The clothes that Anjelica had taken from the armory were all quite gaudy to Sera. Almost everything was made of wool that had been dyed a deep black, a bright red, or had some vague combination of the two. That was not to mention the many, many embroidered and embossed Gavel sigils which had been laid upon every possible surface. After digging through the pile for some time she was able to find a simply dyed leather cuirass which she promptly snatched up.
It may be a bit too big for me but at least it is not black, Sera thought as she was trying it on. Why are these people all obsessed with covering every square inch of their body?
A cream colored shirt with tight sleeves was next, followed by some leather riding pants and boots that came up to her mid calf. Sera had specifically picked the boots due to the small knife holster in the side and she was elated to find that her dagger fit inside. Sera selected from the pile of gloves a set of dark leather fingerless gloves. The belt that had been provided for her had a small loop for a sword and a gun holster coming down onto her thigh.
Walking over to the armory wall, Sera lifts one of the rapiers from the stand and slips it into her belt loop. Finding the smallest pistol that she could, Sera slipped it into her side holster.
The carriage started to move beneath Sera’s feet.
“Anjelica must have arrived,” Sera mumbled to herself.
She then pulled out the small wooden chest which Anjelica used to hold the ammunition. The bullets were in orderly lines inside. From the pattern it looked like Anjelica always took bullets out from the left and Sera followed suit.
As she placed the bullets into her belt Sera found herself hoping that she would not have need of them.
How long the carriage had traveled was always a bit nebulous while inside of it. Anjelica had designed her roost with no windows. When they finally drew to a stop Sera only knew that there was little left of the daylight as she stepped out onto grass. They were some distance outside of Portillo and Sera could no longer see the town past the hills.
The carriage had pulled up to the front of a farmhouse made of rough hewn wood. It had been built into the side of a hill and the property was well kept and obviously loved. Two stories tall with a relatively fresh coat of white paint, a patio, and red shingles made it pretty as well as homely. The twinklings of candle lights gave the indication of life inside. Behind the home was fencing that led to a grand pasture. The fences reached far back and over the hill towards the back of the property. In the distance was the shadow of a barn which stood watch over the flocks of sheep, goats, and pigs which ate at the grasses.
It reminds me a bit of Annika’s farm. I wonder if they also have horses? Sera pondered.
A roll of thunder rumbled overhead. The clouds shifted in fright and the gray skies cleared for just a moment. The last sliver of light swept over the hillside and Sera’s heart dropped. In the shaft of light she could see a huge splotch of red on the hillside. A bloody blemish to the pristine hillside.
“Sera?” Anjelica called out as she hopped from the driving bench, “Are you feeling alright? You look as if you had a fright!”
The clouds closed over top with another rumble and the shadow dropped over the hill once more, hiding the red stain in the shadow. Sera shook her head and then looked up to Anjelica with a serious expression.
“What happened here?” Sera asked in frustration at the stain’s intrusion into her nostalgia.
“That is what we are here to find out. We were only told that something has been killing livestock in the neighboring farms. This is the most recent report. If you would like to know what happened then perhaps we should go take the people’s testimony?” Anjelica said the words as if she was leading Sera to an answer.
“What if there are things that we can learn from the scene while there is still daylight left?” Sera retorted.
“This is not a negotiation, Sera,” Anjelica snapped at her, “In fact, it is more of an interrogation. We always collect witness testimony first when there is no sign of immediate danger. If you would like to know why we do it that way then you can ask Hound about it!”
“What?” Hound asked as his feet hit the ground, “I told you to stop volunteering me for things without telling me beforehand.”
“Sera would like to know why we interrogate people first?” Anjelica asked with a hopeful note in her voice.
“Oh. Anjelica just likes doing it that way. Always has.” Hound stated matter of factly.
This elicited an angered sigh from Anjelica as she turned and stormed off towards the front door of the farmhouse. Sera and Hound shared a shrug before following her.
Anjelica rapped on the door loudly several times. There was a pause before the group heard footsteps. The door swung open and the party was presented with a man. He had rough skin with deep callouses that could be seen even from the short distance between him and the group. His skin was darkened by the sun and beads of sweat dripped down past his curly, black hair. The man gave one look at the group all dressed in reds and stamped regalia and his eyes brightened.
“You must be the Gavels that I sent for! We are blessed by God to have you arrive so quickly! Please, come in, come in!” The man moved away from the doorway and began waving towards the interior of the home.
