Yveshin
“Are you sure about this?”, Yveshin mumbled, as he and Pjotr stood in front of the gaping maw that was the entrance to the Aro Grotto. The Norbardian gave him a determined nod. “My wife is in there”, he spoke. “Karenka, she's...” Briefly, a smile flashed over the man's face despite his obvious fear. “She's the light of my life. I... sorry, I don't expect you to understand this”
He was quite right, of course, Yveshin still had a hard time understanding human affections, fascinating as they were. Nonetheless, by now he was confident he at least understood how important this had to be for Pjotr. As such, he gave him a nod. “Come with me then”, he spoke. “We'll get your wife and the others out of the grotto”
A sigh of relief left the man's throat and he couldn't contain a thankful smile. “I will be forever in your debt, Master Elf”, he told him. “A Norbardian life debt is not forgotten easily” They both approached the cave, though as Pjotr was about to say something else, Yveshin raised a hand to silence him. He had no doubt the human was not picking it up, but his finer elven senses picked up a faint sound from within.
At first, it was almost a whisper, so quiet that even he could barely make it out at all. As he got closer to the entrance, however, the sound grew clearer and it made his skin crawl. It wasn't a whisper. It was squeaking, the sound of countless rodents squeaking, their clawed feet scurrying over the ground. “We're heading into the den of a thousand rats...”, he whispered and hesitantly, he reached for an arrow from his quiver. “Keep close to me... and keep that torch even closer”
Pjotr gave him a nod and though he was visibly shaking, he followed as Yveshin entered the cave. Of course, the elf hardly needed the light, but he knew that fire had its uses even beyond illuminating the darkness. His eye picked up on his surroundings quick and the other one, beneath the eyepatch, was even sharper. Though the torch was barely enough to douse the cave into a dim twilight, he saw as clear as day within.
The Aro Grotto was a long tunnel, slowly heading deeper into the hill, with the way down leading around a corner. Yveshin stopped and though he couldn't see them, he clearly heard rats from deeper within. “How large is this cave?”, he asked and Pjotr shrugged. “My cousin Aleks knows more”, he replied. “He led us in there. It's extensive, this much I know”
“Could you find your way around?”, the elf asked, as they reached the corner. He swiftly glanced around it, ready to shoot an arrow at any threat lurking behind. There was nothing, just a fork in the path, one left, one right and another one straight ahead, deeper into the grotto. “To the place where your people were attacked. Maybe we can recreate their steps from there” Pjotr hesitated, before he nodded again. “I can try”, he promised. Yveshin knew, this was the best he'd get from his companion.
The torch was shaking in Pjotr's trembling hands, as he led the elf down the path to the right. The sound of rats was thankfully less loud down here, though Yveshin was not certain if it was a good sign. Something larger was in here, something way more dangerous than a harmless rat. And he doubted the rodents would stay anywhere near such a beast.
The cave was cold, unusually chilly even for a place like this. A faint wind was playing with the elf's hair even now, indicating at a second exit somewhere deep. Perhaps some of Pjotr's people had managed to escape through there. However, especially with the distant, permanent sound of so many rats throwing off his elven senses, it was hard for Yveshin to determine where that second exit was. In front of them perhaps...? No, the air here felt more stuffy, still cold, but stale as well. Something sharp was lying in the air as well, a stench of urine, rot and... clearly, blood.
Under better circumstances, he would have stayed here for a bit, to study this place. Though seemingly deserted, the cave showed heavy signs of humans living within, or at least of spending extensive amounts of time here. Though most of the walls were still bare, the two men walked past quite a few ornate engravings, carved right into the stone. Small altars, where humans left offerings to their god... Firun, they called him, the lord of winter and the hunt. Though Rime Elves worshipped no gods, Yveshin could at least understand how people would worship something as massive as winter.
“Do you hear that?”, Pjotr asked and Yveshin gave him a brief glare to shut him up. He felt the ruby eye growing warmer within his skull and the Norbardian froze in sudden fear as it downright flared up beneath the eyepatch. The entity within the stone, this malevolent spirit felt it and through it, the elf did as well. They shouldn't have come here...
Another sound was now audible in the distance, behind another corner. Yveshin recognized the wet spots on the ground and on the walls. Blood, fresh blood, though darker stains were there as well, where blood had dried weeks ago. And a munching sound, saliva dripping onto a stone floor, thin bones breaking, a delighted sigh coming from a raspy throat. Yveshin raised a hand to bid Pjotr to stay where he was, before he himself approached the blood-stained corner.
With an arrow ready to fire, he first peaked around the corner. Though he was confident in his abilities as a hunter, he could hardly calm his furiously beating heart. This was no bear, nor wolf. The beast in this cave was something unnatural, he could feel it. Something vicious and violent, perhaps something a plain arrow would hardly help against.
He barely dared to glance around the corner, into a large, dark room. Stalagmites grew from the floor, impressive in size, with some broken off and shattered across the floor. There was blood everywhere, old blood, fresh blood, and flesh, a sickening amount of flesh. The cold prevented the worst stench, but what he smelled was enough for his stomach to revolt. Flesh, some of it rotting, some of it fresh, some of it torn from bodies, some still attached to bones. Other bones were gnawed clean, sometimes even broken apart to get to the marrow. And in the centre of the cave, hunched over the body of a recently deceased woman...
The man-sized creature let out a growl as the elf spotted it, followed by a roar that made his skin crawl. This was unlike any sound he had ever heard from any beast of the wild. It sounded almost... human, though twisted with a savage rage. The eyes that glared right at the elf from beneath a dark hood stared at him with hatred and mad hunger.
