Chapter 49

Bone deep weariness soaked Riley to her core as she dragged herself along the ridge.

The sun had risen to its zenith while she practiced, sending bolts off the mountain over and over again, only for her to choke down another potion and begin anew as the day slowly faded, giving way to the golden hour, with its long shadows, that seemed to only accent her fatigue.

The specter of Cid loomed over her like a threat, overriding all concern for her own exhaustion.

The trail dropped precipitously up ahead, seemingly disappearing off the ridge. Slowly, they rose out of the saddle and crested the rise.

Landon finally came into view.

Ruined homes, some with damage to their roof, surrounded a church like structure at its center, carved out of heavy stone. Its spire rose proudly into the sky, tipped with a crystal twelve pointed star that gleamed in the sunlight.

Picking their way down the path, torsos, legs, and arms were scattered about like discarded toys. Birds feasted on the remains, tilting the tranquil atmosphere.

"This is awful," Riley's stomach quivered. There was nowhere to look that did not hold horrors.

"This is why we do what we do. We serve, and we bleed for the people of the ashenrealm," Cid recited solemnly.

Tobias stared, his face pale and shoulders rigid, as hushed as the grave denied to those who had died.

"Riley to the back, Zorna to the front. Be ready!" Cid ordered, his voice a harsh whisper.

The town grew ever closer, looming large and ominous, the woods preternaturally quiet save for the occasional raspy squawk of the birds feasting upon carrion.

"This is bad. This is bad!" Riley chanted, keeping her words to herself. Her instincts rang like a klaxon within her mind, urging her to do anything but venture forward.

The snap of a twig caused her to leap, then tense with fear, long ears swiveling front, only to notice it came from Tobias' boot.

"When we get into the settlement, you two will go left and clear those houses. I'll go to the right and clear my own. We'll meet on the other side and then head to the cathedral to make camp. We should be safe enough there." Cid whispered, tense and at the ready.

Tobias nodded grimly, already holding fire in his left hand while his sword filled his right.

A grisly parade followed. Tobias gently opened doors and parted curtains of rough hewn shacks.

Riley could feel as much as smell the death, hanging upon the air like a fetid miasma, hopping around bloated and bird pecked bodies, only to find whole moldering corpses, marred, slashed, and chewed, waiting just beyond thresholds for burials that would never come.

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The whole town had become a tomb.

Only the wind remained, blowing gently through the narrow lanes of the rough settlement, howling in a mournful tone as it impacted corners and rattled shutters, almost as if it was taking up the duty to sing for the dead.

"Are you holding up ok?" Tobias asked, his voice cracking the silence like a hammer striking an anvil.

Riley leapt in surprise at the sudden rush of sound. Her paws splayed out, and her body tensed, ready to run.

"Oh, I'm fine," She replied dryly, "this is just the most awful thing I've ever seen. It's like a horror movie, except it's real. That's blood and ichor all over the walls, and that chunk of meat was a person, I think."

In truth, she didn't know if it was man or beast, which only bothered her further.

"Antlions are insects and single minded in their drive and uncaring as individuals. The drones are just that, drones," Tobias remarked with strange dispassion.

"How can you be so calm?" Her exhaustion did not help, nerves already on the ragged edge from the surges of magical exhaustion that had punctuated her day.

"This is a part of life, Riley, as awful as it is. Monsters attack, and people die. Why do you think so many people come from all around to see us kill them at the expo every year?" Tobias sighed.

Prompts again blinked in the upper right hand corner, but when had there been time? For all the benefit of her overlay, it was just another burden, leading her to make more excuses as she tried to juggle it all.

Adapt, Cid's words rang through her ears, but how could she adapt to this? Death loomed all around as if a neon sign on a moonless night. It was just another thing she couldn't escape. There was no running, no easy escape.

"Riley? Where'd you go? Do you hear something? You stopped moving. Riley?" Tobias pressed, squatting to get down on her level.

"Wha… What?" Clearing her thoughts, her mind wandering, a new wave of fatigue washed over her as she became aware again of where she was and swallowed, "Sorry, I'm a space cadet right now."

Tobias shook his head in confusion before petting her ears back. "Just a few more houses, and we can rest."

"I just hope I can sleep when we do," She replied as she hopped along.

"This house is clear," Tobias scanned around the small, one room shack, stalking carefully across, with Riley beside.

Emerging out the back, Cid and Zorna were waiting.

"Anything?" Cid asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing but the dead," Tobias replied grimly.

"Then there's one place left to check." Cid turned and began moving towards the cathedral, moving in a slight crouch.

"Why's it so damned quiet?" Riley asked as she hopped beside, ears craned for the barest sound.

"Antlions have eaten or set to flight anything in the woods surrounding save for what they can't catch. They're all hunger and drive; there is no sense to them otherwise." Cid whispered, keeping his voice soft and low.

The doors of the cathedral, carved out of heavy wood and braced with iron bands, loomed, heavily damaged by deep score marks that cut wide gashes through the wood, trailing off into the stone, mimicking the scar on Cid's face.

With a push from his free hand, Riley caught a surge of power, a magical blue flash. The door creaked open, swinging on its heavy hinges.

It was an empty and cavernous space. Rough timber beams braced the roof, which rose to high pitched angle with row upon row of benches interspersed beneath it. A small square opening gave way to the spire above, allowing a lone shaft of light, directed from the crystal star set into its peak, to cast the last lights of day down onto the stone altar. Thirteen symbols stood as a curious altar piece forged out of pure gold.

The central symbol resembled a clear crystal torc. It stood higher than the rest, its points upraised towards the crystal spire and bathed in the light descending, casting prismatic hues upon the stone table.

To the left and right were narrow, arrow slit windows with bars bracing them set into stone, made of heavy crystal themselves held closed by oversized latches. They offered no clear view to the outside but still provided ready protection and defense.

"It's like a fortress," Riley observed, in awe of the mix of beauty and martial strength.

"Every Cathedral is. It's a place of refuge," Tobias replied.

"Aye, that it is, and safe enough for some rest and food. Riley cast up a bramble wall over that entrance," Cid ordered.

She yawned, nodding her head, "Yes, sir."