"What in Ygritt's tits is that?" Lannus hissed. They were leaving under the dead of night, while the moon was at its brightest. He watched Leondre carefully emerge from the stables, with the enormous monster he dared call a horse.
"My horse and his name is Bête Noir," Leondre replied, leading Noir by the reins through the gate lock. He stroked the chargers mane soothingly, trying to calm the prancing horse.
"That daemon looks bigger than a stallion. And what the hell is sticking out of its head?" Lannus saddled the weighty baggage unhappily, inside were most of the supplies Cendric had bought from the Adventurers Guild.
"He is a rhoan, not a daemon!" Leondre said fiercely. He had grown fond of the rhoan during his short travels, there was a heart of gold beneath that terrifying façade.
"Just make sure it doesn't poke any holes in me or the supplies." Lannus angrily shook his spear and started to pick up the pace. Cendric was waiting for them outside the main gate. Leondre trailed behind, already having mounted his stead. Lannus thought the other boy looked ridiculously small compared to the monster he rode on.
Guards posted atop the wood palisade watched the two travelers curiously, as they opened up the gate below. The first traveler had their face hidden beneath the hood of a maroon cloak. Stranger, was the giant, mid-night black horse they led, by the long cuffs of their tan hide gauntlets. The traveler was also armed with two swords, one at his hip and back.
The second traveler was less mysterious and taller than the first. It was just a lad, an angry one at that. A leather pauldron covered his left shoulder, where the lad held an iron-tipped spear. Pouches hung from his sides, and a large satchel slung on his back, giving him the appearance of a pack mule. He along with the other traveler passed through the gate in silence.
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By now the torches burning from the wood walls were distant beacons within the abyss. The rider, and his companion walking by foot, paused in their tracks. Even with the full moon, it was hard to see past their close surroundings. Tallgrass on the sides of the road and crop fields made it difficult to discern anything.
"Is not Cendric to meet us outside?" Leondre pulled back the hood, addressing his companion.
"That's what he said, didn't say how far though." Lannus shrugged as he scanned for the shadow of a person, it was hard to tell friend from darkness. Grass bristled in front of them as a lightly armored man came out from the side road.
"I told you two to stay quiet." He stalked up and took point, walking ahead of the rest of the party. Lannus scowled behind Cendric, while Leondre lowered his head ashamed. They trudged onward for hours maneuvering through fallen trees, and potholes, while taking breaks in between. Some point the road had ended, and they were forced to zigzag across farmhouses and fences.
At the first break, Cendric ordered Leondre to ride front, after narrowly avoiding Noir's jagged teeth. Thanks to Cendrics' gag order no one had said much. Leondre was beginning to nod off when Cendric whispered out loud.
"Listen, do you hear it?"
In the near distance amongst all these trees, water was rushing by the gallons.
"We must near the river," Lannus said excitedly
"Is that good?" Leondre jumped in on the discussion.
"That means the ruins are close by." Cendric moved under the darkness, drawing his dagger. He slithered over to an old-growth tree, using the dagger as a spike, he began climbing its arms.
"It's about a league or two up ahead, the ruins. They're built right on top of a grass field surrounded by the forest. I can't tell if there's anyone in any of those towers or other buildings." Cendric said from above.
The branches rustled softly as he came down. His dagger had disappeared, most likely somewhere handy. Cendric walked back to gather his party. Leondre dismounted, and Lannus moved closer to the man. The two huddled up around Cendric to hear their next move.
"Leondre tie the horse here, and by the All-Mother, make sure it won't go wandering off." The last thing Cendric needed was that black terror stomping after him. Ever since the close call, his instincts said the beast had it in for him.
"Lannus you've been here before, go with Leondre. Head into the ruins without me, but no farther than the entrance. Leave a fire or torch burning somewhere close, and wait for me."
"But will not that alert the thieves?" Leondre considered such dishonest people were no longer adventurers.
"It's an open field, they'll see you coming from a league away. Better they think we are unaware, it'll make 'em relaxed and make finding them much easier." Cendric planned on tracking the adventurers down, Lannus and the whelp would be the bait. He'd ambush the ambushers, try to split them up, and if that didn't work. Pick them off one at a time.
