The Bilgewater Nightmare

"Hello there, travelers, what can I do for you?"

"A room, and something to eat."

"Okay, take a seat, I'll bring you that," He called from behind the counter as Bryn and Esral sat down. Bryn pulled out the map and unrolled it on the table. He looked at the map. He shook his head.

"What's wrong, Bryn?"

"Are you sure we should do this?"

"Sorry to interrupt, here is your food and some drinks," The man said placing some plates on the table and gave Bryn a key, "What brings you here?"

"We are traveling to Bilgewater."

"What for?"

"To find information about someone."

"Who could that possibly be?"

"The most dangerous being in Terruna, the god killer, Hugo."

"Wha?! How dare you bring up his name! Who are you to bring up that god forsaken name?"

"I was his friend before he went berserk and fled," She took a drink, "I decided to do something with my life and go find him."

"Okay, sorry about my uneasy nature around that topic, it's just that I survived the onslaught," He leaned in and whispered, "I saw him first hand, he wasn't human."

"Did he have his blade?"

"The broken one?"

"No, the other one."

"He had a second sheath, but he didn't pull the sword at all."

"Do you remember the sheath?"

"Goodness, lady that was 4 years ago, I don't like thinking of it, and I am not supposed to talk of it," She got up and grabbed his neck.

"Do you remember?"

"All, all I remember was that it was blue and gold, with, with a white outline."

"Thank you," She said as she let go and tossed him a bag of coins, "Sorry about that."

After the man left them, Bryn asked a question, "How did you know about a second blade?"

"The blade I gave him," She explained, "He said he would carry it forever but never use it, and clearly he had it then."

"But when did you give it to him?"

"I'll save that story for later," She said as she began eating, "We should go to sleep soon, we have to get the the shores fast."

"Okay," Bryn said, "So you really want to go there?"

"Yes, I want to find Hugo."

"Okay then, I'll go with you until I die, I swore to do so."

The next morning, Esral was awake early, "Bryn, wake up, time to go, it is daybreak."

"Okay, I'll grab the bag and we can go."

"Hurry," She said as she walked out of the room. Bryn emerged from the inn a few seconds after her. He prepared the horse and climbed on, pulling her up after. I hope someone knows about his whereabouts in Bilgewater. I miss you Hugo, I long to see you and feel you near me. Bryn broke into a gallop and they left the town. The sky was cloudless and sun already pounding down onto Terruna. The war in Terruna ended after the fall of each empire, but now the towns formed small lordships, with lords and knights as leaders, each had rules and one of the rules in most of them was: None shall bring up the name of the demon king, Hugo. It was an unwritten rule that enraged most of those that had to respond to the questions about him. After an hour of riding, they arrived in Noshima, they left the horse in a stable and Esral ran towards the port. Bryn followed her. A ship! Maybe it is going to Bilgewater. She ran up to the captain of the ship, out of breathe, "By the creator, my lady, what can I do for you? You seem out of breath."

"Is, is this, this ship going to Bilgewater?"

"Yes, why?"

"Can you bring us there?"

"I normally don't take-"

"We can pay," Bryn said as he caught up, "We have money."

"Then maybe if you give me 20 for each of you, I'll take both of-" He hadn't finished that Bryn handed him two coins, "You are rich! You have emerald coins! Climb aboard, we are leaving soon, in about an hour."

"Thank you," Esral said as they walked up to the deck of the ship, "Thanks Bryn, but why do you travel with me?"

"Before your father died, his last order was to keep you safe," He explained, "I swore to do so."

"Thank you, you really helped me."

"Well, at least it gives some reason to my life, yours is finding Hugo, mine is to respect the order of my master," He laughed, "Let's sit down at the front of the ship, i don't think we will be in the way."

"Do you know why I look for Hugo?"

"No, but I don't need to know, I just need to know you are safe."

"Thank you," She said as she leaned on the railing, "I've never been to Bilgewater."

"Neither have I, maybe Hugo's adviser is still around, maybe we can talk to him," This comment caught the attention of one of the sailors. He walked up to them.

"Who are you looking for?"

"The adviser of the previous Bilgewater leader."

"I know him, he still lives there, he still lives in his ridiculous house, and instead works with the other leader as his adviser," He explained, "When we dock, I'll tell you where it is."

"Wow, well, thank you good sir."

"Have a good trip, it should only be half a day, the winds are in our favor."

"Good to hear."

"Bilgewater in sight!" Esral walked over the railing. Finally, she had waited so long for this moment, the moment she would set foot in Bilgewater. But now it wasn't to see him, but to hope to find him. Why? Creator, why give me this life? Why this destiny? She fell to her knees. Bryn rushed to her side.

"Are you alright?" He said leaning her against him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I am fine," She wiped her tears, "I just remembered him."

"He is still alive."

"How do you know?"

"Last night, I had a vision," He said, "The creator came to me, he talked about Hugo."

"What did he say?" She said sitting up, "Do you remember?"

"Yes, he said that Hugo was sealed in a prison that was made for him, that only someone who could return him to his normal state could break," He sighed, Esral looked up at him, "But we still need to search for it."

