"Guardsman Roald." One of the younger guards was staring at the covered corpse in the back of the man's wagon. "Guardsman!" Roald jumped, turning to face his senior. "Go tell the Captain about this!" Roald was terrified, the injuries on the corpse seared into his memory forever.

"Shit, you're useless. Halken! Go get the Captain. Impress upon him the criticality of this…and tell him the body is from Falring." Guardian Mehas Tedor was concerned. He had heard the rumors about Falring, and the disappearances in the areas around it. If the man steering the cart was being truthful, then the commanders needed to know about it. Halken sprinted off, citizens scrambling out of the way of the armored man.

It took much effort, but eventually they were able to get the farmer and the cart off to the side behind the guardhouse, the morbid cargo out of sight of the citizenry.

"So tell me exactly what happened." Tedor asked the man.

The farmer had a haunted look as he recalled the circumstances, "Well, I was coming in from out past Falring, because my farm's way out there. When I was on the road back I saw a bunch of carriages with some dead…things around them." The man swallowed heavily. "They weren't natural, and…I…" the farmer trailed off, sweat dripping down his face, the fear starting to take a hold of him.

Tedor gently grasped his shoulder, "You're okay sir."

The farmer nodded and began again, "Vierna, my horse, didn't want to go near them. She was terrified. It was unlike her to be so scared, she'd been by my side during a goblin incursion and a raid by bandits. Blood and death aren't new to her. But those bodies, that...blood." Tedor could see goosebumps rising up on the farmer's arm. He was starting to get spooked as well just listening. "I don't know what took them, nor where they were headed, but they'd been torn to pieces. It was like they'd run into a Vaegr. There was chunks of gray flesh in the trees, all along the road. The blood…it was black. I mean proper black, not that dark ruddy red of pooled and congealed blood. There were limbs everywhere, heads nearly twenty feet away. But what really caught my attention was that they'd mostly died around a cart."

Tedor looked into the farmer's eyes. "Cart?" The farmer nodded.

"Aye, and in it was a bunch of stuff I didn't recognize." He turned slightly to the corpse in the back of his cart. "And her…I… I didn't want to leave her, so I brought her. Wonder who's missing her." His last words were said at a whisper.

Tedor stared at the farmer, looking for any signs that he was lying. It was hard to say he was though, given that the body was right there. A sudden thought entered his mind. "Falring is a week's passage at least, how is the body so…" he trailed off. The body was in surprisingly good shape, untouched by rot and decay.

"No idea, bugs won't even land on her." The farmer was looking at Tedor, anxiety and concern etched into his face.

"The other things in the cart you found, what did you do with them?" The farmer lifted up more of the blanket, showing a few bottles and papers that weren't immediately identifiable.

A series of neighs, clack and clanks heralded the arrival of Halken, the Watch Captain, and a figure in a dark cloak emblazoned with the emblem of the Aegis College on horseback. Tedor saluted and immediately ran into a brief rundown of the events leading up to now. The Captain looked at the farmer, "I'm the Watch Captain, I need you to retell your story for myself and my companion." The captain gestured at the mage as he introduced him.

The farmer retold his story, omitting nothing. He knew full well that the body alone placed a lot of focus on him. The captain seemed to pay more attention when Falring was brought up, as did the mage. Both inspected the body as the story went on. When the farmer mentioned the papers and potions that he had found in the cart, the mage immediately focused on those.

"Guardsman Halken, please thank the farmer and grant him an extended pass. Also, provide the man a small reward." Halken saluted and returned back to the interior of the guard house. Tedor awaited his orders, standing off to the side. The captain and the mage were huddled closely, discussing between each other. Tedor tried not to eavesdrop but couldn't help it. What he could hear was minimal, but enough to know this was big. "…It has to be…needs to go to the Lord Commander…..the Master may know…." Tedor caught nothing else of their discussion, but snapped to attention again when the Watch Captain looked at him.

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"Guardian Tedor, effective immediately you're being promoted to Sentinel. I'm sending you a patrol from the second ring. They should be here momentarily. Increase security and do not let anyone who isn't myself, a representative of the Aegis, or someone higher than me get to this body and the other evidence."

