"What did he have to say?" Flacidious asked as the commander walked towards him.
"There have been disturbing reports on the westen frontier, the guard posts of the Vicini have been abandoned and there has been no sign of merchants or wondering sages for some time." The commander dressed in dull brown and grey formal attire stopped a moment as Flacidious stood up. The two of them set off together for the doors at the end of the vast ornate corridor. 

"Ominous"

"Indeed, while the Vicini are not renowned for their desire to parley to completely abandon their outpost if true would be bizare in the extreme."

"Some kind of trick?" Flacidious asked stroking his blond goatie. 

"It's the only thing that would make any sense, even if they had been attacked or if there was somekind of disaster I couldn't possibly imagine that they'd abandon their entire frontier with us." The commander paused a moment, "It's certainly not as though our kingdoms are on that good a terms." Guards opened the large doors and bowed as the two continued through a large marble recption room. Nobles and courtiers stood around talking to one another, guards in ceremonial plate armour stood by the walls ever alert for any threats, or at least appearing to be. Among the guests mingled serving staff in drab but neat attire, clearly expressing their status as far below that of the rich and powerful that they served. 

"That goes without saying, also I'd propose that if something terrible had occured then should we not see an influx of people fleeing across the borders and news from travellers from within their borders?" 

"My thoughts indeed Flacidious. As such it has been decided that we will send out your party to investigate the border region and return any news. I'd request that you gather the others meet at our office in the Slag district." The commander looked at Flacidious her one good eye grey belied no concern just a constant seriousness, haggerd face and wrinkled talons covered in silver service rings. 

"I'll do as you ask." Flacidious looked around the reception hall a moment.

"I have business here, the old poisoned hag of the Kingdom is never finished with her work." The commanders thin lips curled into a wicked grin of yellow teeth. "We'll meet after dark" She turned and headed towards a group of merchants. 

Flacidious took his leave just past the guards on the steps of the palace there was a man in similar plain garb as Flacidious who nodded and jogged over.

"Flacidious?" 

"Gather the others in the Slags we're going on a little trip." The Man nodded and jogged off dissappearing as if by magic, Flacidious then headed into the King's District,it smelt of perfume, his eyes scanned nonchalently across the scene, the buildings were all white washed, the roads were cobbled and the shit from horses was swept away almost as quickly as the horses deposited it. The traders all operated from shops and no one was hawking wares on the street, everything looked to be the peak of perfection as those with status walked with their servents infront cleaning the paths and behind holding trails. He could hear the polite conversation interspersed with a servant or child being scolded for their bad behaviour. Guards exchanging greetings and confirming that their patrols were successful. On occasion someone would take notice of him a moments suspicion before their minds moved onto other things, guards looked to consider talking to him, intending to ask why he was here most likely, but then thinking better of it as Flacidious's finger gently caressed one of his silver rings. 

After a half hours walk he had passed into the merchants district, slowly crowds formed the streets were bustling, there were stores out on the street, the roads still cobbled but covered in people and litter, children were hurridly escorted by parents, well dressed merchants haggled with one another, caravans of goods were exchanged and people filled hand drawn carts with a dazzling array of products both mundane and exotic. Merchant's cant could be heard amongst the dialects of Noviya normally heard in the streets of the city there was a never ending babble of excited conversation that drowned out many of the other sounds of the city. Flacidious seemed to notice something and changed direction heading into a crowd.

"Ndidi" he pushed through a crowd that was attempting to get in on a deal for some kind salted fish from across the sea of Rothdover, A broad Peck turned toward Flacidious a big grin on their face, their skin was like bark, they were green with a tuft of pale green hair sticking up, wearing a plane merchants tunic from the distant east.

"Ah, Flacidious old friend, what an honor it is to see you on this fine day!" Ndidi awkwardly bowed and Flacidious returned the gesture.

"You too my old friend, I hope that the trade winds still favor you!" Flacidious said with a quiet smile but a booming voice.

"That they do old friend of Ndidi, even more for they blow you my way once more! Let Ndidi finish up and we shall go speak." Ndidi turned back to the rabble, Facidious leant against a wall and watched the world go by until Ndidi was done.

They sat at a table in the Prosperous Venture a tavern well frequented in by traders, merchants and journeymen, Ndidi had ordered the two of them meats and cheeses and a jug of spiced wine. There was a smell of spices in the air, the sound of a lute playing at a perfect level to be present but not intrusive, it muddled the conversations from other tables. 

"It has been too long old friend!" Ndidi poured a cup of wine for Fasidious who returned by pouring a cup for Ndidi

"Or not long enough!" Flacidious grinned.

"Ah, never such a thing could be said, what was it last time where you saved Ndidi and Ndidi's troop from a ravenous sand serpent! Teeth like rapiers, skin like steel, as fast as a kings steed and hell bent on Ndidi and their troops meager flesh!" Ndidi exclaimed with much theatre and excitement.

"Your words are like a blessing, however it was simply luck." Flacidious wrapped a piece of meat around a lump of cheese and placed it in his mouth. 

"Ha! That was no simple luck, that is a skill blessed by an entire pantheon!" Ndidi's arms spread wide and they grinned. "So how do you find the meats and cheeses?"

"Delicious" Flacidious stuffed more into his mouth and washed it down with another glug of spiced win, Ndidi did the same.

"Well of course, Ndidi sold it to them this morning before the market opened, Ndidi aquired it from Dere a beutiful city if Ndidi says so myself." Ndidi boasted

"I've never been." The two exchanged pleasntries for a while, several cups of wines, more then a plate of fine foods and as they finished a bunch of grapes Ndidi seemed to decide it was time to talk business.

"So old friend, what brings you to old Ndidi today?" Ndidi leant across the table, pointed ears pricked in visible curiosity. 

"What have you heard from Vicini?" Flacidious leant back and rested his wrists on the table, his face now a mask of business like seriousness.

"Vicini?" Ndidi looked at him for a moment, "Their traders are gone, their goods are gone, Ndidi has not seen their likes for two whole cycles of the moon, not here, nor in Dere, nor in Batlean, nor in Kumari, it is as though they have vanished."

"So it isn't just here?" Flacidious blinked, he raised his right hand from the table and stroked his goatie. 

"No, it's not just here, the Batan apparently sent a patrol to see, but word is it didn't come back, nobody knows what is going on in Vicini. As a friend good Facidious Ndidi would suggest that you don't try and find out either, Ndidi has too few freinds now." Ndidi frowned and finished the cup of wine.

"We will have to see on that." Flacidious put his hand on Ndidi's shoulder. "I'll settle the bill, I have to go and see some people. Thank you for the information." Ndidi nodded 

"May the trade winds have our paths cross again!" Ndidi said with a smile, Flacidious bowed and the two parted ways.

Flacidious quickly went from the Trade district throught the guild and quater districts to arrive at the Slag he dove into the rat run of alleys and muddy paths. What passed for main roads in the Slag were a filthy muddy streams of mud mixed with human waste and rubbish, the place smelt of rot, shit and burning dung and peat. The people were dressed in rags and dirty common clothes. The Slag was the poorest district of the city it ran from the fishing docks and was enclosed by the bakers, the butchers and the smiths, efluent from all three ran through the Slags to reach the river that supplied the city with fresh water. There were no guards to be seen on the streets, Flacidious had passed more then one man having his way with a whore and was witness to several muggings in just the short time it took to go from the Bakers disrtict to the ramshackle building that was their Slag office.

The office was above a street food store that sold mystery meat with a spicy sauce wrapped in a bun it was apparently a delacy of some northern kingdom. The building looked as though it could collapse at any moment, like a shack built ontop of a shed that was hastily constructed by drunks in a storm to escape hyperthermia. The second sun was begining to set making the already unpleasent atmostphere of the slags painting it blood red, Flacidious headed climed the stairs at the side of the food shack and knocked on the door. 

A small woman answered the door looked at him and then headed back into the room. Flacidious followed closing the door behind him. To call it an office was of course paying it infinitely too much praise, it was just a room with a door to the back that led to the shitter, there was a collection of chairs mostly clustered around a small round table, an open wooden crate with various weapons sticking out of it, another upturned create with cards on it and two men sat playing cards. Around the table were a half dozen people engaged in conversation, the small girl that had answered the door sat on another crate and picked up a knife that had been on it she returned to sharpening it. Everyone took a moment to turn, acknowledge Flacidious's arrival and got back to whatever it was they'd been up to before hand.

"So, what does that poisoneous one eyed bitch want us to do now?" A woman with sharp claws for hands, skin that resembles stone, pitch black hair and eyes like obsidian orbs asked from her seat around the round table. A man sat opposite her grinned. 

"This one eyed bitch wants you to do your job." The one eyed crowen said as she came through the door, Flacidious looked back no emotion showing on his face. The raven haired woman that asked the question grinned.

"Commander" she said. 

"Primela, good to see you in one piece, now all of you I'd like your attention please." The old lady flipped a barrel that was on its side back to standing and sat on it. The assorted people in the room stopped everything they were doing and paid full attention to her.

"You're to go to the border town of Icini and survey the situation there the Vicini kingdom has it seems vanished, which as you may imagine leaves us concerned, confused and curious. This is ideal ground for the Black Fang" she paused a moment and looked at the assortment of rough and strange people before her. Many of them grinning or nodding others with faces of non plussed obliviousness. "Once at Icini you are to enter Vicini and find whatever you can and relay all information to me, you as always are free to act as you see fit to ensure the security and prosperity of the kingdom, its assets and the Black Fang iself. I'll now go into some more detail" The commander went on to detail all the latest reports and findings that they had received, Flacidious added the information he had gathered in the traders dirstrict. By the time they finished discgusing their plans the suns were coming up and they all decided to rest for the day, the commander would send supplies to a location just outside of the city and the Black Fang was to move that night at full pace. Even then it would take a couple of weeks to reach Icini. 

---

The last few hours in the city were a mix of preparation and contemplation, the group checked information sources, ensured that their personal kits were ready for the journey and that they had the essentials in case there were any issues with the provided provisions. They then slipped quietly out of the city and congregated at the storage collection point.

The meeting point was a couple of miles outside of the city along the Kings road in a farm that had fallen into disrepair the farmhouse's shutters had fallen off and the thatched roof was rotten, the barn had half collapsed and the fences had collapsed in parts. Flacidious approached from a wooded area and crossed the unkept field. He stopped a moment and carefully changed direction seeming far more cautious, upon reaching the rear of the building he let out a whistle that sounded like a small song bird. A moment past and a whistle could be heard from inside the run down farm house and with that he carefully made his way around the front and climbed in through the open window clearly keeping his wits about him.

"Evening Sir" a soft feminine voice came from a corner of the room, Flacidious turned to look at the source. The girlish figure sat in the corner stared at him cross bow pointed squarely at his chest.

"Meredith, are we the first here?" Flacidious asked calmly his eyes fixed on hers.

She smiled a moment, "No, Gilnar, Sial and, Erke are down in the basement." She still had the cross bow pointed square at Flacidious, finger tight on the trigger.

"That all?" He tilted his head.

"Nah, the grey bitch is in the remnants of the barn with Bedros." She hissed and placed the cross bow on the small foot stool next to her and put her hands behind her head. She was wearing loose dark clothing hard to make out in the gloom of the cottage. Flacidious's posture softened and he walked towards the basement hatch. "I'd be careful, could be trapped"

He glanced up at her "Could be?"

She blinked slowly and purposfully and the shook her head "nah, it isn't."

He nodded and opened it, there was some chatting below which stopped the moment the door opened.

"It's me, Flacidious, I'm coming down." He warned the assembled group and headed down the stairs giving Meredith a stern stare which she met with cold indifference. 

In the cellar were a number of crates and the three men going over the supplies lit by candle light.

"So, what have we got?" Flacidious asked.

A tall bald man scratched a scar above his cauliflower ear "I recon we got everything we need food wise and all the standard equipment, trail tents, rope, flints, oil, candles, paper..." he trailed off pointing at things.

