Chapter 16
Nighttime fell upon the mountains and the Baemi village was preparing for the feast of Saint Nicholas, which would be the next morning. Chief Randulf knew that this year was not going to be festive, mostly due to the people's heartbreak over the death of Ishild that very morning.
Many of the villagers insisted that Gerlach and Gerhard be executed immediately. Chief Randulf wanted to punish the two in the right way, but he wasn't sure how.
"Sir, just have the executioner chop their heads off!" Adalhard said to the chief.
Before Chief Randulf could answer, the sound of booming thunder was heard and the wind picked up. "Thunder?" the chief asked and then, all the torches in the chief's hut went out.
Both men looked outside to see all the torches go out and snow began to fall in thick flakes. "Something is wrong," the chief said to Adalhard. The captain dared himself to open the door and outside, there were shadows moving about.
In the square, a man who had just left the food storage hut saw a figure a few feet away. It looked small in height and the man dared himself to go look at it. Suddenly, the figure leaps up at him and the man falls to the ground.
The dwarf laughed at the prank he pulled and he runs off. The dwarf returns to his master, Meinrad who was just outside the village. "Kill the chief and a few of the guards, but I want the boy and his father alive," Meinrad orders his minions.
The dwarfs obeyed and they hurry into the village, holding up their weapons and torches. "For Ishild!" some of them shout and started to bang on some doors.
A woman screams when the dwarfs barge into her hut and the other dwarfs did the same thing. They then started to ransack the huts, looking for Gerlach and Gerhard. Adalhard gathers all of his men and they arm themselves with bows and arrows and swords.
The dwarfs only laughed when the guards shot arrows at them. Some of the dwarfs jump on the guards and started to bite them with their sharp teeth. The guards cry out in horror before they were killed.
Meinrad then enters the village and looks into the open huts. He saw some families hiding and they stare at him with horrified looks, but he did not care about that. He then walks to the square, where the dwarfs continue their carnage.
Several of the guards lie dead and Meinrad notices Adalhard fighting with one of the dwarfs. "Stop!" Meinrad orders the dwarf and Adalhard sees the creature. He collapses to his feet and tries to scream.
Meinrad grabs Adalhard by the cuff of his coat and hoists him off the ground. Meinrad snorts hot breath and shows Adalhard his teeth. "Where is the boy?" Meinrad demands. Adalhard does not answer and Meinrad places a sharp claw on his neck. "I will spare your life once you tell me where he is," the creature said, again.
Adalhard shakes his head, "I want to kill him as much as you do," he said to Meinrad. The creature snorts in his face and pricks his claw into Adalhard's cheek, drawing blood.
"I will give you one last chance, where is the boy?" Meinrad said in a deep, cold voice.
Adalhard refuses to answer and Meinrad opens his mouth wide, saliva drips from his teeth and he edges close to the captain. "Wait!" Adalhard shouts and Meinrad stops. "You saved my life, didn't you?" he asks.
"Ishild saved your life, not me," Meinrad replies.
"Yes, but..." Adalhard tried to think of a proper word.
"I am taking Gerlach and his father to Hell. I want them to spend an eternity going through pain and suffering," Meinrad said to Adalhard. "Think, would you rather execute them first? Or let them experience the agony that we all suffer from?" Meinrad asks him.
Adalhard thought long and hard, he wanted Gerlach to suffer, and he gives in. He points to the chief's hut and Meinrad releases him. "You really loved her," Adalhard said, but Meinrad ignores him and walks toward the chief's hut.
The snow and wind was fierce now and the thunder boomed across the sky. Meinrad passes a few dead guards, leaving hoof-prints in the snow, and the dwarfs let their master pass.
Meinrad tries to open the door, but it was bolted tight. "Shall we burn it down?" a dwarf asks.
"No," Meinrad answers and looks up. He takes a leap and lands on the roof. There, he saw the chimney and looks down. No fire was burning and Meinrad dives head-first down the chimney. The stone cracked as Meinrad moves down and makes it to the bottom.
His head emerges and he looks around. A few guards had surrounded their chief and the two prisoners. They held up their swords, but Meinrad roars at them. Some of the guards turn to run and when they opened the door, the dwarfs stormed in.
"Kill them!" Chief Randulf shouts at the guards, but they couldn't. The dwarfs overpower them and killed them. The chief arms himself as Meinrad walks over to him. The creature grabs Chief Randulf by the neck and snarls.
"Here, put him in here," a dwarf said, showing Meinrad a large sack.
"No! Let my father go!" Amalric shouts at them, but Meinrad ignores him and stuffs Chief Randulf into the sack. He turns to face Gerlach and Gerhard and hate fills his senses.
Gerlach stares at Meinrad and he struggles to break free. Meinrad takes the boy and stuffs him in the sack, along with his father. Meinrad hoists the sack and carries it on his back. He and the dwarfs leave the chief's hut and they walk through the village, looking at the terrified people.
Some of the dwarfs resumed their mischievous ways and terrified them even more. "You best be good for goodness' sake," some of them said to the young children. Meinrad and the dwarfs leave the village, having left a scene of death and destruction.
From the author: And so begins a horrifying tradition...