Voyis splayed his fingers to send the formation wide and open and crawled forward to get a higher vantage point of the situation. Spymaster Kita had received reports that the rapid pace of the spread of the blight had led to panic and chaos. This could be no more obvious than looking out over the flames that burned the dry and warm wheat fields that burned away the food that could save so many. That was no matter to Voyis though. He knew his mission. Reports on the Commander’s desk had mentioned an abandoned convoy from merchants from the west. As a little added bonus, one local also reported that some of the farm families out here had been forced to leave behind a cache of supplies meant for dangers just like these. He knew if he could split his squad up, he might be able to bring in a double bounty.
Rainn slid up on her belly next to Voyis and they took turns looking through the spy glass. “I can move fastest on my own.” Rainn mentioned as they watched the wave of fire advance over the still unburned fields.
Voyis nodded. “A little contest then? You go one way and I go the other. We can let the squad watch.” He says and then hesitates, knowing it is quite foolish for this moment to be a challenge of skill and bravado.
Just then, Voyis noticed a heard of what could have been horses, though their bodies looked mutilated, still alive. If it wasn’t for all the terror he’d seen in his long life of battle, all that his supposed curse had brought before him, he might have reacted quite similar to the Ember Wolves Squad that all held their breath and got into defensive formation.
Voyis called out, “Emerald to the rear. The rest of you, firing line to keep them at bay!” He drew his sword and slammed it against his shield as he separated from the unit to tangle with a couple of the twisted horses that moved around to flank them. He didn’t slow as he moved right under one of them and as it tried to bite down and kick at him, his shield did not just move up to parry, but actually it hammered right under the neck of the beast and sent its head back in a literal neck snapping speed. It collapsed as he rolled out of the way of the falling body and engaged the next horse.
Meanwhile, on the other flank, Rainn placed expert Black Arrows in the other flanking horse monstrosities. She ran like the wind through the tall grasses to seek the perfect shot through what looked like their weakened necks.
The Ember Wolves lined up and pulled their triggers as they poured fire into the remaining creatures that started to charge their formation. One managed to get through the deluge as the front line attempted to draw their weapons in time to face the big puss filled, boil covered horse. Just as it looked as though the hooves would stomp down upon Cer’tan, Emerald rolled into the fit with a nimble move and fired off her pistol into the flank of the thing.
It was just enough of a distraction as Cer’tan got his battle axe free and swung with all his might to cleave the head of the thing clean off.
They all stood in silence, panting, as Voyis dispatched the final creature and turned to face his allies, the grass fires blazing behind him and setting him to look like some kind of blood covered devil. The heat even from here could be felt and time was really the most valuable asset here.
“Let’s move. We’ll do it as Rainn suggested. We all head for the main cache of the merchants. Rainn, you sneak your way behind the fires and find whatever the locals left behind.” He put his metal shield on his back, knowing that for the most part, the metal would not help him when the searing heat of the flames got close enough to him.
The Ember Wolves watched as Rainn nodded and smiled, up to the challenge. Each of them saluted her and gave her a silent nod of respect as she slipped away into the tall grasses that had yet to be burned in the ever-expanding wild fires.
Rainn kept her bow in hand but relied upon the soft steps of her feet to move like a ghost. As she rounded around the expansive fires, it looked like a barren waste of a place of evil where no plants grow. At the first strange sound, Rainn dove face first into the ground and low crawled her way to a ditch. She immediately worked the mud and dirt and burnt brush over her body and her clothes. She was not alone. She was without her friends and allies and the great brush fire now separated them entirely. If whatever thing was faster than her, she was toast.
That’s when she saw it as she lay in that ditch, a great and powerful three headed flying beast roamed the skies, out of sight of her friends due to the thick smoke of the brush fire.
She nocked an arrow and prepared herself as she breathed slowly and took aim, remaining as out of sight as she could with her new camouflage. The thing was nearly twenty feet long and its wing span would shadow an entire squad. She watched and waited, knowing that when she loosed the arrow, it would see her and it would have all the advantage.
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She waited an agonizing minute and then another as she loosened her grasp on the air and relaxed the tension, waiting to see if this thing would take notice of her.
--
Meanwhile, Voyis and Emerald pushed the squad into the heat of the fiery brush. Emerald stepped up as the heat of Voyis’s metal armor distracted him. “We need to build a fire break. Come on, this way, help me, Cer’tan.” Emerald pulled out some of the spare gear the squad had and started to dig. Several members of the Ember Wolves, led by the burly and Cer’tan began to dig a ditch and pull out kindling that should redirect the fire.
