The Hero's Feast

As soon as Calum and his friends emerged from the mine, they were met with a large, cheering crowd. In the sky, the sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the town. The man that had asked for their help broke from the group and approached Calum.

“Thank you so much for saving our town, hero! We owe you so much.” He grabbed Calum’s hands and fell to his knees. “Words cannot describe how thankful we are. Without you we would still be hiding in our homes, watching until the monsters took everything in the mine.”

Calum pulled him up and pat his shoulder. “It was the least I could do. I can’t ignore a town in need of my help.”

“To thank you for your service to our town, the villagers have decided to have a feast in your honor, hero. It’s not much, but it’s the least we can do. I hope you will join us tonight.” He bowed to the hero and rejoined the cheering crowd.

The hero turned to his companions. “Well, it would be rude not to go. We can delay our journey by a few hours, right?”

“We can… It would be wisest to leave as soon as possible, but I wouldn’t want to disappoint these people, either…” Tilaya glanced at her staff. “Especially since they were nice enough to make this for me.”

Kia folded her arms. “The question is, are we going to leave at night, or are we going to get a room to stay in for the night?”

“Traveling at night is dangerous. I mean, I’m sure I can handle whatever comes our way, but we should stay here just in case,” Erik commented, rewarding him with looks from the others.

Calum put his arm around Erik’s neck. “You say that, but you’re scared we might run into another monster, aren’t you?”

Erik brushed Calum’s arm off of him. “No way. I’m not scared of any monster, and you know that.” His chest puffed out. “I’m the strongest and bravest knight there is!”

“If that’s what you tell yourself at night,” Calum grinned. Tilaya and Kia laughed, but Erik gave him the side eye. “Anyway, we should get ourselves a place to stay for tonight. Let’s look for the inn.”

…

The night’s cool breeze carried the scent of smoked chicken and freshly baked bread. Moonlight lit the town, and the crackling of fire was drowned out by the cheers and laughter of the townsfolk. In the center of town, girls danced around the large fire, and men chugged alcohol with their friends.

Calum silently watched the joyous crowd, stuffing his mouth with bread. He sat alone on a log isolated from the rest of the party. Several energetic people surrounded Tilaya and Erik, who were drinking as much alcohol as they could.

Erik eventually collapsed, and Tilaya raised her mug in the air and laughed. “You can never beat an elf at a drinking contest! Who’s next?”

Kia sat down next to Calum. “Why are you not partying with the rest of them?” She took a bite out of the chicken leg she was holding.

Calum swallowed the chunk of bread in his mouth. “I just don’t feel like I’d fit in,” he started, not taking his eyes away from the crowd. “I’ve never really belonged anywhere, and I feel like people only look up to me now because I’m the hero.”

“I understand that feeling,” Kia empathized. “I was always thrown out of wherever I went. It’s been so long since I’ve actually had people that cared about me.”

He looked back at Tilaya, who had won yet another drinking contest. “I was taken in by elves when I was a baby. I was the only human in the village where I grew up. And because of that, I was constantly put down. The only one who stood beside me besides my family was Tilaya. I’m sure not everyone in the village was against me, but she was the only one who stood up for me.” He shifted to face Kia. “Being named as the hero gave the village a reason to kick me out.”

A long pause followed his story. Kia stared at Calum, a tear coming to her eye. “At least you had a few people that loved you…”

Calum took Kia’s hands in his and looked into her eyes. “Hey, you’re with us now. We care about you. And nothing is going to change that.”

She looked away. “Erik doesn’t trust me. You know that.”

“Erik is proud. Needing another member of the party admits that we aren’t strong enough, and he hates that. I’m sure that’s all it is.”

She pulled away from him, pausing to take a breath. “I’m sorry, Calum. I’m bringing your spirits down, aren’t I?”

He shook his head. “There’s no need to apologize. Please, just remember that I will always believe in you, no matter what happens.”

Kia shut her eyes and clenched her fists. “I’m sorry. I truly am.” She pushed herself off the log and ran away from everyone.

He watched her go, concerned. ‘I should probably follow her, shouldn’t I?’

“Calum, come join!” Tilaya called, waving him over.

Calum glanced between Tilaya and where Kia disappeared. “Sorry, Kia. I hope you come back soon…” He turned toward Tilaya and hurried over to join her. Behind her, a dozen men lay unconscious from drinking too much. “I’m assuming none of these guys knew elves are immune to alcohol?”

“Not a single one,” Tilaya giggled. “Not even Erik is aware of that.”

“So you were just messing with them… Anyway, what’d you call me here for?”

“A dance,” she extended a hand to him and motioned to the side with her head, where dozens of people danced with their partners.

Calum took her hand, and they began to dance around. “You know we’re only friends, right?”

“Since when were friends unable to dance together?” After she spun Calum around, her face became solemn. “I also wanted to talk about something.”

“Talk about what?”

“Kia. I know Erik has his doubts, but I think we should make her an official part of the team. She has proven herself multiple times.” They continued to dance, attracting the attention of some onlookers.

“I agree. But… Why do you look like something bad is about to happen?”

“I cast a long-lasting detection spell around the city, and it found an evil presence lurking on the border of town.” She shuddered. “I saw you talking to Kia earlier. Where is she?”

“She ran off…” His eyes widened as the realization hit him. “You think she could be in trouble?”

Tilaya nodded. “The presence wasn’t minor, like a goblin’s would be. It felt powerful.”

“Then we have to find her!” Calum let go of Tilaya and sprinted toward the place he saw Kia disappear. Tilaya followed, only a step behind.