When boys die

Part 12

Albert, Tony, and German rode in a horse-drawn carriage owned by a merchant heading to the village of Haven. The horse's hooves clattering against the uneven dirty road made for an unusual beat. Paired with the merchant's humming a tune that none of them knew made for an unsurprising long and uncomfortable trip. Their destination was the village of Haven which lies several miles to the west of the town where they had registered as adventurers. Its only remarkable feature is that it is the largest village in terms of meat production.

As they approach the village, they find that the sun has already begun to set. Passing the hills, they get glimpses in between of the village. Compared to the town where they register, this village pales in comparison. Most of the houses are made of strictly wood, and the few that use stone merely use it as the foundation for their houses. As they get closer Albert notices that some of the roofs are made with thatch instead of what would be presumably wood. "This place looks like shit," He thinks to himself, "I could never live like this,"

Tony, on the other hand, had different thoughts.  He saw the village as a nice quaint settlement. He was more enamored by the beauty of the village's shared space with nature. Perhaps he thought this way due to him being an elf.

German was more lost in his mind. He wasn't thinking but just mindlessly staring off into space. He repeatedly taps his fingers against the hilt of his sword in a rhythmic way. 

As the carriage rolled its way into the village, the merchant pulled the reins, forcing the carriage to a stop, "Here we are lads, I present you the village of Haven,"

As the trio got off the carriage, a burly man with a ginger-grizzled beard walked up to them, "You must be the adventures that took on the quest," He stuck out his hand to greet them, "Nice to meet ya!" 

Albert shook his hand, "Well met, we are indeed the adventures that took on the quest," Albert's eyes widened when the man tightened his grip. Albert's face squirmed as he couldn't muster the strength to fight against the force of the man's grip. 

The man let out a chuckle, "Haha, don't tell me y'all ain't got no strength in yer bones," The man released his grip on Albert, "I hope y'all greenhorns got what it takes to deal with mah problem."

Albert turned around, waving his hand rapidly to rid himself of the pain. German stepped up in his place, "Oh are you the village chief?"

The man looked German up and down, noddin' to himself, "Yup, you be right 'bout that! Name's Carl!", He pointed back at some of the houses with thatched roofs. "Them monsters be causin' more than cattle theft these days."

"They are damaging the houses?" Germans ask

"You got eyes, don't ya?" Carl turned his back on German, spreading his arms wide as he gestured toward the sky. "They be comin' at night. A whole herd of 'em. At first, they only stole the cattle, just pickin' 'em up."

"Picking them up?" German wasn't sure if he heard right.

"Yes, they work together, flappin' their wings to drag 'em off to who knows where." Carl turned to face them. "Anyways, why don't y'all come on over to my place? That way I can answer any questions you got,"

German nodded, "Alright that's fine,"

---

The four of them sat in Carl's house at his table. It was a simple wooden table but along the walls of his place hung shields and battle axes. 

"I thought it said on the request that you didn't know what was stealing your cattle?" Albert asks, still slightly waving his hand.

"That was a week ago when I posted the request. 'Bout 4 days back, I reckon, they came again at night, the whole dang herd. One of the children, Anna, was taken by 'em. I gathered all the adults in the village, we grabbed torches, and what we saw was a monster," Carl stood up, reaching for a nearby drawer, picked up a grayish skin from it, and threw it at Albert.

The skin was leathery in nature yet seemed far more abnormal in strength. Albert tossed the skin to Tony, "Try cutting it with your daggers,"

Tony obliged, pulling out one of his daggers. He gently slashed across the skin, leaving no mark of the blade. Again he tried with more force this time yet the result was the same. The dagger was incapable of doing any damage to it. "Yeah I can't cut this at all," Tony said, handing the skin to German to give it a try.

Albert eyes the skin as German tries to stab it with Tony's Dagger, "Zilbats..." he mutters. German hears his ramblings, "Zilbats?"

"That means Vampires..."