Rain is miserable. I hate the rain. For two days, there has been nothing but rain. No bandits, no villages, no other travelers, only the rain.
The worst part is that once you get wet, there is almost no way to dry off completely. The little stove in our wagon was burning constantly, but it was not enough to fight the miserable sogginess that covered everything.
The five of us huddled in the small wagon while the stallions, Mordere and Mitis, pulled us forward. We were lucky that, unlike normal horses, they did not need a carriage driver sitting outside in the rain. The two horses were extensions of my will and knew to keep moving and to stay on the road without being directed.
The worst part of the rain was the roads, or more correctly, lack of roads. Everything was one giant mud puddle. Every couple hours, the wagon would get stuck in the mud, and then we would all have to get out and push. When the wagon was finally pulled free, we were wet, dirty, and covered in mud. There was no place to clean off except in the wagon. The lack of privacy and cramped quarters was quickly getting on everyone’s nerves.
While the wagon was perfectly serviceable for sleeping, it was not designed for five people to live in it. There was no room for chairs, tables, or furniture of any kind other than the beds and small stove. Just the five of us in the wagon together was so cramped that two had to sit on the larger bed and the other three on the floor or collapsible bunkbeds.
Out of all of us, Charly was the most content. He spent most of the time laying on his bunkbed reading the books he got from the apothecary. For the rest of us, the only entertainment was a single deck of cards and the board game with a name I still could not pronounce.
“I win again!” Donte proclaimed, throwing out the cards in his hand. Even the small action of moving his arm made him push me against the nearby wall. I tried to push his damp shirt away as it clung to my skin, but there was nowhere to push it to.
“You have to be cheating.” I proclaimed angrily. “There is no way you can have that many good hands in a row.”
“It’s all skill.” Donte replied, sticking out his chest proudly.
“Skillful cheating.” I mumbled.
“Do not blame me. Your mum dealt the cards. Ask her why every hand you get is terrible.”
My mom just shrugged as she gathered up the cards, before preparing to deal a new hand. “We cannot play Latrunculi. You always win.”
“Because Donte always winning at cards is so much better.” I grumbled.
“I don’t always win. I just win most of the time.” Donte replied.
I am still not convinced you are not cheat…” I paused mid-sentence as my connection with Sylvie spotted something. I closed my eyes, and saw the world through hers. She was flying high above, scouting for anything other than the endless rain. After two miserable days, she finally found something. An old stone fort tucked into the mountains. It looked deserted, and completely rundown, but anything was better than another minute in this wagon.
“Wren, what is it?” My mother asked
“A place to dry off.” I replied with a big smile. “Perfect for spending the night.”
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Our wagon rumbled through the crumbling gatehouse into the small courtyard. I could see the remains of what had once been a stable off to one side and a great big gate that led into the abandoned fort.
“I wonder why this place was abandoned.” My father mused as he looked out at the collapsing brickwork.
“It looks like this fort was one of mine.” I replied, examining the architecture. “But I don’t remember having a fort built in the middle of nowhere. Maybe one of my chancellors did it.”
“Whatever it was, it’s the perfect place for us now.” Donte replied excitedly as he hopped down from the wagon. Even the heavy downpour soaking him could not dampen his spirits. He sprinted to the giant doors of the fort and pushed them open with no effort.
“They left the doors unlocked?” I said in surprise. “What good is a fort if you leave the front doors open?”
“Maybe they knew they were not coming back, so they left it open for whoever came next.” Charly spoke.
I frowned. That was not the protocol I had in place during my empire’s reign. A fort like this would have been expensive to build and taken years to complete. Even after I died it still held strategic value. I could not understand why the soldiers here would simply abandon it.
I hopped out of the wagon and walked into the open doors. My eyes were immediately drawn to a banner hanging prominently for any who enter to see. the banner depicted a green flame encircled by a crown with five different colored gems. This fort was definitely one of mine, just as the banner was mine. It was the flag I used when I ruled my empire.
The only question was, why was it here? This fort must have been built to protect something, but it never appeared on any of the maps depicting my empire. Whatever it was protecting must have been a secret. Knowing my chancellors and the isolated location, this fort was likely protecting something they did not want me to know about. Something illegal.
“Let’s find a place to dry off first, maybe enjoy dinner, before you explore the rest of the fort.” I called out to Donte as I stepped into a large open room, dimly lit only by the light pouring through the archer arrow slits overhead.
“How can you say that?” Donte asked, running into a nearby room. His voice echoing through the fort. “Aren’t you curious what happened here? It is like a haunted mansion in old stories. You have to explore.”
