Heart of a Monster

Early night had fallen while Magdalene and Rana awaited Vidor and Aridean’s return. A bleak darkness had blanketed the countryside, making it near impossible to see anything that was not within arm’s reach. Not even the light of the moon or stars had managed to illuminate the area as the sky had been choked with many thick clouds. Rana had already lit a lantern that hung from a short post on the wagon’s frame, the only source of light in the night. Magdalene continued to look at the road behind them while wondering what was taking so long.

Although looking beyond the reach of the lantern light was futile, the symphony of the countryside night was playing in full swing. Whistling winds had begun to blow that more aggressively shook the trees and forced tall grasses to dance. Within said trees and grasses, the chirps and songs of crickets and cicadas rang out from the darkened reaches of the land surrounding the wagon. The sickeningly sweet scents of various flowers were carried along the rushing winds that blew past the wagon.

Magdalene took a moment to watch the three moths that had appeared from the darkness. Each of them had started flying circles around the dim lantern. Small wings of white and gray with even smaller fuzzy bodies danced around the glass casing that the lantern flame was housed in. Magdalene scooted an inch, and then another, further from the lantern before turning her attention back to the road. However, Rana took notice of the girl’s shifting movement.

“Maggie? Is everything alright?” Rana asked the girl. Magdalene’s cheeks turned a light hue of red but maintained as best a stoical expression as she could.

“I-I just don’t like bugs,” answered Magdalene. “Anyway, what’s taking them so long? Has Ari ever done anything like this before?”

Rana heaved a patient sigh as she turned back to the road as well. Neither of the two sitting in the wagon could make anything out apart from a tree sitting just outside of the lantern light’s reach and just off of the dirt path. Thick darkness beyond the lantern light seemed to swallow up anything they could not already see.

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen this behavior from her, but I suppose this wouldn’t be too unlike her attitude when she ran from her home two years ago,” Rana replied. Magdalene turned to Rana with a bit of surprise in her eyes.

“Ari ran from home? And only two years ago, too? She mentioned having been raised by a human, but I thought maybe she had lived with you two in Stonehaven all her life,” Magdalene continued to question. Rana shook her head before speaking.

“It was two years ago; Vidor and I were on the way back to Stonehaven after a recon assignment with our captain. Vidor insisted we stop by the village we are headed toward for something to eat and came back almost an hour later with the biggest smile on his face. It was then that he told me about his first-time meeting Aridean,” Rana explained. “Apparently, Vidor had been approached by her only friend in all of the village she lived in who told him everything about her. Although we should have gotten back on the road, Vidor stopped us when he noticed Aridean from a distance, running back into the village… She was carrying her friend who had been hurt.”

A cold wind blew past the two as Rana paused for a moment. Magdalene shivered slightly as the wind passed; the girl began rubbing her arms to keep warm. Rana on the other hand did not move a muscle as she continued gazing at the dark road behind them. Because of her warm fur, she was not bothered by the cold air anyway.

“What happened to her friend? And how did that lead to her running away?” Magdalene asked with growing curiosity.

“I do not know what had truly happened to her friend, she’s never told us exactly what hurt him, she would only tell us that it was her fault. Anyway, it was not until the next day that Vidor began spying on her, much to our captain’s frustration. He managed to learn that Aridean was to be arrested for supposedly having seriously injured her friend,” continued Rana, sounding particularly solemn. “Vidor was staking out her old home and only got us moving when he saw Aridean leaving her house in the dead of night with only a backpack and the clothes on her back. We picked her up in that forest we passed by a little while ago after Aridean ran into some more trouble.”

Magdalene listened intently to Rana’s recap of Aridean’s backstory. Although there were clear gaps in Rana’s explanation, she felt she understood the jist of things. Magdalene took a moment to think to herself. Although Rana had not noticed it, Magdalene’s face was showed that she was deep in thought.

“S-so… y-your brother is a s-stalker and a pervert,” Magdalene attempted to joke, despite the obvious apprehensiveness in her voice. Rana did not speak, but her eyes did shift toward Magdalene looking slightly irked. Having become an annoyed Rana’s focus, Magdalene backed down as the minotaur’s eyes seemed to nonverbally tell her to stay quiet and behave herself. Magdalene noticed Rana’s ears perk up somewhat as the quiet clopping of hooves began to draw near the wagon.

