Golem of the Crimson Heart

-----------------------16th day in Elth---------------------

"What's this about, girl?" 

Floyd, my wonderful employer, was smoking one of those cigarettes of his, now sitting on one of the stumps inside the mill. "I need money." He reads from the paper I just handed him. "I don't do loans. Not now and not to anyone." 

I shake my head in disagreement. "Everybody gets paid the same once the order's finished. What else can I do?" he said, now he suddenly looked a little sullen. Definitely not the charitable guy to offer free advice. Not that I would need it, I think I have more money than him... "You be sure to carry a notebook and pencil with you, you know? You're annoying how you can't talk." he says before taking a long puff. He kept looking at me and finally exhaled the smoke through his nostrils. "There's not much I can do. Put you ...I could...put you in a fight club, but you're just too strong, tough as...stone. No one would take you, kicking ass against every opponent. The bets would be worth nothing. Meaning no money."

Gambling? 

Right on point, Floyd stands up. "Look, if you really want...you can come with me. I'll show you around and show you how it's done...but it's not my fault if you run out of money!!!" teases Floyd. "OH! And...maybe wear something nice? I'll make the people over there jealous." giggles Floyd at his perverted thoughts. But stops himself dead on seeing my hand already on the dagger behind my back. 

"Oh come on, Nyx.. Please push the wheel.. the donkey's slipping." Finn's ranting, pulling a tree up on the saw belt.

"We can go tonight. See you at the fish market."

-------------------later that evening----------------

Floyd met me under a cover in the fish market. "So we go on?" he asked, again smoking a cigarette. But in contrast to his working hours where he'd been wearing a rough vest and boots, now he had on a thin blue fluff and leather shoes.

I was dressed no diffrent. But at least I washed them, thanks to Silvia.

"You have no style at all. "Okay, so bets start a silver and above, so nothing below that. Okay?" I nod at him. "Then let's get started." he asked, perched comodat next to the roof pole.

Floyd and I went around the corner of the buildings and ended up back by the canal that cut the city in half. "We're here."

EEH? Really? I look at him.

"What? You think I call you and we end up walking all the way across town?" laughs my boss. "Yeah, sure." He approaches a heavy wooden door. Some kind of basement of a building, or a underground warehouse? He hadn't hesitated to knock on the door twice. 

A small window opens on my level. I could see the half-face of a man. "What do you want?" he asked suspiciously to the stranger of I. 

"Down here asshole." Floyd comments at the guard's heedlessness. The man says nothing and closes the window. Two clicks later, the door opens and the man lets us in.

We both make our way through the crowd of people. Most were men, but a few women were present as were their company. At the bottom of the stairs, it was clearly a fighting space. Bloodstains made the place intimidating to some, but nothing special to me. Not since I took Harry's life. Bitch. We stopped by a bar table, apparently right in this circus dump was a bar set up for customers. 

"A beer. Floyd asks the woman behind the counter. She was a redhead in a corset that supported her ample breasts and left her bare shoulders exposed. I admit, she was pretty. "See that board over there?" Floyd interrupts my staring at the bartender. She looked cutely back at me. "Those are today's fighters."

On a blackboard hung up on the wall, eight men names were inscribed in white, and grouped in pairs. "The numbers written underneath show the odds of winning. Meaning. If you put a silver on it, you win as many times as it says. That guy, Mercy, has odds of 2.0, so you double your coin." Floyd pauses for a moment to get his drink and pay the pretty bartender. "You can bet on multiple ways. Who wins the match, or even the tournament. Others bet how many matches he'll fight. And so on. But better bet on one match first."

I was scanning the board, looking for someone with good odds. But of all the names present, my eyes widen when I read who's fighting in the third match. 

George the Troll. George? The inn host? Here? His odds were 2.3 and he's fighting a 2.0. His size and being a former adventurer sure were good odds. 

"Next?" says an accountant behind the table. "Who you betting on, darling?" 

As Floyd advised, I took a notebook with me. I hand the man the paper. He seemed hurried and slightly irritated that he had to wait for me, but a betting fool is still a fool even if he's a mute. I give him the silver coin, but he stops me. "If you wanna bet on George, you gotta put at least two silvers." 

Floyd comes back to me after finishing his bets in another line. "He means you have to bet as much as the base number on the board. Like if the guy's 1.7, you only need one coin to bet." 

My prying eyes were all over my midget boss.

But I bet anyway.

