Fountain of monsters

It was a small shrine. Flowing in dark red blood, with numerous monsters dancing around it. An unseized fountain of blood flowing around it. Like it's nest, it's 'mother'.

"Was that the thing that caused that scary nightmare?" I thought with the sweat flowing down my face almost like blood from that fountain. Baptiste? Is it going to baptize those monsters under its influence? There are fire tigers, ice tigers, boars, spiders, bears, and more. That small place seemed endless as the monsters were ranging for countless meters. In a line so long that I couldn't see all of those monsters.

I looked at the elf. His face completely pale and the sweat flowing as fast as that of my own. In an almost waterfall, the fear overtook him and made him unable to move. Just like me. Scared to even make a move as small as an inch. No motion.

The monster walking around the fountain of blood in circles to left and right simultaneously. In rings, like a barrier surrounding it. Pulsating in an intimidating tandem. The ground around shaking from their weight, from their jumps, and all of their steps. We both looked at each other with fear in our eyes. Our pupils shrunk so much they were almost invisible.

We didn't leave the place, it wasn't the time yet. Of course, there is a very low chance but still is. What if they will find us? If they haven't yet it seems that we are safe… For now at least. What are they doing? It could be that they are going to listen to that fountain… wants. But how can it want something? It's a fountain, not a human. What is it actually?

I looked at Estel once again, there is nothing besides fear. His eyes wide open looking at the whole thing. Then my head turned again to the dance of the beasts. We should go… We need to go. I'm scared, so afraid that my legs started shivering. Bones also almost breaking, I felt them moving in that weird fashion.

"We need to go!" I whispered so quietly it was almost unhearable. To the point when even I myself wasn't sure of what I just said.

His head just gestured, he didn't say anything. He just moved his face. We slowly started going back, very slowly. I didn't even feel the movement because of how slow it was. But in the motion when I looked behind, back to the fountain… A face appeared above it. The face was completely made of blood, the liquid dripping back down to the fountain to infinitely recreate itself. Then a loud voice started resonating between the trees and monsters.

"We will feed! Kill and feed! Today! As the sun will slowly fade under the horizon before it completely vanishes. We will attack! We will strike them when they won't expect it. At the time they leave! Bring the killed men to me afterward!" As he finished saying that, the monsters dispersed. The sounds of them walking was loud enough to cover the sound of our feet stomping on the ground in a malicious rush. I hope they won't smell us… While running the sweat was just flowing out our faces creating something that resembled rain.

We both settled in the small open place of trees together. In the place with the signs on them. We both leaned against two trees and started huffing loudly. The fog was leaving our mouths from each breath because of the heat created by the sprint. Our hair is also destroyed, faces red, and limbs white from the cold.

"What… Was that?" I huffed the words out with still a lot of fear inside my voice.

"I have no idea, but it looked really… Fearsome. That face… It must be the power of someone. Someone incredibly strong, who could be even dead now… What is he trying to do? And why is he here!" He screamed almost. "At least the beasts aren't too close to us. If they were we would be done already." He was also huffing together with me in the same motion. After a couple of seconds of continuous gasping, he stopped. I didn't, it took me much longer to calm down. But it wasn't a task that was impossible to go through.

"How strong actually?" I asked already calmly with no shiver behind my voice, only that created by the freezing winds.

"It could be a level eleven or… Twelve. If it's twelve… It's no wonder that this wasn't cleansed. Or was it even supposed to be? Maybe they left it like this for us to die? We will probably never know about that." He shrugged it off and also calmed down. Completely calmed. Not like me, my face was still red and limbs almost white but slowly started regaining their colors.

"We should go somewhere else… If even anywhere. Are we even going to be able to hunt something now?" The thought of those monsters working together put again an immeasurable amount of stress and fear upon my mind. If they are like the ground and can talk to each other… Then there is no chance of us doing anything. Nothing…

"Well, there is nothing better for us to do. If we won't find more food with the four of us it will be hard to take anything back to the cell. We are going to escape two days after or at least try to… Anyway. It will be just better for us." He explained and started looking around to find a better path. Somewhere where there won't be as many monsters, probably, not many. "I think this way." I didn't answer since there was no point in doing so. We just left the small place that was our small indication of where we actually were. This time we went to the left instead of going in the straight line as before.

The woods became more frightening because of the monsters from before. Behind each tree… Bush or anything that can be a hiding spot. There could be a minister there, a beast with its claws ready to slash us in half. Something that could impale us as well. Many variations when it comes to the way we can die here. But we went on, just clearly went on without much thought behind.

After a couple of steps, I heard a rumbling behind one of the bushes covered in hoarfrost.

"What is that!" I whispered to Estel, a little louder than before but still quiet. We went to a crouch and started walking towards that bush that seemed very unlikely to attack us. But the thing behind it could. My hand approached the suspicious bush and slowly uncovered the leaves, this moment was very slow. The thing behind the bush could kill us, maybe. Maybe? It's not sure.

The thing that was behind the frosty leaves wasn't a beast nor a monster. It was a human looking at us like an idiot. The three of us looked at each other like some kind of idiots, this moment went on for several seconds. And after those, the human ran off… Where? In the direction of that fountain… He is going to die for sure. There is no other way around. Why didn't we say anything? Why didn't we help?

"Don't worry Hayden. I know what you are thinking about now. But his death shouldn't be our worry. He didn't say anything." He said it with a silky smooth voice but the tone behind it was like that of the edge of a sword. Cutting my flesh and leaves. I can't describe to myself how it works… Almost like an emotionless lament trying to disagree with my own thoughts that he hasn't heard.

"How did you…" He stopped me mid sentence once again. Just like before, it must be something important. Maybe a beast? Or another human? Or something other…

It slowly becomes a habit for me to follow what he does. He once again went into a crouch and I followed, we both in the crouch started walking further with the spears in our hands the entire time. Grabbing it as if it was a matter of life and death, well it actually was a matter of life and death. Maybe even more…

It was the third time we did it. Leaned against a tree with the spears pointing clearly in the cloudless sky. I advanced the step further before him, I was the one to look behind the tree first. What was in front of me? A bear. A gigantic bear, it was the size of more than a hundred men! Oh god… Are we going to fight this beast?!

I looked at Estel, he smiled. I have no idea how we are going to fight a monster of that size without us dying. How is he smiling in this situation? A gigantic bear stands in front of us and he is smiling? What is going on inside his head...