“Best we talk later…” the Elder muttered, voice trembling as his glossy gaze drifted past the Unbowed at the smoke-choked streets and the homes that were still burning.

  “No. We don’t have time,” Qalda pressed. She ground her heel harder into the back of the Nagvi. The creature, desperately trying to use its tail to crawl away, let out a louder, more piercing screech as the pressure increased. “These things may attack again, and we…”

  “Have you no eyes, wretches? Look upon this ruin!” the priest yelled at Qalda, pointing at the destruction behind her. “Do you feel no shame? We hired you to purge these devils, to shield us! And what do you do? You demand words while our dead lie cold in the dirt, denied the Goddess Bahenna’s blaze!”

  “If not for us, all of you would be dead now. And burning your dead is exactly why these beasts attacked the village!” Qalda hissed. She cracked her knuckles, eyes fixed on the priest. Her caramel skin began to bleed with a deep, ominous red hue.

  Sensing the rising tension, Lucas took a step closer to Qalda.

  “They had been coexisting with you, tunneling into your graves and eating your dead. Didn’t you notice the graves were empty?” She turned her purple eyes on the Elder. “Didn’t you notice that the first kills happened soon after you started burning the bodies?”

  The priest didn’t let the Elder speak.

  “Look at these abominations,” he sneered, spitting on the ground near Qalda’s boot. “They welcome beasts into their very flesh, yet dare sully the Goddess’s name! Do you not tremble for your souls? Pah! Why would you? You sold them long ago for that accursed power of yours!”

  Welcome beasts into their flesh? Lucas’s eyes widened. He had no clue what the priest was talking about and there was no time or place to ask.

  “Unbowed, is it true? Did we call this down on us?” the Elder’s wife asked, her voice shaking violently.

  “Don’t let them rot your brain!” the priest shouted. He swung the hand holding the lantern wildly, nearly striking the Village Elder in the face. “Cast them forth, and with them any fool who denies the cleansing fire! Only when the filth is purged will the Goddess grant us mercy!”

  “Elder,” Lucas interjected, stepping in before Qalda could snap. For some reason, each word the priest said infuriated her. “If you wish us gone, pay us and we will leave. But know this - the beasts will attack unless they are taken care of, one way or another.”

  “You,” the priest mocked, turning his venomous gaze on Lucas. “Aren’t you the coward who turned tail? The one who ran and left us to die?”

  “Yes, I lured it away and killed it. Though I do admit I’m not as strong as my friends,” Lucas responded calmly, refusing to take the bait.

  Dealing with unreasonable customers in his past life had granted him nearly inexhaustible patience. He knew exactly how this dynamic worked - if he engaged with the priest’s anger, the situation would spiral out of control.

  “We are here to complete the bounty,” Lucas continued, not allowing the priest to seize the moment. “Elder, we’ve discovered that these creatures are why your harvests are rich. The swamp you’ve been avoiding for generations is where they live. If we slaughter them, the swamp will eventually dry up and there is a great chance your fields will go barren. Maybe not immediately, but soon…”

  “Lies! Blasphemy! They cannot kill the beasts, so they spin lies to cover their shame!” the priest flared up with an energy that belied his age.

  Lucas ignored him, though a faint shadow of irritation crossed his face. He took a step toward the Elder, who seemed lost in a fog of fear and uncertainty.

  “We could have wiped them out already. You saw how easily my companions dismantled the Nagvi, while your priest’s magic couldn’t even scorch their skin. The choice is yours. Whether you choose to slaughter them or return to your old ways, burying your dead to feed the beasts, we will obey. But know this - there is no guarantee the beasts will go back to eating corpses now that they’ve tasted the fresh…”

  “Enough!” the priest yelled, voice cracking. “These heathens speak of the dead like rotting carrion! We, in this village, honor our kin! It is our holy duty to shepherd their souls to the Goddess!”

  Despite the aggression in his tone, the priest looked shaken, his eyes darting nervously between the Elder and the Unbowed.

  “The Goddess?” the Elder’s wife hissed. The fear in her tone hardened into venom. “Where was she when the beasts came? Yer fire is weak, priest. Didn’t even singe a hide! Look there. See how the Unbowed broke it? Yer flame is naught. If not for them, we’d be worm food!”

  “You wretch,” the priest spat. He spun around, raising the lantern with a trembling hand. The flames inside flared. “I’ll show you the true wrath of the Goddess’s fire…”

  The Elder’s wife screamed.

  The priest’s voice choked off in a wet gasp. He looked down at his chest, eyes bulging, to see four rusted steel tines sticking out from his robes.

  “You swore she’d shield us,” the Elder muttered from behind him, his voice low and trembling. “You swore we’d be the center of Bahenna’s eparchy…”

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  He shoved the pitchfork deeper.

  Lucas instinctively took a step forward, but a grip like iron clamped onto his arm.

  “We do not intervene,” Qalda said. Though her tone was flat, the glint in her purple eyes betrayed a shadow of satisfaction.

  Lucas nodded. Reluctantly.

  If it had been anyone else, he might have been more adamant. But he couldn't forget the look in the priest's eyes just moments ago, the look of a man ready to burn a grieving woman alive.

  The lantern hit the ground, the glass shattered, and the flames died as the priest’s hands fell limp to his sides. He twisted his head as far as he could, his gaze filled with hatred.

  “I… c-curse you… and I c-curse this wretched v-village. May…”

  His voice broke as the Elder shoved hard, slamming the priest to the ground. The old man yanked the pitchfork free with a wet squelch, his hands trembling violently, and drove it down again. Then again.

  He kept going until the priest’s body stopped jerking.

  The Elder collapsed to his knees, eyes frozen on the blood pooling in front of him. His wife shook off her shock, rushing to him and wrapping him in her arms.

