The following morning the skies delivered on their promise, and it began to rain, mercilessly, the downpour hit us with all its might, and even under the cover of trees most of us were drenched. Paired with the cold of the incoming winter it made for a stressful situation for us all, as my men huddled close to each other for support, as walking on the muddy terrain became tricky, yet, we persevered.
Several hours later as the rain let up for a moment, we peeked into the distance and saw a large field of grass and a few watchtowers erected made us quickly hide as I alone move forth.
We had made it.
I saw fields of grass as far as I looked, Ynnarglass in the distance, and what looked like a town far away on the horizon where the woods returned. From what I could see the village had been occupied, I saw the large white tents of the kingdom's army mixed in with the stone buildings. The village itself is surrounded by toiled lands devoid of life, harvested some time ago for sure.
To sneak in would be difficult. My mind goes through what I have and I can do, a solution presenting itself so I quickly retreat back into the shelter of the woods where my men have gathered, close to each other as their bodies tremble with cold.
"That didn't look too good boss, what is the plan?" Jorr asks as he leans closer, Nojus quickly joining us as he kneels next to me.
"We use the rain, in an hour or two darkness will fall and with most torches dead I will sneak up to the watchtower closer to us. After I kill the guards I will shoot an arrow in your direction at a time, the number of arrows is the number of men I want to rush to me as fast as possible, only Huani" I clarify looking at Nojus, he nods " After the men join me at the top of the tower I will shoot a last arrow and everyone else will run directly to the village, Jorr, I will trust you to lead them wisely"
"Fine, but why keep our archers so far away?" Jorr asks.
"I will kill the lights, and they will stay in the watchtower, there is another one within view, and if they sound any type of alarm before our men reach the village I doubt we will be able to win this fight, so as they are shrouded in the darkness I will have a short time to rush to the second tower and kill those guards too before they figure out something is wrong"
"A race against time then...I don't like this"
"It's the best we have if we don't use the rain now reaching the village unnoticed may be impossible, and remaining so close to them will make stumbling upon a hunter far too likely and if they are looking for us we will be forced to retreat. It is now or never"
"But won't there be guards in the village? How will we keep them from seeing us coming?"
I look at the couple cuddled together, my eyes focusing on Andrei as he tries to warm up Lina in an embrace. I have no doubt now that he was a bandit, and not the stupid barbaric kind, he is smart and knows staying with the humans would likely get him caught and enslaved once more, and while there are many questions I will have him answer, right now, I will put his skills to the test.
"Andrei will make a distraction, as he orchestrated when I broke him free," I say loud enough to catch the human's attention.
The plan is rushed and has a lot of space for errors, but I knew it would be like that the moment we marched out of the camp. My orders are given and Andrei begs me to not let him take part in this, with his teary eyes and submissive posture. But I know he is no wimp, and now I see clearly that he simply doesn't want to put himself at risk.
And he could betray us, the thought crossed my mind and Jorr voiced that same concern...but while he was a good liar, he couldn't always lie. I looked back on every interaction I could remember with him and felt confident that his care for Lina is genuine. I could always be wrong, I guess there is only one way to find out.
The hours pass and everyone grows anxious, Jorr weights his shield, Nojus tenses the string of his bow, and Lina shares a long hug with Andrei as he makes his way out of the woods, everyone following him close. I put an arrow on my bow and feel my heart beating fast as everyone stops before we could be seen from the watchtowers.
It is dark, with no moon and no light except for that coming from the houses and the watchtowers. The rain has returned and I force my freezing body to remain still as I see Andrei walk out from the forest and move forward until he is close enough to the soldiers and suddenly stops.
I see him look up and wave his arms, one of the soldiers atop waves and begins to descend from the eight-meter tall watchtower of wood. Once they are both in front of each other I see it, I see him point at us, a plot, a rouse by him and Lina to kill us, no, not just them. I glance around at Nojus and Jorr who have spent so long with each other and know they are in this.
But no. This is not what is happening, this isn't real.
I shake my head and realize I have been holding my breath all this time. I finally breathe out when Andrei finishes exchanging words with the guard and goes on his way to the village, the guard climbing up the stairs.
He didn't betray us, in fact, I look around and see Nojus and Jorr share anxious stares, soon looking at me as a wave of calm washes over us...no one is trying to betray me. I can't let this distrust corrode me, I need to trust my men.
Once Andrei is halfway to the village, reaching the empty fields, I nod at Jorr and rush out from the woods, grabbing the bow in my mouth and climbing up the ladder to the top of the watchtower. The adrenaline fueling my movements as soon as I reach the top and spitting the bow from my mouth I reach for my war picks.
The strikes are fast and precise, I don't give a moment for the three guards to react as I swing from one to the other, jumping from their bodies after I have dug my weapons deep inside their necks, and in a few seconds they are all dead. There is no time to waste, I must be quick.
Reaching for my bow I jump atop the rail of the watchtower and shoot an arrow at the forest, the magical arrows are not bright enough to threaten our plan, and the three figures rush out from the shadows to reach me as fast as possible.