Yveshin wasted no time, as the beast jumped up. It was indeed built like a human, though without the torch and without any time to inspect it more closely, he couldn't make out any of its features, as they were hidden beneath a ragged cloak. It was fast, inhumanely fast, but not faster than an elf with a bow. Before it could even begin to charge at him, he had fired an arrow at it and as expected, he hit his mark, right where the heart would be for a normal human. The arrow pierced the creature and knocked it back, though to be safe, Yveshin reached for another one from his quiver.
It was in this moment that he realized just how terrible this danger was. Instead of sinking to the ground, dead or dying as any creature would be after such an injury, the Beast of the Aro Grotto barely staggered back, before raising its head and letting out a shrill, high-pitched and inhumanely angry scream. Briefly, Yveshin saw a ragged beard beneath the hood and teeth... sharp-pointed front teeth, resembling those of a rat. Then, the monster began to charge at him.
It was fast, so fast that the latent panic he felt all along finally surfaced, now as he faced not an animal, but something that resembled a human while being so clearly something else entirely, something so dangerous it triggered an almost mindless fear. Monster, bow, arrow... Yveshin fired without even aiming and this time, he missed his mark by half a metre. He instinctively knew, there was no time for a third arrow before it would reach him, before it would tear him apart with teeth and claws, break his bones, rend his flesh, drink his blood... his blood...
“RUN!”, he screamed in terror as he spun around, staring into Pjotr's wide-eyed face. “HURRY!” He could do nothing but scream, though thankfully, the Norbardian followed his command at once. He didn't even drop his torch as he charged down the way they came from, with Yveshin close behind him. And behind him... He dared not to look, he heard it running after him, its shrieks even louder than his own panicked screams.
As he fled, he barely even noticed his surroundings. All that mattered was getting out of here, away from this monster. He shouldn't have come here, he shouldn't have taken Pjotr with him, he shouldn't have left Blue Firs. He shouldn't have left his home. For the first time in his life, Yveshin felt mortal fear. Not even the horrors of Drakesfield had been as real to him as this moment, being hunted down by something faster, stronger and more vicious than any beast he himself had ever hunted.
Without paying any mind to his surroundings, he noticed too late that the squeaking sound had grown louder. He barely had enough time to slow down as he turned around the corner, where the way had forked earlier. They had turned right, which meant they had to... Yveshin saw and heard the rats that were charging towards them just a second too late. Dozens, hundreds of large, brown rats, their squeaking mingling with the shrieks of his inhuman pursuer. They rushed towards them, or perhaps towards the beast behind them and for a moment, Yveshin had to stop.
“Down here!”, Pjotr yelled, as he ran left. The rats were right behind him, cutting off Yveshin's way. A few of them outright jumped at him in what he could only describe as a frenzy. Only his thick clothes saved him from harm, though their sudden weight and the ferocity of their attack made him stagger. He heard the vicious roars behind him and reacted just fast enough, as his hand moved to the brooch that held his thick cloak.
The very moment he felt the pull, he opened the brooch and instead of dragging him to the ground, the beast merely managed to grab his cloak, while the elf himself ran down the path to his right, now without the added weight of the heavy fur. Frantically, he tried to shake off the rats, which were running all over him, up his leg, across his overcoat, one even trying to reach his neck. As he grabbed it, it snapped at him, trying to bite through the fur that protected his arm. It was rabid, it had to be.
Though the rats failed to hold on to him, the beast wasn't giving up this easily. As Yveshin glanced over his shoulder, he could still see the figure chasing after him, hunched in a beastly frenzy, still shrieking like a madman at the top of his lungs. Blindly, he fired an arrow and though he was certain he at least grazed his target, it barely slowed the creature down.
Finally, light at the end of the tunnel. A faint shimmer a gush of wind. Had he found the second exit? The beast had stayed in the cave until now, perhaps it would stop pursuing him, perhaps it would... He heard its roar, as it jumped forwards, then he felt it slamming against him. The elf staggered to his knees, while the beast's claws were clenched around his shoulders. A piercing, high-pitched scream right next to his ear and then, Yveshin felt teeth, digging into the fur that protected his shoulder.
In front of him, there was indeed light, but in his panicked attempt to throw the monster off of him, Yveshin could not focus on it. He had to get it off him, he had to get back on his feet. Again, the teeth sought a way through his fur and though it was strong, too strong to simply shake it off, its teeth did not manage to bite through the protective clothing.
Suddenly, a large shadow fell over the two. Yveshin barely noticed the sound, but he felt a brief release, before someone else grabbed him, this time from the front. Once more he struggled, screaming, screaming for his life, as he threw a desperate punch at the figure in front of him. It was taller, broader, but its grip was not as iron as the beast he had just gotten free from. In fact, the figure staggered under his punch, though he still felt himself lifted up into the air and dragged forward.
Slowly, his vision cleared. Survive, he had to survive! The tall figure had dragged him away from the beast, into a round room. The ground was refreshingly cold and Yveshin calmed slightly as he felt snow beneath him. Finally, he realized that the tall figure was by no means another monster, but a man, as tall as an elf, but built twice as sturdy. He was a Norbardian, with slightly tanned skin and not a single hair on his head aside for a pair of bushy eyebrows and a lone ponytail on the back of his head. In one hand, he held a wooden club, while he used the other to toss Yveshin onto the ground into the snow.
“Will you give it a rest now, or do I have to knock you out?”, the man barked, as Yveshin gave him a surprised look. The beast was still there, just beyond the snow-covered ground, crouching there, as if it was ready to jump at them. But something seemed to hold it back. It had stopped shrieking and the silence that followed was almost deafening. However, it was still growling in anger and in frustration.