“I already told you I’m not a pervert,” came Vidor’s voice from within the darkness, sounding particularly annoyed. “A-and it’s not like I meant… to stalk her… damn, I can’t really fight that one.”

From the all-consuming darkness beyond the reach of the lantern light, Vidor and Aridean appeared. Vidor had an irritated expression on his face from having to consistently argue with Magdalene. His arm was gently wrapped around Aridean who was leaning into Vidor’s side. She looked entirely drained of willpower and as though she may fall over if Vidor were not there to support her. Aridean’s eyes were a bright red and the fur on her face was still soaked from the tears she had been shedding.

“There you two are… are you alright, Aridean?” Rana asked as Vidor shuffled Aridean toward the wagon. Aridean did not respond and Vidor’s face was immediately filled with grief as he looked to his mute friend. Vidor let out a depressed sigh.

“She kinda… cried herself into a trance. I think we should just let her sleep it off,” spoke Vidor in Aridean’s place. Although it was slow getting Aridean up into the wagon, Vidor persisted. Once the two were seated in the back of the wagon, Vidor cautiously moved to gently help Aridean lay back down. Aridean herself gave no resistance nor support; her eyes seem to stare into the void of the dark night. Only on occasion could she be heard drawing in a loud but shaky breath.

“Nice going, you broke Ari,” Magdalene snidely jabbed from her seat beside Rana.

“What?! How is this on me?” a defiant Vidor retorted before covering Aridean in a thin sheet.

“You didn’t tell her we were going back to her home until we’re practically a stone’s throw from its main road! You knew better than anybody how she’d react,” Magdalene reprimanded with a matter-of-fact tone in her voice. Vidor, with a face full of disappointment, surveyed Aridean laying in the wagon. However, he turned to face Magdalene with a bold expression.

“Well, it’s not like you’re any help! You’re exactly the kind of person she was running from to begin with! The way you treat minotaurs is exactly what scared her so much when she was living in Thellia,” argued Vidor. For only a second, Magdalene’s face seemed to fill with uncertainty. However, she quickly regained her composure and was fully prepared to continue contending with Vidor. As both drew breath to extend their less than friendly debate, Rana’s voice rang out.

“Quiet, both of you! Your constant bickering all day has been giving me a headache and Aridean is trying to rest,” snapped Rana with a particularly angry look upon her fuzzy face. Both Vidor and Magdalene’s eyes widened after having their argument interrupted, but each relented and no further fighting ensued. Rana let out a bothered sigh as she turned her attention to the road. She whipped the reins to tell the horses to start pulling the wagon along again. As the wooden wagon jerked back into motion, Vidor turned from Aridean to his sister in the front seat.

“Uh, Rana? Do you think we could… maybe… not go to Thellia?” Vidor asked as he moved closer to the front of the wagon. Magdalene took a quick glance at him before turning to Rana. She could see the doubt in Rana’s eyes as the minotaur continued to look out at the road ahead. Rana took a deep breath and shook her head.

“If I had known this might have been this difficult for her, I would have insisted grandfather find another team for the mission. However, we’re here now and someone’s life could very well be in danger. I’m afraid we must continue,” Rana answered as Vidor’s ears and shoulders fell slack in defeat. “But… I’ll try to keep her from doing anything that makes her uncomfortable.”

“T-thanks, Rana,” replied Vidor, sounding particularly submissive. Clearly it was not the answer he desired but he still felt grateful that his sister agreed to try and look out for Aridean.

“How’s this gonna work? Only Ari really knew this Thellia place, but now she’s somehow even less capable of speaking than normal. What’s the plan?” Magdalene asked as she swatted away a moth that flew directly in front of her nose. Rana let out a disappointed sigh as she shook her head again.

“Uh… what if… you think we could get Aridean’s friend to help us? What was his name again? John?” Vidor suggested.

“Hmm… that could work if we knew where to find him. Also, I’m mostly certain she said his name was Jean. Perhaps… I might have an idea,” Rana responded as she continued to formulate a plan in her head. “Maggie, do you mind if I ask a favor?”

“Aren’t you guys supposed to do what I say, you are pretending to be my servants after all. Well, whatever; what did you need?” Magdalene answered. Her attempt to lighten the mood was met with a frustrated grunt from Vidor. Rana sighed and then turned to Vidor.

“Do you remember where Aridean’s home was around here?” inquired Rana with a stern tone of voice. Vidor’s eyes widened in surprise. He turned to survey Aridean, worried that she may react haphazardly again if she were aware of Rana’s intentions. However, Aridean had closed her eyes and seemed to be fast asleep again.

