Chapter 8: Loud Scream
Damian was trying his best to not fall on his way home. His body has too little energy now to move properly and everything he wants is to fall asleep right here and now.
It wasn't a proper time yet, he must've waited for a little longer and only then fell asleep, but he didn't care at the moment.
"Ah…. Sleep….. Just go home and sleep…."
He crossed the central square with its strange stone monument. If one thought about it, the villager's faith does seem a little strange.
There wasn't a single time when the whole village gathered at the central square and performed anything remotely resembling a rite, or any ritual whatsoever.
Excluding some rare holidays, of course.
Why did they even bother building a central square if they're not gathering here so often?
But maybe that could be explained, perhaps they weren't exactly fond of predetermined gatherings and other festive, they were strange people after all, so who knows.
But what about that prayer they muttered every time before the food? Everyone seemed to pray just for the look of it, Alrick and Gerard didn't pray whatsoever. And only Astrid does seem to pray with reverence to that so-called "Afagnir".
He tried to learn more about the matter but was told to just grow up and pick a god for himself after that.
It was the most disturbing part honestly….
And it was Astrid who said that. She from all people should at least try to indulge Damian to the god she prays with such passion every day, no?
Speaking of which, she was standing right before his house.
What a… coincidence.
-Those trainings of yours do seem exhaustive.
Astrid said with a slight hint of care.
-Ah, yes, Auntie Astrid, they are really hard, you know…
Damian just said the first thing that came to mind, it was too burdensome to form a cohesive sentence.
-Good job on passing Alrick's test, the village would benefit from having another hunter.
A middle-aged lady couldn't read the atmosphere and concluded that Damian didn't want to talk now. Well, it seems social boundaries weren't invented in this world yet.
-Thanks, Auntie, tomorrow is my first hunt, so...
The boy wanted just to rest and nothing more
-I know, I came here because of it.
Astrid continued to stubbornly not notice Damian's ragged state.
But it managed to pick his interest, why was she here?
-Huh…what about it?
"Not so sleepy anymore"
Thought Astrid.
-There was a large influx of new beasts and animals in our woods recently. They're not especially dangerous by themselves, but we do not know the reason for the new habitats. It may be some kind of migration, or they might be running from something. We'll need to investigate further. Anyway, be careful out there.
Now it made sense why Astrid was so persistent despite his obviously tired state.
-Ah, okay, thanks Auntie, I'll be on alert.
Astrid nodded.
-Good, now go and sleep, I will inform Alrick about the same.
Damian nodded and they parted ways. Although Damian lived in the Alrick's house, Astrid has gone in the other direction. She seemed to possess an unnatural sense of the location of other people, just like now, she was always at the right place at the right time.
Shrugging these thoughts away, Damian opened the door, entered the house, closed it, came to the bed, fell on it, and finally,
Fell asleep.
What a wonderful feeling.
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Two men, one young and one middle-aged were carefully treading through the woods.
Alrick seemed weirdly relaxed but at the same time on alert. His body was light as a feather, his legs nimble and flexible. His arms were ready to burst into action.
But his mind was restless. His eyes scanned the forest constantly. His ears picked up the slightest noises.
He was alert, so alert that it seemed impossible to Damian.
Such a state of mind was a feat he was unable to replicate. He couldn't endure such alertness for a long time, and even if he tried to replicate such a state, he wouldn't be as perceptive as an experienced archer.
And that's not even mentioning that his body was tense like a log.
Damian's first hunt was surprisingly uneventful, they were just carefully walking and observing their surroundings.
-Always look at the tree crown, if you see some broken branches, tread carefully and do not step on the fallen branches on the ground, you must always be silent in the forest.
Young hunter nodded, he listened carefully, this knowledge may very well be what would save or cost him his life in the future.
They carefully progressed further.
Experienced hunter shared his wisdom throughout their slow journey, it seemed that Alrick was specially guiding him so they wouldn't stumble upon a random beast, and he would be able to show Damian how to hunt and survive in the forest.
Despite his gloominess, he was a surprisingly good teacher.
Suddenly, Alrick stopped.
He frowned
"Huh, what happened?" Thought Damian.
Alrick threw a quick glance at him and said.
-It is dangerous to be here. We must return.
"What? Why? We've only started!"
-But why? We're not so far from the village, what could have happened?
Alrick now looked at him directly, his gaze so murderous and oppressive that it took every ounce of his willpower just to not scream.
