The 24th day of the fourth moon of summer had begun like most other days, just like Marteryaan liked it. Being a guard captain in Meunheil meant that he had a steady stream of problems to attend to, but most of them were quite trivial. He quite fondly remembered the incident, three days ago, when one of his teams stumbled on a young naked couple stuck in a closet. They had done some investigative work, and quickly found that the closet had actually been locked by one of the neighbor's children, who had decided that he had had enough of noise. The interactions between the relatives of the involved parties was quite humorous to his tastes. It was the sort of case that did not involve a lot of paperwork, where no-one got seriously hurt (unless one counted pride), but still required his direct oversight and took skill to resolve correctly.
Marteryaan snickered a bit at the memory as he was making his way the city's western gate. Improper formalities at the gates were probably one of the most common problems that he had to deal with, and although it tended to be especially common during the third moon, it still occurred at least once every few days. He would never admit to it, but he actually modified the protocols slightly every year to ensure that it kept happening, because he believed that it would keep his soldiers sharp. He would not have had the authority to do this if it was not for his family name, but he was not above resorting to using it if necessary.
As he made his way down the main street, he noticed one of the younger recruits running towards him with haste.
"Junior Militiaman Vraak, reporting from the western gate."
Good, he is following protocol.
"Sir, I was dispatched with an urgent request for your presence there. Reason for request was given as 'Direct request from visitor, under oath of relevance'"
"Acknowledged."
He increased his pace to a jog. An urgent request under oath of relevance was not something to be done lightly, as consequences for misusing them were harsh. As a matter of fact, most people were not even aware of the procedure, so it was unlikely that this was not a genuine problem.
As he entered what most called the "interrogation room", he found himself looking at a royal courier with bags under his eyes. His clothes were somewhat dirty, which was indicative of the urgency of the man's request, considering that he had clearly used his waiting time make himself as presentable as he could.
As the man noticed Marteryaan, he immediately spoke a sentence that no captain wanted to hear:
"For your ears only."
"I assume that you know the consequences of the actions that you undertook, should they not have been warranted."
"Yes."
"Understood."
He turned towards the other guards present in the room.
"This man has requested to talk to me exclusively, under oath of relevance. In accordance with the royal decree of 52.W.2.17, I am obligated to grant this request. All agents are hereby ordered to immediately vacate this room, record the occurrence of this request, and deploy all available measures to ensure that the words spoken here during the next hour are not overheard."
As soon as the door closed behind the last guard to leave the room, the courier immediately began to speak.
"Demons have destroyed the villages of Trosten-egerdaal, Vaalreyk-egerdaal, and Mundraak-shardaal. I have verified this personally, and have recorded my observations in this letter, which must be delivered to the Royal Complex without delay. I would do this personally if I could, but as you see, I am in no state to be traveling."
Marteryaan grabbed the letter, went out of the room, and ordered his second in command to deliver it herself using the fastest horse that was available. As much as sending her away would be a hit to city's defense, there were no riders in Meunheil that were as capable as her, including the two couriers that were currently assigned to the city. Having done this, he went back into the interrogation room.
"I have dispatched your letter. Now, please explain further. I have a city to protect, and I need more information."
The courier visibly relaxed.
"Oh, thank the Light for your professionalism. I thought for a second..."
He steadied himself.
"My apologies I'll explain how this happened. I was sent to deliver a letter to Trosten-egerdaal... By the way, who in their right mind uses a royal courier to deliver a letter to a Shaav? I guess that turned out to be a wise decision, huh."
"Anyways, The village is about half a day from here by horse, so I left Meunheil yesterday afternoon. I did not expect that the locals would be able to provide an adequate replacement for my horse, so I thought it would make more sense to spend the night there and come back on the following day."
"When I arrived, I found the village to be completely destroyed, with mutilated bodies laying everywhere. My first thoughts had been that it was some frenzied animal rampage, but that was clearly proven to be incorrect. Frenzied animals simply cannot leave the kind of injuries that I saw there, but that was not how I concluded that this was a demon attack."
"You see, there was house in the village that was a bit separated from the rest, where the residents actually managed to resist the attack for a bit. I found a total of four Spiker Demon carcasses near that house, with slice and stab wounds. Considering that mundane weapons are woefully inadequate against demons, and even when they are sufficient, the demons are supposed to evaporate, my best guess is that these were killed by a runic sword. I did not find the weapon though, so I cannot say for certain."
"I should probably also mention some odd damage around the house and the rest of the village that does not match our records of previous Spiker Demon attacks. There were multiple places where I observed a perfectly circular hole in the ground. Everything in the immediate vicinity of these holes had been burned, again in a near-perfect circle. This is the kind of damage that I think is only possible using offensive magic, but that's way too far outside my knowledge."
