Splitting up, the group explored the rest of the town, keeping in constant communication with each other in case the culprit was still nearby. A foul smell pulled Lauri’s attention as she wandered down an alley, noticing brown splatters covering a nearby wall as she picked her way down. Her boot caught something, so the mage following her illuminated the area with his magic and looked down. They jerked back in shock. Lying on the ground before them was a body. Heavy lacerations would have been the main cause of death, but what worried her was that the bone was scarred. Some weapon had been used with an unsettling amount of force.
“He must have run down here trying to get away,” the mage reasoned, “being hit as he ran.” His analysis sounded firm, but that’s not what was still worrying her.
“Whatever chased him was fast.” She pointed out the starting point of the wounds; they curved around the front of the body. The assailant would have needed to be faster than the victim to manage such a feat.
“That’s odd, there are no flies either.” Lauri hadn’t really noticed that fact, but it was unusual. The bothersome insects would normally be all over the body. For them to be absent, there was something wrong with this situation, something unnatural.
“Let’s re-join with the others.” The mage did not disagree, being in such a small group made them vulnerable.
After investigating their regions of the town, they regrouped and reported their findings. Multiple bodies had been reported, all sporting the same injuries and a similarly noted lack of flies around the corpses. Her next order would sound like madness after this development, she was even uncomfortable about it herself. “We must investigate the Commons ourselves,” she said plainly, trying to hide her own fears. The group, however, weren’t so quick to hide their resentment of the idea. “Three hours searching, then we head for home,” Lauri added quickly, calming the crowd. They had seen enough, but she knew that they had to at least try and find evidence of what attacked Wintergate, or whom.
Tentatively, they exited the gate in the south of the town as Lauri took note of the time they left with a pocket watch. The sky became increasingly dark as they proceeded along. Hardy grass stubs still remained alive here. It was evident the storm had not spread up to this direction yet. Expanses of black rolled out before their eyes, and the stench of death was overwhelming, but they had to push on, their minds screaming for them to leave. Bizarre lightning crackled in the clouds above. Judging by the grim expressions of their companion mages, Lauri knew this not to be ordinary lightning, however. It was mana lashing through the skies. She checked the watch regularly, trying to reassure herself that it would not be long before they could leave this forsaken place. Despite the sun being blotted out by the suffocating cloud, the area was bathed in an eerie purple light of no obvious source. The glow was dim, but it provided enough light to see their surroundings, though all it revealed was further blackness as far as the eye could see.
Nothing could live in this burnt wasteland, not even the hardiest of fauna.
Lauri suddenly stopped the group. The wary humans glanced around nervously, unsure what caused her to halt their advance. Low pitched hissing became audible, carried by the winds to their ears; the sound appeared to be coming from all angles, surrounding them. Watching their fear, the hissing turned to a chorus of rasping laughter, light footsteps emerging above the song. She ordered the group to form up: a circle protecting the mages with the Rangers creating a ring of blades, ready to attack whatever comes near.
The situation remained unchanged for an agonising period of time. Their assailants still remaining hidden in the dim light. A sudden change in sound indicated that one of their attackers had broken rank somewhere to the north of them. They tensed, the mages preparing spells to batter their opponents with.
With a blinding flash of speed, a strange quadruped creature emerged and threw itself at the waiting ranks of the Rangers. Its target, however, did not seem to be the Rangers. Instead, it knocked them down with its thin, sharp legs and dived at the startled mage behind them. It reached for him with a pair of long, scythe-like appendages that anchored onto its bright orange underbelly. Pushing back up, the flattened Rangers drove their blades into the underside of the creature, but it did not flinch, dragging them with it as it continued after the mage. He frantically tried to repel it with blasts of wind, throwing them one after the other at the towering creature. It lurched back at the force of the oncoming wind but otherwise appeared unfazed; no wounds were visible on its vibrantly coloured body. Crimson crystals attached to the creature’s back flared, sending mana racing around its skin before it erupted into flames. Cackling, it charged after the terrified mage, leaving the wiser Rangers behind on the floor.
