Wisteria gripped Alister tighter, and the young boy eyed his father and the knights as they moved forward with renewed caution, “Father… if it’s a fairy, how did they do this to the bear?”
“I’m not sure…,” Blas answered, “Rabid creatures can do unexpected things. Fern, Seoln. Scout ahead. Do not engage.”
“Yes sir,” the two responded in harmony. Fern tightened his ginger braid with a hefty sigh. He was an elf, the same height as his father at 6’ and almost ten years older than him but looked as spry as any young adult. Given a better look at the glistening of his eyes in the light that pierced the fog, Alister gave a soft ‘hm’. They were gem colored, too. Jasper. A very pale kind that made him think they were just brown before.
Of a much denser stature was Seoln. Only an inch or so shorter than Fern, the half-beastkin man was incredibly broad shouldered and muscular with short buzzed blond hair and dark brown eyes with diamond pupils. Father mentioned he was a bit of a brute before he became a knight, whatever he meant by that he didn’t know. The fur on his pointed ears was long, the tips darkening to black at the end like a caracal. He fussed with a claw and followed after Fern, short blond tail flicking after him through a carefully placed cut in his bottoms.
They left their horses with the rest of the party, who also dismounted - they’d bring too much attention - but their halberds came with.
Wisteria piped up from behind Alister, voice hushed, “I hate that sound…”
“It’s awful, isn’t it?” Alister nodded.
Blas sighed, “Yes… unfortunately the region has been having a bout of rabies going around. The madness is without cure unless you can find a specialized priest or healer. Once the two get back to us with information we can head in. If it is rabies or something else incurable… we will need to do our duty and put them down.”
“Yes, father,” Alister grimly nodded again.
“But aren’t fairies… like… almost people?” Wisteria was shaking. Alister hadn’t thought of it like that. Honestly, it didn’t matter to him as much as it probably should whether or not something was a person or not. As Raalin, it was more about doing what needed to be done. Morality was a luxury.
Blas answered when Alister didn’t, “Yes. And that’s… unfortunate and unpleasant. But it’s not right to leave people hurting, whether they're a monster, creature, or person. It can be very hard, so if you feel like you can’t handle this, then there’s no shame in that and you can stay behind.”
Wisteria shook her head aggressively, “No! No. I can do it. If it’s your duty, Duke, then it’s mine too!” She pulled a small necklace charm from under her shirt that looked like a tiny gold bird skull. Wisteria kissed it and muttered a prayer to Vera under her breath.
Over the course of this conversation, the pair of knights vanished into the woods. Being clad in leather instead of metal, they were silent as a mouse. A few moments passed, the screams killing any desire to talk between them. Everyone was clearly preparing themselves for what was sure to be an unpleasant encounter.
It didn’t take long for the knights to reappear, grimacing. “It doesn’t appear to be rabies, but they are undoubtedly mad. They were att-” Their sentence was cut off by a loud crack, followed by several more before a heavy, rumbling crash rang out. “Attacking a tree… but it seemed they were at it for some time. They were using a spear, and appeared to be armored. Ironwood plates.”
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This got a nod from Blas. “Very well. Let’s go take care of this then. There’s no sense in putting this off.” The party, without a word, split apart as they traveled. Before long, it was only the kids and Blas, who spied on the creature silently. It was dressed as suggested, in a wooden replica of plate, though its head was uncovered. This displayed its head, devoid of hair, with long, sharp ears. Its eyes were a many colored mosaic, lacking a pupil. Wings akin to those of a fly came from its back, twitching erratically. They stuck out at odd angles, and the veins therein were full of some dark fluid.
Two of the knights emerged from the woods, the others softly muttering to themselves and preparing spells.
Blas grimaced, mumbling spells of protection to himself and cast over himself and the kids. As he fell quiet, a visible change came over his skin; it became more reflective, subtle but clearly an ironskin incantation. “You two. You can contribute to the fight, but make sure that you keep a wide distance. We should be well enough protected that you can’t hurt us… but aim carefully all the same.”
The two that stepped out, once again Fern and Seoln, immediately caught the poor creature’s attention. It grasped both parts of a broken spear, letting out another cry. At this range, it had more obvious effects; the unease it caused was more magical than just psychological. Something about this bothered Alister, something about how it felt entirely different than anything he experienced even as Raalin. "This isn't right…" he said, voice disturbed. The boy began casting a spell only a bit beyond his present means, something he could eek out with enough tries.
The fight began as a dance would. The well trained halberdiers circled the armored fairy, opposite of each other so that it was flanked no matter where it faced. Any time it attacked one, the other struck at the cracks in its armor or tried to strike its helmet like a bell with the hammer end. This was complicated though, as the fairy berserker knew how to dance too. Ducks, dives, and weaves made sure that blows that would have been more dangerous glanced off. It was only when a third halbardier joined in that any progress was made, and the others stood waiting in the wings, casting the occasional support spell.
Alister's spell failed, making him wince as he pushed his core beyond what he should. It didn't hurt in the same way as it did before, but it hurt his mind. Almost like a migraine, pulsing for a time until he stopped casting. This took several attempts, and an old gut instinct kicked in. He had to figure this out, and he had to before the final blow was struck.
It was only six frustrating, painful tries in that Alister managed to complete the process. Read Mind. Six tries were too long, though, and not only for his pride. As his eyes opened, he saw the now bloodied and injured fairy take the final blow. A stab that it had dodged many times… a stab to the back of the neck. "Wait! No! We have to capture it!" The boy cried, staggering to his feet as fast as he could.
He had felt the minds of fairies before, and many far stronger than this one… but this was not the mind of a fairy. Not entirely. The knight was fighting for his life, mentally and physically. Something was in its head…and this something was not of this world.
But it was too late. As the body went slack and slid off of Fern's halberd, limp as a sack of grain, something began. A black ooze began to pour out of not only its wound, but also its orifices. The fluid wound around the body, filling the cracks in the armor and making its face disappear behind a black mass of fluid… before reforming, covered in eyes. A single mouth split its head, and the helmet cracked in half as the head grew to accommodate entirely too many teeth. To everyone's horror, the same process began on the other side. Eyes were all over, and underneath the once-fairy's arms grew multiple tendrils ending in broad, flat sheets. Shields, covered in blade catching hooks.
Snapping was heard as the knees were consumed into a snake like central mass, growing in size until it went from not much taller than the kids to as tall as the knights. Another sound came out, but it was no scream this time. It was almost like underwater speech, spreading out far but not very loud. It didn't need to though; the fear it caused in combination with the change was enough to nearly set the knights running. It was only by the grace of protection from the knights and Blas that the kids managed their panic.
Blas could only stare in horror and mutter a prayer to anyone who would listen.