The Freakish Farmstead

It was the night before the royal guard were due to set out on their mission to find and eradicate the remaining wolf cultists. Kori was feeling nervous anticipation very strongly now, getting butterflies in her stomach every time she thought about it. She stayed up with Vereticus in his private library, trying to calm herself by focusing her mind on last minute research. Kori was glad that the scholar spared the time to sit with her. She was wrapped in a silver jumper Heidi had kindly taken the time to knit.

Vereticus had shown her a tome on creatures of her own kind, one which had contributed to the research for creating the metal mask he had used to fix her face.

He pointed at a page he had marked out. "Be warned, Kori. There are a lot of myths and half-truths, not to mention outlandish exaggerations by bigoted authors."

Kori scanned the page and read aloud. "It has been proven that lesser demons have mated with unwilling human subjects to produce monstrous offspring…" she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Mated with? Really? That's how the author describes rape?"

Vereticus sighed. "So many authors are that crass. And this one makes a lot of reckless exaggerations, as you can see."

Kori scanned the rest of the page. The author went on about how creatures like herself went by many names from different languages – cambions, Teufelmenschen and demi-demons. The author wrote that they were all doomed to misery and madness.

Vereticus tapped the footnote. "The one useful point the author makes is how demi-demonic powers evolve during puberty. A pure human body also undergoes changes at this stage. I inferred that your supernatural scream is an evolving power and that to overexert it is dangerous. It is still developing."

Kori nodded. "I know. The first time I screamed like that I could only do it very briefly. It was in the woods back home. I was looking for a little boy from the village who was lost, but then a werewolf cultist and a pack of wolves surrounded us. My screaming frightened the ordinary wolves … they began to slink away so I just had to fight the cultist. Little Gabi does not have a wolf's hearing, so my screaming was less frightening for him." She paused. "I hope it was."

"The power does not have a specific name," said Vereticus. "But it must be evolving. The guards all say that it looked as though your shrieks coalesced in the air to form circular waves when you directed them at the Wolf Mage. I can only offer theories, but that sounds like you concentrated and then focused the magical force. Perhaps you can also measure it so that it is less taxing for you."

Kori pondered this. "An evolving power? I will try to scream in a measured way next time, but I will do my duty, dear Vereticus. The danger to me does not matter too much. If I use my cambion power to heal your son, then my birth counts as a happy event. Everyone will call it a happy day in retrospect."

Vereticus looked uneasy. "You mustn't think of your birth as an unhappy event. You are such a precious girl." Kori smiled at him, but she knew perfectly well that her birth had not been the joyous occasion that her sister's had been. What a blessed day it had been that brought Erika into the world! When Kori had been born, the prevailing mood could only have been one of dread.

"I'm going to focus on what I can change," said Kori, remembering Erika's wise words. "I can't change how I was conceived so I'm not going to dwell on it. I can do a lot of good on this mission, so let's talk about that."

Vereticus nodded. "You are exceptionally wise for your age. I will give you one of my metal masks and your uncle can keep the other. They should be used right away in the event of a crisis. Likewise the silver nitrate powder. And I wish you the luck of the gods on your quest – for all our sakes!"

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00O00

It was time for the Royal Guard to set off on their quest. Rudolph was to lead them and they bade the Royals, Heidi and Vereticus farewell.

Kori hugged Vereticus, Heidi and then her sister. Erika held her in a tight embrace, her dark eyes strangely bright. "Kori… come back to me alright."

"She's going to be a heroine, Erika, just wait," yelled Siegfried. "She's not afraid of risk."

Kori kissed her sister and then peered into those eyes, so like her own. "Are you alright, dearest?"

"You must take the greatest care…" began Erika, but then the princes came up to them and Siegfried interposed himself between the sisters.

"You'll be a heroine," he said confidently. "You know how to fight bravely. You'll get the heads of those other cultists. I chose well when I appointed you to the guard." He grinned at her, his wonderful blue-green eyes sparkling.

"It was Rudolph who chose Kori for the guard, not you," said Gerd shaking his head.

"Shut up, Gerd. I was just going to say that it is better that this quest will be carried out by walkers, not riders. Horses are too dumb for this kind of work. I was going to order that that stupid horse that threw Kori off its back be slaughtered…"

"Your highness, you really mustn't," said Kori in dismay, "the horse panicked because of the Wolf Mage and his evil magic."

"Well there is that, so I graciously spared it," said Siegfried as Gerd rolled his eyes. Kori was relieved.