Before Lauri had time to react to the arrival of the first creature, several more emerged and similarly charged the protected mages, causing panic within the formation. The results of the mages’ desperate defence came out the same; the powerful spells just bounced off the creatures, leaving them unharmed. Shrieks filled the air as the floor became decorated with blood, the creatures’ horrid scythes tearing into the flesh of their unfortunate victims as they bore down on them. The now burning mage cried desperately as he rolled on the floor, trying to extinguish the engulfing flames. It was in vain, however; the one that had set him alight drove a leg straight through his heart as he flailed, stopping the rolling body still.
The Rangers became aware that their blades were proving useless on the unstoppable creatures, simply stabbing into thick skin without hitting anything vital.
“Attack the crystals!” Lauri shouted as a last ditch effort, but it was too late. Conjured darkness enveloped the group, cutting their visibility and only chance of surviving. The sphere of gloom muffled the screams of the dying, smothering everything in a chilling black smoke.
The expedition was no more.
Chapter 4: Trepidation
A few weeks had passed since the departure of the expedition and tensions were growing rife. They should have returned within a few days of setting off at maximum. It was becoming obvious to the racial leaders that something was very wrong and they had no idea what, which worried them more than anything. Reports of missing persons and peculiar creatures had started to reach the ears of the civilians of the East, causing anxiety within the towns. The leaders tried their best to calm the worries raised but found it difficult to continue lying through their teeth. Sooner or later the truth would have to emerge, regardless of the consequences.
Sebastian stared out of a window, overlooking the sea to the east, deep in thought. He could not stand idly by while this unfolded in front of him, but his ability to act was limited.
“You should try contacting the West,” Iomor spoke from behind him. The demon continued to stare out of the window, letting out a long sigh.
“There’s no guarantee they’ll help us, they distrust my bloodline,” Sebastian replied solemnly, turning to face the demon he was addressing. Iomor was clad in full armour, as usual, a helmet lay stashed under one arm, revealing his stern expression. The flood of news had not shown an effect on the commander, his demeanour was always serious.
“You are not your father; they might be willing, considering the situation.” His father had been a despicable tyrant, one who caused a lot of damage to the demon communities, often killing those who disagreed with him. He was never sure of the full details, but he knew the West was heavily assaulted by angels one year. Refusing to send help, his father had just left them to die. They managed to recover; cutting all ties, they had with the East and have since been cold to any attempts to reconnect with them.
The King just sighed, he could not leave Shadekeep at this time to investigate himself. Sending a sizable force out directly from here could panic people unduly. There was little he could do but plead to the West to help.
“It would be best to send an emissary as opposed to just a penned letter,” Sebastian spoke after a period of silence, but the question remained of whom the task would f
all to, his own son was a logical choice.
“You wish to send Ciel, though I would send Drake with him at least if you do.” Drake was Kaiser’s son who was equally as powerful as his father. It would be a good escort for his son, the two were good friends and fought together well. He had no doubt that his own son could hold his own, but he would rather not take the risk in case something did happen.
“Should I send Solomon with them as well?” he enquired. Seeing Iomor shake his head he took the answer to be no, he was still needed here. The silence between them remained for a few minutes more; taking the hint Sebastian had nothing more to say, Iomor bowed to the King and left. He still had much to oversee.
* * *
Life appeared to progress as normal within the guarding walls of Aelburn. Thardosean had kept his actions of building an army well hidden. The Ranger’s Guild and the Magi Council had barely talked to each other since the expedition had failed to return; the Rangers blamed the Council for the vain loss of life that occurred, often ignoring the fact that they too had lost members lost in the tragedy. Ferdan had taken a temporary leave from the Council, their deaths rested heavily on his shoulders, and he blamed only himself for it. He could not let their deaths be wasted, though, he was determined more than ever to find out what happened and to get justice for them, for Lauri. Alone he was not much use, however, four of the Council’s stronger members had not returned from the journey.
