Something Extra - Hungry Heart - Ch. 25 (Patreon)

Chapter One  / Chapter Two  / Chapter Three  / Chapter Four  / Chapter Five  / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten  / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen / Chapter Fourteen / Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen / Chapter Seventeen / Chapter Eighteen / Chapter Nineteen / Chapter Twenty / Chapter Twenty-One / Chapter Twenty-Two / Chapter Twenty-Three / Chapter Twenty-Four 

Chapter Twenty-Five – Unlikely Allies

“Quiet,” Varg whispered in a commandeering tone as the Shroudharbor dwellers murmured while watching Duril move his lips slowly, but without letting out a sound.

The healer needed time and silence to get the most out of his special gift. He had never had to deal with something so small before, so Varg was tense and waited with bated breath for Duril to let them know what the torch could tell him.

“We’re in a labyrinth of sorts,” the healer announced.

“Did the torch tell you that?” Naella asked in unhidden admiration.

“In a way. I wish I could explain it,” Duril offered with a small embarrassed shrug.

“What else does it tell you, wise wizard?” another man asked.

“I’m not a wizard,” Duril denied right away.

Varg patted the healer on the back. “I believe it was meant as a compliment. What else do you think you can find out?”

Duril held the torch tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. Then, he began moving his lips again, but this time, words poured out of them, although stilted and with some difficulty. “To find… a way out of the labyrinth… the evil has to be gone. You must… defeat it.”

“What does it mean?” Naella asked in a whisper. “We’re just ordinary people. How will we fight the evil that’s inside here?”

“You have us,” Varg said in an assuring voice. “Now, our worry should be how to find the evil we must confront so that we can find our way out.”

As if his words had the power to summon trouble, the sound of moving stone made them all fall quiet.

Varg was still facing Naella. The woman’s face drained of color, and she lifted a meek arm. “Good sir, behind you…”

***

The merchants wailed as Toru lunged toward Blayves and pushed him to the ground. He held the old merchant down, pressing on his chest with his front paws, and opening his mouth wide, he let out a roar. “I could crush you, or I could tear your throat open,” he threatened as he stared into the void that lay behind Blayves’s eyes.

The others appeared to be in shock over Toru’s attack, and no one hurried to help their master. They only cried out and tried to get away. All it would take would be for only one of them to hurry to the other room, and Toru would follow.

However, the trembling merchants made a large circle around them, while pointing and murmuring in angry and scared voices among themselves.

To his dismay, Blayves began laughing. His mouth was a disgusting thing as he opened it, and Toru felt his belly revolting.

“Do you want to kill me, senseless creature?” Blayves taunted him.

Toru pressed his paws against the merchant’s chest hard. “I’m not a senseless creature, but I want to kill you. But not before you tell me how to get to the shroud room.”

“Kill me?” Blayves laughed, and Toru had to move his head away. The merchant’s breath was enough to make him sick. “How do you kill what is not alive, beast? Unhand me at once. You shall find no answers here. One of you,” he hissed at the others, “bring me a candle so that I can cleanse this beast’s mind of everything he believes he knows about us.”

Toru had seen what Blayves had done to Margrave before. He roared, to prevent anyone from getting close. “Even if you’re dead, I can still tear you limb from limb.”

“A candle,” Blayves barked at his acolytes, and finally, one appeared spurred into action. “You cannot fight me, tiger,” he said haughtily. “Without me, you shall not see the shroud. And I have no intention of showing it to you.”

Toru knew he could rip the merchant’s throat wide open, but then he would have no way of gaining entrance to the shroud room. He snapped his head to one side with a low growl, snapping his jaws to put the fear of death into the one on the move. The man took a step back.

“What are you all frightened of? You are all dead,” Blayves shouted at them.

“They might be scared I can still turn them into fish food,” Toru said triumphantly.

“I should not depend on worthless puppets,” Blayves said.

The merchant’s body suddenly disappeared from underneath Toru’s paws in a swirling cloud of dust. He materialized one foot away from him, and an ugly smile twisted his lips. With assured gestures, Blayves grabbed a candle from one of his acolytes and drew closer.

Toru took a step backward and tensed, ready to pounce again.