“I... what...?”, he managed to utter, as he looked back at the Norbardian. The man rolled his eyes. “Elf, what the fuck are you doing here?”, he growled, as another, softer voice interjected. “Don't be too harsh on him, Serj”, a woman told him. “Get him over here, the poor guy is scared out of his mind” The man, Serj, sighed, before he took a step back. “Alright, elf, get up”, he told him. “But don't try anything funny. Stay calm”
With the horror of having to run for his life slowly fading, Yveshin's mind began to clear. He was in a round room. Stone walls, still within the Aro Grotto. The ground was... covered in snow? He looked up and if not for the grim situation, he would have chuckled, as he realized the cruel irony he was in. The second exit was far above him, an opening on the cave roof, through which the dim light of the fading sun was shining. Snow fell from down here, covering the entire room. And not even he would dare to climb up there without proper equipment. The only other exit was where the beast was now lurking. He was trapped.
In the centre of the small room, he noticed a stone table, an altar as the humans would call it. This cave was dedicated to Firun, the God of the Hunt and indeed, the offerings on this altar were obviously trophies. A small dagger, the broken horn of a deer, a wolf's hide. And there were people, three people huddled around the altar. Two women and another man. In the fashion of the Norbardians, the women had the top of their head shaved, while the man wore a braid not unlike Pjotr or the other one, Serj.
One of the women was hunched over the injured man, pressing a makeshift bandage onto a grisly wound on the man's side. He was barely conscious, while the woman was clearly exhausted. She had slightly lighter hair than the men, with a touch of red to it and her facial features were finer than what he was used to from her people. A bit of Nivesian ancestry perhaps? If there was one kind of humans even his people knew a lot about, it had to be the people of the northern wilds, whom she seemed more than just faintly connected to. The other woman, probably younger though it was always difficult to tell with the humans, sat to their side, arms crossed and merely staring at the ground with wide, fearful eyes.
He glanced over his shoulder at the beast and Serj put a hand onto his shoulder, causing him to flinch. “Easy, elf”, he spoke, now less harshly. “This one cannot reach us here. It's probably the snow” Indeed, the creature seemed hesitant to even touch the snow, which covered the entire ground. “It's trapped in this cave, it seems”, Serj continued. “Unfortunately, unless you can fly out of here, so are we”
Yveshin gulped, as he threw another glance at the opening far above him. Then, he approached the woman who had spoken, the very same who was now trying to help the injured man. “I never expected to see one of the Firnya'fey in such a grim situation”, she spoke between two heavy breaths. Though older than the other woman, she was by no means old, as he realized. It was just that the other one was almost still a child. “Peace, Rime Elf. You are safe in this room. What leads you here?”
The elf took a deep breath. He still felt terror at the thought that this shrieking beast was just a few feet behind him, but the humans seemed calm enough. “I... My name is Yveshin. I was on my way north when I stumbled upon this cave. One of your people was there, a man named Pjotr...” The woman's eyes widened and a thin, hopeful smile formed on her face. “Pjotr is alive!”, she exclaimed. “Praise Ifirn and Tsa!”
“No one else?”, Serj growled and her smile faded. Yveshin shook his head and the younger woman gasped, as she buried her head within her arms. The elf heard desperate sobbing and the other woman sighed. Her smile faded and he spotted tears within the corners of her eyes. “I knew they did not make it”, she spoke. “My sister and her husband were separated from us. Her parents... this is my niece, Maria” She placed a hand on her chest. “I am Karenka, Pjotr's wife. Those are his cousins Serj and Aleks”
“Where's that coward?”, Serj growled. “The moment the rats began to swarm us, he made haste to the exit. Left it to me to defend his wife and his niece. A man has to defend his kin, or else he is nothing!” A calm glare from Karenka shut him up. Though Serj was by far the largest and strongest person in this room, he seemed to follow her lead. There was something about the woman that made even Yveshin listen. He knew that the Norbardian tribes were led by wise women, skilled healers and storytellers. Perhaps she could be one of them?
“He came with me into this cave”, he said and immediately, he saw Karenka's face twitch in worry. “We were separated when the rats attacked us. The beast chased me down here, while he tried to get back to the exit. I... I don't know if he made it” Karenka tensed up and though she kept her composure, he saw her lower lip trembling. “Pjotr has to wait”, she spoke. “We can hardly help him as it is”
As Yveshin looked around, he could only confirm her statement. They were trapped in here, with the beast still crouching near the only exit out of this room. “I could, if you would just let me climb!”, Serj growled. “I can make it up there, find a rope and help you out of this forsaken place!” Karenka shook her head. “You would break your neck”, she stated and Yveshin could only agree with her. His home was in the mountains and he was a fairly experienced climber. This meant that he knew his limits. He would not even attempt such a climb without a rope and proper equipment.
“The gods haven't forsaken this place...”, the other woman, Maria, mumbled beneath her breath. “Else this monster would have ripped us apart already” This time, Karenka nodded. “My niece is right”, she spoke. “Snow is Firun's element and snow clearly hurts this creature. The Lord of the Hunt is still looking out for us”
“More like he lets us starve to death in here”, Serj barked, as he pointed at the wounded man. “My brother tried to get us out of here and now he is bleeding out in this oh-so-holy snow” He reached down, grabbing a fistful of snow, before hurling it into the direction of the creature. The beast reacted quickly and ducked, which gained Yveshin's curiosity. It was a human in size and shape, though the fact that it had one of his arrows where the heart should be clued him in that it was anything but human. And though it wasn't even mildly bothered by the arrow in its chest, it moved to avoid the snow. Perhaps Karenka's assumption was right.