“She must be really out of it…” Vidor near silently commented before turning back to his sister. “Uh, I think so, it was only about two miles outside of the village. B-but wait, are you--”

“Maggie, I need you to ask Aridean’s father for directions to find her friend. Aridean is too far gone right now and he may be inclined to ask too many questions if Vidor or I approach,” Rana announced, much to the shock of both Vidor and Magdalene. Vidor’s jaw had dropped while Magdalene had her eyes visibly widen on her face after hearing Rana’s plan.

“Rana?” Vidor called out.

“So, we’re…” Magdalene started to speak but found her voice trailing off.

“If either of you have any other suggestions, I’m all for hearing them. Unfortunately, I feel this may be the best course of action that keeps Aridean from mentally breaking. Vidor will point out Aridean’s old home and Maggie will ask her father where we could find her friend, Jean. Once we know where to find Jean, two of us will seek his help while the last one stays with Aridean should she not have come to by then,” explained Rana, sounding confident in her strategy. Rana paused for only a moment to allow the others a chance to speak. When it was clear Magdalene and Vidor had nothing to say, Rana continued, “now then, if we’ve no other ideas, why don’t we take some time to rehearse what Maggie asks Aridean’s father? We should only be about an hour or so out after all.”

Magdalene and Vidor offered no objections to Rana’s plan. Instead, Rana spent time trying to rehearse the conversation that Magdalene and Simon might be expected to have. Vidor had been asked to pretend to be Simon, but his mind was clearly miles away as he continually turned to check on Aridean. Every time Vidor turned to look at his cherished friend, he could feel a strong aching in his chest.

Magdalene stood in front of the dirt path that branched out from the main road leading to a quaint farmhouse. A large, old barn with a particularly heavy smell of manure stood approximately thirty meters from the house. Although it could not be seen in the night from Magdalene’s distant position, red paint was chipping off of the wood that formed the walls of the barn. Magdalene was able to make out the small water well situated between the house and barn. Directly behind the well was a gate leading out to the pasture beyond the homestead; the gate had been left slightly ajar.

Chirps of crickets and the croaks of frogs rang out from all directions. The air felt cool and was slowly growing colder as a crisp wind brushed past Magdalene’s face. Fortunately, the cloudy night sky was slowly clearing up, giving way for bright moonlight to illuminate the modest farm. Although it was still plenty dark, Magdalene could see the countryside so clear when bathed in the dim light.

The girl nervously breathed in and then out before lifting her foot. She found herself slowly moving toward the farmhouse. Given that a light was visible through the window, she felt the likelihood of Aridean’s father being awake even this late at night was high. However, she stopped at the base of the stairs leading up to the porch just before the front door. Magdalene looked back at the road, but there was nothing there.

“Mnn… calm down… that dummy is supposed to be close by… Just don’t mention Ari and everything will be fine,” the girl spoke to herself. Her nerves had become intensely flustered just standing at the base of the stairs to the house. She took another deep breath and began to climb the small staircase leading to the porch.

Now that the girl stood on the porch, she could feel her heart beating faster and faster. Why she felt so nervous was something she did not fully understand but having been given such a vital task to Rana’s plan’s success was somewhat nerve-wracking. Anxiously, Magdalene inched toward the door with a hand raised and prepared to knock. Although she seemed fully prepared to commence her mission, Magdalene was stopped by something she found unordinary.

“Huh? Why is…” Magdalene asked no one in particular, her voice trailing off as she lost herself in thought. In front of Magdalene was a sturdy looking wooden door. What was unusual about the door in front of her was that it was cracked. Light from within the farmhouse bled out onto the darkened porch in a narrow and short stream. The girl shook her head and knocked once.

Magdalene waited a full thirty seconds before apprehensively lifting her hand to knock a second time. She knocked again, louder than her first knock. Surely the noise had been heard throughout the room beyond the front door. Strangely, no response, verbal or otherwise, was given to the half-elven girl.

“Uh, hello? Is anybody home?” Magdalene called out, beginning to wonder if anybody even was present behind the door. “I-I don’t mean to intrude, but I was looking for directions… Hello?”

Magdalene again waited on the porch, shaded in darkness that even moonlight did not illuminate. A cool breeze blew past and the girl began to shiver. All around her were the sounds of the country night: cricket chirps and rustling of leaves in the trees. Magdalene began to grow worried and could feel her legs starting to shake underneath her.