Tedor saluted, the happiness at getting promoted warring with the sense that this was a doomed promotion. The Watch Captain and the mage took off, horses clattering as they sped back up towards the next ring.

The next few hours were nothing short of busy. The oncoming patrol showed up, the extra ten soldiers bolstering the security heavily. The citizens weren't pleased with the increased security and extra searches and it brought along, but they were understanding that something necessitated it. Another patrol showed up, and with it another Sentinel. Tedor was ready to cede his rank until the other man, Sentinel Kuort, did so first. "You were here first, and ultimately know much more about what's going on than I do. You lead this thing." Tedor thanked the man, having fully expected him to lord about his seniority. "Don't thank me, I don't want the responsibility."

Those words stuck with Tedor for a while, looming in his mind even as he guided the guardsmen and guardians who were doing most of the work. This whole situation was getting out of hand. Nearly a squadron of guards was located at this outer wall guard house. This was an unheard of situation, and the citizens were starting to notice as well. Some were starting to ask the guardsmen up at the gate what was going on. Of course they got the response of, "I don't know, but continue on please."

They didn't like the answer, but the guardsmen weren't lying. They legitimately had no clue what was going on. The oncoming patrols had simply been told by the Watch Captain that they were to come bolster the guards here. The other Sentinel was leading the security effort, while the Guardians of the oncoming groups made up the security cordon around the farmer's cart.

As night began, more personnel began to arrive, with even a senior mage from the Aegis joining the cordon. Tedor was wildly out of his league, but luckily a Warden showed up and took command. Night fell, darkness enveloping the guardhouse and the personnel who had swarmed the area. Torches were lit and the excitement of inspections and searches died as the last citizens came through the gate.

The Warden walked up, "Tedor." The Sentinel snapped to attention, "Aye sir." The Warden handed him a new cloak and a new pauldron. "Can't really be called a Sentinel without the indications of rank." Tedor couldn't help but smile, and the warden chuckled. "I remember that promotion, it was the first of the command ranks. Now, for the serious bit." Tedor's face fell, ready for the shoe to drop. "The Lord Commander has been notified of this."

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He wasn't expecting their lord to have been told. He gripped the hilt of his sword and fought against the anxiety. This was beyond his league, and his promotion was only a few hours old.

"Tedor, pay attention." The Warden continued, "He is on his way here. The Master of the Aegis, and both Marshals are as well." Tedor's knuckles cracked as his grip tightened further. "Lad, you do well here and I can guarantee that you're in for a bright future. Had I been in your place I'd have shat myself."

The young Sentinel's brain struggled to process the joke, but before he could answer, the Warden straightened up. "All soldiers, hail the Lord Commander!" Daven and Priv rode up, the Marshals and an unknown female with them. Tedor snapped to attention with the rest, and watched as his Lord Commander hopped off the horse and marched right up to him. Master Upwin was not so quick or fluid in his dismount, taking plenty of time before joining the Lord Commander. The others dismounted quickly and stood a pace or so behind.

"Warden Anniv, explain what's going on." The Warden turned towards Tedor. "My lord, Sentinel Tedor is the one who took the initial report. I only have command by rank." Daven nodded, turning to face the Sentinel.

"Report Sentinel. Tell me everything." Tedor did exactly as ordered. He retold the entirety of the story, including details about the farmer's demeanor should they prove helpful. The Lord Commander was hooked on every word, as was the Master of the Aegis. When Tedor got to the point where he mentioned the papers and potions, the Master's eyes lit up. It was a hungry look that made him uncomfortable.

Eventually, Tedor finished the retelling, and awaited the reaction of his Lord Commander. Daven looked over at Priv, who was staring down at the body. The corpse had been horrifically mutilated, clearly tortured heavily before being murdered. Fingers and toes were missing, there were compound fractures that had poked through the skin, and yet the most horrifying was what had been carved into the stomach. Priv's eyes could not have gone wider, his horror could not have been more evident. His voice stuttered out, "It's a Rune of Asheran."

Both Marshals looked sick, and the young woman who had accompanied them looked perplexed. Daven's words managed to encapsulate it all very succinctly.

"Fuck."