The woman was seated at the table where Lucas had been just moments before, a thick wool blanket wrapped tightly around her trembling body, when the company commander entered the inn. The dizziness in his eyes and the heavy, swollen eyelids betrayed that he had been woken up from a deep sleep only minutes ago.

  “Bring me something hot,” he ordered the innkeeper before he even looked at the woman properly.

  He moved to the chair, his steel armor rattling with every step, the heavy plating making it difficult to bend. With a grunt and effort, he managed to sit, the metal groaning as he clasped his hands on the table. He finally focused, scanning the woman with bloodshot, green eyes.

  “Tell me what happened,” he said, his tone surprisingly gentle even if it carried the roughness of someone who had just woken up.

  The softness in the commander’s voice allowed the fresh emotions to stir, and the woman began to cry again, her shoulders shaking beneath the wool.

  “She is my wife, Frieda,” the innkeeper said, placing a clay mug filled with steaming milk in front of the commander. “She saw our child, Hannah… she was kidnapped by a monster.”

  “A monster?” the commander repeated, blowing the steam away before taking a sip. “How did the monster look? I need details.”

  “I don’t… It was too dark in the room, I couldn’t get a good look,” Frieda shivered, her eyes freezing in one spot as if she was replaying the nightmare in her mind.

  “Start from the beginning,” the commander said gently. He pulled a tiny glass vial from a hidden pouch under his vambrace and poured a single drop into the milk. The white liquid swirled and turned a faint violet as he pushed the mug toward the woman. “Drink. It will help.”

  “My Hannah… I woke up to her scream,” Frieda said, staring past the milk. “She is not a coward. She is a strong child. I knew something had happened to my little Hannah… I ran. I ran as fast as I could, but the door was locked.”

  “Her bedroom doesn’t have a lock, Frieda,” the innkeeper interjected, voice flat.

  “I KNOW THAT!” Frieda hissed, snapping her head toward him. “The door was frozen in place! I had to slam my shoulder against it just to open it!”

  Lucas instinctively looked at the woman’s shoulders where the blanket had slipped. The skin was colored with bruises.

  “When I entered…” the woman’s voice broke, crumbling under the weight of the memory. She started crying again, but forced the words out through the tears. “I saw… I saw the monster’s body against the moonlight… and with it… I saw my Hannah in that creature's arms...”

  The emotions overtook her as she buried her face in her hands and wept.

  Lucas looked at the innkeeper. All the sympathy he had felt for the man earlier evaporated in an instant. The man stood there, completely unmoved. He neither showed distress for his child’s disappearance nor made a single move to comfort the woman who was shivering on the verge of a mental breakdown.

  “Frieda,” the commander called, voice low. “I need you to describe the monster. Try to remember everything you saw. Every detail, however insignificant, might be the key to saving your child. I know it’s difficult, but you must do it for little Hannah.”

  Frieda slowly raised her head. Tears still rolled down her face, but the hysteria was receding, replaced by a desperate attempt to focus.

  “I only saw a shadow against the moonlight,” she whispered, shifting her gaze to the swirling violet liquid in the jug. “It was tall… as tall as a man, but leaner. Unnaturally lean. Its eyes were shining like ice reflecting moonlight, and a light blue smoke covered the floor and walls of the room. I remember now. It said something when it saw me… its voice was as high as children's, but I couldn’t understand its words.”

  “A monster that can speak… and doesn’t kill mindlessly,” the commander murmured.

  He fell silent for a long moment, tapping an index finger against the table. Finally, he nodded and turned to Otto.

  “Stay with her. If she remembers anything else, a scent, a sound, anything, report to me immediately.”

  He then shifted his gaze to Lucas.

  “Your name.”

  “Lucas B…” Lucas started automatically, but caught himself as he recalled Heinrich’s expression when he revealed his last name.

  The commander didn't press him. He likely didn't care about a leather-clad soldier's name or his story; what he needed was a word to call him by.

  “Lucas, go and wake up the heavy infantry. Tell them to assemble here in thirty minutes,” the commander ordered, rising to his feet with a heavy clanking of steel. He turned to the innkeeper, who was still standing silently by the counter. “Take me to your house.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  <<<>>>

  “Any news?” Lucas asked Otto as he crossed the doorway into their cramped, shared bedroom.

  “No, the woman fell asleep about an hour ago and finally I was replaced,” Otto groaned, sitting on the edge of his bed. He kicked his leather boots off, and the moment they hit the floor, the thick, sour stench filled the small room.

  “God, the smell,” Karl winced, gagging slightly. He immediately shoved the window open, choosing the biting frost of the night air over the suffocating stench of Otto’s feet.

  Otto raised his head, squinting at Karl, but he decided to say nothing. He was simply too tired to argue. He fell back onto the mattress, staring blankly at the wooden beams above.

  “How long do you think we will have to stay here?” Karl asked, stripping the thick blanket from his bed and curling it tightly around his shoulders like a cloak.