Now Gerd spoke and he seemed anxious, Kori could see it in his pretty eyes. "Listen Kori, I know you'll make us proud, but try to stay safe…"

"Stop being such a great soft article and mouthing the words of a coward," jeered Siegfried. Gerd gritted his teeth.

At that moment, Kori could hear Erika and Ralph whispering to one another in the corner of the hall. "Remember Ralph, defend that which I hold dear," Erika was murmuring in very soft tones.

"On my affidavit, your Highness," muttered Ralph.

Gerd clearly wanted to say something more, but Siegfried was now ushering her towards the rest of the guard and Ralph quickly took his place beside her. The guard marched out into the snow. Kori was back in her suit of leather armour and wearing her hair in a ponytail. Heidi had given her a very intricate silver necklace of interwoven silver chains that she draped over her shoulders. Unlike the other guards, she needed no cumbersome winter coat and her arms and legs were bare. The naked winter trees lined the avenue that led out of the grounds and their breath rose in visible puffs to join the clouded, grey sky. There was a freezing chill in the air that brought crispness to the leaves, bejeweled with frost, that crunched underfoot. Ralph gazed intently at Kori for a moment and she smiled back at him. The party marched out of the grounds and into the woods. A new mission had begun!

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00O00

The party trekked east through the woods. They were quieter at this time of year. Kori could tell that all the small animals were hibernating. "There have been signs of magical decay in the hills, yonder," said Rudolph. "We are to investigate. Everyone, keep your wits about you."

As the sun ran its course across the heavens, the Royal Guard journeyed through the slopes of wooded hills. The sounds of birdsong ceased and the clouds closed in above them. It seemed to be growing dark already. There was an atmosphere of pervading gloom…

"I would sing a marching song if I were on my own, but my singing is embarrassing," murmured Kori to Ralph.

"I don't know about that. I like how the Dark Forest marching songs are meant to be yelled at the top of one's voice," said Ralph. "They're the type of thing where the audience joins in, even if they're not singers."

Kori grinned at him, her gaze lingering on his face. His freckled nose and cheeks were flushed pink by the cold. "I'm glad you're settling into the Dark Forest so well," said Kori. "It's no small thing to make it in the world when you're so far from home." At that moment, she thought of Madeleine and felt a pang. How was Madeleine getting on without her? What if she was struggling without Kori's assistance, or was lonely and was too proud to admit it in their correspondence? "I – um, Ralph, are you missing your family?"

"I do, but everything in life is about trade-offs," said Ralph. "I have so many brothers and sisters that it was difficult for mum and dad to support us all. I'm not the first, nor even the second son, so I was never going to inherit much. Now I make it in the world here, in the Dark Forest. But yes, I miss having a crowd of brothers to fight with over our one leather football and my gaggle of sisters too." He paused. "Now I miss their clucking and fussing over me…" He gazed ahead pensively for a moment. "But it is my duty to stand on my own two feet and your sister would remind me of duty. She is so wise. We should listen to her."

Kori felt an upsurge of affection for him and laid a hand gently on his arm. "Definitely. The Dark Forest is so fortunate that she will be queen."

"That she will be queen, yes. That at least is fortunate."

Kori beamed at him. Of course Ralph's brothers and sisters all missed him; he was as thoughtful as he was handsome.

"Now I understand you were brought up by a wise-woman in a village somewhere else in the Dark Forest, Kori?" he said to her.

"That's right. It was just me and Madeleine for twelve years. Rudolph checked up on me, but I did not meet Erika until last Autumn. It's perfectly understandable that I had to prove myself to be accepted as a Sommernacht, given that… um…" Kori decided in that moment that she did not want to discuss the lesser demon. "But I so wish I could have actually met my father face to face. He was such a kind and thoughtful man. That came across very clearly when he wrote to me." She sighed. "Because I know that, I know how much I have lost."

"Oh! You corresponded?" Ralph looked a little surprised.

Kori smiled and nodded. "If only I could hold him in my arms now and tell him that it's alright. And if I could have comforted him about…" She sighed.

"Be alert now! There are signs of magical decay that emanate from here." called Rudolph. The trees were thinning and they were now in sight of an isolated farmstead. Kori surveyed it with her keen vision, taking in the near-derelict nature of the tumbledown outbuilding and the drooping, mossy thatch of the farmhouse. The clouds were darkening overhead and thunder rumbled across the hilltops.

The royal guard advanced towards the farm and then Kori gave a piercing cry as she heard the sound of galloping muffled by the snow. "Beware!" she called.

