Dabin & The Draugr

As Told By Vatis-Of-The-Road

Here’s a little bonus story for the weekend. It was originally in Tales & Treasure, but I cut it to try to get the word count down. I’ve always liked this scene and story, so I expanded it a bit here as a bonus scene/short story. I hope you like it.

---

Hobb’s Farm, Vicus

“So you want to hear about Dabin and The Draugr?” Vatis said, looking at Taldor. He took a tentative sip from his mug and cleared his throat.

The farmboy nodded eagerly, wiggling in his chair at the table. His thirst for stories appeared unquenchable.

“Let’s begin. An age ago, Dabin, a celebrated military general, was perhaps the greatest fighter in Emre," Vatis said, the story flowing freely from his lips as he performed in the intimate farmhouse.

"When the war ended, he roamed the land on the King's orders, bringing peace to the dysfunctional land east of Numeria. Word reached him that livestock, farmers, and even a few children had gone missing in the small town of Curma. After speaking to a few locals, he headed toward the mysterious area. Dusk approached."

Vatis sipped from his mug and hissed before he continued.

"Dabin knelt near a small circular stone. Grass curled around its edges, fighting against the object to find sunlight. An unfamiliar carving was etched into its face. He examined it further.

'A name,' he whispered. The similar stones randomly scattered across the overgrown field suddenly became more ominous. 'A graveyard.'

He frantically uncovered each stone, revealing similar markings. Dabin was fluent in most modern languages; his time in the army provided ample experience with foreign enemies but these carvings were unrecognizable, some long-forgotten script. Why were people disappearing around an ancient graveyard? He thought. The obvious answer was an aggressive pack of wolves, but Dabin couldn't find any signs that wolves had killed anything nearby: no pawprints, tufts of hair, or specks of blood. It couldn't be wolves. Dabin's gran told him stories as a boy of draugr, corpses of men and women that rose from the dead. 'Those are just stories,' he said."

Vatis winked at Taldor. He stood, stretching his arms before he continued.

"The last purple-orange rays of sunlight faded beyond the western horizon. Darkness flooded Dabin like water on a sinking ship. He was alone, in the dark, in a graveyard, with thoughts of childhood nightmares stabbing his nerves worse than standing on the front lines. At least he knew where his enemy was coming from in battle. He lit a small lantern that did little more than cast ominous shadows on the gravestones. The wind rustled through the tall grass; a crow cawed in a nearby tree, and each sound made Dabin grip his blade tighter. A dull scraping sound from his left caused him to unsheathe his blade. He thought he could see the largest of the stones move, but that was impossible. It was the size of a wagon wheel and nearly as thick as an anvil. He rubbed his eyes. The scraping grew louder. He shined his lantern toward the noise. Were his eyes playing tricks on him, or was that a bony hand reaching out of the hole? He shook his head violently. Draugr aren't real, he thought. A second hand joined the first, decayed skin hung loosely from the bones like ripped gloves."

Taldor and Vidmar were captivated, eyes wide in excitement as the story progressed; however, Hobb sat, seemingly uninterested. He sipped tea from his mug and watched the fire. Vatis took a small bite of meat, deliberately chewing it.

"Oh, come now, you're milking this a little too long," Vidmar said.

Vatis swallowed and laughed. "Maybe I am."

"A skull appeared. Long, patchy strands of black hair cascaded around its jagged features. Golden eyes glinted in the dim light. Before he knew it, a tall skeleton stood in the middle of the graveyard. It croaked a deep frog-like noise that startled the crows out of their tree. Leather armor hung loosely to its limbs. Grey skin flapped from its forearms like a flag in the breeze. It tilted its head, examining Dabin. After a long, tense moment, it let forth a high-pitched screech and charged. Dabin's muscles wouldn't cooperate with his thoughts, telling him to run. The creature closed in. Either on instinct beat into him by years in the army or by sheer luck, Dabin escaped his trance. He yelled as he swung his mighty blade and cut the draugr in half at the waist. The creature crumbled like a stone wall in a siege. Bones scattered across the graveyard; its head landed near Dabin's feet. He kicked it away. It croaked again.

'How?' Dabin cried. 'How is this possible?'

Its limbs started moving, and a bony hand grabbed his calf. Its grip was ice cold."

Vatis took another sip of his drink. It still burnt his throat, but the alcohol was beginning to go down smoother. "Dabin violently shook his leg free of the autonomous hand. The draugr's head squealed like a pig heading to slaughter. Dabin couldn't stand the noise, a monstrous, gut-wrenching sound. He raised his blade above his head and buried it into the draugr's golden eyes. The screaming stopped. The limbs froze. It laid still, as all skeletons should. He heard more croaking noises from where the first draugr emerged. One of the draugr's dismembered arms lay eerily still in his path; he kicked it to make sure it had no life; if he was going to face more of those monsters, he needed to be sure he could kill them. He sheathed his blade and drew his now famous bow. A long, red-stained bow with a string so tight only Dabin himself could pull it. They say the bow's red color deepened with each kill; however, after two wars and countless skirmishes, the once vibrant red weapon was now almost black.

