Ralmine's Hero

Saif followed the pristine road through what looked like a typical rich person’s garden. The area was clean, and the roads were well-lit, but was otherwise sparse and smelled almost clinical. The only type of greenery aside from the grass were some sculpted shrubs and select trees. He had no idea where he was going, or where it would take him, or what in the world he was going to do now, so he walked. As he did, few things made themselves clear.

1- Saif wasn’t anywhere near home.

2- Saif wasn’t human anymore.

3- Saif wasn’t exactly safe here, wherever that means.

It was all a confusing mess, so Saif walked. He walked for quite a while, enough that the well-trimmed gardens transitioned into unbridled nature. Trees, grass, bushes, flowers, greenery of all sorts littered the land. It was darker, with only the moonlight illuminating the path, and the stars were shining brightly. The earthy scent he smelled back atop the mountain was back, and it got stronger as he continued further. It guided him through a fork in the road, even when it seemed like he was doubling back.

A helpful sign dangled above a welcoming arch where the scent of earth originated from. Unfortunately, Saif couldn’t read the script. Up ahead were rows and rows of identical plants, and if he had to guess, it was some sort of farm. Still, Instinct told him to keep going. Saif treaded over the wet soil, barely disrupting it with the lightness of his steps.

At once, giggles and murmurs erupted around him. He stopped, looking around frantically, but he couldn’t find anyone. The plants around him shifted, dancing in the breeze. Saif wrapped the cloak tighter around himself and kept going.

“HELP!” A scream shot out from up ahead. Saif kicked into gear, running towards it rather than away.

“SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE!” Saif followed the voice, diving through the plants, hopping over roots and undergrowth to make it there faster. Saif popped out of the trees and tumbled down to a sandy beach, the smell of ash grew sharper.

Up ahead, he could see the back of a red-skinned creature as it cackled, a few glowing jelly-like orbs bounced around it. Someone let out a wordless scream.

No time for questions. Saif ran towards the creature, sliding through the sand between its legs to face it. It had a horrible face, leathery and hellish red and glowing orange eyes. It opened its mouth to scream, spewing glowing lava as it did.

Now that he was closer, Saif could see that the orb guys were made of the same lava, and only had two voids for eyes. Something was off about these monsters, they looked too unnatural. The orbs bounced a couple of times, Saif could almost hear them scratching their heads.

Now what? Instinct brought him here, and he could feel it curling around the edges of his mind. Was he going to fight? It was three against one, and yet, he didn’t fear it.

Instinct took over. He pulled the nail out from his cloak and steadied it by his side.

The monster laughed at him, one of the lava orbs bounced towards him, ready to consume him in a single bite.

It never made it.

Instinct sliced, dragging the nail right between the eyes, splitting the orb into two, then four, then six, then eight before the lava orb slices landed on the cool sand with a sizzle, like an orange sliced to serve. As it died, the lava inside it cooled, transforming into nothing more than purplish- grey rock.

The red monster screamed, half-way between a roar and a hollow gurgle. It lunged at him, trying to strike him down with its sharp claws. Instinct backed away, landing in the sand with a quiet crunch before the monster lunged into another swipe. With a slice of its nail, Instinct pushed forward, stabbing through the monster’s hand. The monster flinched back, grabbing its arm with the other. Instinct used that momentum to launch up high, yanking the nail out of the lava-dripping palm in the process, and soared through the air. The monster screamed, looking up to swipe at the air where Instinct was, but it was too far high.

Instinct took a moment to correct its course, waiting for the right moment, until the monster moved its hand just right- there! It dove down, nail first, into the center of the monster’s face. It gurgled again, thrashing, spilling lava all over the sands below. Instinct leaped off, watching as the monster howled, lava solidifying over its face and body, encasing itself in the cooling rock. The thrashing ceased, and the rest of the monster faded to grey.

The other orb didn’t try to approach. It bounced away, but Instinct didn’t let it go far, slicing it down just as quickly as it did the first orb.