-----------------First match:Bruce vs Kolt----------------

Bruce was a smaller but muscular man. His opponent was massive. He was tall and built, and his dark skin gave him an intimidating air.

Kolt won. Causing Floyd to celebrate.

-----------------Second match:Jim vs Paul----------------

Their fight was ugly. They both grabbed at each other and were hitting fists and knees. Jim fell on his ass first and was kicked twice by Paul. The third time he grabbed him and twisted his ankle.

----------------Third match: George vs Ben-------------

George was half naked. Dressed in shorts and no shirt. It was obvious that he was still in shape from all those years of traveling and fighting, but he had a bit of puffiness. This Ben, it seemed, had more than his fair share of flab. He looked as heavy as George. 

The bell struck him. They both got stuck in each other. They kept their guard up, occasionally hitting each other till George hit him in the liver. Ben the behemont felt it, but he was still focused. He ran and slammed into George with his weight, but the result was not what he wanted. They both went down. 

The crowd cheered and booed the fighters. Ben slowly rose to his feet to stop a hook from George. He finally hit him in the liver in retaliation. They both continued to fight, letting off their guard and just beating each other senseless. But in an easy move, George dodges a kick and hits a left hook to Ben's chin, sending him to the floor. 

His foe had left him no chance. The moment Ben had raised his head, George had hit him over the side of the skull, knocking him to sleep.

---------------Fourth match:Billy vs Codi------------

After Ben was dragged from the ring, the next fight he took part in. Both fighters looked more fragile than the rest, but the match in my opinion was amazing. 

They were both fast. Dodging each other's blows, but in the end, Billy landed a similar blow like George, causing Codi to lose his center and drop the guard , later taking an uppercut

---------------------------------------------------------

The break between the semi-final and the first rounds lasted about ten minutes, giving people time to buy a refreshment and especially...to renew their bets. Of course, for those who still had money. 

Floyd mentioned that if you gamble all you got, you might as well go stealing. Some did the former. Walking away, no point in staying. Now Floyd's done betting the next two rounds. "See I bet on that ZungWkoi, Kolt. Do the same." Floyd whispers underneath his mustache.

-----------------Semifinal 1: Kolt vs Jim-------------

After his last round and after the short break, Jim's bruises were clear, especially along his face, which had a blurred eye. I couldn't see about Kolt, his black skin emptying invisible no trace except for his busted lip.

The fight had begun. Kolt jumped hard, striking with his fist. To defend what was left of his face, Jim blocked. Recovering a second later, he circled the man, making himself look for a chance to attack. Kolt came in close with a small jab but followed up with a kick to the leg, making Jim stumble.

"Kalk ayağa, seni büyüük nefretçi." Kolt said, presumably in his own language.

But Jim stood down, admitting his loss.

---------------Semifinal 2: George vs Billy-------------

The difference between George and this fighter Billy was massive. The skinny guy was jumping on his toes, ready to fight. On the signal, George wasted no time. With a quick spring, he hoisted Billy off the ground and slammed him against the wall. Followed by a punch in the temple, knocking Billy limp to the ground like a wet noodle.

Brutal...was my take on this tactic.

-----------------------Midnight------------------------

"Floyd! Good to see you. Still broke as a poor schmuck's ass?" 

"Shut up, asshole!" 

Some guy's been steppin' on Floyd's toes since the last bet in the bake. I didn't want to get in between them at all, not until I got in between them, stopping them from breaking each other's hands. The guard wasn't very friendly about it, kicking us out before the big fight.

"These asshats..." says grumpy Floyd. "At least the evening wasn't a complete failure, right? Did you make any money?" 

I give him a thumbs up. Yes, the evening went well. I made enough money for one more dose and as it stands we're going to get paid on the way. 

"Well, I'm going that way. Good night, girl, and don't forget to wake up for work tomorrow!" says Floyd, walking up some stairs and disappearing down an alley.

-----------------------17th day in Elth--------------------

"'Morning." 

That was Silvia. She was behind the counter, writing some papers. "Are you hungry? George is in the kitchen. Please have something to eat." she begged me. 

Sounds like Silvia really thought I needed to eat something in addition to blood, not that she knew about the latter. I nod at her to indulge her plea and move to the dining room. Her husband had just organized the food. Some boiled potatoes, along with a few other pan-fried vegetables.