"And we've got a half dozen birds Sial don't forget" A short broad man with a nice bushy beard stated  with a full booming voice 

"Yeah and we've got a half dozen birds" The bald man called Sial said waving his finger lazily in the direction of various boxes. In his other hand he had a piece of paper.

"Yeah the commander's still good when it comes to putting together an inventory." A third lanky man almost seven feet tall said with a thin voice his cat like eyes reflecting light in the gloom.

"And keeping us well paid and off the books" said Flacidious who looked around the basement a moment longer. "Fine, start loading up the horses, I assume we have horses?"

"We have horses, they're near the barn." The lanky one said.

"Thanks Gilnar." Flacidious put his had back on the ladder rung.

"So, Boss, what do you think's going on out there?" The short bearded man asked.

"Nothing good that's for sure Erke. Nothing good." With that Flacidious went back up, Primela and Bedros had returned while he was in the basement, below he could hear the men breaking open the boxes. He eyed the two arrivals and then looked at Meredith still in her corner chewing something now, she seemed to have stopped blinking, he pulled himself up and brushed himself off.

"Flacidious" the statue like Primela nodded and then smiled mouth of razor like teeth on show. 

"Primela, Bedros, did you bring the horses over?" Flacidious asked while walking over to the stool next to Meredith and taking a seat.

"Sure did. They're pretty good horses look like they've got plenty of endurance, not to fast though" she shrugged "but given the ride we've got ahead of us that's to be expected." As she finished the sound of bird song came from outside. Meredith put her hands to her mouth and returned the sound then tilted her head to listen.

"It's Charles, Fong and, Lane." A few moments later the three of them entered and nodded.

"Alright, everyone help pack the horses." As Flacidious said that Sial popped his head up a saddle bag over his shoulder.

"Why hello Lane, Fong, Charles, Nice of you cunts to make it." He grinned and dumped the bag on the side, then looked at Flacisius "We've started seperating the goods into standard packs. Could do with a few extra pairs of hands." He turned back to the others at the door and grinned a yellow grin before descending back into the darkness below.

"You heard, get down there and help with sorting the packs, Meredith, Bedros, Primela load the horses with me." With that they gave the odd response, Meredith sprung to her feat and waited for a sack to be brought to the surface. 

The whole process took about an hour and they were all stood outside the old farm house obscured from the road, the lit by the moon that hung low in the sky. There were the sounds of night animals in the distance carried by the slight breeze and mixed with the rustling of leaves. 

"Remember, the standard rules apply, we don't kill the locals, we don't mention the order, we don't mention the king, we die alone."

"We all die alone" They echoed. Grins hidden by the darkness. 

"Let's make a move." Flacidious said heading to the horses first, the others following, dark cloaks and cowls hiding their forms though hight gave some away. The seven foot Gilnar and the four and a half foot Meredith in particular but still as ten shadowy figures they mountained their horses and flowed onto the road heading away from the city the noise of hooves becoming the loudest thing for miles.

Several days travel and the group were camped for the night a short distance from the Kora Road, they'd left the King's Road the day before as it wound its way east to Thorns, the second largest city in kingdom. Meredith had the last watch so was curled up asleep in her tent while the others sat around the fire talking and laughing about the past. The carcasse of a wild boar on a spit above a white hot fire and root vegetables covered in pig fat below. Each member of the group had a slab of wood covered in meat and vegetables and a jug of liquid, Flacidious laughed up a storm as Gilnar told a twisted tale of an encounter with a gang of drunk Peck in Thorns once. The story involved a hot poker and some permenant and almost certainly agonizing disfigurement. 

"That's nothing, I heard that Sial ground up a mans arm once and ate it infront of him!" Primela said as she sunk her teeth into a lump of pig juice and fat trickled down her cheek. 

"Ha! Not quite, I didn't eat it, I had his partner eat it!" Sial scratched his scar a moment and took a glug from his mug.

"What had they done to deserve it again?" Charles asked as he snorted a bit while laughing and drinking. 

"Simple, see, there was this combination lock that me and the lads couldn't get past, some kind of stupid magic trick, anyway these two brothers knew all about it so I had them tell me ya see!" Sial said with a wink and a smile before knocking back another drink. 

"I can see why it was necessary now!" Flacidious roared with laughter.

"So, did you get it open?" Asked Charles.

Sial Grinned and leaned forward, he looked at all the faces waiting for him and roared "Of course I didn't! You think I'd be here if I did?!" He then let out a bought of laughter so loud it could have woke the dead.

"Remember when we had to deal with that Eli in Basterville?" Bedros asked Primela.

"Oh my, do I, but I wish I didn't what a frightful bore! Spent all that time trying to get in me and then couldn't perform, he should be happy all I did was strip him and leaving him hanging by his feet in the town square! I had half the mind to flay the impotent fucker." Her obsidian eyes rolled and she clenched her taloned fist.

"He may of prefered it mind, I heard it was a mighty cold night." Fong said as he walked back from a tree line shaking his cock off before shoving it back into his leggings. He plonked himself down on the floor and picked up his plate.

"Not a problem for you though!" Lane cackled blond mane tossed from side to side. 

The tomfoolery and rambunctious drunkness continued for a couple of hours before they settled into their watch pattern finishing with Meredith sat in a tree surveying the surrounding area, eyes lit up like an owls, she was as silent as the dead and if anyone had strayed into her domain they'd of wished they were. She stood on the branch she'd been sat on and then lept silently to the next tree along covering a monstrous distance. For a moment her nose twitched and her eyes narrowed, she looked off in the distance and could see a distant red glow, she watched it for a while and listened until the sun came up and the others awoke. 

"Leutenant" Meredith was hunched next to Flacidiouses tent.

"Yes?" A tired voice came from within the tent.

"There was a fire, there is a fire, Corrinth. It was burning all night." She said queitly.

"What?"

"You can see the smoke now, I think it's still aflame." 

Flacidious's head popped out of the tent. "I suppose it doesn't matter, Corrinth is towards Thorns." He said, his eyes seemed unfocused for a moment then he stroked his goatie. "We should pick up the pace. Make sure the rest are awake, forget breakfast we're leaving the minute everyone up and packed." Meredith nodded, her eyes a blood red this morning instead of a placid ice blue. She looked out of the corner of her eye at the rising smoke stack and growled quietly to herself. Then stood and moved with purpose waking everyone up. They set off and picked up the pace. They all on occasion took a moment to look back and puzzle over what the smoke ment for them.

---

The ten dark figures on horse back approached a large town it was surrounded by a large wooden pallisade and a dozen towers lined the walls there was a river running along side reflecting the light of the moon and gurgeling away. A dozen guards stood at a large gate and stopped the suspicious looking group 

"Papers" A guard asked, all the guards immediately around the group were armed with long spears and had swords hanging by their sides, the guards had teeth clenched and hads tightly held aroudn their weapons lightening their knuckles. 

"Of course." Flacidious reached into his saddle bag the guards eyes fixated on his hand. "Rough times? Here" He handed a piece of parchement to the guard who handed it to another man.

"Never you mind, why are you traveling so late?" He asked looking the group up and down.

"The town was close enough to reach and we didn't feel like spending another night out on the trail."

The other man continued to study the papers, a man behind him held a jacketed torch.

"Already have arrangements for where you're staying?" The guard said waving his hand to indicate that there were quite a few of them arriving at once. 

"Yes we have had a caravaners lodge arranged for our stay." Flacidious said crossing his hands and resting them on the pommel of his saddle. 

"Everything looks in order Rod, looks like they're from the capital, mercenaries." The man who had been checking the paperwork said handing it back to the guard called Rod. 

"Mercenaries? There could be some work for you and yours. Come by the guard house at sun up if your up for earning a little coin." Rod handed the parchement back to Flacidious who noded and placed the parchement back into the saddle bag. 

"In the morning then."

"Don't be causing trouble in the inns!" The guard yeld as the group slowly rode through the gates. Sial gave a big yellow tooth grin and scratched the scar above his ear as his horse slowly carried him past the guards. 

The guard that had been checking the parchment came along side Rod and whispered "They look like trouble."

"That wont be the half of it." Rod said "Come on you lot, back to your post enough gawking." The guards stomped back to their positions and set about their nights work.

The group arrived at a large stable that had a boy stood outside the large stable doors he was wearing a filthy smock and had sandles made of straw you couldn't tell the colour of his hair but it was almost certainly filthy like the rest of him. He looked up at Flacidious.

"Nice Horse" He said in a squeeky voice.

"Thanks boy, we're with the Dustmen." Flacidious said and then got down from his horse.

"Dustmen." The boy paused a few minutes and stared into the distance. Flacidious looked at the others as they dismounted then the boy clicked his fingers "Ah ha! I'll be right back mr Dustmen sir" the boy ran off, Flacidious stood holding the reigns of his horse and looked again at the others a moment later a four more shabby looking men, most likely stable hands came out. 

"Ah we've been expecting you, the boy will show you to your lodge. Please let us take care of the animals you'll have fresh ones in the morning." A strangely asymetrical man said with a slur and held out his hand to take the reigns, Flacidious noded and removed his saddle bag from the animal. The others did the same and after a little while the group had been led to the small lodge, it had two floors and an out house, water came from a central well but the shutters worked and there were cots.

"No watch tonight!" Fong said happily. 

"Boy, where's the closest tavern it's been forever since I last go to have a real drink." Gilnar asked with a ravenous look.

"Best be quick boy, best be nimble, or Gilnar will eat you whole!" Primela said with delight her black eyes wide and threatening. 

"It isn't just the drinking we're after." Said Sial his sharp toothy grin far to wide for a normal human. 

The boy looked quite terrified, "J-j-j" the child stuttered

"J-j-j spit out boy or Gilnar will be spitting out your bones!" Lane taunted.

The boy gulped looking like a small traped animal "Just just d"

"Just just, is this some new game?" Asked Sial.

There was a loud crashing sound and the others turned to see Meredith a look like thunder, her eyes looking quite human and soft blue, "Leave the child be for Irisi's sake!" her hand glowed and sparked with electricity. 

"Ahh we're only teasing the lad Mere." Gilnar grinned sheepishly "Besides, he wouldn't make a very satisfying meal" with that the others all laughed and Meredith went for Gilnar who backed away at pace and back through the door.

"That's enough, get to the tavern just follow your cocks and I'm sure you'll find it." Flacidious ordered while looking through his saddle bag. 

The group filed out of the lodge and Meredith withdrew to the corner of the room and curled up.

"I'll never understand you Meredith." Flacidious said head still in his saddle bag.

"Nor I you." She said through gritted teeth.

"Why are you with us?" He asked, maybe a trace of curiousity or concern in his voice.

"Could you imagine if I hadn't!" She stated with a touch of spite.

Flacidious tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling as though thinking for some time the words sitting there playing on his thoughts. "I'd rather not" he smiled gruffly and turned to face her. "But still it often confuses me."

"I suppose like all the rest of us have nowhere else to be, and I owe everything I have to the Commander and you, as much as it pains me to say I'd be really rather useless without you all. When I made it to Thorns I had no idea of what this world was really like, and to be quite honest I still dont' think I really do." She said with a sad tone and rested her head against the wall. He made a small noise of affirmation and set back to looking through his bag, taking the odd item out. Finally he pulled out his 13th day testement and sat on the edge of one of the cots reading, his lips moving slightly as he mouthed out the words.

Meredith stood up quietly and left the lodge leaving Flacidious on his own with his thoughts and his book after a while he closed it, put out the hooded torch and headed out towards the tavern.

---

Meredith had taken to the towns public bath house and sunk herself into a pool of steaming hot water and fragrences the person in charge of the bath house had been suprised when someone with such resources arrived, particularly one as tiny as she happend to be. Meredith sighed and traced her fingers through the water, "Finally clean" she splashed her face and then leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "Five years" she muttered and tutted. An hour went by and she left the bath house a notable spring in her step, she looked up at the sky, the moon wasn't at its zenith just yet the sound of tavern music was waafting through the air and she sighed, shrugged and followed it to it source a large red washed building with a man falling through the door and the loud shouts of revelry inside.