“You can try the same trick as often as you like, but you will not win,” Blayves said, apparently aware of the next attack planned upon his person. “Now, come closer. It will not hurt… just yet. I am certain I can unravel the biggest and most beautiful gemstone from your belly when I cut it open, beast.”

Toru was about to attack Blayves once more, whether it would work or not, when someone put a dagger to the merchant’s throat, just in time to stop him from blowing into the candle. “I don’t think so, Master Blayves.”

“Fat Margrave!” Toru exclaimed.

The caravan master’s sly smile made him happy. “That’s me. Now, Master Blayves, if you would be so kind as to drop that, it would make us, your esteemed guests, much more at ease.”

“Do you think a simple dagger would… How did you come to your senses so fast?”

Margrave chuckled. “Allow me to introduce myself properly.” His voice was like thunder. “I’m Margrave ‘Vulture’ Earle, the captain of the beautiful Greed of the Sea.”

“A pirate?” Blayves asked, and some of his surety faded following that sonorous introduction.

“A man of the sea and an adventurer, I would prefer to be called. But I will allow it. Call me a pirate if you will, Master Blayves, but hand over all your treasures, or the rope of your long life will finally reach its end. And since you asked, this dagger was forged at the Rosawa Chasm, by the most skilled blacksmiths in the kingdom of the dwarves. I assure you, it cuts through anything. Even dead flesh.” The pirate stopped to laugh wholeheartedly at his own jokes. “I should say, especially dead flesh.”

“You’re a pirate?” Toru exclaimed.

Margrave gave him a toothy grin. “Indeed I am.”

“But you’re so fat!”

The pirate caressed his generous belly with one hand as he roared in laughter. “A measure of my success in all my enterprises, young tiger. Now, Master Blayves, show us to the shroud room.”

“And then, I’ll rip his throat open,” Toru said.

“I will strike a deal with you, captain,” Blayves said in a sugary voice, “but only if you agree to help me get rid of this beast.”

“Master Blayves,” Margrave replied just the same, “I must remind you that you’re in no position to negotiate.” He pushed the tip of the dagger against the merchant’s throat.

To Toru’s satisfaction, Blayves cowered in fear. It appeared that he took every one of the captain’s words at face value and didn’t care to test whether that dagger could end his existence or not.

“After you,” Margrave added and pushed Blayves, quite unceremoniously, to make him move. “Young tiger, you’re with me.”

Unlikely allies appeared in the strangest places, but Toru wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Varg and Duril both would be so proud of him if they knew how right now, he was avoiding acting on impulse and he followed the fat pirate instead.

***

Duril felt cold sweat down his back, as the sound of moving stone was followed by the growl of a wild creature. “Everyone, step back!” he shouted and rushed to Varg’s side.

The city dwellers gathered behind them, and their harsh breathing and soft sobs were enough to tell him that they were frightened.

“We shouldn’t have set foot in here!”

“The merchants will have us killed!”

“Was it always like this?”

“Quiet,” Duril whispered.

Whatever animal or monster lay ahead of them, it was biding its time, first putting the fear of death into their bones by letting out those deep growls.

A sudden gust of wind blew out the torches. In a split second, they were in darkness, and the city dwellers began shouting in fear.

Duril didn’t have time to utter another word. Eyes burned before them and something large moved a few feet away from where they stood. He sensed, rather than saw, Varg shifting into his wolf. If there was anyone or anything that could stand between them and that creature, it had to be the powerful wolf.

Varg lunged into the darkness, and Duril shivered as he heard a sound like jaws snapping.

“We’re all going to die!” one of the city dwellers screamed and started running back the way they had come.

But, there was no way out. Duril reached for him just in time to avoid him from slamming against the wall that had closed them into that trap. The others grabbed onto him blindly, crying and sobbing.

In the meantime, Varg was engaged in a struggle with the strange beast. Duril was a tad frightened to discover that not even his eyes, well accustomed to darkness of all kinds, could see everything clearly. All he could tell was that the beast fighting Varg had fur and large paws, and that the two were struggling on the ground, with the creature trying to take a chunk out of the wolfshifter.

“I cannot bloody see a thing,” Varg said through his teeth as he fought against his enemy.

