"Yeah, that's my family." Jack said, back in the present, as he continued telling Alette his tale to help her drift off peacefully while they spent the night in the broken bed of the shabby haunted inn.
"Uncle Drogo is looking after Kalta while her parents are away, trying to put an end to the Vikings of Nynorsk pillaging villages, killing, and performing many sorts of barbaric acts. They hope to settle it peacefully, but if not… well… you already know how such things usually end… And he trained Kalta for her dragonkind's power and her innate ability, giving from our bloodline."
"Mother… she's the kindest woman in our estate. She oversees the making of high-quality magic potions that can mend injuries in an instant, and during times of crisis, she gives them freely to the sick and the wounded, even to those who cannot pay. That is what the Ryders are known for, the heart of our family business."
"And Father… well, you already know about him. He's the one who leads our family."
"As for my brother, Arlo… we may both be sons of a count, born into nobility, but his true love is blacksmithing. He always says it's only a hobby, yet the things he creates are astonishing for someone his age. We never truly saw the depth of his talent until he forged a beautiful sword for Father. Some nobles sneered, calling blacksmithing the work of peasants." Jack chuckled softly. "But Father never cared for such talk, and neither did Arlo. He's proud of his skill and respects his passion."
Jack sighed and fell into silence, his thoughts straying to his family and the weight of all that had happened in the four years of his absence.
"Wherever they are now, I pray they're safe… and I hope I get to see them again before those things get to us." Jack gave a quiet scoff. "My father and I had only just come home. Things were starting to get worse again. After so long apart, we were together at last… and now this. It really sucks, doesn't it?"
Right after Jack poured his heart into the story and delivered an emotional moment, he heard the soft sound of snoring. Confused, he lifted his head, only to find her sleeping peacefully atop his chest.
"Alette?"
Alette stayed asleep and continued to snore.
Jack sighed. "When did she fall asleep?" He dropped his head back onto the pillow. "If she asks me to repeat the story, I'm not telling her a thing. But… at least she's sleeping peacefully now. Goodnight, Alette."
With that, Jack closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep on the broken bed. Then Alette murmured. "Goodnight… Jack…"
_______________
The perspective changed to a young local copper-ranked mercenary racing through the dark forest at night, fear gripping him after what he had witnessed.
Panic flooded the young copper-ranker's mind. "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! What the f*ck just happened back there? There were five of us, including a silver-ranker, and now they're all dead. It happened in an instant, and now I'm fleeing for my life. What kind of monster are we fighting?"
While the young copper-ranker fled through the darkness, an unknown figure collided with him and sent them both crashing to the ground. He let out a groan. "Ooooww… sh*t…" Propping himself up, he held the back of his head with one hand and looked toward the stranger. To his surprise, it was another surviving member of the party fleeing the same battle, a bald iron-ranker, who was rising to the upper body and staring back at him.
"Huh? Timmy?"
Timmy let out a shaky hiccup. "J-Jayce! You're alive! I thought you were dead!"
Jayce rose to his feet and dusted off his clothes. "I thought the same of you."
"W-what was that back there?! We didn't even see what it looked like! What kind of monster… or eldritch thing… was that?!"
"I-I dunno." The bald mercenary nervously searched the dark forest, making sure nothing lurked nearby. "I think we outran them…" Then he turned to Timmy, crouched in front of him, and reached out a hand. "Come on. We need to get out of here, now."
Just as Timmy was about to take Jayce's hand, a savage gust of wind and a brutal stomp exploded against the ground, slicing Jayce's hand clean off in the same instant.
Jayce and Timmy witnessed the horror and screamed as one. Jayce reeled backward, clutching his severed arm and shrieking in agony. Before he could recover, his upper body was cleaved clean off and hurled into a tree, while the lower half of his body dropped heavily to the ground.
Timmy had just watched his companion die before him. He turned toward the creature that had slain Jayce, yet saw nothing in front of him, only heard a low growl in the darkness. With a scream of panic, he scrambled backward, forced himself to his feet, and fled through the forest.
Terror screamed through Timmy's thoughts. "WHERE THE FCK IS IT?! I've been running through this forest, and I'm still not out!" A growl rose behind him, followed by the pounding sound of footsteps in pursuit. He looked back, but saw only shadows and trees. "AAAAHH!! WHERE IS IT?! WHERE THE F*CK IS IT COMING FROM?!"
Then he looked forward and saw an open plain just beyond the forest's edge. He was only moments from escape. His eyes widened with relief, and a smile touched his face. "Ah! There it is! A way—"
Just as the thought formed in his mind, something tore past faster than the wind. In the same instant, Timmy's neck was sliced clean through. His body crumpled to the earth, while his severed head tumbled across the grass and came to rest a short distance away. He was close to escaping the forest.
The pounding of footsteps and a deep growl neared Timmy's severed head. Only a dark beige of scales, a monstrous hand armed with claws, emerged from the shadows, snatching the severed head before retreating once more into the darkness.