“Maybe I should just go… Rgh! I can’t do that. That dummy would only call me useless if I left now…” Magdalene quietly spoke to herself. She took a deep breath and looked at the door with renewed composure before calling out again, “I’m sorry for being rude, but I just need a little help.”

Lifting her hand toward the cracked door, Magdalene watched as the light shining out from the house flickered. Startled, Magdalene jerked her hand back quickly. The girl could feel her heart skip a beat. Was someone inside? Why would they not answer her before if they were there?

Shaking her head, Magdalene resolved to proceed regardless of whether someone was inside or not. Magdalene watched as her hand passed through the light peaking through the cracked door again as it made its way to the doorknob. With a firm grip on the cold metal, Magdalene pushed the door into the house, allowing more light to flood the darkness that had covered her just outside. Although the home looked pleasantly quaint from the outside, something within caught Magdalene’s eye.

“KYAHHHH!” screamed Magdalene in terror as she stumbled backwards. The girl landed on her rear, inches from having fallen down the stairs behind her. Her entire body was shaking and her eyes were wide with horror. Seconds after she had screamed, Magdalene could hear someone sprinting along the dirt path just down the stairs she had nearly fallen from.

“Maggie?! Are you alright?!” Vidor called as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Magdalene did not respond, but her breathing had become more rapid. He saw that Magdalene’s focus was directed inside the house.

Vidor moved up the stairs, the old wood creaking as his hooves landed on each plank. He carefully moved around Magdalene and peered inside the open door. With a gasp of surprise, Vidor found what had scared Magdalene into screaming. A large pool of crimson blood had been spilled upon the floor behind the door.

“Maggie… c-c’mon, get up. G-get back; head back to Rana,” spoke an apprehensive Vidor as he pulled the frightened girl up on her feet.

“W-what? I-I’m not going anywhere! It j-just… caught me off guard is all,” Magdalene stammered as she wiped dust from her skirt. Vidor initially rolled his eyes but could not truthfully admit he had not been alarmed by the abnormal discovery. Since the girl had decided she was not leaving, Vidor ushered her behind him as he moved toward the door leading into the farmhouse.

Vidor drew his bow and notched an arrow as he moved closer and closer to the open door. Apart from the sizable blood puddle in the room, Vidor also noticed that much of the room was in disarray. Furniture had been tossed, upturned, and even broken all throughout the room. The only piece of unbroken home furnishings appeared to be a solitary, wooden chair facing the pooled blood.

“What happened here? Ari didn’t live in this, did she?” Magdalene asked as she followed Vidor closely.

“Of course she didn’t!” retorted Vidor before setting a hoof inside the house. “But I don’t know what could have happened here…”

With his hooves now inside the farmhouse, Vidor aimed his bow to his immediate left. He observed a destroyed kitchenette; counterspace had been smashed and many utensils had been haphazardly thrown about the cooking space. Many different sauces and cooking or baking ingredients had been messily tossed about. Slowly, Vidor eased his grip on the notched arrow in his bow.

“Huh, reminds me of the time Aridean tried baking muffins…” Vidor nonchalantly joked as he lowered his bow. Magdalene was clearly not entertained by Vidor’s attempted humor.

“One: is now really the time for that? Two: didn’t she almost kill you with those muffins?” snapped Magdalene impatiently as she slapped Vidor’s arm. Her expression looked rather frustrated by Vidor’s clear disregard for the ruined home.

“She told you about that?!” an embarrassed Vidor anxiously exclaimed as he turned to look at Magdalene. However, having turned from the kitchenette, Vidor could also see the rest of the room in his peripherals.

Vidor noticed something sitting near the living space in the large room. The entity had been obscured by the door on his and Magdalene’s way into the house. Behind it was a waning fire within the stone fireplace, the dancing flames slowly dying out as the dried wood was nearly spent. Vidor’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened at the sight. Upon noticing the minotaur’s sudden state of apparent dread, Magdalene began to slowly turn. However, Vidor was quick to cover her eyes to prevent her from seeing what it was that had caught his attention.

“H-hey! Knock it off, I want to see,” Magdalene ordered as she tried prying Vidor’s large hand from her face.

“No… you don’t,” Vidor responded with a solemn tone in his voice. “What… the hell happened here?”