She stretched, sighed, and went in, a thick unpleasent smell hung thick in the air Meredith scrunched up her nose and scanned the bar. A serving wench almost fell over Meredith but the two women avoided each other, the wench looked at Meredith with a look of suprise, then shrugged and carried on with the six jugs in her hands. Meredith's eyes followed the wench to a collection of tables covered in food, bottles, women, and her party of vagabonds, she pulled back her cowl and headed over. 

"Another tankard." Meredith shouted at the tavern wench and bounded over the table landing beside Lane who looked at her his reptilian face forming a strange snake like smile. 

"Well look who has shown her face." 

"Shut it lane or I'll slice your snout off." Meredith said with a snear and grabbed a leg of chicken from the table. Lane laughed as did Fong who was stood to the other side of Meredith. However Fong quickly returned to enjoy some sample of debauchery with the human girl spread out on the table before him. She looked around and noticed Flacidious stood at the bar talking to a man in reasonably upmarket clothes, Meredith watched them a moment and then the wench arrived with her tankard. Almost a fourth the height of the small woman herself, the tavern wench watched her cross armed a moment only for her mouth to drop a ghast as Meredith easily lifted and swigged from the huge jug and slammed it down on the table. 

"Your beers fucking terrible! Bring me another!" Meredith roared, Long howeled with laughter, Gilnar appeared next to her and lifted her high. "You're lucky I didn't blow your head off!" She yelled at him.

"Ah, Little Mere, we're bound by death." Gilnar laughed and drank more of his own drink and she played his head like a drum drinking deeply and merrily. Flacidious watched from the bar, a sad frown on his face for a moment.

"So, that's all I know about Vicini." The well dressed man said.

"And the guards, they said they had some work?" Flacidious asked drinking slowly. The man nodded.

"Indeed, there's reports of more monsters raiding the villages I expect they'll be asking you to go clear help clear them out." The man said in a hushed tone.

"Any thoughts on why?" Flacidious probed.

"Only the obvious, with the guards gone from the Vicini borders the monsters aren't getting killed over there any more." He said with a shrug.

Flacidious stroked his goatie "That would be the most obvious answer, has there been any word from anyone we've sent to investigate yet?" 

The man shook his head "nothing, the original patrol from the city never made it back and a group of mercenaries went out seeking a fortune also never made it back."

"They could have made their fortune?" Flacidious asked mockingly

"Aiye, and my wife isn't fucking my stable hand." The two men laughed and then shook their heads. "I'll be leaving shortly with Vicini seemingly gone there's no trade to be had here." The man said bitterly.

"How much did you have tied up?" 

"A couple of hundred gold talents, gone now, it was all looking so promising." The man looked down at his drink.

"You could always come and work for the commander again." Flacidious said turning to look at his crew partying in the corner. 

"No Flacidious, no I couldn't. Anyway, it was good to see you again, don't get killed." The man said with a sad smile and patted Flacidious on the shoulder, holding for a moment, Flacidious covered the hand with his own and nodded.

"You to Don, be well." With that the man left and Flacidious returned to his group, Meredith leaping down and latching to him for some time. When she started to talk it seemed she didn't finish. The night rumbled on, and the gears of the world relentlesly ticked on once more with no concern for the mortals that inhabited it.

---

In the morning Flacidious had headed to the guards headquaters he stood waiting in a room where men played cards on an table eyeing him with suspicion every now and again and talking about things of little consequence. A boy came through a door and headed over to Flacidious.
"The captain's ready to receive you now." The boy seemed rather well presented he had was wearing an official looking uniform with the town lords coat of arms on the breast, he had short golden hair and green eyes and stood just shy of six foot.

"Wonderful" Flacidious said and gestured for the boy to lead the way, on the other side of the door was a corridor with a number of other doors on the left hand wall. There were none on the right hand wall instead there were slits for crossbows and spears at either of the end were racks of cheap looking spears. Flacidious let out a ponderous hum and the boy looked back at him.

"Sir?" The boy asked.

"Oh I was just appreciating the architecture." Flacidious said waving his hand at the right hand wall. The boys gaze followed his hand and a look of realisation appeared on his face.

"Ah yes, apparently because we're out here on the frontier the headquaters also acts as a keep." The boys brow furrowed a moment then carried onto the far door and knocked. "I have Sir Flacidious here to see you." 

"Send him in" a voice came from the other side of the door and the boy opened it and ushured Flacidious in. The room was dark, lit by a collection of candles scattered on various surfaces. There was a bookshelf against the left wall along with a stand that held the rooms occupants armour, a brigandine with a pot helm. There was a sword and shield mounted in nicely decorated weapons racks to the left and the rooms occupant sat behind a large table, face grim and deeply scared. 

"Captain." Flacidious said.

"Take a seat, please." The captain indicated the cushioned chair infront of Flacidious who sat down without needing any more prompting. "You can go now Elwyn I'm quite alright." The captain shoed the boy out of the room waving a hand that only had three fingers left. As the door closed with a comforting clunk the captain turned to face Flacidious.

"So, I'm sure no doutb you've heard already about the predicament on the Vicini boarder?"

"If by predicament you mean that they've stopped protecting their boarders and the country is wide open, then yes, yes I have."

"That why you're here then?" The old captain asked, one good eye trained on Flacidious the other seemingly trained awkwardly on the bookshelf. 

"How do you mean?" Flacidious tilted his head sliglty and wrested his hands on the table infront of him.

"You here for plunder or banditory?"

"Is there much difference?" Flacidious asked grimly.

"No, no I suppose there isn't. As long as you do it on the other side of the border I don't much care." The captain sniffed and leant back, the wonky eye now seemingly taking great interest in the captains top lip. "There's problems with the villages, I need someone to go out there and make sure they don't all get big ideas and run off, I don't much care how you get them to stay here, but stay here they will."

"Are there any insentives for us to help with this particular issue?" Flacidious asked in a matter of fact tone, lightly patting his hands on the table not moving his gaze from the captain who sat up a moment.

"Of course, if the peasents understand how well they have it and decide that remaining is indeed the safest course of action I'll reward your company with a 100 talent stippend for the next six months as long as they don't up and leave."

"I've heard there may be bandits and beasts harrasing the peasents, seems like it may be dangerous work." Flacidious said looking at his hands that he cuped as if to make a pair of scales.

"Aiye it may be dangerous work, but also paying working and that's many times what my guards will ever get for such work." The captain sat with crossed arms. Flacidious stroked his goatie a moment.

"Answer me this then and we'll draw up the contract." Flacidious sat up and tilted his head back a moment looking down at the captain for a second and then leaning forward. The captain looked at Flacidious as though to measure him and waited for what Flacidious had to ask, the moment hung there. 

"Well?" The captain asked as Flacidious drumed the tbale quickly in responce and sat back in the seat.

"What has happend to the patrols you've sent out to the Vicini border?" The captain sneered a moment.

"I'm sure you can guess." The captain said with a growl after a few seconds of no response just Flacidious staring intently awaiting an answer "We received a report that the border had been abandoned from some of our border scouts at the Sharnar tower that they had seen a runner arrive at their opposite number in Vicini terretory the runner spent a short time at the tower and then ran along the border presumably to the next tower after that the troops at the Vicini tower were seen leaving with their travel bags towards their terretory." The captain paused and looked at Flacidious who nodded and indicated for the captain to continue. "For the next few days they didn't see anyone return to occupy the tower, then they came and reported. I sent out preliminary scouts to investigate the tower and they said there was nobody there." Flacidious held up his finger a moment.

"So they went into the Vicini terretory?"

"Yes, and came back to report. We sent a small patrol to see what was going on with orders to return if they encountered anything and to go no futher then till the first sun reached its Zenith, they also returned."

"That I suppose wouldn't have them reach any substantial settlement?"

"No" The captain shook their head, "The next group though we sent to reach their nearest town, they never returned, and neither did the two scouts we sent after them, and that's that I declared none of the guards were to cross the border as it was probably some kind of trick. Another mercenary band came through a week ago and headed off without much concern and we've not seen them either." The captain looked at Flacidious glumly.

"Very well, we'll take a look at your villager issue, then we'll be heading into the Vicini terretory." 

"At least that will reduce my long term costs. So did you come from the capital?" 

"We did, its still the hopeless hole it always has been." Flacidious said leaning back with a grin. 

"Indeed, so tell me all the news." The captain leaned across the table and Flacidious spent the next hour relaying all the least intersting gossip of the capital.

---

The village was a collection of huts in amongst a number of fields at its centre was a wooden temple, a granery, a barn and a store house, the ten black figures rode through the village and stopped at a haggard young woman wearing well kept but worn smock and habit she had scales and lizard like eyes, Flacidous looked down at her. 

"Where is your village chief?" Flacidious's voice had a venom to it the kind of voice that brings with it nothing but pain and terror. 

"He'll be in the field m'lord." The woman said with a hiss and pointed towards one of the assorted fields. Flacidous turned his horse and headed towards them, Lane took an extra moment to look the reptilian woman up and down his snout twitched as Sial grunted at him to move. 

There were a half dozen men in the field that had been pointed at, "Which of you is the village chief?" Flacidious asked again a note of hostile impatients. 

"I am, what do you want?"

"I'm here at the behest of the Captain of Icini, they inform me that you may be disastisfied with your lot and that I may help see to it that you become satisfied with it once more." Facidious's horse trotted back and forth trampeling crops as it did. The other nine were scattered across the field in no particular order.

"The captain did eh? Never seen the captain out here taking much of an interest before."

"I couldn't really care less what your relationship is to your lords, what truth is there in the word that you're looking to leave?" Flacidious stroked one of his silver rings and the man looked nervous.

"Wait, we'd not consider leaving, it's just that we're being raided by bandit pack sire." The chief said meekly. Flacidious looked at him for a long moment and the chief who had started with quite the self confident pose had been reduced almost to groveling.

"If we were to clear this nusiance for you, what would you offer other of course then your continued loyal fealty to your lord?" Flacidious's voice was full of scorn, the other riders looked hawkishly around.

"Well, we don't have much, and our lords are in need of much." The chiefs eyes looked desperate now and completely under Flacidious's sway.

"Well, once we have cleaned up these bandits we will need succor for the night. You will amuse my troop, it has been decided. When and where do these bandits harrass you?" 

The village chief went into a detailed description of what had been transpiring for the last two months and Flacidious seemed to pay great attention. By the time he seemed satisfied the sun was begining to set and Flacidious gathered around the band. Looking up and down he turned to Gilnar 

"Where's Long?"

"Getting long" said Gilnar with a grin and Sial laughed along with Erke. A moment of concern seemed to cross Flacidious's face. 

"Ah, that peasent lizard." Flacidious looked into the night for a moment. "What a nuisance, once we're done here Sial and Gilnar round the randy snake up, we're going to put an end to these bandits, I have a good idea of where they're operating from so I'm quite sure that we're going to be able to find them." Flacidious set out the plan and they packed for a night in the forest and an ambush, Long was returned to the group looking very pleased with himself a scar on his cheek. Then the troop headed off into the dark once more, a task at hand this time.

---

---

Meredith took the children back to the town and spent several hours arguing with various officials and eventually left them in the custody of the towns temple of the benevolent child where the master of the temple promissed that they would ensure that they would look for the childrens parents and if they were unable to find them they would ensure that they were sent to good homes. Meredith paid a substantial tithe and decided to head to the lodge they had aquired so that she could have a few hours of uninterupted sleep. Once in she sat on the cot she'd slept in before, looked around and laid down within moments she was fast asleep. 