"So after I checked the village for survivors, of which I found none, I decided to scout the nearby villages as well. My knowledge of this province is not exactly great, but I knew that Vaalreyk-egerdaal and Mundraak-shardaal were relatively close, and the directions to follow."
"As it turns out, both villages suffered the same fate, as Trosten-egerdaal, so I expect the damage to be significantly more widespread than just these three villages. I did not find any killed demons there, nor did I find any strange circular holes, so these were likely the result of someone defending themselves."
"Based on what I saw, I think that the attacks happened between four and eight days ago. I guess that that is probably the only piece of good news about this whole thing. That about covers it."
That was a lot to take in.
"So, based on how you are describing these events, I take it that you are one of the Verhof?"
"Yes, graduated 12 years ago from the eastern academy."
"I have to say, someone like you being sent to some small village, just as it gets attacked by demons, seems a bit too outlandish to be a coincidence."
"And I would agree. It was also the only village that seemed to be able to put out resistance of some kind."
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"Did you, by any chance have a look at the contents of the letter that you were supposed to deliver? Maybe that would contain some hints?"
"No. Professional integrity dictates otherwise. I really wish I could, though."
"You do still have it, at least?"
"Yes, 'undeliverable letters are to be returned to the sender'."
"As a Vaahreid, or main provincial guard captain, would I have the authority to override this directive?"
"Also no, unfortunately. If this had been a regular courier delivery, that would have been well-within you authority, but because this is a royal courier delivery from a Vaahmeist, I am afraid you would need to be higher nobility at the very least. Trust me, I would have told you if this was an option."
"Right. Well, thank you very much for your time. You look like you need to take a rest. We will discuss what to do with the letter afterwards."
This was probably the worst thing that could have happened to Marteryaan's peaceful posting. Even as the news of the third demon invasion has reached him two years ago, he though that it was unlikely that he would be involved in it directly, at least at first. Yet, somehow, Meunheil-Duuk had been the first province to actually be hit, as far he knew.
Wait, what if the invasion is so bad that no one had the opportunity to report it?
The most terrifying thing about the thought was that there was nothing to disprove it. Communication within the kingdom was not particularly frequent, but he could not remember the last time he had heard anything from the southern region of Karuaan in nearly a moon.
Suddenly agitated, he rushed to the records chamber, where he asked the clerk to retrieve all records of entries into the city from the last moon. While the number of records was high, he could still parse them all by himself within a reasonable time. His fears were confirmed when he realized that arrivals from the neighboring region had been completely interrupted about 17 days ago.
Marteryaan immediately sent a local courier alert the provincial council. He did not expect the lazy councilors to reach any sort of satisfactory decision in a timely manner, but they had to be informed. With some luck, they might be able to pass some emergency laws that would help him do his job, but he did not count on it.
As for himself, he headed to the barracks, where some of his men were enjoying a break.
"Everyone, to attention!"
"I have just received disturbing news. The city may be subjected to attack within the coming days, likely at night. Thankfully, because we know this in advance, we can prepare. All those with even identification numbers are to report to their resting quarters and prepare for night duty. Those with odd identification numbers will remain on duty for today, on high alert. This order is effective now. For those of you here with odd numbers, you are to repeat this order to the rest guards and militiamen in the city when you see them, but do not be loud. We want to avoid causing panic."
He proceeded to repeat his order to ensure clarity. With his order acknowledged, Marteryaan headed to his bunk. He would have to be fully rested if he was to be effective in his role as a commander during night-time, when demons were known to be active. Forcing himself to rest from mid-afternoon to dusk was not something that he enjoyed, but he managed.
As night began to set, having briefed the various teams about their roles, he headed to the western wall of the city. He idly wondered what the odds were that demons would attack the city on the same day as he had been warned about it, but decided that this was not a line of thinking that he wanted to pursue. The royal courier was actually waiting for him on the wall.
"I have to say, I am rather impressed with how quietly you have been able to mobilize a defense."
"We still have to see how well we hold out. I fear that the invasion this time might be worse than any of the previous ones."
"What makes you say that?"
"I checked the logs. We have not had a single communication with Karuaan in the last 17 days. If I remember my history correctly, during the second invasion, only the first few villages were taken by surprise, and attacks usually had some survivors. From what you told me, that does not seem to be the case this time."
The courier remained silent for a while, probably digesting the information.
"I think that I will stay in Meunheil for now. Maybe this Herdrick Venmaast survived the attack somehow... There were signs of battle in Trosten-egerdaal, afterall. I hope that would not be too much of an imposition."
Marteryaan was not quite certain whether he should have praised the courier for his professionalism or berated him for his cowardice, but ultimately, this was not his call to make so he simply remained silent.
