Murder

"Excuse me?" Did lanert ear deceive him?

"You hear it clearly, Dawg. Behead me."

"Come, stop joking." Lanert chuckle. 

"I am not joking, Dawg. Behead me nice and clean with this axe." He shoved a war axe at Lanert. "Come on, Lanert."

"Stop it. It's not funny anymore." Lanert snitched his eyes away from the damnation axe and Gurken. "It was never a good idea to joke about death."

This clown normally would guffaw after jesting, but not now. He was serious with his words. 

"Do I look like a joke to you? Listen, I hate to be an Orc. Because I'm Orch, the woman I love chooses others. People mock me because I am an Orc!"

"No, they mock you because you are Gurken." Alice's voice landed in grave silence. Both males kept their mouths shut like a phantasm on the cave wall.

"For friendship, beheaded me, just like the book said," Gurken revealed an ancient yellow-brown page of the stupid book. 

It is said that to be an elf; someone must drink a Potion of Unripe Destiny. Then someone he calls a brother born from a different mother and seeded by another father must behead him.

"Reread it," Lanert pointed to the book. "Look! You could die without achieving anything! Look at page 150! Beware, it had a fifty per cent success rate!"

"I prepared everything. Take a look. Every ingredient was here. I prepared some ingredients for your dark ritual." Gurken showed another large box containing many exotic and rare ingredients. "And the main ingredient for the dark ritual was here, my blood and my head—it was a win-win situation. You got the ingredient. I got my thing. What you must do now is behead me. Come on, man. Only you, I can rely on."

Lanert hushed. "How could I kill my friend? I am not the cold, heartless killer, no!"

"You are my brother. We have different fathers and mothers, but we are close, Dawg, like a fish and pond. That's why it must be you. Look, it clearly said, beheaded by a friend who is like a brother." Gurken pointed to the word in the book. 

"The book lied. Goodbye." Lanert bristled, but Gurken dragged him back. 

"You said to me many years ago. You want to do a black ritual and meet the Princess of Darkness, am I right? You want fuck her." 

"I never want to fuck her. I want to learn the elements."

"Yeah, yeah, and do that." Gurken prodded the book toward Lanert. "Read It for yourself. The ritual needed a friend's blood and head. I am your friend. Now, your change."

"It's not funny anymore!" Lanert pushed the Orc away. "I am leaving."

"I am being serious. I stole the book. I broke the library. I didn't care about death. I even bought everything for you and your stupid dark ritual, Dawg. It is not only about me and you, but it is about our destiny!"

Lanert rooted before the cave entrance. The dark forest uncertainty awaited him. His friend lingered in the cave, pleading for some absurd petition. If he had known this early, he would not have come here. 

For more than ten years, Lanert befriends Gurken. He knew sometimes his Orc friend could be a lunatic. And yes, by beheading him, he had a chance to do a dark ritual. But still. beheaded a friend, for an element, without a guarantee of success?

That was madness!

"I could slash your neck if you wish." Alice offered her service. "We were friends, right?"

"Yes, but you are she, not he. Yo, Lanert. If you still consider me a friend, you must help me, Man."

"Ask your Orc friend or other—"

"Those Orcs would tell my father for sure, and my friends outside the Orc race were few, Man. Only you, who I considered as my brother." He started sobbing like a child.

Gurken crawled like a hyena and seized Lanert's thighs. "Come on. I want to find true love!"

"So all of this, about love? Shame on you," Alice commented. "Do you think becoming an Elf would make you a better person?"

"It must be, Damsel. Look, every race admires the elf for his beauty. Slender, appealing, long hair, and has a floral scent. That is what I lack. That's what I want. Come on. If you do not help me, I will kill myself!"

"Blunt mind." Alice barfly. "Do you think women are after beauty alone?"

"Yes. Look, every girl loves Lanert because he is handsome. Elf being loved because they attractive—"

"No. Women are not only after attractive people. We are after what we think is worth it. You are funny, strong, full of vigour, and easygoing. How many girls do you befriend?"

"Many, but just friends. Those women didn't want me because I am an Orc!"

"They didn't want to be your boyfriend because you are a pervert. You want to find true love," Alice said. "Love in physics is lust, not true love."