"Any questions? No. Then get to gentleman."
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Cinder spires poked at the starry night, these were the infamous ruins. It was hard to tell what the rest of the structures might have been. A castle, fortress, prison, or perhaps a town like Crestwood. Time and decay had faded away it's purpose. Villages and nearby towns stripped its foundations. And adventurers had scavenged whatever they found, wiping away it's past. Now only stone and the echos of a near-forgotten empire remained.
Leondre and Lannus anxiously walked across
the grasslands. The flutter of wind meant someone was following. A rock stumbled on, drew spectators watching from the crevices of buildings. And behind every shadow, stood a person, ready to jump out. Suggestion was a powerful influencer, Cendric had only implied the adventurers could be somewhere among this graveyard of crumbling rocks. Yet even with their weapons out, covering each other back to back. The two teens felt nothing but paranoia and fear.
"Lannus where are we going?" Leondre's voice cracked.
"To the tower," He gestured with the tip of his spear, "Over there." A yard away was a stone tower reaching for the sky. It stood above all other buildings, and two partially collapsed structures sprang forth from the tower like a pair of wings. Pillars supported the entrance way's domed roof, giving the appearance of a pantheon to the gods.
"What's inside?" Leondre doe-eyed in awe marveled at the Ruma Imperial architecture.
"Treasure, I don't fucking know." Lannus bristled nervously. "Let's just light the torches and get inside." He broke into a jog, scurrying over to the entrance.
"Wait, stay together." Leondre treaded after him, he bounded up the cracked stone slabs. The tower's cavernous entrance awaited, open, and ready to swallow them whole. Bags jingled back and forth behind Lannus like chimes as he ran farther inside. Leondre himself was carrying a medium-sized knapsack filled with food, he caught up clamping his hand on Lannus's bony shoulder.
"Slow. Down. We–we, need to light a fire remember?" Breathing heavily, Leondre patted his friend gently like he would for Noir. Miraculously it worked a bit, Lannus was still tense but less than before. 'Are people like horses?', it was an odd thought Leondre didn't dwell on for long.
A large bag was thrust onto his chest.
"Hold open this satchel for me, will you." Lannus worked methodically, setting items wrapped in a cloth to the side. He pulled out a bundle of birch wood sticks, untying the knotted twine. Followed by a fire striker and jar of oil he unlid, Lannus grabbed a stick, wrapping the top in cloth, and dipped it inside the jar. Using flint and steel he lit the makeshift torch, then another, and drew back his arm to lob the second when he paused.
"Leondre, do you see the entrance?" The torch flew across the room, Lannus squinted his eyes trying to discern the surroundings lit in its path. He gave Leondre the other torch and jar of oil, repacking everything else.
"No. I'm pretty sure we passed a corner and ended up in this corridor. Also, what do you want me to do with the oil?" Leondre glanced at the jar then at the stone walls enclosed around them. He could make out the frame of a door and past that, a staircase.
"Sorry, put it in your knapsack, and let's just go back the corner we came. We'll find our way from there." Lannus shouldered the bag and grabbed his spear off the floor, slapping his friend on the back.
"I'll take the lead Leondre, stay—" A spidery appendage came crashing down like the executioner's ax, caving-in the top half of Lannus's face. Blood splattered Leondre from neck to cheek, a horned abomination limbered out from the darkness. Its head was the skull of an animal, the limbs were gangly and unnaturally long. The abomination craned its head, following Leondre through the hollowed pits of its ivory mask.
Adrenaline washed over his body, the time came to a slow. Leondre found himself whirling around as his legs switched to overdrive, and began running the fastest he had ever run. Cold sweats permeated his face, mixing with blood. His heart became a series of long-winded beats, each thrum reverberating against his ear.
No footsteps were bounding after him, just the barest whisper of scrapes. Going up was the only way out. Leondre rushed to the staircase nearly tripping, as he scrambled over the steps. A light cast from the heavens appeared up ahead, shining brighter every fleeting second. The scraping became louder, his instincts were screaming its presence was close. Leondre reached into his bag pulling out the jar of oil Lannus had given only minutes ago. Using the torch, he smashed open the lid, hurling its liquid contents behind him. The torch followed moments later, and half the staircase was lit ablaze.
