The Unseen Adventure

Chapter seven: . Old Thom's Revelation

The Darkwrath continued making its way towards Old Thom, who seemed unfazed by its presence. It slowly lowered itself to the ground near his feet. Old Thom smiled and petted the Darkwrath, which growled an unpleasant sound. Fela and the other men were shocked, still maintaining their guard against the surrounding Darkwraths.

"Why didn't they attack you?" one of the men asked, looking calm but shaking in his boots.

"What do you mean, why would a servant attack its master?" Old Thom grinned devilishly.

"Wait, so you mean you're the one who broke their prison and unleashed them on the village?" Fela said, realization in his voice.

"Yes, and in fact, Damian was the first to discover me," Old Thom said, the creature still growling under his touch.

A mix of fear and anger poured over Fela. "Where is my son? What did you do to him?" His tone was more urgent than before.

"Worry not, I didn't harm him... but frankly speaking, he did the harming," Old Thom chuckled, absent-mindedly touching the wound on his face that Damian had given him.

Fela's urgency grew. "If you've hurt him—"

Old Thom waved a hand dismissively.
"I bet Damian has gone to find you, though I hope he has been eaten by my Darkwraths on the way there."

Old Thom's words were laced with malice, and Fela's expression twisted in a mix of emotions. "Old Thom, I and the village trusted you. If someone had told me that you were behind this, I wouldn't have believed them. You were like a father to many of us in Brindlemark, even me."

Fela's words seemed to amuse Old Thom. "Your words touch me, Fela," he said sarcastically.

"But seriously, I considered maybe, just maybe, that I might have left our village out of this," Old Thom continued. "I killed Larry and planted the great mystery that brought the sweet taste of fear to our village, and I was actually content for a while. But then your son went snooping with that idiot Kael, and he found out the truth... and I just had to go with the flow."

Fela asked, "So, what are you going to do with us now? Are you going to kill us?"

Old Thom's grin grew wider. "Yes, of course. And then I'll kill the rest of the villagers. I'll go out into the world and take what's mine."

Fela's eyes narrowed. "And what is yours?"

Old Thom's laughter sent shivers down the spines of the men. "This whole world. I deserve to be king of the world, and with my Darkwraths army, no one will stop me."

The Darkwraths moved closer, their growls intensifying. "Wait, before you kill us, can I at least ask a favor?" Fela asked.

Old Thom raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He made a subtle hand signal, and the Darkwraths halted their approach. "I'll accept your dying request, Fela."

Fela asked, "How were you able to find and control the Darkwraths?"

Old Thom's smile turned nostalgic. "Remember the lore Athlaea told us during our meeting? Well, there's more to the story. After the mage defeated the Darkwraths, he became weak and feared the world would misuse their power. He hid, changed his identity, and settled in this very village – the first person to do so. Only his family and descendants knew where to find and break the seal at the elder tree. And, as luck would have it, I'm the 11th descendant of that great mage."

Fela's eyes widened in surprise. "So, how did you control them?"

Old Thom's eyes gleamed with malevolence. "I spent my youth searching for a way to control them. I tried every method – forbidden books, sacrifices – but nothing worked. Then, one day, I went to the elder tree and begged it to consume me.