And he noticed another thing. During the chase, the creature's hood had almost completely fallen off, revealing its features. It was... a human? At least it looked like a human male, with ragged, dirty-blonde hair and a scruffy beard of the same colour. The facial hair could not cover up a loud scar that had once neatly split its cheek in half, neither was it able to cover up how downright emaciated it was. Starving. The look in its eyes, however, was anything but human. The eyes were bloodshot and the expression in them was one of pure hunger. This creature, it was starving, he realized. Aside from this inhuman hunger in its gaze, the only other inhuman feature were the teeth. Through its opened mouth, Yveshin got a clear view. Most of them were perfectly normal, if stained by blood and dirt. But the upper front teeth were long and ended in sharp points, almost like a rat's teeth... Rats!
Yveshin realized where he had seen this man before. Frantically, he reached into his coat, where he kept the document Lugos had given him in Wolfsgate, the bounty as the man had called it. His eyes widened as he inspected the drawing. Less rugged, without a beard and definitely without the rat teeth, but the scar was unmistakable. “You!”, he called out to the creature and Serj flinched next to him. “What are you...?”, the large man growled, but Yveshin ignored him. “You are Ungolf the Rat!”
Now, the beast flinched, if briefly and it actually looked him right in the eye. “Un... golf...”, it managed to press through its teeth and the voice was thin, scared and clearly human. “My... name...” These words were followed by a monstrous growl. “So... hun... gry...”, Ungolf the Rat added and for a brief moment, the look on his face was almost human, desperate and pleading. “Plea... se... need... food...”
The elf gulped, as he remembered the room where he had found this man. Littered with bones, a fresh body still there, with Ungolf the Rat gnawing at the flesh. Karenka's sister, as he was inclined to believe, but he knew enough about human minds not to burden her with this right now. They had to stay calm to get out of here.
“Look at his teeth...”, Serj whispered. “It looks like a human, but those teeth...” Yveshin gulped. “It... he... he was human!”, he spoke. He was certain that Lugos would have said something about Ungolf having pointy front teeth. It probably used to be merely a nickname, but right now, his features indeed had something rat-like about them.
Serj grabbed the bounty letter from his hands and glanced over it. “A highwayman, huh?”, he growled, as he looked at the creature that has once been Ungolf the Rat. “Looks like they failed to mention some things, like how he's some murderous cannibal freak!” He raised his voice, nearly spitting the words into Ungolf's face. In return, the Rat's confused expression soured and he hissed at the Norbardian. Immediately, Yveshin could hear rats from the cave behind him. They were connected somehow, reacting to his commands, or maybe to his mood.
Quietly, he moved back from the rabid man... thing, whatever he was. Serj followed, clutching his wooden club as if it would offer him any protection against a creature that just shrugged off an arrow to the heart. The elf sighed. His sister would know what they were dealing with here. Perhaps she would have known even before entering the cave. As it was, Yveshin had to admit he had not the slightest idea what creature this could be. It looked like Ungolf the Rat, though it was clearly not human and acted more like a starving animal than any sentient being.
He knelt down next to Karenka, before he gave the injured man a worried glance. The full extent of his injuries was hard to inspect, with the torn cloth covering his belly, but judging by the amount of blood that stained the makeshift bandages, he needed proper attention quickly. “Can you save him?”, he asked and the woman sighed, before giving him a nod. “I've treated many such wounds”, she told him. “Hunters who were mauled by bears or wolves. Most of them got through. But I need my supplies. Herbs and potions. They're at the wagons”
“So we need to get outside”, Yveshin spoke. Under other circumstances, he would have waited. There was water enough and his kind was able to live without food for days. Ungolf the Rat already seemed to be starving and perhaps he could wait him out. But that was obviously not an option for the humans. “Through that thing”
With slightly trembling fists, he looked around, hoping one of his new companions had an idea. “Maybe I can hold him off”, Serj brought up. “I cannot kill that thing, but I can hold him down until you have gotten past” He gave Yveshin a curious look. “Your people are stronger than they look”, he stated. “Do you think you can carry my brother out of that cave?”
“Not an option”, Karenka protested. “It was my choice to enter this cave, to leave an offering to Firun. You will not die for my mistake!” Her voice was sharp and authoritative and Serj immediately lowered his gaze. “Of course, matriarch”, he mumbled. “But how can we kill it? We tried to bash its head in and it nearly killed Aleks in return”
Karenka was quiet for a moment, though she carefully looked from Yveshin to Serj and then to Ungolf the Rat, who was still crouching just at the corner of the room. His presence was still unnerving, like a feral wolf just waiting beyond the edge of the campfire for a chance to strike. His eyes were fixed on the group with inhuman hunger and Yveshin quickly noticed he was not blinking, not even once. And his chest... if Ungolf was breathing at all, it was so shallow that not even elven eyes were able to see his chest rising.
“Snow...”, the woman mumbled. “Aleks threw a snowball at this creature and drove it off” She was whispering, though Ungolf raised an eyebrow. Whatever intelligence remained within his feral mind seemed to understand, though he made no attempt to flee. “Look at him. Seems he's been here for a while, he's basically just skin and bones by now. Maybe he cannot leave because of the snow. I wonder what would happen if he would be forced to enter this room”
“And if that doesn't work, me and the elf will be ripped to shreds and you're still trapped here, or worse”, Serj protested. Instead of saying his part, Yveshin merely narrowed his eyes, carefully glancing at the figure of Ungolf the Rat. Though the former highwayman's body was trembling with bestial strength and feral hunger, he showed just enough restraint to not just charge at them for some reason. Perhaps Karenka was right... there was one sure way of finding out.
