Song of the Piper

::33:: Demons of Fear (Part 1)

Music is Dark Times are Upon Us by Immediate Music. Play it!

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Accordingly, I'd bathed with the aid of the maidservant before heading for the dining hall. There, I'd dined with Lord Himmel and the Mayor. Uneasiness had rippled in the atmosphere. My wrists had been unbound, but Lord Himmel was eyeing me across the table with such suspicion throughout the whole meal that I wouldn't have been able to play my flute, even if I wanted to.

The Mayor hadn't helped either. He had been chatting amiably with Lord Himmel, and occasionally made small talk with me. But it couldn't hide the leering side-glances towards me. I'd shuddered, thinking of how easily his thin, bony hands could break me; and how his hard lips could whisper fear into my ears.

We were now out of the house, but I still wasn't rid of the foreboding feeling settled in my gut. Lord Himmel's elite guard had arrived after dinner, and the stable hands had saddled up Lord Himmel's mare for us. We'd rode out as the first stars crept into the sky. The ropes were back on my wrists. It almost felt natural to have them again.

The night usually meant more patrolling guards, but this was winter. Less monsters. So some guards could afford to take leave and get some blissed rest before the ice melted, and before the monsters awoke from their slumber. However, there was still quite a number of people roaming the town. I noticed that crowds gathered where we passed by. Not surprising. The townsfolk were always fascinated by the prospect of a wealthier province's ruling nobility coming to visit. I remembered how they always gawked at a lord or a lady's entourage, cluttering up the streets, while I hung back, constantly watching from a distance, admiring but never daring to go near.

And I was currently at the centre of it all.

I shifted uneasily, enduring the disbelieving stares of everyone. Everyone—from the richest merchant to the lowest-born scallywag. It set my nerves on edge, and for once, I hoped that we would arrive at wherever Lord Himmel wanted to go soon.

Halfway through the town, a song began to float in the air. It took me a while before I realised that it was Lord Himmel who was singing. For all of his monstrousness, he did have a beautiful voice. It sounded like gold, like silk—like the heavens itself. My Core, nearly forgotten, stirred to its rhythm. It was weak, suppressed by the magic on the ropes, but it was there. I'd sorely missed its presence, and its warmth was a small comfort.

Soon enough, I found shape in Lord Himmel's song: it was meant to repulse and push away. Eventually, the crowd found something better to do, and no longer kept trailing after us. I sucked in a deep breath, finally able to breathe without being monitored so closely. The weight of people no longer suffocated the air.

Only, the chills came back. I lifted my face to the sky, hoping to find solace in the stars. Instead, the sight broke me.

There was a full moon.

A full moon, when Saint Bromilde would be at the peak of her power. When Lord Himmel would usually drain children of their youth. When he would go to provinces to steal the Fountain's magic.

Whatever Lord Himmel was planning, it wasn't going to go well for me.

After a few more minutes, we came to the entrance gates. The sorcerers on duty stopped us. They eyed me and my leg, as well as the entourage of guards behind us. I imagined that we must have been quite a sight, a travelling party of about thirty men strong heading out of the town. The walls weren't much, but they were better protection than nothing at all.

One of them, a tall middle-aged man with a broken nose stepped forward. "It's dangerous out there, milord," he said. "It's advisable to not venture out at this hour."