Chương 73: Sam

Inside an inn, in one of the coldest regions on the continent, the goblins celebrated boisterously. They drank, ate, laughed and devoured everything they could get their hands on. The humans watched them from a distance, stiff with fear, their hands never straying far from the hilts of their swords.

"They act like animals. Look at the mess they're making", one man whispered.

"Keep your voice down. If they hear you, making a mess will be the least of your worries". Xarath was outside the inn. Sitting on an old barrel, he stared into nothingness with a bored expression, as though the world had nothing left to offer him. A curly-haired boy approached him timidly.

"Sir…aren't you celebrating?" Xarath slowly turned his gaze toward him.

"Celebrating what, exactly?" he replied. The boy shrugged.

"I don't know…whatever those goblins are celebrating". Xarath tilted his head slightly.

"Do I look like a goblin to you?"

"No…" the boy answered. Then he lowered his voice.

"But you seem sad, sir". Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Xarath let out a quiet sigh.

"Sadness…I'm incapable of feeling it".

"You can't feel sadness? How is that possible, sir?"

"To feel sadness, one must first believe that life has value". Then he looked the boy up and down.

"Tell me, child. What is your purpose in life?" The boy thought for a moment before smiling.

"My dream is to inherit my father's inn. Then I'll marry a beautiful woman and have a family". Xarath remained silent for a moment.

"And you call that a dream?"

"Why? Isn't it?" Xarath sighed before speaking in a calm, almost gentle voice.

"Your father works day and night and never has time for you. When you inherit the inn, you'll do the same to your own children. You'll work without end. Work will make you exhausted, irritable, rude, uglier and older". The boy's eyes widened.

"Your wife will suffer the same fate. Love will fade away, and you'll stay together out of habit. Then one day you'll be so old you'll piss yourself, while your children spend day and night running the inn, with no time left to take care of you". Xarath leaned slightly closer.

"And as you're dying, you'll ask yourself: Was this really my life? This mediocrity? Is the meaning of human existence truly this pathetic?" The boy lowered his gaze.

"Then…what should I do, sir?" Xarath slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small vial sealed with a blue cork. He held it out to the boy.

"If you find a better purpose than that, don't drink it. But if you don't…drink". The boy accepted it hesitantly.

"Why?"

"Just do it". Xarath turned and walked away. Several hours later. The innkeeper was scrubbing the filthy floor.

"Disgusting goblins…they relieved themselves in here. It reeks".

"We're lucky they didn't loot the place", his wife replied as she helped him clean. The man suddenly stopped.

"Have you seen Sam?"

"No. Maybe he's in his room".

"I'll go get him so he can help us". He hurried upstairs and opened the bedroom door. Sam was lying on the floor. The man rushed to his side. Blood stained the boy's mouth.

"Sam…Sam!" he screamed, shaking him. But the body was cold. Motionless. Sam was dead. Meanwhile, Xarath walked away with the goblins toward their next destination without ever looking back. As though nothing had happened.