My head snaps to the right as I look at the other watchtower, if they notice they will blow the horn, and even if the darkness is no problem for my sight the rain is heavy, they are not close enough, is that man leaning over? Reaching for his horn? I can't allow it, I need to do something. I aim, will my arrows make it? I pull back and tense the bow, I need this raid to work, it must.
No, no. I shut my eyes hard and open them, trying my best to focus on them and it seems they are chatting with each other, I don't see them point at me, or the ground. Everything is fine, collect your thoughts, and remain calm. Then I heard the weighted sound of people climbing the ladders and once the first men make it to the top I kill the torches.
"Chief" Nojus says, and after a brief hesitation, I lay my bow on his hands, he looks at me surprised.
"If they see me or you think they will blow a horn, I trust you to make the shoot and not miss"
I don't await a reply, I grab my war picks, and spin them in my hands as I jump out of the tower, digging one into the nearby wooden beam as I fall and swing from beam to beam to reach the ground as fast as possible, the bloodlust of my recent kills raising on top of my adrenaline as I can feel every individual drop of water falling on my face, running to the watchtower.
Not bothering to use the ladders I climb my way up by using the wooden beams, it is faster, I'm about to make it when I hear the whizzing of arrows, Nojus has shot. With one final push, I reach the top and turn around, deflecting a magic arrow headed my way as I complete the swing and connect it with the unprotected head of a soldier.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The other gets struck by two arrows, one hitting his shoulder and the other his mouth as he collapses on the ground. But the third one holds in his hands a horn and manages to put it in his mouth as I pounce on him, forcing the horn out of his hands with a swing of my war pick, the other stuck in the head of the dead soldier I hear him yelp as I dig my teeth in his neck.
Tearing away a large chunk of flesh as he stumbles back, and manages to grab and throw me away. I hit the wall and from the corner of my eye I barely see in time the raising hand of the soldier on the ground, he shoots his crossbow, and it hits me on the stomach, piercing through me as I rush to him and bash his head in with my war pick.
Then, the wet sound of the horn trying to be blown makes my head snap, and another bolt pierces my flesh, this time below my right shoulder and getting stuck by my chest plate. I stumble down to my knees as the pain travels through my body like lightning, but I don't let it stop me. The last living soldier and I lock eyes as he drops his now spent crossbow and reaches for his dagger trying desperately to blow the horn, only managing to make a weak sound, blood gushing out of his wound and mouth but before I can do anything else.
He gets hit by two arrows, one on the neck and another on the eye, a couple of extra arrows hit around him but miss him. He stumbles backward and falls from the tower. Breathing heavily, I take out my chest plate quickly after pulling out the bolt from my chest. Taking out the potion I had saved and poured what was left of its contents into both holes.
The pain is incredible, but I grit my teeth and soon I see the flesh regrow and leave my torso good as new. The pain goes away as quickly as it came and I throw the empty vial away. Retrieving the war pick from the skull of the soldier and climbing on top of the wooden railing and laying eyes on my men.
I raise my war pick above my head. And I see them raise their bows in celebration, soon Nojus waves at the woods, and as the Huani begin to descend from the watchtower I see my men rush out from the woods, I look at the village and see no guard heading in our direction. I kill the torches in here as well, if anyone looks at the watchtowers they may be weirded out by the lack of light, but since they won't be able to see if there is anyone on them, it should give us some time.
What follows is a race as my men rush to the village, with my wounds healed I quickly catch up to them. In the heat of the moment, I jump on Noju's back and stand on his shoulders to get a clear view above the many heads. We get past the empty fields when I see Andrei has gathered the guards in a crowd, he seems to be in distress feeding them whatever nonsense he could that captured their attention so well, but of course, some of the guards see us and finally, the battle begins.
My men make terrifying war cries as they pour into the dirt streets of the village. Jorr and the bulk of my men clash against the guards and the few soldiers within the village and not in the tents. The Huani follow Nojus and the hobgoblins I trained with the spear join us, I jump down from him and we head directly to the tents, as the sound of screams from the villagers that run away in fear and the sound of steel hitting steel are louder than the heavy rain, soldiers begin to pour out from within thwir shelters.
Wearing little to no armor and with panicked or confused faces. The Huani stop in their tracks and fill their bodies with arrows, three of my hobgoblins joining in as they are handed the charged crossbows staying back and supporting at a distance as we kill the humans when they leave their tents. I move forth with my spear-wielding men and as they were taught, they focus on keeping the humans at a distance, forcing them to focus on them and become clear targets for the Huani.
The camp is not too large and it seems we are facing a little over seventy men in total. I can hear the distant growl of the nameless demon for the first time in so long, as I let my body move on its own, breaking the kneecaps of soldiers or killing a few after a quick parry and dodge exchange. However, the element of surprise begins to wear out.
Soon I can't run freely anymore and my attacks turn into a constant need to dodge, I run back to the rest of my men and see we still have at least thirty humans standing, I glance around and see a couple of my men laying dead on the ground, while a few others are backing away with fresh wounds as they run back to the Huani who can't kill more soldiers, for the rest raise their shields in response.