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Shards of glass were embedded through his hand, and Leondre could feel his back burning from the heat. But he dared not look behind, even as the flames inched nearer, enough to singe off his hairs. Leondre kept onward, ever closer to salvation until it was only a foot away.
[All-Mother protect me please.]
Leondre leapt into the light.
The "light", was, in reality, a doorway Leondre had gone flying through, crashing into the stone floor. Dazed, the young knight rose quickly drawing his shortsword. His fingers remained loosely curled around the handle, while standing feet shoulder-width apart. Leondre sorely regretted not buying a shield when he had the chance.
Seconds passed, then minutes, it felt like an eternity waiting to meet his end. But nothing came out the doorway, not even smoke. Then Leondre noticed it, the glyphs glowing on the entrances archway. It seemed whatever was blocking the smoke might also be barring the creature.
"Oh Mithra, I am safe. I'm actually safe." Leondre was about ready to cry when it dawned on him; a fire burning inside of a building made of stone was just as dangerous in one made of wood!
[Fire causes the stone to heat, weakening it. Eventually the stone gives way, and the structure crumbles...]
Leondre frantically began searching the derelict chamber.
His search revealed rundown bookcases, several glass apparatuses atop rotting tables, and a partially collapsed stone door. Wasting no time he ran to the door, only to find it jammed. Desperately, Leondre stepped back and then slammed into the stonework. The impact left his shoulder and arm jarringly numb, he gritted his teeth stepping back again.
[Not like this.]
He hurled himself once more with a shout, this time pain burst in his arm. Leondre cried out, wiping the tears, he moved back to throw himself for a third attempt. Strength ebbed throughout his body as he charged, it was energy unlike any other.
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Inside, the door shook as if mocking its imprisoned inhabitant
Thud...Thud.
"Make it stop..." A shadow of a girl hugged her knees, moaning in silence. Greasy strands of white hair clung from her face, beneath were two sickly yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. Her deathly pale body was fine, but her mind was in ruins. For now, she was a husk. Lifeless, devoid of any emotion, and unable to think coherently.
The ashen white girl had long since given up on escape. Satisfying the need to feed was all that mattered. It gave purpose when logic and determination had failed. Sustained her, long after the will to survive faded. But most importantly it was constant, always with her in this eternal prison of loneliness.
Something thundered against the door, pieces of stone fell away, and a resounding boom vibrated across the floor. Moonlight flowed into the room, and for the first time in months, the ashen pale girl saw something other than darkness. A tall boy, rolling in pain, swayed unsteadily as he picked himself off the floor. His hair was jet black and unruly like a mop, slick with sweat and matted with dust. He had a hawkish nose with prominent cheekbones, and a square jawline that made his face overall pleasant. But what captivated her the most was his eyes, they were green. That gentle, bottomless green that the ocean turned during a sunny day.
Feed.
A ravenous hunger burned fiercely within the ashen pale girl, but there was another flame too. It made her skin tingle, and heart jump the closer he neared.
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Leondre blacked out the moment he hit the door, that energy unlike any other had left him. Pain erupted like lava flow, filling the void. He felt vertigo as he opened his eyes, the ceiling was moving back and forth. Leondre turned over, instantly regretting the decision. His forehead, it was as if someone jabbed a needle through his brow.
[Get up.]
Guilt panged his consciousness. He had to keep moving. It was the only thing a weakling like him could do. In the moment of truth, he ran. The honorable choice would have been to stand and fight, but all Leondre saw was Lannus's fate whenever he tried to imagine it.
"Make it stop..."
[A female voice. In here? But how?]
Leondre wasn't able to ponder further, because that's when he saw it. A wax circle. Similar to the one back in the shrine at Crestwood. Some kind of transparent, 'Wall?', was surrounding it. The best way to put it was as if a halo had been placed upon the circle.
Leondre rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. A girl stared at him from inside the circle, upright, in a fetal position. She probably was his age and had the same question as him, "Is this real?". To Leondre, she looked like a beautiful princess from a far off distant land.
