Insert Witty Title Here.
Myrydyan VI: Retreat
Rafe pointed toward the house in the woods. "The last time signal I received originated from near here." Rafe examined his map data again and strode towards the back. General Gunter motioned for his men to stay where they were while he followed.
It was not hard to find the freshly dug earth. Rafe once again consulted his map and double-checked his calculations. "The signal stopped inside the house according to my data, but it's logical to deduce that the occupants would bury Engel outside."
Gunter looked towards his men. "Soldiers! Detain the occupants of the house, and bring its master to me. And a shovel while you're at it!"
A chorus of 'yes sir' reached Rafe's ears. Moments later the splinter of wood was heard as the door was bashed down, shouts as as someone was found. As Rafe watched, a woman with auburn hair was dragged out to Gunter and forced to her knees. Rafe was supplied a shovel; he busied himself by disturbing the grave.
Gunter frowned at one of his soldiers. "I said to bring the master of the house."
"I am," said the woman, "master of my house."
Gunter snorted. "So your husband died and you never bothered to get another. Very well. What is buried here?"
"Fey."
"I think you are lying. Well, Rafe, what's there?"
Rafe held up the head of Engel, the eyes still moving. "While not Fey, I can understand the confusion. It's not buried very deep, I'll have the rest uncovered in a few minutes."
"You hear that? You buried a member of the Kingdom's militia. How did it come to be buried in your back-yard?"
"So you are recruiting Fey?"
"I do not like to play games." Gunter looked towards a soldier. "Break her right pinky."
The woman didn't even have time to beg before she heard the bone snap.
"It occurs to me," said Gunter, "that I do not even know your name."
Tears were streaming down her face. Between whimpers, she wispered, "Samantha."
"Listen well, Samantha. If you do not tell me why a soldier of mine died on your land, you will suffer worse than a broken finger."
Rafe listened as he repaired Engel. The cut was clean, and he was able to do the repairs without the need for replacement parts. He heard the story of the unusual missionary and his companion, then how Engel had attacked him, only to have Samantha interfere. Finally, he heard how the missionary had stood up after being stabbed twice, healed both himself and his companion, and stole two horses. Once the story was done, Gunter spoke again.
"Tell me, why did you help they Fey?"
"I...I thought he was a priest."
Rafe spoke up. "Did he say where he was going, or what his goal was?"
"He said 'a powerful item.' He - they - rode to the east."
Rafe stiffened for a moment, then went back to his work.
Gunter sighed. "It is apparent you are incapable of making proper decisions, and so should not be living outside the safety of the city. Soldiers, take any supplies there are, burn down the buildings, and return her to the life she should have."
Anger and betrayal flashed in Samantha's eyes. "You can't do that! What about my son?"
Gunter glared at her. "The army is always recruiting." Gunter ignored the shouts and crys of protest from Samantha, satisfied that the soldiers carried out his orders promptly. "How long before it's repaired, Rafe?"
"I'm almost done. You know, I don't see why you need to burn the house down."
"Peasants are weak and ignorant. If you do not handle them firmly, they begin to think otherwise. Men like us must not only protect them from the Fey, but from themselves. Of course, if your 'Engel' continues to perform this poorly, I may have to protect you as well."
"That should be the last of your worries. Your men had the opportunity to recover my stolen book, and failed. Now it's confirmed that Lord Null is after a 'powerful item.' However, that's not the worst of it. That book also has the schematics for alchemist's wands, and he's headed straight for Haven."
"Good, I'll get the army mobilized."
"I don't understand?"
"He cannot flee to Haven if it is leveled, can he?"
Rafe did not respond, instead he reactivated Engel. "Setting aside the enormity of what you have planned, you think an army can move faster than two people? Consider also they have a 3 day lead." Rafe turned to the now standing Engel. "Engel, I need you to intercept Lord Null; if you cannot reach him before he enters Haven, be sure he does not leave."
Gunter scoffed. "It failed already, and you plan on sending it to the lion's den?"
Rafe continued to address Engel, "Remember: there will be no innocents around this time, so you do not need to hold back."
Engel looked from Rafe to Gunter. After a moment Rafe spoke again. "Can you do it?"
Engel's head snapped back toward Rafe. "Yes, I can." With that, Engel stretched out her wings and jumped into the air.
* * *
Lynch rubbed her wrist. It had been broken 5 days ago, and healed within the hour. It wasn't sore, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was just wrong; like she had worn a bracelet for years and just recently taken it off.