With his bow, he approached what he now understood to be a large crypt. A long set of stairs disappeared into the darkness. He could hear the ominous groaning echo up the stone staircase. Dabin carefully tied his lantern to the front of his bow so it wouldn't interrupt his arrows and slunk into the crypt."

"Dabin's bow is a treasure I would love to find," Vidmar said after Vatis paused. "Not my weapon of choice, but a find worthy of retirement."

"Yeah, now that's a treasure," Taldor said.

Hobb remained silent. Vatis picked a piece of meat out of his teeth with his fingernail.

"Sorry, Vatis," Vidmar said. "Please continue."

Vatis nodded his thanks.

"Dabin's lantern provided little aid in the cold, damp darkness. He had to rely on sound. Fortunately, draugr didn't seem to be the kind of monsters that snuck up on their prey but the kind of beasts that relied on petrified terror to envelop their victims. The further Dabin ventured into the crypt, the louder the noises became.

He found himself in the main chamber of the crypt; he couldn't tell how large the room was or if there was more than one room. He searched the chamber slowly but paid little heed to objects lower than his waist. He tripped, nearly crashing into the floor; luckily, he found his balance before a catastrophe occurred, but not before he made enough noise to alert the entire crypt of his presence. He scanned the floor for the cause of his misfortune. The body of a farmer lay two steps behind him, a non-decayed, mostly intact body, certainly one of the men who had gone missing.

Dabin had no time to examine it. The creepy, humming, croaking noises escalated to dreadful screeching. A pair of golden eyes charge at Dabin from his right. On instinct, Dabin fired his bow, landing his shot directly between the only thing he could see, the draugr's eyes. Fortunately for Dabin, the creature's eyes were illuminated in the darkness either by some strange necromancy or ancient magic that revived the draugr in the first place. Another pair of eyes charged from his left, moving much faster than the first. He drew an arrow and fired. The yellow eyes faded into the darkness. Steel armor clattered to the ground, echoing throughout the cavernous crypt. Two sets of eyes charged at him simultaneously, one from the front and the other from his right. He notched one arrow and sent it soaring into one of the rapidly charging eyes. The draugr groaned slightly and collapsed. The second pair of eyes became a dust-covered, skeletal monster in the dim lantern light. It charged recklessly with no regard for its safety. Brittle teeth broke as they sunk into Dabin's forearm before he could fire his second shot. He drew a dagger from his belt and buried it sideways in the monster's skull. The head popped off the body and bounced onto the floor. Dabin picked a tooth out of the deep, jagged bite. The crypt was silent."

Vatis sipped his drink. Vatis's exaggerated swallowing and the crackling fire were the only sounds around the table. Taldor and Vidmar were as attentive as ever; even Hobb had become enthralled by the story as the fire grew worryingly low.

"Dabin dressed his wound quickly. As he finished tying the bandage, he heard a muffled cry toward the back of the crypt. It didn't sound like another draugr, but he searched cautiously. He scanned the floor as he followed the soft, sad noise. He found a pile of three bodies lined up near the man he tripped over. A man, a woman, and a child lay atop one another, obviously dead. Chunks of flesh were missing from their faces and necks. I won't describe it in much more detail; let me simply say it was a horrifying scene," Vatis said, covering his eyes.

"Dabin wept a silent prayer for each of the victims, but before he could finish, the crying grew louder like a child looking for her mother. Wasn't there more than one child missing? He thought. He scrambled to his feet and walked purposefully toward the noise. He reached the back wall; the crying was almost on top of him now. His lantern swayed noisily on the end of his bow; dull-orange light flashed like lightning on the walls. Then, he found her; a girl, no more than nine. She was huddled in the corner. Dried blood crusted over her dirty, pale skin from a wound on her shoulder. She opened her mouth to scream and tried to force her way back through the wall like a cornered animal. Dabin untied his lantern, slung his bow over his shoulder, and knelt beside her. 'I'm not going to hurt you,' he said, trying to reassure her. 'I've got some medicine that might help that.' He pointed to the wound on her shoulder. The girl scooted closer. 'What's your name?' Dabin asked. The girl didn't answer. He attempted to apply the medicine, but she recoiled back into the corner. 'Look,' he said. He unwrapped his wound and applied some of the medicine to it. The girl's terrified expression softened, and she scooted closer. 'Tany,' she growled like her voice hadn't been used in days. 'My name is Tany,' she said, turning toward Dabin. 'How long have you been down here, Tany?' Dabin applied a generous amount of his medicine to her wound. The black flesh was warm to the touch. 'Days, weeks, I'm not sure,' she cried. 'Did, did you kill them?'"

