--- Algar POV---

My day started like any other day. I woke up asked my ma’ for some food. I started stretching getting ready for a day out in the farm. It will be a lot of work this season; after all we’ve had a great harvest.

Maybe this is the year I can finally afford to marry Shelby. Ever since we were kids I told her we’d be together forever and I almost have enough saved up to make that dream a reality. After all we’re 16 old enough to get married. If I don’t hurry to propose to her then Liber, that dick, will steal her from me.

I eat the food my ma’ put on the table with great enthusiasm.  One or two more harvests, I tell myself.

I walk out of our two bedroom wooden shack. I remind myself of my determination. I need to work harder so I can afford a nice house for Shelby and me.

Old Timdolt is selling the land right next to my parents on the cheap. None of his sons are good farmers and one even started apprenticing as a blacksmith. Right now I have half of what he wants for it and if I can get a good price for this year’s harvest I’m only missing a few silver coins to buy it. He’ll let me pay it back later if I have that much!

*thump* Crap! I bump into the shed as I’m thinking about my future. I look around to make sure no one saw me, thankfully I’m alone. How embarrassing.

I stop thinking about useless things and walk into the shed to grab my tools.

I get the wheelbarrow and sickle from the shed and walk over to my families’ corn field. I cut the cobs and put them into the sack in the wheelbarrow and repeat. 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I eat lunch with my family enjoying our peaceful atmosphere where we complain about working without much rest these days.

Light doesn’t last very long this time of year in our village, and we can’t work during the night. The sun is about to set for the day with its dim orange light and purple skies as I see a shrub shake in the distance. It looked like a tall skinny toad but in the shape of some deformed child.

Did those leaf ear fucks curse children around here? Wait that’s impossible! They’re in the other side of the kingdom. Did they sneak in to this side to curse us?

I hear it grunt.

I hear another grunt far away but close to the village still. I don’t like this. It makes me feel uneasy.

I run back to get my sickle and warn my ma’ and pa’ there’s some monster outside. I tell them to be careful and run to Joejen’s house. There are only 3 guards in this village and Joejen is the strongest. I finally reach his door.

Panting I start knocking on the door. His wife Daisy opens the door. At first she looks annoyed but once she sees me panting and nervous, an anxious expression appears on her face. She tells me to come in and calls Joejen here.

He comes in with his usual confident smile and greets me.

“Algar boy did you run into some trouble?” He asks looking at me like a child who got in trouble by pulling a prank.

“Joejen, now isn’t the time for jokes. I saw a strange thing outside. It looked like a toad in the shape of a child. There were more but I couldn’t see them. I think the elves are cursing children in the villages nearby.” I really hope he takes me seriously.

“HAHAHAHA” he laughs

“Algar, never thought you’d get scared by crazy Cicero’s stories. That old cripple has been spewing nonsense ever since he came to our peaceful little village. Ain’t no war ‘round these parts, no leaf ears ‘round these parts either, no children be cursed boy.” He tells me as he slaps his belly with tears in his eyes.

I angrily get up to warn someone who will listen to me.

*AHHHHH* a high pitched scream makes both our faces freeze.

We run outside to see what is happening, he grabs his spear and I grab my sickle. We are horrified by what we see. Dozens of those creatures are running around the village. They beat the men with their clubs with surprising strength while pulling all the women into their center.

I run towards Shelby’s house.

In front of her home are 3 creatures. I jump at one and slash his neck.

Thick warm blood gushes out.

The one on the left sees his companion and lunges toward me with his club. I try to step back but the one on the right hits my thigh with his club. My leg is fine. It hurts but nothing broken.

I take a few steps back and try to get into a properly balanced stance while pivoting around the creatures. One turns as it hears the screams of a woman.

I take my chance and stab my curved blade bellow his ribs. The curve allows my stab to reach inside the ribcage with the tip of the blade. I quickly jump back as soon as I feel I went far enough.

Guts and organs fall from his disemboweled abdomen. There is only one left.

I run at it and stomp at his knee. Before it tries to move but I still caught his shin. My strength and weight allowed me to completely shatter his bone. It drops its club as it howls in pain. The other creatures nearby don’t even turn to see the pitiful state of their comrade.

I walk in to the house. It is completely trashed. I can’t hear anyone inside. I go into the only room in the house. There I see Shelby breathing roughly. Her father and mother are dead. There are 3 creatures in a corner. They’re all dead to my luck.

I can’t stop the tears coming out of my eyes as I see both her parents are dead. They always treated me like family. I’d even asked her dad permission to marry her, but now they were both gone. They are all gone.

I carefully wrap her in a blanket and carry her trying not to hurt her neck. She has a large gash on her forehead, most likely from a club. I can still hear her breathing so I’m sure she’s still alive. Even as I start running away from the village I don’t forget to make sure she keeps breathing.

I turn back and look at my village. I suppress the rage I feel against these monsters. I will warn every one of what happened here and after Shelby is safe I will hunt every single one of these bastards down.

The screams already stopped sounding in the distance. I don’t think there is anyone left alive in my little village. There were just too many of those fuckers for us to cope with. My home is gone, my parents gone, every single friend I had there is probably gone too. I can only hope some of them ran away from the village like me.

But for those who did not make it out. Rest well. I will come back home someday and make every single monster pay the same price. Wait for me, just a little while is fine. I turn away and head to the town of Obern.