva: Thoral!

Hilda: I think being underpaid servants fits more.

Oliva: Alright, alright, back to the story.

Hilda: Oh… so, somehow, they knew that brother betrayed the Church and Altruis so they put us in cages in the Ravine castle… and… violated…

Oliva: Sorry… we shouldn’t have asked…

Hilda: But here comes the next part!

Thoral: Wow, she recovered that fast.

Hilda: Brother Herol was not working for the knights! And he, how do I say this… oh, he said he’s waiting for the right time! And that night comes in! We hear the mages of the Ravine panicking, saying the castle was infiltrated!

Hilda exhales and takes a sip of water.

Hilda: Some of us, me included, we were dragged to the main chamber of the castle! And then, the priests threatened us and stuff! Then brother was dragged in, beaten up by an Altruis knight! And we thought we will be executed that night… until they came!

Olguk: Who?

Hilda excitedly stands on the table, making the others notice her. Still, Hilda kept her attention to the three adventurers, not minding the others who were curiously looking and now listening to her.

Hilda: Two girls! One human and one grey demi-wolf! The human was… underwhelming but the demi-wolf was so huge! Like THIS huge!

Oliva: Hilda! You’re making a scene! Get down there!

Hilda: Oh… sorry…

The other adventurers stood and went near that table, insisting Hilda to continue telling her story loudly, some even insisted on paying her.

“LET HER CONTINUE!”

“COME ON!”

“GO, GIRL! WE GOT YOUR BACK!”

Hilda, seemed to be encouraged, took a chair and stood on it.

Hilda: And the busty demi-wolf casted magic! This and that! Knocking off the mages of Ravine like nothing! She’s so freaking awesome! She casts magic like a mage, but also she can conjure an awesome sword! And fight with that sword like a skilled swordsman!

Olguk: A mage and a swordsman at the same time?!

Oliva: That’s – interesting…

Thoral: What about the human girl?

Hilda: The human girl? She’s – weird? I don’t know, her arms turn into metal that shoots small fireballs… or firebolts… but hey, those firebolts were strong enough to shatter the armor of a Ravine mage soldier! Like, BAM! BOOM! It creates sounds like thunder! It’s freaking weird but amazing!

All of the adventurers were gossiping, or struck in awe, or just listens from Hilda’s story quitely.

Olguk: A human girl, that turns her arms metal…?

Hilda: But suddenly the demi-wolf girl went berserk! Brother tried to stop her but couldn’t! An Altruis knight in golden armor couldn’t too! And then the human girl signaled brother to get us out, and we went out, escaped through a tunnel on the castle dungeon where we met a – a weird humanoid?

Oliva: Weird humanoid?

Hilda: She’s white, has cat ears like demi-felines, but she smells human! Like, totally human! Her hair was made of flesh! And she could change shape like a morpho, but much weirder!

Thoral: Okay, stop with the weirdness, how about the next one?

Hilda: Next one?

Oliva: The way how Ravine was wiped out in one night…

The bar went silent upon hearing what Oliva said.

“YEAH… HOW DID IT HAPPENED…”

“BY THE GODS…”

“GOOD THING I WASN’T THERE…”

Hilda gulps another glass of water.

Hilda: I – I’m not sure… it just – it went shaking, then we were deafened by something. An explosion? Brother and the weird humanoid did protect us from falling debris… it was just a short time… after the shaking, we felt it was very hot topside, so the humanoid spitted at us with some kind of a gel that can make sure we will not get burnt –

Thoral: Ew!

Oliva: Get burnt? What do you mean?

Hilda: Well, when we rose to the surface, the whole… the whole Ravine was gone… it was replaced by molten ground, like hot molten rock… no buildings, no walls, no houses, no castle… just a huge crater of molten rock… nothing left…