"Well, that made me happy, I hope we find information," She smiled and wiped her tears, "I wonder if anyone knows of his fall to become the demon king."

"If he hadn't killed so many, we would have more people to talk to, but he went crazy and savagely butchered most of them."

"Let's go look for that advisor," She said as she walked down from the ship. Someone called them. It was the sailor that told them of the adviser.

"I forgot to tell you where his house was, it is after the tavern, you turn a small street and it is the only door! The second on the right after the tavern!"

"Thanks!" She started to pace quickly, Bryn jogged to catch up, "So the tavern, then the second to the right, the only door on the street, seems simple enough."

"The tavern is there," He said pointing at the tavern, "So after that, two streets down and we should find him."

"I hope we find something," They turned into the street and walked up to the door. Esral knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"We are looking for the adviser to the leader!"

"Come in, the door is unlocked," He said as the walked in, "What can I do for you?"

"Okay, sorry in advance for the question, but we were looking for information about Hugo," As soon as she pronounce the name, he removed his glasses and rubbed his face, "Sorry."

"No, no it's fine, but who are you?

"I am Esral, and this is my guardian Bryn," His eyes widened and his jaw slightly dropped, "Are you okay?"

"Y-you are Esral? The former Demacian Queen?"

"Yeah why?"

"I should have assumed that the Esral he talked about was you, not some lost Demacian girl he met," He held his face with his hands, "You are the last person he talked about, before, before he went crazy."

"You survived?"

"Yes, I don't know how, but at the moment he went crazy, his father arrived and allowed me to run as they clashed, Hugo overpowered him and forced his mother to intervene as well, The demon king was fighting the demon queen and the demon prince."

"Who is who?"

"Jarvan the Third had cursed him years ago, it gave him supreme powers but was a slow, killing poison, he became the demon king and his mother had seen the actual king, she was made his queen, over 930 years."

"Wait, slow down, his mother was his queen?"

"No, the original king was killed by Jarvan the Third and to cover his mistake he forced him into Hugo, Sona had hidden the fact she had been the demon queen the whole time and during the battle, the guards did their all to help but Hugo got stronger and stronger until he drew his elemental blade."

"Do you remember if he had two blades?"

"Yes, but why? What is that second blade?"

"Did he use it?"

"No, he carried it around, everywhere, even before he went berserk, but what happened was that he killed his wife and his children and his father, but Sona kept fighting and their brawl moved into mainland Terruna. She moved him to a place where the creator intervened and sealed him away, killing Sona in the process," He held his face in his palms, "He caused the death of many Terrunians, but one thing the creator has told me is that his family have been brought back to life, but not here, in the place of origin, where Sona and Omega entered Terruna, does the Mouths of the Creator ring a bell?"

Esral turned to Bryn, he nodded and began explaining, "The Mouths of the Creator, are two immortal beings who guarded Terruna during its early stages and help found the civilization, they had a son, which you know as Hugo, now the demon king."

"Yes, he killed Jarvan and Silnoisnalbis in his rage but that only caused Sona to struggle more until he was sealed in an unknown place."

"Do you know where that could be?"

"No, but maybe you can ask the owner of the tavern, he followed Hugo until he left the island, trying to help Sona kill him."

"We will go do that," Esral said, "But how do you know all of this?"

"This," He revealed an amulet, "The creator's amulet, it gives me his knowledge, well the things he shares, unlike the place were Hugo resides."

"Thank you sir," Bryn said as Esral left the house, "I beg your forgiveness, if you want I can pay for this inconvenience."

"No, no it's fine," He smiled, "If you find Hugo, say hello from my part."

"Bye, have a good day!" Bryn rushed towards Esral, "So where to next?"

"The tavern dummy, he said the owner knew where he went to," She said as she pushed the doors to the tavern, "I suppose we could just ask him."

"If you insist."

"Hello there," The bartender said, "What can I do for you?"

"Do you know where the owner is?"

"I can go get him, is there something you would like to ask him?"

"Yes, just ask him to come."

"Yes, my lady."

All the men in the room stared at her, she turned to the room, and then turned to face Bryn, "Why are they staring at me?"

"Maybe it is your treatment of the bartender or your looks, it could be any of the two," Bryn explained, "But these guys probably are surprised that you are the leader between us, I always heard Bilgewater was a masculine region."

"So my young fellows, what can I do for you?"

"We had some questions about someone, someone who used to live here."

"Who could that be?"

Bryn leaned forwards, "A man named Hugo," The manager looked at him, before turning pale, "His advisor said you might be able to help us."

"Wi-with what?"

"His whereabouts."

"All I know is that he fought against Sona and it spread to the mainland," He said, "I won't talk more about this man, leave."

"But sir, we want to find him."

"Oye, guys kick these two out, drinks for everyone once they are out," The men got up and walked towards them. Bryn stepped in front of Esral. Two men moved to grab them but something dashed forward and kicked them out of the way. A woman appear standing in front of them. The other men looked at the two who were on the floor and then at the woman and then returned to their seats. She hand her hand on the hilt of a blade. She had a cape that started at her belt and moved down to near the middle of her calves. She had a shoulder plate of her left arm and wore a leather chest piece. She turned to face the bartender.