Taldor's mouth hung open. Vidmar stared at the bottom of his empty mug. Hobb scratched the grey stubble on his chin. His audience was captivated. There was no better feeling in the world; Vatis smirked.

"Dabin paused before he answered. He wasn't sure if he had killed them or temporarily stopped them; he didn't know how they came back to life in the first place. 'I think so,' he said. 'But we have to get out of here.' Tany struggled to stand. 'Let me carry you. The faster we are out of here, the better.' Tany nodded. Dabin picked the scrawny, dirt-covered girl up. 'Can you hold the lantern?' Dabin asked. Tany nodded eagerly. Dabin worked his way through the dim cavern, listening intently for the terrifying croaking of the draugr. Tany squealed when she saw the pile of bodies, nearly dropping the lantern. 'I will come back for them. I will not leave them to rot with these monsters,' Dabin said. Tany turned her face into Dabin's chest and cried. A few seemingly endless moments later, they reached the top of the stairs. Dabin carefully set Tany on the ground and pulled himself out of the crypt. The graveyard was silent; no crows cawing, no crickets chirping, no wind rustling the tall grass. An eerie silence, a dead silence. 'Come here, Tany,' Dabin said as he picked up the small girl. 'Hold on tight.' Dabin raced back to town, running as fast as his sore legs would allow."

Vatis stopped abruptly, not pausing for dramatic effect, but because a sudden strange feeling overcame him, like the feeling that he had forgotten something horribly important. It took his breath away. What is it? He thought. He could feel his face redden.

"You alright, Vatis?" Vidmar asked.

"Yeah, you don't look so good," Taldor added.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Vatis said unassumingly. "I think it's the drink."

"Ah, I told you that stuff was best used as a disinfectant. It will burn a whole right through your gut if you don't have the stomach for it," Hobb said. The old man slowly stood and walked into the kitchen as soon as his joints stopped popping. "I'll get you some bread."

"I'll get water," Taldor said, nearly jumping out of his seat. He ran out the door to the well.

"You've only had half a mug. Are you sure it's the liquor?" Vidmar asked.

"It's not the liquor, Vidmar. I don't know how to explain it. Something just feels off."

"We've been through a lot in the last few days," Vidmar said.

"It must all be catching up to me," Vatis said, looking away from Vidmar.

Seconds later, Hobb returned with a thick slice of brown bread, and Taldor followed closely behind with a pitcher of water. "Thank you," Vatis said, taking a large bite of the bread and washing it down with three hearty swallows of water. "Thank you," he repeated. He shook his head like he was trying to stay awake. "Now, where was I?"

"Dabin was running back to town," Taldor said excitedly.

"Right, thank you again, Taldor. "Dabin was greeted by the mayor and a few farmers holding pitchforks, torches, and axes. 'Tany, Tany, is that you?' one of the farmers cried. He dropped his axe and ran to meet them. Dabin set the girl on her feet. She shook momentarily before she was enveloped in a loving embrace. 'Pa,' she cried. 'I thought I lost you,' her father sobbed. 'Oh Tany, I'm so happy you're alright.' They held each other for a long time, relishing the unexpected reunion. The mayor and other farmers smiled briefly as they watched Tany and her father, but soon, they looked longingly to Dabin for news of their loved ones. Dabin didn't need them to speak to know their question; he solemnly shook his head and looked away. A few broke down, and others returned to their homes, but the mayor stayed.

'Did you rid us of this monster,' he asked. Dabin took a moment before answering. 'It was draugr, there were many of them. I am going to retrieve the bodies from the crypt, then burn it. For the moment, they are stopped, but I do not know if they will come back, and all the old stories say to slay draugr with fire.' The mayor's jaw dropped; his mouth hung open like a cave. 'Draugr," he finally said. 'But how? Draugr aren't real.' 'Tell that to Tany and to those who lost their loved ones. Draugr are real. I didn't believe it until tonight, but the stories we were told as children might have more truth than we suspect. The question is why are the waking after laying dormant for so long?' Dabin said. The mayor shook his head in disbelief. 'Draugr. I don't believe it.' 'Come to the crypt with me and see them for yourself.' The mayor thought for a moment, acting like he was considering going with Dabin. 'I will stay and inform the town that the menace is taken care of; I think you can take care of the rest alone.'

Dabin nodded and proceeded with his task. He watched the fire burn long into the following day. He returned the dead to their families, extending his sympathy and apologizing for not arriving sooner. Dabin left Curma the same way he entered, with a sword on his belt, a bow on his back, and a question on his heart. When he arrived, the question was: 'What happened to these poor townsfolk?' but now the question was: 'How did these monsters wake up, and who was behind it?'"

Read More of Vatis’s Stories in Tales & Treasure