When meredith woke up it was pitch black in the room, she let out an irritated sigh but then shrugged and hopped out of bed her eyes adjusting to the darkness letting her move around with ease. A wagon passed her as she headed to the baths again and spent an hour or so there relaxing, "Two baths in one month, it must be my birthday." She said as she got out and headed into the town, it was reasonably early but there was a cold bite to the air, she visited several different stores and ate a hearty meal people looked at her with suspicion but she never seemed phased. To those looking at her she must have seemed so very different not just her height, but her eyes that seemed to change on a whim, her skin seemed to give off a slight glow in the dark, her hair was prestine, and her figure was ever so slightly different to most other races. An unmistakable feel of the other hung about her like the smell of incense clung to a priestess. Where ever she stopped she seemed lost in endless thought as though she saw another world. She strummed her fingers on the table and bit her lip then she stood up with a start and headed back towards the temple. 

As she got to the building she saw a wagon with a large box on the back of it, the master of the temple was having a whispered conversation with a shrivled raisen of a human, her finger twitched a moment as she watched, she bit her lip again. 

"Never trust" she muttered to herself, before walking towards the pair, she noted another two, both men in brigandine armour and carry short swords and shields they saw her coming towards them and for a moment tensed up, but then seemed to relax. 

"Why, little lady how can we help you?" One of the large men asked mockingly.

Meredith ignored them and walked past heading streight to the master and the raisen as she past them there was a small noise and then they collapsed to the ground. 

"What's in the box?" She demanded. 

"Just supplies." The master said then a moment of realisation appeared on her face.

"Supplies?" She said "Supplies!" She turned to the raisen "Open it. Now." The box was about five foot high and twice as deep. The man stared at her mockingly.

"I think not child." 

"Deny me again and it will be the last thing you ever do." She glared. "It may be anyway."

"Ha" the Raisen drew a blade and the Master started to run back to the temple. Meredith drew her short sword and exploded towards the man who was stunned by the speed and while trying to step back instinctvly he tripped over his own feet falling to the ground. Her sword slashed and the mans head from below the cheak across the nose and up through the crown of his head came away. She turned to the wagon and let out a small sigh. she clambered up to the top and smashed part of it open and inside was the gore ridden collection she had feared. 

"Torn up for parts" she looked back up at the sky, silent tears and bawled up fists. She looked back at the temple where the master had fled ground her teeth a moement and headed after her. The Town would be down a temple that day.

---

They had rode across the frontier a day ago and were now on the main road that led to the first Vicini outpost town, it was comparable to Icini and the party had avoided the smaller settlments that were supposed to be on the way, the road was heavily traveled, little more then a churned up mud path now. 

Flacidious was stoaking his goatie at the front of the troop, they had been engulfed in fog for hours now and the damp had soaked through his clothes ever so slowly. "Curses" he muttered to himself.

"I don't like the look of this road." Feng commented as his horses hooves squelched in the mud. 

"It looks like a whole regiment marched through here" Gilnar said as he scratched his scar. 

A thick fog had settled from nowhere meaning the group could only see a couple of meters in front of them, they kept on talking.

"Let's hope we don't run into them then." Flacidious with a touch of exhaution yawned at them. 

"Of all the things, I really hate fog." Meredith's voice sung out from the rear of the group. 

"Doesn't it remind you of being in a blizzard little Mere?" Primela asked from the middle somewhere.

"Not in the slightest." Meredith let out a yawn.

"It's mighty queit." Whispered Sial. He looked around, eyes unable to penetrate the fog.

"A fair point, I can't recall hearing a single animal for the last few hours." Long hissed.

Flacidious eyed the shadows behind him.

They all seemed to sit up as the realisation dawned on them, except Flacidious he stayed hunched visibly irritated in his saddle. 

"Do you think they were scared away by something?" Erek pondered.

"Or eaten, if a large group of troops have moved through here they could have eaten everything?" Charles countered.

"If there were such a host we'd have seen it by now, or it would have been ravaging Icini." 

Primela clicked her tongue and breathed deeply, she closed her eyes and listened closely, the squalching of the horses hooves, stagnant air, she opened her eyes. "It isn't just quiet, there's no sounds at all except the slightest sounds of moisture pooling and dropping from bare branches."

Flacidious looked ahead a grim look on his face. "Can you smell something?" He asked.

"Just damp and mold." Sial said. 

"Yeah, this fog is blanketing everything in the sent of damp" Feng added.

"Fucking fog." Gilnar cursed.

The troop continued to follow the road at a snails pace glaring into the gloom as it turned from light grey to dark grey to black as the suns set.

"We'll have to set up camp here." Flacidious said with great displeasure. 

"Do you think it'll be safe?" Erek asked as he crouched over in his saddle.

"Hells if I know." Flacidious rounded his horse. The fog had cleared only slightly they could make out to about ten meters. They hastily built a large fire with prepared bundles of wood from their bags so they didnt' need to wonder into the trecherous undergrowth. 

"It's going to be a hell of a night." Sial said standing by the fire.

"Yeah, an army could be a dozen yards away and we wouldn't be able to see them" Erek growled.

"What is up with this accursed fog." Gilnar complained as he put down his tarp. 

"Let's hope it lifts at sun up." Flacidious said as he pulled his blanket over his head and curled up.

The group was arranged into watches, larger then normal 3 of them up at any one time to try and keep an ear out for anything that may decend on them. 

"Hey Mere" Primela asked. The two were sat sharing a tarp while Long was walking around aimlessly.

"Yes?" Meredith answered sleepily.

"Isn't it supposed to be summer here?" Primela asked quietly.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"And isn't fog like this supposed to be gone during this kind of time?"

"Yeah" Meredith paused and looked up at the black blanket that enveloped them "yeah it is." Primela didn't say anything else during the watch and neither did Meredith.

The next day the fog was still dense and travel was slow, wet and unnerving. They mostly moved in silence in the dark ahead of them was something. Flacidious raised his hand and moved forward slowly. 

Something black in the fog, it seemed to stand still, Flacidious slowly moved forward the black figure was silent, Flacidious drew his spear and held it high and pointed at the black thing that showed no signs of motion. As they got closer it became clearer, a horse stood in the middle of the road. Flacidious didn't reduce his level of tension, the others had quietly drawn their weapons, eyes alert on all sides.

"Fuck me." Flacidious exclaimed quietly, his face curling up a moment. A rotting face of a horse, its teeth clearly visible where lips should be, its eyes pus filled gauges, maggots dropping from holes in its flesh. Flacidious began to tilt his head in disgusted curiosity when it suddenly made a horrifying wale. "What the fuck it's alive!" The creature bolted towards Flacidious whose horse paniced rilling up. Flacidious held on tight and tried to calm it as the fell horse screamed past the others all Erek and Sial's mounts also railed up kicking at the monstrous beast with their up lifted hooves driving the creature into the forest but then a loud shriek Flacidious saw Sial's horse crumple to the ground the tall man rolling away before it toppled ontop of him. "Shit"

Sials horse was laying on the ground making an awful noise the other horses seemed to be on edge as the group stood around it.

"The damn things lame." Sial cursed as he kicked the ground. 

"What'll we do now, we were already going to slow because of this fog?" Charles asked while squatting on the ground looking at the animal as it convulsed in a way a child would sit and poke a wounded animal that it felt strange. No obvious malice just idle curiosity.

"Though considering how slow we're currently going I suppose doubling up wont make much difference." Gilnar rubbed the side of his head and looked over at Flacidious.

"True, we'll just have to rotate." Erek said looking at Meredith a moment. Flacidious stroked his goatie and looked at around at the group. The horse bulked again trying to stand up. 

"I guess I'll do the honours." Sial said, and plunged his spear through the horses head rotating it a few times as the horse let out a few final sounds and shudders before becoming silent. Charles stood up with a bored look on his face. 

"What do you think was with that horse?" Long who had been futher back in the order asked looking at Flacidious and then across at Erek and Sial.

"It had a saddle and other gear, I think the gear was some of ours?" Erek seemed to gesture at the horse on the ground.

"Could have been from the missing scouts?" Sial said as he paused a moment and looked back in the direction the hideous beast had fled.

"Maybe." Flacidious said, "I didn't get a very good look but that definetly may have been from Icini." Flacidious followed Sial's gaze.

"What in Kiels name was wrong with it though?" Erek grimmaced as though he was recalling the sight of it and turned to Flacidious.

"Some kind of pestilance?" Gilnar offred.

"Must have been." Flacidious said walking in the direction the beast ran a moment before turning back.

"Was fucking grim though." Erek commented while he rummaged in his pocket pulling out a slice of dried meat that he procedded to chew on.

"I didn't get to see it, what was it like?" Feng asked looking at the men who were up front.

"Like it was rotting on its legs." Flacidious procedeed described it as best he could remember. "I'll be honest I was a bit to taken a back to really remember it to well."

"Yeah, ever heard of anything like that before?" Erek asked Geng and then turned to the others.

"There are a few inflictions that bring a victim out in rotting sores yeah, none of them are pleasent." Feng said as he looked into the air. 

"Yeah there's a bunch of beggers in a town outside of Habruk that need to wrap themselves in cloth because of something like that. I'd advise not going for a visit." Primela advised.

They nodded and collected themselves a moment, Sial collected his pack from the dead horse and they stood their another moment.

"Ah well, it isn't like it was my horse anyway." Sial Said, pack now over his shoulder.

"I guess Meredith you'll have to share rotate around the others." Flacidious said and she clicked her tongue in disapproaval but looked like she had already resigned herself to that fate. "We'll have to pick up a new horse on the way." He contiuned. They all got back on their horses and Meredith was forced to share with Sial first. 

The travel through the day had been long and slow Long, Feng and Flacidious were off a bit from the camp hastily hacking at branches, collecting bits of wood and bundles of leaves. Gilnar and Erek were making a fire while Meredith, Charles, Primela & Bedros patrolled. Thick fog still hung in the sky giving the forest a deeply sinister feeling dulling sounds and obscuring reality. The horses were hitched to trees around close to the centre of the makeshift camp and were grazing on wht little they could find. 

AS the wood was brough back to the camp they started laying down the twigs and small branches then laying tarp on top of them and making make shift tents, as the fog turned black and the suns set the group sat around the small fire they had made quietly eating from their ration bag.

"We need to reach a settlement soon." Feng said chewing unhappily on a piece of dried meat.

They all nodded and grumbled in agreement. 

Primela's ears pricked up a moment "Do you feel that?" She looked off into the darkness. 

They all stopped and leaves began to rustle and the sound of wind cutting through branches whistled.

"Wind, at last!" Erek jumped up and started to perform a little jig. 

"Thanks Iris." Meredith stood up and looked around, the fog was clearly quickly thining. 

"Finally a turn for the better." Flacidious smiled and ate another bit of his ration while he looked up."Looks like rain though."

"I'll take it" Gilnar exclaimed happily. As he said it a bolt of lightning arched through the sky in the distance and a few moments later the crack of it roared out. The horses made a little noise but mostly seemed to ignore it. 

"Make sure everythings protected from the rain, soudns like it might be a rough night" Flacidious stood up and started checking his pack and the tent. The others set about checking guide ropes and protecting their gear, the wind quickly picked up and before long they were all sheltering in the dark in their tents. Meredith and Gilnar though were on watch and so instead of being curled up out of the worst of the rain they were hunched under a lean too looking out into the forest.

"At least we can see futher then our own noses tonight" Gilnar chuckled.

"That is small recompense Gilnar!" Meredith retorted glumly.

"It's like the whole pantheon has taken up arms against us ha!" Gilnar laughed and rolled back on the saddle he was using as a seat.

"It seems that way sometimes." She sighed and rested her chin on her hand and looked out into the trees the howling wind was almost defening. 

"Hey, what's that?" Meredith could see a glowing orb in the distance, it looked like a small spherical cloud that glowed and bobbed, it was a pale blue colour. Gilnar looked for a few moments.

Meredith stood up and Gilnar grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "Don't, they're spirits of the damned." He looked around and saw more all around and then he looked at Meredith who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Bugger me." He cursed. "We must be near some old battle ground or some such, come to your senses girl" he shook her again but nothing seemed to change. She looked more doll like then ever at that moment, he maintained a firm grip and watched as the lights bobbed in the distance. The rain viloent thrashed the cover they sat under and the wind roared the tents were buffeted violently and Meredith and Gilnar became ever more soaked to the bone the sound of thunder rumbling and the flashes of lighting lit the whole scene up as though it were bathed in whiite. After one such loud clap Meredith turned and looked at Gilnar.

