That Bloody Night

"If you told me how the day was going to go when I woke up that morning, I wouldn't have believed you. It seemed a normal morning. I woke up, checked on Elegy, got breakfast, cleaned my horseshoes, and began my kingdom duties.

Tired of being stuffed inside a castle, sorting over papers, we all had decided to set off in search of some... Queen that Errol was wanting to meet. She dwelled to the south. Figuring she would make a good ally against the Troll King that had declared war on us. With the five of us in tow, we set off to meet her.

Trudging through a snow-covered landscape of plains leading into forest, fighting off cold with fur coats and Errol's fire magic, I noticed movement under a large tree. My hand instinctively went to one of the javelins in my quiver, and I alerted the others to what I saw. Also by instinct, our scout Lilith took to the shadows and treetops with her bow at the ready. Our armoured samurai Takeshi moved a hand to the grip of his sword in the merest of flashes.

An old man's voice rang out, inviting us to come in from the cold. Naturally skeptical, we tried to talk him into meeting us outside first. Wanting nothing to do with the cold, he refused. Lilith stepped out of hiding and tried to reason with him, to no avail. Frustrated with the discussions, Errol set fire to the old man's tree shelter.

Enraged, the old man charged out, blade in hand and threats to eat his liver in his wake, and gutted Errol viciously and suddenly. I struck the old man, but he retreated and sent his large hunting cat on me. My axe and hooves killed the cat in seconds, just in time for me to turn and see the old man get hit by one of Elegy's spells.

Elegy's magic always has the strangest of effects. Sometimes zapping things out of time for a few seconds, sometimes compelling great and powerful creatures to follow a command, or turning things into stone. This time; the old man started looking at her with lustful eyes. I blocked his vision of her by standing between them, and we attempted to talk to him further.

He was clearly insane, resisting any attempts speak sense, though a spark of recognition struck him when we mentioned our druid friend Bokken. We knew him as an excellent host that I bought my Great Club from. This man clearly didn't think so highly of him."


Jaekah cleared his throat, lifted a large mug of ale with clawed hands, drank heavily, and continued.


"So Lilith and Elegy went to search the man's shelter before it burned down. The old man tried to make conversation with our stoic and strong samurai friend, Takeshi, but was met with silence. After more frustration, Errol killed the old man. He was near death anyways, and his shelter tree was nearly burnt down. He had some surprisingly fine equipment, so we helped ourselves to it. In the meantime, Lilith searched his home for valuables, finding a full chest and a silver locket.

We moved on until nightfall. We made camp, and Lilith took first watch.

I awoke to the wretched whine of one of her whistling arrows. Never used lightly, we instantly woke up and were alert. I stood just in time to see Elegy's tent get slashed open by a large beast of a creature I'd never seen before. It had just swooped into her tent to attack her. Goblins and snakes followed in its wake.

The red beginning to lace my vision, I leaped over the still-lying down Takeshi and Errol, knowing the large beast was the main threat, and tackled him away from her tent. The goblins swarmed on me, but I paid no heed to their needle pricks. Errol and Takeshi got surrounded as well, but I was far less worried about them.

Some of the goblins got into her tent, but I focused myself on killing the large beast. Elegy could handle herself against minor goblins, but this creature was a different matter. Before I could reach him with my attacks, it managed to cast a spell. Somehow, I knew it had targeted Lilith. What it did, I found out later, but I had an inkling then that it affected her mind.

Now within reach, I hit him with spear, hoof and axe, but every so often the wretched thing would blink out of existence just as my attack was sure to strike true, to return an instant later completely unharmed. Further infuriated, with the red overtaking my entire perception, I tore into him with everything I had. Seemingly at random, my strikes just wouldn't hit him.

And then an arrow dug into my flank. The second most painful experience of my life, it tore a hole in my skin wider than any arrow ought to, gushing gouts of blood onto the ground. I knew I had to kill this infernal thing quickly, oh so quickly...

And then it teleported away. I whipped my head around in all directions, vision beginning to become cloudy... I saw that it had reappeared on the other side of Errol and Takeshi from me. Knowing Elegy was safe, I sped around her tent, the thistled arrow digging itself deeper into me, and charged axe-first into the creature again. This time, my axe dug true, though my sight was fading quickly... Too much blood...

It sank its claws into me, my armour protecting me from some attacks, others found purchase and tore out more strips of my flesh. It was becoming very hard to focus... Body screaming at me to rest...

I stood on, roaring in its face as it growled in return. Errol came from the other side, and soaked it with a great gout of fire.

Inspired by the help, I once more I dug hoof and axe into it, some of my attacks simply not working.

It countered with claw and tooth.

The claws glanced off my armour.

Its jaw ripped into my throat.

My body became impossible to lift.

The red was fading into black.

I fell to the ground just in time to hear Elegy scream and Takeshi behead the thing.

And I knew no more."











"Darkness.

"A boat with a robed figure. Crushing silence, save the creak of his oar.

"Three women with a string and scissors.

"It's not yet time, one of them said.


"And then, I suddenly needed to breathe.


"Gasping, the first sensation to hit me was the scent of thick, herbed smoke. It choked my nostrils, making it hard to breathe, when a light suddenly burned across my eyes. It stung like nothing before, but it felt almost good. After the nothingness of the feeling for god knows how long, this extreme of sensation was almost pleasant.

"Still blinded, I stretched my arms around me. I was surrounded by metal on all sides. My hands felt different... My body felt different...

"I reached up, and found a ledge to grasp. With the click of claws on metal, I pulled myself up. One arm wasn't enough to lift with, so with both arms I hoisted myself up. I tried pushing with my legs... They felt weak, and I felt only two of them... I pushed with all my might, and finally brought myself up.

"My balance was off completely. I toppled over the edge of the metal and landed on hard stone. I couldn't see anything in this smoke-filled room, yet it felt familiar.

"And then I heard her voice...

"Such joy as I'd never known. I pathetically crawled towards the sound, barely able to manage that.

"And I saw her. Eyes awash with tears and a smile on her face, I could never have asked for a more wonderful sight to welcome me. She threw her arms around me. The sensation felt different than before, as though I were wearing thick armour, but I still felt the emotion. I returned the embrace as best I could. With untested strength the claws on my hands accidentally dug into her back. She winced in pain, but didn't let go. Errol's voice rang in the background, sounding more gleeful than I had ever heard him. Elegy chastised him, and he retorted back as usual. With an unfamiliar voice, I asked them to stop. For just one day, I didn't want to hear any of that. But I thanked Errol for showing concern for me.

"I didn't know where I had been, or how long I was gone, but I was, at last, back with my companions.


"Back home."