But then, Alrick quickly looked to the side, trying to suppress whatever was boiling inside him.
He took a deep breath, his chest slowly rose, and gradually fell, visibly relaxing.
"Why does everyone here seem to have such a gaze that could slay a dragon?" Damian wondered.
-Look around, and pay attention to any abnormalities.
After the previous stare, the boy had zero reasons to not do what he was told.
He looked around, trying to enter such an "alert" state of mind.
The trees, grass, moss, and flowers entered his perception.
He felt like he created a sensory dome around him.
Alrick's eyes slightly widened, but he quickly returned to his impassive face.
Meanwhile, Damian felt it.
Little pits, cracked branches, toppled grass. A little imperfections in a wild harmony of nature.
A lot of imperfections, actually. Those all were traces, traces of animals. Big and small, heavy and light, fast and slow.
Due to the sheer amount of them, it was hard to decipher what exactly had happened here.
But one thing was certain - it wasn't something that happened naturally.
There were some external reasons for those traces.
Now, Damian understood what Alrick meant, and why he reacted so sharply.
-I….. I understand now, we should go back.
Middle-aged archer nodded and already started to head back, when suddenly
-AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
A sharp scream echoed through the woods, a human scream.
Alrick tensed, he shifted into a battle-ready stance almost immediately.
"It's from the road," he thought
-That's… That was a human voice, right?
Damian didn't manage to recover from the shock yet.
-Yes.
Alrick seemed to be even more focused now.
-Don't we need to go help them?
-No, we don't.
The middle-aged man didn't wait and started to hastily distance himself away from the scream.
-Hey! Stop! We need to help them! We can't leave them alone! They must be in danger!
Damian…. suddenly, seemed very excited.
The reason for that was not his heroic nature that couldn't tolerate not helping someone in peril, but rather, his curiosity.
His raging interest that he couldn't satisfy for a long, long time.
He lived in this world for years, in this small village with only 6 people.
He never was allowed to venture outside, and no one ever told him about the world he lives in, it seemed like this small village was everything this world had to offer.
But he knew it was not.
Wilfred and Reuben regularly reminisced about their days in some army, Alrick and Gerard certainly had plenty of fighting experience despite there being no one to fight in the near vicinity.
There was something outside that village.
Damian wanted to know more, about where had he ended up, and what was outside that forest.
And now, there was a chance right before him.
Humans from the outside world.
Just within his reach.
He could help them and finally ask where the hell has he ended up.
Although, Alrick didn't share his enthusiasm.
-You will go with me. NOW!
He didn't even try to hold back his murderous gaze.
Damian's mind..... just straightly stop functioning due to it.
It was so oppressive and domineering, that the words just couldn't describe it.
Alrick... wasn't even a menace or a danger. He was simply a black hole that consumed his whole being.
He couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't wish for anything.
Damian was helpless.
Yet, this state seemed familiar.
Somehow, it was similar to his training with Gerard.
The pain, too, consumed him whole.
Although the pain was more…. colorful, for lack of a better word.
The mechanism was the same - sense so powerful that it flooded and overtook everything else.
The body was designed so that kinds of signals would occupy every bit of attention, and humans would react accordingly.
Hit or run.
However the design was flawed, and when encountering overbearing might, the self-preservation mechanism collapsed.
The body would just freeze and refuse to move.
How to avoid such a problem?
Mind.
The answer was to use your mind to control your body, not the opposite.
After all….
"If impulses control you, you are a beast…."
These words refused to get old no matter what
"If you control the impulses, you are a warrior"
Again, this phrase was much more practical and profound than it had a right to be.
"Concentrate, don't let your body succumb, keep your eyes open"
Damian sensed it. The ground underneath his feet, the coldness around him, the smell of a forest.
Alrick wasn't everything in this world, he could move, he could think, he could speak.
-N…. No.
That one word felt like he had overthrown the mountain with his bare hands.
Alrick eyes widened for real this time, he certainly didn't expect refusal.
Making use of his momentary shock, Damian stomped on the ground with all his might and propelled his body towards the direction where he heard the scream.
He ran for his life as fast as he possibly could.
The thought of conserving energy for what was awaiting him there didn't even cross his mind, he just didn't want to experience this gaze again.
Strangely, Alrick didn't seem to pursue him, he was just standing there, looking at Damian's running back
He looked restless as if contemplating something.
Then, Alrick sighed.
And vanished from the spot.
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