Raven stepped into the farmhouse through the shattered door. The interior was shrouded in darkness. Broken furniture, torn clothing and splatters of blood littered the floor.
Her eyes scanned around the room for any and all clues. Anything that could help them. There were two small beds lined up against one wall and a larger bed by the opposite one. There were toys strewn about, old food that had begun to rot and...a sword. A sword covered in dark, thick blood.
Surveying the scene Raven quickly began to construct a scenario in her head.
“So?” asked Arcaea. “What do you think?”
“Scratches on the outside building would indicate that some sort of animal attacked the house. About the size of a person, but strong enough to smash through the door. One of the parents tried to defend the family, managed to get a couple of good hits, but ultimately failed. They fought for their lives but were subdued. The blood splatter is not large enough to indicate a mortal wound so I’m guessing they were injured and knocked out...or possibly just dragged out.”
She stood up and walked back out the door. The rest of the girls followed her out. Raven looked around at the darkened soil, searching for tracks. With her nilshards attached to her belt she flexed her connection to the void and felt the surge of energy flow through her. As she had done many times in the past, she directed it towards her senses. Amplifying them to unnatural levels. As she did, one of the nilshards began glowing with a faint red light as it soaked up the void energy that her body exuded.
With her enhanced senses she could clearly see the drag marks in the soil.
“Some of them were still awake...tried to struggle.” said Raven as she pointed out the tracks to the others.
“I don’t see anything.” said Janette.
“I...kinda see them...I guess.” said Kurai, peering her eyes.
Raven followed the tracks a few meters away from the farmhouse and then stopped.
“The struggle intensified here. One of them probably got loose and tried to escape. The assailant attacked and…”
Her eyes found a small pool of blood that had been soaked into the ground...right next to a tiny footprint.
“It was one of the children. They were cut, deeply. They bled...a lot.”
“Gods.” said Janette.
“Then what?” asked Arcaea, trying to keep them on track.
Raven followed the tracks as they led away from the farm and towards the hills to the north. “Tracks go that way. I think it’s a safe bet that if we follow them we might find who’s behind all of this.”
“What sort of tracks?” asked Kurai. “Animals? People? Who attacked them?”
“There are dvalish and dozku elements to their footprints but they’ve been...altered?” said Raven as she looked off into the distance.
The sun was setting but even in the twilight she could see very far and very clearly.
“Altered?” asked Kurai with a hint of fear in her voice. “Altered how?”
“Blood mages like to experiment on living beings.” explained Janette. “Use their vile magic to alter their physicality. Turn them into obedient servants or formidable monsters.”
“They’re called chimera.” continued Raven. “Judging by the odd shape of these footprints I would say they were most likely made by such creatures. Which would make sense. The blood mage creates monstrous servants and then sends them out to find more people to either experiment on or to harvest.”
“We shouldn’t have taken this job.” said Janette, staring off into the distance with fear in her eyes.
Raven let the void energy fade out of her, returning her senses to normal. She looked back at Janette. “These people were innocent. Just a family trying to make a living out here. If we don’t stop this, who will?”
“I know.” replied Janette.
“Why would a family with little to no protection live out here, so far from any protection?” asked Kurai.
“For some it’s too expensive to live in the cities so they strike out on their own.” answered Arcaea. “Others prefer the freedom that comes with living far from civilization. Even it’s dangerous.”
“Doesn’t this mean that the blood mage has gotten stronger, though?” asked Kurai. “If he’s creating these chimera and harvesting so many people? Seems like he’s been doing it for a while.”
“It’s possible. That just means we’ll have to be extra careful.” said Arcaea.
Janette and Kurai both sighed with reluctant acceptance.
“We’ll have to leave the ship here. Track them on foot. It’s the only way.” said Raven.
“This just keeps getting better and better.” said Kurai.
“Janette, come help me get our stuff and some supplies from the ship.” said Arcaea.
“Alright.”
The two of them walked off towards the ship while Raven continued to inspect the tracks.
“Where did you learn to do that?” asked Kurai.
“This is what I was trained to do.” replied Raven. “Some valkyries are trained to be leaders and tacticians or weapons of destruction. I chose the path of a seeker. Finding tracks and hidden evidence is what I was trained to do.”
“And killing things.” added Kurai, the tone in her voice was biting.
Raven looked up at her friend. No particular expression in her face but Kurai was sure she saw a hint of shame in her eyes.
“Yeah. We were trained to do that too.”
“Is that why you like to get the drim kicked out of you at Mr Beringer’s club?”
Raven squinted her eyes a little. “It seems to me like you want to ask me a particular question and yet you keep dancing around it. A strange form of interrogation.”
“Just curiosity. It’s just my natural tone of voice that makes it sound like an interrogation.” said Kurai with a faint smirk.
“Right.” said Raven and chuckled, turning her head towards the horizon again.
Kurai stepped closer and kneeled down closer to the ground as well. “I figure, someone who likes to get the drim kicked out of them that thoroughly must have done something really drimmy to feel like they deserve it.”
Raven tried to ignore her, keeping her gaze towards the horizon.
“So...what drimmy thing did you do to deserve it?” she asked, finally getting to the point.
Raven sighed in resignation and looked at the black furred varg. With the setting sun behind her all Kurai could see was the darkened silhouette of Raven, her two small horns curving up and her two golden eyes almost glowing. The look she gave her was cold and piercing.
“Too many to count, Kurai. I’m a terrible person who used to be part of an institution that loved nothing more than to subjugate others. Gleam into that what you will.” she said, returning her gaze towards the horizon.
Kurai smiled and looked at the horizon too. “You know, you don’t have to carry all that drim alone, right? I haven’t known you long but I can already tell that you’re not a terrible person. At least not too terrible.”
“Thanks...I guess.” said Raven and the ghost of a smile crept across her lips.
“You’re welcome. I’m abrasively supportive. It’s part of my charm.”
They both chuckled.
“Catch!” they both heard Arcaea say behind them.
They both swung around in time to see their backpacks fly towards their faces. While both Kurai and Raven were among the most agile in the group they were not fast enough to dodge this savage attack and they flew backwards as their backpacks slammed into their faces.
Janette and Arcaea laughed.
“Dick move!” exclaimed Kurai.
“Co-signed.” muttered Raven as she rubbed her nose.
“Make sure you have everything you need. I packed two weeks worth of rations in our packs.” said Arcaea. “We’re going into unknown territory filled with dangers and forgotten terrors.”
“Your motivational speeches suck.” said Kurai as she rummaged through her bag to make sure everything was in order.
“We’ll most likely all die.” said Arcaea with a smirk.
“I think it’s time we mutinied against our leader.” said Raven.
“Co-signed.” said Kurai.
“Ready?” asked Arcaea. Her voice now sounded earnest and serious.
The girls all looked at one another and nodded.
“Raven, you take the lead.”
“Alright.” said Raven. “Stick close to me. We’ll travel until close to midnight before we make camp. Let’s try and gain some distance on these torkers.” She then paused for a second. “Keep your eyes peeled. Be ready for anything.”
A shared sense of stomach churning tension gripped them as they readied themselves. Then, they began marching towards the horizon. Towards the Argal Badlands and the terrors that awaited them there.
Comments (4)
See all