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TENEBRAE – The bygone – Part fifteen

 

The hunting party reached Necodas’ house and there was nothing amiss except the door – which was left wide open. Everyone quietly dismounted and the nobleman whispered to Darius to yell for his friend. And he did as ordered with a slightly unsecure voice: ”Necoda!”

Nothing, only silence. He tried again: ”Necoda, are you in there?”

The men drew their weapons and snuck into the house. After they had checked every room of the house they came out carrying Necoda who was covered in blood.

One of the men was very pale.

“Don’t worry, it’s not his blood,” said the one who was carrying Necoda to Darius.

He laid Necoda on the grass in front of the house.

Darius rushed to his numb friend.

“Necoda, are you alright,” Darius asked.

“He is unresponsive. From what we collected, his mother was killed and eaten before him.”

“What,” said Darius in disbelief.

The man who was very pale threw up onto the lawn.

“Pull yourself together,” Said the nobleman.

One of the men went over to the nobleman, grabbed his shoulder and whispered something to him. He whispered something back to him and then walked over to Darius.

“Was your name Darius?”

“Yes, ser.”

“Go home, Darius, we’ll tend to your friend.”

“But –,“ Darius was cut off by the nobleman who turned his back to him and told the man, who had thrown up, to escort Darius home.

The man seemed to be happy to get away from the house.

 

* * * *

A day had passed. The monster hunt was the main topic in the town. It had yielded eight men dead including Necoda’s father and also had cost his mother’s life. The monster itself had got away and the hunt was abandoned when the creature had crossed the border to the next town. Necoda had been put into a single cell in fear that the creature might have jinxed him, because it was highly abnormal for such a monster to not kill someone, especially a child.

Necoda had become responsive again, although he didn’t eat very much and at the night he cried. He was questioned several times, but all Necoda could say was that he had ran home, then saw the monster, of which he could give a very detailed description and then he has this great gap in memory that ends with him awaking in his cell.

Darius had been punishment for sneaking out during curfew from his uncle – his only living relative.

Days passed one by one and because the villagers were still in fear a messenger was dispatched to call for a mage to check on Necoda and to advise the village and the town against such attacks in the future. It was to offer an illusion of security.

 

* * * *

 

The mage was walking towards the village Darius and Necoda lived in. While he walked on the streets and paths Darius usually had ran down to Necoda, he noticed that the people were very nervous and scared. Windows and doors were closed as he passed their houses and small children who admired his unusual outfit were driven away into the houses by their parents.

He was wearing a large brown hat which had a high pointy tip and a brim large enough to protect him from sun and rain. The weird man also had a strange dark coat with a high collar. His face was covered by the hat and the high collar so much that only his bright blue eyes were seen. He also had a stick to help him walk. He finally reached the mansion where the nobleman of the village lived. A servant came and greeted him and led him in.

“Can I take your outdoor clothing and cane, Ser…?”

“Ser Ingrim Epifanio, and I will keep my hat and coat and stick,” Said the stranger with a very confident tone.

“I will announce your arrival then, Ser,” said the confused servant who had never received such an answer before and left.

The mage looked around the hall which was fancy: there were a lot of pretty carpets and coats of arms. The lovely and warm midday sun was shining through the stained glass windows depicting the victory of some great war in the past. In the rays of light specs of dust were floating, this place would have needed some dusting. Two sets of quick steps started echoing and a few heartbeats later the servant and the nobleman appeared from a corridor to Ingrim’s left.

“Welcome, I’m Ser Evander Campion, I’m the one who summoned you.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said the stranger while looking at a carpet with a bland texture next to him.

“I will go over the details as we… What are you doing Ser?”

The stranger had squatted and was petting the carpet.

He seemed to murmur something to the carpet and then got up.

“Oh, nothing, you were saying..?”

“Erm… Yes…As I was saying… I will go over the details as we will go to the cells… Ser please stop that!”

The stranger had started petting the carpet again.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

They went across the hall and down a fleet of stairs while Evander was explaining everything that had happened and the situation Necoda was in. They reached the cells where two guards were playing some game with funny figures of wood in torchlight.

“How’s the prisoner,” asked Evander

“As usual, Ser,” replied one of the guards.

“I’d like to enter the cell,” said Ingrim.

“Very well,” replied the nobleman, “open the cell door.”