So it was even worse for him. Duril let go of the man he had stopped from his futile attempt to run away and searched on the ground for the torch he had dropped. He brought the wood to his lips. “Please, please,” he whispered pleadingly, “make light.”

The city dwellers joined him in his chant, their trembling voices a stark contrast to the sounds of the fierce battle taking place a few feet away from them.

Varg might not be able to hold off the beast on his own. The thought should have frightened him, but instead, it emboldened him to act. Duril tightened his hold on the torch, tiptoed close to the fight, and smacked Varg’s attacker with it upside the head.

The wood broke in two, and maybe the beast hadn’t even felt that. But after a moment, the creature snapped its head toward him and growled right in his face.

“Duril, what are you doing?” Varg asked. “Stay safe!”

“No, I’m helping you,” Duril protested.

“You’re all dead meat,” a low grumbling voice came from the beast. “Surrender now!”

“Do you talk?” Duril asked, still armed with the stub of the torch.

“Only to tell you that you’ll meet your end here.”

The beast reared up on its hind legs, and Duril had to tilt his head back to keep his eyes on its head. “Are you a bear?”

Varg jumped on the creature’s back and tried to bite its neck, but the beast shook itself and sent the wolfshifter flying through the air and hitting the wall with a loud thump. With a menacing growl, he attempted another attack, but the creature was fast and swiped the air with one huge paw, landing another terrifying blow.

Anyone else would have been on the floor, howling in pain by now, but the wolfshifter jumped to his feet again and lowered his muzzle. His fangs glistened in the dark, and Duril hoped the beast would be impressed by that display of strength.

TNo such thing happened. The creature was so tall that its head reached the ceiling.

“Why are you attacking us?” Duril asked. “You’re a bear… are you a shapeshifter, as well?”

The creature stopped and turned toward the healer once more. Varg made a move to attack again, but Duril raised his arm. “Varg, don’t… just for a moment.”

Even Naella and the others fell silent, as the creature lowered its head, coming almost face to face with Duril. They didn’t see anything, without a doubt, but they sure heard everything that was happening.

“I’m Duril, a potion maker from Whitekeep. Who are you?”

The burning eyes examined him from up close, but Duril didn’t flinch.

“I’m Claw, and I’m about to chew you to your bones, potion maker.”

Varg was ready to intervene, but Duril kept his arm up and begged him without words to wait a little longer.

“I don’t think you will do that, Claw,” Duril said bravely.

“Why not? If I crush you all, I’ll finally be able to walk out of this place.”

“Where are you from? Where do you belong?”

The only things he could see were Claw’s eyes, and Duril hoped and begged the heavens that he wasn’t wrong as he read something in them. There was fury, yes, but also, signs of intelligence, and even the fact that the beast had stopped when Duril had talked was encouraging.

“The Quiet Woods,” Claw said after a few moments during which everyone held their breath. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know where that place is,” Duril said, “but I know that you’re away from home. How did you get here?”

Claw growled and breathed into Duril’s face with the clear intention to intimidate him. Another menacing rumble came from Varg, but the wolfshifter postponed his attack, waiting for a cue.

“Why do you ask such questions when your end is near?”

“I don’t think you’ll eat us,” Duril said with conviction.

“Ha! Because of your wolf? He’s nothing but a puppy!”

“A puppy?” Varg was rightfully annoyed. “Come closer, flea bag, and I’ll show you who’s a puppy!”

Despite the severity of the situation they were trapped in, Duril had to bite his lips to keep in a chuckle. He was certain Claw could see in the dark at least as well as he did, and it wouldn’t help to start laughing in his face.

“No, not because of him. But because you don’t want to eat us.”

“I don’t?” There was incredulity in the bear’s voice, but also something else.

Once more, Duril hoped he wasn’t in the wrong. Cautiously, he raised his arm and placed his hand on Claw’s cheek. “Just like us, you want to go home.”

There was a short moment of silence, but then the bear let out another growl and shook off Duril’s touch.

“Duril, watch out!” That was Varg who lunged toward Claw and sank his teeth into his shoulder from behind just in time to prevent a blow that would have sent Duril flying and slamming him against the wall.

Claw turned his attention back to Varg. The two were soon engaged in a struggle, both trying to take a bite out of the other.