“Serj...”, he hissed and the large man stopped in his protest. “Throw a snowball at him, now” The Norbardian raised an eyebrow, though he shrugged. “Alright, that could work”, he agreed. Ungolf had heard every word, of course, and though he seemed savage, barely able to even speak, he definitely understood. Yveshin had never seen a creature like him, but he was an experienced hunter. He recognized the way the Rat's muscles tensed up as Serj grabbed a fistful of snow right before his eyes.
With Ungolf's full attention on the large Norbardian, Yveshin subtly reached down as well, digging his fingers into the snow. He narrowed his good eye, as Serj hurled the snowball at the creature. Ungolf hissed in anger. With a speed born from genuine fear, he jumped to the side, out of the line of the snowball, just as Yveshin had expected. In the very moment Ungolf made his move, the elf made his own and his snowball hit its target.
In the last possible moment, Ungolf raised a hand to protect his face. The soft ball shattered as it touched his fingers, with bits of snow spraying through the gaps and right against the beast's face. And immediately, Yveshin knew Karenka's theory held some merit to it. Ungolf screamed, now not just in anger and hunger, but in genuine pain, as if he had been hit by boiling water. He staggered back and though he clutched his face, Yveshin could see the skin blistering, as if burned.
“Theory proven”, he stated calmly, as Ungolf staggered back. The Rat was still howling in pain and now slamming his own head against the nearby wall at full force, before falling onto his back and wailing. It was a cruel sight and Yveshin caught himself staring at the injured creature a second longer than necessary. The ruby eye in particular seemed to be fascinated by the reaction, even if the elf was just as horrified.
Serj gave him an approving nod. “Then that's what we're going to do!”, he exclaimed. “You and me together, elf!” He turned to Karenka, who sighed. “Be careful, you two”, she spoke, her voice a stressed whisper as she looked from the injured Alex to her niece, who was staring at the scene in speechless horror. “I cannot bear to lose anyone else today”
Serj shot her a crooked grin. “We're going to be fine, cousin”, he assured her before he looked at Yveshin. The elf had reached for his bow. Though arrows barely had an effect on the creature, the force of such a shot had to at least throw him off balance. Serj was strong and if they both acted fast enough, perhaps they could drag the monster into the snow that covered this entire room. Judging by how badly it reacted to a single snowball, Yveshin could guess what would happen in that case.
Ungolf was not idle, of course. With a roar, now less one of pain and more one of feral, unadulterated rage, the beast jumped up, just as Serj began to charge at it. Yveshin used this moment to fire an arrow at the highwayman, hoping to knock him down again. To his surprise, Ungolf barely reacted to the shot at all. Though he staggered as it hit him in the chest, he kept his balance. With mild annoyance, he slammed his hand down, breaking both of the arrows off where they entered his body.
Serj swung at him with his club, but Ungolf was faster and easily caught the makeshift weapon with one hand. The other grabbed the Norbardian by the shoulder and dragged him closer. What started as an attack from Serj quickly turned into a desperate struggle, as the man pushed one hand into Ungolf's face, trying to keep the sharp front teeth away from his throat.
Yveshin was between them in an instant. While rushing towards the fight, he drew his knife... the very same knife with which he had taken the life of Berosh Son of Blakharaz, as he suddenly realized. It was as if the thought was being forced into his mind. Still, he did not hesitate to push the knife into Ungolf's throat, before twisting the blade and opening the beast's neck.
Though he never expected to kill his opponent with this attack, he realized it at least got him off of Serj, who stumbled backwards, pale with fear. Ungolf himself staggered away from them both as well, his glare focussed solely on Yveshin now. In this moment, the elf noticed something strange, something that actually made him tremble with fear. The gruesome opening in Ungolf's throat which he had just caused... it was starting to heal. Rapidly, the flesh fixed itself, regrowing and realigning until not even a scar was left.
A scream came from Ungolf's throat, the same ear-splitting shriek from earlier, the sound he had made when he had been chasing after Yveshin and Pjotr. Immediately, the elf picked something else up in the distance. Squeaking, quiet at first, but quickly getting louder. There was no doubt what would follow, though it was too late to back off. Serj charged first, though Ungolf merely grabbed him and pushed him back. The shove was enough to send the Norbardian flying and he crashed heavily against the wall behind him.
Then, elf and monster clashed against each other and the moment he slammed into him, Yveshin realized what terrible strength Ungolf had at his disposal. Though he looked scrawny, even for a human, he grabbed Yveshin by the shoulders with ease, pushing him back against the wall, before biting down into the fur overcoat.
With his unnaturally pointy front teeth, Ungolf cleanly ripped the coat open, plucking away a notable piece of fur before Yveshin even had a chance to react. In return, the elf took a swing at him once more and like a starving beast, Ungolf made no attempt at parrying or avoiding the strike. This time, the knife split his face open, carving through the blistering flesh and through the Rat's left eye.
If anything, the man felt it in some capacity, as he immediately backed off. He roared in anger and his entire body began to twitch. Though his head was moving erratically, Yveshin could only look on in horror as the facial wound healed with the same rapid speed as the throat wound had healed before. Even the ruined eye grew back together, though it needed more than just a moment to regain its dark blue colour.
Hunched over like the utter madman that he was, Ungolf the Rat charged at Yveshin. The elf had fought against many fearsome creatures in the Brazen Sword, but none moved quite as erratic as this one. There was no intent in Ungolf's moves but pure desire to kill, to maim and consume. He was driven by hunger, as Yveshin realized, to the point where anything but the most basic form of self-preservation had left his mind. And as he was getting more and more angry, he was losing even that. Under better circumstances, Yveshin could have used this to his advantage. As it was, all he could do was to scream in helpless terror as Ungolf jumped at him.
