Chapter 33 Happy Birthday to Me and Bill

2 more weeks have passed

2 weeks have passed since Martin and his party went to Goblins castle. Not even one of them has come back since they left. In these 2 weeks, Bill and Suzuka did their usual things. Tough combat training, food gathering, dangerous threat disposal, and exploring the surrounding area around the cave, deeper into the forest. They killed a couple of Bloody wolves that kept coming to harass them, and drow away a handful of slimes that were looking to make Bill's cave their home.

Bill was always on the lookout for Dark Imps, he didn't like them very much. In fact, he hated them because they kept on stealing Bill's junk when he wasn't around. But since Suzuka arrived, Dark Imps didn't have a chance to sneak in to loot his cave.

Suzuka had an unpleasant adventure in these 2 weeks, she run into Hypno Spider. But Bill was nearby and rescued her. He crushed that spider like the bug he was and carried, half asleep, Suzuka back to his cave. The spider didn't do serious damage only wrapped her in his cobweb while she was stupefied.

It is a dark and gloomy morning of a stormy day. Enormous dark grey clouds covered the sky preventing the sun from shining down. The rain drops the size of a bean pummeled the ground. Water was splashing as raindrops hit the puddles formed on the ground. The noise of rain and gentle breeze could be heard whistling through the cave.

It was a boring day for Bill and Suzuka. She woke up first, but because the rain was pouring hard outside the cave, there was nothing interesting for her to do. She decided to practice her box powers by crushing small pebbles on the ground. Bill opened his eyes, looked at the raging storm outside, and decided he didn't want to go anywhere because of the heavy rain, the only thing he wanted to do today is to sleep in his hay bed. Bill closed his eyes again, turned on his side, and tried to continue his sleep.

The soothing sound made by rain was like a lullaby to Suzuka, it made her drowsy and sluggish. Boring box power training made her even more out of it. To escape her boredom and fade her sleepiness she decided to pester Bill.

- Bill? Are you still sleeping? I saw you checking the weather outside... you're not sleeping, right? Hello, good morning! It's morning already! What a nice day, huh? Bill? I know you're not sleeping, say something. I will not shut up until you talk to me. Oh, Billlll!

Bill got slightly annoyed, he tried to ignore the girl for a while but she just didn't let go, she kept on talking and talking until Bill couldn't keep his cool and finally snap.

- Bhaaa! Girl! Do you ever shut up?! Bill would be sleeping... if Girl stopped pestering me! Hehh! Is a girl blind and deaf? A nice day my ass! Just look outside! It's a goddam storm out there. This day is only good to take a shower or go drown yourself. How is this a good day?

Suzuka turn her head towards the exit and looked outside at the storm. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of rain. A few seconds later she open her eyes, turned to Bill, and said:

- I like rain, I always did. It makes such a lovely sound... when raindrops hit something. When I was a little girl, like 5 years old or something, I used to visit blacksmith Gunther on rainy days, he had a metal, tin roof... Oh! The sound it made... I will never forget that, shivers sending, sound.

Bill took a peek outside, closed his eyes, and tried to listen to the sound. After a couple of moments, he turn to Suzuka and said:

- Are you mad, Girl? Is something wrong with your head? Are you telling me that you Bothered some man, just so you could listen to some stupid rain noise? Was the girl crazy even before meeting Bill?

Suzuka got a little bit offended to hear from a ranging monster that she is crazy but she didn't get mad because it wasn't the first time someone call her crazy for this.

- Oh come on! No... I am not crazy, I haven't gone insane. Jeez... what's with all you people. I just like the sound of the rain.

Bill opened his eyes, turned to Suzuka, and sit down.

- What did Girl say? People? Does a Girl consider Bill as one of the people?

- Well... yes, I do.

- Girl, don't you think of Bill as just another monster? You look at Bill as one of the people, as a person?

Suzuka was sitting at the cave entrance, a few meters away from Bill, still watching outside as raindrops fall from the dark grey sky, hitting puddles, formed on the ground. While answering his question she turned to him and looked him in the eyes.

- Bill... you may be a monster... but I don't see you as one. I call monsters those who put me to sleep and sell me to kidnappers... those who ignore me begging to spare my life... those who gave the order to feed me to a beast... those who use me as an experiment. I call them a monster... you Bill... after spending all this time, here, with you... I think of you as more human, than they could ever be. So... yeah... I think of you as a person.

Bill listened to Suzuka with a thought of mockery from her but he saw that she was sincere, that she talks from the heart. When he heard what she said Bill calmed down and answered her in a calm voice:

- Well, that sounded awfully personal... but... thanks, little girl. Only a few people... in Bill's life, thought of Bill as a person.

- Yeah... it kinda was... personal. Do you wanna hear my story?

Bill got annoyed again because Suzuka was pestering him with her story since she met him. He told her time and time again how he is not interested in her sad story but she just kept on bringing it up on and on again.

- Ow! Girl! You... this sweet talking, I know what you did, Girl wants to tell what happened to her. Bill said, don't care. I won't pity you or feel sorry for you.

- Aaah... come on Bill... don't be like that. All I want is to tell somebody what happen to me. Look, I will listen to your story... what happened to you. So? What are you gonna say?

- No. Talk about something else.

Suzuka pondered for a minute and said:

- Well... It's my birthday today... I am 15 now. Woohoo me! Happy birthday to me!

