~~~~~Three years ago~~~~~

"LET'S GO LET'S GO!! IT'S TIME TO GO!!" A high pitched voice raises my consciousness above the waves of my dreams.

"Mmm, 5 more minutes Lily." I roll over in the bed, tapping Qiyanna to share in my early morning torment. She stirs and gives more attention than I.

"What is it sweetheart?" she sits up, grabbing her close in a hug.

"Dad promised we could swim today!!" She hits me playfully with her stuffed animal, a bear with a pink bow crocheted into its head.

I feel Qiyanna's glare piercing the back of my head while I pretend to be asleep, hoping to fake it until I make it. "Did he now?"

"Yes!" Her excitement shakes the whole bed. No sleeping now.

"Fine fine fine, I'm up." I slide the blankets off and look my beautiful girls in their bright green eyes. Lilly holds a small pink rabbit in her arms and she looks at me hopefully. "I'll take you once I'm done for the day, I onl..." she jumps into my arms, cutting me off.

"Thank you thank you!! I can't wait!" I pat her on the head, kiss my wife, and begin another beautiful day.

On my regular morning walk, the sun rises to my left casting long, tall shadows against the cliffside overlooking Evercast. Birds sound the trumpets of another fine day. Street Goers pass back and forth focused on their own daily lives. My eyes are drawn to a slight commotion down the street on the side of the road. The usual Rosewater shipment by the usual dwarf family just arrived at the inn, but it's not that simple. Half of the barrels of wine are cracked open, red liquid stains the cart wood, a hopeful heart only guesses it's wine. All across the cart are deep slash marks, claws.

A hand on my shoulder jolts me out of my focus. Before swinging wildly, I turn to face my aggressor. My racing heart calms to see the face of my best friend, and business neighbor: Ivan. "You're late for work Aaron." he says snarkily.

"When is Listren going to learn?" I say, ignoring his comment, my gaze returning to focus on the dwarves unloading the couple of their wares that managed to survive. We resume our walk while I eyeball the cart.

"That old bag wouldn't admit he's wrong if his feet were dangling over the damn things and his life depended on it."

"I've told him. He needs to take care of them before Evercast has a worse problem than a scratched up caravan."

"I know you did." he reassures. "But you're not going to get through to him. Power is blinding. Especially to those who don't deserve it."

"I'm just hoping he has enough self-preservation to do something before they're yipping at his doorstep."
"And hoping is all you can do." he shrugs. We've reached his shop, a small carriage and cart repair business he's cleverly named 'Wheels of Fortune.' "The gnolls don't bother me too much, they're good for business in fact." he remarks sarcastically.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, very funny, go fix some wheels jackass... Oh I almost forgot, do you want to bring Jess and William to the creek? I'll be taking Lilly tonight. She's been begging the past few days." I ask before the door closes.

"We'll see you there! I'll bring the booze!!" he nods before heading in and I head down the street to my own shop.

Every swing of my hammer against my anvil is mirrored against my heart. The more time I spend in here, the more time I lose pleading Listren to take action. My heart and mind can't take it anymore, I put my work down and take myself up the hill to the mayor's villa once again.

My fist pounds viciously against the palisade gate *BANG BANG BANG* it rattles hard against my fist. I hear voices, mockingly calm and ignorant of my demands on the other side, guards no doubt. "OPEN UP!!" I shout. *BANG BANG BANG* it quakes again. Their conversation doesn't stop but one voice grows closer until he cuts himself off mid-sentence, truly annoyed to have to do his job. *SCHLLT* a wooden window slides open to reveal helmeted eyes.

"What is it, rabble??" I can taste his annoyance in the air, behind him his partners echo his intended insult with a giggle 'hahaha, rabble.'

"Open this gate, I need to talk to the mayor."

"To hell with you, go cry to your anvil blacksmith. It would probably listen better" a stench wafts through the hole in the gate he's drunk. I ignore his taunts and continue

"The gnoll attacks won't stop at caravans, we need to do something, go get your boss." boy if I wasn't the one who would have to rebuild this gate I would smash it to pieces in your face.

"To hell with Listren too." His group cackles behind him. Until an angered shout carries itself over the field beyond the gate:

"GET YOUR SORRY ASS UP AND OPEN THE GATE PRIVATE!!" I recognize the voice, I've interfaced once before with Captain Molison in this exact spot the first time I came here.

"YES SIR!!" the man shouts back before closing the shutter, terror plastered across his face. The giggles stop and the shuffling of armor announces the opening of the gate. On the other side 4 men stand stalwart at attention waiting for me to walk through, their gaze is locked forward awaiting reprimand.

Captain Molison marches himself straight at his underlings, his eyes furiously glued to them. Though he doesn't forget me "Head inside Aaron, Olivia will take you to the mayor." His shouting voice starts to fade into the background as I continue my mission walking up the sloped hill inside the manor walls. Inside the lobby sits the half dark-elf secretary he spoke of. We met the last time I was here. She stands upon my entrance and gives a light dip of her head.

"I need to see him Olivia.... NOW." Walking past her without an answer, she gives me entrance knowing I will not welcome denial.

"He should be in, just give a knock." I march myself right down the hallway and straight to his closed door. A swift Kick throws the door open, small splinters fly into the air where the hinges broke.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" The fat man sits back in his chair behind a desk piled with papers.

"Another gnoll raid takes place on YOUR watch." my fist slams down on his desk causing half a stack of papers to fall off the desk. I point at him with hatred. "I told you thrice already, these attacks will only increase. Soon they will come HERE if you don't DO something."

"I have it handled, get out of my office." He stands and closes the gap between my face and his. A threat?

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! Send the guard to root them out BEFORE they attack here. Protect your people, you imbecile."

"And now you insult your mayor?!? I've heard enough of this!" He storms out of the room. Leaving his own office. I'm too enraged at his incompetency to react and stand for a moment, staring out the door.

