Aryu felt like shit.
It was his head that hurt the most, like it was caught between the hammer and the anvil. Each heartbeat was agony, and they were plentiful.
It all rushed back to him in flashes: the arrival at Tan Torna Qu-ay, the angry crowd, Esgona, the machine-man and Sia, the abandonment of…of…
… Of his parents…
He remembered it all now, right up to the blinding rage that consumed him as he attacked the mechanical thing.
Dear God, were they really gone? Sia seemed too defeated to lie. Even now in the murky aftermath in his head, he remembered its annoying smugness and pleasant demeanor. Just the thought made him sick.
Had he been out long? Where was he? Had the beast taken him? Was he dead? How did he make the pain go away?
He propped himself up, trying to adjust his eyes before he realized that it was dark out. He made out what he could. He was on a rocky landing. Why? Where was the village? Had the thing destroyed it as promised?
He placed a foot underneath himself and started to rise very slowly, each strain making his throbbing head that much worse. At last, he gingerly made it to his feet. It was then he saw the crumpled body of someone across from him. He couldn't be sure, but it looked like Esgona as his eyes adjusted to the light.
Then he saw it.
It could have been a man, but it was like no man he'd ever seen. Even sitting he was huge. His eyes glowed like fire and his long hair shimmered red in the dark. It looked like black emptiness filled where clothes should be, causing his head and extremities to almost float in the poor light.
In his hands held before him was the largest sword Aryu had ever seen. He quickly became aware of his treasure being missing and the defenseless position he was suddenly in.
“Easy, lad,” the man-thing said softly. “I'd take a seat and relax a moment if I were you.”
The stranger spoke with an accent completely foreign to him. He caught the meaning of it, though. He fumbled back and found the outcrop he'd been propped up against, coming down on it with a force that seemed like tons.
“There's a good, lad. I can only wager how much tha’ noggin's hurtin' right now.”
Noggin? Aryu assumed that was his head and nodded slightly.
“What happened to the village?” he croaked out. “And my parents?” He became aware of the sensation of what he could only assume was blood trickling down the back of his neck. He then remembered the blow that felled him.
“Well, I’m sorry t’ say tha’ yer mechanical friend was speakin' the truth about his threat.”
Aryu thought it over, trying to remember the conversation. “So it's gone? They’re gone?”
He saw the nod as the glowing hair moved up and down, the burning eyes never losing their grip on him.
“I over'eard about yer missin’ parents as well. I'm sorry for yer family.”
Who was this thing, and why did he seem to care at all?
“So it’s true? About my parents?” No answer right away, as if the thing was studying him.
“I can’na say, lad. I only arrived in time t’ see wha’ happened t’ ya”
Aryu couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After a moment of confusion, he looked around, suddenly overwhelmed by a need to see for himself if it was true. “Where are we?”
“A week’s walk from your 'ome tha’ was. Due east.”
“Dear Gods, have I been out that long?”
Aryu could hear the grin in the thing’s words. “Who said we walked? No, lad. We arrived by other means.”
Aryu was getting even more lost in pain and confusion. His head hung low between his hands trying to sort things out. Loss consumed him as visions of his parents flashed into his head. They were good people who only wanted the best for their son. A loving husband and wife who had risked everything to save their son. Why did they leave him and Tan Torna Qu-ay without a word? The tears began.
“I hate t’ be a nuisance, but I'm afraid I mus' ask about the sword. Specifically 'ow ya came t’ possess it?”
Aryu couldn't believe this. The sword? The stupid sword? After all that he'd been through, that was what seemed important? Who cared! Aryu just sat there, ignoring the question. His problems were so much larger than that.
The man-thing rose and closed the gap between them, his sword still in front of him pointing at Aryu as he moved, stopping inches from his head.
“I've no problem dispatching ya here and now, lad. Frankly, it would make my life tha’ much easier. But I'm afraid I need more from ya before we reach tha’ end, so I'm askin' ya for the last time. The sword. Where did ya’ get it?”
Aryu cried on in pain and waved it off at first, but looking up into those glowing eyes he saw the truth. This thing would kill him. Today was not the day for any more tragedies.
“I found it,” he said finally. “A few days ago, I guess.” He had a hard time remembering now. He assumed it was still the same day as he thought it was; the day Tan Torna Qu-ay was destroyed. “I found it buried in rock on a mountainside. Why does it matter?”
His voice escalated and the anger caused his head to ache anew. The man seemed to be thinking over what he'd just been told. The seconds passed by with Aryu’s anger growing with each one.
“Tell me, lad, do ya…”
“Listen, who or whatever you are. I just