The door was opened and the mage sat down onto a stool in front of Necoda who was sitting on a pile of hay.

“Hello, I’m Ingrim, what is your name,” he asked.

Necoda looked worn and tired of everything, he had followed everything the mage had done and said but he just didn’t care to reply.

The wizard asked the others to leave them in private and after they had left he repeated the question.

Still no answer was given.

The mage frowned, searched for something in his coat’s inner pocket and took out a blue polished stone.

He made sure that Necoda was watching what he was doing and covered it with his other hand. Light shone out from between his fingers and when he opened his hands the stone had changed into a miniature blue cat. Necoda had as if been woken up and watched the stone creature in amazement as it started to move. It jumped down from the mages palm and went to Necoda, who instinctively started to pet the cat.

“Now, for the third time, what’s your name?”

“Necoda.”

The mage underneath his coat and hat smiled.

 

* * * *

TENEBRAE – The bygone – Part fourteen

It was late afternoon and the weather was clear. The golden rays of light shone through the forest and a pleasant wind tousled the hair of the boys as they lied in wait on the roof of their tree house.  They had snuck into their tree house in hopes of catching a glimpse of the chase.

“You know… My father is somewhere there… He volunteered for the hunt,” said Necoda.

“Are you worried,” asked Darius.

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“Not really, there is strength in numbers after all… I doubt anyone will get hurt at all.”

“Let’s hope so…”

From time to time they heard someone yelling inaudible orders far in the forest. They saw how Aiken with the rest of the men set up traps on the field and afterwards hid themselves amidst the grain. The orange sun was just above the horizon when something finally started to happen. There was yelling and screaming coming from near the edge of the forest. Then a creature appeared from the forest. It was too far to tell for sure, but it was a dark green creature that looked like a very big snake with limbs. It had four forelimbs and two hind legs and when men attacked the creature from hiding, the creature exhibited high agility and a certain level of intelligence. The snake creature stood up and was as tall as two grown men. It dodged the thrown javelins and shot arrows, while catching two javelins in mid-air and retaliated: It threw one javelin though the closest man and flung the other into the forest and in a blink of an eye later a dead horse and its rider fell into sight followed by other horsemen pouring into sight. A crossbow bolt hit the creature in the chest and it was forced to flee through the ranks of the horseless men. As it fled, the creature stepped into one of the traps and its jaws attached themselves permanently into the flesh of one of its forelimbs. The creature let out a loud scream and then continued running – leaving behind a trail of rose fluid. The chase was relentless as it progressed. The creature’s back was covered in arrows and was hurt pretty bad, but the injuries didn’t seem to slow it down.

“Darius I have to go,” Necoda said with a worried face.

“What? You’ll get punished if they find out you snuck out!”

“I don’t care! That creature is going towards my home,” Necoda half-yelled.

He took a hold of the rope they used to climb up and slid himself down.

“Wait for me,” yelled Darius from the top, but his request was ignored.

Necoda ran as fast as he could towards his home. When he reached his house it seemed that the chase had passed his house without stopping there. Necoda was relieved. He sneaked into the house – contemplating on acting that he had just went out to take a leak – when he heard a sound coming from the next room that horrified him to the bottom of his heart: the sound of flesh being torn and bones being crushed.

 

* * * *

Darius had lost sight of Necoda as he was jogging along the road towards the house Necoda lived in.

He heard the sound of galloping horses and a voice: “You, boy, stop!”

The voice was calling for Darius who knew he had gotten himself into trouble. He turned around to face the caller – it was the nobleman from the manor and four other men who Darius did not recognize.

“What are you doing here? All villagers were instructed to stay in their homes and lock the doors. Did you sneak out?”

“Yes ser,” said Darius with an apologetic voice.

“I shall deal with the punishment later for breaking curfew, but right now I need you to go home as fast as you can. We lost the creature at the edge of the forest and we’re searching for it. Nowhere is safer than your home right now, boy.”

“I’m sorry ser, but I must not follow your order. My friend and I were running towards his house because we saw the creature moving in that direction, but alas he was faster than me and I lost sight of him. I would like to go to my friends’ house instead. I want to check if everything is alright.”

“You saw the creature? Where from?”

“We have a tree house on a tall pine on the other side of the fields – we saw everything.”