Magdalene jerked her head back and threw Vidor’s hand from her eyes. With her vision now restored, the girl looked up at the minotaur with an irritated look. Her bothered expression softened only slightly as she took notice of Vidor’s growing unease. Before Vidor could manage to recover her eyes, Magdalene turned to look upon whatever it was Vidor had discovered. She let out a loud gasp as she covered her mouth with both hands; horror was painted on her face.

Similar to the kitchenette that the two had previously been joking about, the living space on the opposite side of the room had been entirely demolished. A fine, wooden coffee table had been broken into several large chunks with splintered wood scattered about the floor nearby. There was what looked to have once been a comfortable leather seat turned on its side, strips of its padding had been ripped from the arms and back. There was also the stone fireplace that had a few broken picture frames laying out before the flames. These pictures had been arranged in some kind of pattern on the floor in front of the fire that almost look as if it were in preparation for some ritual. Just above the fireplace, hanging on the wall by brass hooks, was a massive and decorated great axe.

However, the most pressing discovering on the opposite side of the room from where the half-elf and minotaur stood, was a slumped over body that had been bound to a wooden chair. The body appeared to be male and had been horrifically beaten. Blood streamed down from many different cuts and gashes on the restrained individual, making it readily apparent where the pool of blood by the front door came from.

“Merciful Lord… i-is that… A-Ari’s dad?” Magdalene asked, barely managing to speak. Vidor began to approach the body with caution whilst shaking his head.

“No, look at the ears: this is an elf. Aridean’s dad is human… That fire is starting to wane and the blood is only just drying. Whatever happened here probably took place… maybe an hour ago max,” Vidor pointed out as he stood beside the unfortunate victim. Carefully, Vidor used one hand to raise the head of the elf and gasped after one look at the face, “Sparrow… What?”

Sure enough, the battered and bloodied body belonged to none other than Yuthe Galesong, better known in Stonehaven as Sparrow. Shocked by the sudden revelation, Vidor dropped his elven friend’s head as he took a shaky step backward. Standing a few feet from the body, Vidor felt paralyzed and was unable to move.

“Sparrow? Isn’t that the guy we were coming to find? What do you think happened that put him here?” asked Magdalene curiously.

Having heard her voice, Vidor shook the disbelief from his mind and regained his ability to move. While entirely ignoring Magdalene’s questions, Vidor moved in closer to the body again and began rifling through the pants pockets. Magdalene was left entirely confused by the utter disregard for the fallen. It was not until Vidor began mumbling to himself that she decided to call out to him again.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Magdalene inquired with impatience in her voice. She noticed Vidor’s shoulders tense up somewhat as she snapped at him.

“I, uh, I was looking for his reports. They’ve got to be here somewhere,” replied Vidor, sounding somewhat anxious. Magdalene was still curious by how quick Vidor seemed to move past the death of one of his friends. She could not help but wonder if the loss of many friends was something Vidor had experienced… and become desensitized to. The very thought made the girl shudder as she stood on the opposite side of the blood pool.

“Vidor! Maggie! Is Aridean in here?!” came Rana’s voice from just outside the front door. Her hooves could be heard loudly clopping as they hit each wooden stair. It was clear that Rana was in a rush to regroup.

“What?! No! She’s not with you?!” Vidor replied with rapidly growing anxiety. His face was filled with concern and panic. Magdalene, with astonishment, turned to see Rana as she appeared in the doorway. Her black fur blended with the darkness outside so well that Magdalene had a hard time seeing the minotaur entering the house.

“I had just turned my head for a minute and—by the Spirits! What happened here?!” Exclaimed Rana in surprise upon registering the absolute disaster within the otherwise modest farmhouse. She then turned to see Vidor, standing over the body of Sparrow, “Oh no… is that Sparrow? How did he wind up here and in such a state?”

“Yeah… it’s too late for him…” Vidor spoke solemnly. He surveyed the elven body once more before turning to his sister and apprehensively asking, “Where’s Aridean?!”

Rana appeared to be stunned looking over Sparrow’s body, her mouth slightly agape by the team’s discovery. After a moment of processing the new development, Rana closed her mouth and slowly shook her head back and forth. Magdalene, with growing curiosity, raised an eyebrow as she awaited Rana’s explanation. Vidor simply looked to his sister with clear worry in his expression.