Bill turned to Suzuka, took a good look at her face, at her body, back to her face, and said:

- Wait! Hold on a minute! 15? Now Bill may not see many little girls but you look more than that. The girl looks 20 at least!

- If I look that old, listen to my story and stop calling me a little girl... at least say I'm a woman.

- Story? Pffeehh! Woman? A "girl" is good enough. Maybe when you have more meat on these bones of yours... maybe. Anyway... looks like this rain will not go away. I may as well go shower under this strong rain, need to shave too.

- What, now? Just like that, what about...

Bill didn't listen to the girl, he just stood up and went deeper into his cave. He pick up a sharp piece of metal from the ground, then took off his leather shorts and dropped them on the ground. He didn't want them to get wet so he decided to go outside naked.

- Jeez... Bill, why are you undressing?

- Stupid girl, do you bathe with your clothes on?

- Well, no... but.

Bill didn't even stop to talk, he didn't care what she has to say and went outside.

Bill was outside for a good 20 minutes. He returned inside the cave, grabbed a piece of cloth, wiped himself clean, and put his shorts back on. He sit on his bed and said:

- So... hey girl... if it makes you feel better... Bill's birthday was 3 weeks ago, I am 86 years old now. See? No birthday party for both of us.

- 86? I may not see a lot of Minotaurs but even I can tell that you don't look that old.

- Yeah... we Minotaur age slowly. But... one thing is strange to Bill... after I got defeated by that damn Gobliman and his goons, you treated my wounds. Bill recovered very fast, normally I should be dead or still recovering but here I am and I feel great. As if Bill was 30 summers younger. What did Girl do?

- I think... when I touched your injuries... my blood got mixed with yours. I tried to stop the bleeding and pressed my cut palm against your wound. Blood started to bubble and your wound closed.

- That makes no sense, that was all you did?

- Yep, that's all. When my blood got on your wound, blood started to bubble, and the wound closed up.

Bill scratched his head and started to mumble to himself.

- Hmmm... interesting... how can that be... human child blood... hmmm, unless...

But his thought got interrupted by the loud thunder outside. The lightning struck a close-by tree and made a defining sound.

- Stupid rain, stupid lightning! My apple trees! This stupid lightning better not strike my apple trees!

Bill rushed outside to check on what happened while cursing the bad weather. Lightning struck a random tree that was close by, it wasn't his apple tree. Bill took a peek outside through the entrance of his cave without going outside. He didn't see anything unusual, his trees were fine. While he was there he check the sky, but it was the same as before. Dark storm clouds with no sign of clearing, blinding lightning still flashing in the distance, defining thunder echoing through the forest, and the trees creak as the wind blows violently.

Bill was standing still, listening to the scream of the wind. It was a dark day, with menacing shadows lurking in the depths of the forest, monsters crying in the distance, and wind rustling tall grass, playing tricks on his eyes, making him believe there was someone hiding there. A few more blinding flashes flicker in the far distance, followed by a defining sound as Bill was still looking into the sky. This kind of weather wasn't something new for Bill, he knew it was a rainy season. When he was sure there are no threats lurking close by he went back inside his cave.

- So? What happened outside? Did lightning strike your apple tree? Or maybe some monsters fighting outside? What was it?

- No, no monsters... lighting hit some tree close by. That's a good thing because It is hard to find apple trees like that. I was lucky to find this place, you won't find a cave with apple trees growing nearby just anywhere. When I got here, these apple trees were in a rough shape... I fix them... And now, it would be a shame to lose them to some dum lightning... Or them damn Goblins!

- Oh yeah! I was just thinking about what is happening in that castle of theirs. We haven't seen any Goblins lurking around, maybe Martin and his party actually succeed in killing them. It was two weeks now, surely one or another would have shown up by now. By the way... how far is it?

- For them, to reach castle ruins... hmmm... It would take... Maybe, 3 days... At most. To clear Goblins... If he had a smart plan, maybe another 3 days. And to return back here, let's say 3 more days. So... It's hard to say... 2 weeks, maybe? But I still think they are long dead.

- 2 weeks, huh? So how fast can we get there?

- We? Hmmm... One full daytime to reach the place. Rest at night, clean the castle of goblins another daytime. And to return another daytime. So 3 or 4 days to go there kill them and return home.

- Daytime? what does that mean?

- Stupid girl! Do I have to explain every word? Think! Nobody travels in these dam forests at night, we camp at night and we move in the daytime.

- Okay, okay I understand, your smart, me dum... If only Martin accepted our help, we would be done by now, right? You've been there and back, you know the way and all.

- It was no surprise to Bill, I understand why he didn't want help from us, from me. No matter how big of an asset to the party Bill would be... Nobody wants a monster at the party. And we, Minotaurs, don't have a good reputation... All this rage thing, you probably noticed by now.

- Oh... Makes sense, they feared you would go in rage and wipe the party along with the monsters. Right?

- Yeah, no one in their right mind would team up with a random monster met in the forest. But... That Martin guy looked like a decent guy, even if they were all dead... They at least should have reduced the number of Goblins in that castle.

- So? What you wanna do Bill?

- Let's give them another week, with this non-stop rain it might be hard to move for them. If no one shows up by then... We go to kill Goblins, and we will see what happened to Martin and his party.

- Okay, sounds like a plan to me.