Silky wisps of creamy moonlit hair swept past an ear and caressed her neck, jaw, and cheeks; almost covering her dim, glowing eyes. They were two obsidian slits in a sea of gold, encrusted with thick, long, eyelashes. And her skin, he wasn't sure if this was because of the moonlight. But it was exceedingly pale, milky, unblemished, like a pearl. Those tattered rags she wore did nothing to hide the curves beneath.
The stone rattled below, and Leondre immediately sobered his thoughts. How she ended here wasn't his concern, the abomination probably kidnapped her. They needed to get out, right after he covered her modesty. Leondre took his cloak off and ran to the girl.
"These ruins are about to collapse." Leondre reached out offering the burned cloak but stopped short of the circle. There it was again, that transparent wall. It reminded him of the doorway, both blocked anything from outside.
[Am I to leave her here? No. Not like before.]
His hand dropped to the waist but stopped. Wasn't there a holy sword strapped to his back? Leondre grasped the hilt hanging over his shoulder, and unsheathed Roi Soliel. Along the longsword was eldritch rays, pulsating as if the blade was alive. 'That is...odd.' And that was all, he'd worry later.
Seizing the neck of the sword in one leather gauntlet, and holding the grip in the other. Leondre raised Roi Soleil to his head, thrusting it out like a spear. The impact nearly threw the weapon out of his hands and knocked him to his feet. When he lowered the blade in its sheath, the wall had entirely disappeared.
Leondre crouched, snatching the burnt maroon cloak off the floor, and draped it around her shoulders.
"This is all I have for now, I promise to get you more clothes once we're out of here." Delicate fingers wrapped around his arm, tightening in a snake vice grip.
He turned to see what was going on but a flash of red and white crashed into him. Yellow tiger-like eyes peered from above, Leondre found himself lying flat on the floor. The girl was on top of him, her arms on the ground next to his head, propped up. She slightly parted her luscious lips, revealing the bone-white glint of fangs. He immediately attempted pushing the girl away, but a weight unequal to her size pressed down on him.
Blood went rushing off into Leondre's head alongside his pants. What in the seven blazes was going on? It was like he was destined to die today. Part of him wished this was just a nightmare, that monsters didn't exist, that Lannus was still alive and well.
The pale girl leaned towards him, her eyes closed and suddenly their lips touched. Her mouth was surprisingly smooth, like velvet. Leondre went blank, and time seemed to freeze. When she pulled away, blood dribbled from the bottom of his lip. He was so distracted by the kiss, he hadn't noticed her biting him. Leondre regained his senses and tried getting up again, but her hands were rigid like steel, they kept him pinned to the ground.
"Nevra."
"What?"
"Nevra-Dumahn-Gorsa" She whispered gently in his ear, tracing a line from his jaw to the throat. The scene was eerily similar to a predator playing with its prey.
"L-Leondre." He said hoarsely, as she held his pulse between the tip of her fingernails.
[If I am going to die, at least it's after my first kiss.]
Not that he would consider it, seeing how there was no say in the decision. Perhaps Ygritt or Mithra had taken pity on him. It didn't matter, the ruin was crumbling around them, and if he wasn't crushed to death the girl would certainly eat him alive. For once in his life, Leondre wished hadn't listened to his father's story. If only he waited till he was stronger, or never gone at all.
[Maybe Lannus's blood wouldn't be on my hands.]
Leondre sobbed uncontrollably as the reality set in. No one here to save him, his friend was dead. There wasn't even a chance to say goodbye; not to Cendric, not to Sera, not to his family, or his horse.
"Why cry?" A voice he had forgotten about, questioned from above.
[Is she serious? The floor is breaking apart below us!]
"Because," His voice surprised himself, "I-I do not want to die." It was selfish and dishonorable, but true. Leondre had no desire for early death.
Nevra tilted her head, "Close eyes." She lifted a pale slender hand. They looked more like claws, now under the moonlight. Her irises also seemed to have changed colors, the sea of gold had turned to an ocean of blood. Shadows swirled beneath, slowly enveloping her body.
Goosebumps crawled down his spine as Leondre watched the transformation. He really thought she was a normal teenager like him, a foreigner from far off. How could he be so naive? The abomination was probably some kind of guardian. And those barriers were meant to keep her in.
[Seven hells, what exactly did I release?] His last thought, before everything went black.