"Lord Valerius there's a danger looming above you."
The strange old man refused to disclose his identity and only continued to speak in a warning manner.
"You have to brace yourself for what's coming. If not handled carefully, your situation can become really worse."
When the whole town was busy with festivities, Valerius was getting confronted by the stranger.
He heard the old man carefully but chose not to react.
"I'm sorry elder," he said humbly, "I don't quite understand the meaning behind your words. Perhaps if you could explain things—"
"There's no time for explanations," the old man spoke, not letting him finish the sentence, "You must act quickly or lose everything precious to you for the rest of your life."
"Says who ?" He replied, "I mean no offense, elder, but I've seen enough fortune tellers like you throughout my life. And it was I who disproved all the notions they claimed were facts. The only thing I've learned from those experiences is that you're either truly an elevated being or just a delusional old man —no in-betweens."
He stayed silent for an instance trying to gaze at old man's expressions which were still tranquil as a lake,
"So if you want me to take you seriously, I am afraid you'd have to give me a proper explanation first."
The old man was silent with an unreadable expression. Then he started to laugh all of a sudden,
"You're the first one to talk to me in that tone. However—"
The air suddenly grew dense, Valerius felt the intense pressure building in the surroundings. Noise of the festival blended into the background,
"I am not the one to banter around Lord Valerius. I came here to perform my duty and I will see it fulfilled. Your child bears the mark of the unknown. 'He' will and definitely will come for the child. You can not seek help from the gods, you cannot pray to them. End life with your hands or do what you must as a father."
The pressure dropped slowly, Valerius was able to breathe again,
"Remember, there will be consequences."
The moment he said these words, a loud tremor shook the land beneath attracting everyone's attention towards the source of it.
"Lord Valerius," Victor, dressed in a battle robe, came running to inform him, "there's a problem. The arachnid …he's finally here."
Valerius suddenly turned back realising he was in an important conversation just now however the old visitor vanished just like he had appeared in the town, mysteriously.
There was no one anymore, just absence and the
lingering fear.
His words resounded in Valerius' ears making a strange fear take root in the depths of his heart.
Terrified, he glanced at his son who was still crying out loud like a raging thunder.
"Valerius! Valerius!,"
As he heard Victor's call Valerius snapped out of his deep thoughts. It didn't take much time for him to take control of the situation.
Valerius was a battle hardened warrior.
He chose this specific place to build a peaceful place for his people and to stay away from the rest of the world.
The only problem for a town surrounded by a forest were the inhabitants of the forest.
There lived many species of creatures in the forest. Every single one was different from the other.
So living together with unknown neighbours came with the threats as it is. No one can say which creature would wake up one day and decide to raid the nearby human settlement.
"Where is it?" He asked.
"South gate," Victor immediately answered.
"Is the army with him?" He looked at the wary faces of the town's residents.
Victor only nodded.
"Should I also come with you?" Sophia asked as she tried to calm August down who was still crying.
"No," he replied, giving his wife a reassuring smile, "it's nothing serious. I'll be home soon. Don't worry."
"Mages with me, now" He looked at the town's people once again and raised his voice.
"Ah it's finally time"
"And here I thought it was my day off today."
Three men and two women stood up from their spots, standing upright like soldiers ready to receive orders.
"Victor and I would be facing the immediate threat and you five go and keep watch at the rest of the gates," he turned to the crowd,
"Do not worry. Everything is under control. Just like always."
Some of the residents who were showing a hint of tense expression eased the moment they heard him. And most of them weren't even worried to begin with.
Why would they, creature sightings were common here after all.
Not to mention there was Valerius, hero of the town, to save them.
And even if the danger proves of greater caliber than the lord could handle there were many failsafe.
And if push comes to shove, all the citizens of their small human settlement were more than capable of defending themselves and their loved ones.
So it made sense why everyone would seem so carefree.
Valerius accompanied by Victor headed towards South gate —the place from where these tremors were originating.
"Is it the one?" Asked Valerius.
"Yes," Victor replied.
Valerius as he reached the south gate two guards immediately briefed the whole situation to him.
And by the sound of it, the task in hand wasn't that difficult.
Before him, stood the vast army of chitinous eight legged creatures. Their carapaces were pearl white, red glowing, frenzied eyes and pincer like long mandibles as if ready to tear flesh apart.
"Arachnid isn't present on the battlefield," Valerius said, trying to figure something out. "Is he scheming something?"
It was not a secret that one of the creatures in the forest had managed to climb up in the order.
To protect the town from every possible threat, Valerius had to know about the danger in advance. And he did.
He tailed the suspected creature and observed its movements in silence. He decided against harming the creature until he was sure the arachnid had no intention of hurting humans.
However, today that changed all of a sudden.
"I think he's just hiding for now," Victor replied, "Maybe he thinks his army can wipe us off and he would only come to claim the prizes as their king."
Valerius called forth his weapon and stood before the vast army of creatures, golden interference— only visible to him, fluctuating between him and the army.
He looked at the creatures and said with a tense expression,
"I am not sure if you're right about that. Just get this over with quickly."
— — — — —