The beast dodged the strike of the knife more by chance than by intention and before Yveshin could do anything, Ungolf rammed his pointy teeth into the thick fur on his arm, with such a force that they immediately dug through layers of clothing and into the soft flesh below. Pain flared up in Yveshin's left arm and he screamed as he aimlessly struck at the beast with his free hand. The sheer force of Ungolf's weight pushed him back and onto the ground and though he definitely sliced through his opponent's face and neck, the monster didn't even react, not now that it finally managed to inflict a wound on him.
Ungolf tore at the flesh and Yveshin howled in agony, as he was unable to pull his arm back or to escape from the beast's deadly grip. With one hand, Ungolf clung to Yveshin's injured arm, with the other he held him down on the ground, as he tore again, his teeth scraping against the bone this time. He bit down again and the look in his bloodshot eyes changed slowly, his gaze now filled with utter relief.
“Back off, monster!”, Serj's voice roared, loud enough to pierce through the stunning pain that slowly threatened to drown out all of Yveshin's senses. Then, the Norbardian was between them, slamming his club into Ungolf's face with enough force to yank the beast away from Yveshin. As it staggered back, the terrible pain in Yveshin's arm grew even worse and the Rat actually took a piece of flesh with him.
Angry, determined and seemingly faster than ever, Ungolf spun around, glaring at Serj, who was slowly backing off. Behind him, the squeaking had gotten louder and in the darkness of the Aro Grotto, Yveshin saw dozens of small shadows charging at them. With a single blow to the stomach, Ungolf knocked Serj to the ground and the massive Norbardian fell onto his back. Immediately, the rats were there, crawling all over him, biting down as he screamed and blindly thrashed at them.
With one hand, Yveshin pushed himself away from the monster. The pain in his left arm was excruciating, even if the injury itself didn't look too deep. More than that, he felt an immediate exhaustion and a feeling of terror that defied anything he ever felt in his life. This was not just simple fear for his life, it was existential dread.
Slowly, Ungolf turned back to him, his maw wide open. The rat-like front teeth were now bright red with Yveshin's blood and as he carefully approached his injured prey again, his mouth widened into the most terrifying expression the elf had ever seen from him. It was no longer just pure rage, but sudden bliss. The creature chuckled, but in complete defiance of his savage attack just moments earlier, this sound lacked any malice. Ungolf was laughing out of joy, out of relief as he carefully licked his freakishly long teeth clean of the elf's blood.
The look he gave Yveshin was even more unsettling than before. He charged at the elf not with another scream of desperate rage, but with a sigh, followed by a thin chuckle. The Rat continued to chuckle as he easily lifted the fleeing elf off the ground and he outright giggled as he pushed him against the wall, all without breaking eye contact even once. The force of his new attack was enough to knock the knife out of Yveshin's weakened hands and by now, no scream came from Yveshin's throat, just a wheezy cough.
With desperate strength, born from fear, Yveshin ignored the pain in his left arm. The thought of dying here, it felt surreal, as if it was not him who had to fight for his life. But fighting he would. He would struggle to the last with this beast, he would give him a fight the Rat would remember for a long time... if he was capable of remembrance at all.
With his left hand he held Ungolf's face away, clawing at the man's eyes in the process. The pain this caused to his injury was almost unbearable, but the fear of feeling these rotten, sharp teeth again was even stronger and it made him push through. Ungolf snapped at him, his teeth slamming together just inches away from Yveshin's face. Elven blood and Ungolf's saliva stained the creature's rat-like teeth and his entire face was twisted with greed. “Mo... re...”, Ungolf pressed through his throat, a croaking, bone-chilling sound. Slowly, he pushed closer, with none of Yveshin's desperate punches showing even a slight effect on him. Once more, he tried to bite down into the elf's face and this time, his teeth almost grazed Yveshin's nose...
“Yveshin!”, a voice called out to him from the left. A woman... Karenka... Though his good eye was fixed on his inhuman attacker, unable to look away, to even react, the ruby was not bound to such primal fear. It acted almost on its own. Out of the corner of his field of view, he saw movement and instinctively, he reached out with one hand, to catch what she had thrown at him.
His fingers wrapped around an object, not steel as he had expected, but... bone? With a desperate roar, he pushed forward and Ungolf's eyes widened. The chuckle turned to a gasp, as the elf, with all the strength he had left pushed the object deeper into Ungolf's chest. And this time, something was happening. The sheer bestial strength, the rage and greed, left the Rat's body in an instant.
Now, Yveshin had the upper hand and he managed to push Ungolf away from him. As if the numerous lethal injuries he had suffered today were finally catching up to him, the monster was staggering, unable to even resist as Yveshin pushed him to the ground. He landed there without trying to break the fall, his expression nothing but stunned surprise.
Finally, Yveshin realized what Karenka had thrown at him, just what he had pushed into Ungolf's chest. Not a knife, but a massive tusk as long as a dagger, right from Firun's altar. As he sunk to his knees next to Ungolf, he noticed tears in the man's eyes and pain in his expression. Gone was the savage rage. Instead, he seemed confused, stunned and in pure agony. “So... hun... gry...”, he gasped, as Yveshin grabbed him by the collar. “What are you?”, the elf barked. “Who... who did this to you?”
“So... hun... gry...”, the beast merely managed to press through his teeth again. He reached up, though it was not another attack. Instead, he clutched at Yveshin's shoulder almost desperately. If his previous behaviour was that of a feral and starving animal, it was that of a confused, hurt and scared human right now. “So...”, he wheezed again. “Cold...” Then, his head sunk back and his expression grew blank. Ungolf the Rat, the Beast of the Aro Grotto, was dead.
