บท 18: A Monster!
The man stumbled into the bar, his head bloodied and his face twisted in terror. He fell to the floor with a painful thud, his screams cutting through the air like a jagged knife. The bar, once filled with the hum of laughter and conversation, fell into a heavy silence.
Every eye in the room turned toward him. Patrons, both local miners and travelers alike, watched with a mixture of shock and curiosity as he scrambled to his feet, his movements erratic, his breath shallow.
"There's a monster in the mine!" he shouted, his voice breaking as he gasped for air. "It ate so many people... It's... it's terrifying!"
The man's face was pale, his eyes wide with panic. His words tumbled out in a frantic rush, each one more desperate than the last.
"They're all dead! All of them! Those monsters... they're horrible!" He was shaking, clearly in the grip of some kind of shock, his mind struggling to process the horror he had witnessed.
The entire bar had fallen deathly quiet. Even the drunkards at the table, who had been laughing and slapping each other on the back moments before, now sat still, listening intently. A grizzled old man with a white beard, his clothes simple but his presence commanding, stood up from his seat. His eyes narrowed with concern.
"What happened in the mine?" he asked, his voice steady but laced with urgency. His question cut through the tense silence, drawing the attention of everyone around him.
The man, still trembling, tried to steady himself as he spoke. "We were asleep... just sleeping... when this... this giant, snake-like creature burst in. It was bigger than a cow. Pete, he barely had time to get out of bed before the thing swallowed him whole. Head... body... all gone in an instant."
He paused, his hands shaking as he wiped his face, trying to collect himself. "I ran. I ran out of there as fast as I could. And when I got outside, I saw more of them. There were dozens; no, hundreds of these monsters, crawling through the mine like... like they owned the place."
He looked around the room, his eyes wide with terror. "If those monsters come into the town... we're all finished. All of us."
A drunken laugh cut through the room, jarring and dismissive. A burly man stood up, swaying slightly on his feet as he slapped his hand on the table. His face was flushed, and his words were slurred.
"Hah! Lammy, you've been hitting the sauce too hard, haven't you? Monsters in the mine? I've been working there for five years and I've never seen a damn thing like that! What are we afraid of? There's a dozen of us here! Grab your pickaxe, show us where these monsters are hiding, and we'll see who's tougher, the pickaxe or the monster!"
His laughter echoed through the room, but it quickly died down as people exchanged nervous glances.
Leonard, who had been quietly observing from the corner of the bar, couldn't help but feel a slight tension in his chest. 'Monsters?' he thought. 'This world is more dangerous than I realized.'
His first instinct was to dismiss the man's story as a wild exaggeration, perhaps a result of fear and a bit too much alcohol. But then the man described the creature like a giant snake, and Leonard's mind immediately raced. The teacher had once mentioned a creature of similar description, a lizard-like monster with a taste for human flesh. It was possible, he thought, that the creature had come to the mine, though the idea of such a monster being part of a larger group was unsettling.
Before Leonard could dwell on it further, the tavern's patrons grew restless. The remaining sober miners gathered their things and, in hushed tones, made their way toward the church, a known safe haven in town. The drunkards were herded into the back of the tavern to sleep off their inebriation.
Leonard finished his meal and, after a brief pause, rose to leave. His room was upstairs, away from the noise of the bar, and he needed to rest before continuing his journey the next day.
Meanwhile, outside the town, chaos had erupted around the mine. A series of small bungalows had been hastily erected for the miners, but at that moment, they were empty, their inhabitants scattered in fear. People fled in all directions, but none could outrun the terrible creature that loomed in the open space under the moonlight.
The monster, silver-gray and about three meters long, resembled a massive earthworm or serpent. Its body writhed as it moved, its head shifting from side to side as it seemed to sniff the air, searching for something; someone.
After a tense moment, the creature seemed to settle on a direction. With a sudden and unsettling fluidity, it burrowed into the ground, the earth parting easily before it, as though the soil were no more substantial than water.
From a high vantage point not far from the chaos, a tall figure, cloaked in shadows, watched the scene unfold. His face was tense, his expression filled with disbelief. 'Monsters? Here?' he thought. 'This world is far more dangerous than I imagined.'
Beside him, the large lizard, its eyes glinting with an unnatural intelligence; stared down at the mine, its head low. It seemed agitated, spitting out strange glowing cores, a sign of its restless mood.
"This is bad," David muttered under his breath. He had followed the creature , staying in the shadows as much as possible. 'I hope this doesn't delay the journey.'
He and the big lizard followed behind their master's carriage. They dared not appear on the main road openly during the day. They could only follow their master's tracks in the mountains and forests on both sides of the road as the creature had keen sense of smell all he did was follow it.
He glanced at the lizard. "You're not thinking of going down there, are you? That would expose us to the townspeople... I'm not ready for that. What if we can't win?"
