The Adventure of the Light-Bearer

CH. 32 - A Moonless Night

The village chief Edwin was lying on a bed, on his side were other beds occupied by important people in the village, including Levin who had fainted from exhaustion.

Edwin was sitting in his bed staring at Clea whose feet were being bandaged by the medic. "You and your friend have saved us from the monster. We have doubted you because you look like a normal little boy before, but it turns out that one of you is a witch. We will be happy to help you on your journey and give you what we have. But first accept our hospitality, please rest here until you recover." Edwin told Clea, he remained in his bed to look more formal and polite, despite his throbbing head.

"Thank you very much. We are happy to receive your hospitality and service. Maybe now you should also rest the village chief master. We will talk about this again tomorrow morning." said Clea with a smile, he stood up and walked into his bed by the medic. He felt his body was extremely limp and tired, it seemed like everyone who had just come to their senses from the mysterious illness was experiencing fatigue and dizziness.

The village chief then whistled a little something, after which a fat black cat came towards him, the cat was his pet. The black, hairy cat then jumped on the bed, the village chief stroking his head and giving him a piece of paper he had written before. The cat carried the paper in its mouth and left without any cue, as if he already knew the meaning of his master.

"You better rest Kanta too, your body looks so messed up. Rest here tonight, do not be ashamed to sleep in the infirmary even though you are a medic." said the village chief to the medic whose eyes were tired. "It seems like everyone in the village is resting right now, even the guards. I sent a letter to the village of Dertre to send reinforcements and guards, there's nothing to worry about now" he continued.

"But what if the creature returns? Didn't the young men say that he wasn't dead and fled into the forest?" ask the medic.

The village chief looked towards Levin. "I think if these boys are still with us, we'll be safe for a while. But hope he doesn't come back tonight, and the Hartlovians and soldiers protect us."

The medic was silent for a moment, he looked at the fireplace burning wood and made the sound of burning wood. But behind it the room was very quiet and soothing, there were Lavender flowers whose fragrant smell made people sleepy. The medic then nodded. "I think you're right. Anxiety at times like this will help nothing. I should rest and start treating again tomorrow."

After a few hours, the medic and all the villagers fell asleep. The sound of footsteps and chatter of people outside, they were the guards from other villages who were called by Edwin to guard the village. There were also saints named Hartloviant, they were priests of a cult that culted Hartlova, they believed that only Hartlova needed to be worshipped, he said, and the three other gods are lowly so there is no need to worship. Although some other cults continued to worship the other gods to honor them, divisions ensued and the cult became divided into two, Hartloviant and Philhart, a cult that worshipped four gods at once.

The word Philhart itself is taken from the classical Ynaya language, 'Phillum' which means continent and 'Hartlus' which means god. There are four gods who are believed to inhabit the continent of Ynaya or also called Ydaya, namely Hartlova, the goddess of love and affection that is placed in the sky and sea. The second was Calemia, the god of war, whose soul rested in a large sculpted church made by his followers, the church was named Solaeth. Legend has it that he always moved and helped the soldiers who prayed to him before the war. The third was Kaliph, the god of Science and magic, he made a huge library hidden in the Ynaya continent. No one has ever gone to that library except his three secret followers. The fourth is Lameksa, she is the goddess who governs the destiny and fate of all living beings, she lives in a large waterfall in Ynaya and disguises herself as a living being there. That's what people say.

There were ten beds in the room, the beds looked at each other and lined up five rows on each side. It was a special room devoted to the sick people of the village. The place was on the side of the house of the village chief and the medic.

The time was quite quiet there, only the sound of fire blazing and the whispers of people outside. Levin who sleeps in the corner bed sleeps strangely. He was flipping his body, sweat was pouring down his forehead and his eyes were twitching, he was having a nightmare. The dream looked like it was real, the dream started when he fainted from exhaustion, the nightmare frightened him in his sleep, even though he could not wake up. Now that he's dreaming about the lake creature, Llemas, the creature is telepathizing with Levin right now and telling him to wake up, Levin has to finish the ritual.