Yveshin let go of his dead opponent, his eyes still fixed on the tusk in Ungolf's chest. He had dealt half a dozen deadly blows against Ungolf today, but the only thing he had been unable to shrug off was this tusk. Stunned as he was, the pain in his arm only slowly came back, but with a vengeance. He groaned in pain, as he clutched the wound. Out of the corner of his good eye, he spotted a shadow rising from the ground and he only barely managed to suppress a gasp of fear, before he realized the figure was none other than Serj, covered in dozens of small cuts from where the rats had bitten him, injured, but alive. Behind him, the dozens of rats quickly scurried off, the foul bond they had with Ungolf broken with his death.
“Elf!”, he roared, as he came closer. “How... how did you...?” Yveshin could not reply, as he stared at Karenka in speechless silence. The woman looked at them no less terrified than they had to look at her, before she shook her head. “Snow is Firun's element”, she spoke. “What if it's not just the snow, but anything connected to Firun? Anything, like a trophy from his altar”
With one wide eye, Yveshin stared at the woman, while Serj right next to him burst into a chuckle of disbelief. “You're lucky that plan of yours worked out”, he growled, before he turned to the dead body of Ungolf the Rat. “And you, take that, you ugly son of a bitch!”, he roared at the top of his lungs, as he stomped down onto the dead man's head, shattering the rat-like teeth in the process. Still trembling with anger and quite likely pain as well, he took a deep breath. “That felt good”
Yveshin gave him a grim nod, though he sighed immediately, as the sharp pain in his arm grew worse. “He bit me”, he spoke and Karenka raised an eyebrow. “I'll clean it once I have tended to Aleks' injuries”, she offered. “But I am no mage and this creature was clearly unholy. You'd do well to have mage look over it, or maybe a priest”
The elf had to remember Lugos' words, about a white mage in Realm's End who might be willing to help him. “I'm on my way to meet with one”, he revealed. “But regardless, any help you can give me will be appreciated” He looked into the darkness of the Aro Grotto, before tensing up. “And we should get out of here”, he added. “I'd rather not dwell”
Serj gave him an enthusiastic nod and despite his numerous injuries, he reached down to lift his brother up without any effort. Almost gently, he held the unconscious man in his arms, while Karenka placed a hand on her niece's shoulder. “It's time”, she spoke in a gentle tone. “Come, sweet. We'll get through this, I promise”
Though the girl hesitated, she still grabbed Karenka's outstretched hand and allowed her aunt to help her up. Yveshin smiled at the sight. Family bonds among humans were as fascinating as they were heartwarming. His kind was close as a community, with his entire tribe acting as one large family, but that came at the cost of such deeper connections between blood relatives. Case in point, he was certain his own sister hated him by now.
Clutching his bow with his good arm, he led the group, with Serj coming next to carry the injured Aleks. Karenka and Maria walked last, though both women stayed close to Serj. With one last look at the dead body of Ungolf the Rat, Yveshin ventured into the darkness, though he was certain that the events of this day would haunt him for a long time to come.
And indeed, the worst was still to come. Finding the right way was not hard and Yveshin was even able to pick his cloak up in the process. However, he was also the first to find the body on the ground, lying close to the exit. Pjotr had almost made it before dozens of rats had swarmed him. Even now, two of them stayed close to his dead body, only scattering as the group approached. With one look at his face, maimed by a thousand bites, Yveshin sighed, as he swiftly placed his cloak above the corpse, to spare his family the sight. He tried to be respectful as he did so, for he knew of the odd fixation humans had to their dead relatives, as if Pjotr's soul somehow cared for how his corpse was treated.
He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Karenka's expression. It was enough for him to shiver with pity for the woman. She had lost her sister and now her husband to the beast that dwelled within this cave and he saw how it slowly caught up to her. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and though she staggered for a moment, she remained standing. In this moment, she reminded him almost of one of his kind. Keeping calm and collected even in the face of such loss was a virtue among the Rime Elves.
“Kari...”, Serj spoke softly, as he took a step back, placing himself between her and Pjotr's body, as if blocking the sight would somehow be enough to make her ignore what she had just seen. “Take as much time as you need”, he spoke and his own voice was shivering. The huge man was barely keeping it together at the sight of his dead cousin. “Take...”
She shook her head and marched past him, a grim expression on her face. “There will be enough time to mourn after we care for the living”, she pressed through clenched teeth, her voice a barely controlled whisper. As she marched past Pjotr's body, she made the visible effort not to look at him at all. “First, I need to make sure your brother won't bleed out after all”
Serj sighed and unlike her, he freely showed his sorrow. It was strange to see such a large man in mourning, but as he walked past Yveshin, he was weeping without holding back. With a heavy heart, the elf followed them, out of the cave at last. By now, it was growing dark. Pjotr's campfire had burned down and without offering his help first, Yveshin knelt down next to it, while reaching into his backpack. His belongings were thankfully still where he had left them and with all the skill of an expert hunter, he tried to start a fire.
It didn't take him long, while Karenka tended to Aleks in one of the wagons, accompanied by her quiet niece. Serj joined him at the growing fire shortly after placing his brother in the wagon and the two men quietly stared into the flames. “Do you drink, elf?”, Serj finally asked and Yveshin gave him a nod. “I could really use some water, if you have anything to spare”, he admitted.
To his surprise, Serj chuckled. “I did not mean water”, he spoke and Yveshin still failed to catch the joke. Perhaps it was another human thing. Today, he was too tired to question their strange customs. “Milk would be even better”, he admitted and Serj raised an eyebrow. “I did not mean...”, he began, before he sighed. “You know what, fine. You have earned yourself all the milk in the world today”
He reached into his backpack and soon handed Yveshin a waterskin. Curiously, he reached for a small wooden flask for himself. “Goat milk for you”, he spoke and Yveshin took a deep, greedy gulp. It was indeed goat milk, almost fresh and after the fight he had just been through, it tasted like heaven. Serj watched him, before slightly shaking his head. He took a small sip from his flask and whatever he was drinking, it had to be bitter, for he frowned immediately after swallowing it.
