"This is the last straw! We've lost 5 men now to this damn cave! Whatever lives in there, needs to go!" The mayor of Kanden stood on a pedestal and cried out to the mob of people lining up in the city center.
I stood in the middle of it, listening to the most recent news that a cave near our town was apparently swallowing the finest men of our guards.
I was a citizen of said town. My name is Bran, the blacksmith of Kanden. I'm a 28 year-old man with brown hair that was originally shoulder length but my tips were scorched by the flames of the forge's fires to a short, tussled length.
I was one of the stronger men in the city and had gained quite some muscle throughout my body from the rough work at the forge.
I was the one who geared up the men we sent with weapons and armors to defend themselves in the cave. And since they're obviously gone now, so is my gear that I gave them to borrow for their mission. It was some of the finest work I've ever done so this was a personal affair to me.
"Days of work, pounds of refined mithril, hours of fitting and detail work. All wasted." I grumbled to myself with crossed arms as the mayor ranted on about how dangerous the cave still was. Some monsters must've made their nest in there. Nobody knew what kind, because none of those who explored it came back to tell of it. Most likely, they were dead.
The crowd around me listened intently, on occasion chanting in outrage. "WE NEED TO KILL THE BEASTS!" "WE CAN'T LEAVE OUR BRETHREN UNAVENGED!" They shouted.
"People! People! Calm down!" The mayor tried to calm the masses.
"But what are we supposed to do, mayor? All our guards are already gone. They were called to arms in the battle with the demons and now our last 5 men have fallen to the monsters!"
The mayor rubbed the sweat off his forehead, not knowing what to do. Stutteringly, he turned to the crowd. "Well, I hate to say it but we need to send someone else to clear out the cave. I know it is a big ask. Who of you is willing to take the risk. We need anyone we can get."
The crowd fell silent. We were not a town of fighters and most people here have never even picked up a weapon of any sort. The people looked around, seeing if anyone was volunteering. But everyone was just embarrassedly rubbing their neck awkwardly, not wanting to be the one to be called out.
"Come on, people! Is no one here willing to do it for the sake of Kanden? Anyone?"
After a few seconds of looking around, all I saw was people in fear. Mother's holding onto their husbands, not wanting them to go and die at the hands of monsters. I knew a lot of these people. They had a lot to lose and I understood their fear of possible death.
I on the other hand was an only child with barely any family left out there. I was thinking to myself that for the sake of the people, I would be the one to vanquish the beasts, even if it cost me my life. I had nothing to lose. If I went and perished, I would at least have fought for a good purpose and if I didn't, maybe I'd get a chance to retrieve my valuable gear. It was decided.
I raised my arm and the people turned towards me with surprised eyes of shock. "I'll do it, mayor! I will go and slay the beast, whatever it is!"
The eyes of the citizens followed me as I walked up to the mayor to offer my service. He welcomed me with a look of uncertainty. "Bran, are you sure you want to do this. You are Kanden's only blacksmith. If time calls for it, we won't even have weapons to defend ourselves in an emergency."
"I am sure, mayor. I'm certain that I will return. I'll do it for the sake of the town and my crafts. Besides, I'm probably one of the last people here that knows how to handle a sword. But in the unlikely case I shouldn't return..." I pulled out a ring of keys and handed it to the mayor. "...you will have free access to my armory. Just try to keep the town safe, alright?"
The mayor sighed but nodded before putting his hands on my shoulders trustingly. "I will. Thank you, Bran. The people of Kanden depend on you."
I held his arm in return and turned to the crowd that erupted in cheers. "THANK YOU, BRAN! SLAY THE BEASTS!"
It was an oddly proud moment to hear the town chant my name. I've walked through the crowd, men, women and children thanking me for my sacrifice. I was smiling widely, proud to be the one who might be able to make the town's people feel safe again.
I went to my forge, grabbing my trusted short sword as well as a red-tinted leather coat that I threw over my shoulders. It was padded with steel and provided incredible mobility at the same time. I put on a pair of thigh and shin guards and buckled them up with a belt. I grabbed a torch to carry with me, sure I would need it and headed out.
It was late in the evening and the moon hung heavy above me. I left the city gates, my sword sheathed in the scabbard of my belt.
I took a deep breath, realizing there was no way back now. The cave would be just a bit up the pathway, close to a popular travel route to our town which was why it had that much importance. Even before we sent our guards out, people went missing along the way.
Nobody ever found the bodies again. Might've been that they were eaten, carried off to be picked apart or maybe they've just been stored in the back of the cave. None of the options made for pleasant images.
I reached the large cavern, going into a rock formation next to the road. It was pitch black inside, which was elevated even more by the darkness of the night.
I pulled out my torch and hit my flint stone over it to light it with the sparks. The warm light of my torch brightened up the grass around me and with my new source of light beside the moon, I went into the cave. It reached surprisingly deep into the mountain.
"This is way too quiet." I whispered to myself looking around. Apart from the stalagmites there wasn't much to see. But something was off. It smelled kind of sweet and the air was damp and warm.
I heard a fluttering sound in a dark corner of the cave but when I held my torch in the direction, there was nothing. I was getting suspicious at that point. I inspected my surroundings closer and found a stash of bundled up clothes at the far back of the cavern. But not only that. The clothes were stuffed inside of the empty armors that I had crafted for the guards. But there were no bodies to be found.
"What in the name of God happened here?" I leaned down to the clothes and armors seeing that they were wet with some kind of fluid. At first I was assuming that it was blood. But it wasn't red.
"It certainly is sticky like blood. Oh, my...!" I realized what it was once I sampled a drop of it in between my fingers. This was unmistakably semen. I wiped my hands on my coat frantically, trying to get rid of the cum.
"Hihihi, you seriously just touched that? You're so gross." A cackling voice rang out from the shadows. The female voice echoed in the cave making it hard to locate.
"Who is there? Show yourself!"
"What fun would there be in that? Why don't you just come and find me?"
