"And Riding Hood walked slowly while the wolf raced to her grandmother's house. The trees started growing denser, and long shadows were cast. Riding Hood, who believed herself to be brave, was having second thoughts about coming here alone. Then, abruptly, she heard a stick breaking near her. She frantically turned her head, and she saw..." Vars said, building her tension.
Bosto and Guso were completely immersed in the story, barely moving a muscle.
"A knight in shining armour. The sun reflected off his shining steel, and he looked at the girl from the slits of his helmet. 'What purpose do you have walking in these forests alone?' he asked, glancing around. Riding Hood shrieked partly from the knight's loud, straightforward tone and partly because of the stain of blood that painted his lower leg. She explained in a hurried tone about her sick grandmother."
"Straight to the point and alert. The true mark of a soldier!" Bosto thought.
"Walking around the forest in his heavy armour must require exceptional physical prowess. I wish I could be like that one day..." Guso thought, looking at his bare belly.
"...Knock, knock, knock. Hurried sounds from the front door. 'Who is it disturbing my sleep time...?' Grandma thought, annoyed. 'Who is it!' she asked from the other side of the door. 'It's me, your granddaughter. I've brought you food, Grandma,' the wolf said in a disturbingly human tone.
The grandma knew the tone of the little girl very well, and she asked again, 'You don't sound right, dear...' The wolf once again said in a similar tone, 'I have a bad throat, Grandma! Open the door, the food is getting cold,' he said..."
"That cunning little shit. I hate those pesky Embodiments... preying on innocent souls," Bosto thought, grunting loudly.
Then he and Guso listened as Vars described how the wolf swallowed her down into his stomach in excruciating detail. Vars also made it a point that he 'swallowed' her and didn't 'eat' her. He knew Bosto would question this decision, so he sped up, giving Bosto no time to question.
"Then Riding Hood wished the knight goodbye and eventually, after some time, reached her grandma's. The door was ajar. Riding Hood carefully peeked inside, and all she saw was darkness and the bed tucked away in the corner of the room.
'Grandma...' she said in a feeble tone, stepping inside. 'Oh, sweetie, you have arrived, I see,' the wolf said, tucking itself away in the bedclothes. Riding Hood knew that her grandma didn't sound like that. If she was sick, she would never sound like that. Something was very wrong...
She took a deep breath and tried to take a step back, but her basket hit the door. The wolf's sharp ears picked up on the sound immediately. 'Where are you going, dear? Won't you feed your old, weak grandma?' he asked. Again, that inhuman voice. She gathered her thoughts for a second, gently placed the basket on the floor, and began to step out once more.
'I am sick as well, Grandma. I'll leave the food on the floor. Bye!' she said as she took off. The wolf was no fool, and sensing the girl's doubt and distress, he jumped out from the bed and, on all fours, dashed towards her. The girl, trying her best, couldn't outrun the savage beast. A gut-wrenching scream followed as she too was swallowed whole," Vars said in a sad tone. He tried to invoke a feeling of sadness and loss.
Guso and Bosto let out sighs in succession. They were obviously sad that the little girl and the grandma were swallowed by the wolf and would be subsequently eaten.
"Poor girl, but—there wasn't much she could do. Sometimes making the best decisions and giving your all doesn't pay off in the end..." Guso said, getting up from the table.
"These people are so empathetic. Perfect people to tell stories to!" Vars happily rejoiced.
"The wolf smelled the food from the basket that Riding Hood had left on the floor when she took off. He licked his fur-covered lips and started walking towards it... But just as he touched the door, a knife impaled itself in his back, drawing a stream of blood. The wolf turned around on instinct but was only met by a sword that cut his ear off.
'Knight!' he exclaimed in fury as he tried to slash at him with his claws. The knight, being a seasoned veteran, knew his armour would only be scratched by such an attack, so he didn't pay it any mind. He lifted his sword above the wolf's head with both hands on its hilt and stabbed it straight down, piercing him with his pristine blade.
The wolf died on the spot and fell sideways. A pool of blood was gushing out from the open wound. 'Savage beast! This is what you deserve!' the knight said as he cut the wolf's stomach open, freeing Riding Hood and her grandma. They both were overjoyed and thanked him profusely.
'But how did you know where we were?' Riding Hood asked, wiping some blood from her sandals. 'Do you perhaps think I'm deaf? Obviously, I heard the scream you let out. I ran as fast as I could, and thankfully, I came before it was too late.'"
Vars narrated that section with masterful attention to detail. He first talked slowly and in a monotonous tone, then, just as the knight appeared to fight, his voice grew louder and filled with vigour, culminating when the knight killed the wolf.
It was like throwing the listener into a pool of despair, and just as they were about to drown, he pulled them back up and placed them on the throne of satisfaction.
Guso, who was mid-walk, had already paused and was just standing with his eyes widened. Bosto also had an expression of surprise, but he didn't show it as much.
"Of course! How could I forget the knight!" he exclaimed, jumping from his seat like he had solved a great mystery.
"Yeah, it just flew out of my mind for some reason," Guso added.
"Looks like they liked this story as well," Vars thought happily as he got off his seat. "I could probably tell the tale to other people too. It's still a little early before bedtime. I think I could fit one or two more storytelling sessions in."
"That was amazing! Oh, I'm so going to brag about this to everyone I meet tomorrow!" Guso happily remarked as he went inside his store.
Bosto also seemed enthusiastic to share his opinion on the tale, but as he was about to speak, he paused and collected his thoughts. He then smiled faintly and said,
"I'm getting old. I've had my fair share of dangerous experiences. One time I almost got mauled by a wild bear. One time an outsider turned out to be a murderer, so me and two other guys chased him around town with nothing but wooden clubs while he had a short sword... I got a scar from that encounter," he said, lifting his shirt to reveal a small expanse of dark brown scar tissue.
"I've had brawls with drunkards. Gotten drunk myself and fought one too many trees to be considered coincidental," he said, chuckling a little.
"But that 'tale' or whatever you told me just now gave me that same high that all of those other moments had... and that is something really special. Young man, I know you're just an outsider, but you've already left a lasting impression. One that I'm sure I'll never forget," he said, finally concluding.
Vars was taken aback. He had heard his fair share of praise from everyone. William, Venie, and everyone he bumped into said how much they enjoyed his stories. But hearing it phrased like this by Bosto filled him with a fulfilment that a storyteller dreams of achieving. Vars also smiled. He knew that just as Bosto wouldn't forget the story, he wouldn't forget Bosto's praise.