The True Demon

KOT Side1

It was just like any normal day for Tran in his small village of Zyllphus.  He had just finished his work at his family’s mills and was now resting under the shade of a large oak tree.  His drowsy gaze was cast out over the grassy hills surrounding his hometown and the light breeze ruffled the legs of his tan slacks.  He would’ve fallen completely into slumber had he not been awoken by the sound of one of the villagers shouting.  Trying to blink the sleep from his eyes, he was able to catch sight of Lozzy running up towards him from the hills.  Lozzy was a young farmhand who mostly stayed in the village, so Tran saw it as strange that he would be coming from the outside of it.2

“Demon, demon!” Lozzy screeched.  Tran’s head still hadn’t completely cleared as Lozzy arrived at his side, panting.3

“Come again?” Tran asked lazily.4

“I…saw a demon!  It was a terrible thing, wings and horns and all!  I had seen young Rose headin’ out of town so I decided to follow and make sure she didn’t get herself into trouble.  A short ways out I found her on the ground, her throat split wide-open!  Then I heard the most awful noise I ever heard in my life, and when I looked up a great demon was flying overhead!”5

The thought of such a creature being around the area jerked Tran into alertness.  “Which way did it go?” he questioned, hurrying to his feet.6

Lozzy turned and pointed to a clump of pine trees.  “It flew in there when I lost sight of it.  We need to warn the village!”  Nodding in agreement, Tran raced into town with Lozzy close behind.  They explained their story to the mayor, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced.7

“I will send a small search party out to look for this demon,” stated the mayor.8

“You can’t!  That thing’ll eat ‘em all alive!” Lozzy exclaimed.  “Just like it did to Rose!”9

“That’s it!” said Tran as an idea struck.  “Send them to look for Rose’s body instead.  If you find it as Lozzy described it, then he must be telling the truth!”10

“Very well then, but not a word to anyone about this until the body is found.  Do you understand?”  The boys nodded and were ushered out of the mayor’s office.  “Good, now get going.”  They left and went their own separate ways, Tran heading back towards the tree he had been at before.  He hoped that by staying there he would be able to catch an early sight of the search party on their return.  He waited for quite some time, and it wasn’t until the sun was just beginning to touch the horizon that he saw some of the town guard, carrying something in-between their group.  Guessing it to be Rose, Tran followed the guards to town square where they met with the mayor.  After a short, whispered conversation, the mayor noticed Tran.11

“Young lad, inform everyone that you can that there is to be a town meeting here.  Go swiftly.”  A knot formed in Tran’s throat as he nodded shakily and rushed off.  Demon’s had only been seen around his village through stories, and most didn’t even believe that they existed.  Once the entire town had been gathered, the town square had to be lit with torches; the sun had sunk so low.  The mayor stood on a small platform and looked out over the sea of apprehensive faces.12

Taking a deep breath, he began.  “There is a demon in the area.”  The chorus of gasps that greeted his announcement did not surprise him, and he raised his hand to regain their attention.  “Earlier this afternoon, Lozzy found young Rose dead just outside the village and spotted the thing.  According to his account, it has taken up residence in the pine forest next to town.”13

“Then let’s burn the woods and that thing along with them!” shouted one of the townsfolk as he grabbed a torch.14

“You know as well as any of us that this is the driest season.  Setting fire to those woods would certainly mean a fire in town.”15

“I’ve seen the beast too!  It is a twisted monster that could have only been spawned in Hell!” screamed a woman from the crowd.  A few others amongst the villagers claimed to have spotted the demon at one time or another, and all of their descriptions matched up with one another.16

“Settle down now!” spoke the mayor over the growing din.  “This threat will be dealt with.  A demon has never been seen in these parts, and we’ll be sure that it doesn’t stay long.”  A half-hearted cheer erupted from the crowd, dulled mainly by their own fear and nervousness.17

Lozzy took a step up to the mayor.  “Why don’t we set a trap for it here in the village?  If we lure it in, we can surprise it and kill it quickly without any bloodshed on our part.”18

“That is an excellent idea, Lozzy.  The captains of the town guard shall arrange the trap, and those who are not involved with its execution must stay indoors for the remainder of the night.19

The trap was organized in a quick manner.  It was fairly simple; they would draw the demon into town with some fresh meat provided by the butcher.  The bait would be placed in the town square where there were nearly a dozen vantage points to attack the creature from long-range.  Archers were placed hidden against the house roofs as they awaited the approach of the monster.  They were all to aim for the wings to keep it from flying away, and that’s where the second group of people came in.  Some of the villagers, Tran among them, had constructed makeshift wooden gates that they would hoist into place to cover all of the exits from the square between buildings.  They would all be pulled up with ropes from the inside of the square, and rope ladders were prepared to pull them all out of harm’s way.  Tran gripped his rope apprehensively as he crouched in the shadow of one of the buildings.20

Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek rose up into the air, causing Tran to wince.  He looked up as he heard the sound of flapping wings and saw the most horrible creature land five feet away from the pile of meats.  He nearly vomited as it tore savagely into the first steak.  He noticed the faint outline of one of the captains, preparing to give the signal to fire when the demon suddenly looked up.  It leaped into the air and landed upon one of the roofs.  Tran heard a terrified scream before a loud thud.  When he looked towards the last noise he saw the body of one of the guards, a pool of blood steadily growing underneath him.  There were several loud orders and arrows flew through the air, though none seemed to hit their mark.  Many more screams echoed across the night before the demon jumped back to the ground, its entire front coated in blood.  Tran scrambled away from his spot as the demon focused on his group and stalked towards them.  It dodged every arrow that came at it as if it knew exactly where they were coming from.  Grabbing the rope ladder with shaky hands, Tran pulled himself up to the roof to watch the chaos.  It wasn’t long before the demon had either eliminated everyone in the square or some had run.  Tran heard low chanting and saw a group of cloaked people walking steadily towards the demon, who turned to recognize them.21

“I trust you are pleased, master,” said one of the dark figures.22

“Quite,” replied the demon in a voice that echoed with the screams of the dead.  “It shouldn’t take long to flush out the rest of the humans in this town.  Their blood will make a perfect sacrifice to Lord Morkthrone.”23

Each of the figures reached up and pulled back their hoods, and what Tran saw made his heart leap into his throat.  The front most person was Lozzy, and the rest of them were the villagers that had all reported seeing the demon at the town meeting.  Tran had heard tales of such things; wherever there was a powerful demon, it usually had a cult of followers.  It all seemed logical to him now, Lozzy and the others served this demon, and they had tricked this town into thinking they could defeat it to offer them as a sacrifice.  Tran slid down the backside of the building and landed noiselessly on the ground, before he took off running.  He remembered the demon’s words; that they would search the town for every last human, so he knew he had to leave.  There was a castle city about three day’s march from here.  They would need to be warned.  Tran ran as fast as he could away from his home, never once looking back.  Before long, the demon and its followers had purged the village of humanity, and whenever the wind blew through the now abandoned town, it mimicked the screams of its former residents.24