"What happend?" She looked at him and then the glowing balls in the distance. 

"Back with me then?" Gilnar looked her up and down. She nodded and he let go.

"What was that?" She seemed to survey herself for a few moments.

"Dead lights, they're spirits of the dead that are trapped in the mortal realm" his somber words made Meredith flinch a bit.

"mmhmm" she nooded and looked out at them.

"They hate the living it seems and try to lure those they find to their deaths" 

"To their deaths?" Meredith seemed to shake a bit and bit her lip.

"Yeah, they call out to your very essence and trick your mind, when you come too you're in a very unfortunate situation they drain your life force and leave you an empty husk."

"Not the best of ways to go." She frowned and her shoulders heaved. 

"Most certainly not, no." Gilnar concured.

"No. Lucky you weren't affected." She looked at him a moment.

"Yeah,this time." He said bitterly.

"This time?" She looked at him her eyes seemingly probing for a story. One that he seemed ready to tell.

"Yeah, this time." He nodded and sighed, a few moments past "I was a member of the Subraria Legion back in the day I'd been conscripted from a small settlement the kind of place that doesn't even have a real name, just that place between that forest and that river" he smiled.

"Sounds peacful." She said.

"I suppose, it's so distant now that I don't think I can really form the image properly in my mind, anyway after a few months of training in a march near the border with Tenrif the war started and we found ourselves marching into battle, me and my squadmates were part of a massive army that marched for almost a week"

"And?"

"Well, we lived off the land and made merry the way soldiers who haven't thought a real battle do. Then we came to this place, a giant open field with a river to the left flank and mountains to the right, the Tenrifian forces had set up field forts and other defences, I thought I'd seen all the men in the world in our army!" He laughed "And now all the men in the world had doubled! It was a sight to behold I tell you."

Meredith listened in tently and nodded "mm then?"

"Well this was clearly where all the generals had decided we'd have our little barny, it's hard to explain what a battle between grand armies is like, to be frank I don't even know, I was in a giant formation a massive square my brothers right and left of me and infront and behind. I held a massive pike and I had a short sword at my side somewhere behind me in the middle were archers and somewhere among them a captain and some signallers and as the drums roared out we started to march into battle. Others had great shields and spears, others small round bucklers" He paused and seemed to think a moment longer. Meredith sat quietly watching, listening to the roar of the wind.

"Well I can't really remember a single sound, arrows blackened the sky and horses smashed into our square as we marched forward, massive bits of masonry landed around us pulverising men and beasts, bodies trampled under our endless march forward until after some period of time we met an enemy formation. The fight lasted an eternity, my arms and legs were on fire, the sound of screaming and drums and commands the sight of brothers falling and pike heads darting past my head arrows dropping left and right slowly I got to the point where I had to trade pike for sword and the real meat grinder started. I couldn't tell you how many people I sawed through that day it was relentless but our force was discplined until the order came to begin the retreat, it seemed the other side had the same order and we withdrew and so we did under cover of the shields." He stopped again and took a drink of tea from his flask.

"After that we returned to our camp, but turns out it was our turn to be on patrol, that's when I first met these things we were checking to make sure nobody was going to assault us from the river at night, sneak an ambush over or some skirmishers to raid our supplies so that's where me and the lads saw these balls hovering there. I came too waist deep in freezing water, some of my friends shouting from the river bank, others screaming in the water drowning while having their life force sucked from them, I could see this big orb not more then a couple of meters from me and I could see inside it the agonoised face of a soldier screaming at me, I could hear it whispering in my head, and I could feel my strenght leaving me then it seems one of the squad had ran and got a caster from the camp and she cast some kind of spell that let me and a couple of the others escape. Later they told me that you seem to only be able to fall victim to them once or some such, I don't get on with this magic stuff, but yeah between the battle and that river our company of 100 became a band of 20." He sighed and pulled his hood up a bit more.

"I suppose that's the tragedy of war, is it where you met Sial and Erek?" 

"Oh no, that was much later, Sial was when I was a pit fighter in Bajarn, Erek" he grinned "tales for another day young Mere." The wind had died down and the terrenchal rain had moved to a normal autumnal downpour.

"You know I'm older then you right?" She smiled and lent back. The two of them waited until the spirits all vanished and then woke up some of the others to take watch. They didn't have much time to sleep but it was better then nothing and warmed them up a bit for the day ahead.

As the new day dawned Gilnar and Meredith informed the others of the nights affairs and they checked the surrounding area after about an hour they came back together.

"I couldn't find any evidence of a battle here of late."

"Same." The rest uttered similar agreements.

"Maybe it was long ago, death lights can linger for hundreds of years after the incident that they died in." Flacidious recounted and the others nodded in agreement. 

With that the group drew up the camp and headed off down the road this time though at a better pace, trees lined the sides looking tired and withered, the air was crisp and their breath misted up in the slight cold.

After several hours there was a turning off of the road they stopped and gathered.

"A turning would mean a settlement near by." Erek said and looked up the joining path. Flacidious nodded.

"We should tak a look, if there's a settlement we may be able to get some supplies and some proper food for the horses." Flacidious turned to take the road and he met no argument from the others.

"Odd there's no smoke." Primela pointed out and they all stopped a moment. Feng clicked his tongue. 

"We'll have to approach it carefully then." Flacidious said in his matter of fact business tone. 

After a short while the troop came up on a scorched village they fanned out and Meredith got off the horse she had been sharing with Charles, Flacidious made a gesture with his hand and they quietly approached. Burnt huts, barns and stables occasionally there was a charred body in a house or animals in a stable, all the livestock seemed to have been burnt aswell.

After reaching the middle of the village they stopped and took stock of the situation.

"Scorched earth?" Gilnar asked looking around.

"But from who?" Erek dismounted his horse and picked up some of the soil and sniffed it.

"This was clearly done sometime ago." Long joined Erek and looked around leading his horse to a fence post and hitching it.

"Yeah, this isn't fresh, maybe a couple of months ago?" Primela stayed sat on her horse sniffing the air.

"Sounds about right to me." Erek seconded the opinion while throwing the soil to the ground.

"Why are there so many bodies? Normally you want to get the people out before burning everything down." Charles wondered looking towards the barns. 

"Something odder, a number of the bodies were sat down, that means they probably didn't try to run right? Isn't it normal for people to try and escape when their house is on fire?"Meredith had been into a few of the buildings on the way as she was on foot, she lifted her hand and then rested them behind her head while looking from left to right.

"Maybe they couldn't?" Sial said while joinging Erek in hitching his horse to the fence post.

"I don't like it." Gilnar said, his horse pranced on the spot for a bit.

"What's there to like?" Feng grumbled. Flacidious shot him a look but didn't say anything he just tugged at his goatie a moment.

"Let's keep looking around, maybe there'll be some kind of clue." Flacidious finally said.

"At least it isn't foggy eh Mere?" Primela sneered.

"Shut it Primela" Meredith shook her head and then headed towards the other side of the village. "I'm going to look for thier village shrine." She yeld back at the rest who were rummaging through the wreckage of houses, Flacidious stood looking at the surroundings a picture of concern.

The shrine was covered in thick back gore, there were a number of animal carcasses and other offerings scattered around a central pillar. Meredith moved closer wiping some of the sticky ooze away from the insciption bringing it to her nose to sniff, she wrinkled her nose and wiped her fingers on a clear patch of ground. The offerings were mostly rotting food, a smattering of idols and other such items common for village communities to share the pile though was rather large. 

She ran her fingers through her hair and seemed to think for a few minutes before looking around some more, she kicked some stones and checked in the bushes.

"That's odd." She muttered and looked back at the shrine. Then she walked towards a burnt house that would have once over looked the small shrine, there was a horned strongbark, a tree that was common for the regions futher north, from one of the gnarled branches was a rope with a number of knots on the way up to the branch. She swung it as she passed it and began to search the hut. There was a body laying on the floor of  a far wall chared beyond recognition, she rummaged for a few minutes and sifted through the ash, her eyes narrowed.

"It's not here either" She stood up and headed back towards the village centre.

Once she got back the others had found feed for the horses, fresh water and had piled up other supplies and were discussing next moves. 

"I found another two bodies in hovel near where I found the feed." Said Charles and Feng nodded his head.

"Yeah I found some too. I know it's odd but I think they may have killed themselves." Bedros offered.

"Then why weren't they buried?" Feng asked, his brow was furrowed and he had one hand on his waist.

"Some kind of superstition?" Asked Primela who seemed restless. 

"I wouldn't of thought so, I've seen a number of regular burial plots and the Vicini had the same death traditions as us, where they do cremate their dead they do it in a ceremonial way not just burning them in their beds." Feng pointed out. The others didn't seem to see a need to argue with his knowledge or rationale. 

"They seemed to have take the villages relic as well." Meredith said as she noted a moment to interrupt since she joined the group, they all looked at her, Flacidious pulled at his growing beard.

"Most settlements will have shrines and almost all shrines dedicated to a deity of the pathenon will have a relic. The one here is gone, they must of taken it with them." She put her hand to her head and looked at them all.

"So?" Asked Primela. Echoing the question that was on most of the faces of the rest of the group.

"It would imply that firstly they left on purpose and secondly that they don't intend on returning."

They all looked around for a moment.

"We'll stay here tonight, in the remains of that barn that's still mostly standing, we'll send a bird back to the capital and we'll dry our things and see if there's anything else we can salvage."

"Should we head back?" Asked Charles.

"No, we still haven't found anything." Flacidious crossed his arms and headed back to the horses.

Charles sent off the first of the birds with a message and the others returned to the old barn for the first time in several days they could have a far more comfortable nights sleep, no severe wind or rain and no fog and there were real walls even if they weren't the sturdiest of walls they'd help. Also there was plenty of fire wood and the horses could be fed and watered. Long played his flute and the night was rather merry despite the grim surroundings and they even managed to catch a boar that made a fine feast roasted on a spit above their fire. 

"We'll have to make good time tomorrow and push to the Vicini border city of Florens if I'm correct on where we are it should only be about a days ride." Flacidious seemed to be saying to his plate of meat.

"mmhmm" Meredith nodded.

"With the horses fed and watered we should be able to push harder."

"Should be." Meredith happily ate a fatty chunk of pig.

"Sorry we couldn't get you a new horse."

"It can't be helped." She sighed and smiled. "At least we're able to be dry at last! Honestly I have sores on my sores sores!" She exclaimed and a number of laughs went up around the camp.

The party slept well that night and indeed, by the morning they were able to enjoy being dry. Even if it may be for a little while.

---

"Maybe they were fleeing to reach the city walls?" Erek suggested as they rode along the road to the city of Florens. The group could finally move faster and now that the weather had cleared they could see the wreckage of burnt out wagons, scorched horses and oxs still hitched to them that had been pushed to the side likely to ensure they were kept them out of the way. Flacidious led the pack and appeared to take a parsing interest in anything they passed by.

"Maybe, that could explain the willingness to just push things to the side and burn them."

"But It's strange." Gilnar said looking into the forest that lined the left side of the road. 

"What in particular is strange?" Long hissed.

"Normally when a land is abandonned like this there are bandits and refugees everywhere but so far we've seen nothing." 

"Great, another thing to add to the list." Primela scowled. Meredith who was sharing with her also frowned at the thought.

"Also if there is a siege then where are the forragers and skirmishers?" Gilnar said again analysing the situation they found themselves in. 

"Then maybe it isn't an army they're running from." Long hissed again.

"A plague?" Meredith asked. 

"That would make more sense, could explain all the burning as well." Feng said from the the rear of the troop he seemed to be considering the situation.

"We've talked about this all before, let's just get to Florens and see what is going on." Sial complained. 