“That’s both great and bad news. Get on my horse and lead us to your friend’s house.”

The nobleman lifted Darius onto his steed and they dashed towards Necoda’s house.

 

* * * *

Necoda – shaking all over – unsheathed his dagger his father had got him for his tenth birthday. He walked slowly and quietly towards the next room and peeked into it. There was blood all about and very near to the door was a severed arm. On the wrist was a bracelet that belonged to Necoda’s mother. Necoda couldn’t hold himself back and gasped in horror. The creature shot out of the room and hit Necoda, who was flung against the opposite wall. The creature checked its surroundings and calmed down a bit after seeing that the intruder was alone and a young boy. Necoda raised his head from the floor and looked at the creature. It had scales of alternating tones of green and four eyes on its head – all of which were looking at him. One of its forelimbs was ripped off. Necoda tried to get up only to get hit by a swing of its tail that beat him back against the floor.

“Ssstay ssstill. I no eat lambsssss,” the creature hissed in a weird half human voice. The creature dragged Necoda to the next room into a puddle of blood.

“Ssstay ssstill and liveee,” it said.

Necoda watched with horror as the creature consumed what once was his mother while its wounds healed with every bite it took. The world around him blurred and faded out – he found himself shut off from reality.

 

* * * *

TENEBRAE – The bygone – Part thirteen

The bygone

 

 A boy running down the road yells cheerfully: ”NECOODAAAA!”

People around the street glanced only for a moment at the boy. It was normal that every day that boy ran down the path, alerting Necoda of his arrival. The boy, about twelve, had very short brown hair and was wearing a beige tunic. He stopped at the gate of a small house where Necoda lived with his father, who worked as a servant at the manor. Necoda appeared shortly on the door. Necoda was quite similar in outfit except he had a dagger on his belt. The two boys raced to the forest across an empty field.

They had built a little tree house on a peculiar pine. The tree was straight as an arrow but halfway up, it sprouted its branches in every direction but up. When the boys climbed up a hidden rope to their hideout they could see the town, the manor, fields of grain and the massive forest. It was a breath taking view, which the young boys didn’t know to value. When they sat in their little tree house they were in their own world. It was their castle and they were the twin-kings of it.

“Hey Necoda,” said Darius,”have you heard of the beast hunt?”

“No? What beast hunt?”

“My father and several villagers and even some servants from the manor are going to hunt down whatever has been killing the livestock for a while. They say that the creature – it is not of god”

“But aren’t all things supposed to be of god?”

“Well not this one apparently. The creature only appears at night and the livestock are killed by the tens and by first light, only bones are left.”

“Maybe it’s a pack of hungry wolves or something similar?”

“Father said that there are always only one set of unknown tracks.”

“I’d like to see that creature.”

“Why, Necoda?”

“Well I’d just like to know what is out in the world and that creature is a part of it.”

“You’re so weird.”

“ “So”? Don’t you mean “very” or something?”

“I’ll speak as I want.”

Necoda laughed:” You’re the one who is weird here! “

* * * *

Two days later, on the first day of rest, when no one deals with ordinary tasks a group was forming near the manor. There were men of all ages, some were on their horses, others were sharpening their swords or testing their javelins, few had even brought dogs with them. Everyone involved were talking about the creature they were going to catch and butcher. A great brown steed with majestic white mane bearing a rider who was wearing clothes that matched the horse’s color was sighted by the crowd and everyone stopped what they were doing. The nobleman had large moustache and wore a crossbow on his back. He was accompanied by two squires.

“Are everyone here who is supposed to be,” the nobleman asked.

“Yes milord and with extra volunteers,” answered a random person from the crowd.

“Very well, hear me I shall explain what our plan will be: I will lead the group of people with horses and hounds. We will track down the beast in the forest and force it to flee towards the field most close to the forest. Who is the owner of that field?”

“Me, ser, names’ Aiken” said a humble peasant who had a pack of javelins on his back.

“Aiken, you are to lead men without horses to your field and set up an ambush with the men amongst the grain. You must not be visible. See to it that you leave no place for the creature to run to and we will kill it.”

The men split into two groups and started going towards their target locations.