Loud knocking startled him, waking him up. It was still early morning, and he was not expecting guests, not at this hour. Groggily, he hoisted himself from the bed and covered his night clothes with his robes before walking over and opening the door, surprised by the sight in front of him. Two of Thardosean’s high ranking knights stood before him. Surely the King did not intend to put him to death over the incident?
They remained quiet for a moment while one of them teased out a missive which bore the royal seal, handing it over to the shocked mage. Without a single word escaping their lips, they left, leaving Ferdan stunned in the doorway. Silently closing the door behind him, he sat back down on his bed, his fingers eagerly fiddling to undo the wax seal keeping the envelope shut. It eventually broke off, allowing him access to the contents inside. A single letter and nothing more.
He tugged it out and began to read it, a grin spreading across his face as he progressed. The King had managed to find out that Sebastian had sent his son as an emissary to the West, to extract what information he could about the events that occurred. It was almost if the King had read his mind!
Wasting no time, he properly dressed, lining his empty pouches with medicines and other such potions and grabbed his staff. While such an item was unnecessary for general magical manipulation, they were undoubtedly efficient at boosting and focusing mana for extraordinary effect, but it required training to use one correctly. He stuck a hastily scribbled note onto the door as he shut it behind him and set a course for the academy’s stables, it would be much faster to catch up on horseback.
The stable hands were taken by surprise at Ferdan’s unannounced appearance so early in the morning, scrambling to get a horse ready for the journey. A dusky mare stood before him, its deep brown eyes regarding him intently as he rubbed its neck. He felt it was matching, considering those who he intended to meet up with. A leather saddle was fitted onto the back of the horse; it was decorated with golden thread and looked rather ornate, obviously intended to announce his rank to whoever laid their eyes on it. Ferdan half thought about asking for them to change it for a less garish one, but he would have to leave soon to catch up to the demon while his location was still obvious.
Once he was given the go-ahead, he climbed onto the horse and nearly lost his balance. He narrowly avoided falling off the other side. Ferdan had never been much of a rider. The stable hands filled saddlebags with wrapped food parcels and water skins for his trek. He was glad, as in his eagerness he had forgotten to pack any rations for the journey.
They led him to the northern gate and waved him off, wishing him a safe journey. He waved back with a smile before grabbing the reins tightly, leading the horse into a canter across the grassy plain. Being on horseback, he would need to loop around the northern edge of the Skyrend Mountains, as opposed to using the narrow passageway directly through them. The most direct route was to stay at the foot of the mountains, passing by the lake that supplied the many nearby settlements with fresh drinking water. Early in the morning, the route should be quiet, as most did not venture out for water until later in the day.
Grassland and scattered crop fields continually spread out as he advanced on, briefly allowing the animal a drink from the lake before they broke out onto the open coastal cliffs. Ferdan hoped that he was not too far behind. He would have a hard time locating Ciel if he reached the swamps before him. The forest that was present to his left was his main hope of connecting with him. Thardosean’s letter indicated that he intended to stop in Springhollow before continuing on.
Changing the horse’s canter into a gallop, he pushed on, though he could feel the animal was starting to strain. It had been walking near consistently since leaving Aelburn a few hours ago. Once he caught up the horse could retain a more relaxed trot and still keep pace with a demon.
Trees grew nearer and nearer, as well as the expanse of land that was the Isthmus. The sea lashed at its steep cliffs, sending spray high into the air. It would not be an enjoyable journey crossing it today. He worried how the demon would cope with the wind strongly buffeting his wings.