The group seemed to come to a quick agreement that Sial was likely right and continued to Florens, soon they left the forest and found themselves amongst large open fields that had become overgrown, in the distance they could make out the walls of the city of Florens. They could make out the tall watch towers and the gate house and the long streigh road that led to the city. The closer they got the more details they could see as the suns slowly worked their way across the sky, the tall watch towers began to reveal their elegant design, more tall buildings and keeps came into view behind the walls the many roofs of town houses a large lake was off to the right side of the city and boats dotted the shore. 

Flacidious raised his hand and pulled his horse to a stop. They all had a slight look of concern on their faces. 

"What is it?" 

"Do you notice it?"

They all took a longer look at the city a gentle wind blew and the long crops swayed as though they were doing a seductive dance. 

"There's no smoke" Said Charles.

"Nor any boats on the lake" Gilnar was looking towards the water hand held above his eyes.

"Shall we keep going?" Sial asked looking as though he knew full well what the answer would be. Flacidious looked at Charles.

"Send a bird, tell them that it looks like Florens has been abandonded as well. Bedros and Long you stay with him, the rest of you were going to the city. Once you're done catch up." Flacidious turned his horse and the group of seven continued while the other three sent the bird.

As Flacidious and his party got closer they could see that the main gate was open and there were scratches all over the large wooden doors along with a black colouring and piles of rubbish collected all around. The wind changed direction and a foul stench wafted over them that they had not noticed until that point had been hidden.

"By the gods that stench." Erek covered his face and the others began to cough and look quite ill, Flacidious pulled up his scarf to cover his mouth and nose, Feng looked like he was going to wretch for a moment. The others quickly followed him and pulled theirs up. The horses also neighed and stalled for a moment forcing the troop to steady them. 

"Smells like a week old battlefield" Gilnar said riding up along side Flacidious a grave look on his face. Flacidious nodded and looked towards the rubbish piled against the walls.

"Or a monsters warren." Erek added with a horse voice and a nod of the head.

"You don't think?"

"Let's hurry." The group picked up the pace and arrived at the gates, it was then that it became quite clear the mounds of rubbish were a tangle of people. Flacidious reached out to a wall and touched the dark stain and pulled away rubbing his fingers together as the thick ooze smeared across them. "Blood."

Feng and Erek dismounted and headed over to the pile and started to look closely at the corpses, men, women, children and animals, a fetid stench rising from them. Feng reached down to inspect one touching an arm it looked soft to the touch and suddenly it flinched. Feng lept back and Erek looked at him confused.

"What's up" Erek asked Feng

"That arm, it just moved." Feng said drawing his spear. 

"Funny guy, the travel must be going to your head." Erek laughed and Feng looked across at him a dire look on his face. The horses started at the moment to go insane, Flacidious was almost thrown from his mount and the others despserately tried to hang on, Meredith had already got with Erek and she lept out of the way of the horses flailing hooves and let go of the reigns. 

"Wooah, wooah fuck!" Flacidious shouted, Gilnar also fought to keep control, Primela was thrown from her horse and rolled out of the way to keep from being trampled. Gilnar ended up having to leap from his ride and moments later Flacidious followed as the horses fled into the fields. 

"Shiting fuck! What in hte hells!" Gilnar shouted as Flacidious draw his spear.

"We have to get somewhere secure, now!" Feng shouted as he and Erek were running back to the group, the piles of corpses were begining to rithe and convulce. 

"By the gods!" Meredith exclaimed and turned to look at the piles of corpses the other side. The same motion as one body toppled from the top of the pile, seemed to get on all fours all in a single moment and then its head snapped up to look at them, glowing red eyes looking at them. 

Without saying a word Meredith bolted towards the gate the others paid only a cursery glance at the red eyed mangled figures that were tumbling and crawling towards them. They couldn't see as they shambling corspes chased with an explosive burst of speed. The group followed Meredith as she ran not looking back for a moment, the others chased after her, no noises but the heavy impact of their boots on gore covered cobblestones, their breathing getting heavier and heavier and the sounds of hundreds of corpses chasing them with inhuman motions, some on all fours, some just using their hands others stood upright. 

More corpses climbed up and over buildings as though they were spiders, Meredith's eyes seemed to scan over every building as they came into view, doors, windows, floors. Her fingers twitched and her eyes had changed to a bright blue Gilnar came up along side her he slowed his pace and looked down then lifted her up with ease. She didn't protest she kept scanning the buildings. 

Feng slipped on a pile of entrails a look of abject horror on his face as he hit the ground and bounced he strugggled to get to his feet and screamed, begged for the others to stop as he tried to pick up speed again but even if the others heard him they made no sign that they would stop, as he ran tears streaming from his face a corpse leapt from a building landing on Fengs shoulders flinging him back to the ground with a another terrified scream as a swarm of the undead decended on him his shrill cries rang out as they tore the flesh from his body and threw it to the side a few moments left him a shredded unreconisable pile of gore spread across the road. 

"That one!" She pointed and hollared at Gilnar who somehow managed to respond a four story building isolated from the others the surrounding buildings had seemingly been burnt to the ground. Gilnar smashed through the door and a moment past and Flacidious leapt through followed by Erek, Primela and Sial. Gilnar Slammed the door.

"Now What!" He shouted. Meredith was stood her eyes closed and palms together, she was chanting. "I hope you're not preying girl." He said as he pulled out an axe. 

Sounds of crashing against the door and the window shutters. Primela and Sial drew their spears and stood to squewer anything that came throught the right window. Flacidious and Erek did the same for the left window splinters of wood were sent flying and a smashing sound rang out upstairs.

"They've got in!" Flacidious yelled and headed to hold the stairs. Meredith contiuned to chant, indeceipherable words and utterances her fingers moved so fast that they could hardly be seen. The small sounds of clawing and smashing could be heard all around the shutter on the right window came away and Primela thrust her spear into the face of the first corpse she saw and Sial joined her, he reached for his hatchet. The door came away from its hinges and Gilnar blocked the way, bringing his first axe down hacking the corposes head in half, his second axe slicing an arm clear off. Erek too was contending with a monstrous figure a rat tumbled out of its eye hole and he stamped on it while thrusting the spear into the beasts throat. 

Flacidious on the stairs was hacking away at corpses as they came down the stairs. Primela stabbed another corpse  as it tried to enter the window. Erek too, but the thing grabbed his spear and tried to pull him in, he let go and pulled out his short sword and hacked the things limbs off. Gilnar's arms moved at a horrifying rate, bodies pilled up as the sound of smashing against the walls got louder.

"They're gonna make it through the walls" Sial sneared. 

Suddenly a hex exploded across the floor from where Meredith was stood and the shambling corpses at the doors and windows were flung back the ones on the stairs were smashed against the wall where Flacidious finished them. Gilanr and the others looked at Meredith who stood silently hands together. 

"I guess she's had another trick up her sleave after all." Primela said and looked out of the window, the corpses stood there bouncing off the invisible field.

"So what the fuck is going on?" Sial shouted a mix of anger and exhaustion as he stumbled back and leant against the wall.

Flacidious sat down on the stairs for a moment and took off his gloves and looked at them as they turned to him for an answer.

"It seems clear to me, it's either gods or wizards."

"Fuck me."

"Get some rest, we don't know how long Meredith can keep this up."

"What is it she's even doing?" Primela asked.

"Some kind of warding magic. I saw it used during the war by the armies arch mages" Gilnar said.

"Our little Mere really is just full of suprises." Primela sat in a chair and fell asleep almost immediately.

"Where's Feng?" Sial asked looking around. The others shrugged. "Shit."

---

Little sleep had been got over the course of the night the corpses seemed to probe the the protective bubble Meredith had projected every now and again a loud high pitch shriek rang out and whoever was on watch would flinch and look out. 

"Vultures?" Gilnar asked nobody in particular as he looked at the large black birds far above the square, they seemed to circle the building the group had fortified they had the same red glowing eyes as the rest of the beasts. Primela was sat on the roof with her legs dangling over the edge watching the heaving mass writhing against the barrier.

"If only I had my bow." She grumbled to herself and laid back looking up at the birds.

Erek was sat reading a pamphlet that was sat on the side. He squinted and pulled the paper closer to his face and mouthed some sounds then dumped it back on the table crossed his arms and leant back to look at the ceiling a sad frown on his face.

"Don't beat yourself up about it" Gilnar said resting against the door frame. Erek nodded and they sat in silence as the sky began to gain the red tint of a rising sun.

Meredith was still kneeling in place as the sun rose she seemed like some kind of magical idol lips moving as though she was continously chanting or reciting a spell lost to the denizens of the sun lit lands. 

As the group also rose they watched as the first sun came up, a black haze began to lift from the corpses and they let out an awful sound far more gutteral and unnerving then before they writhed and twitched and then they all fell silent and collapesed to the ground looking like the dead should.

"Are they dead?" Gilnar asked stallingly he scrunched his face up a moment as he said it.

"Well they dont' seem to be moving anymore." Flacidious stood looking out at the piles of corpses. 

"Good to see them behaving the way a corpse is supposed to behave" Sial sighed. 

"Here Mere, you can stop now." Primela clicked her fingers a few times infront of Meredith whose eyes flitted back to normal she shuddered and looked around before she slumped to the ground. "I assume this is normal." Primela followed up looking at Meredith's unconcious form on the floor. The others watched for a moment. 

"Must be tiring being some kind of walking temple." Sial stood up and walked over to the door where he squated a moment and then stood back up and stretched his arms.

"Gilnar, you can do the honours, Sial, Primela go check that we're clear" Flacidious took out his spear again.

"Did you see where those birds went?" Gilnar asked and looked at Primela.

"Birds?" Sial looked back with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, I got bored of watching them." Primela pulled out her spear as well and joined Sial at the door.

Gilnar clicked his tongue and then picked Meredith up and flung her over his shoulder.

"How are we supposed to check if they're dead dead?" Sial asked Primela turning to face her.

"I don't know, offer one your arm?" She laughed and pushed him forward. Flacidious followed them through the door. 

"By the way, we heading back now?" Sial asked.

"Yes, this seems rather to large for us to handle on our own and not at all what we expected." Flacidious pulled at his goatie and grimaced.

"Wonder what happend to the other three."Gilnar asked, they'd made it outside, the bodies were letting off a wretched stench and were piled up knee deep. 

"If they're lucky they made it away on horses, if not, maybe up a tree, if really not." Flacidious shrugged.

"You think they got a bird off?" Sial asked as he nonchalently stuck a spear into a corpse, then another, and a few more for good measure. 

"If they did then they may have a very incorrect idea of the situation when it gets back to the Black Fang." Flacidious seemed to nod in approval as Sial looked at him, then Sial stepped into the collection of rotting flesh.

"Getting back by foot is going to take a long time." Gilnar noted.

"It'll be less time then if we sat around here." Flacidious's practical side showing as always.

The group stepped through the pile of corpses, they'd become accustomed to the stench over the course of the night once on the other side the turned and looked at the pile. 

"Is it just me or is this pile smaller than the one we saw coming in?" Primela asked scanning the piles.

"Yeah, yeah it looks that way." Sial joined her in staring at them.

"I'd reccon this isn't even a quater of them." Gilnar said and followed it with a heavy sigh.

"I'd second that." Primela followed up and turned from the pile to look at the rest of the city and its high near impenetrable walls.

"Shit." Flacidious cursed. The group started heading towards the gate a pile of gore on the road caught Flacidious's eye but he turned away a moment later and clicked his tongue.

"Why do you think they stopped working when the sun came up?" Sial asked with an animated flip of the thumb.

"I don't know, I skipped the day where they told us how to create the smabling dead at wizard school." Primela said with a characteristic dry note.

"You went to wizard school?" Sial asked a mix of shock and excitement as his eyes grew big.

"Wait there's a wizard school?" Gilnar's brow furrowd and he scratched at the scar above his ear.

"No, no there is no wizard school." Primela said rolling her eyes.

"Oh, of course." Sial said and stuck and swung his spear around a moment.

"Do you think there's any supplies?" Gilnar asked looking around at the assorted borded up shops, the occasional burnt collection of buildings.

"This seems a lot longer walk then it did last night." Sial said without much thought.

