Hiraeth [The Hardcore Quest]

I: A Noble Occupation

Maybe someplace else, in a different life, this story would have ended differently.

But it isn't, and it didn't, so I will try my best to tell it to you.

I would like to say that my life started the day I stepped into the warmth of the daylight, but that's not true. No, if I were being honest, it'd be the day the clouds wept. I'd never known humanity until then. But we're not starting from there. We're starting from here.

It was a cold, October night.

I was idly whittling away at an arrow, for all the hand-me-downs had snapped or proved untrue to their mark. Everything I ever did, it was for myself. Nothing anyone gave me was enough, and I was tired of being disappointed. The house was empty of noise until the front door rattled open, filtering in rain and a tall figure dressed in darkness. I spared him nothing more than a glance, but he insisted on meeting at my seat at the table.

"Duni wants to see you," he said. I hummed and nodded. I could see him clench his fists in frustration out of the corner of my eye. "He's pissed. I'd get out there if I were you."

I all but spared another nod, which might've been his tipping point. Swiftly, the arrow was snatched from my hands, and in one quick motion, the tall man snapped the ammo in two with his fingers. Hm. I'd need to use stronger wood next time. "Fine," I finally managed, meeting his intense, amaranth eyes. "I'll get on it, Dick."

"You better," he hissed. "Because if you're late, he'll blame me, and I'll kill you for it."

A flashed Dick a lopsided smile. "I'll keep that in mind for later."

Ignoring the face of indignation he made at me, I headed across the uneven, wooden floor and slipped out the door into the rain. It was freezing, but I didn't have the mind nor the patience to turn back to grab a jacket. And so I headed down the path of gravel leading into the town, slipping slightly on the rain-soaked rocks of the decline until I reached the bottom. The iron door was heavy, and I was already shaking from the cold, but I kept my eyes trained forward and face characteristically phlegmatic as I locked eyes with Duni inside the walls.

Had I been an honorable man, I would've killed him right then. But I'm not. And I didn't. And so I met the lanky figure of shaggy, brown fur and a scraggly, vermillion mane that reached his neck. I wanted nothing more than to fizzle underneath the torrent of rain-shower like heat off an oven-top, but the world is cruel and I deserved everything that came my way.

"What do you want," I mustered, and Duni sprouted a grin.

"Nice to see you, too, Don!" the pug-man greeted. I took shelter beneath the gazebo and looked out at the drained lake, sparing the mutt nothing more than a disdainful frown. "How are you doing, friend? Have the others been treating you fairly? Let me know if they give you flack, and I'll repay them kindly."

"That won't be necessary," I deadpanned. I didn't dare give Duni the benefit of the doubt; he didn't have my best interest at heart. I knew all he wanted was to weasel his way into my trust like a tapeworm in the stomach of a cow. He'd drink up any information anyone gave to him and find a way to use it against them. I'd had the unfortunate experience of witnessing that first hand. I was not eager to relive it.

"Alright, alright." Duni rested his paws against the gazebo railing and joined me in looking out at the remanence of the lake. Dick had told me that, long ago, this place was beautiful — which was not something he took lightly. The trees were full and heavy with crabapples, and the bushes were lush and smelled of sweet jasmine. The lake was sleek and reflected the sky, and you could smell rain on the wind on Saturday evenings. He said you could go outside and hear the lullaby of passerines and watch sterlings flit upon the horizon. Wolves would howl in harmony at night, and crickets never failed to dampen their symphony, even on the cruelest of moonlights.