Serrum

I rushed to Dente's side as his groans turned to screams. He held his hands tight over his ears as he collapsed onto his side from his knees. I held onto his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down as he shook violently on the ground. Fesha watched in horror before coming to help.

"Stay away from me! Enough with the whispers! Show thyself!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Dente began clawing at his ears, leaving trails of red across the sides of his head. I quickly ripped his hands away from his face and examined his ears. His scratching had not broken skin, but there was a lot of dried blood around and in his ears, perhaps from the two men he had just killed. I soon began to recognize this condition, one that Dux had made me aware of. I stretched the sleeve of my shirt over my palm with one hand and attempted to wipe the blood from within his ears while Fesha traded places with me and held his hands in place. Chunks of red stained the trim of my sleeve, but I continued, hoping that this was the solution. After minutes of Dente struggling and me wiping blood, he finally began to calm down. I looked him in the eyes, checking if he was still there.

"Hey, you okay? What happened, what did you see?" I said trying to bring our volumes back down to whispers.

"I... I" Dente struggled to breath. "That wretched thing, why must his voice be heard now?" He said louder than a whisper. "Why must he shroud himself in the dark?" Dente said on the verge of tears.

I had nearly forgotten where we were from all the chaos that ensued, the sudden silence bringing me back, rather, what I started to hear in the silence. A faint sound in the distance trailed off several times. It echoed throughout the chamber, growing louder and louder. It was the sound of scrapping that reverberated throughout the space, like metal to stone. Fesha and I dragged Dente's heavy body towards the wall as the metallic scrapping only grew louder. Then, from just above us where the balcony was, footsteps took off in a scurry and left in a long silence. A pair of feet entered my sight, coming into view from the top edge of the low ceiling. They landed with a loud tap that shook the room with its impact. There stood a man in an extremely tattered black robe and a foul demeanor, between us and Serrum. He wielded a long black halberd that had a surface of twisting threads in his right, and a rusted silver crest shield, the length of his entire forearm, in his left. He turned to face us, his one eye grayed out, and most of the other half of his face had been overtaken by the black growth, covering his one eye and ear.

"Thou hast contacted the void it seemeth." The man's voice grumbled. "If only thee were stronger, perhaps thee could've communed."

At the sound of his voice, Dente grabbed the sleeve of my tunic. I turned to face him only to see a look of shock under the dried blood that still blanketed his face. It was like he could not believe what he was hearing.

Dente spoke. "No, where hast thou been all this time?" His tone trembled.

The mysterious man laughed. "It's been a long time old friend."

A story from not too long ago suddenly emerged in my head. A story of a friend that Serrum and Dente said they once had who had gone missing. It seems the weight of that story is now fully being realized.

"Verit..." Dente trailed off, his response confirming my suspicions.

I stared down the intimidating man ahead, Fesha following suite. I unlatched the spear from my back strap and held the blade forward. Fesha readied explosive powder between her fingers.

"So thee dare maketh a mess of someone else's home. Blind fools thou art. Tell me, why does thou wishest to tear Serrum from mine protection?" Verit asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my question bouncing off the chamber walls.

Verit seemed taken aback. "Thou knowest not of what he do, yet continues onward. I tell thee this then, for the sake of ye, let Serrum rest."

"Verit!" Dente suddenly yelled. "What have thee done to her!"

Verit sighed. "Remember when thee foundest me, trapped within the dark residue, unable to remember a thing. If thee let that blackened dragon rot fester within Serrum's shoulder any longer, the same shall happen to her and the tooth will no longer be of use to thee. Serrum may not remember how she lost her arm, but I do now. I shall save her, and she will save us. That accursed beast of the uppers shall be slain soon enough."

"I don't understand, just tell me why." Dente said.

"I'm afraid if thou hasn't discovered the blessing of Serrum's new purpose, then our banter will only lead to battle eventually." Verit said with a hint of regret.

None of us had a clue of what Verit was talking about, but we knew from his conviction alone that he would defend his stance even into death. Verit began approaching, dragging his twisted halberd against the stone floor. We prepared ourselves, even Dente had gotten up, though his sanity still seemed to be slipping.

"If thee wishest to relinquish communion, then may thy souls part from thy vessels, and become aid for our departure. Grace upon the new world." Verit said aloud in prayer.

Verit's chant echoed through the halls, harmonizing with the scrapping of his blade. Immediately after his prayer, he charged us. Fesha and I readied ourselves to defend. As Verit closed more distance, a rushing wind had past me from behind. Dente charge ahead of us, axe in hand and fury in his eyes. Verit drove his halberd forward to which Dente barely dodged. Dente's axe reflected the golden hue of the surrounding torches as he raised it in the air. He moved his arm down at full speed, the impacted against Verit's shield echoing all around. They stood locked in place for a bit, eyeing each other down, testing an old friendship to see if it was still there.