Chapter 6

Everyone was quiet, everyone was still. It was like the world was holding its breath for fear of what might come. A quick glance to the stairs revealed the many faces who were still present. Some of them were unable to look away, there were a few who averted their gaze from the conflict and one or two held looks of utter satisfaction. 

'What is there to be satisfied about?' Daki thought as he turned his attention back to Taeo.

The hare still held his weapon tight against Matthias' throat. The look in Taeo's eyes was a look of pure hate and malice. But Matthias… he seemed unaffected. 

Taeo was a very funny and fun loving person to be around, so from their initial interactions, Daki didn't think he had it in him to be this angry and full of hate. It was clear to everyone in the room that Taeo did mean business. If Matthias failed, Taeo 'would' return and put a very quick end to his life. Or at least, he would try to, even if it meant that Taeo would die in the process.

As they stood now however, they were at a standoff with neither giving an inch. He had to put a stop to this. Daki closed his eyes, took a breath and stepped –

The still smiling Matthias raised a hand and gently pushed the point down. "Relax," he said. "Of course I will keep them safe."

To Daki's surprise, Taeo lowered his weapon and stepped back. "Taeo?" Daki asked.

  "We should go," Taeo said. "Before he changes his mind."

"Wait… what do you… ?"

"He means," Matthias said in an eerily calm tone. "You both have precisely until the sun breaches the horizon, to see your families. Once you go down into the Scar, you will no longer have that opportunity."

"What?" Daki asked. Why was that a rule? He sighed and shook his head.

"Stay here if you want," Taeo said. "But I need to see my mate and leverets before I go down… she's… not going to be happy with me…" his ears drooped at that. With spear in hand, Taeo walked by Daki. he stopped a couple paces away and turned. Taeo raised the spear in a gesture for Daki to take it back.

Daki shook his head. "No," he said. "You can keep it." 

"Really?"

Daki nodded.

Taeo smiled. With a heavy sigh, he hung his head and walked out, into the still, ever black night. 

Daki spared one quick glance behind, before following the hare into the blackness and unprotected streets. Most of the guild members had begun to disperse to different parts of the building, but a few remained where they stood, waiting for him to leave. Matthias smiled in his direction, before turning to go up the stairs in the back. Daki left the building, exiting into the darkest night he had ever experienced before.

The stars and moon were almost non-existent in the cloudless sky. It was almost like a veil had been released upon the city. A cool breeze buffeted Daki, almost blowing his hat away. He caught it as it was about to leave his head. Another breeze came, calmer than the first. This one would have been refreshing, had it not been for the sweet, sickly smell of writing corpses. Although he had grown accustomed to that particular smell, it was too strong. He gagged something fierce and then it was as if all his insides were screaming to get out.

"You… okay?"

Daki looked up from where he had bent over to release. He nodded.

"Good!" the hare said. "Because you definitely don't look it!"

Daki smiled. Taeo was probably right there. He had just vomited in front of the cathedral door and his skin was smooth and clammy. Sweat dripped from his brow and Daki thought he might be pale as well.

"Daki," Taeo said. "You… might want to wipe your… eh… chin." he gave a quick gesture to the spot.

With his free arm, Daki swiped the bottom of his chin. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem!"

"But… why are you still here?"

Taeo looked around with nervous abandon. "I…"

Daki raised a hand. "It's this smell, isn't it?"

"It is. This… is not normal."

While the city always had some kind of smell, it was just enough to cause a little discomfort, not enough to cause someone to vomit. It had been discovered long ago, that the culprits were the monsters who chose to invade the city. To get a stench as powerful as this one, the beast in question, would also need to be powerful.

"I think I should go with you," Daki said. 

He thought the hare might argue, but instead Taeo nodded fervently. "T-that might be a g-good idea!"

"I guess then… lead the way?"

Taeo shook his head.

Daki frowned. "Let's go see your family," he insisted.

Again, Taeo shook his head. 

Daki crossed his arms. "You want me to go with you though?"

"I think…" Taeo said. "We should go and see your Mother Margie first."

Taeo had a good point. His caregiver was an extremely powerful warlock and the person who had taught him everything he knew about magic. Daki had even the privilege of watching her dispatch monsters on occasion.  If there was something out there, she would be able to help. "You're right," he said.

Taeo's ears perked up and he smiled. "L-lead the way!"

Daki let out the breath he had been holding in and walked past Taeo. The two of them approached the edge of the palisades, before they began their run. It turned into a sprint and then it was almost like they were flying through the air. Graceful and elegant, like that dragon he had seen earlier.

It was a strange thing. The streets on the way to the guild, had been littered with beasts of all kinds. Small, big, animals and blobs. But this time… there were no creatures, no beasts, no daemons… no monsters. Everything was as quiet and still as it had been in the guild hall when Taeo was holding his spear up to Matthias' throat. A breath was being held as the world was waiting for something to change. A hero to come forth and dispatch the creature, causing the fear and uncertainty. 