  “Until we kill the monster, obviously,” Lucas answered, sitting on his own bed.

  “No,” Otto corrected flatly. “We will only stay if the monster can be dealt with. If it’s something out of our league, the commander will not risk our lives.”

  “Why can’t they just hire the Unbowed?” Karl complained, letting out a heavy sigh. His breath drifted as a white cloud now that the temperature in the room had dropped to match the outside.

  “Aren’t the soldiers supposed to protect people?” Lucas reprimanded him, the image of Frieda’s tear-stained face still fresh in his mind.

  But as the words left his mouth, only then did he realize what protecting them truly meant - risking, and possibly sacrificing, his life.

  “Yes, we are,” Karl scoffed, shivering beneath his wool layer. “And we protect them when the threat comes from men. Not creatures who can tear through dozens of Humans with one swing of their hand! That is why the Unbowed exist!”

  “The Unbowed?” Lucas asked, frowning. “I thought they were hired blades, fighting for the highest bidder.”

  “They are,” Otto said, sitting up to take off his armor and pants with a groan of relief. “But we hire them when there is a monster to kill. The Five Nations have agreed not to use their services during wars between men. They are too efficient for that.”

  “What Five Nations?” Lucas pressed.

  “Lucas, where have you lived your entire life?” Karl asked, looking at him with genuine confusion.

  “You need to buy a history book, I can’t explain everything tonight,” Otto grinned, slipping under the blanket and pulling it up to his chin. “And guys, don’t worry about this monster. I asked around and this is the first time a child has disappeared here. Monsters don't usually strike once. I’m sure it’s a man, not a beast.”

  “But the door? How can a human freeze the door shut?” Lucas asked, but before anyone could respond, the answer clicked in his own mind. “Magic…”

  “Yes,” Otto mumbled, rolling over and closing his eyes. “Now, shhh. Let me sleep. And Karl, close the damned window before I throw you from it. The room didn’t smell like a courtesan’s hair even before I removed my boots!”

  <<<>>>

  The withered and frozen leaves shattered beneath the weight of Lucas’s leather boots. He placed each step with care, or at least as much care as the heavy veil of darkness allowed.

  DAMN YOU, HEINRICH, Lucas cursed inwardly, tightening the grip around the hilt of the mace he was given. I will go through training before being forced to risk my life, right?

  His mind was a chaotic mess.

  I want to save the kid, but I’m just a normal human. What the hell am I doing here?

  Guilt gnawed at him because saving Hannah wasn't his priority. He wanted the child to survive, but he also understood the cold reality: if there truly was a monster, or even a human capable of wielding magic, there was absolutely nothing he could do against them.

  “Lucas,” Karl whispered, his voice trembling from a few steps away. “Let’s say we scoured the entire place but found nothing. What do you think?”

  “I…” Lucas struggled for words, fighting his own desire to flee. “Let’s at least search this one house…”

  Karl groaned but said nothing. He shifted his gaze toward the opposite direction, though he made sure to remain close to his only ally in the dark and deadly silent house.

  “Lucas,” he said after some time, the silence pressing on his nerves more than he could handle. “Don’t you think it’s stupid to search every single abandoned house? Besides, why would this man use them for shelter?”

  “Don’t assume it’s a human. We don’t know that,” Lucas responded, finding it easier to talk now that the topic wasn’t challenging his principles or survival instincts. “And no, I think searching the abandoned houses is the only thing we can do. None of the townspeople know anything about this monster. The room the kid lived in had no traces but the broken window. What else is there?”

  “Hire the Unbowed!” Karl hissed on instinct, but quickly lowered his voice, calming himself. “Sorry. I just hate risking my life…”

  “Karl, are you sure about being a soldier?” Lucas mocked softly, the tension finally easing in the air. But only momentarily.

  “Lu-Lucas…” Karl’s voice broke as he called out to his comrade. “C-come quickly.”

  Color drained from Lucas’s face, his knees buckling slightly before he even turned toward Karl. The broad man was standing with his back to Lucas, his massive frame blocking whatever had frightened him.

  “What is it?” Lucas rasped, taking quick steps toward him.

  No response.

  “Karl?” Lucas repeated, stopping in place and turning his body slightly to the side, making sure he could react if needed.

  “Lucas… the ice,” Karl spoke at last, his voice hollow. “There is a hatch here. And it’s completely frozen.”

  Lucas let out a breath of relief, his shoulders dropping, though he didn't relax completely. He walked toward Karl, keeping his eyes fixed on the man’s stiff posture.

  “You were acting like you were possessed!” Lucas scowled when he got close enough to confirm that Karl was still Karl. The man looked pale as white, his face drained of color, or perhaps it was just a trick of the moonlight sneaking in through the nearby window.

  Lucas looked down, following Karl’s gaze. The floor indeed had a wooden hatch, but it was sealed shut by a thick layer of ice. And carved onto the frost were jagged and angular symbols that Lucas couldn’t understand.

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