Rumors Abound
1112 Words
It was high noon. The sun was scorching but the weather was cool. Myles and Viethra walked together past the forest. From the distance was the northern gate of Matil. As the two walked towards the east by the village walls, Myles heard familiar voices coming from inside the village. He heard the voices of the boys who would usually bully him.
Viethra continued to walk but Myles stopped and listened to them. He heard them talk about his monstrosity and him not being a human. He hardened his heart and tried to ignore what they were talking about. However, when he heard the boys insult Father Pierre and Sister Maria, he felt sadness in his heart and anger towards them. Slowly, tears flowed from his eyes. Like a sudden flash of light, he suddenly remembered everything that Father Pierre and Sister Maria did for him. Those moments when they ate their meals together, the times when they worked in the garden together, he remembered them all.
Viethra finally noticed Myles. She approached him and hugged him.
“It’s alright now,” Viethra comforted him. “I’m sure they will be sad if you remember only their deaths and not the memories that you spent with them.”
Viethra wiped Myles’ tears and waited for him to continue. Moments later Myles calmed down and they continued on their way towards Talida. Remembering the knights’ reaction from their last battle, Viethra wore her hood and gave her rucksack to Myles so he could at least put his sword inside. Finally getting far from the village, they traveled using the road. Nothing unusual happened while they were on the road. They continued walking on the road taking frequent rests. While on their rest, Myles would usually practice swinging his swords. Viethra would also read the scrolls that she brought and practice some new spells.
Time was passing too quickly and the sun was about to set soon. They thought to camp on the spot where they stopped, but they suddenly heard a scream from a distance. As fast as they could, they rushed to where the scream came from. From a distance, they saw merchants being attacked by two giant spiders.
The two helped the merchants. Viethra cast Growth Sap to weaken the spiders. Myles moved in and cut the legs of the spider nearest to them. Seeing that it was weak from behind, Myles slashed the spider’s abdomen defeating the first spider. However, it was far from over. The second spider was attacking the merchants who only had daggers to defend themselves.
Viethra went to their aid and used her new spell, Nature Bind. Roots sprouted out of the ground binding the spider. Their grip strengthened with every struggle of the spider crushing it until it was decimated. Moments later the spider corpses decayed leaving no trace of their presence.
The merchants, who were attacked, thanked Viethra and Myles. To show their gratitude they offered their services to them. The two refused the merchants’ offers and told them that they should be on their way. The approaching night gave one of the merchants an idea. He proposed to treat the two to dinner as a way of thanks. Seeing no escape from the offer, they finally agreed and they all camped on that spot for the night.
Tying their horses’ reins to tree roots, preparing ingredients for dinner, and getting their cart ready for sleep for their guests, the merchants swiftly moved to face the night. Thereafter, they made a fire to light cook food and for light. The four of them sat around the fire. Viethra and Myles leaned on a tree, while the two merchants were busy cooking food.
“Are you two lovers?” one merchant asked. “You seem to have good sync with each other during that battle.”
“N…n…n…no,” Viethra stuttered. “We only met each other yesterday. We’re just traveling together.”
“Oh, ho, ho,” the other merchant laughed. “No need to be shy with us.”
“But it’s true,” Viethra pouted which made everyone laugh.
“The name is Paul,” the first merchant said. “And this is my brother Jon. We are traveling merchants.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jon said to the two.
“It’s a pleasure,” Viethra replied.
“What are your names?” Paul asked.
“We would like to keep it a secret,” Viethra smiled.
“Very cautious are we?” Paul laughed.
“Anyway, we are headed to Talida,” Jon said. “We visited Matil village just this morning but when we arrived everything was ravaged. We wanted to stay there for the night but the inn rejected us and so we had to travel early.”
“You? Where are you two headed?” Paul asked.
“We are also headed for Talida,” Myles answered.
“So anyway,” Jon asked. “Have you guys heard of the rumor?”
“Rumor?” Viethra was intrigued. “What rumor?”
“About the monster orphan from the village who pretended to be human for years,” Paul replied.
Viethra and Myles were silent. “Well, that is an awful rumor. We haven’t heard of anything like that.”
“The knights who defended Matil said that the orphan whom the church took in went in berserk in the middle of the forest,” Paul continued. “They say he grew wings and horns and blood flowed from his eye. I overheard the knights talking about him before we were leaving. What was that kid’s name, again Jon?”
“It was something like Mi…Mike? No. Myles? Yes. It was Myles,” Jon replied.
“They said that after this Myles kid went berserk a mysterious lady took her to the forest,” Paul continued. “Real scary alright.”
Myles gripped his fist. He wanted to scream. He wanted to tell them the truth and what really happened but he just couldn’t. He was afraid. The rumors about what the events spread too quickly. Like wildfire over dead grass, he just could not believe that even two merchants who briefly stayed at Matil knew of what he did or what he supposedly did.
“Anyway,” Jon intervened. “Why are you wearing that hood even though it is already dark?”
“I have a scar, it’s embarrassing,” Viethra replied. “And I feel uncomfortable if I’m not wearing my hood.”
“Can’t force you to remove it then,” Jon laughed.
They kept talking until dinner was prepared. Jon and Paul prepared stew with vegetables and meat. Viethra only ate the vegetables and Myles barely ate anything. They shared stories after. Viethra and Myles were being careful not to divulge their identity. They eventually felt drowsy. The merchants offered to Viethra to sleep inside their cart while the rest of them sleep outside. Viethra accepted and all of them fell asleep soundly awaiting the dawn.
- Writer
