Turning my gaze away from Eric, staring at the creepy shadows of the forest, I felt something unnatural brewing in my subconscious, like a whisper inviting me to explore its depths. Fog-tinted trees stood like guards, serving as the final barrier between civilization and reason, taunting me into exploring any mysteries it could hold under its millennia-old gaze.
Nightingale light replaces sunlight as the autumn sky was beginning to unravel its aethereal blanket, filling the horizon with tar-black clouds, replacing any last hope I had in helping the peasants survive it.
the autumn sky was beginning to unravel its blanket, filling the horizon with lightning-infused clouds as I was lost in my thoughts, contemplating my next moves.
''As the baron of these lands, even if I was just thrown here without my knowledge, the least I can do for Eric is to not waste his death,'' I mumbled, attracting Nathan's stare and curiosity regarding my remark.
''The forest is primordial,'' explained Nathan, turning his head left and right, worried someone was eavesdropping. A childish action, probably a quirk of his since being an Awakened warrior, sneaking up on him was near impossible.
'' Centuries-old trees with sprawling limbs that serve only to protect themselves, blotching out any sunlight that dares to entrench its territory, marked and speckled bark as if poisonous blisters have curved their nest with time on their surface. Chunky patches of soggy moss, wilting from their rotten branches as if inviting us to a deathly dance, are only a fraction of what we will encounter,'' sternly voiced Nathan, prompting me to drop the matter.
'' You truly are a poet, Nathan,'' I said half-jokingly, wanting nothing more than to defuse the gloomy feeling that was crawling all over me.
'' If we are to explore these parts of the forest, Sir, we will only invite trouble on our heads,'' Nathan continued, attempting to discourage me from tracking down those that killed Eric.
'' Grab one of the locals'' I ordered Nathan before mounting my horse.
With sunset only some hours behind us, we barely have enough time to track the bloody path Eric left before rain wipes it all clean.
'But sir'', Nathan tried to protest, facing my piercing gaze as a result, ending the discussion sort.
''Get it done,'' I repeated, hiding my trembling hands inside my pockets.
Even though I was terrified of what I could encounter in these woods, I couldn't just let the problem fester.
I would have to deal with much trickier problems down the road if I were to ignore the issues that were popping up now. Like a wound you leave unattended, the problem with time will ooze into a life-threatening one, and with Nathan beside me, I at least had the means and reasons to act braver for both my and the barony's sake.
''Prudence keeps us alive yet it is the boldness that achieves us victory,'' I trailed off, waiting for Nathan to catch a local familiar with this spooky forest.
With a whimpering middle-aged man serving as our guide, begging us to let him go, vowing he did not know these parts of the forest, we carefully trotted towards the entry of the forest. Considering he was one of the few hunters in this destitute village, bragging left and right that he could navigate blindfolded in the forest at night if the need arose, we pushed forwards.
The wind howled and the trees started thrashing and crashing against each other, welcoming us with their unique way into the thick leafage of the forest. The further we went, the more mysterious and spellbinding it became.
The blood tracks were clear for about four kilometres deep, turning fainter and fainter the more we closed in on whatever it was that terrified and ultimately butchered Eric.
It was twenty minutes later that the tracks ultimately went dead. With dead leaves and twigs surrounding our trail, waiting for our frightened guide to point us on the way, I decided to unmount.
''Signs of battle,'' mumbled Nathan before pointing towards a spot fifteen meters ahead.
Broken twigs along with spots of dried blood and torn cloth, semi-buried in the dirt, were hurriedly spread behind a tree in a desperate attempt to hide whatever happened there.
The sun was about to set, soon to bring with it a veil of darkness, slowly creeping towards us with its misty ambience before the screams of our guide further increased my nervousness.
''Blood, there….there is blood ever….everywhere'' he screamed, scampering to find his way towards us like his life depended on it.
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The stench of blood and vomit invaded my senses. A river of red liquid raced along the moss-covered ground as I stood terrified by the scene before me.
My breath caught in my throat as I tried not to puke at the sight. I wanted to look away, to tear my eyes away from this savagery, but I could not. My body refused to budge no matter how badly I wanted to.
Bodies and limbs were scattered all across the meadow, the forest soil soaking the blood before it could even disperse, forming a crimson pool in the middle that ran through the centre of the glade, giving way to the atrocities that lay ahead.
Our guide heaved at the sight, turning and tilting against a massive willow tree, his eyes wet.
'' He probably caught a glimpse of someone he knew amongst the carnage,'' I concluded, wanting nothing more than to run away from this scene.
Nothing in my life could ever prepare me for what I was about to see today.
Lying in a pool of blood in the centre of the clearing, was a woman bound and impaled on a wooden spear. A big gash was ceremoniously visible from her chest to her belly, with her organs evenly spilt on the ground.
Her eyes were gouged and her heart removed and judging from the signs of struggle around her wrists, while being alive nonetheless, before eventually setting her chest on fire.
'' It reminds me of some primitive form of rune-forging,'' Nathan sighed, realizing that this wasn't just your run-off-the-mill case.
