Abasdarhon's Castle

The hardened hide and stony muscles of the hideous creature could have caused considerable inconvenience to members of the regular army or local hunters, but fortunately, they succumbed to the two-meter blade of a knight's sword. Nevertheless, the battle was long and exhausting, and for a while, the area was filled with the clang of steel and the roar of the demonic spawn. Finally, catching the demon off balance with another swing, the knight lunged forward, driving his full weight into the creature's body, slamming it against the wall of the barn, and with a powerful, practiced movement, he slashed its torso diagonally from shoulder to hip. A couple of moments later, the monster's howl turned into gurgling and wheezing, its body convulsively twitched, clawing at the ground, and finally went limp. Sid stood in a combat stance for a while, weapon at the ready, then whispered a short litany, placed his foot on the shoulder of the limp creature, and with the name of the Creator on his lips, he plunged and twisted his two-handed sword deep into its chest – just in case. Satisfied with the result, he wiped the blood from the blade on a haystack, took off his helmet, took a deep breath, ran his disheveled hair back, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the plate on his vambrace. The armor was slightly dented and scratched in places, but fortunately, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a simple polish and a couple of tools from his field equipment maintenance kit. His muscles ached with fatigue, his bones ached, his head spun, and he was gasping for breath. Not all of these symptoms were caused by the poison – he had become accustomed to some of them and lived with them for decades. Nevertheless, his normal well-being was gradually returning, so he decided not to resort to an antidote for now, unless he suddenly felt worse, instead choosing to pray to the Lord for good health, and at the same time, for the repose of the souls of those whom the monster had managed to kill. Having finished analyzing the current situation, Sid decided to take one last look inside the barn and see what had attracted the demon so much.