Cedric waited, perched on top of a tree branch. He had a few rocks in his hand. None of them were very big, but they were sharp, and he could throw them with enough force to hurt the chanters. The only one with an actually big rock was Brigid, though she hid behind some bushes rather than trees. She would throw hers after they did, and she would aim for any chanters that were still left. Honestly, Thor expected that she wouldn’t need to do anything.

However, the caravan had been delayed for some reason. Cedric could feel his hands shaking, and he clenched his fist around the rocks. It didn’t help and he needed to lighten his grip when he heard the rocks cracking. Idly, he wondered when they would give up and return. Thor was the one who needed to make the decision, and he had said that they would wait for nightfall at the very least. For some reason, Thor had seemed desperate to complete the mission, though Cedric didn’t know why. They couldn’t do anything if the caravan didn’t come, and he didn’t think they would get in trouble.

Honestly, the wait was making him more anxious, and he wished that they had left. Still, he wanted to do his job, to prove to himself that he could do it. Despite that, he couldn’t help but stare in awe as he saw the caravan. Two enormous carriages, each the size of a house moved on their own. There were no beasts to pull them, instead, he saw two people standing on top, and he could guess that they were the chanters. Apparently, they were moving the vehicles, and he couldn’t help but just stare at them.

Then he saw the attack, rocks were thrown at one of the people standing atop the caravan. he rushed to do his job and chucked the rocks at the other. It came out in a spray of dust and pebbles as he had crushed most of them with his hands. Thankfully he wasn’t the only one throwing at this target, and Sam’s rocks hit the man. Some of his pebbles did too but it only provided a distraction. The two men fell from the top of the carriages, falling a tree's length onto the ground. Neither of them were moving, and he made sure to start the next step without hesitation.

He leapt from the treetop, stumbling as he hit the ground. His hand grazed the dirt as he used it to stop himself from falling over. Kicking off the ground behind him, he prepared to tackle one of the carriages, confident that he had the strength to topple it. A rock flew by him, it was as big as he was tall. It crashed into one of the carriages, ripping a hole through it. Cedric heard screaming then, a high-pitched wail of agony that was oddly supernatural to him. he forced himself to remain on course and plowed into the side of the still whole carriage. As expected, he hit it like another boulder, but he didn’t punch through completely. He pushed it to the side while breaking through the outer wall.

The carriage spun as it fell onto its side, and he found himself standing in the middle of it. Shaking his head, he pushed himself to a standing position. He heard glass cracking beneath his hands, but he wasn’t worried about it cutting him. He could make out some people looking at him and saw the fear in their eyes. It was a reflection of his own from not too long ago, whenever he found himself surrounded back at home. He forcibly dismissed the thoughts but that didn’t change the situation.

There were three people by his count. A man who had some greying hair, and thick eyebrows. Adorned with obvious merchant clothes he was obviously the leader of the caravan. He didn’t really know what to do but heard someone speak from the hole he had made.

“Everyone out. Now!”

Thor’s voice echoed in the silent chamber, but the people flinched at the loud commands. They hesitated though and stared at Cedric with obvious hatred. Their looks of fear contorted into rage, and Cedric found his hands moving to the hilt of his blade. Sliding the blade out, he shook his head, trying to tell them not to try anything. He wanted to speak but couldn’t find the courage to do so.

Something shifted though, and the man’s face grew angrier. He looked like Cedric was the devil, and stepped forward drawing a dagger from somewhere. The man’s desperate rush was honestly pathetic. Children back home were more menacing than this man, and Cedric tried to end the fight calmly. He swung his blade slowly, using what he estimated to be enough power to daze the man. Even some of the normal knights from back home had been able to handle this attack.

The flat of Cedric’s weapon touched the side of the man’s head and passed straight through. The man’s head ripped cleanly from his body before splattering into an explosion of gore against the wooden wall of the carriage. Cedric froze, staring at the carriage as blood spread over the inside of the space. Only a little had reached him, but the ones behind the man were stained in red. He winced when he heard crying, but his eyes were staring at the man’s corpse. That was beyond what he had expected. How did that even happen?

He wanted to shake, wanted to vomit, and wanted to run. Instead of any of that, he just stood there, staring at the carnage before him. He barely paid attention to the other people but heard their screams ringing in his mind. He heard the mumble of words, from a voice that was obviously struggling to hold back their anger. Thor’s panicked yell went past him without so much as a twitch.