During the past few days, she had lived off the pilfered grain from Samantha's stable, pushing the stolen horses to their limit. Lord Null did not need to explain the urgency of the situation; if one soldier of the Kingdom had found them, more were sure to quickly follow. All night they would ride, and by day Lynch collapsed into sleep from exhaustion. She never received an opportunity to ask the burning question on her mind: How could Lord Null even survive his encounter with Engel. Before she knew it, they were approaching the gates of Haven.
The gates to Haven were far less impressive than Lynch expected. In fact, the entire outer wall looked like little more than a new settlement. There was evidence that once there were stone walls, but they had since crumbled only to be replaced by a wooden barricade and spikes pointing outward with the occasional watch tower. All the propaganda Lynch had heard directly contradicted the sight before her. She had expected an army guarding a castle that rivaled the cities, yet the guards looked like they hadn't eaten in days; of course, the look may be normal for Fey.
Lynch followed Lord Null's lead when he dismounted and walked his horse towards the guards. As he approached, the guards lowered their weapons and shouted something Lynch could not understand. Lord Null responded in kind. Soon afterward, Lynch heard her name called by the guard.
"Null here says you have something to trade. Give it here and I'll inspect it."
Lynch dismounted, aware of the archers watching the scene. She moved away from the horse toward Lord Null.
Lynch scoffed. "I'm not that dumb." She pulled the book out of the pack. "Here's the book I want to sell. You can try to take it if you want."
The guard looked towards his partner, back toward Lynch, then shouted something to his partner in the same unintelligible language. After the guard had disappeared into the gatehouse, Lynch leaned over toward Lord Null.
"What did he just say?" Lynch whispered.
"He is going to inform his superiors. We have nothing to worry about, yet."
For the first 5 minutes, Lynch waited patiently. For the next 10, she paced back and forth. Finally she slumped against the gate. She noted that while the guard was keeping an eye on her, his weapon was not at the ready. She also noted that Lord Null had not moved in the passed 15 minutes.
"What are you?" Lynch blurted out at Lord Null.
Lord Null turned to face Lynch. "What is the context of your question?"
"You're not human, that's for sure. Your stamina's shick, yet you can be stabbed and live. You kill without a care, yet heal wounds. You look at me when I talk, but can't see a book at your feet. What the hell are you, and where did you come from?"
"You could say I have become death incarnate, but that is too poetic to be accurate. In the simplest terms, I am a fallen acolyte of Yalla that has been resurrected into a twisted form, and must now live by feeding up the energies of the living."
Lynch took a moment to digest this, then spit out the only thing that came to mind. "What?"
Lynch could have sworn she saw Lord Null sigh. "I am a zombie."
"Right. A zombie with brains, that just sucks the life right out of its victims. More like a vampire."
"The specifics of my curse are outside the usual labels. Suffice it to say, I am an abomination with great power who seeks to increase it."
"And you think whatever Rafe-" Lynch cut off her sentence, noting the guard seemed to have taken too great an interest in their conversation. Lynch lowered her voice. "Why are you blind sometimes, but not others?"
"I see life energy; anything that lives has an aura to me. The guard, you, even the trees have a faint one. However, that is all I see. That which does not live does not produce an aura and only appears as blackness that intersects the living auras. A book on a floor appears as a uniform blackness."
Lynch nodded, and remained silent. Lord Null was Fey, there was no longer any doubt about that. Some part of her knew she was betraying humanity, helping those like Null, yet she could not summon up feelings of guilt. She had been subject to the injustice of the Kingdom; still, did that mean they deserved what she was about to do?
She was brought out of her thoughts by a noise from the guard. He was staring at something in the sky. Lynch looked, and thought she saw metal glint.
"Null, do you see anything in the sky?"
Lord Null looked a moment. "No, I do not."
Lynch saw the glint again, closer this time. "I thought you said you could see living auras? Something's moving up there."
"Perhaps it is not alive."
As Lynch looked, it seemed to be speeding up. Soon, she could make out a shining metal humanoid form with gossamer wings diving at her and Lord Null. The only other thing she could remember that was like it was Engel, the metal create that had attacked them at Samantha's.
Lynch looked toward Lord Null, noted he was not moving. Engel was seconds away. Lynch threw herself toward Lord Null, tackling him to the ground as Engel smashed into the wall.
"Sheild!" Lynch yelled over Lord Null's shrieks, "Sheild now!"