"We were running for our lives last night" Primela pointed out.

"Probably" Flacidious said taking a look at some of the shops.

"That is a good point." Sial answered.

The conversations began to over lap as some looked to distract themselves and others looked to survival. 

"The problem is we don't have any horses." Flacidious seemed to say with a touch of resentment. 

"At the very least we need to pack traveling gear, we may be forced to move through the nights." Gilnar looked back to where they'd hold up over the night and then at the unconcious Meredith. "We don't know if she can do a repeat of last night." He added after a moments silence. Flacidious nodded and the others seemed to only notice an important conversation had happend. 

"Okay, we'll have to find supplies, the bare minimum traveling packs. Shit I just remembered I forgot to eat." Flacidious said as he looked down at his growling stomach.

"Something about being hounded by angry lumps of rotting flesh must do that to a person." Sial said rubbing his stomach. Primela nodded in agreement and the four of them began to break into shops, they were speedy but cautious aware of the risk that darkness would surely bring.

"Do you think they stay active if they're in the dark?" Sial asked as he stuck his head through the window of a general store and looked around. 

"Let's assume so yes." Flacidious looked back.

"Let me go in." Erek pushed past Sial and jumped in. Sial followed and the others waited outside watching for anything stranger then they had already seen. 

"Do you think people kept moving to the Capital?" Gilnar asked. Primela and Flacidious just shrugged at the question. 

Inside the shop Erek and Sial silenlty crept through the store front checking behind the counters and making peering through doors, it was dark but they were accustomed to such work, they sniffed the air and looked at each other. Nodded and then relaxed a bit and started checking through boxes of supplies.

"All clear in here!" Erek yelled and the others came in through the window and after about half an hour they were  all had a pack of essentials. Dried foods, knives, a small pot, tinder, a rope, tarp, and other essential bits and pieces that the group would need for the long treck out of Vicini. Erek picked up a flier and looked at it a moment.

"Flacidious, what do you make of this?" Erek asked as he handed over the flier. Flacidious looked at and then walked to where the light was shining through.

"It's a dooms day cult of some sort, they're proclaiming that the end is here and the world will be swallowed by the patron of the dead." He looked outside and then folded the piece of paper and slipped it into his small leather pouch.

"There was one of those back at the house aswell." Erek said, Flacidious took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled and climbed out through the window. 

Gilnar followed Meredith still fast asleep over his shoulder. The others quickly followed. 

"Okay, quick march everyone we need to put as much distance between this city and ourselves as possible before the sun sets." There was no arguement from the group as they began to march at a pace somewhere between a fast walk and a light jog. With in an hour they had put several miles between themselves and the town and were in the closing on the forest, as they past the area where they'd left the others they had seen scattered bird cages and little else. No body had commented, they continued their fast pace with steady determination.

After two hours the group slowed and consumed a bit of the food they had.

"You make a terrible horse" Meredith complained drowsely. 

"Just be happy I didn't leave you there!" Gilnar responded flately.

"You have my thanks."

"Can I let you down?"

"Please do."

Gilnar let Meredith go and she slumped down and wobbled on her feet for a moment. 

"Here." Flacidious offered her his flask and she took a sip. 

"Thanks." She looked around and tried to gain her barings. 

"We've been heading out of Florens for about two hours." Flacidous quickly brought her up to speed and she nodded and chewed on a piece of dried fish.

"So what was that spell?" Flacidious finally asked.

"It's an ancient warding chant I learnt long ago, I didn't know if it would do anything but I kind of felt it might, Iris be praised." Meredith performed a small bow and Flacidious nodded. 

"The twelve were fools it seems." Flacidious patted his bag and looked at the road. "Well let us go, the suns do not wait kings let alone us." 

They all concured and began their fast march again.

---

They'd been marching through the day and exhaustion was setting in a large black tower seemed to cut into the sky in the distance and the forest had given way to a large open plane with rolling hills lined with bushes and shrubs.

"Flacidious this doesn't look right." Gilnar said as they slowed to a walk. 

"What the hells?" Primela cursed.

"Surely we should still be in the forest?" Erek put his hands on his hips and started to dawdle as the suns began to set.

"Or reached that village by now?" Meredith wiped her brow as she looked towards the tower in the distance and began to stare queitly.

"This is indeed not correct." Flacidious said looking out towards the road that stretched out before them.

"Did we go down a wrong path?" Primela growled.

"I didn't see any turnings." Sial said, pointed yellow teeth forming a fetid scowl

"It's like we're being toyed with." Gilnar said punching his palm with a clenched fist.

"Could it be..." Flacidious said a moment as he stroked his goatie with a frown then looked down.

Meredith turned to him, "Could it be?" she parroted.

"Lylos, God of Roads." He paused and looked out into the distance. 

"Shit!" Primela shouted and looked fit to kill. 

"Come now, the Pantheon is hardly likely to take an interest in the exploits of us?" Erek boasted.

"And if they were they'd have done so long ago." Sial said turning grim all of a sudden.

Gilnar slumped to the ground and put his bald head in his hands "Fuck me."

"It's either gods or some form of magic, which comes back around to gods in the end again." Meredith looked as though she'd accepted the notion of Lylos being involved. 

"But why?" Flacidious seemed to have great doubt. He looked down at his pouch.

"What do you know about the God of the Roads?" Meredith asked.

"He's neutral in both heavenly and earthly matters alike, his acolytes preach that all must walk their own paths and all paths are walked alone." 

Meredith knelt down next to Gilnar and offered him a drink from her flask. "Then maybe this is just the path we have to walk." She shrugged as Gilnar took the flask and drank from it. 

"Sometimes you really show your age." Gilnar smiled and she helped him to his feet. 

"What do you think that tower is?"

"Some kind of watch tower?"

"That would make sense, how far away is it."

"Gods know. The suns will have gone in an hour or so, we should set up camp."

"Do you think we'll be safe tonight?"

"Well we've not seen any corpses since we fled the Florens so I'd hope so."

They all agreed and set about setting up camp, the weather was cold but still, they decided to operate in two watches and they let Meredith sleep through the night. Primela managed to catch some rabbits to eat and they ate a bitter soup with herbs from the general store to keep their strength up for the morning. They let the fire go out once they had finished and spent a little time camoflaging the site. 

As the night wore on and Primela and Erek took their positions on the second watch a pair of large birds flew past far over head, red eyes barely noticable, Primela held her breath and tracked them through the sky they seemed to let out a hellish squark to each other as they got futher away then as they were almost out of site the sound of something running from the tree line. She turned to look, a dark humanoid figure was running, they were panting and stumbled on something. Primela and Erek both watched in silence as the figure exhaustedly tried to lift itself back up as they tried the sound of the bird squarking in the distance became closer, the figure seemed to look up at the birds and one of the birds broke away and flew back over the camp and towards the now slowly stumbling figure. 

The figure began to stumble into the bushes as though to hide, the figure got closer to the camp, a moment of realisation as the moonlight caught the face of the exhausted figure. It was Charles. Erek tensed and Primela shook her head at him. As they did something large moving at a ridicoulous speed came out of the forest, it stood as tall as three men, as wide as two wagons and as long as one but it walked on a dozen or more legs. At that moment the air left Erek and Primela. 

The vast thing looked like an amalgamation of corpses screaming faces covered it's gore soaked hide, bones turned to spikes juted out from it, a single huge mouth of bone white fangs as big as a fore arm. Dozens of mouths from the flesh that formed it cried out as it scurried into the bushes. 

"Gods, no! Please no! Not me!" Charles's exhausted lungs cried, tears streaming down his face as he collapsed again. Within an instant the thing was upon himm, he let out a shrill cry and an arm made out of dozen corpses grabbed him by the leg and swung him upside down. He was still trying to shriek but more huffing, hyperventelating his eyes wild as though he'd been driven mad as the thing craned it cavenous mouth upwards and opened it wide, Charles hung above it flailing for a moment, "Mummy!" he cried, then it let go and Charles tumbled into the mouth which snapped shut, and leg was flung into the air and blood spreyed as it began to chew. A few more muted shrieks from the creature that may have been Charles before it was drowned out by the chorous of agonised wailing from all the other mouths. 

The beast roamed for a few moments before heading back into the forest. Erek and Primela stared silently unable to breath or speak or move. Erek had literally pissed himself and still laid there doing nothing until the suns began to raise hot tears running down his face and a look of sheer terror on his face. Primela hadn't faired much better. As the sun came up they both stayed laying there, seemingly unable or unwilling to do anything at all until Meredith walked to their positions, she looked at them and then walked back to the camp to get Flacidious, Sial and Gilnar. 

"Hey, what happend?" Flacidious asked they both slowly seemed to come to and looked around.

"We have got to get the fuck out of here Flacidious, right fucking now!" Erek exclaimed a look of maddness about him.

"Hold on, we don't know how!" Gilnar exclaimed exaserbated.

"He's right, right now, we need to get out of here" Primela added to Erek's statement.

"What was it?" Flacidious asked brow furrowed again.

"A mountain of corpses ate Charles!" Erek hollared, Flacidious looked at him again and noticed the moist patch on his trousers.

"Wait, Charles wasn't with us." Gilnar looked confused.

"We saw him last night, he was running, then, then this mountain of fucking corpses ate him!" Erek expained hurridly with frantic motions.

Primela nodded.

"A mountain of corpses?" Flacidious looked for confirmation.

Primela nodded again.

"I don't know how to describe it, it was a mountain of shrieking, horrofying corposes that picked him up by his foot and then ate him alive while he cried for his mother!" Erek looked fit to break down.

Flacidious looked at the tree line, "Gilnar go take a look. The rest of you drink a coffee then pack up the camp, then we'll try and get the fuck out of here." Flacidious looked shocked and concerned as Gilnar returned.

"There was somthing big, and I saw a leg, looked like it was probably from Charles." Gilnar said quietly. Flacidious gave him a look. "The clothes and Charles had a shitty tattoo, the leg had the same."

"Fuck me, what the living hells is going on." Flacidious covered his mouth and stared ahead.

"Maybe that exactly." Gilnar stroked the scar on the side of his head and gave Flacidious a look. Sial came up along side the both of them.

"So now it's not just shambling corpses but fucking monsters as well." Sial said looking over at the other two. 

"What now?" Gilnar asked.

"We'll head for that fucking tower." He paused and then looked at the two of them "Unless you two have any bright ideas?" He said irritably, they both shook their heads. "Maybe we'll find the next piece of this wretched puzzle there."

"It'd only be fair." Gilnar went back to the camp and packed his own bag.

Flacidious sat down and pulled out his book for a moment and read a section, then put it back in his bag. Meredith walked over to him.

"They're in a bad way, but they're killers and they know the best chance of survival is together." Meredith said quietly.

"For now." He said looking over at the four of them.

"For now." She nodded.

The six of them headed towards the tower, they had to trek through hedgerows and over the hilly terrain, occasionally there were small creeks or streams. Within an hour the land changed, from a liverly green to mottled browns and yellows a smell of mold and fungus and then the land started to transform into a fetid swamp. Large black birds sat in dead trees and watched the group trudge through the first ankle deep then knee deep rancid water. 

After several hours of trudging and dragging one another through the foul swamp they could see the tower clearly though they likely wished they could not. The building was the tallest building they had seen and it looked as though it had been sculpted out of flesh and bone. The group stood in mute disbelief that such a thing could exist they all checked their weapons and looked at one another. 

"So, I guess we all get to die today." Gilnar said morbidly. As they looked at the tower again and then at each other.

"I couldn't think of a worse place, nor a worse group to die with" Primela answered and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, has to be said it isn't looking to promising for us" Sial nodded.

"Maybe nobodies home." Meredith chuckled.

"Well little Mere would that be a blessing or a curse?" Gilnar laughed.

"Ah I didn't like home much anyway." Erek shrugged.

"Well, let's go pay the keeper as it seems our credit has run dry." Flacidious said with a smile and with that they turned to face the tower and began the final walk before an inevitable long climb and almost certain doom.

