desperate times

The majestic castle of Gildref towered over the island like a silent sentinel, its stone walls bearing witness to the incredible conquests of its ruler.

Inside, at the heart of the throne hall, bathed in the glow of magical torches, sat King Gildref himself.

His gaze was fixed on the pulsating light of the pylon standing before him.

Priests, clad in ritual robes, stood on either side of the device, their hands moving in intricate patterns as they guided the flow of magic coursing through the ancient mechanism.

The atmosphere in the hall was tense, as if the very air trembled in anticipation.

Finally, one of the priests stepped forward, his voice shattering the silence:

— The pylons do not lie, — he declared, his eyes burning with sacred reverence. — The seventh and final vault of the holy artifact… has recently been uncovered.

The king, whose suspicions had at last been confirmed, slowly exhaled.

The corners of his lips twitched, and a smile spread across his face—a rare one, filled with triumph.

— The time has come, — his voice was calm, yet carried a power akin to the rumble of a storm. — Begin.

And in that instant, the pylon flared, illuminating the hall with a dark radiance.

The pylon trembled, cracks spreading across its surface.

Then, it shattered. And no one cared anymore.

Glumer was bewildered but not broken. In this brutal world, he had been through far worse.

Such a trivial matter could not shake him too much. The only thing that concerned him now was the fate of his friends.

The fire consuming the entire village helped him understand where they were and where he needed to go.

Initially, his path had been different, but that no longer mattered. The important thing was that they had arrived where they needed to be. They simply had no idea what had happened to the neighboring village.

That same skeleton that had seized Vale… It meant they were already everywhere! That was why Glumer had expected such a development in advance.

He did not hesitate—he leaped from the hill and dashed to the left. There lay the Great Mine, rich in resources.

That was where the fifth member of their family worked.

And that was where one could encounter powerful guards, some even possessing magical abilities.

Glumer recalled an incident from several years ago.

A large, grown man holding a massive sword had looked at him with a smirk.

— Kid, are you really that scared to be in this cave? — He laughed loudly, and the other guards joined in his laughter.

— Let me give you some advice, kid. Here, inside the cave, you are completely safe. Fear not the depths, but what lies outside. That is far worse.

Glumer was certain: the guards would not abandon the mine, for some reason, it was too important to them.

Suddenly, his foot caught on a root, and he crashed to the ground.

— Damn it… Even at a time like this, my luck fails me…

Suddenly, a scream rang out:

— No, stop! I can't do this!

Ars.

Vale immediately covered his mouth with his hand, trying to calm him down.

They were moving too fast—because of this, Glumer had sustained several painful injuries. He struggled to his feet but was unsure if he could keep up the same pace.

Lark warily scanned the surroundings, hoping there were no skeletons nearby.

His fear was evident in his movements, his tense posture, even in his breathing.

After a few seconds, Ars finally pulled himself together, and they continued on, but much more slowly.

Their pace had dropped threefold.

But at least they had calmed down and were now moving cautiously, silently.

The forest seemed endless.

Glumer navigated by the moon and the road, trying to determine how far the cave was.

The island was not particularly large. One could cross from one end to the other in about an hour.

And Glumer, who had wandered back and forth across it for years, knew these places like the back of his hand.

Suddenly, they stopped.

Between the trees, a light flickered, and voices could be heard.

People.

With torches.

They quickly realized that these people were in the same situation.

The group consisted of eight people: five men and three women. All of them were adults compared to the four of them.

It seemed they did not know where to go.

Lark was about to step forward, but Vale grabbed his shoulder.

— What are you doing? We need to join them! At least they have rain torches!

— That's exactly the problem, — Vale narrowed his eyes. — A torch. It's only thanks to the darkness that we've been able to avoid these monsters.

— Do you want to become an easy target?

Lark frowned. Vale was partly right.

They carefully slipped past without revealing themselves.

They were not heroes. Nor did they intend to be.

They weren't even sure if they could save themselves.

But then Glumer froze again.

— Another group… — he murmured, signaling them to stop.

These people were different from the previous ones. One guard and a group of poor villagers. Their clothing made it clear they were from another village.

But Glumer did not care.

He was not interested in them, but in the monsters.

Skeletons.

But not human ones.

These were four-legged beasts, incredibly fast and agile.

They were clearly winning.

Eight corpses lay on the ground.

Only five people remained alive, all of them wounded.

The lone guard was also exhausted—he could collapse at any moment.

But the monsters were not in the best shape either.

Suddenly, the guard shouted, and his sword flared with a blinding light.

The monsters froze.

In the next instant, two of them were torn to shreds.

When the light faded, their corpses lay motionless on the ground.

The guard's wounds began to heal.

Glumer recognized him.

By his cloak, by his stance.

It was the chief guard of the cave.

The very one who had always treated everyone with kindness.

The one who had once told Glumer that the cave was the safest place.

And of course, someone like him had the skills to slay such monsters with ease.

Who you think of is who you meet.

Glumer did not bother hiding.

He stepped out of the shadows.

Vale did not understand why he was acting so impulsively, but he trusted him and followed.

The guard immediately noticed him.

The glow of the sword illuminated Glumer's face.

The guard laughed.

— Glumer? You've got to be joking! Are you really heading into the cave? Am I dreaming? Usually, you always ran away from there! Ha-ha, oh god…

— Shut up, old man, — Glumer snapped irritably. — Desperate times call for desperate measures. And stop shining that sword in my face!

The guard sheathed his blade and removed his helmet.

His face showed exhaustion.

He was older than Glumer had expected.

Forty, maybe fifty years old.

Meeting someone of that age here was already rare.

But what was even more surprising was that Glumer was speaking to a man who stood a head above all these destitute villagers.

Lark, Ars, and Vale were in shock.

Vale even caught himself thinking:

Glumer.. you really know how to surprise.

The old man smiled again.

— Now you're even quoting me? Strange day indeed.

Glumer did not smile. He was tense.

— What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be guarding the cave? Don't tell me that…

— Put your worries aside, kid. The cave is fine.

The guard paused briefly.

— I was just taking a walk… And stumbled upon these people, they were fighting off the monsters, and I barely made it in time.

He fell silent for a moment, then added:

— They were the ones who explained to me what had happened.