8 Farm, Harvest, Babies

Roland had lain in the same position until the sky grew dark. His facial expressions changed every so often, his brows knitting in the process.

It wasn't until he had heard a masculine scream that he sat up and unconsciously looked towards the window. Memories from the previous night flooded his mind.

He grimaced.

He got up and exited the room, bumping into a maid.

"Your highness" she bowed slightly "Dinner is ready".

He nodded and walked behind her towards the dining area.

He took a seat and looked at the wide variety of dishes placed before him and sighed. He had no appetite.

The maid who was standing beside him panicked a bit before asking;

"Is the food not to your liking your highness?"

"It's fine" he took up the fork and forced himself to eat.

It was not that the food wasn't to his liking. He felt perplexed as nothing around him made any

sense. No matter how hard he tried to refute these claims, he couldn't find any logical reason to back up his claims.

"Where's Barov?" he asked the maid after he'd finished eating.

"He's in the study your highness" the maid replied.

He stood up, exited the dining area and wandered the castle until he'd found the study. He knocked the door before opening it.

Behind a desk, the malnourished Barov sat with a paper in one hand and what had appeared to be glasses, being held firmly on his face with the other hand.

He looked up and saw Roland staring at him. His face flushed.

'What's with that expression?'

Roland's brows knit upon seeing his expression.

"Y-y-y-your highness" he removed the glasses from his face and put down the paper in hand before moving towards Roland's side.

"Have you eaten?"

Roland nodded.

It became quiet and Roland frowned, a feeling of unease washing over him.

'Why does his feel like a scene out of some romantic drama?'

He shook off the feeling and took a step back to clear up any misunderstanding.

"I have something I need to ask you".

"Please go ahead. I'll do my best to assist you".

"What is it exactly that's happening?"

"What do you mean your highness?"

He decided to get straight to the point.

"What are those things outside exactly? Why is it that men are chained up as though they are given as some sort of sacrifice? What's going on?"

Barov looked at Roland, a glint flashed in his eyes but it left it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. This did not go unnoticed by Roland.

"W-w-why don't you have a seat".

He pulled Roland by the arm and placed him onto a chair around the desk.

He rocked back and forth on his heel seemingly agitated.

"Um, y-y-you see those beasts from a demonic tribe. Originally they were human but after the first holy war a few thousand years ago they evolved. You see, they were known for being 'man-eaters'".

"Man eaters?"

"They aren't cannibals. They were given this term as they indulged in men. It was said that doing so would prolong their life. Daily, they'd kidnap men through raids upon villages or capture those who'd accidentally walked into their territory.

These days, the tribe has gone down in numbers but, their strength is beyond our imaginations. To prevent casualties, lots are drawn and men are sent out as a treat for the beasts. Originally, everyone thought it would not work but, surprisingly it did."

Roland sat and took in all what Barov had told him.

'I find this quite unbelievable but, I've seen with my own eyes'.

"But, despite the fact that all that had worked out, things are starting to change up a bit. They still take the sacrifices offered but they have started to kidnap women as well. That's what I was investigating.

A young girl, from a prestigious family in the town was kidnapped a few months ago. It was kept under wraps but she, suddenly appeared this morning.

She had escaped and headed straight home but she died shortly after her arrival but she used last breath to utter three words.

Her last words were farm, harvest, and babies".