Instinct backed down, handing control back to Saif. He tucked the still hot nail back into his cloak and tried to make sense of how he lost control like that. Instinct. It was all pure instinct. Nothing more. Where is the line drawn? Where does he end and Instinct begin?

“Oh my days, I’m alive…” Later. He can deal with that later. Saif turned around, finally meeting the person behind the screams. It turned out to be a human, well-built but clearly young if Saif had to guess. He wore a linen top with a brown leather apron that had clearly seen better days. Other accessories, like the leather gloves, arm-covers, and boots, as well as the various metal tools at their belt proved that this kid was some sort of craftsman.

“You saved me. I- I don’t know what to say, I thought I was a goner there. I started sending out my final prayers. I knew I should have brought my proper sword with me, but they said the capital was free from monsters so I-” The person took a deep breath, panting. “Thank you.”

Saif nodded in response. The kid waited for him to say something, for one minute, then another. “Um, I should take my leave then…” Saif nodded again, turning to go back to the farm. Maybe he could see what was up with the laughing there.

“Wait!” The kid scrambled to get up, “I- uh- I haven’t even thanked you properly. That's right. I need to reward you. A proper hero’s thanks.”

Saif turned his head to the side, curious. What on earth is he talking about?

The kid rummaged through his things, patting his pockets and belt. “Darn, I spent all my money already. One moment,” the kid began to gather metal ingots littering the sands, placing them into a neat pile. Atop some rocks Saif hadn’t noticed them earlier,

“Here,” he took a bar from the top and handed it over to Saif. “I can’t pay you, but you could probably sell this back to the Metallums for some quick cash.”

The bar wasn’t large in the kid’s hands, but it was a solid third of Saif’s size. Saif made no move to take it. “Um, you’re right. This would just burden you, wouldn’t it. How about this, I’m heading to a rest stop not too far from here. If you accompany me there, I’ll trade for some money to pay you for this and to protect me on the trip there. What do you say?”

Saif couldn’t express that he didn’t want the money without also refusing to help, so he nodded. The kid smiled wide and bright. “Thank the moon you agreed. Oh man, I wouldn’t know what to do if another wave attacked me on the way home.”

The kid went back to gathering his ingots, rambling to Saif about anything and everything that crossed his mind.

“I wasn’t even supposed to come grab these today,” he added to the pile, “I was going to wait until the carpenter finished building my new cart, but he ran out of hardware for the handles and wheels, and since I’m a blacksmith, I thought it was ridiculous for me to wait around for something I know I can make myself, or even worse, pay a trader for it. So, I thought I’d come down to the volcano, the prices here are much more fair than the traders closer to town. I only meant to grab enough metal for my cart, but they have good bulk prices, and it would take forever to leave and come back with the finished cart. I thought I'll just grab my stack now. Hah… silly mistake.”

The kid finally finished rummaging around for the ingots and began counting them. “Huh, that’s strange. I thought I bought fifteen bars… why do I keep counting up to twenty?”

Saif looked down at the monsters' remains, poking and scratching at them with his nail. The kid caught on to the scraping sound. “Oh. Right. Loot drops. Then this money didn’t fall out of my empty pouch either.” The kid showed off a few gems, different colored ones that glimmered in the moonlight.

“Uh,” the kid closed his fist around the gems, “I know you rightfully earned these… but I- uh… wait, you don’t have a wallet, do you?”

Saif sighed, shaking his head. The kid was obviously desperate for money. Saif couldn’t blame him. Though it was fuzzy, he could recall having to pinch his pennies back in home

“Right. I’ll hold on to these for you then.” The kid pulled out a pouch that glimmered even in the darkness. “That’s twenty-four rupees for you, remind me about them later- ah, what’s your name by the way?”

Saif blinked, the kid’s blinding smile shrunk down for a moment. “Oh rats, I never even told you my name!”

The kid straightened, smiling even brighter than before. “Sorry ‘bout that. I’m Ralmine of the Grippents Blacksmiths. Thanks again, hero!”