“I probably already know what happened here. A secret fort my Chancellors did not want me to know about, hidden in the middle of nowhere mountains. I will bet you everything I own this was the base of an illegal slave or drug trade. I want to get warm and dry before you inevitably find the pile of skeletons or some other atrocity that makes it so we cannot sleep here tonight.” I shook my head as my parents and Charly entered the fort followed by Sylvie and Nox. Everyone just wanted to get dry, and I was not in the mood to do anything other than that.
“I will take that bet.” Donte replied, sticking his head out of the nearby room with a grin. “Just don’t regret it when everything you own is mine.”
I sighed and collapsed into a nearby chair, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
“I will find a fireplace somewhere decent for us to rest for the night. The Barracks or officers’ quarters should have what we are looking for.” My father said, wandering off down one of the halls.
“And I am going to see if I can find the baths. There was a well outside, so if we can find enough burnable wood, we can have our first warm bath in days.” My mother said, looking around the fort curiously.
“Just burn the furniture. Nobody here needs it anymore.” I replied with a dismissive wave of my hand.
Both my parents disappeared down two different hallways. Not paying attention to where they went, I closed my eyes for a few moments. Something about this fort did not add up. It is not close enough to any major locations to for illegal trade, nor were there any signs of labor camps outside. What could a place like this possibly be used for?
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“It’s strange.” Charly said, wiping a thick layer of dusk off a table. “Didn’t Dad say this mountain range famous for bandits? There is no way they have not found this place after fifty years. Why would they not set up a base in such a great location.”
I pressed my palm into my head suppressing the irritation I felt. I just wanted to get dry, but Charly was right.
“Fine, let’s go. Remember to grab your crossbow.” I said, standing up and brushing the dust off of me.
“Go where?” Charly asked.
“To find whatever has been scaring off the bandits who find the fort of course. My guess is some automated defense, or maybe a Demonkin.”
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“Come on Donte. Let’s explore together before we become a cliché.” I shouted, my voice echoing through the empty fort.
I frowned as only silence answered me. He should not have had time to go very far. He had disappeared around the corner only a minute ago.
“Donte?” I shouted louder. “Can you hear me?”
No reply.
“Mom? Dad? Are you there?”
Once again, there was only silence.
I motioned to Sylvie and Nox. “Go find my parents and lead them to me. Charly, you stay with me. We will find Donte.”
“S-shouldn’t we find our parents first?” Charly asked, looking around at every shadow. I could hear his voice shake with fear, as he grabbed my arm tightly.
“Mom and Dad are both armed and well trained to handle any situation. Donte is not. Also, I did not pay attention to what direction they wandered off to, but I know Donte went through this doorway.” I replied, peeling Charly off my arm. “Now, stop being scared and get your crossbow. We have faced Demonkin before. This is nothing new.”
Charly nodded and ran out the main entrance to grab his crossbow from the wagon. As he stepped into the rain, the two giant doors swung closed behind him. There was the sound of metal sliding into place as the doors locked. All without anyone touching them.
Both my eyes glowed as I looked around the dimly lit room. I was all alone now, no family and no Nox or Sylvie at my side. I connected to the animals with my mind. They were dashing down the hallway as fast as they could, but there was still no sign of my parents. The two stallions sat outside in the rain, alone. There was no Charly there.
I addressed the empty room with a cold steel in my voice. “If even one hair on their head is harmed, I will burn your soul to ash.”
A deep, slow laugh echoed through the dimly lit room. A door at the far end of the room blew open. Beyond the door was a dark empty corridor devoid of any light.
Whoever or whatever was doing this seemed to understand me at least, but if they thought it could scare me, it chose the wrong target.
I tapped on the nearby table, waiting to see if Charly would use his crossbow to blow down the door to the fort. After a few moments of nothing, I knew something must have happened to him as well.
I felt a small gust of wind at my back, seemingly nudging me towards the dark corridor.
Confident, a small flame ignited in my hand, bathing the room in shades of green. I walked towards the corridor, curious at what our host had in store for me.
Despite my worry for my family, excitement welled within me as I stepped into the darkness. It had been a long time since I faced something I did not understand. The door back to the main room slammed shut behind me, locking me in the dark corridor. Facing the unknown, I took a step forward and smiled.
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The dark corridor smelled of stale air and mold. I kicked up layers of dust with every step. The only light was the green glow from my own flames.
I passed a few doors as I walked through the long hallway, but all of them were locked. I thought about busting them down just to see what the entity guiding me would do, but curiosity had me walking the strait path forward. I wanted to see where it was taking me and why.
After a few minutes of walking down the corridor, I came to a single open door. In front of the door was a skeleton. I stopped, examining the pile of bones lying on the floor. I nudged it with mt foot to reveal a massive hole on the center of the skull. There was no rotten flesh or decay left on the corpse. Whatever had done this, had done it a long time ago.
