A couple of days have passed and the men rested to recover from their wounds, but Nogryl grew more and more restless. And as he slept, he saw terrible nightmares and felt the dread no words could describe.

  He was alone on a dark field, and the sky was black. Around him he could see the dark shapes moving around in darkness, and loud ringing filled his ears, followed by the sound of whispers in a strange language that he could not understand, and in front of him he could see a black mountain in the distance, and it was shrouded in thick black mist.

  He woke up covered in sweat, and neither herb nor elixir could ease his burdens; not even a renowned herbalist such as Lynda could help. His skin lost its rosy color and became completely pale, as it could be seen on the corpses, and his veins became as dark as the blackest dirt.

  Sir Victor came to visit him, bringing him food and drink, and once well-mannered, noble-born gentleman now ate with his hands and drank in excess, giving no thought to the manners.

  After a couple of days more, both Henry and Nogryl recovered from their wounds, but Nogryl remained changed. He would sit in the tavern every day, drinking with the men and getting drunk, spending the rest of his time in the company of the women from the tavern.

  Yet in his dreams, he was still the same man as before, unchanged, but lost deep in the darkness that no light could pierce through, and the voices kept whispering louder and louder.

  One night, as he wandered through the darkness in his dream, a form of a man appeared—a tall man with long dark hair and a pale face, with a crown on his head.

  "Who are you?“ Nogryl said in a confused voice, and the man just laughed.

  He disappeared with a puff of thick dark smoke and appeared right in front of Nogryl a fraction of a second later, as sharp pain shot through the hero's chest. The dark form of a man held a sword pierced through his body, and suddenly losing all control, Nogryl started levitating as his form emitted the bring glow, and his eyes turned into glittering gold.

  He started speaking in a deep voice, not by his will but by the will of someone unknown, yelling the words,

  "You have no power over me!“ that echoed through the dark limbo of his dream.

  The light emitted from his body seemed to blind the dark shape that appeared, revealing its pale and grim face, the body clad in dark armor and a long, tattered black cape.The apparition quickly disappeared, and Nogryl woke up with a heavy breath.

  "It's just a dream.“He thought, but then he saw that the sword wound on his chest afflicted by Nuula in his battle against her turned pitch black. It was the same place where he was stabbed in his dream, and the wound beside his spine was the exact spot where the sword left his body in the vision.

  But as soon as the sun has risen behind the horizon and the old rooster sounded the morning, Nogryl would be seen again sitting in a tavern and drinking ale, gambling away his money and boasting about his exploits.

  A couple of days later, he was met with a new batch of recruits to replace the fallen men in his patrol. Most of them were very young and had very little training. Teaching his fresh soldiers how to fight properly was a burden to Nogryl, so he often took them to the "Sleeping Boar“ tavern to drink their days away instead.

  Sir Victor was sitting at a nearby table, and Nogryl did not even seem to notice him.

  "This is not the same man,“ he commented as Lynda approached with a chalice of wine.

  "Indeed,“ she added, "he reeks of alcohol, yet the local women do not seem to be bothered.“.

  But unaware of their presence, Nogryl climbed on a table and unsheathed his sword, pointing it at each of the recruits one by one.

  "You! Tell me your name!“

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  "My name is Alwin, sir!“

  "Alwin! I see your hair is not cut according to the standards, crew. Should our companion sleep with the pigs tonight?“

  "But Sir, you did not even..." Alwin tried explaining that none of the recruits were even introduced to the rules, but nobody listened as the whole group of men started laughing and pounding their fists against the table.

  "Swim! Swim! Swim! Swim!“ they shouted as two of them were preparing to throw Alwin in the pigpen, but he interrupted them.

  "I suggest another course of action! I shall play a song, and if it does not satisfy the requirements, throw me in the pigpen twice." He yelled in a frightened voice as he glanced at the mud and filth that they were about to throw him in.

  The men laughed and cheered: "Yeah!“ and Nogryl replied:

  "Then I shall inform you that I agree with your proposal“ with a sarcastic formal voice as the group continued laughing.

  They seemed to have a good time, but nonetheless, it was a mockery for the Kingdom to have such disrespect for the military discipline. Sir Victor was about to stand up to interrupt them, but Lynda placed her hand on his shoulder.

  "Let the boy play a song; you can scold them later,“ and he agreed.

  Long haired Alwin walked up to a bard, and the musician handed him his lute, after which he stood on a nearby bench and played a melody. It was a song that none of the men had heard before. The strings seemed to dance with his fingers as he sang about the giants and the trolls, the frozen land in the north across the mountains, and the brave warriors that fought the dragons and beasts of other sorts. The men seemed amused with his performance, and Nogryl was left without speech.

  "Good! You shall be spared for today, and you can keep your hair!“ Nogryl added.

  Moments later, Sir Victor stood up and scolded the group, sending them back to their training. Regardless, Alwin and Nogryl became very good friends afterwards.

  Alwin's fencing skills were remarkable, and he quickly surpassed Henry and other young militiamen from his group. His footwork and handling of the blade were elegant yet fast and deadly, and his skills with a spear were extraordinary too. He was not a large man, but he was an outstanding fighter, and after the training, he could drink a fair share of ale in " The Sleeping Boar," sing songs with the men, and play a lute that he bought from the money earned during the patrols.

  As the men lived in peace that was rarely disturbed by the common ur'glun night raids that often aimed for the resources and cattle and would rarely cause a real skirmish, the evil watched from every corner.

  One night Nogryl's patrol was assigned to the night guard duty on the village walls. The moon was full, and its light shun so bright that the human eye could see even in the late hours.

  Henry steadily stood in his position, watching for any signs of a raid from the top of a tower.

  "Relax! Those beasts rarely even approach the walls; they raid the unprotected houses outside; you are wasting your time!“ Said Alwin as he sat on a supply crate with a deck of cards and a mug of ale by his side.

  "Yeah, kid, guarding the walls is nothing more than the source of easy money nowadays,“ added Nogryl.

  "So where is the man that taught us bravery as he went first into the fray, never losing hope for a single cause? Drinking on his duty while there are people that count on him?“

  After he heard that, Nogryl simply hid his face behind his deck of cards. The young man was right, and despite his mysterious curse, the champion saw the truth in his words.

  Despite that, he chugged his ale and continued the game.Henry looked into the distance, and he noticed a silhouette of a man on top of a nearby cliff. It was riding a wolf, and its eyes shined like the eyes of a cat, and they seemed to stare straight at him.