But the guards could all see what approached now. A pack of large creatures galloped down the snowy track towards them. At first glance, from their proportions and their vicious sabre-like tusks, Kori might have taken them for wild boar, but their warty hides, although covered with bristly hair, were not as thickly furred as boar pelts and their mouths hung open, revealing carnivores' teeth, like those of wolves. It was just as Rudolph had guessed. There was rotten magic in the area and the hogs were some kind of monstrous mutation.

The twang of arrows could be heard and several of the wolf-hogs keeled over. Rudolph and the foremost guards closed in on the rest and regardless of their slicing tusks and terrible teeth, made very short work of them with their swords.

"This can only be the work of a wolf cultist, dear Ralph," murmured Kori. "Please stay by me." She couldn't bear the thought of his being hurt, let alone killed… and it would be awful for his family as well. She knew that she had to defend him to the last.

Ralph nodded, looking very grave. Rudolph ordered them to split into smaller groups to investigate different areas of the farm and to then report back.

Rudolph led Kori and Ralph through the fields where they found more signs of decay. The wheat had not been harvested, but had been left to rot in the fields and everywhere there was signs of neglect. Kori and Ralph trotted after Rudolph through the snowy fields. Rudolph kicked the snow aside. "Everything blighted. The stalks all rotten," he told them. Two forlorn looking scarecrows watched over the failed crop, strung up on poles. Suddenly the two straw men twitched and then Kori's heart thudded as they broke free of the sodden ropes binding them to the poles and burst through the moulding crop towards them. She leapt forward through the snow, much faster than Ralph or her uncle could go as the scarecrows leapt and capered with jerky insect-like movements towards her. The nearest one had claws made from sharp splinters and a squash head carved with a leering face. With lightning swiftness, Kori lifted both her sword and Runeknife and snipped off the squash head of her bizarre assailant using a scissoring movement and then with two swift strokes, lopped off its wooden claws.

The other scarecrow was almost upon her, emitting a wail too shrill for the normal human ear to hear, its mouth a gaping hole in its burlap sack head. With a flash of her Runeknife, Kori sliced the straw filled thing in two.

Ralph caught up with her then, Rudolph panting behind him.

Rudolph pointed at the remains of the scarecrows. "That proves it. Like their crazy rhetoric put into practice, the cultists send straw men at us."

"I suppose they know we're here, dear uncle," said Kori scanning the desolate landscape of the deserted farm with her unnatural vision.

"They're hiding somewhere, Kori. We have to check the most likely places." With that, Rudolph led them to a tumbledown barn and heaved on the unbarred door, but he could not move it. "It's stuck," he grumbled.

"I'll do it, uncle," said Kori, lifting the door aside. She was immediately assailed by the musty smell of animals and rotting straw. The barn was very dark, but that never presented a problem to Kori's eyes.

"Beware!" she cried. There was something large lurking in the shadows beneath the hayloft – something shaped like a horse, but with bony protrusions along its back and a huge mouth hanging open and distorted by savage wolf teeth. It cantered towards them with an evil sound, between a whinny and a snarl.

Knowing she had to protect Rudolph and her uncle, Kori bounded forwards. The wolf-stallion tried to lash out at her with its misshapen hooves that were beginning to resemble wolf paws, but she darted from side to side, evading it.

The monster gave a snarling whinny as Rudolph struck it in the flank with his sword. Ralph was there and it attempted to lash out at him, but Kori leapt forwards in the nick of time and knowing that she had to put the mutated beast out of its misery, sliced into its throat with both her blades.

They all backed away as the thing collapsed and thrashed about in its death throes. Kori's heart was thudding in her breast.

"Who lets their farmstead get like this?" asked Ralph breathlessly, his ruddy hair disheveled. "The answer must lie in the farmhouse."

"I think you're right, boy," agreed Rudolph.

Leaving the barn, they trod the snow covered track to the farmhouse. From a distance, Kori could see that the thatch badly needed repair, but closer to the building she could sense something terribly wrong. The place had that palpable aura of evil and malevolence that had emanated from the Wolf Mage, so dense that it seemed to throb in the air around her. It gave her the shivers.

"We must be very, very wary, you dears," she told her companions. "The evil enchantment is here, in the farmhouse."

Rudolph nodded and approached the door. "Very well, we must investigate. Kori, please break down the door."

Kori nodded and pummeled on the rusty lock with her fists, causing it to burst open after a few good blows and the door swung inwards with a squeal…