The town stirred that night as word of what happened spread, the sick and feeble, the tired and old, all those who couldn't attend heard about the horrors of the night that took the lives of numerous people and instilled fear in the rest. It became a restless night for the people, most scampered into their abodes unwilling to leave, others hung around in crowded inns and brothels gossiping endlessly about what happened. Even Priscilla's group found themselves sullen as they ate their supper, various thoughts filling their minds as they took in the events.
As the morning starlight illuminated the town and people began emerging from their abodes, they found the town square pristine as if it were all a dream.
The Imperial guards stood atop the now clean platform, cold and distanced from the people beneath them.
''Last night the Azure Dance Troupe has fallen. A witch's curse bore deep into their soul and turned them into wicked abominations.'' the leading man uttered, taking a step forward towards the crowd as he gazed chillingly. The crowd gasped and gawked in shock. 'A witch here?' they thought.
''Impossible!'' one brave man muttered. ''There's only been one rumoured witch in a thousand years of history, how could it be?''
''Take him.'' the leading man whispered to his companions. The men stepped off the platform and seized the man that spoke up as he flailed and resisted. The action caused the crowd's hushed whispers and idle chatter to die out as they stared in a silent daze.
''We won't tolerate insolence.'' the Imperial guard spoke with contempt. ''I said that it was a witch and that is the end of it.''
''Now as for the excursion into the sandlands, we'll proceed as planned. If you wish to join us, line up at the front. Those unwilling, leave.'' he said waving to the crowd.
The crowd began to disperse quite rapidly; perhaps in part due to the attitude in which they took the previous man, or maybe due to their apathetic eyes, but a large part of the people left unwilling to be a part of their mission. Priscilla and the others looked at each other with conflicted gazes.
''Are we still doing this?'' she asked Jensen who was rubbing his chin with uncertainty.
''Damnit, I don't know!'' Jensen said, gritting his teeth as he looked at the Imperial's. ''They're acting outrageous and overbearing, but this is still our best bet at making it big.''
The others pondered silently, assenting to the concept. It was a difficult choice to make, but maybe it was due to their confidence in each other and the teamwork they'd established during their practices that they felt the call of adventure in their blood, despite the peculiarity of the guards. Their time together may have been short, but there was a genuine connection between them. It didn't take long before they agreed to go, there was no point fighting it, for it was the path to wealth to fuel their desires. Similar conversations happened all across the town square as other groups discussed. After an hour the square was thinned out with an odd three hundred men and women ready to head out into the sandlands, while the rest left.
As Priscilla eyed the crowd she was impressed inside, so many people was a surprisingly large amount of the population in a normal town, and in a smaller one like this one it would be at least ten percent of the capable. Despite their arrogant attitude that so many decided to stay showed how strong the reputation of the Imperial family was, and how people flocked to wealth like flies to shit.
The Imperial Guard who sat at the forefront of operations seemed to show a semblance of warmth finally as he saw the few hundred in front of him. ''Proceed to the East Gate.'' he said, beckoning the crowd to head east with his outstretched arm.
Those who chose to stay with the Imperial's excursion began to head out towards the east gate where a convoy of carriages awaited them, each with a guard serving as coachman. The people proceeded to pile up into the carriages. Some people held their hands trembling as they sat down, their heads lowered into their laps thinking of the unknown fate that awaited them. Others remained cheerful and confident despite the mental strain. No matter how much people craved the success and wealth, those human emotions deep inside them found a way to poke out. Priscilla's group headed in near the end of the convoy They felt no inclination to rush, they were confident and relaxed, but more than anything they had faith in each other. As the people boarded successfully each individual coachman cracked the whip sending their horses into a thunderous gallop. It caused each carriage to move ahead forming a distance between the convoy. Ferro cocked an eyebrow as he noticed this, a strange sensation striking into his gut.
Once the same happened to Priscilla's group, there remained not a single carriage left in the town. The guard leader stood in town smiling eerily as the carriages left, his eyes rolled into the back of head as the whites bulged with frenzied thumps, the flesh around his eye sockets tore in every direction cobwebbing into his cheeks and forehead. The man cackled impetuously as the sound of shrieks and death filled the town with violent exuberance. Blood filled the streets as the panicked people ran in every which direction they could, no matter what they tried death would simply follow them.
Inside Priscilla's carriage after only a few minutes of travel the woman found herself turning towards the town with a strange look; not long after Jensen as well turned. Both of their hearts trembled and hastened as they felt a tightening squeeze in their guts. They looked at each other with a flicker of intent.
''RUN!'' Jensen shouted before kicking down the carriage door. He jumped out immediately, followed by Priscilla and the rest. The coachman halted the horses to a slow trot as he turned his head towards the group that left the carriage.
''What is the meaning of this?'' he asked in a chilling tone.
''What's the meaning of what you're doing in town?'' Jensen asked back, his expression stern as he glared at the armored man.
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''In town...?'' the man asked in shock, before his lips curved in a strange smile. ''In town...'' he repeated, laughing hard as he slapped his hand to his forehead, arching back as he lost control of himself to the laughter. The group felt a knot in their chest seeing him react. Was he just a lunatic? It was hard to say... but the feeling in their guts was warning them with every moment it could muster.
The man eventually sighed and drooped his hand down. ''It seems you know too much.'' he said dejectedly, as the sound of cracking bones slammed into their ears.
