With the dragon-like monster defeated, Xeron and Tara began to discuss their next
course of action. "Should we head straight to Clauston," she asked,
"or should we remain here for a while and help the people out?"
"Well, I'd like to let the people know that the town
is safe again now, and the monster is gone," said Xeron. "I also
wanna check if everyone's okay. I'd hate it if we'd been too late to save
anyone."
"Well, there's a load of people in that big building
over there," said Tara, pointing at the stone building she had visited
before. "I don't know if everyone made it there in time, but the boy's
mother was in there."
"So she made it at least, then?" asked Xeron.
"That's a big relief. I guess we'd better head over there, then."
Tara nodded. "Also…" She glances nervously down
at the monster's bloodied corpse. "…shouldn't we do something about this?
It's kind of blocking the road."
"I'm not sure we'd be able to do anything about
that," said Xeron. "That monster probably weighs a ton. Besides, I
think these people have bigger problems than a dead monster in the middle of
the road."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Tara,
glancing guiltily at the damaged buildings all around them, some of which were
still on fire. "Sorry, that was kind of a stupid question."
"Don't worry about it," said Xeron. "It's
shows you're concerned about these people, and in my line of - uh, our line of work,
that's an important mindset. It's hard to work for people you don't care
about."
Tara nodded. "So, should we get going?" she
asked.
"Yeah, let's go deliver the good news," said
Xeron. The pair headed off towards the large stone building hewn into the hill
nearby, leaving the monster's corpse where it was.
Just as before, the door to the building opened as they
approached, and a group of anxious faces peered round the frame, anxious for
news. Xeron distinctly heard someone within exclaim "What? They're
alive?!", before a man called out, "Is it gone? Is that monster
gone?"
"Yeah, that monster won't be causing you any more
trouble," said Xeron. "We dealt with it."
All around the bunker, there were sighs of relief and
cries of jubilation as the word of the monster's defeat spread like wildfire.
Xeron and Tara were swiftly pulled inside the building and found themselves
mobbed by the joyous townspeople. "Thank you!" they cried.
"Thank you so much!" "You've saved our town!" "You've
saved us all!"
"Please," said Xeron, trying to work himself
free of the crowd. "It was nothing…"
"I can't… breathe…" gasped Tara.
Finally the crowd drew back, and an elderly man stepped
forward to address the two. "I am the mayor of Hilston," he declared.
"I cannot thank you enough for defeating that monster. I felt for sure
that the entire town would be destroyed, but now we can attempt to rebuild. You
have my most humble gratitude."
"It was no problem, really," said Xeron.
"We were just doing what we had to. To be honest, it's really fortunate
that we were here at the time."
"It truly is fortunate," said the mayor,
"and for that I thank the Divines¹. We cannot offer you much in return -
we have suffered great damage, after all - but please, allow us to hold a feast
in your honour."
"A feast?" repeated Xeron, a little surprised
by the offer. "Well… okay then."
"Excellent," said the mayor, clapping his hands
together. "We shall begin the preparations immediately."
"Doesn't it seem a little… wrong to be holding a
feast, after all this destruction?" asked Tara, as the townspeople busied
themselves with preparing for the feast.
"Not really," said Xeron. "I presume they
all wanna take their minds off it, and forget about their troubles for a night
before they set about rebuilding."
"I suppose that makes sense," said Tara.
"Besides," said Xeron, "if this is the
only way they feel they can pay us back, then we should allow them to."
***
It took a few hours for the feast to be fully prepared,
but eventually, Xeron and Tara joined the rest of the townspeople at one of the
many long tables laid out across the stone floor. A surprisingly large array of
food had been procured and laid out across the tables, and Tara, who had never
known a feast like it, happily joined Xeron in sampling the various delights on
offer.
The two had now learned that the building they were
currently in was in fact a disaster shelter, constructed fifty years ago after
a devastating landslide had struck the town. Its purpose was to keep the
townspeople safe in case of another landslide, and it had been built to
withstand the strongest forces nature could throw at it, hence why everyone in
the town had immediately fled to it when the monster attacked, and why it was
almost completely intact.
Xeron and Tara had also learned, much to their dismay,
that eleven people had been killed by the dragon monster before they had been
able to make it to safety. A toast had been raised in their memory, followed by
another to honour the two heroes who had slain the creature responsible.
"So, what do you plan to do after you leave
here?" asked one of the townspeople through a mouthful of chicken.
"We're heading to Clauston, to the Great
Library," said Xeron. "We need to find some information about the man
responsible for these monster attacks."
The entire table suddenly fell into a state of shock. The
man who had asked the question almost choked on his chicken. "You mean,
somebody let that monster loose in our city on purpose?!" a woman exclaimed.
"So it would seem," said Xeron. "They also
released one into the outskirts of Tirera, where Tara hails from." He
gestured in the direction of his companion, who was now happily munching on an
ear of corn.
"But why?" asked the woman. "What could
they possibly hope to gain from doing such a thing?"
"I don't know," said Xeron. "I don't know
how they're doing it either, or where these monsters are coming from; they're
like nothing I've ever seen before. That's why I want to head to the Great
Library, to see if I can find anything there that will help me stop him."
"Do you think he's going to strike again,
then?" asked a worried-looking townsperson.
"Definitely," said Xeron. "Maybe not here,
but somewhere. I just know it. Whatever his goal is, he's not going to stop
until he's accomplished it."
"Do you think you can stop him?" asked another
townsperson.
"Of course
they can," said a woman who seemed to have had one too many glasses of
ale. "They stopped the dragon, they can stop anything."
"Well, we'll certainly try our best to stop
him," said Xeron. "I can't guarantee that we'll do so before he
strikes again, but we'll do our best. Right, Tara?" Tara nodded, unable to
reply since her mouth was still full of corn.
The feast continued until late at night, by which time
all those present had grown sleepy from consuming so much food and drink.
Blankets were laid out on the floor, so that even those without a home to go
back to could stay the night at the shelter. Xeron and Tara gladly joined them,
curling up on the floor a short distance apart and falling asleep almost
immediately.
AUTHOR NOTE: I would just like to take this opportunity
to express my profound sorrow at the passing of Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, who
was just 55. Yesterday's post of Pokémon: Shattered Crystal was based on a game
that Iwata helped code - indeed, he compressed the code of Gold and Silver so
much that the developers were able to fit Kanto in as well as Johto - and
today's post is based on one of the many video games I have conceived over the
years, with Nintendo among others acting as my inspiration. Tomorrow I will
write a full post in his honour, but today I will say simply this: Rest in
peace, Satoru Iwata.
[FOOTNOTES]
¹Referring to the Divine Spirits, the six original goddesses
who created the world
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