The two men made their way to the top of the wall, and began to watch the horizon. Considering that it was nearing the end of the moon, it was somewhat difficult to recognize far-away shapes, but closer to the city, the gold-colored fields were sufficiently illuminated to serve as an early warning system.
About half an hour into his watch, Marteryaan spotted two silhouettes moving towards the gate. At first, he thought that maybe his worst prediction had come true, but he soon realized that the two figures were humanoid in shape and were clearly following the road.
I should be careful, demons are supposed to be quite insidious.
"Aim our ballistae at the two figures there, but do not loose. I will intercept them."
He rushed down the stairs, past the gate and the bridge, and made as much distance as possible between himself and the city wall, until he was at about 50 paces from the two figures. He unsheathed his runic sword.
"You two, stop right there! Do not move!"
The two figures stopped, and he got a better look at them. These were two young girls. The older was either just or barely not of age, and the second was probably between 9 and 13 years old.
"I apologize for the rudeness, but you will have to bear with me. Show me your amulets of Light, and stay still until I say so."
The two girls followed his instructions and he sighed in relief after he was close enough to verify that amulets were authentic. This was proof that these two were not demons.
"It's okay, you can move now. I apologize for the behavior, but it had to be done. Please follow me to the gate, where you will be able to follow the proper procedures to get into the city. I will be right behind you."
The older girl was trembling a bit. In the darkness, Marteryaan had trouble telling whether it was because of fear, or cold, but he could not afford to let emotions cloud his judgement, so he proceeded to escort them to the gate, and into the interrogation room.
Under the illumination provided by the ever-torches, he could now make out their features. These two were unmistakably sisters, to the point where he wondered if he had ever seen siblings so similar. Besides size, their main difference was in hairstyle. The older girl had long dark-brown, ever-so-slightly curly hair, with two braids beginning near her ears and joining into a knot at the level of her nape. Her hair was messy and somewhat oily. The younger had black hair with an almost blueish tint it. Unlike her older sister, her hair was short, and surprisingly well-kept by comparison. Their clothes clearly indicated that they were either upper lower-class or lower middle-class, but dirtier and more damaged than what would be expected. Interestingly, the older girl was holding a sword that was clearly above what her family should have been able to afford.
"I am guard captain Marteryaan Vanheim, and I have a few questions that I need to ask you before I can let you into the city."
The older girl nodded at his statement. Her face was dirty, her eyes were red, and she was covered in small scrapes.
"For the record, please begin by stating your names, origins, where you are traveling from, and whereto."
"Our names are Adrea and Naviya Venmaast, from... uhm what was the village called again... Trosten-egerdaal."
Marteryaan had to stop himself from interrupting her. This was... incredible, and probably not a coincidence.
"We're travelling from our village to Meunheil to..."
This was where he interrupted her.
"Please do not give further details yet, we will come to this next. Let me record these answers."
Thank the Light that I had this procedure separated into two parts for this year... Now, how do I get them to avoid mentioning demons in front of the others.
"We recently had reports of frenzy attacks on several villages, including yours. Are you two survivors?"
She nodded.
"Considering the circumstances, I assume that you do not have any of the required paperwork for entering the city, could you confirm this?"
"No, we don't"
"So the remainder of this procedure is pointless. However, I will need you state the names of your parents, as well as your age."
"Our parents are Herdrick Venmaast and Eva Braun. I'm 15 autumns, and Naviya is 10 summers."
Their mother is from Erya, huh... that explains the weird names.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Unfortunately, due to not having documents, you will have to stay in the guard tower until we have some administrative procedures sorted, but do not worry, you are not at risk of being rejected entry. Please follow me."
He had a runner call for the courier, and escorted the two girls to his second in command's quarters. When they finally got there, Adrea sat on the bed, and with a "We're finally safe..." tension left her body, and she began to cry. Marteryaan did not know how to react to this.
He had not really looked at the younger girl so far. Her bangs covered her forehead, and from his standing position, he had not really been able to see her face. She was currently patting her older sister's head, in a clear effort to comfort her, but as he noticed her facial expression, Marteryaan recoiled. Her face was like a wooden doll, completely neutral, and unnaturally still, as she turned to him spoke in a pleading voice, completely at odds with her expression.
"Please leave us alone for a while."
Something in his subconscious told him this was an order. He suddenly felt like he was 15 again, standing in front of an expert instructor for the first time. He broke out in a cold sweat. If he did not follow the order, he would certainly die. He had to leave now.
He barely registered the door closing behind him, and as he was joined by the courier, he preemptively cut him off.
"Sorry, we will have to wait for a bit before we can get some answers. Our guests need some time."
"You.. don't look well."
"No, I am not. I am not sure what just happened, but I have never been so terrified of something in over 30 years. And that something was a little girl. I need a drink."
Thankfully, the rest of the night was uneventful.