They ran down the streets, taking twists and turns along the way. Jumping onto rooftops, leaping across the gaps and then… Daki landed, dust billowing out around his feet. He looked up at the building he had called home, for so many years.

"So this is your home… huh?" Taeo asked.

"It was my home," Daki corrected. After this day, they would be in the scar. Who knew what challenges they might face down below? And even if they came back to the surface for whatever reason, Daki didn't think he would be returning. "Let's go." He reached out, turned the door knob and pushed the door open to the small tower. An almost blinding light, greeted them when they stepped through the threshold.

A wave of warmth met them inside, created from a veil of magical energy, a barrier to ward against evil. It was something Margie was especially skilled at producing and it was those barriers which had kept them safe, all this time. 

"Daki," Margie said. She was sitting at a small table in one corner of the room, flipping through the pages of an old, leather bound book. Its pages appeared to be at the point of falling out. "Welcome home."

"Oh! Is this… is this a grimoire?" Taeo asked. Before Daki could stop him, he had crossed the room and was now leaning over the fragile book.

Margie slammed the book shut probably harder than she had intended to, and snatched it away from Taeo's furry face. "Yes," she said. "And you should be a little more careful. Do you know how old this book is?"

Taeo stood back and shook his head.

"Older than my son Daki. That's how old."

"Huh?" Taeo asked.

Daki sighed. "She means, it's been around much longer than the Scar has."

"That's right," Margie said as she stood. "This is what you would call, a grimoire."

Taeo's eyes went wide. "A g-grim… wow… aren't those rare?"

"Only because not many warlocks understand how to write one. But nevermind that. I assume you came back for a reason?" She slipped the grimoire onto one of the many bookshelves scattered around their home.

"Yes," Daki said. "There is something wrong with the air."

"I know."

"If you know… why aren't you out there, trying to find the cause?"

Margie shrugged. "I suppose, because it isn't my job." she turned her emerald eyes upon Daki. "You shouldn't have returned here, Daki."

"But…" 

She raised a hand to stop him from speaking and then turned her sights on Taeo. "And you should go say your goodbyes to your family, before it is too late."

Daki knew that she was right and Taeo's expression revealed that he knew as well. They only had a few hours left till dawn. From what he thought he understood about the guild leader, things would not turn out well for them if they failed to return on time. "I'm sorry we intruded on your… um… study time?" he turned back to the door, but as he reached out to push it open, Margie placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Please don't misunderstand me," she said. "I 'am' glad I was important enough for you to return to. But whatever creature is out there, cause that veil of filth… it is too strong for any magic I can do."

Taeo's ears drooped. "Too strong?"

"Yes. I'm not so foolhardy enough to think I stand a chance against all the great beasts of the Scar."

In his time growing up under her care and tutelage, Daki knew what she said was the truth. Though she 'was' a powerful warlock, even they had their limits. He smiled and shrugged. "Do you… have any advice then?"

Margie returned his smile with one of her own. "Yeah," she said. "Run! Be quiet, keep to the shadows. This… thing does not seem like the type to indiscriminately attack homes, so as long as you make it to where you are going, you should both be relatively safe." she turned to Taeo. "Matthias gave you only tonight? I would suggest you use this time wisely and go visit your family."

"I have no arguments there… but…" he glanced over his shoulder to the door leading out.

"Follow my advice and you should both be fine."

"Mother," Daki said. 

She cocked her head and gave him a questioning look.

"Thank you for all that you've done."

"Yes Daki," she said. Her smile touched both of her ears. "And thank you, for being my son." she opened her arms.

Mother Margie's warmth filled him with hope and courage, two emotions which were severely lacking in the city they called home. A city of the downtrodden population. People who had lost all sense of their being. Perhaps one day, the Scar would heal itself and as a result, the souls of those who lived in Edge.

"Be careful," he whispered.

She pushed him away and scowled. "You're one to talk," Margie said. "If you die Daki… then I'll have to find you and kill you myself!"

Daki nodded before leading the way back out, into the stench filled night. From what he understood about the guild, there were two groups of adventurers. The first was the kind that went into the Scar with the goal of going down, finding the bottom. For obvious reasons, they generally just left their loved ones behind, never to see them again. The second group only went down into the Scar with the purpose of clearing floors and finding rare artifacts. They, for whatever reason, were not allowed to return to their families. As a result, even though Margie couldn't help them much, he was glad he had returned to see her one last time.

"What are you waiting for? C'mon!" Taeo shouted. 

Daki blinked himself out of his daze and looked up to see his friend, already far down the path. He smiled and despite the foul air, ran as if he were a deer frolicking through a field of fresh grass and wildflowers. Whatever they did, he was sure it would turn into a wild journey. The kind one could only dream of going on!