Duril wasted no more time. “Everyone,” he called, “grab anything you can get your hands on, and let’s help Varg!”

The frightened group moved at once. They seemed to find new strength in either Duril’s confident voice or the fact that they had heard the creature talk. They were shuffling around, searching the walls for torches they could use as weapons.

“I have this stick I use for fish,” Naella announced proudly. “But we cannot see like you, in the dark.”

Duril stopped for a moment. He raised the stub of the torch in his hand and said in a loud voice. “Make light!”

A collective gasp followed as all the torches lit at once. One of the men dropped his, but hurriedly picked it up to avoid having its light snuffed out once more.

That surprised the bear and he turned toward the group. Duril took note of Claw’s brown fur and impressive size, but those he already knew about. What he could clearly see now was the deep gash in the bear’s belly, and how the skin seemed to hang on his bones.

The city dwellers didn’t wait for a cue and hurried toward the bear, shouting and cursing. Claw stepped back and tried to withdraw, surprised without a doubt by the sudden attack. Behind him, the abyss opened.

“Varg!” Duril shouted.

The wolfshifter didn’t need to be told what to do. In a split second, he was behind Claw, barring the way toward escape. The bear considered his options after a brief look over his shoulder at Varg and then another at the group rushing toward him with torches and everything else they had. He made his choice and lunged toward Naella and the men, but Duril jumped in front of him. “Stop!” he ordered. He didn’t quite recognize himself these days. Duril from the old days wouldn’t have dared to shout at a bear and try to stop him.

“I don’t like orc meat,” Claw growled. “Out of the way!”

“What about deer?” Duril said. With slow movements, he handed his torch stub to Naella and reached inside his bag. The dry meat he kept there could still be eaten.

He pushed the food under the bear’s nose. After a short moment, Claw sniffed it and then opened his mouth.

“Duril, watch out!” Naella called in distress.

But Claw only grabbed the offering and began wolfing it down.

Duril let out a sigh of relief. “You’re just hungry,” he said as he came to that realization. “Here, try some of this, too.” Toru wouldn’t eat cabbage anyway, so it was fine to let Claw have it. Bears could eat many different things, unlike picky tigers.

Not surprisingly, the bear grabbed the cabbage with his teeth. Now, the only sound they heard was that of him crunching away at that leafy vegetable.

Duril dared to step closer and caress Claw’s head. “How long have you been in here?”

“Don’t think,” Claw munched loudly, “that it’s enough to give me food and get me on your side. I must leave this place, and if the only way out is through you, so be it.”

“We want the same thing.” Duril could tell Varg was still as ready as ever to launch another attack, and that the people behind him were only waiting for a sign from him to fight for their lives, as well. “We are trapped in here and we want to get out, just like you.”

With some food in his belly, Claw seemed more willing to talk. “You do? But how did you enter?”

“This is the house of merchants in Shroudharbor,” Duril said slowly, aware that the bear could snap and turn murderous on them at any moment.

“I know that,” Claw replied. “I’ve been locked in this labyrinth for ages.”

“Who locked you in here?” Duril asked. Surreptitiously, he made a sign for the others to put down their arms.

“Master Blayves,” Claw said.

Another sound of surprise followed, as the bear shed his fur and turned into a human under their very eyes. He was still as tall as the corridor and had a shaggy mop of hair on top of his head the same color as his fur. Duril noticed his broad frame and the leather armor covering his chest. He must have been a warrior like Varg, but what sort of army, if any, he belonged to wasn’t easy to determine.

Shifters of all kinds lived long lives, and the bear in front of him could be the same age as Varg or even older, but again, that was only an assumption. Although he didn’t look any older than a forty-year-old human, Claw could have easily lived for hundreds of years.

His wide face was attractive, and his eyes, as Duril had noticed before, shone with intelligence. A thick short beard covered the lower half of his face, and someone who didn’t know they were dealing with a shapeshifter would have identified him with the majestic creature that roamed the forests. Even as a human, he was bear-like.

“I’m glad to meet you, Claw,” Duril said and bowed his head slightly.

“How did you know?” The bearshifter examined him with curious eyes.

Varg shifted back into his human form as well. “You’re not going to attack again, are you?” he asked in a brusque voice.