  “It’s all on his head!” he whispered, burying his face in the woman’s chest. “I trusted him… I risked our village, and now it’s all gone to rot…”

  Qalda finally pressed her foot down. A sickening crack echoed as she snapped the Nagvi's spine, ending its misery. She gestured for Lucas to follow.

  “We should leave them for now.”

  <<<>>>

  Lucas sat on a log in the barn, a small block of wood in his left hand and a knife in his right. He was carving a Nagvi, trying to distract himself from the heavy mood hanging over the group.

  “Oh, do cease that pout, Miss Evelyn. It is dreadfully unbefitting of you. I promise, I shall catch you a live beast if we get to clear the nest,” Gio said without lifting his gaze, eyes fixed on Lucas’s handiwork.

  “Short memories and greedy hearts, that is the way of Humans! They’d sooner feed their kin to the beasts than lose a sack of grain,” Edir chimed in, tipping his flask upside down and tapping it against his tongue. Nothing came out. “Horseshit. Bone dry. I need my Gut-Scrubber!”

  No one responded to Edir, each one choosing their own thoughts as a better company.

  “Hey kid, when did you learn how to carve?”

  “Since I was five,” Lucas responded. “Edir, why do you call me a kid? I’m twenty-eight.”

  “Twenty-eight? Pah! Ye’ve barely sprouted fuzz on yer chin, lad,” Edir laughed, though modestly this time. He didn’t dare challenge the sour mood too much. “A Drukyr of twenty-eight is still clingin’ to his mother’s skirts! Ye haven't even seen the proper turn of a century, let alone hardened yer bones!”

  “And on that charming note, Qalda approaches,” Gio interjected. “Evelyn, darling, not a word about the beast. You know how... testy she becomes after dealing with the clergy.”

  “Much like yerself when ye cross paths with other High Vampires,” Edir grinned. His smile widened when the Sanguine glared at him.

  “It is Sanguine. Not ‘High Vampire’,” Gio hissed, baring his fangs at the Drukyr. “Do not insult me with that filth, you stunted little drunkard.”

  Edir growled and furrowed his brows but didn’t respond. He only nodded and looked away.

  Lucas peeled a thin layer of wood with his knife, shaping the tail of the miniature creature. He closed his eyes to recall exactly how the Nagvi looked, but Qalda’s cold voice broke his focus.

  “We are leaving at sunrise. The Elder decided to keep the beasts as pets and feed them their dead,” Qalda sneered as she walked in. She tossed a heavy pouch to Gio. “Split it evenly. I decided not to take my cut from Lucas, so give him his full share this time.”

  Gio nodded wordlessly and began counting the silver coins.

  “Thank you, Qalda, but why?” Lucas asked, finally raising his head.

  “Would you rather I keep it?” Qalda raised a brow.

  “No,” Lucas smiled. “I want to start learning a weapon properly, so I will use the coin to buy...”

  “Unless ye seek a letter-opener, keep yer coin in yer purse! Sixty silver buys naught but a child's toy from these surface-dwelling tinkers. Would ye trust yer life to a blade that snaps the first time ye hit bone? Nay! I shall forge ye a proper weapon,” Edir said, his tone serious for once.

  “Qalda, I count five hundred. Not that I complain, but that is significantly more than our agreed rate,” Gio said, looking puzzled.

  “It’s a premium. The Elder paid extra to keep his secrets buried.”

  Everyone nodded. The silence followed, broken only by the rattle of coins as Gio started splitting them evenly

  “So what happens if the beasts don't go back to the old ways? Do they make another bounty?” Lucas asked.

  “Let it rot! It matters not to us, kid,” Edir grunted, accepting his hundred coins.

  “And what about the incident?”

  “Forget it, Lucas. We were paid two hundred silver to never mention it,” Qalda responded, her voice unusually cold. “That’s what priests deserve anyway!”

  Lucas realized that pressing further would only anger Qalda. He was planning to go back to carving when Gio approached him.

  “Congratulations on your first blood bounty,” he grinned and let the 100 silver pour into Lucas’s cupped hands like water. “Try not to let it go to your head.”

  “I won’t, thank you,” Lucas nodded and started counting the coins.

  “What now? What is our grand plan?” Gio asked as he gave Qalda her share.

  “Back to the city. We need to refill supplies and get our mounts. Then we are leaving this region,” Qalda replied. “Lucas, you also need better equipment and a mount. I will help you get one.”

  Lucas felt a surge of excitement. He had always adored horses but had never been rich enough to own one.

  The group slowly settled down to sleep. Edir fell asleep first, followed by Evelyn and Qalda. Gio left to roam and enjoy the full moon. Lucas stayed up until he finished the carving, working until he was exhausted enough to fall asleep quickly, without dark thoughts haunting him.

  He lay down on a haystack. Stalks immediately poked through his clothes, pricking his skin with a sensation somewhere between an itch and a sting. But he was too tired to care.

  He quickly drifted off.

  Lucas didn’t know how long he had slept when he heard the creak of the barn door.

  “...why?” Evelyn’s low voice brushed against his ears.

  He heard Qalda respond, but the translation crystal had stopped working, and the words the woman spoke were unfamiliar to Lucas.

  Then, through half-lidded eyes, he saw the two sneak out of the barn and disappear into the night.

  And this chapter concludes the very first arc of HWDF! I hope you enjoyed it.

  The next one will move the main plot forward and also develop Lucas's personality. And he might even gain a mount xD

  Now, the promised surprise - Here's the discount code for my Patreon, which gives 50% off your first month/year and applies to ALL tiers. It will last until Jan 6

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  - You can read up to 20 chapters ahead of the RR schedule. Though I'm still building up the reserves, we will quickly get there. Here's the link -

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  The next chapter will be out on Monday.

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