* * * *

TENEBRAE – The mage – Part twelve

* * * *

Darius and Pùca – who had taken a humanoid form with luminescent centre – were walking through the tunnel towards the cave. Suddenly they heard an eerie long and loud screech doubled with the scratching that the creatures down here did when walking which slowed and died off. Something was terribly off. They sneaked to the entrance of the cave and saw the “mother” and then quickly hid behind a rock nearby. The “mother” was a huge dark grey creature that had six legs that resembled grasshopper’s hind legs, a segmented body covered in layers of exoskeleton shells and boasted a curved tail the length of her body that ended with a sharp stinger hanging above her head. The head of the creature was similar to a skull of a dog. She had eight white eyes in a row on the skull and she had been killing and consuming her offsprings for a while now. There were bodies all over the cave. Some of the small creatures had been thrown into the ceiling of the cave into the stone spikes from where the miniature copies of the mother bled. The awful stench of their blood was filling the cave and some of the critters’ legs were moving or twitching.

“She grew hungry before her children died… But to attack her own children … It’s not right…Something must’ve happened to her…”

“So what shall we do now?”

“Well I gue-“

The “mother” had seen them and had soundlessly jumped to them like a grasshopper. She stroke with her powerful stinger twice, both hits hitting Pùca: first hit landed in her hand and the second severed her body from the middle. Pùcas’ orange blood splattered all around them. Her eyes – still watching Darius’ eyes – turned big and filled with shock as she fell with a thump. Darius reacted instantly by throwing two small fireballs into the mothers’ eyes, making her blind temporally. She stroke with her tail randomly several times more but missed. Darius grabbed the upper part of Pùca and ran into the tunnel where the creature couldn’t follow them because of her size. Pùca, looking at Darius said with a weak voice:” Don’t worry, I’m not human, I’ll survive, but you,” She coughed some yellow fluid, “you need to kill her. She’s gone mad,” and with that she turned into a small snake and slithered slowly towards her hideout, leaving a small trail of fluid. Darius, who was given no choice, turned around. He returned to the cave entrance and only heard the sound of twitching legs of the corpses around the cave. Darius snapped his fingers and both of his hands were set ablaze. He tapped his shoulders with his palms and the flames stayed hovering above his shoulders. Then the battlemage just ran into the cave. As soon as he had entered he felt the air behind him move. The creature landed in front of him and striked with her tail but Darius dodged and shot a stream of fire towards the creature. Without checking for results he grabbed onto one of her legs and used the momentum of his speed and threw himself into the air. While whirling through the air he grew a layer of ice onto his right hand that extended into an icy short blade with what he sliced off her tail. The other hand was set ablaze with a white fire at the same time and the fire was thrown as massive white fireball onto the back of the creature. He landed blade first to the same spot moment later. The creature was screeching and was running wild back and forth, trying to shake him off. Fluids were sprinkled from the severed tail onto Darius who created an ice blade from his other hand too and stabbed with it repeatedly into the back of the creature until it had been hurt enough and collapsed. It was over faster than it had began. She wasn’t dead yet but she was too weak to stand or move. Darius broke the blades off from her body and came down from the creature. He walked to the front of the heavily breathing creature who was making a slight clicking sound. After looking into her white ghastly eyes for a few moments he striked the final blow between the ” mothers’ ” eyes.

* * * *

TENEBRAE – The mage – Part eleven

Darkness. Pitch black and ultimate darkness. It seemed to stretch out for infinity all around Darius, who was floating in it. There was no weight, no up or down. Emptiness… just him and the darkness. Gradually Darius started to hear a very quiet voice behind him. It got louder and louder and was almost understandable. If he only could turn around in this darkness and face the voice – he would then understand it certainly. As he struggled against his position relative to the voice he suddenly realized that he had lost the feeling in his legs. Looking down Darius saw how his legs were turning into sand and were falling away into the darkness. He panicked and started to struggle more. Soon only his head was left. Darius felt the voice coming closer – it was still incomprehensible what it was saying. He felt cold claws grabbing his heads and something bowing down over him. It’s face appeared upside down in front of his. It was her!

* * * *

Darius woke up screaming. Pùca who was sleeping next to him in a kitten form was startled and jumped into mid-air – just like a regular cat would.

She shouted: “The hell!?”

Darius, who had risen into sitting position, was touching the sides of his head. Cold sweat covered his whole body.

“I’m sorry… Just a bad dream.”