Priscilla lunged with her dagger unprovoked, her senses screamed for action, and action she took. She struck like a coiled viper with a venomous vengeance, her dagger's blade slipped into the man's throat with the most eased precision. She pulled out with a flick of her wrist, expecting the man to fully drop, yet he had other plans. His mouth severed to the mandible in one fluid rip. Despite the blood gushing from his throat, the creature merely sneered in its gruesome visage as it slammed its arm violently into Priscilla.
Jensen and Jared joined into the action, attacking with viciousness as the man kept turning into this monstrosity. The fact that it was so similar to the dance troupe chilled their hearts, sweat rolled down their bodies, Jensen slammed his fist into the man's chest aiming to numb him, but his knuckles creaked and bled as he recoiled in pain, grimacing as he held his bloodied hand in the other. Jared brought his warhammer down on the creature's head with force only for the steel to crumble. The men were stunned speechless as shock overtook them. As the creature was about to attack, Priscilla moved fast, grabbing the man's imperial cape and with all the strength she could muster she launched the man behind her, forcing his body to roll and tumble across the dirt path from the momentum of her throw. ''Go now!'' she yelled as she tossed her blade cutting the bindings that held the horses to the carriage. Hallie and her took off on one horse as Jensen took another, leaving Jared and Ferro the last. They were intuitively synchronized to such a level that the creature couldn't even react in time before the group was galloping full speed away from the town.
''HERETICS! BETRAYERS TO THE THRONE! DESERTERS TO WAR!'' the creature yelled at the top of its lungs, its hoarse voice gurgling with bloody liquid. As he yelled animalistic roars echoed throughout the woods, the once beautiful nature turned into a deathly pitfall almost immediately as the rustling and quaking of trees shook the entirety of the place.
Jensen took the lead as the most versed in traversing the woods; the others followed him full speed, the horses galloping desperately with every crack of the reins. It was a hellish panic, their only choice was to rush towards the sand lands. They had no explanation for the state of the guards, no awareness if others were waiting in the same position. They could only ride as fast as the wind would let them. The weight of the pursuit crushed them mentally, the rustling only intensified as they saw the shadows of pursuit from the corners of their eyes.
Priscilla looked back to see two of the creatures gaining speed on them. Their forms disfigured beyond belief as they lacked any semblance of humanity in them, their bark-like flesh stretched elongating their limbs into broken down coils, they raced on the ground like four legged beasts, the insatiable greed and hunger evident in those deathly hollow eyes.
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Back in the town, several of the man-creatures returned to report to the one leading them. They knelt not toward him, but toward the one behind him. In their snarling voices filled with grit and gore was a pitying weakness as they spoke with zealous fervor.
''— w-we lost a carriage worth of sacrifices.'' one uttered.
They shivered as they waited star-eyed and expectant, yet in the depths an uncontrollable fear throbbed violently.
''Is that so? Useless dogs how do you screw up one simple task?'' the man's voice echoed with hidden meaning. The tone shifting and fluctuating aggressively causing him to bleed profusely from his already bloodied eyes. ''Which of them was it?'' it asked.
''It was the ones who interrupted during the attack...'' the same one responded.
''Them...? THEM?'' the voice yelled causing them to fall flat on their faces, retching from pain as they found themselves incapable of lifting themselves up off the ground. ''FIND THEM NOW.''
With that final shout a frenzied pursuit began, in a place where none could see it. Priscilla's group was the same, blindsided and unknowing, but for them it was already too late to need to know, as the two on their trail continued to chase after them desperately.
The adrenaline of the chase made Priscilla's heart quake with excitement, the blood coursed through her as her eyes glowed ever so slightly, she looked at the creatures recalling her time with Rin. They were not the same, yet something about them was ever so reminiscent of those she'd seen before. She held her dagger firmly in her hand, rolling the hilt of it between her fingers as her gaze focused on one of the creatures. With a jolt of her wrist she sent it flying, coursing along the wind with surreal precision. The blade dug into the creature's head right in between the eyes, penetrating with such force that it slammed into its brain and pierced directly into a minute object that hid in the depths of the organ, cracking it miserably into countless pieces.
Bestial shrieks burst forth from the creature's mouth as it tumbled across the ground uncontrollably, twitching and writhing in pain. The second one jumped at his comrade without warning, feasting on it with ecstatic groans.
Seeing it Priscilla's thoughts flared with a seeming understanding; she cracked the reins heading ahead of the group, nudging them to move on as the beast was distracted.
''Quick, send the horses running and we'll jump off in the other direction.'' she muttered to her team, as she jumped off the horse, kicking it in the butt to send it in a frenzied state— galloping off into the depths of the woods. The others seeing her actions did the same, trusting the woman with their lives.
They quickly moved, separating themselves from the sound of the horses hooves beating against the earth, and the sounds of the creatures bestial audible pangs. They didn't make a sound as they focused on escaping, until finally they found themselves near a cavernous valley that edged towards the northeast. They finally had a chance to catch their breath as they sat slumped against the rocky backside of the valley.
They looked at Priscilla with gratitude and curiosity. ''What was that Pris?'' Jensen asked, taking the lead in airing their doubts.
The woman looked at him casually, ignoring the thumping in her chest— the echoing gnaw of distrust screaming in the back of her mind. ''Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?'' she asked softly.
''Yes, I would.'' Jensen replied instantly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
She looked at him and the rest, her eyes softening with conflicting emotions. ''I've seen something similar before, not the same— but very alike in terms of nature and habit.'' she said.
''They're basically... a blight that infested the land, creatures that have existed since time immemorial.'' she paused, hesitating to continue, but she spat it out regardless. ''There's no concrete form or word to describe them, since their forms change from one era to the next, but if one were to call them anything— it would be a demon.''