“I-I heard something in some bushes near where we parked the wagon. I thought I should just check to make sure it wasn’t anything bigger than a raccoon. Whatever it was, it ran as I got closer,” Rana began to recall as she walked closer to Sparrow’s body. The minotaur knelt down by the body and began to inspect the wounds before continuing, “When I got back to the wagon, Aridean was gone. I-I know she can take care of herself, she took her axe with her, but I don’t know where she ran off to.”

“She took her axe and ran?! Where would she go?!” exclaimed Vidor, seemingly to himself as he began looking around the house. It was clear he was thinking to himself as he observed the ruined furnishings of the otherwise normal home. Every so often, the minotaur let out a frustrated grunt.

Rana, although clearly distraught by the current status of their mission, continued to investigate the elven body before her. After completing her examination of Sparrow, Rana began sifting through the large backpack on the floor beside the chair. Magdalene looked from Vidor to Rana. Before the girl could speak what was on her mind, an audible crashing sound could be heard from down the hallway at the back of the front room. Everyone in attendance immediately turned to look down the darkened hallway.

“Is someone here? Did you not check the whole house?” Rana asked, having turned to Vidor.

“Maggie found the blood and then we found the body and then you ran up saying Aridean ran off! It’s been one thing after another, okay? Is now the time to worry about that? Aridean’s run off and is all alone now,” replied Vidor, frustrated by all of the accumulating stresses he was experiencing. He began to make for the door before being pulled back by Rana. Magdalene continued to simply watch the exchange from across the room, feigning a lack of interest as the two minotaurs spoke.

“Vidor, Sparrow is dead and it happened in Aridean’s old home. Someone may still be here. It could be Aridean’s father. I’m worried about her too, but we need to figure out what happened here. Check the back rooms while I look over Sparrow’s belongings,” Rana spoke, a stern tone and hard expression on her face. Although he was utterly baffled by his sister’s order, Vidor let out an agitated groan and turned toward the darkened hallway from which the crashing noise had come from.

Vidor notched an arrow in his bow again as he slowly and cautiously made for the dark hallway. There did not seem to be a light in the hallway, but he was certain that he could make out four separate doors. Unfortunately, there was no way to be certain from which door the crashing sound had originated from. Regardless, Vidor knew Rana expected him to investigate each room in the house thoroughly.

As the minotaur moved into the dark hallway, he found himself squinting his eyes in an effort to focus on the darkened doors. Vidor approached the first door on the right side of the hallway. Just as he began hesitantly reaching for the doorknob, Vidor was startled by something brushing the back of his left leg. Before he could even turn around, a bright light began to illuminate the hallway. Vidor turned to see Magdalene looking at him with an impatient expression on her face and a raised hand that was glowing incandescently.

“T-thanks…” Vidor spoke, turning back to the door for only a second. Vidor almost immediately returned his attention to Magdalene, “You didn’t take my wallet again, did you?”

Magdalene’s already annoyed look upgraded to utterly aggravated by the question. However, she truthfully could not deny that the thought had crossed her mind. Feeling a bit insulted, Magdalene let out a frustrated grunt before pushing past Vidor and opening the first door.

Behind the first door was the house’s washroom. Just the same as the front room, everything within had been demolished. What seemed like millions of bits of glass reflected the bright light from Magdalene’s incandescently glowing hand. Glass littered both the floor and broken countertop in front of the shattered mirror hanging above where the sink should have been. Much of the glass on the floor appeared to be sitting in a pool of water, like pebbles in a stream. A window on the opposite side of the washroom had also been smashed, leaving even more bits of glass about the floor. Cold air funneled into the room from the destroyed window, causing Magdalene to shiver somewhat. Holes had also been punched in the walls and the tub appeared to have been cleaved into sections that would no longer manage to hold water. The toilet had been knocked over onto its side. It was obvious that the entire room was out of order.

“Bathroom. Needs renovating, but nothing here,” Magdalene stated as she pulled the door closed. Vidor, slightly miffed that Magdalene felt the need to joke but call him out for doing so, moved across the hallway to the next door. With Magdalene projecting a light for him, Vidor slowly pulled open the door.

Behind their second door was a simple broom closet. There were broken brooms on the floor and shelves that had at one point held various tools and other household items. Now, few of those tools or items were held upon the shelves as most were strewn out on the floor with the broken brooms. The shelves within the closet had been torn apart in such a manner that only small sections near their hinges that held the wood against the wall remained.

“Broom closet. Needs sweeping, but nothing else,” Vidor reported. Having heard his attempt to replicate her style of joke, Magdalene rolled her eyes as she let out a semi-annoyed grunt. Vidor closed the door back before turning to look at the final two doors.