“We happened to be passing through and got your report. You did a good thing reporting the discovery so quickly. I am Anjelica the Raven. This is my companion Hound and my ward Sera. We are at your service!” Anjelica said with a professionalism that Sera had never seen before. Anjelica had rounded her rougher edges. The eclectic and sly woman that Sera had met was replaced by this consummate professional who was straightforward and subdued.
“Well we would certainly appreciate the help Ms.Raven. This thing has been terrorizing my farm for weeks! This is the fourth sheep that we noticed was taken,” The man choked out the words.
“It is either Raven or Anjelica but not Ms.Raven. If you please?” Anjelica said curtly. She waited for his nod before continuing.
“I read that there was a body discovered. Is it still here?”
“Oh y-yes, right this way!” the man stammered out. He then led them down a hallway towards a kitchen area.
“The missus wanted her kitchen back so I told her that I would move it in the morning. I also told her that you lot would be round to examine it and look at who is here and needs to look at the body?” The man continued as he turned into the room.
Sera saw Anjelica pull a large kerchief from her jacket as they walked. Anjelica wrapped the kerchief over her nose and mouth before tightening it snugly behind her head. Sudden fear came over Sera as she realized that she might need one as well. Sera began to search the pockets of her new clothes hoping to find something, anything that could be used as a substitute.
A heavy tap on her shoulder came and Sera looked over to see Hound with a bemused smile in his eyes. He offered a hand towards her with a large, bright red kerchief.
“Thanks!” Sera said. She reached over and grabbed the kerchief from Hound before he, too, walked into the kitchen.
Sera took great care in applying her kerchief as she had already begun to smell the indications of rancid meat and blood. Once she had secured it and tucked it into her shirt she took a deep breath and followed her companions into the room.
Upon the kitchen table was the carcass of some kind of animal. One would only know that it was a sheep by being told so as the injuries left it nearly unrecognizable. It was a tangled mass of twisted bones, gnawed meat, and vague indications that it had once been a sheep. What was left of the fleece was so caked and soaked in blood that it had blended in with the rest of the gore.If you had asked what its main characteristic was, the only thing that Sera would say was ‘bloody’. It was an absolute bloody mess. A single remaining leg still clung to a portion of the sheep’s flank that ended halfway up the ribs. Deep gouges marred what skin could be seen on the sheep’s body. A large chunk the size of a fist had been bitten out of the back of the skull.
The smell immediately penetrated through the cloth which only managed to make it bearable. Where the bones met flesh the meat had begun to rot and shades of blue and green emerged on the surface. Flies buzzed around in a fervorous attempt to capitalize on the corpses' presence.
The farmer, seeming either undeterred by the smell or having gone nose blind due to his proximity to the corpse, had made no attempt to cover his mouth or nose. He looked sadly over at the body while shaking his head. He crossed his arms as if in disapproval of the cruelty.
“It is just a mighty shame. Before I knew it I had already lost four of my sheepies. This is the only one we found. It was up in a tree in the forest back past the field and the barn.” The farmer said with a shaky voice. A tear came to his eye as he spoke about it.
“Well if you have had multiples of these sheep taken then have you considered that it might have been some kind of large hunting cat or wolves?” Anjelica asked the man impatiently.
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“Wolves?” Sera interjected, “This thing is torn apart Anjelica. Wolves do not tear their prey apart like this and they certainly do not hide their food in trees!”
“Is that so Sera?” Anjelica said annoyedly while giving Sera a cold stare, “If you already know what we are looking for then would you please enlighten us?”
‘Well it has to be some kind of a bear. The only time I have ever seen something like this is when the Rodrick’s brought their cow into town. They said that a bear had attacked it and it was ripped to shreds just like this one!” Sera continued emphatically.
“That will be very helpful when we eventually have to track it down,” Anjelica said with some finality, “For now Sera we have to focus on the testimony for the Church’s records.”
“Well that is the best part! If it is a bear then we probably would not even have to track it – “ Sera explained.
““We can discuss the propers ways to engage people with civility and care at a later date, Sera. We need to take their testimonies and be cautious about this. If you feel so confident in your appraisal then please go and find more evidence. If a large predator is about then they will certainly have left signs in the nearby woods around the pasture. We all contribute where we can,” Anjelica snapped as she chastised Sera.
Sera was stunned as she had never been corrected like that before. Annika had certainly called her all sorts of names but somehow it was less forceful, less authoritative. Sera looked to Hound who just stared directly back at her.
“Fine, I will go and see what I can find.” Sera stated as she turned on her heel and exited.
She had half expected one of them to stop her as she exited the house. Finding herself outside in the warm summer air she realized that she was a bit disappointed.
