Diamond In The Rough

Chapter III

The market was as close to a savior as the scrappers got. Y/n, being productive for once, had sold some trinkets to the various traders, earning herself a handful of couple silver and gold coins. 'This will be enough for a weeks supply of food!' She thought excitedly as she dashed home.

Halfway through her walk, she noticed something strange. The streets were quieter than usual, worried murmurs drifted through the cold morning air. Y/n caught a few words spoken between some of the scrappers.

"...a monster!"

"...desroyed towns!"

"...stone..."

"...coming this way!"

'Huh.' Another folktale from the traders must've gotten them stirred up again. It had happened a few times before. Sometimes it was about dragons, other times it was ogres. Not surprisingly, they never showed up, so Y/n shrugged it off.

Once at home, she dumped her pile of coins on the small table. Lilian glanced up from the stove where she had been cooking breakfast. The fire in the bottom was blazing nicely. It gave Y/n satisfaction to know that today would go all right.

"Whoa! You got all that!" The food was momentarily forgotten as her cousin bounded toward the money. "Maybe you can finally get that caravan, huh?"

Y/n laughed lightly at Lilian's statement. The girl meant well, but it did hurt a little. No amount of coin she earned would be enough. Lilian must've caught on to her sadness because she grabbed Y/n's hand. 

"Hey, if anyone can get out of here, it would be you." Her cousin smiled, cocking her head to the side like a puppy. "And when you do leave, become famous, be a hero, don't forget about me."

"Oh Lilian!" Y/n cried, throwing her arms around the girl. "I could never forget you!"

Y/n was extremely grateful to have Lilian in her life. Her cousin had been there through the good times and the bad. They had grown up together. She was innocent, sweet, and funny. It was a wonder how a girl with so much potential had ended up alone in the scrap town.

They ate breakfast quickly so they could take a walk while it was still morning. In the winter, it was old, yes, but it was nothing the girls couldn't handle. The scrap town was down south, so the cold they got there wasn't as extreme as the harsh, deadly northern winters.

As they walked, Lilian glanced around nervously as if she expected something to creep up behind her. 

"What is ever the matter?" Y/n paused for a second as realization dawned upon her. "Ah quiznak! Don't tell me you believe the traders' lies. When was the last time one of their fantastical stories came true?"

Lilian sighed uneasily. "Yes, I suppose you are right. Nothing but lies.." She trailed off into an unconvinced muttering which Y/n decided to ignore. 'She'll convince herself that the myths are false.' Y/n thought to herself. 'Just give her a minuet.'

Finally, Lilian stopped looking back and they continued their walk through the silent town. "Where is everyone?" Y/n wondered out loud.

"It is barely noon, and not to mention, cold. Anyone in their right mind would stay inside." Her cousin smirked, elbowing Y/n in the stomach. "Fortunately for us, we are crazy."

"Crazy is better." Y/n agreed, returning her cousins smile. 

The middle of the town was usually bustling with people, so it was odd to see only a couple scrappers there. Something was definitely off today, there had to be something more than the cold and the myth. She just didn't know what...

As if the heavens heard her question, a rumbling sound echoed from the mountains in the distance. Small pebbles broke loose from the cobblestone floor of the towns center. The scarce  groups of scrappers outside screamed, running from the noise.

"What's happening?!" Y/n shouted, mostly to herself. The rumbling was getting louder. The ground shook as if it too were cowering under the noise. 

Suddenly, a mountain rose from its resting, casting a shadow over the whole town. Gray and massive, it turned slowly around.

Two giant, yellow eyes scanned the village, sending a jolt of terror through Y/n's veins. A mountain hadn't risen up to crush the city, but an immense creature. As if an alarm bell had gone off, the doors of every house were kicked open and the residents came rushing out. A stampede of scrappers all running for their lives.

A cry rose above the crowd. "The monster! It is here to kill us all."

In response, the creature roared, and a swirling mist engulfed his arms. He swung them like a lumberjack with an ax and many scrappers froze mid-run. On closer inspection, Y/ realized, her blood running cold, that they had turned to stone. Stone as grey and as lifeless as the street they were standing on.

Y/n knew she had to get out of here before she faced a similar fate. She began to run with the crowd, but stopped short when she remembered...

"LILIAN!" Y/n cried, her voice raising an octave higher. She ran back to where they had stopped to stare at the beast, but it was nearly impossible to find her in the crowd. 

The crowd.

It was growing smaller and smaller each dobosh as more citizens turned to stone. Panic rising, she called for her cousin again and again. Her voice turned hoarse but her heart never seemed to slow down. She had to find Li-.

The tsunami of people parted for a tick, but it was ling enough for Y/n to see what she feared.

Lilian was frozen in terror, gaping at the monster... her face as gray as-.

"NO!" Y/n weaved through the stampede, making her way over to her cousin, now a rock like the other unlucky scrappers. One ran into her, knocking her over. A sharp pain went up her arm but she continued on. Finally, she reached Lilian and grasped her stone face. "No no no! Lilian please!"

As expected, there was no response.

Another roar sounded behind her as the beast's yellow eyes locked with hers. Mist flew to his hands once again.

There was nowhere to run, Y/n knew it. She would face the same fate as her cousin. Preparing for a strike, she shut her eyes.

But the mist never came.

Instead, a hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the monster. She didn't protest as the stranger, whom she had trouble seeing, wove around houses and shops until they were at the outskirts of town.

Real mountains rose from the ground, blocking any way of escape from the scrap town, if you didn't have enough money at least.

The stranger pulled her into a hollow crevice in the rock. It was wide enough for them to fit, but they had to squish together to fit. 'A cave!' Y/n realized through her grief.

Although she had always wanted to see the inside of a cave, she couldn't enjoy the moment. Lilian was dead, her town was falling to pieces. Screams echoed from the village which looked remarkably smaller from a distance. Y/n could still see the monster, now smashing huts into nothing more than splinters. The cries of her people became quieter until she could hear them no more.

She was so shocked and stricken, that she nearly forgot about her savior until she heard a voice call out.

"Hey, I-I'm really sorry."

Welp. That's it for today. 

Please don't kill me if you liked Lilian!