“Whee… You scared me pretty bad… I have to make some tea to calm myself… Shall I make some for you too?”

“No thanks…”

Pùca leaped to the fireplace, changed her form and started to boil water. Darius lied back down on the furs and closed his eyes. The face was still before his eyes. He slowly fell asleep again with boiling water sounding in his ears.

* * * *

 

Waking up, Darius saw that Pùca was busy with cooking something in the fireplace. A mundane question rose into his mind.

“Pùca?”

“Yes, Darius?”

“How do you keep track of time down here?”

“Well I really don’t.”

“How can you tell then when it’s “tomorrow”? ”

“Well when I wake up, then it’s the next day. You should get up. I’ve cooked one of those critters – they’re really tasty when they’re done right.”

Darius got up and sat onto a seat next to the table. Still a little dizzy from waking up, he watched her, while she served him and herself some kind of stew. She was in a form where half her body was that of a spider and half was humanoid. All black as always. Darius was thinking of that figure from his dream. He ate a little of the stew, thanked the cook politely and sat next to the fire.

Pùca observed him.

“What did you dream of?”

“Oh it was nothing.”

“Don’t joke around. Grown men don’t wake up screaming over nothing.”

“It was just a bad dream, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well if you ever want to, you can talk to me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Darius was in another place in his mind. He stared at the fire forgetting all he had been through in the last days. He was back in the times past. He saw himself walking midst golden grain and far at the edge of the field there was a small gray house. A dog ran towards him in happily. Someone was waving at him from the window of the house.

“Darius?”

Darius was drawn back to reality.

“Darius, you’ve been watching that fire for quite some time. Is everything all right? We don’t have to deal with the mother today.”

“Oh don’t worry about me, I was just thinking of past events. I’m ready to go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, mother,” he rolled his eyes and stood up.

“Let’s go then,” and she walked through a rock in the wall.

Darius not wanting to make the same mistake he did last time, felt where the stone was an illusion and then jumped through it.

The hunt for the mother had begun.

* * * *

TENEBRAE – The mage – Part ten

Darius woke with a very dry mouth. He looked around he didn’t see the creature, but on the table he saw that there was a bowl that emitted the scent of cold water. Darius went over to the table and drank the water. Looking around more closely, he found some silver colored clothes of a mysterious material on a chair next to the table. He figured that those were for him and clothed himself. Being a person who got bored quickly without activity he adjusted the fire and made the bed. He then noticed a small bug on his shoulder and was about to wipe it off saw that it had orange eyes.

“Come on now, you don’t have to spy on me…on me,” Darius said.

The bug flew off his shoulder and onto a seat. There it grew and morphed into a cross between a woman and a black puma.

Pùca said with a very seductive female voice:“Like the clothes?”

“Yeah, what are they made of?”

“Basically out of spiderweb.”

“Reall~lly,” said Darius with a very surprised voice and examined his shirt more closely. “How do you create clothes out of spiderweb,” he asked with a perplexed expression.

“Well first off you need a quite large spider…” Pùca laughed.

Darius smiled and asked, “So what is the savior of my life doing down here? Also where is down here?”

“I take it you didn’t come here by your own will? We’re deep withing the ground, in the ruined passages of a once great city.”

“Yeah…You got that right. You haven’t happened to come across anyone else popping in around here?”

“Nope.”

Darius’ stomach rumbled.

“Oh I forgot,” Pùca stood up and took a stone container from a shelf nearby. She placed it onto the table and sat again,” here you go.”

Darius reached into the container and took something dark and crispy out of it.

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you after you try it,” she smiled sweetly.

Darius looked at her over the piece of something extra crispy with a raised eyebrow.

He took a bite out of it. It tasted very good.

“Holy mother of creation, it’s godly,” and grabbed more of it.
“It’s grilled bat droppings,” Pùca smirked.

Darius – with with his mouth full – froze with his two eyes opened wide in shock.

Pùca started laughing hysterically.

“I’m joking, I’m joking,” she said while she was still laughing and added:“It’s actually dried nargle meat.”

“a wad” asked Darius with his mouth full.

“Ah nevermind, nevermind, just eat your fill.”