“I am going to be disappointed if you are bringing me all the way here just to kill me.” I spoke, addressing the empty corridor.
Again, I heard the deep slow laugh echo through the hallway. I listened carefully, but I could not find the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from everywhere.
With nowhere left to go, I stepped over the skeleton into the doorway beyond. I flared my flame brightly as I held my hand high over my head so I could light the room beyond without blinding myself.
What I saw made me feel sick to my stomach as old memories nearly froze me in place. My eyes were drawn to dozens of giant glass tubes lining one of the walls. Most of the tubes were broken but a few still remained intact. Bathed in green light, I could see deformed creatures floating in the few undamaged tanks. I looked around the room, spotting a dissection table and a myriad of medical tools, before walking up to one of the remaining tanks.
Inside was what almost looked like a bear, but it was mutated nearly beyond recognition. Most of its fur had fallen off and its arms were far too long for its body. What stood out the most though were the stitches. It looked as if someone had taken different body parts from multiple different bears and sowed them into this one.
“Seems like one of my Chancellors was playing with fire without understanding how it works.” I mumbled furiously while examining the corpse.
Experiments like this had been common in the Corvus empire, but I had banned them after I took control. I knew what they were trying to create here, but the risk was too high. Out of a thousand attempts, nine hundred ninety-nine of them would only create a Demonkin, and the one success would probably die within a few days if it was lucky.
“Is this what you are?” I asked loudly, my voice echoing through the empty room. “Are you one of these experiments? Is that why you brought me here?”
No reply answered me, and no laugh echoed out this time. Instead, a door on the other side of the room creaked open.
I walked towards the now open door; dreading what else this being had to show me. Past the door was another room identical to the first, but with one key difference. My legs shook as I looked at the corpses in revolution. Inside the many tubes lining the wall were not animals but human remains. Sloppy stitchwork sowed parts of beasts to poor people who were once nothing more than test subjects to whoever ran this fort.
This was no longer just something illegal during my rule. If I had known about this, I would have executed not just the one who ran this base, but each and every person connected to it. Even their families would not be spared from punishment.
This was exactly the type of experiments the Corvus empire preformed. Someone had unearthed their research and resumed the tests.
Rage and grief burned within me as I faced the corpses suspended in the tubes. My empire was supposed to be better than this. I bowed my head to the people, and spoke. “I am sorry this happened to you. I truly failed as an empress. Nothing I can do can change that, but I promise I will give you a proper burial before I leave here.”
Another door opened, and I faced it with conflicting emotions. I no longer wanted to see any more, but I owned it to the people that died here to follow this thing till the end.
Below this door was a spiral stairway going down. I took a deep breath and walked forward. I would face whatever it was without fear.
Each step was heavy as I descended the stairs. I moved slowly, dreading whatever was at the bottom, until finally the stairs came to a stop in front of a single door.
The door slowly creaked open. I lifted my flames high, and flared them brightly to reveal a massive chamber.
The first thing that hit me was the smell. The stench of rot and death washed over me with enough force to make me retch.
I collapsed to my knees as the sight in front of me shook me to my core. A mountain of disfigured corpses, there had to be thousands of them, tens of thousands of them. All piled on top of each other and left there to rot.
Human and animal alike, discarded like trash.
Tears ran down my face as I saw the horror in front of me. This was worse than anything I could imagine. How could something like this have happened under my rule? how did I not know about it?
“Aurielle Aevus, Empress of the Immortal Empire.” Spoke a low deep voice, reverberating from the pile of corpses. “This is your legacy. Death and rot.”
“I… I did not know.” I whispered, as tears fell to the ground.
“And you think that excuses you from all this?”
“No.” I said, hanging my head low.
“You always claimed to be fighting for the people, but when they needed you most, you were nowhere to be seen. The men who did this flew your banner with pride. Look. Look and see those who died because of you.”
I looked up at the mountain of corpses. The empty, rotted skull gazed back at me… judging me.
In the dim green light, a massive figure moved. Covered in deep black fur, standing taller a dozen men, was a giant bear. It looked at me with glowing gold eyes that burned with fury.
“Do you have any last words before I pass judgement on you?” The giant bear spoke with a deep voice that shook the room.
I saw the beast, and knew what it was immediately… A Guardian. It was something I could not fight with my current strength. Even at my full strength I might not have been able to defeat something like this without an army of undead to wear it down first.
I looked down at the ground, accepting what was to come. “All I ask is that you spare my family. They had nothing to do with any of this. They are innocent.”
“Innocence is decided by judgement.” The bear spoke as it lumbered across the room. It stood in front of me, a giant wall of fur that blocked everything out. The golden eyes glowed as a single claw reached out, touching the center of my forehead. “All must face Judgment.”