Just as he was about to enter the forest, a pair of dark figures caught his eye on the Isthmus. As far as he knew Ciel was travelling alone; although it was more than just coincidence that there were demons crossing the land bridge around the same time he knew Ciel should be in the area. Ferdan changed the horse’s course from the trees in favour of the two he saw in front of him. The strong wind became apparent as he lost the cover of the trees, nearly knocking the horse over as it suddenly slammed into them. Utilising his own magic to counteract the push, he nudged the frightened horse forward. Unable to feel the wind it obliged, not understanding that the wind had not completely disappeared.
He called out to them over the blasts of wind, though from the way they had stopped early he knew that his presence was already known. Coming up a few feet from them he watched them turn around. The smaller one he took to be Ciel, he looked rather similar to his father and the larger one he was unsure on. Judging by his physique Ferdan could put a good guess on who he was related to, however. With a sweeping motion of his staff, he extended his wind-nulling spell over them, something which was a relief from their expressions.
“I assume you are Ciel,” Ferdan directed at the smaller of the demons, who stiffened slightly at the question.
“What is it to you?” Ciel responded, fazed by the fact the human knew his name and by relation, his appearance.
“I wish to join you, I have already been informed of your intent.” Ciel was confused by his words, as the fact they were heading west was not a discussed fact. “I was the one who organised for the original expedition,” Ferdan added. It acted to clear up his confusion, but the demon was still wary of him. Such a thing was understandable, he had just appeared from nowhere and demanded to come with them. It likely came over rather suspect. The other demon spoke quietly in their native tongue towards Ciel, or as quietly as he could manage given his stature.
Regardless, his words appeared to be relaxing him.
“May I ask your name?” Ferdan enquired to the other demon. He stood much taller than Ciel as well as noticeably thicker, and from the way they were stood, he assumed that the demon had been acting as a windbreak, with his weight keeping him anchored to the bridge. His legs were also a very prominent feature of his body; they more resembled the hind leg of an animal such as a deer than the straight legs of a humanoid, the hoof replaced with a splayed four-toed foot with stubby claws. The connecting bone was thick and impressive, it would require a potent blow to knock h
im off his feet. Bulky hands attached at the end of well-muscled arms. The fingers were long and sharp, but from Ferdan’s knowledge, it was at the cost of his manual dexterity; not that the demon would be needing the use of weapons anytime soon with the raw power of such a body. Pointed horns emerged from his short hair in an upward direction. It came over as an odd way for horns to grow, but he imagined it had its use.
The stocky demon thought on whether to answer the question, the stranger had yet to give his own name. “It’s Drake,” he replied, his voice was deep but clear, “now tell us your name, Mage.” It came over unintentionally cold. Drake’s expression was warmer than his voice, something that Ferdan had noticed.
“It is Ferdan, I am one of the head magi of the Council,” the mage smiled, beckoning back to the path. “Shall we continue while my mana reserves are still fresh?” The pair in front of him quickly remembered that the lack of wind being an effect of the spell he was maintaining. Ciel waved him over to join them, and they continued down the path, chattering as they went.
Chapter 5: Encounters in the Swamp
It was a normal day as far as the residents of Linlake were concerned. The slight chill in the air was a reminder that summer was fading away and the icy grip of winter would soon follow. Linlake itself was relatively quiet, most of the demons had already left to stock up on food and other materials while the harvest was still plentiful. Once winter came, food was hard to find and the bitter conditions ripped at the demons’ wings, limiting the time they can safely stay outside. Amnur had opted to stay within the village today, helping the other remaining villagers with preparing and preserving food. The main source of food was fish, although sometimes meat was brought back when someone had managed to locate prey. Meat animals tended to graze in the areas around Valmeadow and Esterbrook; neither village appreciated hunters from Linlake taking animals from within their lands. The food situation was as bad in all three villages, without one depriving the other. Due to its close proximity to lakes and rivers, Linlake, however, was blessed with a plentiful supply of fish during the warmer months. Winter often saw the lakes frozen over, reducing the availability of food.
Skies of Fyir Box Set Page 24