“Oh now what am I supposed to do?” Sera said to the growing darkness.
A loud, raucous whiny sounded from the other side of the carriage.
“Oh shut up! You are laughing at the person who controls your treats!” Sera called over to the unseen Buck.
Another whinny sounded out in response which drew an angry groan from Sera.
“Oh!” Sera said with her mood suddenly lifting, “This must be how Anjelica felt earlier. I am learning!”
An oil lamp hung just outside of the door of the farmhouse. Taking it from its hook, Sera presented it before her like a holy symbol to drive back the night.
“Well if I do actually know what I am talking about then I should be able to find some clues right? It is probably just a bear who found some nice woods and some easy sheep to hunt.” Sera could not help but let her fear rattle her words as she spoke them.
“I might as well start where I saw that bloodstain.”
With the small beam from the lantern lighting her path, Sera made her way onto the pasture. At the sound of the gate a cacophony of bleats echoed out in the darkness. On the edges of the light in the distance Sera could see the shuffling, huddled forms of the flock as they moved away from the stranger in their paddock. It was a long walk up the hill but Sera trudged along until she eventually began to see traces of her goal.
Small droplets of red were flung far and wide. Sera found droplets almost ten strides away from where the actual bloody patch lay. The grass in a wide berth had been stomped and flattened from some kind of struggle. What looked like a blotch from afar was actually an accumulation of many small streaks and puddles of blood that had been left in the field.
Wait, puddles? I thought the sheep was taken weeks ago?
Reaching towards the nearest puddle of blood, Sera felt her finger sink into the thick, wet mass of the partially dried blood. Immediately she pulled her hand back. A look of disgust came over her face as she wiped her fingers off into the grass next to her.
“This is fresh!” Sera exclaimed, “It had to have happened right before we got here!”
Sera began to shine her light around the edges of the splotch to see that it was maybe five paces across. Her eyes lit up as she saw indications of a trail of blood snaking into the grass.
Leaning down to see the ground Sera began to follow the trail of crimson drips and drops leading away.
“The grass looks fine here so it must have been carrying the sheep. The only thing strong enough to carry the poor thing off like that is a bear,” Sera said to the field, “Now it is just to follow the trail to the part of the woods that it is staying in and then maybe Anjelica will pay me!”
Sera stopped as the dark shape of the barn came into view in front of her. Looking at the trail she saw that it continued right up to the big double doors of the barn which sat slightly ajar.
“Okay…why would a bear drag a sheep into a barn? I guess to eat in privacy?” Sera said nervously, ‘If it is too busy eating then it may not even notice me. I can make sure that it was here and then report back to Anjelica with evidence on display. I just need to go and investigate what that evidence could be.”
Steeling herself, Sera continued toward the door. In an effort to conceal herself she placed the lantern on the small hook by the sliding doors before beginning to slink along the closed door towards the opening. As Sera got to the end of the door her foot steeped in dusty mud. She waited there for a moment, just biding her time and listening for any sign or sound of the animal’s presence inside. After a few moments of hearing nothing of concern Sera turned the corner and made her way to the interior of the barn.
The panel in the roof had been left open and moonlight streaked in beams into the interior. Immediately to her left was a big pile of what looked like storage. Boxes, crates, linen bags, and the edges of various collected furs and wools all stuck out of their corners or peeked out from beneath the several tarps which covered them. To her right was the ladder leading up to the hay bails. Along the floor the trail of blood streaked away from the hay bail and around the large pile of curiosities before leading to a dark stain at the base of the ladder leading up to the storage loft.
Sera made her way across to the other side of the barn. Trying to be as agile as she could she began to climb the ladder up to the loft. As she climbed she found her hands hitting smears of red blood on the slightly tilted ladder. She noticed large gouges from talons sticking into the wooden wall beside her. Upon reaching the top of the ladder Sera very slowly and carefully raised her head above the edge of the loft’s floor.
The storage loft was lined with shoddily made wooden shelves which held a myriad of jars preserving fruits and meats. Along the bottom of the shelves sat barrels with large black letters announcing them as “SALT”, “WATER”, “SUGAR”, and “LARD”. Though there was no movement, there was an animal up in the loft. With no sign of danger Sera stepped up and onto the loft to investigate further.
