Iron Blooded

Rain ran down my armor, soaking the clothes beneath.

The drops were cold, and despite the heat of the earlier day, I found myself shivering.

It was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the crystal lamps we now carried at our belts. The light ahead of me bobbed back and forth as the spear man walked, casting strange shadows.

“The Trail ends here Sarge,” said Astrid from behind me. I followed her gesture and examined the tracks on the ground. The earth had been tramped by hundreds of boots and hooves as the Army had come through. What was left was hardly more than mud.

Up on the higher ground where the trail was more solid I could see the remnants of two parallel tracks. Wagon wheels.

“Gills said they would have doubled back to the stream to refill water skins for the horses. It shouldn’t be long now.”

Up the trail the soldiers had paused to wait for us, their faces cast in shadow.

“Sensed anything?” I asked Astrid as we walked. Astrid shook her head.

“Not yet. But the storm is playing tricks on us.”

I tilted my head, curious.

“How so?”

“The lightening flashes, you have seen them?”

I nodded. The lightening strikes had been intermittent but it their momentary light had allowed us to better see our surroundings.

“Have you heard any thunder?”

I started to say yes but then paused, thinking.

“No,” I said after a moment.

Astrid remained silent for several paces.

“When we find the wagons we should not linger. The longer we stay out here the more danger we are in.”

I scanned the trees around us, grimacing when I all I saw was the darkness between trunks.

We were exposed, and I didn’t like it. And yet I saw no other way forward.

We continued on, following the deep furrow of wagon wheels on on the wet ground. After long minutes one of the soldiers ahead pointed to something off the road.

“Sarge, we found something,” said the spear man gesturing with the blade of his weapon. The wagon’s trail had veered suddenly off the path. One side of the tracks were deeper as if the wagon's weight had suddenly doubled. While the other set became fainter, almost disappearing entirely.

“Looks like the Wagon tipped,” said Astrid. “But I don’t see a wreckage.”

I followed the trail with my eyes, un clipping my lamp and lifting it higher. The sphere of light expanded around me and I saw what I was looking for.

“There,” I said. “It looks like a one of the crates fell off the back.”

The spear man and I stepped forward to peruse it’s contents. The wooden crate had been smashed against the ground, it’s lid slipping halfway off. From within I could see a bushel of red apples, glistening in the rain.

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“We shouldn’t let it go to waste,” said the soldier eagerly. He reached for the box but I stopped his hand.

“Look again,” I told him. The soldier frowned and was about to pull his arm free when he looked down again. He gasped.

Within the crate the apples looked like they had sat in the sun for days. Worms and maggots crawled through the wilted flesh, and the scent of decay lingered over them.

“They’re rotten…” said the soldier. “But they were fine only just..."

“Come on,” I said. “We need to carry on. The less time we spend on this mission the better. Vera will have a steaming mug of cider for us when we get back to camp.”

The soldier nodded and rose but his expression was still troubled as he turned away. I caught Astrid watching me, her face paler than normal. Or was that just the rain?

The path branched in several directions and we followed the trail in the direction the wagons had gone. The further we got from the main trail the more tense I became.

So far we had managed to stay on a path as instructed. But the suddenly erratic trail of the wagons made me think something had spooked the horses.

On my orders, Astrid dropped behind to guard our flank. I walked ahead with the others, hand on the hilt of my sword. Lightening flashed in the distance and I counted the moments between, waiting for for a crack of thunder that never came.

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The wood was silent but for the patter of rain against our armor. We sighted a fence along the pathway, the damp wood half rotted.

Astrid tapped me on the shoulder.

“A house,” she said over the sound of the deluge. “To the left just past those trees.”

I squinted in that direction, shielding my eyes from the rain. I could see the house alright. It was small and squat with a thatch roof and white washed walls. From the stone chimney I could see the curl of smoke rising into the darkness.

“Look’s like someones home,” I said. “Astrid wait with the others. Soldier, you’re with me.”

I gestured to one of the spear men, a rookie by the looks of him.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Jorgen, sir.”

I snorted. "I'm no sir."

“Sorry, Sergeant.”

I grinned and saw his stiff shoulders loosen. He rubbed the back of his neck as I clapped him on the shoulder.

“Take it easy, I’m only messing with you. I know a greenhorn when I see one."

"Now," I said, pointing. "you see that window near the garden? Look into it and tell me what you see.”

Jorgen nodded and strode to the window. He wiped the rain from his face and peered into the window. A soft yellow candle glow illuminated his face. A dog started barking from somewhere nearby. Had we stumbled upon an isolated village? I peered into the darkness but I could see no other houses.

Jorgen cut his way back to me.

“The candles inside are lit sir- uh, Sarge. Someones asleep by in a chair by the fire, but I can’t see any sign of other inhabitants.”

“They live alone?” I said doubtfully. I wished that dog would stop barking.

“Possibly. We can knock on the door and find out.”

I signaled to the others to hold position before turning back to the door.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s find out if they’ve seen anything. The trail leads this way.”