"What do you know anyway, girl? You are not an Orc! You never know how I feel!"

Gurken never wep before. Now he filled the stalagmite with his warm tears. Soon it would become a tarn. 

His wail clamoured on the vault, drol, bizarre, and miserable. It made everyone want to end his misery by chopping his head, but Lanert stays true to his resolve, unmoved like a mountain reef. 

Alice read the old damnation book and smirked. "If we fail, you will blame us on the other life."

"No, never. If it fails, then it fails. I am dead, girl. I would rather die than live as an Orc! Come on, man. I take my change of fifty percent legit, man. Kill me!"

Alice pulled Gurken's Iridium battle axe and bonded it with Lanert. "Let's give it a try."

"You too, Alice?"

"If we do not do this, he will kill himself anyway," Alice said. "Besides, it's a win-win situation for both of you. Chop him and pray for the best."

"Damsel is right. Come, chop my head. Come on, man. Don't be afraid."

The axe was cold, dark, and slippery with Lanert's sweat. He was uneasy facing Gurken, kneeling facing down at his front. 

"Come, make a clean chop, Dawg!"

Lanert trembled as he raised the axe high above his head. He must concentrate, or he will bring misery to his friend. 

"You ask for this. I do, for friendship." 

The neck was waiting like a green ham with many urchins coating it on the stone. Lanert brandished his axe against the wind, whacking Gurken's neck cleanly. Plork noise heralded before Gurken's head. The head tossing on the stalagmite spun before stopping.

Green blood sprang from the remains of Gurken's neck. Ax's blade radiated fire and blood, and he dropped it.

Lanert guts twiddled from witnessing a warm pool of green liquid from defund. He dropped on all four and spewed, creating his vomit pool.

Remorse. His heart bounces uncontrollably. His blood was cold. His veins light. It was Lanert's first murder, and his victim was his best friend. 

He was a Monster.

No, no, no. He asked for it. Lanert was doing it, for Gurken sake. 

Alice dabbed Lanert at the back. "Easy, Lanert. Everything is done. He had it. Here, relieve yourself. " She offers a water skin bag. "Drink. Come one."

"We made it?" No answer from Alice. "He, he becomes an Elf?"

"There, a light fled outside while you puke."

"Ah, I hope he made it." He emptied his belly and washed it with clean water. 

"Yeah, I hope so?" Alice helped lanert back to his feet and put him on the brimstone. "Now, we got his blood splattered on the pentagram and his head. Gurken prepared every ingredient we needed. It's our time to do rituals."

"Yes, you're right. We can't waste it. Right."

Alice and Lanert prepared for the next ritual. The ritual for him to summon a Dark Princess. It was not a good idea, but he desperately needed an element. He was desperate to show his father he could make the family proud.

Lanert noticed a shadow coming from the cave entrance. Soon, the man's voice strangled him. 

"Murder! They had the book and Murdering someone!" 

"Oh no, someone sees us!" Lanert yelled. "Alice!"

He knew the consequences. People didn't know what happened early. They would judge from what they see.

Another shadow appeared at the cave wall, showing they had pulled their weapon. "Damn, we face brutal killers. They must try to do some ritual!"  

The whistles could be heard as the sword was drawn from the scabbard and cut through the air.

Five men in brown gambeson armed with swords and two carrying buckle shields, they trudge toward Alice and Lanert, ready to fight. 

Alice reflexed and drew her sword, already in a defensive stance. "Lanert, they are after us. Back off. Let me handle it."

"I-I can explain everything." Lanerd words are useless now. "We-we didn't murder him, uhm, I mean, yeah, we murdering him, but—"

One of them dashed with a sword lifted, ready to chop Lanert. Alice parried. The chop halted with trunk noise. The enemy dribbled back. Alice riposte, slashing him horizontally. 

The man was stunned, seeing a red bloodstream on his gambeson, he dropped his knee and fell. 

"No, no, Alice!" 

"Hey, they killed Prince Gurken!" Another man yelled. Four of them charged. "Goddamit! They killed the Orc Prince!"

Lanert caught a glimpse of another five men entering the cave.

"Even after his death, he still pains on ass, huh," Alice commented.