"Morning." greets George identically as his wife. "Off to work?" I nod at him. But I couldn't hide my scowl. He caught on fast. "I know you know because I saw you." he whispers. "But Silvia doesn't know." 

I nod again at his hint. Okay, so it's all a secret. I get it.

"Thanks." he replied, taking a seat down at the table. "See, you're pretty much our only guest. In a long time." George remarks wearily. And he yawns. "And there's money to be made somehow."

I pull the zipper over my mouth. No problem, Bub.

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"Are you okay, Nyx? You look a little pale today." Finn jokes about my appearance. So I give him the middle finger. "Okay, okay, sorry." he laughs a little. "I just figured you wouldn't want to work here after, you know."

I fix the axe in the tree trunk and rub my eye at him. Pretending to cry. 

"I'm not a crybaby! Pff.." Finn says slyly. "Plus...I don't think we'll be doing much work here. I talked to Floyd. Some guards said that griffin attacked a wagon and killed a family." Finn recalled sadly." Even if Floyd's a scoundrel, but he wouldn't jeopardize our lives. He couldn't afford it, ha." Finn joked a little grimly.

Fuck. Lili was gradually getting out of hand. But now... People aren't safe walking on the road. The complexity of the situation was not too difficult. Just kill the griffin and done. 

But maybe I'd better talk to the giant.

-------------------------------------------------------

After I finished the job Floyd gave me...and escorted the boys back to town, and turned and headed back up by the river. Through the camp, eventually I get to the trunk. Just a straight walk from here.

--------------------Maybe an hour later-----------------

The sun was already close to setting, meaning night is gonna catch me. Now if I could just find where Galen lives... Straight line, straight line. Through the trees and under the bushes...follow a straight line.

On one side I had the opportunity to see a few deers and a stag resting near some tree. They noticed me but had no response. They didn't run away and the stag didn't try to charge me. All in all, the forest was quiet but alive. 

I stopped in my tracks when a group of tweeting yellow birds came circling around me. These little ones are Galen's!

No, they don't belong to me, they're just my friends.

Looking to my right I find the giant leaning on his stick. Hello again Nyx, you've come to visit. It's a little late. Says the giant using his telepathy. 

Yeah, well, sorry to come by so late. I dropped by as soon as I finished work.

Well, come on, don't hang around, come to my place.

He and I went out through the trees and up ahead was a cave in a little hill. TADAAAA!!! Welcome. He pointed to his pit. He was kind enough to pull a fallen log for us to sit on.

Are you hungry? he asked grinning joyfull.

Yeah, let me bite your ass. I scoff at his joke.

Pfff... HA! No thanks. Although, have you found where you can get blood? Any donors?

I ended up paying a docter for some. Thing tho will kinda get over my budget.  But I'm interrupting the pleasant atmosphere. Galen, some of my colleagues told me that Lili did something.

At this, Galen opens his eyes wide before he sadly frowns. She... I saw her carrying a horse back to her nest.

I don't have a problem with the horse, but Galen, she killed a family. I just wanna talk to you. Maybe you can ultimately talk her into staying away from humans. One by one, they'll do something eventually. 

It's not in my nature, Nyx. I don't order anyone to do anything. But he lets out a long sigh. And I've already tried talking to her. Women do what they want, you know. 

Galen, I'm not a woman, I'm just stuck as one. And you're right somehow. Kara was very feisty and frisky. The thought of Kara kind of saddened me, but remembering she lived well was enough. We'd better talk to her together. Alright?

Well, okay, but can it wait till tomorrow? I don't want to bother her. Let her sleep nice? 

Sure, buddy. The thought of postponing more and more was hard to bear, but I had to respect my friend's wishes if he was going to respect mine. 

----------------------18th day in Elth---------------------

What are you going to do with her? asks Galen worried.

Whatever you will allow me to do, Galen. I'm just here to force her to do what you wish. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can come out of this unscathed. And I'm pretty sure you don't have too many guards looking far and wide in the woods for Lili.

The giant said nothing to my comment and just continued through the trees. 

Her nest is up on that little ridge. Let's go. Galen said. But so far, I didn't know what to do when I got here. Maybe she'd get scared and listen after all. 

Before we got any closer Lili's shadow loomed over us for a moment until she landed in the little place nearby. 

"KWAAAA!!!" the griffon screamed, now level with me and Galen. I stood still as so did Galen, but he said nothing. Probably communicating telepathically?

"Hey Lili, how are you darling?" is all Galen said. In reply the griffon just growled at our presence. "She says she remembers you wants us to leave." 