A very loud scream then rang out in Levin's head clearly, making him wake up and gasp in fear. He looked to his left right to confirm that he had woken up from his dream and searched for the source of the screams, but people around him were seen sleeping in a deep sleep, including the disheveled Clea. "What was that before." Levin said inwardly as he held his head. "Llemas tried to communicate with me through a dream... He said that the ritual should be completed tonight... Si.. Shit, my body's still limp..." Levin then tried to stand up, he realized that his armor and stuff were not there, he then looked towards the middle corner of the wall and saw his armor and sword there.

Levin stood up and walked there, the sleeping people were not disturbed in the slightest despite Levin's rather noisy steps. Levin carried and dressed the armor, kept the sword in his belt and searched for his other items. "Tu.. Hold still.. My crystal?" muttered Levin while ransacking himself in panic. "Where is that thing? What could be Clea... Oh, there it is." Levin saw the crystal was stored on the table, where it was stored Clea's bow and arrow and the crystal. "He shouldn't have kept it here... How careless that female is." he muttered.

"I don't think it's necessary to take Clea, she must be very tired." Levin then slipped out, opened the door slowly and stepped out. A guard who was asleep in the chair at the door woke up, he saw Levin coming out of the room, he stood up and pointed his sword at Levin.

Levin raised his hand in shock. "A.. I'm Levin, I'm the one who saved this village. A.. I'm not gonna hurt anyone here, so put your weapons down" said Levin, the guards and the priest and came. "And also, please don't scream, the people there are still sleeping, don't disturb them" he continued.

The guard was convinced by Levin's words, he put his sword back in. "Oh so, so apparently you're the witch Edwin said you were. Where are you going on a dark night like this? And aren't you with your friend?" ask the guard.

A Hartloviant then interjected. "Go back to the room and rest the young man. You're safe here, if you want to leave, leave tomorrow morning, now the streets must be dangerous and the bandits must be on the loose." said pastor Hartloviant there, Levin shaking his head.

"I'm not leaving now, my friend is still there and I have to go with him. Now that I have to do something important that unfortunately I cannot tell you, I have to keep the reason to myself. So I ask you to let me out of the village, and lend me one of your torches."

The guards looked at each other for a moment. "I don't know, Edwin told us to look after the people here, including you and your friends. If you get hurt or lost we'll get in trouble. If you still want to go, at least tell us why and where you're going, or let us take you to your destination and come back here safely" the guard said.

Levin sighed in annoyance. "Of my friends, I'll be back here safely. Just tell the village chief that I forced you, or if necessary, we wake him up now and I will tell him directly" Levin said.

The guards stared again, hesitating to let Levin go. A guard whispered something to the other guards, but Levin could not hear it.

"I think you can go. You once drove out Genta and treated the residents here with your magic. We believe you'll come back here safely because your friend is still here, so please hold your word." said the guard who just stood up from his seat. Levin raised his eyebrows.

"Wait a minute, who's Genta? That thing called Genta? How do you know that?" ask Levin.

"You don't know? He was already wandering around a few days ago. People often see the half-lizard human form in this village and the next village, they say the creature is cloaked and its skin is scaly green. A few days ago a young woman who was said to be able to see the spirit saw the creature and communicate with it, the creature said it was walking towards the Clerrin cave and the young woman came across it. The woman was a 'Sorcerer' so could protect herself when she was attacked by the creature. The young lady told the villagers to be careful if they came out of the village especially to the big lake there," the man pointed towards the lake that Levin had visited this afternoon. "It was said that the creature often went there and he hid in the cave Clerrin, the young woman also mentioned her name and characteristics to the villagers, although she eventually remained in the parade. He said the creature would poison the waters of the entire New Vamor kingdom and create a new plague, but no one believed it, but if the events in this village were told to the whole kingdom, they would definitely believe it and panic now" said the guard, he let out a small sigh.

Levin wrinkled his face and leaned his body forward quickly. "A.. Where's the cave?" ask her with a loud tone. The guards stared at each other.

"Tu.. Wait a minute, don't tell me you're going there." said one of the priests.

"I will go there, and no one can stop me. Now tell me the location of the cave and give me the torch, or it will shuffle the whole kingdom and finally the continent."

end of Chapter :)