Life in a new Kingdom

Entering the Guild Hall, Julia invited me into Nana's office. Stepping inside, I noticed the room had a strange coolness. I looked around the room to spot that she had trophies of giant beasts that she most likely killed on hunts. She motions for me to sit while looking at some paperwork and completed quests.

"I'll be with you in a second. I'm finishing the report on what happened over the week. It shouldn't take much longer." She focuses on the paper in her hand and scribbles something that I can't read.

"There's no need to rush." I politely sit back and continue to examine the numerous trophies she has mounted. Moments pass, and she has a long sigh before placing the finished report to her side.

"I promised to reveal what you witnessed in that nest."

"I am sure the others have their questions too."

"I assume they do; however, I only allow you to hear it."

"Why just me?"

"You're trustworthy? That isn't quite right. More or less, I just feel like telling you. If you discuss what we talk about with others, it won't please me, but I won't resent you for it."

"I'll be sure to keep it with just us."

"There's the little knight boy, I see."

"Enough with flattery. I just want to know what you meant about it being a curse. What happened and why it is something you keep hidden."

"It happened quite some time ago when I was still in my early stages of being an adventurer. I reached the rank of Gold and felt confident in my abilities. I was a freelance member, traveling wherever the wind took me sort of thing. I met a lot of people on my journey and fought alongside some extraordinary people. In the town where I was currently living, north of Heistorm and just before the border of the Elves, was a place called Warkken. It was when I took on a simple Gold rank quest for the first time by myself. I figured that a single creature to hunt for a solid sum would benefit me quite dearly."

"What was the job?"

"The job was to hunt a large reptilian creature the size of a carriage. Hunting was my specialty, so I could track it down without a problem. The information on the creature was barely available as anything living that had seen it thought it was a just a wild animal. But when it was reported that they found petrified scales of the creature, they placed the job at the Guild. With my sword, I set out at the crack of dawn to enter the last known location of this creature. Some thought it was a massive kobold, but that would have been unlikely since Heistorm isn't near many rivers or oceans. The chances of it being a wild animal had become null people started to back out of the quest as they were afraid of the unknown. I was confident still that it would be an easy job as long as I could ambush it."

She continued to tell the story. Talking about her small trip into the woods near the town made her fight giant forest spiders and poisonous plants that shot spikes out of their petals. She found traces of the petrified scales and followed a trail that quickly led to a cave where the creature lived.

"I spent several days, eleven, in fact, hunting the beast. Just a young, hot-blooded girl with a giant sword, thinking she could show the world who she was, found herself alone and caught in a trap by a basilisk. I didn't realize it until I found the remains of petrified animals and humanoids scattered in the cave. Turns out the creature had a high intelligence that it would shed scales to leave a trail back to its layer for any unsuspecting people. It must have worked, as there were a lot of silver-rank quests for missing people all over the town. The remains of the people I found were some that I met in my first days of visiting Warkken. One of the little girls that took a liking to me was there..." She trails off as a sad look fills her eye. After a moment, she shakes off the memory and continues...

*

It was bigger than a cart or carriage. The creature's body was thick and colorful, like a chameleon blending into the environment. My night vision made it easy to see my surroundings, but it was a gut feeling and the slimy drool puddles the creature left. Eating so many stoned creatures made it grow bigger as its age was well past its expectancy. I stood with fear and held my sword close. Unable to look away as the predatory eyes looked upon me with gluttony. That was until it broke my spirit when it spoke...

"A lone adventurer enters my home... This must be a cruel joke... I love tormenting my prey before I capture them with my gaze. Just one of you won't do."

"W-What are you!" I was breathing heavily. My calm composure was broken, and my body stiffened with fear.

"I am what you see! My life has brought me many gifts. The gift of speech and intellect. My power could rise to that of a Dragon!" Its slithering tongue glosses over its lips before it shifts its body closer to me, extending its head closer to me; the pale emerald green eyes pierce through me. "I am what you call a basilisk... I consumed many morsels over my life that I didn't realize my voice became words. That my thoughts became clear. My hunger, however, was unsatisfied. Then, the boredom of hunting for food became lackluster... So, I found pleasure in seeing you all petrified with fear and hopelessness that I can devour you with delight!"

"That's why you left a trail..."

"You're not as stupid as I thought. But you came in alone even after discovering my home. Unfortunately, I hope you come with others... Now, today...is just bland. However, I think If I can slowly kill you for my pleasure, maybe it won't be so bad."

"Did you think I would let you kill me easily!?"

"You're shaking... You can't even move a muscle without thinking about what ways I am going to make you suffer! Yes...! YES!! YESSS! THE LOOK OF DESPAIR SUITS YOU WELLL! JUST LIKE THAT GIRL DID!" His voice rippled through my body, and I felt the urge to throw up. My heart racing and my body shaking, I drew my sword. "Oh? You think such a weapon can harm me?!"

"You killed so many... Even if I die... I'll make sure you remember... I'll make you remember not to mess with our lives!" The rage in my heart overcame such fears. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like my mind cleared.

With a step back, I knew he thought he was superior. His weakness was his pride. Wanting to see me defeated and helpless would cause him to finish me instantly. I tested this instinct by looking straight into his eyes. They stared back; the empty void behind those eyes wanted to consume me.