Well tell him we're not going anywhere until he listens to us! I demand of Galen.

The giant turns from Nyx back to Lili and finally lifts his heart in his throat. "Lili. You have made serious trouble, both for yourself and the forest. Killing people is not a good habit. You need to stop, please!" but the griffon growls at Galen again. "He's a friend. He came to me before the others did. You... you can hunt boar or deer or anything else.." 

But Galen was cut short when Lili jumped in the air to attack us.

Galen was quite surprised at the beast's unpredictable attack. But Lili hadn't attacked Galen. She jumped at me. I prayed Galen would hear what I was thinking. Galen, stay back. And for the first time, I cast the shield I'd machined from the book. I didn't have time or anything to practice it with, but I remember I only had to do the sign and mold the mana.

Raising my hand in the direction of the attack, a barrier surrounds me. Its transparent lemon color glowed slightly. Both of Lili's claws struck the shield. I could see some brief resistance but her attack pierced the shield, making it blow with a boom. A small shock to the griffon, but just enough to realize what had happened, seemingly unfazed by the shield's counter-shock. Just long enough for me to make a leap, a small one, and hit Lili across the beak.

She retaliated with a wing claw. The contact was bad for both her and me. The attack caught me up and spun me in the air and I fell about 5 meters from the griffon. From her view, her claw had snapped. As I got up, my vest had a cut that went all the way to my skin. Lili rose into the air in two bursts and tried to land on top of me. 

I snap a ignite at her. Pushing my mana hard enough for my little spell, a small cloud of fire hits Lili directly in the chest. The attack leaves Lili slightly smoking but doesn't stop her from falling on top of me. Now in her clutches, she tries to gnaw at my hand with her beak, but the act was feeble.

With my free hand I pull the monster's jaw open and free my arm. Her head was big and strong, making it hard to control, but I managed to grab it and hold it by its jaws. Rolling her beak in an uncomfortable way, she screams and pulls back, still keeping her back claws over my midriff. But she moves and grabs my right leg and lifts us both into the air. 

OOOOH NO!!! 

Lili runs and spins through the air, making me sick. Before I can grab one of my blades, Lili lets go. The same trick doesn't work twice I guess. Although the same result, this time I see I'm about to fall on the ridge of her nest. Hitting the hard rock hard, I roll a couple of times until I crash in a boulder.

This.. was getting.. bad. The fall broke my left leg off and it feels like I'm almost broken in two. My face also was a mess. Cracked like a mirror and missing an eye. Fucking great. 

"KWAAAAAAAA!!!" Lili hollered at me, swirling the nest in the air.

"NYX!!! Oh my God! What's happened to you!?" I hear Galen scream. But I ignore him for the moment, preoccupied with repairing as much damage as I can before Lili attacks again. Mending my abdomen, I could tell what was being fixed and what was missing. Splinters and bits of stone were missing, scattered around me, but my movement was slightly unaffected.

Standing up and hopping a little on one leg, I lean against the stone. Galen, can you hear me?

Oh, oh yes! I can hear you, are you hurt bad?

I'm...unhurt. Listen, I know what I said, that I'll do what you say, but... I don't think I should let Lili escape, but I'm interrupted to continue when Lili lands next to me. The wind of the wings blows my hair and Lili charges at me. Doing the shield sign again, Lili slams her beak directly into it. The heavy attack causes the shield to pop like before, but the shockwave this time hits Lili square in her ears, making her scream in pain. I gently recoil backward against the boulder. Her dizziness gives me enough time to pull out both daggers and advance, on one leg, on top of her.

I cut along the wing, making the female bird-lion cries out in pain. She wiggles, flicking her tail and knocking me back to ground. She grabs me by the leg with her lower claws and with her beak by my left hand, jerking me hard. She was trying to tear me to pieces. 

But Lili was wide open. As soon as she tore through my fingers, I tore through her ribs with my dagger.

She let me out of her beak, saving my last two fingers. Dragging the dagger across her chest, blood begins to spurt. The long dagger plunged deep, cutting through her lung. She stumbled in confusion and pain off of me. As I try to regain my balance, I see her trying to cough out the blood from her lungs. Lili started breathing long and long and hard. She was losing her strength quickly. 

But I at least offer her something other than a slow death. With one hard motion, I thrust the dagger deep inside the crown of her head. Her eyes stop dead and her struggle was finished.