Lord Null forced the pain from his mind just long enough to create a protective bubble around them both, but then was flooded with it again. He barely registered the sword strikes against the barrier.
Lynch looked up to see arrows bounce off Engel's armor, and Engel beating upon the barrier with two swords. With each blow the shield's glow lessened, it repelled the blade with less force. Lynch crouched into a low position, watching for when the barrier dropped.
A final flare and the barrier was done. Lynch swept her leg out, tripping Engel. She was pleased to hear an alarm bell from the town behind her. She turned to race for the gatehouse, but felt something impact her chest. Catching her breathe, she found herself pinned to the ground by a net. Looking to her left, she saw Engel was as well. She could hear the threads strain and break as Engel slowly forced its way out. Looking to her Right, Lord Null was getting to his feet.
"Null, to my left, right beside me!" Lord Null made some motion, and a wall of earth forced Engel to the ground, barely taking Lynch with it. Lynch thought she heard metal twist, but did not take time to check. She now had enough room to reach her knife and cut her way out of the net. Disappointingly, the tower archers continued to fire.
As Lord Null limped toward the guard house with Lynch's aid, she looked behind to see Engel fighting its way out of the dirt, albiet slower than from the net. "Dammit, doesn't that thing die?"
Lynch looked ahead to see the remaining guard closing the door to the guardhouse. Seconds later it was locked, her only a few feet from it. Lord Null moved to stand on his own. Lynch placed her back to his, knives drawn, ready for Engel's attack once it was free. She heard and explosion behind her, then Lord Null's voice. "The gate is open now."
Lynch did not move as fast as she liked; Lord Null was not as quick as her. Just as they passed the gate she saw that Engel was free, and got ready for it to charge them. Instead, it lept into the air and flew to a guard tower. The former occupant's body plummeted to the ground; Engel's voice could be clearly heard above the clamor of militia.
"I am only here to ensure Lord Null does not leave; if I am not attacked, the rest of you are safe."
There was confusion among the militia. Finally, one spoke to Lord Null. "I suppose you are a guest. For now."
In Other News: Syndicate is officially a go! Muahahaha! See the rules (and sign up if you intend to go to Carnage Con) at http://zadmin.servehttp.com:8000!
Rafe pointed toward the house in the woods. "The last time signal I received originated from near here." Rafe examined his map data again and strode towards the back. General Gunter motioned for his men to stay where they were while he followed.
It was not hard to find the freshly dug earth. Rafe once again consulted his map and double-checked his calculations. "The signal stopped inside the house according to my data, but it's logical to deduce that the occupants would bury Engel outside."
Gunter looked towards his men. "Soldiers! Detain the occupants of the house, and bring its master to me. And a shovel while you're at it!"
A chorus of 'yes sir' reached Rafe's ears. Moments later the splinter of wood was heard as the door was bashed down, shouts as as someone was found. As Rafe watched, a woman with auburn hair was dragged out to Gunter and forced to her knees. Rafe was supplied a shovel; he busied himself by disturbing the grave.
Gunter frowned at one of his soldiers. "I said to bring the master of the house."
"I am," said the woman, "master of my house."
Gunter snorted. "So your husband died and you never bothered to get another. Very well. What is buried here?"
"Fey."
"I think you are lying. Well, Rafe, what's there?"
Rafe held up the head of Engel, the eyes still moving. "While not Fey, I can understand the confusion. It's not buried very deep, I'll have the rest uncovered in a few minutes."
"You hear that? You buried a member of the Kingdom's militia. How did it come to be buried in your back-yard?"
"So you are recruiting Fey?"
"I do not like to play games." Gunter looked towards a soldier. "Break her right pinky."
The woman didn't even have time to beg before she heard the bone snap.
"It occurs to me," said Gunter, "that I do not even know your name."
Tears were streaming down her face. Between whimpers, she wispered, "Samantha."
"Listen well, Samantha. If you do not tell me why a soldier of mine died on your land, you will suffer worse than a broken finger."
Rafe listened as he repaired Engel. The cut was clean, and he was able to do the repairs without the need for replacement parts. He heard the story of the unusual missionary and his companion, then how Engel had attacked him, only to have Samantha interfere. Finally, he heard how the missionary had stood up after being stabbed twice, healed both himself and his companion, and stole two horses. Once the story was done, Gunter spoke again.
"Tell me, why did you help they Fey?"