''Her skin was flayed and then cut into symmetrical pieces, and according to the organs they removed, primarily the heart, they were trying to find the correct sequence to the techniques needed for their success,'' Nathan hypothesized.
The rustling foliage accompanied by an eerie orchestra of tweaking trees,
signalled that the sky, having adopted a pitch-black cloud as its cloak, was about to unleash on us a barrage of an evidence-erasing downpour.
''It was Northmill'' I suddenly blurted out, pointing at the military-issued spear they used to impale the poor woman.
''The last words Eric said was Northmill,'' I continued, wanting to get some reaction from Nathan, mainly so I could distract myself from the gory scenes in front of me.
''It was indeed them,'' Nathan apologetically said, knowing he had to share what he and his previous Lord, Julius, held as a well-kept secret.
''Last couple of months the Barony of Northmill has been consistently renting some of our lands, primarily this part of the forest near the borders, for hunting elemental beasts. Their reasoning was for hunting wild boars that kept encroaching their farms, but we always knew the truth. We received plenty of reports regarding their activity in our forest from the local hunters but sadly we needed the coin.''
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Nathan paused for a minute, making sure the guide was out of earshot before resuming.
''We didn't have the means to hunt them ourselves. If a conflict between them and us were to arise, it would be catastrophic for our fief, so we just pretended we didn't know. We believed they required some magical meat or something so we didn't pursue the matter. They paid too generously for us to care.''
A sudden rustling, followed by a zipping sound of an arrow loosed towards its prey, bringing with it the sweet embrace of death, jolted me wide awake as the fear of dying for a second time loomed closer once again.
Everything transpired too swiftly for me to make sense. Having low talent regarding magic, the actual Ciaphas spent his life idling around in his mansion, not even bothering to work out or even learn some fighting stances. This now resulted in my lack of reaction, dooming me to stare like a deer caught in the headlights, awaiting my death like a fool.
Then, my vision suddenly changed.
Our guide suddenly released a guttural breath in unison with the solid impact of an archer's arrow on his neck, trying to comprehend what just happened.
As for me? Well, I was sent flying from one of the kicks Nathan used to push me out of the arrow's way, throwing me straight towards some boulders, now shattered from my impact.
Trying to get up but failing, barely feeling my back from the not-so-gentle collision, I tried to put my rear against one of the smashed boulders, leaning my head against a mossy bark I utilised as a pillow.
I closed my eyes, trying to let my stream of consciousness take hold, and drifted into infinity.
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A scar of bright light flashed in the cauldron-black sky, followed by the pitter-patter of tiny droplets of rain, mixing the stench of blood and decay with the earthy aroma of the forest.
Another arrow whizzed over my head, trying to claim my life as I hurriedly dodged to the side, kicking up dust and gore as I took cover behind an age-worn tree, now red from all the slaughter transpiring around it.
''You must be Nathan,'' a mysterious figure growled, his voice devoid of life, like an ossuary made of bone and gravel, carrying alongside it a stench of rot in its wake.
I tried to sneak a peek, employing some of the tree's branches as cover, hoping to locate him. Another arrow buzzed above my head, landing its deadly strike against a tree bark behind me, startling the birds settling it.
''That was a close one,'' I thought, sticking close to the bark, glancing back at the boulder Ciaphas had passed out.
''He was lucky to land there,'' I thought acidly, searching desperately around me for a weapon, noticing the spear impaling the poor woman.
The idea of holding the spear used to impale another human being, still ridden with her blood and guts, wasn't a comforting one.
''He is probably hiding twenty, maybe twenty-five meters ahead of me, using the thick foliage as camouflage. Considering the force and speed of the arrow he unleashed on the guide and then on the tree behind me, it is safe to assume he is also an Awakened one.'' Nathan concluded, thinking of a good enough distraction that would allow him to close the gap between him and the macabre spear, evening somehow the field.
Being pinned down with nowhere to run wouldn't cut it for long.
Nobody won a fight by hiding.
His wish came true an agonizing minute later in the form of a bear. A huge beast with a sharp countenance appeared near the meadow, lured by the decaying smell of death and blood. The eyebrows of this humongous bear were fire molten-black and snake-shaped. It banged its huge claw onto a nearby tree, announcing its presence, clearly having spotted both of us lurking near, considering the carnage that laid waste on our feet its rightful feast.
Waiting patiently for Nathan to pop his head and finally place his poison-coated arrow right between his eyes, squinting his snake-slit eyes from time to time with excitement, he couldn't help but curse when the massive bear locked its eyes with his own.
Forcing him to abandon his cover and run, he knew that Nathan had a window of opportunity to strike back.
''FUCK'' he screamed, rushing towards another set of trees, avoiding the impending charge of the beast that considered him his rival.
Killing another Awakened, someone who was sitting on this stage for most of his life, wasn't easy, so having him cornered like a rat was a godsent blessing for him.
With the bear keeping that grave-sounding foe of his occupied with their cat and mouse chase, I used most of my awakened energy.