I knocked on the door and waited. Beside me Jorgen shifted on his feet, adjusting the grip on his spear. After a moment I knocked again, harder. We waited but there was no answer. The dog was still barking and that made me wonder.

“Jorgen,” I said, check that it’s clear and see if you can climb through the window. I’m going to check around back.”

Jorgen nodded and I turned away to follow a small cobble path that led to a garden.

There were wild flowers along the path and several herbs I recognized. I wondered if the house belonged to an herbalist. Ferns swayed in the wind, their leaves glistening from rian.

The back of the house was dark but I raised my lamp and searched the surrounding area. Nothing.

Astrid’s footsteps approached, followed moments later by the telltale glow of her lamp.

“What are you looking for?” she asked.

I gestured beyond the fence.

“That dog keeps barking, and it made me think it might have spotted something.”

Astrid frowned.

“What dog?”

“The dog that’s been barking since we approached the house,” I said, turning to face her. “It’s been barking nonstop since…” I paused, listening. There was no sound but the wind and creaking of branches.

“There was a dog before..” I said. “I’m sure of it.”

Astrid didn’t respond but her expression grew wary.

“We should go back.”

I bit my lip, hesitating as I stared into the darkness. Then I grunted an affirmation and followed her back to the front of the house.

The front door opened and Jorgen stepped out unto the porch. The soft glow of candle light lit him from behind he was alone.

“That’s strange,” he said. “I could have sworn someone was inside but when I looked the house was empty.”

I scratched at my chin.

"Are you sure? Hard to imagine someone leaving lit candles inside a house with a thatch roof."

Jorgen nodded. "I've searched it from top to bottom. Nothing."

There was something strange going on here, and I wasn’t keen to stick around and find out what.

“Let’s move on.”

The others followed as we made our way further down the trail. The fence ended and the trail became thinner - a path less frequented by the looks of it. The long grass was overgrown and the foliage thicker. I could see the track of the wagon wheels but they were growing fainter and harder to follow.

A shadow materialized on the ground before us. I had my sword halfway out of it’s sheath before I realized exactly what I was looking at.

A horse lay on sprawled across the road on it’s side. It’s body was damp with rain, it’s wet mane obscuring it's face. It had been eviscerated, intestines strewn across the ground like ropes. It looked as if the animal had been shredded, riped nearly in half by something sharp.

“Blades,” I said and heard the rasp of steel as my squad drew their weapons. My own sword was in my hand and I poked carefully at the corpse, examining it.

The body was still fresh. Steam curled off it into the rapidly chilling air. I pushed up my visor, raising a hand to wipe the water clear from my eyes. It ran down the bridge of my nose to drip unto the horses carcass.

“A monster did this,” said Astrid, prodding the corpse with a foot. “This was no wolf or bear.”

The back of my neck prickled. There was something wrong with this corpse, something unnatural. I bent, chain mail clinking as I peered more closely at the horses head. Carefully I brushed the long mane away from it’s face.

Goose flesh erupted up my arms. Several of the soldiers muttered oaths and made the sign of the saint.

The horses eyes were gone, and in it’s place were gaping bloody sockets. Astrid's face was pale, her eyes wide with fear.

“Do you know of monsters who rip apart their prey and eat the eyes?” I asked, even as I knew the answer.

She shook her head and I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. My heart was cantering in my chest, fear pulling at the corners of my mind.

It was the same as it had been that day in the tunnels. What I had seen in that pit had haunted me, and there was no denying the similarities. The horses eyes had been cut out of it’s head, and possibly while it was still alive.

I turned to Astrid.

“Have you seen this before?" She shook her head.

I let out a huff of frustration, staring down the trail into the night. I didn’t want to abandon the mission and leave the men of the 3rd and the merchants stranded without aid. And yet, carrying on into the dark unknown seemed like a fool’s errand.

The warning signs were there, and I knew I’d do well to heed them. Cursing I turned and ordered the men back the way we had come.

“But, don’t we have a orders?” Asked Jorgen. “What about the others?”

“I don’t like it any more than you do,” I said. “But I’ve seen this before and I know how dangerous the signs are. Whoever or whatever this thing is, it’s what the Lady Inquisitor is hunting. Trust me when I say it isn’t for the likes of us.”

Jorgen stayed silent for a moment then nodded, face cast in shadow.

We turned back and retraced our steps. Back towards the house. This time there was no smoke in the chimney and the soft yellow glow of candle light had gone out.

A flicker in my HUD caught my attention and I brought up the window. There was a level indicator hovering in the air near the edge of the wood. I squinted through the rain, trying to see.

Class: Unknown

Rank: unknown

Level: unknown

There were more than one of them and they were moving fast.

Astrid and I exchanged a look, and the fear in her eyes was enough to confirm my suspicion. She had seen it too.

“Stay in formation,” I said. “We move now, and we don’t stop for anything.”

I had barely gotten the words out when the howls began.