~~~~~Later that same night.~~~~~

"Daddy!!!" Lily's voice sounds from behind some bushes as I round a corner at our favorite creek-side clearing. Qiyanna wades in water at her waist, Ivan's wife and son stand next to her splashing back and forth.

"Took you long enough." Ivan smirks with a raised mug, he sits beside a keg with his feet in the water at the edge of the beach. My face is downcast, with no response. I'm still focused on my last conversation with an unrelenting lazy boar. "How was our good friend Jeffrey?"

"The insufferable cow wouldn't listen of course." I turn just in time to catch Lilly who jumps into the air at me. "Have you been enjoying yourself, flower?"

"I caught a fish!" she exclaims proudly.

"Did you now?" I look to her mother for confirmation of the unbelievable act.

"For a moment." she giggles back.

"Impressive" I smile before putting her down to return to playing in the waters.

Seating myself next to Ivan, I gratefully receive a filled mug which he holds out to me. I throw my head back and gulp one, two, three times. Aaaahhh.... Respite. "What are we going to do?" Ivan asks under his breath watching our families play in the water.

"I... I don't know... leave?"

He nearly spits up his drink. "Absolutely not. We have businesses and families to look after."

"Obviously we wouldn't leave them."

"I kid, I kid. There's no leaving Evercast. I was born here and I will die here."

"If he has his way you'll have exactly that." I chuckle back. His response to my joke grows, evolving from a giggle to a laugh. To a cackle which grows louder and louder. He confusingly laughs for an uncomfortably long time. So long in fact I look over with raised eyebrow.

But he's not the one laughing. This cackle comes from behind me, like that of a hyena.... Something hits my head and everything stops. The laughing, my buzz, and even the lights go out. Black.

((TW- gore))

My head... hurts. No dreams, yet I wake from what feels like a long slumber. What was a setting sun has been replaced with only moonlight. It ripples in reflections off the calm creek water seen through blurry eyes. I lay face down, it's so quiet. No more laughter. No more birds. No more splashing.... NO MORE SPLASHING!?!

I shoot up out of the sand so fast my head feels as if it constricts around my brain. The world moves in slow motion as I place a hand on my skull; it's wet with blood. The pain is a tickle compared to the worry I have in my heart. My adjusting eyes see nothing under the dim moonlight. Sand, broken keg, mug, second mug... Each covered in dark red blood contrasted against the moon's blue hue of night. I'm not able to see anything more than three feet in front of me through the haze of my eyes. My mouth opens but my voice doesn't respond with calls. QIYANNA!!!

A leg. Covered in blood, two feet from where I stand. It sits severed from its owner; trailing the tendrils of meat, bone and blood I lay eyes on the eviscerated body of my best friend, Ivan. His guts lay sideways on the ground through a gaping hole in his chest with rising rib bones cracked into the air like poles holding back a tent of skin. Tears fall down my face as my throat finally forms words. "QIYANNA!!! LILLY!!!!" I cry out into the night air scanning once again for my family.

Three bodies lay farther down the creek's 'beach' I deny the obvious in my heart until I investigate myself. On my hands and knees I crawl closer, as fast as possible. William lies face down, his head detached from his body, Jess is too covered in blood to see how she died and finally... My wife. "No. No. No. No. No Qiyanna you can't leave me NO." My beautiful wife. Sliding into place I grab the cold face of my lifeless love. Blood covers her neck, and even her backbone is visible through the holes and cuts. She stares up past me into the sky, unblinking, as tears stream down my face onto hers. Running my stained hands through her hair, I spend our last night together as I watch a small bear.... with a pink bow... stained with blood... float gently down the creek.

((TW end))