The Path Of Destiny - The Blue Moon Ch 5.

The Path of Destiny - The Blue Moon Ch 5.

After a week I am back :) This week was the school pretty hectic so I am sorry for possible mistakes :-p

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Arian  paled in horror. There was another scream. Tarlok froze and sniffed. Then he turned and disappeared into in the cave.

„We need to know what is happening there.“ He said hastily. He went to the narrow path they had come. Eunis followed him.

“We can´t go this way.” he said. “It would take a long time, and we could fall. We must find another way.”

”But there is no another way out” Eunis moaned. “We're trapped.”

“Not really.” he added hopefully. “Many times I saw Tarlok in the woods. He was hunting birds there. So he first had to get down. And he would never get there by this one very narrow path, so ...”

“... there must be some other way for him in the cave.” she finished his sentence.

“Exactly.” he said enthusiastically.

“But we will have to find it first.” she said despondently.

“Don´t worry. I´m sure that Tarlok will help.” he told her. But when he looked back, he saw that Tarlok had disappeared in the cave. Eunis and Arian looked at each other and ran into the cave. It was a dark and damp. From somewhere in the distance, a cool breeze was blowing. They went straight along the wall. Every now and then they tripped over some rock. Once their eyes adjust to the darkness, they saw another three entrances into the dark tunnels.

“Cool. And where to now?” she sighed.

“Tarlok! Hey Tarlok! Help us find the way out!” called Arian. His voice echoed eerily. Then silence. From one of the tunnels could be heard thundering footsteps. After a moment Tarlok emerged from the middle tunnel. He nodded to them to follow him, he turned and went back through the tunnel. Eunis and Arian ran after him. They had to walk fast to keep up with his long strides. The tunnel was still darker and darker and began to meander. There were also a few crossroads. If they went just themselves, they would get lost, but Tarlok knew exactly where is he going and where to go. The air was heavy and humid with an admixture of mould. They thought that they really got lost when he turned into the tunnel at the end of which they saw the long sought light. They had to cover their eyes to avoid blindness. Outside, they could finally breathe fresh air.

„Thanks Tarlok.” she said appreciatively and patted his side. Moments of enthusiasm did not last long. Again the desperate cries and calls for help.

“We need to hurry to the village.” Eunis suggested. “But where are we?” she asked, looking around. Arian also looked around.

“We are on the edge of the Cornwood forest.” he said.

“But that´s so far.” Eunis moaned. “We won´t get there before sunset. And that's probably too late. You do know any abbreviation or something, right?” she asked with hope, but also with a hint of desperation in his voice. Arian shook his head. Eunis felt helpless. And she hated this feeling. A mixture of helplessness and fear. Arian was scared too. Although he didn´t show it and probably he wouldn´t admit it. But in his eyes was confusion and fear. His thoughts were interrupted by Tarlok. He poked him with his nose, almost making him fall. Then he lay down beside them. Eunis had to smile.  How could she not think of it before?

“I think that he offers us a lift.”

Arian also couldn´t help but smile too and hugged him around the neck. So they climbed on his back and clutched his long fur. Tarlok stood up and began to run. They had to hold really tight so they won´t fall. On how he is large, he is incredibly fast. And so they soon found themselves on the edge of the village.

“Here you can stop” Arian told him. Tarlok obediently slowed down to a complete stop. He lay down for them to be able to dismount. Eunis scratched him behind the ears in thanks and Arian patted his neck.

“You'd better go home now, buddy. They could get frighten by you as Eunis here, but this time it might not end well.” He said worried. Tarlok licked both with his long tongue. He got up and ran home. Eunis listened. Silence. No screaming or other sounds. Arian was confused. He crouched down and walked toward the village. Eunis followed him. Then he quietly hid behind a bush, which grew by one of the houses. Pushing a few leaves away for a better view. The sight was horrible. Lots of houses were demolished, all over the ground were barrels, containers and various other things. But they didn´t see anyone.

“We are late.” Arian whispered and mesmerized staring at the mess. Eunis felt her tears roll down her cheeks. Their home was destroyed, their friends and family might be dead. Who could do such a thing? Eunis ran out from behind the bushes into the middle of the village. Watery eyes helplessly looking around to see if see could catch sight of anyone. Not a soul.

“Hello! Is anybody here? Answer me!” she cried desperately, her voice shaking. No answer. Arian walked after her and put his arm around her shoulders. Eunis leaned into him and cried. Arian returned her the hug. He couldn´t understand why their village was attacked. It was an ordinary village. It wasn´t rich in silver, gold or anything else. So... why? From the gloomy thoughts he was interrupted by a soft voice. Eunis probably also heard it, because he started to look around.

„Did you hear that?” she asked, wiping her eyes. Arian released her and nodded.

“Hello?!” As answer was a low moan. “Where are you?” Again a faint sound. It was coming from somewhere on the other side of the village. So they went to the place where they heard the call. They reached the half destroyed house, which belonged blacksmiths Sankore. All sorts of tools were lying on the ground. Embers from the fire were strewn across the floor, make it black-stained. In the left rear corner of the room they saw a hand that pounded the ground in an attempt to call for help. The rest of him was littered with debris. They began to clear away blocks of stone and wooden beams that once formed the walls and roof. It gave them a lot of work. The stones were heavy and they had to be careful not to make the stones to fall on him. After a long effort finally pulled the poor guy.

“You okay?” Eunis asked and examined the extent of his injuries. His face was all grimy from soot, clothes were tattered and stained with blood. He was rubbing his left arm gently.

“It will be fine. It just hurts a little.” He hissed when she touched the arm.

“Sankore? I almost didn´t recognize you.” she said in surprise and studied him closely. Only now she noticed his sharp features of his face and his usual cheerful, light green eyes were now sad and empty. His eyes confusedly flitted around the room, which previously was his home.

“What happened here?” Arian asked and paced around a former smithy. It was almost dark, but he noticed odd tracks that were left by someone on the soot-stained floor. Sankore glanced around the ruins of the village.

„We were attacked.” His voice trembled. He stared straight ahead. His expression was blank.

“But by whom? The raiders from south?“ Arian asked. Sankore shook his head.

“It wasn´t them. We know their style and weapons. We could beat them. Moreover they are slow. But they... they were fast, nimble and strong. They were like shadows. They had about two meters, long tail with sharp thorns, mouth full of teeth, deadly weapons and impenetrable armor. Their dark scaly skin blend in with the forest. They couldn´t be stopped. One of them jumped on me and knocked me back. I can still see those dark yellow eyes staring at me hungrily. Fortunately, I managed to shake him off and get into the house. Then they demolished it.”

Eunis was watching at him in awe. She couldn´t imagine such horror. Arian broke the silence.

“What did they want? We don´t even know them, so what was their reason?” he asked.

“Who knows.” Sankore said simply.

“Where are the others” Eunis remembered.

“Most managed to escape into the woods and hide there. But some were captured and taken away. We can only imagine what they did with them.” Suddenly Sankore twisted in a painful spasm and groaned quietly.

“Arian, try to find a house of Paran. As a healer he should have some ointments. Bring them to me, please.” she said. Arian nodded and ran across the village.

“It will be fine. I'm fine.” Sankore was persuading her.

“You have extensive injuries. And I'm not talking about those inside. I'm surprised you're still alive.”

”Well, you know. Blacksmiths like I have taken deep root.” He joked.

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