Sprinting as fast as my legs could take me towards the spear, swiftly grabbing it, I was disgusted by the grime and slimy entrails coiling all over it.
Glancing towards him, I saw him trying to shake the bear off his back, hitting it with his bow on its enormous head whenever it gained ground.
''You look exactly like I imagined you would look,'' I loudly said, betting on him slipping or making a crucial mistake trying to retort.
Having a weapon in my hands, even if it was full of gore and torn flesh, brought back a sense of confidence to my weary hands.
Forced to ditch his bow, after breaking it on the bear's gigantic snout, attempting to scare it away, he turned his misshapen head, glaring at me with his tundra-cold eyes. They were blazing with shrewdness, wanting nothing more than to devour me whole.
Took him five whole minutes before managing to lose the mutated bear from his back, giving me plenty of time to think of my next move.
Outrunning him was impossible if I wanted to protect Ciaphas, and he, being passed out wasn't helping the situation much.
''At least he isn't attracting his attention,'' I mused, preparing my awakened energy for a brutal fight.
I slowly rested my back on a moss-covered tree, wielding my spear while patiently waiting for his return. Having lost his only way of sneakily shooting me with his arrows, he finally had to confront me.
This time face to face.
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After his stunning victory against more than thirty thousand hobgoblins, Vistario Tirisea, Second Prince of Tirisea, had let his war-torn soldiers return to their families, making sure they would spread his heroic tales to all the corners of the Kingdom.
With the health of his royal father rapidly deteriorating, he needed to guarantee the support of the high-ranking nobles of the Kingdom, or his ascension to the throne would only be a far-fetched dream.
In reality, it would be a nightmare as his Eldest brother, Malin, would easily have him executed for some bullshit reason.
If he were to succeed, he would do the same, and they both knew it.
His victory over the hobgoblins was more than the well-orchestrated farse his brother made it sound to be. Even though he raised an army against them, almost purging the east side of the kingdom from these pests, in probably five years, if not sooner, they would have multiplied to such a degree where they would be forced to once again, subjugate them.
Even though they were easy to kill, those buggers reproduced extremely fast, making their extermination a priority.
''My prince?'' a lean young servant with golden hair, thankful for his Master's safe return, asked timidly.
The fighting against the hobgoblins lasted all month under the scorching sun. Even when the tide had turned against the monsters, the purging had carried on, because the beasts had been surrounded. The unrelenting slaughter had finished only when the last hobgoblin they could find was already dead.
His soldiers were covered in gore and blood from head to toe, their horses crimson from the bottoms of their necks all towards their hooves.
Gone were the peasant villages that had been there at sunrise, in their place, the onslaught had left fields of carnage.
The toll on the survivors had been more than physical. More than thirty thousand hobgoblins lay dead across the villages that populated the borders, some of the villagers losing their loved ones as the hobgoblin horde was desperately trying to kill whatever it could.
Most of the peasants had suffered the loss of a loved one before, if they had not, it was certain that they had seen close friends and comrades die. Yet it had been worth it. The hobgoblins had been dealt a heavy blow the likes of which it rarely felt. Its standing horde had been reduced to almost nothing, offering some semblance of peace to the peasants surrounding our borderlands.
Against all the odds, Vistario managed to one-up his brother, quickly responding to the hobgoblin threat and almost eradicating them, earning the recognition of the commonfolk and nobility alike, cementing, even more, his claims to the throne.
What would this bold prince do next?
With the banquet about to start, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
The only thing he needed to do was to cross the hall and the celebration would officially begin, marking his first official stance against his older brother.
A moment's pause and Vistario emerged from the hall into the light-filled banquet. The amused nobles raised a rousing cheer. They knew why the prince invited them. Some of his closest friends boomed for all they were worth, and so did those indebted to him.
A Prince who had led his army thousands of miles away from the capital. reached the borders, and plunged themselves into the hobgoblin horde, all so he could save his loyal citizens.
Who could be more suitable as the next king?
Duke Tenkai caught his older brother Plintirio's eye. ''Any idea of what he'll say?'' he whispered.
''Your guess is as good as mine.''
''Let's hope that he gifts us those salt mines east of our lands,'' interjected Boulgaropoul, the oldest of the three siblings. ''I want to make those bastards green with envy'' he scoffed, pointing Towards Duke Zafeirat, and his son, Bill, currently chit-chatting with some of the imperial knights.
For all that his relationship with Boulgaropoul was fractious, Tenkai longed to do that too. If the salt mines east of their dukedom were theirs, they could easily contest with the Zafeirat army, finally claiming a piece of the monopoly Zafeirats had in the salt industry.
Vistario was dressed as if for battle. Over his silver garment, he wore a golden steel cuirass, layered golden chainmail protected his groin and shoulders, and a molten-red helmet with the insignia of the royal eagle covered his head.
He carried a shield, the battle with the hobgoblins freshly painted on it as if wanting to announce to all those present, that he was publicly going after the throne.
Planting his shield aside, he raised his hands.
silence fell at once across the banquet.
'' Has Baron Northmil arrived?'' his voice sparkled, knowing that victory was within his grasp.