Bertrand Kirzenbaum

(POV: Albert Andreas Grimbea)

We strolled down the main avenue of the town of Cazareth, getting lost in the crowd of faceless individuals and the orange hue of the morning sun. The twin moons were already peeking out of their hideout.

Aerin sat on my shoulder. humming arrhythmic tunes that could only make sense to her as we made our way to the center of town.

"Ah, Dad, Dad. Let's go that way" She pointed towards a monument in the middle of the plaza that contained three figures.

Without waiting for me to reply she hopped off of me as if I were a horse and started jumpling all the way to the statues.

I approached her from behind, while she was looked at the three figures with her mouth agape.

The one in the middle was a skeleton with gaudy robes that covered almost his entire frame, he was pointing forward with a slender and bony hand.

The other two were something akin to knights, with pointy helmets that resembled wolfves and clothing even more adorned than the figure in the middle, one was crouching to the right of the robed skeleton while he maintained a zweihander over his right shoulder and the other was simply standing behind the robed skeleton.

There was a plate that contained the description.

"Can you read it, Aerin?"

She inflated her cheeks and furrowed her eyebrows"Uh-uh"

"Every time we come here, you stand here looking at these statues.

What's so interesting about it?"

She simply shrugged and continued staring up

I approached her side to read the description of the plate to her:

"To Hansald, the first of the Liches and all the undead heroes that fought in the Theosomachia against the Scourge. Thine sacrifice shall forever be remember'st"

"Dad, what is a Hansald?"

I laughed "I am glad you asked because that's why we left the cabin"

She tilted her head in a cutesy way and replied: "Didn't we left to go see Bertrand?"

"In due time dear"

.

.

.

.

After some twists and turns, we ended up in front of a very particular building; four chimneys were sticking out of the roof as the building vomited smoke every second.

But what was most eye-catching was. . .

"I can't believe this old man is still at it"

There was a poster at the side of the door that depicted a man dressed in black and a pointy hat, well into his sixties, rolling up his right arm's sleeve and flexing his bicep. Even more ridiculous was the description that read 'Whatever they can do, we can do it better. Support your local male witch. Let us end this discrimination.'

"Huh, it's quite well done actually. Aerin let us enter"

"After you, old man"

As we opened the door, our noses were assaulted by the smell of formaldehyde and that odor particular to closed spaces and old people.

We made our way through the dim room, making the wood below us cry as we take each step forward.

Yonder laid a person clad in black clothing and a pointy hat, collapsed on a desk with mountains of papers at each side. He was making a cacophony with his snoring.

Approaching him, it was made obvious that he was the same person from the poster before, currently taking a nap on his own desk.

"Hey Dad, why is he putting his lower lip inside his mouth?"

"Cause he's old, Aerin. Do me a favor and shake him up until he wakes up"

Making big hops, she advanced towards the old man. She stood there watching him as if he were a species in danger of being extinc She placed her hands on his back and very gently. . .

"HEY SIR, MY DAD WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!"

"What in the Dead gods?"

. . .very gently screamed into his ear.

The old man fell back with his char into the ground, staring with eyes as big as marbles at the little girl.

"Who in the Dead gods are you?"

I coughed several times to catch his attention.

"Good day to you, Bertrand"

"Al! Who is this she-devil?"

"My daughter"

"Huh?"

"You remember what day it is today, right?"

He looked at me and Aerin and rolled back his eyes. With some difficulty and cracking of joints, he got up "Ah, yes, the day. Yes, of course, yes, I remember, yes."

"You forgot"

"Hmph, I never forget! I just allow my mind to ponder new things"

I kept staring at him with a wry smile while he started turning red like a tomato

"Well, anyways, Aerin. Love, this man will be your new teacher. He will instruct you on many things here since there is no school. I'll have to leave you while he teaches you and I will come back in the afternoon. Okay?"

She shyly nodded, keeping her head down and looking up with those big obsidian eyes that didn't really understand what was happening. I hugged her and left. Outside, I could hear the geezer introduce himself:

"Well, now that ´that´ is out of the way. . . I will be your new teacher, Bertrand Kirzembaum"