Both Magdalene and Vidor moved further down the hallway with Magdalene’s magic shining through the darkness. Behind them, in the front room, the two could hear Rana still shuffling through Sparrow’s things. Vidor approached the door on the left side of the hallway while Magdalene approached the door on the right. Both minotaur and half-elf pushed open their respective doors.

Vidor found that it was difficult to see into the room given Magdalene was behind him and focusing on her own room but managed to make out the large bed within. Just the same as the theme had been throughout the rest of the house, this bedroom had been decimated. The bedframe had been scratched, chipped, and broken while the mattress itself had been ripped to shreds. There was a dresser at the back of the room that had not faired much better than the bedframe. Plenty of nice clothes had been haphazardly thrown through the room, all having been torn or ripped. Interestingly, there was a small collection of porcelain fragments near one end of the dresser.

“That bed is too small for a minotaur, so this must be Simon’s room… what happened here?” asked Vidor to no one in particular. Upon finishing his examination of the room and determining that no one was present, Vidor turned to see Magdalene, frozen in place, looking into the room she had opened.

“So… this must be Ari’s room…” Magdalene spoke as Vidor moved in behind her and peered into the room. “It looks so… normal.”

Vidor fully understood why Magdalene seemed so shocked by the room with just one look inside. Aridean’s bedroom appeared untouched by whatever force had rampaged through the rest of the house. Her bed had been expertly made and the floor was absolutely spotless. Even the full body mirror sitting in the corner appeared to have been recently cleaned as Magdalene’s glowing hand reflected off the glass so brightly. Apart from the usual bedroom amenities, there was a small chest of children’s toys at the foot of the bed. All of the stuffed toys had been arranged in the chest so all could be easily found.

“Why is her room… the only one that hasn’t been destroyed?” Vidor wondered out loud.

“How would I know? But there doesn’t seem to be anybody here… what made that crashing sound just a moment ago?” Magdalene responded as she closed the door to Aridean’s room.

“I saw what looked like a smashed vase in that other room. I can’t be for certain given how trashed the house is, but I bet that was what made the noise. Now, what caused it could have--,” Vidor began theorizing. He was immediately cut off by Magdalene as she turned around and looked beyond Vidor and into Simon’s room.

“Gyah!” shouted a startled Magdalene as she toppled backwards into Aridean’s bedroom door and then down to the hallway floor. Vidor hastily turned around to see that there was a single rat standing on a broken piece of Simon’s bedframe. He was barely holding back his laughter.

“… probably been that,” Vidor nonchalantly finished his thought. Magdalene, clearly unnerved by the sudden appearance of the rat, slowly rose from the ground. The girl pushed past the minotaur and hurriedly grabbed the doorknob to Simon’s bedroom. With a forceful tug, the door was slammed shut, leaving the rat within. Magdalene shivered as she lowered her glowing hand, magic slowly dissipating and the light fading out. Vidor smirked, contemplating how to use his newfound knowledge of Magdalene’s dislike for rats against her.

“Maggie? Vidor? Is everything okay back there?” called Rana from the front room. The female minotaur stood in the well-lit living space, in plain view of the two at the back of the darkened hallway. Both Vidor and Magdalene began walking back into the light of the front room.

“Maggie just made a new friend is all,” Vidor stated with his smirk.

“S-shut up! I don’t like rats, okay?” Magdalene retorted with great annoyance in her tone.

“Good to see you two finally getting along,” Rana sarcastically commented as she rolled her eyes. Vidor and Magdalene turned to one another for a brief second before turning in opposite directions with obviously irritated looks on their faces. “Anyways, you two found nothing, is that right?”

“No one else is here; that sound was just a rat tipping a vase over in one of the bedrooms,” Vidor answered.

“Well, there was also the fact that Ari’s room was spared from whatever chaos ran rampant through here,” Magdalene chimed in. Rana’s ears perked up upon hearing that bit of information, but Vidor stepped in before she could speak again.

“Speaking of Aridean, I’m going to go find her,” announced Vidor as he made his way toward the front door. Although she moved to stop him, something entirely unexpected halted all movement in the house.

It was the same as standing in the center of an intense thunderstorm, if more violent. A powerful and vicious booming came from somewhere outside the farmhouse. As the savage eruption rang out, everyone could feel the floor beneath them rattling. Something nearby had caused a devastating explosion. After a few seconds, the ground had settled and the ringing in everyone’s ears had abated.

