Chapter 2 | The Land of Hempholme

   It was like any other day with the sound of the waves from the nearby beach faintly in the distance, drowned by the rustling of the sea of evergreens surrounding the large farming town of Hempholme.

   Protected by their venerated Sea Dragons, the land was blessed with blooms and crops year-round despite being in the colder parts of the country. People flocked to the town for its abundance of life. Their sea was never short of fish. And they never experienced the fear of the night.

   The Commander of the third squadron of the Drakonian Companies shed his layers of armor soon as he arrived two days prior to don his regular hunting clothes. Rusen was decided to be on vacation mode.

   "Wear this," he said to another around his age. "It'll be more comfortable."

   The other shook his head, "I can't just wear-" but he was cut off.

   "You're not working right now, Aleksi. Relax a little, will you?"

   Aleksi grimaced a little at the clothes he was handed. They were over five years old, the last he'd bought since taking over his new duties as a Marquess.

   "Do you think they still fit?" He then asked, laying the shirt over his body.

   "I'm sure it'll be fine," dismissed Rusen, pulling his bow over his head. "We can go over to temnaya storona, hunt us some dires."

   "That's for the guilds to take."

   "Forget the bounties, Aleksi. We're just having fun. Right, Asena?" The boys turned to the girl passing by.

   "Dire hunting?" She looked up as she pulled her armors on. "We should come across nāgas on the way. I need to skin some for Aleksi's new armor."

   The boys grimaced. "Oh, okay," they said.

   "Where is Evren?" Aleksi asked once they stepped out of the cottage house his friends called their first home.

   "Sent to the Kaja Region."

   "Gorý?"

   "That’s right. The mountains– something about an illness taking their abled."

   Aleksi nodded, remembering now. "Tetya too, no?"

   "Mhmm," Rusen nodded. "Under the protection of the Attletonas Warriors."

   The young lord snapped his head, "her warriors?"

   "Malgo came to get them, personally." Rusen informed him. "Or so I heard."

   "She came," confirmed Asena without batting an eye as she mounted her horse, ready for their 'fun' excursion.

   Though fun was a relative word that she could not really comprehend. She browsed through the list of things she needed to collect while out.

   "We're on vacay after months of gruelling training. Can we all just please use this time not to run errands?" Rusen said as he realized his sister's mind was working nonstop.

   "You forget, Rusen. She never goes on a vacation."

   "Unlike you," someone laughed not too far away, "Asena has taken to the life of the town."

   "That's true," Rusen nodded. "She did return much earlier."

   "How is being out of duty for you?" Aleksi patted Asena on the shoulder to get her attention.

   "Better. I have more time for my experiments again instead of taking etiquette lessons."

   Rusen doubled over remembering his sister in dresses she would have never chosen for herself. The image of a waltzing Asena or even giggling, at least pretending to, was something he just couldn't get out of his mind.

   "Now that I have finished my duties in society, I intend to enhance more of the uniforms. How do you like yours, Rusen?"

   Rusen shrugged, "haven't seen them. Came straight here."

   His sister nodded, looking peeved but probably not to her knowledge.

   "I can test it out once vacation is over."

   "I'm sure my sister will have tested it by then," Aleksi informed all.

   The young lord was given a few days of reprieve, something he hadn't had in years due to the mountains of paperwork and the lands he now preceded over. Though he'd grown up knowing and learning he would someday inherit them and more, it was another actually putting to use his knowledge. The lands were fertile like Hempholme thanks to generations of competent Damyanovs, but Aleksi still found himself with work.

   He'd taken Rusen as his assistant during this time, to teach him of a similar future the boy was to inherit.

   Of course, his sister was already learned in everything necessary, but he liked the idea of them sharing responsibilities as his parents had done.

   "When do you plan to hold your wedding, Rusen?" Jerome wondered aloud as they galloped towards the dark forest of Carcaroux.

   “Once the petals of the Jane magnolia have withered away, Deni and I have decided.”

   “That’ll be some time from now,” Jerome observed the yellowing leaves around them.

   "Let us pass through Draguithune," Rusen pointed to a winding river and thickets of evergreens. "So, Jerome. Are you prepared to hunt?"

   The neverending fog often kept the people of Hempholme away from it. No one lived near the dark forests.

   "Really?" Jerome stopped riding forward. "That's not a safe place, you know. No one goes in there."

   "We will have to light our way," Aleksi observed as he flicked his fingers alight.

   A controlled fire flickered out and floated around them continuously. But the fog was thicker than he realized.

   "Why can't we just blow it away?" Rusen asked, literally blowing out a strong gust of wind from his mouth.

   "Don't you think others have tried that?" Jerome said nervously, following as closesly as possible.

   "Then we shall bring light where it was not there before," Rusen chuckled.

   "Ah," Aleksi furrowed his brow at the boy rubbing his hands together. "Rusen. Please, don't make trouble for us."

   "It is better to talk to the Dullahans," Asena voiced her opinion.

   Yet, unlike all the unhelpful things so far, hers was by far the worst– to Jerome, at least.

   Asena did not wait for their accordance and unmounted. She approached a large tree that they could all somewhat see and knocked at it.

   "We've come to hunt nāgas, if you have them."