Laying on the floor of the loft was the body of a horse. It was still young by Sera’s estimation; it had probably seen three years or less before ending up in its current state. Much like the sheep that Sera had seen in the kitchen the horse’s corpse was a terrible mess. A large chunk had been taken out of the back of its head. Deep cuts and scratches crossed its neck and body as Sera’s eyes traced down. The abdomen had been torn open. The ribs on the side Sera could see had been pulled back and snapped to open the cavity. Its guts had been mostly ripped out and Sera could see obvious signs of pieces having been eaten from the offal. While some indication of the rest of the organs were visible the liver was nowhere to be seen. The back right leg had been ripped off leaving a jagged enough wound that bits of white bone could be seen amongst the gore.
“Poor thing,” Sera mumbled, “You never even stood a chance”
Sera walked around to the other side of the horse to examine the head wound. Jagged teeth marks lined the outer edges.
You fought like hell and it still got you. Then it dragged you up here to have a snack. It must have been one huge bear to be able to take you down and then carry you all the way up here…wait, how did it drag you up here? In its jaws?
In fact, why were there blood smears on the ladder? That would mean that it knew to use the ladder like a ramp to help with the weight. That would be an incredibly smart bear. Too smart. I need to go and get Anjelica and Hound.
Sera, having spent a majority of her life in a barn, decided to hop off the loft from the side she was on instead of climbing the ladder again. Aiming for a pile of hay, she felt her feet hit the slightly cushioned surface before tucking her shoulder for a roll. In one graceful motion she rolled and bounced back onto her feet.
“I always loved doing that!” Sera said to herself while allowing a small laugh to escape her.
The sound of shifting fabric gave her a start. The pile of boxes began to shift and shake. A guttural growl began to emanate from the pile as boxes crashed inwards from the upper levels. The tarp closest to her began to expand from the large form exiting beneath it.
As the tarp began to fall away a shadowed, lumbering figure appeared.A gigantic bear stood before Sera with fur the color of midnight. It towered over Sera and was two hands taller than any horse she had ever seen. Large bones protruded from its back like a pair of macabre wings. It stepped into the shaft of moonlight and Sera could see that the front of its maw was almost entirely gone with the skin missing until halfway down the muzzle. Steam poured out of a nostril with no nose as the teal eyes glowed in the darkness.
Sera stood frozen. Her vision kept darting between the horrifying visage before her and the beam of light stretching from the barn doors.
If I can make it to the outside then I might be able to get help, Sera hoped.
Her vision returned to the bear’s eyes and they stared back at her, unblinking. The thing smiled, if you could call a tightening of the cheek muscles exposing their teeth a smile, and raised a huge finger up to its mouth in a shushing symbol.
The beast recognized her fear and confusion and it set the demon into motion. Bounding forward with two long steps the thing cleared the distance to Sera pushed up against the wall. It raised its paw to take a swipe at Sera.
Narrowly ducking underneath it, Sera rolled forward and under the bear’s armpit. She heard the splintering of the wood behind her as the huge claws connected with the timber. Sera attempted to roll directly onto her feet and begin a sprint to the door but the bear whipped around. It grabbed a hold of her back leg just as she was pushing off with it and dragged her to the ground.
Sera felt herself getting pulled backwards but spun around to her back. Reaching down to the foot that was still free she pulled out her knife. Aiming for the space between the knuckles, Sera stabbed the monster’s hand. It let out a roar of pain as the blade connected. Whipping around, Sera began to step up only to be dragged down again.
Knife already in hand, Sera searched for the knuckle that was already injured and stabbed towards it. The blade glanced off of the wound. Where the blood had soaked into the fur it had hardened and her blade could find no purchase despite her repeated stabs. Instead, she planted the blade into the webbing of its thumb which caused the tendon to go limp.
This time she was able to make it to her feet and began a sprint towards the door. As she ran she risked a peak back and saw the huge beast charging towards her on all fours.
Oh God. I think it is going to catch me.
The thought echoed in her mind as time seemed to slow down. The bear was gaining on her by the second. It raised its paw and swung it like a warhammer towards her.
Light then flooded into the barn as the double doors were kicked open with force. Still staring at the bear, Sera heard the shot go off from behind her and sing as it raced over her shoulder. The bullet connected with the bear’s eye and Sera watched its once powerful swing go limp. The talons grazed her back as they fell, tearing divots into her back, giving her a grim indication of their intended depth.
The beast rocked back and forth for a moment before with a loud sound it went collapsing down into the dirt of the barn.
Finally being able to focus on herself, the pain on her back brought Sera to her knees. Barely keeping herself held up on shaky arms she looked up to see the silhouetted forms of Hound and Anjelica in the doorway.
“I have never been more happy to see you in my life,” Sera gasped out as her companions rushed to help her.