* * * *

After Darius’ stomach was full, he started up the conversation again:” Is there any way I could repay for what you’ve done for me? ”

Pùca – who had watched him for the whole time – now looked away and said:” There is one thing you could help me with with your battle expertise,” Pùca’s face and voice got quite serious,” I need to have the “Mother” of that swarm killed. She’s not following what she’s supposed to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you see that swarm I saved you from – they’re all her children and the natural course of life for her would be to get eaten by her children. Alas she doesn’t let them near her. The children are so hostile because they’re hungry and will die in a week without the sacrifice.”

“That’s quite horrible…but can’t the “babies” go out and hunt there?”

“Nope. It’s a quirk that this breed has. The “babies” can’t stand the surface without consuming their mother. Now – why I need them to survive is this,” she took a deep breath and continued:”They guard these premises without their knowing – me not being a battling type need that -, but the mother is in my way to the archives of that city. For those archives I am here. They hold old secrets that I need. For your help, I will guide you to the surface and – should we ever cross our paths again – teach you something from those archives in return. Then I consider us even.”

“And how do we get to “Mother” without her children devouring us?”

“Well it’s a risky plan but, we will simply run through them to her. Then I will set up a barrier that won’t let the children come near us, while you fight the “Mother”. After you defeat her in a very short time, I will make a smaller more sustainable barrier around the two of us, while the children go devour the “Mother”. They will pose no threat when they can eat. “

Darius had fallen into a deep thoughtful consideration of the idea. After some silence he said: ”Very well. I’ll do it. But when?”

“Tomorrow, I need to be well-rested for the fight.”

“Like you’ll be doing the fighting,” mumbled Darius.

“What?”

“I said that you’ll see me winning.”

“Oh. Very well.”

* * * *

TENEBRAE – The mage – Part nine

Near the entrance of the cave – from where the mage had walked through – crawled into the light a dark spidery creature with orange eyes. It had been following the mage since he first had appeared.

“Mage, follow me if you want to survive,” it shouted with a child’s voice. The mage looked into its orange eyes, doubting for a moment and then ran towards it. The darkness with its hundreds of gem-like eyes started to chase the running man and the creature with a furious speed. Running through the tunnel – which was full of turns – the creature scrabbled in front of the mage and it seemed that it got a bit bigger and moved a little faster. Behind them the wave of scratching was nearing.

“Mage, listen to me and listen well,” the creature shouted,”It will seem that I will jump through a rock to our right soon. You must follow if you want to survive.”

The mage cast out a few fireballs behind his back into the darkness. Loud hisses echoed through the tunnel, but it didn’t slow the horde down.

The spidery creature yelled “NOW,” and jumped through a stone. The mage trustingly followed example, only to slam against a very solid rock really hard. Loud profanity ensued.

The mage got up quickly with double vision and bloody head to make his last stand. Before the first of the horde appeared into the light coming off of the mage’s fist, he felt something fuzzy around his torso. A long black tail – coming from a rock next to the one he tried to jump through – had wrapped itself around him and pulled him into it.

* * * *

“Missed it by that much,” said the creature with a different voice.

”Damn today to hell, it just ain’t my day,” the mage said with a very weary voice and extinguished his fist.

The room he found himself was of stone and featured a table, few seats, a fireplace, even a bed of stone with some furs on it and all was illuminated by several lanterns. The spidery creature was gone and before him was a large black feline with familiar orange eyes – its extra long tail was unwrapping itself from the torso of the mage.

“You are indeed unlucky, come, sit here,” the creature said with a young girl’s voice and pointed with it’s tail to a seat next to it. After the mage had followed the request, it said: “I will see what I can do with your injuries. From what I’ve collected I’m a lot better at healing than you.”

“So YOU were the one following me,” said the mage.

“Oh you noticed, I’m getting rusty.” the creature smirked, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Darius, how do you do?”

“Better than you – now stay still,” and it put its paw onto the wound on Darius’ head and the spot glowed green very brightly.

Darius felt a tingly warmness emanating from the paw into his injury. He started to feel better and no longer saw double.

“You can call me Pùca,”and did the same for other places Darius had injuries.

“Darius, you must be tired, use my bed to rest for a bit.”

“Why are you doing all this for me,” asked Darius.

“Oh silly you,” Pùca smiled as if to an old friend,”Not all creatures are evil, some actually wish well to everyone around them.”

Darius thanked Pùca and went amidst the furs and fell into a dreamless slumber quickly.