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The woman before him raised her hands toward him, and a ball of fire launched at him. Cedric couldn’t even bring his arm up in defense, and the fire struck him head-on. He could feel his skin burn, his eyes boil, and his mouth go dry. There was pain, but it felt surprisingly distant and hollow. Even as his skin burned it healed, and the pain turned to nothing by the time the fire died away. The attack did get him to move though, as he raised his free hand to his face. To try and feel what had happened. He felt nothing amiss, his skin and even hair seemed completely undamaged. Did his body heal that quickly, and even regrow his hair?

He rose his head from the carnage, facing the woman and seeing that her own hands had been burnt. The carriage itself was catching on fire, and he felt his body moving before his mind understood what was happening. He wanted to get the people out and began walking towards them. The lady said something he didn’t fully understand, but the gesture she made was obvious. It was a prayer, and she followed it with another chant, raising her hands again. More fire began swirling around them, but he only stepped closer, still not fully sure what he was doing.

He moved faster than he intended, stepping directly in front of her. Her eyes went wide with alarm and panic, her gaze flashing to the child behind her. Trying to stop her from going too far, Cedric reached out to her with his hand, he could get them out.

It was too late though, and the fire exploded when it touched his fingers. The force pushed his hand back but didn’t manage much else. The burning of the skin along his fingers didn’t bother him. However, the explosion hadn’t been as contained as the last attack. The pain he felt in his hand was minor when compared to the horror that had been imprinted in his mind. The chanter had killed herself, and the child behind her with the attack. The flames covered the inside of the caravan. The woman had died instantly, but he could still hear the child’s pained screams. Each sound reverberated in his ears.

He barely even moved as he felt hands grab his shoulders and pull him out of the burning carriage. Shaking him violently, Cedric finally raised his head to face Thor. As soon as they made eye contact, he spoke.

“This is a war, get your shit together now. Deal with the rest of it later.”

Thor spoke harshly while pushing him towards the forest. Cedric considered telling him of the child that was in the carriage but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Although, he did manage to follow the prodding. Before he knew it, he was running into the forest following behind Thor.

They ran for over an hour through the forest. They weren’t slow now, clearing ground at an inhuman speed. At some point, Cedric had started crying, though he had no idea when. Thor stopped him, handing him a cloak and an extra shirt and pants. He felt embarrassed at needing to borrow the man’s spares, but his clothes were mostly gone. There were only a few patches around his waist, but most of his armor had been burned. The metal awkwardly melting with the remaining leather.

Changing clothes had been surprisingly difficult, as the melted metal had stuck to his skin. The process involved him tearing out large chunks of skin. Honestly, it barely even felt like a scratch, especially when compared to the burns from earlier. They buried his skin and armor, as a precaution to make sure that his blood couldn’t be studied. Thor had also decided that this was a good time for a short break, as it looked like everyone needed it.

After the dismissal, Cedric just sat on the ground. He didn’t think he could fall asleep as the screams still echoed in his head. His gaze had naturally fallen to the ground, and he only looked up when he heard movement. The others had sat around him, but nobody spoke. The silence lingered for a while.

“That was the first time I’ve ever seen someone die. I just threw a rock at the guy and that was it.”

Steven broke the silence. There was no arrogance in his tone now. All his tone held was some shock mixed with amazement. He wasn’t done either and continued, his mood noticeably improving as he spoke.

“I did it. I killed a chanter, and when we get back that will make me a hero. We can do it. It is our duty to represent our kingdom properly. We are soldiers, and we will have to do more than just this.”

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. Cedric only remained quiet, staring into nothingness. Steven’s attempt at cheering up the group slowly tapered out, and the group remained in awkward silence for a while.

“I froze…After the rock I threw killed that guy, I couldn’t get myself to move again.”

Sam’s words resonated with some of his thoughts, but not all of them. It was clear that she was disappointed in herself, but she didn’t sound remorseful. Cedric knew that he shouldn’t feel bad, that he was only doing what was right. That fighting for the reclamation of his home was just, but that felt hollow as he heard the child’s screams in his ears.

“I killed everyone in the carriage without ever seeing what was happening. I didn’t even get to see what my attack had done, until after everyone was already dead. That did not feel very honorable.”

The disgust in Brigid’s tone matched parts of his thoughts as well, but even that was only a small part of what he felt. However, hearing her had given him some courage, and he tried explaining what had happened to him.

“I didn’t even want to kill the people inside. When I saw a family, I just wanted to get them all out. I barely touched the man and he died, and in attempting to save the others I had killed them… It had been so easy.”

Cedric didn’t know how to fully express what he felt, but he stumbled through what had happened. It was true though. He had been so excited to become a hero, but he wasn’t prepared for something like this. He was revolted by his own actions, though he didn’t know if it was because he wanted to save the chanters, or since he had killed those people. Even that felt like nothing compared to screaming that would not leave his ears.