“I would have died in there if not for you”, he then said. “We all would have. I don't forget such a debt” Yveshin glanced into the gaping opening into the grotto, before he shook his head. “I told Pjotr it would be alright to accompany me”, he whispered. “He would still be alive if not for me” He bit down onto his lower lip and took another sip from the milk.
Suddenly, Serj placed a large hand onto the elf's shoulders. “I can say it now, because she is not listening”, he spoke as he pointed at Karenka's wagon. “My cousin was a coward for most of his life, scared even of his own shadow. And I don't blame him for this, some people are strong, others are weak. But he died trying to do the right thing. For all his flaws, that is something to be proud of. Something his wife can be proud of. And I am proud to have him as my cousin” He tried and failed in his attempt to smile. “I know that would mean everything to him, the respect of his kin. That would be more important to him than even his own life”
Yveshin narrowed his good eye. He was not sure if he could agree to this sentiment. Admiration meant little to him, whereas he only had one life to lose. With this life, he had stopped Liscom the Fasarian in the wasteland of Drakesfield. He had saved at least a few of the black mage's victims. And now, he had saved at least a few of the Norbardians from the beast of the Aro Grotto. Though Pjotr's death weighed heavily on his conscience, he knew just how much good he had done and still could do.
Kill... Assarbad...“What?”, the elf mumbled absent-mindedly and Serj raised an eyebrow. “I didn't say anything”, the Norbradian replied. “Is... everything alright? You took a few bad blows in there” Yveshin sighed, before he gave him a nod, followed by a half-hearted smile. “Do not worry for me”, he spoke. “I am sure I'll be alright. Though I look forward for some sleep tonight”
Luckily, he didn't have to wait for too long until Karenka left the wagon. She was pale with grief and covered in some fresh blood, though her expression lightened ever so slightly as she saw Serj and Yveshin. “He'll live”, she told them and now, the large Norbardian buried his head in his hands to cover his tears. “Thank Ifirn...”, he mumbled. “Thank... thank you, Kari”
The woman smiled thinly, as she sat down next to them. “Maria will look after him tonight”, she spoke. “He'll need further treatment after we reach the next town, but he will make it” With these words, she looked at Yveshin. “Now let me take a look at that wound of yours” Reluctantly, the elf offered her his arm and he actually flinched as she touched the raw wound.
“Took a piece of flesh with it”, she mumbled. “A strong bite and those teeth...” She frowned and behind her, Serj took a peek at the injury. Yveshin swiftly reached for a nearby piece of wood and bit down onto it, knowing he'd need it. Instead of even looking at the injury, he preferred to look around, finally locking eyes with Serj.
“Just... what was that thing in the cave?”, the man finally asked, while Karenka reached into her pouch, where she revealed a set of herbs and a clean bandage. The woman shook her head. “A cursed creature”, she told them. “A pitiful man, cursed and forsaken by the gods themselves for a sin that he never committed. Do not hate him, for he is just as much a victim than the ones he killed. He was driven by hunger and by undying greed”
Serj frowned, just as Yveshin felt sharp pain flaring up in his arm. He bit down onto the wood and tried to suppress a groan of pain, as Karenka carefully cleaned the injury. “So, you're saying he was a Strig-”, Serj began, but Karenka cut him off at once. “No!”, she barked sharply and the man paused. “This evil has no name and to give it one is to invite it into our lives”
The man rolled his eyes. “I don't know about you, but it feels like this evil already left a mark on my life”, he spoke, before he realized just what he had just said. He was quiet after this, staring into the flames while Karenka cleaned and then patched up Yveshin's injury. The elf understood what she meant without any problem. There were many secrets in this world, some posed a danger even if they were just spoken out aloud. His tribe carefully guarded quite a few of these, truths so terrible that even he never gained more than just the faintest of glimpses of them. And it mattered little to him what sort of creature Ungolf was. What mattered was how he could stop it.
“How can I protect myself from this evil?”, he asked. “Always carry a hunting trophy with me?” Karenka shook her head. “You said this man was a bandit in his old life”, she spoke. “And yet it seems he believed in Firun, or else the Lord of the Hunt wouldn't have cursed him in this way. Others may be cursed by different gods”
She reached to her neck and beneath her scarf, she revealed three simple amulets, nothing but runes carved into stone. “Firun and his daughter Ifirn”, she spoke. “And Tsa, the Young Goddess. They always kept me safe” With a sigh, she removed them from her neck, before handing them over to the surprised Yveshin. “Maybe they can do the same for you”
He gave her a surprised look and she actually smiled at the expression. “We cannot pay you”, Karenka told him and her smile faded as quick as it had come. “Not in coin, not after Pjotr...” She shook her head. “We'll struggle enough as it is. Our role in this tale is over. We'll head to the next village and stay there until this darkness has passed. But I feel like you are not the type to hide from evil. You will seek it out, fight against it and when spring comes, you will have triumphed over it, or you will have joined its ranks like Ungolf the Rat did. Perhaps these will protect you from such a fate”
Yveshin hesitated to accept her gift. Though he knew by now that humans liked to reward others with coin or trinkets and that it was rude to refuse such a gesture, the whole practice still feeled odd to him. And there was another thought he could not quite shake off. If he was taking these amulets, if they were supposed to protect him... what about Karenka and her remaining family? What about their protection? He took a deep breath, not just from the pain of her patching up his injury, but also because he was genuinely unsure if he could accept such a valuable gift.
[Take the amulets] [Leave the amulets with the Norbardians]