“Are you two alright?! What was that?!” Rana first exclaimed, looking over both Vidor and Magdalene. Despite no clear harm having come to either of them, Rana still insisted on examining for any potential injuries.

“Whatever that was, we’ve gotta find Aridean, now! She’s out there and could be in trouble,” asserted Vidor as he made for the door again.

“Vidor, wai--,” Rana began to stop him, but was cut off before she could halt her brother’s advance.

“Guys… you might wanna take a look at this,” Magdalene called out, looking out the window over the broken sink. Curious, both Rana and Vidor made for the window where Magdalene stood. Each of the siblings let out a gasp in shock.

The countryside was dimly lit by the near full moon’s enchanting light. Many bright and beautiful stars hung in the night sky. There were some clouds that lazily moved through the air to occasionally block out whatever light the moon offered. However, the object of interest did not require any moonlight to be seen. Magdalene had brought both Rana’s and Vidor’s attention to a bright orange glow on the horizon with a thick plume of black smoke billowing into the atmosphere.

“Isn’t that…” Rana began to ask but found that she was too stunned to finish her thought.

“That village…” Vidor finished for his sister.

“The village? D-did Ari do that?” Magdalene asked as shock began to fade from the trio in the farmhouse. Vidor shook his head and was now sporting a rather aggravated expression on his face.

“Don’t say that! She’d never do something like that,” Vidor vehemently growled at Magdalene.

“If she didn’t, then who did?! She hated living here, didn’t she? If anybody wanted to see that village razed, it’d be her!” Magdalene exclaimed, sounding very sure of herself. “I knew she wasn’t any different. I knew I couldn’t trust a minotaur.”

“Shut up already! I’m gonna go find her!” Vidor shouted as he ran for the door. He was already out on the darkened porch as Rana called after him from within the house.

Vidor had made up his mind, he was dead set on finding Aridean now. The minotaur charged for the stairs, leaping off of the porch and over the stairs leading to the ground below. Vidor nimbly landed on the dirt path and began sprinting for the road. Just as he reached the main road, a cloud that had been obscuring the moon drifted out of the way. Vidor gasped in surprise at what he found on the dirt road: minotaur hoofprints, moving toward the village.

Vidor shook his head, freeing himself from any doubt he had been temporarily struck by upon his most recent discovery. Gritting his teeth, Vidor began sprinting down the road, following the hoofprints in the direction of orange glow over the horizon. Although it was not the time for it, Vidor vividly recalled the time he tailed Aridean back to her home. Clinging to desperate hope, Vidor was praying nothing had happened to Aridean.

As Vidor reached the top of a small hill, the entirety of Thellia came into view. He had slowed and then ceased his sprint as he took in the sight while panting heavily. Many of the buildings had been lit aflame and shouting and screaming could be heard. Eyes widening and heart racing, Vidor simply shook his head back and forth as he tried denying what was before him.

“No… she wouldn’t… she couldn’t,” Vidor spoke to himself as he continued to gaze upon the burning village. Gripped by shock and doubt, Vidor’s eyes looked to the ground beneath his hooves. More minotaur hoofprints were pressed into the loose dirt of the road. Vidor nervously swallowed the lump that had been forming in his throat and began moving forward again. The closer to the village Vidor got, the more he felt as though he was going to break down crying. All he wanted was to find Aridean and leave this town.

As Thellia drew nearer, Vidor’s eyes fixed on the hoofprint tracks that continued along the road. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he got closer to the bright glow of the fires. However, he stopped immediately as the tracks he was following were covered by a long shadow. Vidor’s eyes grew wide again as he noticed the shadowed figure was a person with horns atop their head. Vidor looked up to see the silhouette of a minotaur standing before the burning village; they were sporting a large great axe in their right hand.

“Aridean…” Vidor called out softly with concern. Although the roar of the flames threatened to drown out most other noise, the minotaur turned after registering Vidor’s presence. It was now readily apparent that it was indeed Aridean standing before the burning village of Thellia. Vidor felt paralyzed, unable to move a muscle in his body as he looked over Aridean. Although she appeared to be unharmed, her eyes seemed devoid of spirit. A single tear rolled down her left cheek. Vidor could feel his heart sink as she spoke.

“Was I… wrong?” Aridean asked as the fires behind her continued to rage.