Chapter 32

Dafur

"I'll have to talk with guards about this. Stragglin to the Shul-Gahat's home… Ya're crazy as those pesky sun-dwarfs!" The druegar commented, grinning. He grabbed Dafur, The Mad 'Druegar' by the arm and began to drag him towards the entrance of a dilapidated village located inside an enormous cavern.

"Scout-Trago! Shoulda naet ya scouting?" A gate guard smirked.

"Go on sunlight, Nortz, I have a report to giv," Trago flipped him off.

Meanwhile, Dafur squirmed in Trago's firm grip. However, the scout was much stronger compared to him.

For a moment, Dafur contemplated if he should try that new skill he acquired during the mutation in the lab. In the end, he decided against it and let himself be dragged around.

"We'll go to Shaman-Ganra together," the guard's face contorted in, poorly hidden, anger and led them into the village.

The village was simple; around 25 houses carved into walls, each could accommodate a 10-member family. A small square dominated the middle, illuminated with a few lanterns and a towering bloody altar with a statue depicting a, who knows which, Monster that seemed to have crawled from the depths of the Abyss. It had a plentiful amount of tentacles and a big eye above a menacing beak, filled with sharp teeth.

Around the square were built three buildings, constructed with some care, but not with the classical dwarven forte; a bustling, smelly mess hall, with open two walls and roof from different kinds of leather strips.

Against it was the armoury, constructed from thick metallic plates and with a heavily guarded gate.

The last was the shaman's temple that was the most extravagant out of the whole village. It was constructed from a dark stone, engraved with decorative silvery runes and even having a rooftop from metal plates. When Dafur examined it closely, he noticed several hidden ancient runes, matching to those in the laboratory. He realized the druegars made a village around this building.

"Go inside, Shaman-Ganra expects ye," Nortz, the guard, motioned for them to go inside as she returned.

"Ptui!" Trago spat on the ground before Nortz as he pushed Dafur inside.

The first thing Dafur saw was a messy room lit up by a small fire-attuned mana crystal. His eyes glistened with greed, but he was able to control himself. The next thing that brought his attention was the furniture material; wood! What was more, it was processed by dwarven carpenters! He could not believe his eyes.

Someone was trading with this village. Even though the law did not explicitly forbid it, a standard convention was to socially outcast anyone who was known for even meeting with them, unless on the battlefield. Though soldiers and runemasters were not social convention, the ordinary folks did not dare to even utter a word against them.

"If asked, answer. If naet, be silent," Trago turned to Dafur.

Dafur nodded, not wanting to bring even more attention. He was happy he was not already dead and eaten by these insane Abyss-dwellers.

The shaman emerged from the back-room, wearing a silky, transparent nightgown. Dafur blinked a few times, then gaped in surprise and briefly laughed until Trago covertly elbowed his ribs and shot him a knowing glance.

"What do ya wanna?" The shaman grumpily asked and his half-opened eyes slowly examined them.

"Shaman-Ganra, the Shul-Gahat was awakened by t'is littl' crazy boya," Trago went straight to the point, lowering his head in respect.

Shaman's eyes shot open and he deeply frowned. "Woken up? Darkul dammit! Sacrifice is naet ready yet!" The shaman exclaimed. He paused, finally registering the former dwarf. "Crazy, ya say?" He grinned as his mind spurred.

"Yea, Shaman-Ganra. I found him in the Shul-Gahat lake. He claim'd he lost his 'stone' t'er'."

"Phe..!" Shaman-Ganra suffocated a laugh. Unfortunately, he failed miserably and laughed so hard it reverberated even outside, "hahaha! Lost his stone!"

Dafur frowned and attempted to say something, but an ethereal rune appeared before his face and silenced him.

The shaman, who conjured it, finally calmed. "Prepare him. He's naet from dur village. He'll make a fine sacrifice."

"Yea, Shaman-Ganra," he picked a nearby rope and bound Dafur. He wanted to evade, but the rune froze him in place. As he became more and more desperate, he activated his talent [Mana Drain]. It was self-explanatory, however, as a talent it had infinite potential, unlike its technique counterpart.