Claw only half-turned toward him. “I won’t fight you again just yet, puppy.”

Duril could swear there was smoke coming out of Varg’s ears, but no, that was just his imagination. Still, the frown on his friend’s face was scary. Toru’s teasing was one thing; Varg took that all in stride, the healer thought he not-so-secretly enjoyed the tigershifter’s teasing. But this was different, this was an insult, and Duril could sense that he would have to keep the two from butting heads and getting into a brawl again.

Varg, as tall and strong as he was, still didn’t stand higher than Claw’s shoulder. Everyone there had to tilt their heads back to look at him.

The wall that had moved to allow Claw to attack them moved back into its place. Varg turned on his heels and hurried to it, only to find the wall as smooth and impenetrable as before.

“What was in there?” he asked in a rough voice.

“No way out,” Claw replied tersely.

Duril chewed on his bottom lip, acutely aware of the animosity between the two. At least they were no longer on the floor, fighting, so it was progress that he didn’t mind taking. Even in the bad shape he was in, Claw had stood his ground, so Varg shouldn’t be too happy about fighting such a redoubtable opponent in a place like this and under these circumstances.

“Who are you, people?” Claw asked.

Naella stepped forward. “We’re from Shroudharbor. And Duril and Varg are travelers. Behind that wall,” she pointed to where the bearshifter had come from, “have you seen a little boy, about this tall?”

Claw shook his head. “There was no one else but me in there.”

Naella let out a relieved sigh.

“When did you enter here for the first time?” Duril asked, as everyone else was silent.

“It was a long, long time ago. Master Blayves needed someone to guard the place.”

“And he locked you in here?”

Claw fell silent for a moment. “The corridors kept changing. In the end, I was caught in this maze.”

“What did you eat all this time?” one of the men asked, his voice still trembling.

“Trespassers,” Claw said.

Duril noticed the sly smile on his face, as the city dwellers stepped back in fear.

“Whatever I could find, all the little creatures I could get my paws on.”

“So you didn’t eat any humans, right?” the same man from before asked, this time sounding hopeful.

“No. They don’t taste that good.” Claw followed that assertion with a low laugh. “I’m only joking. But you’re the first people to cross my path in all of these years. Are you lost, like me, in this labyrinth?”

“I’m afraid we are,” Duril confirmed. “We came to see the merchants. Have you ever heard about them taking people here when they’re about to die?”

“No. And I don’t understand how a labyrinth so long and twisted can be here,” Claw said. “The house of merchants is but a small place.”

“It didn’t look that small to me,” Varg said.

“It’s just a small shed above,” Claw argued.

Duril rubbed his chin in thought. “I know it must be hard to keep track of the years passing while trapped in a place like this, but can you tell us how long you think you’ve been in here? A few years? Dozens?”

It was Claw’s turn to rub his chin in thought. “Hundreds,” he said with finality.

The city dwellers began to murmur.

“That’s an awfully long time ago,” Varg said. “Did you know about the pearl that washed up on the beach here?”

Claw nodded. “Yes. It was for that reason I was summoned here. To guard the pieces that they took out of that big thing.”

“Then the Master Blayves you’re speaking of,” Varg continued, “must have had a long line of successors. As we speak, a man who goes by the same name rules over the house of merchants.”

“He must be the same man,” Claw said.

Duril didn’t have to look to know that the city dwellers were exchanging confused looks among themselves. Their murmurs gave away their amazement at Claw’s words.

“Are the merchants here of a race other than human?” Varg asked. “How can the Master Blayves you speak of be the same as the one in charge now?”

Claw shook his head. “The merchants made a pact with the sea demon they stole the pearl from.”

“Sea demon?” Naella voiced what was on the minds of everyone there. “Those are just tales.”

“I only intend to find a way out of here and nothing else. Whether you believe my words or not, it doesn’t matter to me,” Claw said morosely.

Just like any bear, he probably preferred solitude to being surrounded by pesky humans, hence his abrasiveness. Nonetheless, hundreds of years of being on his own must have taken a toll even on a resilient shapeshifter like Claw.

“What is this story about a sea demon?” Varg asked.

