PART V
"I don't mean it, but thank you for your service."
Jolark looked up from putting his backpack in his car and stared with a smile at the owner of the hotel. How this guy was in any way related to that merry fool in the west was beyond him.
"Thank you, Mr. Yutoh."
Ulo wagged his tail at the pink haired man and jumped into the car beside his friend. Watching them go with another sneer, Mr. Yutoh reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Looking at it quickly, he swiftly moved his eyes to the view of the tired vehicle trundling into the town centre before leaving Arbo for wherever they were headed.
"Don't go to Lengrat, son." He stared at nothing in particular before closing the entrance door behind him.
Ulo looked out at the water as the sun hit it in the morning air, his lighter metallic ears flapping in the wind as the car sped into the town.
"Tami is looking forward to seeing you, buddy." Ulo looked over at him and wagged his tail again. "Yup, and I think she still lives with Argyle... Haha!" Jolark erupted in laughter as Ulo jumped excitedly onto him at the mention of that name. He loved Argyle! One of the only people in the country that played with him like you should a canine tynko or if they still existed, a real dog. Argyle had a great scent too, welcoming and warm. The car could not travel fast enough for Ulo, willing it faster he leapt back onto the passenger seat and tried to calm down.
"Lots of people to say goodbye to, what do you say we wait until evening to set off?" Jolark nodded as his little friend agreed with a nod. "Maybe even a walk on the beach?"
Ulo lost his control circuits at the mention of that word and was bouncing around all over the upholstery causing Jolark to shake his head and laugh.
5 - VODREN - Gudno
"This place is cursed, I swear to ye..."
Standing alone and yet proudly in a dark forest, the Castle Tathyr loomed over the supporting town of Vodren; gloomy clouds around the skies and shadowy streets everywhere. The population sparse and growing fewer as the centuries fleeted by, Vodren grew quieter and quieter, but at the same time grew in name to surrounding towns and villages. The closest city, Lengrat; seen only from the top of the castle, gave out a threatening red light every evening before nightfall. That was the only light the residents saw before the moon came out and shone on their lives. This was a blessing and a curse as it brought forward many shadows that the beast could hide in. For the longest time, the townsfolk of Vodren were afraid to venture out at night from fear of being taken by the unseen and foreboding creature of the night. Any family that had the misfortune to move here, were quickly destroyed as their youngest would be taken and never seen again. Many believed the beast lived in the castle as it was sealed off from the public but there was no proof of this. What had once been a thriving population and successful trade post, Vodren was now a deathly quiet town with terrified locals. Few remember the time when children were heard, laughing and playing in the streets. Those times were long in the past and never to return.
Stirring in his chair, Gudno's eyes snapped open as the red light from Lengrat swept over his window and decorated the stone wall behind him with its welcoming glare. Dinner time. Pressing his weight on his feet, the lofty figure got to his feet and brushed down his jacket that had got creased from him sitting down for too long. Reaching his arms up over his head, Gudno realigned his spine with a loud crack and moved his head from side to side to wake up the tendons. Glancing at the fireplace as it sat empty and cold, Gudno closed his eyes and held his hand to the grate. Muttering something, flames erupted from the logs and offered up some heat into the cold room. He turned away from the fire and looked out of the window to the forest below. Would the beast strike again tonight? Who would be the unfortunate victim this time? Sweeping his way out of the dark room, Gudno made his way to the stone stairs leading down to the pantry and pushed the solid wooden door open to gain access. Darkness. That was the thing about candles, they did not stay lit forever. Closing his eyes again, he breathed slowly and mumbled to himself again. Within seconds, the overhead chandelier full of candles came back to life and lit his way to the cupboards. Stepping over the sleeping cat in his way, Gudno opened a wooden box on the wall and retrieved a vial.
"What to do, what to do..."
The cat, awoken by their master's footsteps, turned towards them and mewed. Gudno looked down at her and shook his head before looking back in the small closet. Stooping down, he opened a cupboard and smiled as a mouse flew out for its freedom. But that freedom was fleeting as the cat spotted it and took off after it across the stone floor of the pantry. Hunting time was on and not just for his cat, but for that beast out in the wilderness. Licking his lips, Gudno sat down at the dining table in the next room and poured the vial into a small glass. Darkness his only friend in here, but the moon shining brightly overhead took care of that and offered him some company on the table.
"Ah, moonlight." Gudno drank the contents of the glass and gazed out the window before getting to his feet again and walking towards the dark hallway.
The streets are completely empty, everybody clearly hiding inside. It was a game now, a real game of finding something to eat. There was always someone who was a fool for danger or brave enough to try and outfox the hunter. However, not the choice meal for this beast. It did not want drunken oaf or arrogant moron, its appetite wanted innocence and youth. Slipping into the shadows as they are plentiful, it snuck around every street and corner of this sleepy town. Waiting and calculating.
Gudno sat on the top step of the very long, very steep staircase to the castle door and watched the surroundings carefully. He remembered this place being full of life and the sounds of happiness emitting the houses and pubs. He remembered when that strange custom of giving gifts rolled around at every turn of a year, how ridiculously happy the children had been and that strange man in a costume. What was his purpose again? Sighing to himself and realising that even that sounded loud in this silent place, Gudno rested his head in his hands and scanned the town below for any movement.
"I won't be long, Papa."
The beast listened in as it moved around in the shadow of the cottage's fence to the back garden.
"It's fine, Papa! I'll be just around the corner. You need coal for the fire."
Growling quietly to itself, the shadow lurked on the narrow dark imprint of the wooden barrier from the moonlight on the cobbles. It looked at the coal shed and thought it much too enclosed for an attack. Instead the beast shifted into the shadowy reflection of the outhouse and waited.
"I'll be back in a minute."
As the door slammed shut, the creature watched on as a young girl walked into the garden towards the coal shed. Swinging a bucket in her mitten wearing fingers, she seemed completely unaware of the danger she was in. From inside the house, she could hear her father calling for her but being young and naive, the little girl set her bucket down and opened the door to the coal shed. A resounding creak was heard as the old wooden door was pushed by her small frame. Bending over, the little girl picked up two pieces of coal and placed them in the wooden bucket. She repeated this two more times, still ignoring her father's pleas for her to go back inside and turned to close the coal shed door. Only now did she stop moving and turn to the shadow on the ground. Before she had time to run, the beast reached out of the shadow with its long, hairy fingers, and equally long jagged nails and grabbed her arm. Squealing loudly, the little girl cried for her father and for her life as she was dragged into the shadows. The only thing left of her, a single mitten next to the now full coal bucket.
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