Golden lines emerged from his chest and shot towards the mana crystal and the rune, successfully connecting to them. The mana flowed towards him from the crystal first. As the mana entered him it burned him from the inside, causing immense pain. Then refined mana from the rune joined, destroying the golden lines as it coursed through them. He coughed a handful of blood and collapsed.

Shaman-Gahat was first completely perplexed, but as his refined mana destroyed the golden strings, he sighed in relief. As Dafur collapses on the ground, unconscious, he commented, "he's blighted. How couldn't ya notice?"

"Nae, Shaman-Ganra, I'm sorry I put tha village in danger. I'll accept any punishment!"

"Glad to hear it," the shaman grinned like a Cheshire cat and he shouted, "Guards!"

Nortz, accompanied by another guard entered, "what do ya ne'd, Shaman-Ganra?"

"Guard-Nortz, bind Scout-Trago and take him to the preparation room. He just volunteered to be the next sacrifice.

"As ya wish, yar majesty," Nortz's eyes lit up and his mouth curved into an even broader smile than the shaman's.

"Guard-Tokg, bind the unconscious, take him to the Cage, and guard him!"

"As ya wish, Shaman-Ganra."

"Hmm…" the shaman pondered for a second while examining Guard-Nortz with a strange glint and made another decision, "get another guard and return, Nortzy," he lasciviously licked his lips, winking at her.

Meanwhile, Trago paled like he had seen the ghosts of Dornus and Darkul drinking ambrosia with the elven gods. Never did he imagine he would end up as a sacrifice. And to smear salt in the wound, it seemed that his former woman was sleeping with the shaman.

Meanwhile, Dafur woke up in the Cage, rattling the bars.

"Guards, tak' him with us, I wanna let him watch. If he won't listen, he'll end up as a sacrifice too."

It took around five hours to prepare the unwilling sacrifice, but strong assistants held him down, while the shaman's helper tattooed him with blood from Shul-Gahat's favourite; goblin. After that, they took them to the altar.

A crowd gathered before them. The shaman with two warriors behind, who were holding Sacrifice-Trago between their arms, jumped on the small platform.

"My fellows! Shul-Gahat has awakened and requires sacrifice! Sacrifice-Trago volunteered! Praise him!"

"What? Trago volunteered? HAHAHA! He's sunned!!" The crowd laughed while pointing at him. (A/N: Sunned - to be on the sun for too long and go crazy. It's an insult.)

"HMPF! HMPF!" Muffled sounds escaped Trago's gagged mouth.

"Druegars! Time is nigh! Com'! Let's see the mighty Shul-Gahat!" Shaman-Ganra ceremoniously proclaimed and led the crowd towards the lake.

"Shul-Gahat! Shul-Gahat!" The dwellers chanted the whole way, quieting only when they reached the beach.

Everyone silently stood around the shaman, while he conjured a rune that exuded a gravitational pull, strong enough to force Sacrifice-Trago to follow him into the water.

"Shul-Gahat! Sacrifice is ready! Come!" The shaman cried out and tapped the water several times.

After a brief moment, the Monster, looking exactly like the sculpture on the village square, emerged from the surface, erratically waving its tentacles.

"Somethin's wrong!" Shaman-Ganra scrambled towards the beach while the others watched in horror at their trashing deity.

One of the tentacles randomly encircled Trago and waved him around. The Monster sought to devour him, even putting him into its beak, but as it wanted to gulp him down, something made it projectively vomit..

Strong acid, mixed with the remains of it's previous Lunch, half-melted darkened mana crystals and random rocks were distributed on the crowd, causing panic as it started to burn and melt quite a number of them, including the shaman and guards.

In the confusion that followed, Darfur found himself unguarded and unbound. So, he hightailed it towards the exit. As he ploughed through the panicked crowd, something hard hit him in the head. He caught it before it landed on the ground. "Stone?"