The soldiers then charge at us but stop. I look back and see guards running away, some on top of horses, as the rest of my men pour out from the corner of houses and into view, Jorr, bloody and with his sword just as dirty, raises his blade as the men rush to our side. I feel the animalistic urge to scream like everyone else and I throw at the humans my own war cry.
Loud, full of fury. I join the charge of my men as the humans charge to meet us. Swords clash with axes, some punch each other, or kick. A neck is cut and a soldier falls nearby choking on his blood as he is trampled by both his enemies and allies. A spear pierces the chest of one of my men and I take the life of the enemy in return.
My speed is unmatched, my ferocity unbound, I can't stop as I tear, crush and pierce the bodies of my prey, I hear the laughing of the nameless demon as everything I see is red. I pounce on top of a nearby soldier and tear his chest plate open as I brutalize his innards, bone breaking apart, intestines spilling everywhere, and tainting my body red.
I continue without stopping past the camp as the fighting takes me back to the village where my men have begun to ransack the homes- wait, already? I let go of my war pick and slam my hand on my head multiple times, collect yourself, control the bloodlust. I slowly see things clearly once again as I lay eyes on the mangled body beneath my feet, neither a guard nor a soldier, just a man with his jaw torn from his face as he lies lifeless on the ground.
Looking around I see there are no guards left alive, and when I rush back to get a view of the camp I see the tents being taken down, I can see fleeing humans and my wounded men cheering as the Huani shoots at them like a game. I hear the screaming and begging of women as the bestial carnal need of my men takes hold and they begin to tear at the clothes of mothers and daughters.
"Stop!" I scream, slamming my head once again to force my nature not to take over, the need to join in the beastly carnage of victory trying to take control "STOP!" I order and my men listen, many looking confused or annoyed.
I knew it would come to this, I knew it...but now, not now.
"We don't have time for this! More will come soon and we have to take everything we can, and head back into the woods!" I order as I point at the campsite of the soldiers, at their wagons and carts, at their horses "We came for that!"
My men look at each other in silence, I think they are even about to protest, but one by one they drop any wealth they were carrying in their hands, and throw the women to the ground like sacks of potatoes. They are unhappy, but they know I speak the truth.
"You heard the boss! Gather tools to work the lumber, I want that anvil on a wagon, hens, and bags of grains! Bread and cheese!" Jorr joins me, issuing orders as he helps organize the men, but as one of the nearby hobgoblins lets go of a woman's hair he points at him "Woah! Gather the prettiest in a house and let the rest go, those are essential goods!"
I open my mouth to protest, but now that the heat of the battle fades away I think clearly, I know this is inevitable. If I deprive them of their plunder, they won't listen to me, if their discontent grows, I will find a thousand knives at my throat...This is what needs to be done.
"Any say on the matter, Boss?" Jorr asks, turning to see me and I look at the pale face of the woman on the ground, her young face, I see Ismeina's daughter.
"Take the mothers, leave the daughters" Jorr raises an eyebrow, and I swallow hard "It will be easier that way, if their daughters are not in danger they will be more docile, we need to make our way back to our camp fast and we can't deal with unrest" He then makes an understanding expression and nods, looking at his men once more.
"Keep the mothers and leave the daughters! We need to make a quick way back home! Now get to it!" Some men voice their discontent, but relent and let go of the younger women.
Soon, my men gather the tents and bedrolls, tools, and fill barrels with grain, bread, and cheese. I walk around the village and stare at the lifeless, or dying humans littering the streets, as well as our men that have fallen. I see the children crying and weeping, those that remained in the village instead of running away and I can't help but feel a sense of relief invade me.
An illusion at the moment, but welcomed.
In a matter of minutes, the wagons are moving and carts are being guided, as a final show of power my men throw torches inside the homes and businesses as they climb onto the carts and wagons, laughing and cheering as they see the houses slowly catch on fire. I climb on top of the last wagon, getting some shelter from the rain.
I see some of the young women rush to the side of the children, family perhaps.
"Great work, Boss!" Jorr says sitting at the edge of the wagon, patting my shoulder "We lost a dozen men, but considering the numbers we were against, that's nothing!" He laughs content as he takes the cork out of a wine bottle with his mouth and drinks its contents with a wide smile, emptying half of it before offering it to me "A toast?"
I look at him in silence for a few seconds and he shrugs, drinking happily as he looks out at the burning village. Glancing back at the women hugging each other as they cry and weep I count four heads.
Four lives of many that will never be the same. I can talk and think about what I will bring to this world in the pursuit of my ambition, but seeing it now, and acknowledging that everything that happens will come from my direct orders, from my bloodstained hands. I can't help but feel guilty.
And more guilty knowing I won't stop. I look away from the humans and look at the burning houses in the distance as I see a faraway stream of torches pouring out from the town on the horizon. This is just the beginning, a stepping stone of what I will bring to this world.