But as if in response to his words, the lizard suddenly moved, its massive body slipping down the hillside with remarkable speed. The creature, though huge, was a blur as it cut through the rocky terrain.
David stood frozen, his mouth agape. Before he could speak, the lizard was already gone, its form lost in the shadows of the night.
From a distance, at the base of the mountain near the mine, a miner sprinted through the darkness, his heart pounding with fear. He had heard the terrifying growls echoing from the mine, but he had no idea what was causing them. As he ran, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled, and before he could react, the earth split open with a violent crack. The miner's foot caught on the jagged earth, and he tumbled forward, helplessly falling into the chaos.
With a horrific screech, a massive head burst from the mud beneath him. The miner's scream was cut short as the creature's enormous mouth opened wide. In an instant, the lower half of his body was swallowed, disappearing into the abyss of the monster's throat. The sound of crushing bones and flesh filled the air, drowning out all other noise.
Just as the creature began to pull its victim deeper into the earth, a monstrous form barreled through the air, colliding with the earthworm-like creature with the force of a runaway bulldozer. The creature was sent flying backward, rolling through the dirt in a wild, uncontrolled spin.
But before it could regain its bearings, another creature; a massive lizard, its scales gleaming faintly red, charged from the mountainside. Its eyes were glowing with a faint, ominous light as it locked onto the earthworm monster. The earthworm froze, its body stiffening as if caught in some sort of trance. Without hesitation, the lizard lunged forward, snapping its jaws around the monster's neck.
A sickening crack echoed as the earthworm's head was ripped clean off, the blood and fluids pouring from its severed body like a burst of dark juice. The once terrifying creature, impervious to the pickaxes of miners, was reduced to nothing more than a fragile piece of paper in front of the lizard monster's might.
The chaos seemed to fade away as the lizard stood victorious, its chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. The danger had passed, but the night's horrors lingered in the air.
Meanwhile, in a quiet room upstairs, two sisters sat in deep conversation. Antina, the younger of the two, sighed heavily as she stared out the window, her thoughts clearly troubled.
"Sister, I don't want to go," she murmured. "Why did Father send me to Bangor Port? I don't want to leave the kingdom."
Dolores, her older sister, sat beside her, trying to offer comfort. "Antina, you must understand, the kingdom isn't safe right now. Bangor Port is the safest place for you. Only when you become a wizard will you have the power to choose your own path, unaffected by the dangers that plague the world."
Antina frowned, her golden hair falling around her face as she glanced at her sister. "But I heard it's nearly impossible to come back once you leave. What if I can't return?"
"Who told you that?" Dolores smiled reassuringly. "Once you become a formal wizard, you'll have the freedom to return whenever you wish. And don't worry, I'll be with you. You won't be alone."
"But why hasn't anyone from our family ever come back?" Antina bit her lip, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What if it's too dangerous?"
Dolores' smile faltered as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I know you're scared, but you have to trust Father. He wouldn't send us away unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides, with Uncle Damian leading the way, you're in good hands. He's one of the kingdom's greatest knights."
Antina's expression softened as she thought about Uncle Damian. He was a legend in their family; Storm Knight, a man who had led a handful of knights to defeat thousands of bandits. His reputation alone was enough to put anyone at ease.
"Yeah, you're right," Antina said after a long pause. "If it were really dangerous, he wouldn't have let Uncle Damian follow us so openly."
Dolores nodded, pleased to see her sister's worry easing. "Exactly. Now, try to rest. We'll figure everything out when we get to Bangor Port."
Elsewhere in the hotel, Damian, known as Uncle Damian, stood in the hallway, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The wooden floors creaked underfoot as he listened intently to the sounds around him. Something felt off.
The footsteps that echoed through the corridor were unusually heavy, as if the person walking was dragging something behind them. It wasn't the usual rhythm of a human stride. The sound was dull and oddly muffled, and the dragging noise sent a shiver down Damian's spine.
His mind raced, picturing a tall figure moving slowly, dragging something massive behind them. His muscles tensed, ready for action. If the stranger neared the door to the young ladies' room, he would be ready to strike.
Damian's mind quickly ran through his options, calculating the best angle to strike if the attacker came through the door. He could already feel the weight of his sword, as though his very body was preparing to slice through the air at lightning speed.
But then, a strange noise caught his attention.
Down the corridor, David, an unexpected presence, turned his head curiously toward the wall. Since his transformation into a lizard-man, his senses had become unnervingly sharp. The faintest sounds reached him clearly; whispers, breaths, the very murmur of life behind walls.
Was someone hiding on the other side? His ears twitched at the faintest breath.
He scratched his head in confusion, unsure of what he was hearing. 'Am I imagining things?' he thought. His heightened senses made everything seem so much clearer, but now, he wasn't so sure if the sounds were real or just a product of his new, unnervingly sensitive hearing.
The sense of danger in the air was palpable. Every footstep, every breath, could mean something more.
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