"Show me your FEAR!" I barely step back and narrowly avoid losing my arm. It looked like my instinct was correct. As long as I can withstand everything, I have a chance. I didn't leave my village for nothing. I wanted to live my life the way I wanted, traveling across the land and becoming stronger. This won't stop me in my pursuit.

I lunged forward and struck the creature's eye. It slashes through, causing blood to pour out of the wound. It flails its massive arms, one of which cleaves through my chest. The wound burned briefly as I felt my rage overcome it. I twirled my blade and cleaved under its chin. My strength was enough to damage such a creature, but instantly, I felt something was off. The blood smelled more than just blood, like it had something that was unnatural.

"Graahh! You bitch!" With its tail, it lurched forward, and its claws slashed my back, but I didn't give in to the pain again. The wounds were deep but not fatal. Slamming my shoulder into the creature, I leaped over its body and stabbed into its back. Causing the vile thing to writhe in pain. The moment I felt my blade go into its skin, I realized that it wasn't good in drawn-out fights.

It was soft; the scales that I thought would be stone had eroded over decades of sleeping and never suffered any injury. This creature prides itself on its size and intellect, and it never attempts to fight with the possible chance of getting hurt, making its skin weaker than normal. I can kill it.

"No! This pain!" The basilisk turns to its side and throws me over. I landed on a rock, which nearly broke my ribcage. I got to my feet before its jaws could wrap around my head. I slashed the creature and kept with each pace. Suffering more wounds, it was growing scared of death. I knew I could finish it, but I felt my body begin to become sluggish. Blood loss and the internal injuries were present.

"I'll make sure you won't leave here alive..!" I shout with all my strength and rush the creature with my sword. It pushed me away and pinned me under its claw. Using its massive size to overwhelm me, I lifted my sword to stab its fingers. Pushing down on my body, I felt my lungs getting crushed. I screamed while I sliced through the finger and slipped out with its own blood.

"I won't let you get away! I've made my mistake in toying with you! Just die like the rest!" The ominous glow of its remaining eye poured over me. I couldn't look away in time, so I charged forward. My flesh quickly grew heavy as the pale grey color of stone became my skin. I shoved my blade into its maw and ripped through its entire mouth. However, while I cleaved through it, the creature swiped its claw at my head. The feeling of your left eye being torn out by a massive creature was unbearable. I lost a part of myself.

The blood of my wound sprayed onto my neck as I tore apart the creature's jaw. The petrifaction of the basilisk should have reverted since its blood washed over my skin, but I continued to grow stiff. The beast flopped over onto its side. The dull gaze of the emerald eye never left.

"Foolish woman... Even if I die... My blood is cursed... You are doomed to become a reminder of today... The power of my eyes is eternal...! A curse that will be forever!" The creature soon took its final breath after its threats. Hope was slipping through my fingers, and I knew it was over.

The blood of the basilisk was a cure for petrifaction. You just had to either consume or have your body poured with the blood, and it would revert the effects. However, the kind of basilisk this was was different. I stood over the corpse as most of my body soon solidified into stone. They said that the fresh eye of a basilisk contained the control of its magical power. It was still alive with the power.

Without a choice, I needed to save myself somehow if I were recovering everyone's bodies. Tearing out the emerald eye with my bare hand, I couldn't eat it or summon the willpower to channel any magic into such a powerful organ. Shoving the organ into the socket that was once whole, I felt my whole body grow stiff. A burning sensation shot through my entire body, shattering the stone from my skin. The power of the eye absorbed the curse placed upon me, but the moment I realized that it had taken hold, I couldn't remove it from the socket.

A pulsating power that I never felt before seared itself into where my eye once was. It became a part of me. However, my body was not that of a basilisk, and I couldn't control the magic it used. My body couldn't resist the petrifaction; I quickly grabbed some cloth and wrapped it around my eye. Blocking its use, I stopped it for now.

I reported the missing people back to town and had the town guard recover their remains. I was praised for my efforts and thanked by the whole town for killing the creature. I left the town the day after the celebration and went north where the elves lived in Duldat. I had them craft a magical eyepatch to help contain the basilisk's power...

*

"Without this eyepatch, the power would spread throughout my body and turn me into stone forever. No matter what cures I attempt or remove the organ, it has turned the flesh to stone and inserted itself permanently. I only used it a few times, including against that ogre, but the curse continues to spread each time I use the power. After many years, I realized that its shape had become my eye again. I could see out of it, and it was normal like any other eye, except it was slowly turning me to stone and any creature caught in my sight. The power is more than enough as it can petrify any creature I see with it." She finishes and sighs with a heavy breath.

"That's why you didn't want me to be in front of you," I say, resting my arm on the chair.

"I don't want anyone to know that I carry something so dangerous. But if I have to use it, I think saving you was worth it. However, I already suffered greatly from using it for a few seconds."

"I understand. Thank you for telling me. Are you sure nothing is to be done?"

"You're naive. I've tried everything, but the eye absorbs any cure that removes petrification each time. I'm stuck with this until the day I die. When that does happen, this power will be lost forever."

"Are you scared?"

"A bit. But I am not stupid. So don't go all sentimental on me. Now, if that is all, you can leave."

"Harsh much. But I understand. Take care, Nana."

"You too, Caleb..."