   The trees rustled for a while before the entire forest surrounding them fell into an eerie silence.

   "The nāgas have gained poison from the cave not too far away," a voice spoke. "We will let you ride out, halflings of Klœdlan, if you take half of them with you."

   Asena started to count with her fingers, "I only need a few–"

   Rusen cut her off. "We will take half."

   "Good. Go on then, halflings."

   A dark creature emerged from one of the trees, riding a black horse. Jerome felt his blood go cold as he noticed the head missing from the creature. Never in his life did he ever imagine ever seeing a Dullahan. But this was his third time and always with the Spiros Siblings.

   They rode through the forest, no longer clouded by the fog. With the headless figure guiding them, they reached the promised cave in no time.

   The Dullahan turned to face them. Jerome could tell only by the head of the horse. Night Creatures spoke in their own language, sometimes similar, but more often it varied per forest or land. It was never one that Jerome could learn. Like all other Night Creatures, this Dullahan spoke to Rusen and Asena in their language.

   Rusen turned to Asena for the translation.

   "You have until the break of new darkness," she repeated.

   The Dullahan spoke again.

   "You stupid halfling, learn the language of your kind."

   Jerome stifled a laugh. Of course, Asena would come to translate verbatim.

   "Rusen, Jerome. You both stay out here." Aleksi unmounted his horse as soon as the dark fairy disappeared into the fog.

   He was followed by Asena, who looked excited, eyes eager to collect.

   "Remember to wipe out as much as possible," Rusen shouted after them. "Not just how much you need!"

   "You think, Asena will only take what she needs?"

   "You know my sister, Jerry. She'll do whatever is convenient for her."

   "But Lord Aleksi is there too."

   "Even his father's father couldn't command our Asena," sighed Rusen.

   Jerome nodded, "I guess, mom too."

   The boys looked at one another and broke in a fit of laughter.

   "Asena's always been her own person," Jerome soon added. "I guess, she'll do whatever she wants."

   Not twenty minutes later, the duo who entered the cave walked through the fog back to their party, not a hair out of place. The only sign of battle was the stench that could not be easily erased.

   "Did you get the skins?" Rusen asked, not really needing an answer.

   "Yes."

   "And half of them," Aleksi announced in the language of the night.

   A Dullahan, possibly the same as before, appeared out of thin air, scaring Jerome further.

   It spoke to Aleksi for a lengthy time before disappearing.

   "We will need to hasten out of here," Aleksi's voiced roared in displeasure.

   "I gather, they weren't happy," Rusen said, pulling Jerome towards the horses. "Get on. Now."

   Jerome was already shaking with fear from the Dullahan. Now, his friends were scaring him too.

   "I shall ride behind," Asena told them.

   This usually made Jerome feel safer, but the forest was dark. And unlike his friends, he had no way of creating light of his own.

   Asena rode beside him, but enough that he still lead before her. She had her eyes focused forward while his head darted around.

   "What else did they want?"

   "The Dragon's son," Aleksi scoffed, turning his head briefly towards Jerome.

   "An Unda?"

   "Seems like we aren't the most recent visitors of Draguithune."

   "Who– who else would come in here?"

   "They would not say," Asena said.

   "They wrecked havoc south of here," Aleksi added. "And the Dullahans intend for an Unda to pay."

   Jerome shivered as he continued to ride.

   "W-will they come after us?"

   "Not if we can help it," Aleksi's light multiplied around them. 

   Fire balls danced through the fog, a response to the growing noise of the forest.

   "How did they even know I'm an Unda?" Jerome huffed.

   "Your eyes," Rusen pointed out.

   Jerome placed a hand on an eye. Damn it, he thought.

   "But why did they call him the Dragon's son?" Rusen asked.

   Aleksi looked at him almost in disbelief.

   "Son of Hempholme, Rusen." Asena's voice came from far behind. She had suddenly stopped riding along.

   "What–" Rusen was about to ask her why she'd stopped when a glow emitted from her arms.

   A large pentagram lit under her and the horse. The light burst through the ground and rubbles of the soil surrounded her. As it settled, swirling around, she began to ride again. The rubbles followed her as more were pulled from the ground with every gallop. They clumped together into relatively-sized golems.

   The golems ran in sync with her until they reached Jerome where they proceeded to surround him, still running in pace.

   "Good thinking; he'll need all the protection." Rusen shouted from the front.

   Rubbles from the ground were still being lifted as a taller and beefier golem was formed. It looked to Asena as it casually jogged.

   "Only you," Jerome said through scared fits, "could create such things."

   A hiss in the air pierced through their ears.

   "They're here."

   Adventures with the Spiros were always a thrill. Jerome grew up alongside such excitements, becoming both a coward and a lionheart.

   He swallowed his fear and readied for battle, pulling out the sword he seldom used for fighting.

   The large golem pointed at a certain direction.

   "Take a left!" Asena shouted.

   She continued to follow the finger of the golem until Rusen could be heard whistling with relief.

   "Give us the Unda, halfling!" A Dullahan shouted after Asena, who was the last to leave the dark forest of Draguithune.

   The Dullahan hissed and trees rustled violently.

   "We will remember this, halfling."

   "As will I," she responded. "The favor you owe the Damyanovs will someday be collected."