As the army spread out to encircle the cursed forest we entered it. We weren't exactly a small group, although our numbers paled in comparison to the army as a whole, yet we did our best to move in silence. I held no illusions that the headhunters wouldn't hear, or see us coming though. You could only be so quiet while being ready for combat at all times after all. That was alright though. We weren't here as scouts after all. No, were both the bait and the trap. We had to be careful not to walk into a trap ourselves in though.
We could, in theory, call upon the rest of the army if things were to go badly for us, but it would take any help some time to arrive. We would be better off handling things as if we were completely on our own first and foremost. I gripped the shaft of my weapon tighter as a shiver ran down my spine. It wasn't just because we were heading into the dragon's den here. Temperatures had dropped considerably during the last few days during our march to this glade. It hadn't been noticeable at first but by now I was glad I wore padded clothing under my scale mail.
We had moved north and higher up. That could explain some of the drop in temperature. The seasons were changing as well, yet it was still a bit early for this chill. Just then a cold breeze rustled through the pale trees, shaking some of the last, dried up leaves from their branches, as it sent another shiver down our spines. That wasn't all though. It wasn't just dead leaves drifting to the ground. My eyes widened slightly as a dirty gray flake landed on the back of one of my hands.
At first I mistook it for ash. We had some ashfall after all, after razing that city full of the damned dead with such a devastating spell. That wasn't it though. Even as I watched the flake melted away again, leaving a small damp spot behind. I stopped dead in my tracks as the realization hit me like a brick. “Snow?” I turned towards Leumina, who, among our small number, knew this land better than any of the others. “Is that normal? Isn't it still too early for snow to fall?”
The others came to a halt all around me as well. Some eyed the falling snow flakes with curiosity as well. Most kept their attention focused outwards though. We were in enemy territory after all. Leumina reached out to catch one of the thick flakes as well, as she pondered my question, her brows furrowed. Finally she shrugged. “It isn't exactly usual for snow to fall this early but it is possible. We are getting close to the Ringwall after all. It usually isn't the kind of snow that will last through the winter though. I doubt this is it though.”
She paused briefly, swallowing hard. She looked as if she was uncertain about speaking her mind, maybe because I might not like what she had to say. “It might be due to the grand feats of magic that have been unleashed upon the world recently. The storm at The Gap. That Meteor Strike just recently. There are reasons we usually don't wage war like that. Things like that can wreak havoc upon the weather, the land and the people.”
I groaned. She was right. That wasn't something I really wanted to hear. And of course she was right about grand spells like that destabilizing the usual weather patterns. In the end I nodded and sighed. “Lets hope it doesn't get too bad. A real harsh winter and a year of famine is not what the few people still remaining here need. Never mind that it can make our siege of Gothol'gathrak a lot harder.”
Gash'zur nodded at my last statement. “We can help the people with some of our supplies. At least once we achieve something resembling peace as we knew it again. If we get a lot of snow though, we won't be able to run our supplies across the mountain pass. The caravans would have to take the longer route through the Gap, exposing each of them to attack by the other kings of the council, or whatever bandits might take their place.”
I grimaced but nodded anyway. “We will have to take greater care to secure our supply line. We need to plan for the possibility that one of the caravans doesn't get through at all, for one reason or another, as well. Those are all things we can worry about later though. First we need to deal with the remaining headhunters here.”
As I finished speaking I picked up my pace again and so did the others. As we walked in silence we looked up at the clouds and the dirty snow they were unloading upon us. The dirt had to be from the Meteor Strike. Polluted like this we probably couldn't even use the snow for drinking water.
Right now though I was more worried about the woods surrounding us. The trees changed as we got in deeper. There were no more dead leaves on the ground. The trees here had been dead for many years at the very least. Every once in a while we spotted some headhunters in passing. None of them came even remotely close to us though. They always stayed well ahead of us.
I frowned. I had been frowning for a while now. Now though my frown deepened. “They are trying to lure us in deeper. Has anyone spotted anything else but the headhunters they dangle in front of us like bait?”
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Everyone shook their heads as I looked around. Only Quu'za spoke up. “I don't like these woods. There is no smell of rotting wood or leaves. Nothing. This place is beyond just dead.” She shuddered, her feathers all ruffled.
Before I could answer Gash'zur raised an arm to point at something ahead of us. “There are lights there, ahead of us.”
Now my frown turned into a full blown scowl. Headhunters didn't use lights. Not for hunting or moving around at least. They were quite at home in utter darkness.
I tightened my grip on my weapon and raised my shield. “Careful now! Tighten our formation and keep your weapons ready! Whatever trap they have set up for us, I think we are just about to step right into it.”
All around me I could hear leather and wood squeak and groan as weapons were gripped tighter. Some, especially Leumina's archers, as they were the younger and less experienced ones, muttered prayers to the Maidens. I decided to give in to the urge as well. “Maidens watch over us.” Then I took the point position of our formation with Gash'zur watching my back and the archers at my sides while Quu'za and the other harpies screened us.
The lights eventually turned out to be bonfires surrounding a clearing. It was not a natural clearing either. Not exactly natural was, what was going on on that clearing. As we burst from the woods we were able to behold another of the Devourer's machinations, as cruel as it was bloody and messy.
We came to an abrupt stop as soon as we left the last of the dead trees behind us. We came to a stop just in time to not stumble across the first piles of bodies. Fat, pale and pointy eared bodies. More pale than usual even. Leumina let out a surprised scream and another of her archers puked up what little shad had eaten today.
There were dozens of them. Maybe more. No, there were almost certainly more. The way the dirty snow had started covering the bodies made it hard to tell though. Only directly adjacent to the fires no snow obscured the gruesome spectacle. The dead most certainly outnumbered the living here.
Only a handful of headhunters were still gathered around a large cauldron that was partially sunk into the ground. And before I could say anything the fattest of them, the one wearing the most gruesome trophies on her belt, slit the throat of one of the others, while two more held the latest sacrifice in place to make sure all her blood would end up in the cauldron, the cauldron that was already overflowing.
It was Leumina who acted first. She let the arrow fly which she had kept knocked ever since we spotted the lights. It flew true and sunk into one of the remaining headhunters all the way to the fletching, knocking him away from the cauldron of bubbling blood.
Before anyone else could regain their senses or do anything the last of the headhunters slit their own throats. As they fell their blood seemed to float upwards, to fall into the cauldron as well, like a red rain.
This was not what I had expected. It was not over yet though. Whatever was going on, it was not over. Not by far. My voice was weak as I called out. “Gash'zur, smash the cauldron!”
The giantess raised her hammer. Before she could step forward to bring it down upon the bloody thing though a figure rose from the blood. And as she rose, she wailed. She wailed like death incarnate. Gash'zur stumbled backwards. Her hammer slipped from her hands.
The others didn't remain untouched either. Quu'za dropped to the ground crying, clutching her head, while the other harpies ran off. Leumina didn't fare much better either. She pressed her hands against her ears, but the gesture was futile. I could see blood leak out from in between her fingers.
My own legs were shaking as well. It took all the force of will I could muster to not only keep standing. I raised my shield and my glaive as the bloody figure stepped from the cauldron.
She looked up at me. “And thus we meet again. And what scrumptious little morsels you have brought.” She licked her bloody lips, baring her fangs. “I think I still have room for a little dessert.”