"I...I thought he was a priest."
Rafe spoke up. "Did he say where he was going, or what his goal was?"
"He said 'a powerful item.' He - they - rode to the east."
Rafe stiffened for a moment, then went back to his work.
Gunter sighed. "It is apparent you are incapable of making proper decisions, and so should not be living outside the safety of the city. Soldiers, take any supplies there are, burn down the buildings, and return her to the life she should have."
Anger and betrayal flashed in Samantha's eyes. "You can't do that! What about my son?"
Gunter glared at her. "The army is always recruiting." Gunter ignored the shouts and crys of protest from Samantha, satisfied that the soldiers carried out his orders promptly. "How long before it's repaired, Rafe?"
"I'm almost done. You know, I don't see why you need to burn the house down."
"Peasants are weak and ignorant. If you do not handle them firmly, they begin to think otherwise. Men like us must not only protect them from the Fey, but from themselves. Of course, if your 'Engel' continues to perform this poorly, I may have to protect you as well."
"That should be the last of your worries. Your men had the opportunity to recover my stolen book, and failed. Now it's confirmed that Lord Null is after a 'powerful item.' However, that's not the worst of it. That book also has the schematics for alchemist's wands, and he's headed straight for Haven."
"Good, I'll get the army mobilized."
"I don't understand?"
"He cannot flee to Haven if it is leveled, can he?"
Rafe did not respond, instead he reactivated Engel. "Setting aside the enormity of what you have planned, you think an army can move faster than two people? Consider also they have a 3 day lead." Rafe turned to the now standing Engel. "Engel, I need you to intercept Lord Null; if you cannot reach him before he enters Haven, be sure he does not leave."
Gunter scoffed. "It failed already, and you plan on sending it to the lion's den?"
Rafe continued to address Engel, "Remember: there will be no innocents around this time, so you do not need to hold back."
Engel looked from Rafe to Gunter. After a moment Rafe spoke again. "Can you do it?"
Engel's head snapped back toward Rafe. "Yes, I can." With that, Engel stretched out her wings and jumped into the air.
* * *
Lynch rubbed her wrist. It had been broken 5 days ago, and healed within the hour. It wasn't sore, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was just wrong; like she had worn a bracelet for years and just recently taken it off.
During the past few days, she had lived off the pilfered grain from Samantha's stable, pushing the stolen horses to their limit. Lord Null did not need to explain the urgency of the situation; if one soldier of the Kingdom had found them, more were sure to quickly follow. All night they would ride, and by day Lynch collapsed into sleep from exhaustion. She never received an opportunity to ask the burning question on her mind: How could Lord Null even survive his encounter with Engel. Before she knew it, they were approaching the gates of Haven.
The gates to Haven were far less impressive than Lynch expected. In fact, the entire outer wall looked like little more than a new settlement. There was evidence that once there were stone walls, but they had since crumbled only to be replaced by a wooden barricade and spikes pointing outward with the occasional watch tower. All the propaganda Lynch had heard directly contradicted the sight before her. She had expected an army guarding a castle that rivaled the cities, yet the guards looked like they hadn't eaten in days; of course, the look may be normal for Fey.
Lynch followed Lord Null's lead when he dismounted and walked his horse towards the guards. As he approached, the guards lowered their weapons and shouted something Lynch could not understand. Lord Null responded in kind. Soon afterward, Lynch heard her name called by the guard.
"Null here says you have something to trade. Give it here and I'll inspect it."
Lynch dismounted, aware of the archers watching the scene. She moved away from the horse toward Lord Null.
Lynch scoffed. "I'm not that dumb." She pulled the book out of the pack. "Here's the book I want to sell. You can try to take it if you want."
The guard looked towards his partner, back toward Lynch, then shouted something to his partner in the same unintelligible language. After the guard had disappeared into the gatehouse, Lynch leaned over toward Lord Null.
"What did he just say?" Lynch whispered.
"He is going to inform his superiors. We have nothing to worry about, yet."
For the first 5 minutes, Lynch waited patiently. For the next 10, she paced back and forth. Finally she slumped against the gate. She noted that while the guard was keeping an eye on her, his weapon was not at the ready. She also noted that Lord Null had not moved in the passed 15 minutes.
"What are you?" Lynch blurted out at Lord Null.
Lord Null turned to face Lynch. "What is the context of your question?"