Claw didn’t seem keen on making it clear. Naella chose to speak again. “The story of the pearl is an old one. We believe it because it is a source of wealth for our city. But anything about a sea demon and such, we always thought to be a thing to tell children at bedtime.”

“We would still like to hear it,” Varg said.

“Shouldn’t we be looking for a way out?” one of the men asked. “Why should we waste time on fairytales?”

Now that Claw was no longer frightening, the city dwellers were starting to get their voices back, it seemed.

“We are trapped in here, and Claw tells us it’s a labyrinth, just as the torch whispered to Duril’s ear, that he hasn’t found a way out of for hundreds of years. I’d say we have time for a story or two,” Varg said and silenced everyone.

Claw cleared his throat. “That sea demon is no figment of imagination, nor the type of thing to scare tiny tykes with. When the merchants came for the pearl, she rose from the sea.”

“She?”

“Sea demons prefer to take the shape of women to ensnare sailors and treasure hunters,” Claw said with a shrug. “I didn’t see this demon, but the merchants talked of her beauty as being out of this world. They said her long green hair ran to the tip of her fish tail, and that her shifty eyes could look at you and steal your soul. Skin like alabaster, and the smile of a goddess. Those were the words they used when talking about her.”

“What was this strange pact Master Blayves and the others struck with her?” Varg asked.

“To give the demon their lives. That was their part. But only their mortal lives, and she turned them immortal.”

Another terrified gasp coursed through the little group behind Duril. It must have been that such things weren’t believed possible in Shroudharbor; thought to be the fabric of legends and nothing more.

“Then it was a small price to pay for immortality,” Varg commented.

“You think so, puppy?”

The wolfshifter bristled. “I wouldn’t insist on calling me that if I were you. You’ll feel my fangs if you continue.”

Claw laughed. “Quick to anger, like any wolf. One would have thought that the years that put silver in your hair might have dulled your fury and taught you a little patience.”

Duril was eager to avoid any conflict between the two. “Did the people around know of this pact of the merchants with the sea demon?”

“The fishermen and their own families, you mean?” Claw asked, and his eyes moved over the group of Shroudharbor dwellers, now more and more filled with suspicion. “Your lot says you’re from Shroudharbor? You look too well fed to me. That village was nothing but a few huts thrown together.”

“The place has changed a lot while you were trapped in here,” Duril explained. “A proud city stretches far and wide. It is all because of the wealth the sea brings. Isn’t it so, Naella?” he turned to her and sought confirmation.

“Yes, it is so. But this pact the merchants made with the sea demon… did it say anything else? Anything about human sacrifices?”

“I know nothing about that,” Claw replied. “The only lives they gave were their own. Although,” he added, as his eyes fogged with remembrance of things from a long time ago, “I caught them talking once about something.”

“What were they talking about?”

“Something,” Claw replied, as he struggled to remember, “about turning the pearl into an unending source of wealth. Yes, they were saying something about not being enough to have infinite days to look forward to in the future. They were looking for a source of infinite wealth, as well.”

“Now that explains a thing or two,” Varg said loudly. “The merchants could have sold the pearl and then left this place for good. But, instead, they built a city here. Why?”

“Because they needed lives,” Duril completed his friend’s train of thought. “What better infinite source of lives than other than humans? Humans who get born all of the time?”

He regretted his words immediately as a shiver of fear went through the group of city dwellers.

“They used us like livestock? But for what purpose?” one of the men demanded to know.

Claw shrugged. “I don’t know. Now that I think about it, they must have noticed that I was eavesdropping on them. And then they told me to go on guard duty. The place was still being built, so I had to keep an eye out for anyone trying to sneak in to steal construction materials.”

“What happened next? Do you remember?” Duril asked.

“I remember,” Claw said, “that I fell asleep. I shouldn’t have, being on guard and all, but I thought any thief would be deterred from attempting anything by a sleeping bear.” He laughed shortly. “But when I woke up, there were stone walls around me, and I felt weak, like all the life had been drained out of me.”

Duril’s eyes were drawn again to the gash gaping across Claw’s belly. He jolted as he noticed the old blood around the wound. That couldn’t have been caused by his fight with Varg but must have been the result of something else.

Something that had to be as dark and deep as the secrets of this place.

TBC

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