It was a difficult challenge as the winds blew and made the fires move in ways that none of the people here could quite understand. Voyis drive forth after peeling away his metal chest plate, already seeing his skin red underneath it and a fresh sheen of sweat soaking his under shirt.
The flames shot out as a new area of grass quickly started to burn. Cer’tan and Emerald worked hard but now this new wave started to surround them. Voyis saw this happening and poured water on some cloth, wrapped it around his face and fore arms and started making his way through the flames as he grunted with the heat now melting some of his skin. It was not the first time he’d been burned. Many years ago, in his service to the Council of Aldermark, when that was still a body of government, he’d fought a battle to save one of their members through a burning house.
Emerald had assumed a safe position to breathe and instructed Cer’tan to do the same, but his mind seemed to have shattered by the stress of this situation. Voyis appeared, eye brows and hair still cooking a bit as he grabbed both of them with his big, wrapped arms. He pulled and quickly convinced them with a grunt of command as he got them moving. They all made their way to the edge of the major flame wall and he exhaled and gave them both a nudge as the three of them did the best to jump their way through the flames. They landed on the other side exhausted and covered in soot.
Emerald, Cer’tan, and Voyis were now in no condition to continue, at least not immediately. They lay on their backs, exhausted and trying to sip water and wipe away the soot from their bodies as the rest of the squad gained the opportunity to prove themselves. They’d faced some of the greatest dangers of all the legion since Etternmark Fields, and the Ember Wolves were no strangers to fire. They built a new fire break with half the men and women as before, but clearly, the merchant’s supplies and carts ahead were in danger of being over taken by the fire as well.
Cer’tan got to his feet, put his hands on his knees and determined to rescue a cart of the supplies. “Stack up anything that is most valuable on the one cart and I’ll take it out of here!” He commanded to the rest of the squad and even the moody Calaban Solo moved to stack it high.
Minutes passed as the flames licked closer and higher around them, turning the little zone into a hell scape of smoke, flames, and embers. Cer’tan got on the front of the cart like a damned horse out of hell and started to pull with the squad giving him a starting push.
The flames closed in ahead as the squad advanced and stomped on the advancing flame, burning the bottoms of their feet. Cer’tan kept moving with the endurance of an ox as he pulled the cart free and out of the immediate danger. He didn’t stop there as he kept his momentum going and his muscles bulged with effort.
Emerald and Voyis stepped in to provide the assistance at the final fire break as the cart cleared the area and Cer’tan collapsed, looking like he had fought a war through hell after the last few minutes. They began to trudge out, exhausted, sweating, and fire licked.
Emerald looked to the edge of the fire as they marched out. “Do you think Rainn made it to the supplies?” Not stating the question on her mind of if Rainn had survived the ordeals.
--
Rainn kept her bow and black arrow in her hands as she slowly crawled on her belly deeper into the burnt brush, her application of mud and debris making her look like a ghost in the ashen soot. At times, an ember from the fires that had come through here burned into her stomach, legs, or arms. She gritted her teeth but kept her mouth closed, trying to hide the whites of them from notice.
The area was clear of the Broken spare the Chimera flying overhead. Pass after pass she had to wonder if these would be her last moments, slow progress as she slipped on into the area near where the farmer’s cache was said to be.
Finally, she got her answer.
The Chimera started to swoop down and squeal as it got bigger and bigger in Rainn’s vision. She quickly kicked up and knocked the arrow, getting ready to loose her vengeance and take her toll on the flying thing.
Then, she saw it. The true target of the flying predator as a big ox beast loomed and it swooped past her and right to the poor burned creature. With its big claws, it grabbed the creature and flew back up into the sky, the ox making a horrifying sound of torture that Rainn was not likely to forget any time soon.
She took this moment to make a run for it. Her feet made little sound as they crunched into the burned wheat and cindered ash. She lost her footing as she collapsed and fell into a hole in the field. She’d found it, only a twisted ankle and her heart racing as wounds carried forward.
Rainn latched up some of the wood boards of the crates and put the supplies on them as she started to pull on her make shift rope harness as she headed out. She wasn’t the strongest, but she was determined and it seemed as though the main danger had passed.
Voyis and the others had cleaned off at least some of the soot in a nearby stream as he looked at the state of his people. He started to prep some of them to begin a search for Rainn or for her remains. Just then as they got ready to go, Rainn stumbled to them, dragging the sled of supplies and collapsed down exhausted.
Emerald rapidly approached her, a clean wet cloth and tonic in hands and started to tend to her exhaustion.