"You're not human, that's for sure. Your stamina's shick, yet you can be stabbed and live. You kill without a care, yet heal wounds. You look at me when I talk, but can't see a book at your feet. What the hell are you, and where did you come from?"
"You could say I have become death incarnate, but that is too poetic to be accurate. In the simplest terms, I am a fallen acolyte of Yalla that has been resurrected into a twisted form, and must now live by feeding up the energies of the living."
Lynch took a moment to digest this, then spit out the only thing that came to mind. "What?"
Lynch could have sworn she saw Lord Null sigh. "I am a zombie."
"Right. A zombie with brains, that just sucks the life right out of its victims. More like a vampire."
"The specifics of my curse are outside the usual labels. Suffice it to say, I am an abomination with great power who seeks to increase it."
"And you think whatever Rafe-" Lynch cut off her sentence, noting the guard seemed to have taken too great an interest in their conversation. Lynch lowered her voice. "Why are you blind sometimes, but not others?"
"I see life energy; anything that lives has an aura to me. The guard, you, even the trees have a faint one. However, that is all I see. That which does not live does not produce an aura and only appears as blackness that intersects the living auras. A book on a floor appears as a uniform blackness."
Lynch nodded, and remained silent. Lord Null was Fey, there was no longer any doubt about that. Some part of her knew she was betraying humanity, helping those like Null, yet she could not summon up feelings of guilt. She had been subject to the injustice of the Kingdom; still, did that mean they deserved what she was about to do?
She was brought out of her thoughts by a noise from the guard. He was staring at something in the sky. Lynch looked, and thought she saw metal glint.
"Null, do you see anything in the sky?"
Lord Null looked a moment. "No, I do not."
Lynch saw the glint again, closer this time. "I thought you said you could see living auras? Something's moving up there."
"Perhaps it is not alive."
As Lynch looked, it seemed to be speeding up. Soon, she could make out a shining metal humanoid form with gossamer wings diving at her and Lord Null. The only other thing she could remember that was like it was Engel, the metal create that had attacked them at Samantha's.
Lynch looked toward Lord Null, noted he was not moving. Engel was seconds away. Lynch threw herself toward Lord Null, tackling him to the ground as Engel smashed into the wall.
"Sheild!" Lynch yelled over Lord Null's shrieks, "Sheild now!"
Lord Null forced the pain from his mind just long enough to create a protective bubble around them both, but then was flooded with it again. He barely registered the sword strikes against the barrier.
Lynch looked up to see arrows bounce off Engel's armor, and Engel beating upon the barrier with two swords. With each blow the shield's glow lessened, it repelled the blade with less force. Lynch crouched into a low position, watching for when the barrier dropped.
A final flare and the barrier was done. Lynch swept her leg out, tripping Engel. She was pleased to hear an alarm bell from the town behind her. She turned to race for the gatehouse, but felt something impact her chest. Catching her breathe, she found herself pinned to the ground by a net. Looking to her left, she saw Engel was as well. She could hear the threads strain and break as Engel slowly forced its way out. Looking to her Right, Lord Null was getting to his feet.
"Null, to my left, right beside me!" Lord Null made some motion, and a wall of earth forced Engel to the ground, barely taking Lynch with it. Lynch thought she heard metal twist, but did not take time to check. She now had enough room to reach her knife and cut her way out of the net. Disappointingly, the tower archers continued to fire.
As Lord Null limped toward the guard house with Lynch's aid, she looked behind to see Engel fighting its way out of the dirt, albiet slower than from the net. "Dammit, doesn't that thing die?"
Lynch looked ahead to see the remaining guard closing the door to the guardhouse. Seconds later it was locked, her only a few feet from it. Lord Null moved to stand on his own. Lynch placed her back to his, knives drawn, ready for Engel's attack once it was free. She heard and explosion behind her, then Lord Null's voice. "The gate is open now."
Lynch did not move as fast as she liked; Lord Null was not as quick as her. Just as they passed the gate she saw that Engel was free, and got ready for it to charge them. Instead, it lept into the air and flew to a guard tower. The former occupant's body plummeted to the ground; Engel's voice could be clearly heard above the clamor of militia.
"I am only here to ensure Lord Null does not leave; if I am not attacked, the rest of you are safe."
There was confusion among the militia. Finally, one spoke to Lord Null. "I suppose you are a guest. For now."
In Other News: Syndicate is officially a go! Muahahaha! See the rules (and sign up if you intend to go to Carnage Con) at http://zadmin.servehttp.com:8000!