We stepped through the door of the village chief's dwelling, the sole structure still standing amid the ruinous wasteland the village had become. A miracle, if you ask me. After scouring every nook and cranny for any sign of life, all we could trace were footprints racing inward, vanishing beyond this threshold.
"Just how in the world is this place still standing…" my voice wavered, eyes tracing walls nearly fused with the dust and blood of the fallen pig goblin. Crokard said nothing, not a word, his hand parting aside a moth-eaten carpet faded to the dull hue of the bird down clinging to the cracked ceiling.
Then, without warning, a hidden door yawned open behind the tapestry.
Without hesitation, I pushed it wide and there, sprawled before me, lay a figure painfully familiar: the village chief, smiled and alive.
"Sniff… is the monster gone?" he rasped. "Was it you who drove them off, Crokard? Thank you for reminding me I'm still here," he managed, struggling to crawl toward him.
"How dare you!" a furious voice snapped, sharp as a steel wire slicing through the air from just beyond the door.
The chief's hairs bristled with dread at the definite footsteps closing in. The door slammed open with a thud that froze the very breath in the room.
"You've got some nerve licking me!" Gelemia roared, her voice crashing like a storm shattering the calm. She lunged at the chief, still kneeling before Crokard. The old pig's face twisted in fear, but there was nowhere to dodge, Gelemia landed first, and the village chief toppled with brutal finality.
Without pause, she stamped down mercilessly. "Because of you, that foul stench still clings… disgusting beyond words!" Her tone thick with seething fury and loathing.
"Mercy, mercy… I was only obeying the will of the god," the chief sobbed, choking on his words.
"What god? What deity commands its followers to lick with a tongue as vile as yours?" Gelemia hissed as her heel crushed the helpless body beneath her. I couldn't tell if she was mad or if rage had driven her beyond reason.
"Wait! Please! Stop!" the chief begged, his voice ragged with despair.
"You're not from here, are you? I know how you'll get back," he rasped, and Gelemia's pounding foot faltered for a moment.
"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" I demanded.
"You may cut out my tongue if I lie," the chief gritted out, pain and courage tangled in his tone.
"I promise you, truth or lies, your tongue will be severed," I pressed coldly, relentless.
Fear flickered like dark shadows across his worn face. "The crystal… the crystal inside our god. Long ago, the great crystal orb was kept in our old village, before the god swallowed it."
"If you destroy it, you'll be trapped back where you came from," he added in a husky whisper, each word seeming to fracture his own heart.
Gelemia's cold boot found him again. "Sounds like a flimsy excuse to get us devoured. Then how'd you manage to snatch the crystal now inside that creature's belly?"
"Hyaa… please, listen," he begged, voice trembling.
"The crystal resists digestion and can't be destroyed. It must still be hidden inside that giant's gut," he insisted, conviction ringing through his cracked voice.
"How do you know that?" Gelemia replied with a light kick.
"Long ago… that monster—" the chief suddenly blocked Gelemia's kick, "Can you hold still for a moment?"
"How dare you tell me to shut up!" Gelemia's strikes sped up, harder and fiercer.
"Enough, Gelemia," I cut in, gripping her shoulder to halt the onslaught. My gaze drilled into the chief's, searching for the truth beneath his words.
His face darkened with sorrow. "Once, it was just an ordinary salamander," he said quietly.
"A pet," Crokard interjected coldly.
The chief took no offense; instead, he pressed on calmly, "Back then, it was only as big as my foot. My salamander raised and guarded with all my heart. That great crystal was the core of our worship, the oldest memory rooted here."
"But one day, after a ritual, while we reveled in the queen's body and the euphoria," his voice quavered as he glared at Gelemia, and I swiftly caught her next kicking blow before it landed.
"Pesi suddenly grew."
"Pesi?" Gelemia and I exchanged puzzled looks.
"He means that salamander," Crokard nodded, confirming the explanation.
"So the crystal orb is still inside the Pesi. You can take it and shatter it," the chief said, hanging his hope.
"Your sorrowful tale and touching flashback don't win our trust so easily," I said, cool and cautious.
"If I may speak frankly, it's true," Crokard said, reclining casually.
"Is that right, dad?" Crokard's eyes locked on the chief, demanding confirmation.
Shock flared across my face, not just mine, but Gelemia's too.
"Dad? This man?"
"Surprised, huh? The one who wanted to burn me was my own father," Crokard muttered,.
"You worthless brat! Don't you realize you've unleashed hell upon this village, Crokard?" the chief bellowed, fury blazing like an unquenchable inferno.
"If you spoil me, I might just be happy to be burned," Crokard snapped back, barbs sinking deeper.
"Hold on!" I interrupted quickly, diffusing the tension on the verge of explosion.
"I'm the bastard child of that pig and the human who came before."
"How? Wasn't it your god who used to impregnate the humans?" I asked, skepticism thick in my voice.
"Mind if you give me a moment? My stomach's turning just hearing all this," Gelemia interjected with a hint of dry amusement. I nodded in agreement.
"Children born of gods never survive, if the god had truly impregnated humans, those babies would be malformed, not living past a few months," Crokard continued, his voice foggy with bitter truths.
"In the end, they and their offspring were cast into the same cave, you know, the very cave you bedded down in last night," he added with a heavy sigh.
"So you're…" I fixed him with a sharp gaze.
Crokard nodded slowly. "That pig took the queen first, before she was sacrificed to the god. As a consequence, the queen was defiled, and the god rejected the offering, then destroyed the village."
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh, dad?"
Suddenly, an idea flickered through my mind.
"You know how to lure that creature out, don't you, chief?" I asked sharply.
His brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? If it's about waking it up, doesn't Crokard know how too?" he answered, puzzled.
"Yes, but don't you miss Pesi?" A sly smile stretched across my lips, thin but heavy.