At the front of the shimmerying fleshy tower was what looked like some animals orrifice the group looked up towards the summit far above them large black birds circled staring down at the group. Flacidious walked up to the side of the tower, removed a riding glove and touched its glistening surface a slick surface that coated his finger in a transparent mucas the surface responded like flesh spongy under the slight touch.

"It's warm." He said from behind his scarf that he'd pulled up while they were in the swamp to mask some of the stench that had been present ever since they left the green rolling hills. 

"Maybe the thing bleeds?" Sial said suddenly stabbing at the tower with his spear, the tip slid in to the flesh a black sticking gore oozed from the cut and Sial streined against it for a few moments but the spear was slowly popped out as the flesh reformed and remended itself. Sial groaned and let his gangly arms fall to his sides and looked about at the others in disappointment.

"Looks like that's a yes but to no avail." Primela seemed distant as she said it looking like she didn't quite see the here and now. 

"Do you think we knock?" Gilnar asked as he walked up to the fleshy folds of the sealed portal as he got close the surface rippled, Gilnar drew his axes and then the flaps moved away in a swirling motion, inside was pitch black and a warm damp gust went past them. 

"Apparently not." Flacidious said pulling a torch out of his travel bag, Meredit and Erek did the same lighting them all and looking back at the entrance. Flacidious thrust the torch through the portal and they could see inside, it was smooth as though it was formed of polished stone and there were stairs that followed the slow curve of the tower there was a ceiling about five meters above them and the walls seemed bare. The far wall though was mostly hidden in darkness, Flacidious took the first steps inside, his eyes slowly having to adjust to the gloom. 

"Well this is an anti-climax" Primela stated as she followed Flacidious and then headed to look at the walls. There were four carved pillars Primela took a closer look at them and after spening several moments staring intently backed away. The pillars were intricately covered in images so grueseome the mind could barely comprehend that they had ever been put to stone let alone actually happend, she looked back at the others and frowned. 

Erek was twitchy and quickly made his way over to the stairs looking up he could see the nothing above but more stone and darkness. "We should be quick." He said in a hushed tone. Flacidious looked at another of the pillars and turned away towards Erek quickly and nodded. Meredith seemed absent of such curiosity and headed after Erek at a pace.

"It's as though this place were torn up from the hells themselves." Primela whispered as she slid in next to Flacidious who nodded grimly. Erek led the group up the stairs Gilnar came up last once they were all on the landing it seemed that they were in a corridor intricate arches weaved from ivory white bone bizare hummanoid skulls were placed at the apex of each arch the only light provided was from their torches still. Erek and Sial led the group, Sial looked like he had flipped into the mode of some savage hunter on the icy wastes of the dead lands without sun spear held high, feet carefully as elegently as a practiced dancer stalked each step. Erek on the other hand moved like a strong man holding an anvil all broad shoulders and stomping.

"Can you hear that?" Primela asked looking up. The others nodded.

"Sounds like it's above us." Gilnar also glanced up.

"Let's hope it stays that way." They didn't come across a a way into the central room but instead came across another set of stairs heading up and again they went up and again they were confronted by a corridor the sounds from above ever so much closer now. Again the floor followed the same lay out as the last a corridor curving along the outer wall of the tower the same bone arches and elegent walk way. Flacidious touched the inner wall and paused a moment before carrying on. 

The next couple of floors followed the same pattern until they came to a larger landing, it seemed like this was more of a room than a corridor still in the centre there seemed to be a room that was sealed off but there were smooth stone benches and the bone arches were nowhere to be seen, there was a wall at either end and a door that looked to be made of a greyish material. 

"Well I don't like this." Gilnar said as he moved up to the door. 

"I agree." Flacidious looked back down the stairs.

"Ah lighten up, they're clearly just giving us their guests a nice little place to rest our tired footsies" Sial chuckled as he took a seat on one of the benches and pulled a piece of dried meat out of his bag commencing to chew on it.

"Don't you have any magic tricks to solve find out what's going on Mere?" Primela glanced in Merediths direction turning away almost immediately as Meredith shrugged.

"No, mostly I'm more of the shooting people with magic fire kind of spell caster." Meredith answered and headed over to join Gilnar at the door, she looked at him a moment and hten looked back at the rest of the group. Despite not having traveld far at all they seemed to be exhausted the humid damp sweet smelling air made the simple act of breathing tiring and the way it clung to you was oppressive. Then there was the constant gloom and the sound of crying somewhere above Meredith wiped her brow as the rest collected themselves and Sial finished his bit of meat and seemed to resign himself to getting back up and joining them.

"Well where would the fun be in resting here when there's dying to be done!" Sial joked and clapped Erek on the back who seemed to almost jump out of his skin. 

Gilnar listened at the door again and looked at the others and shrugged opening it and Sial went forward this room looked much like the last with a set of stairs and a wall towards the middle as though there was a giant chimney in the middle of the tower and again a set of stairs leading up which the group followed, and again they were faced by a corridor and another set of stairs, and another, and another, and another, somewhere above the sounds of scuffing. Fatigue had grown with each passing floor and now as they went up another set, less cautiosly then wise they found they had entered a floor of bizare darkness. At the far end of the room something red glowed and some figures were shambling, low moans could be heard form somewhere and there were no obvious stairs. 

The Erek who had been first up somehow didn't acknowledge the figures and walked forward several steps Torch in hand as the movement stopped. Sial behind Erek also failed to pay attention and it wasn't until Primela reached the landing that the fact they were not on their own was announced.

"Ah, our guests have arrived." An entirely inhuman voice exclaimed with alien glee. The three looked and then noticed the hummanoid forms and looked set to leap into action. Flacidious behind them reached the landing.

"What the hell was that?" Flacidious asked looking into the gloom. The final two made it onto the landing and Meredith cast a spell to light the whole floor for a short period of time a dozen or so well kept humanoid corpses were carrying what looked like massive frog eggs unlkie the rotting corpses they'd seen earlier these seemed to be covered in elegant tattoos and glowing wards. 

"Weapons at the ready." Gilnar said as Erek screamed like a gibbering child and crumpled to the ground.

"No, no, don't fret, you're our honored guests. It is indeed rare to find entities of such wonderfully unique and deeply rotten souls as all of you indeed you will help us no end and I have no doubt that you will revel in every hate filled, blood soaked, feaces stained moment of it."  A voice so cold, yet hot, fast and slow methodical yet lunatic, words that were not words, like rats gnawing at the corners of their minds, maggots liquifying their very being.

Flacidious seemed to rock on the spot, "and fear not my puppets, even if they were hostile I doubt monsters as mighty as you would ever fall victim to them." A thing rose from a hole in the ground, the source of the cries and screams became evident, a large spherical creature, like a massive eye nestled in the center of a sea of writhing blood red worms with teeth of steel from the bottom of it the legs of a person dangled, twitched and then dropped back into the pit other gore tumbling down after it. From the top of the floating monster dozens of razor sharp tendrals sprouted they wriggled and then stopped and it turned its full focus on the group. In truth it was impossible to describe what it was. It levitated towards Erek, Sial lept towards it and an eye on a stalk appeared from somewhere in its sphere blood red snakes and Sial stopped, and fell to his knees. 

"Now now mortal, there is no fighting what is to come, in actuality it's for the best, I'd recommend that you join us we always have room for monsters like you, so imaginative, so curious, so willing to strip others of everything they ever were." The creatures unknowable voice was being broadcast directly into their minds, Sial looked close to tears and Erek looked up at the thing, eyes wide, maddened. 

"I am Ela. Erek my child you are welcome to join us and you can experiance such wonderful delights for now and all eternity!"

"Erek get away from it!" Flacidious stumbled then threw up in his scarf he had to pull it away as the sick split over everything. Erek though did nothing but nodded. 

"That's the way it must be." Suddenly a hex appeared below Erek and he vanished, screaming in horror as he went. Now I must hurry, we need more members for our choire and you are all ideal candidates. The eye turned towards Sial. "Ah how many did you torture to death in their own homes Sial? How many children did you throw onto the fires in the rightous name of your prophet? Come let us bask in your wonderful deads!" 

Sial let out a scream of agonising terror as Ela began to disect his very being. "Let us bare it all and I will have you all perform in our holy choire and set this world back to the path of goodliness!" Laughters, cries and shrieks of horror. Up became down and down up, a single instant lasted days, days mere seconds. 

"What fun we will have."

Meredith's eyes opened she was laying in something wet her heart pounding and the world came into sharp focus, she winced and brought her hand up to her eyes to blot out the rays of blinding light. She blinked and tried to play back her memories, that grotesque floating eyeball whispering terrifying concepts into her mind, Erek being pulled into some dark domain, Sial torn to pieces and reconstructed, Flacidious screaming at them to run, Gilnar grabbing her and leaping down the stair well. She rememberd being chased and carried, and everything seeming painted in blood, looking around she could see Gilnar hunched over hardly moving. 

"Wait, where did it go?" She asked and looked about frantically but there was no tower of flesh to be seen, she tried to stand but was too tired so instead she crawled over to where Gilnar sat he was pale so she reached out and touched him to see if he was still with her. Gilnar flinched

"What, where?" He looked about wildly for a moment before stopping his body jolted a bit, "Ah Meredith, you're alive" Gilnar smiled and nodded. "We're in some real shit now."

Meredith nodded, "the tower, it's gone, how far did you run?" 

"I can't really remember, not far." He let out a heaving breath. 

She looked around, there was a low mist, dead trees and wretched looking willows, large birds watching from the trees. She grit her teeth and glowered at them, unsuprisingly the birds didn't seem to take much heed of her withering stare. There was a sound coming towards them a splash, splash, splash Meredith's eyes shot towards the sounds and she pulled out one of her daggers as a figure came into view, Primela. Her face was bloodied and her clothes were torn her stone like flesh was covered in small cuts and her hawk like features seemed dulled somehow as she saw the two of them a lob sided grin she was holding a pair of backpacks in one hand and her sword in the other.

"I thought I heard you." Primela glared at Meredith who blinked in return.

"You made it as well!" Meredith thought about celebrating but then decided against it and watched Primela closely as she walked towards them her obsidian eyes blank and emotionless. 

"We should eat." Gilnar said weakly and Primela nodded and came to perch next to them. Rummaging through the bags they pulled out dried meats, herbs and foul tasting liqours that would help restore their strength. They ate slowly and deliberatly, trying to extract every last moment of flavour from them. 

The three were silent, Meredith's mind kept flitting back to scenes from inside the tower, from scenes that were inside her own mind that the monstrous eye ball had put there, she rubbed her eyes and looked back at her companions. A little while past until they had all finished and then they started to walk in a staggered line, slowly and towards nowhere in particular, Meredith wondered in silence and looked back towards where she felt the tower should have been and frowned again, she picked up her pace and the others reluctantly joined her. Both Gilnar and Primela looked at deaths door, maybe a bit better than when she had first come too but not much, she wondered if she'd been so drained. 

Hours had passed in total silence, the world itself seemed to have become devoid of noise, like everything had stopped and only the three of them were still alive. She bit her lip and considered all the possiblities but nothing appealing seemed to surface. 

"If we can make it to a road there's a chance that the same trickery that led us here may lead us home." Meredith stated and wiped her brow. 

"Or it could lead us deeper into this hell." Gilnar said passionlesly and he looked out over the barren landscape.

Primela remained silent, her eyes were locked onto Meredith at all times. Something animalistic in her nature as she moved effortlessly through the swamp, the mist hiding many of her movements and reducing vision in general. 

"Fog is the last thing we need now." Meredith stated with an exhausted irritation, but she needed not worry as this time the mist began to clear as they found themselves transitioning to the rolling hills once again. Meredith felt a slight elation at being back there before she frowned again and screams rang through her mind once again. 

"Don't worry little Mere, everything will be fine." Gilnar laughed and patted her on the back full of life again. She nodded and smiled at this turn of events. "We'll be back in Icnini in no time, just you wait and see!" 

Primela hung back a bit, Meredith considered her a moment and then went back to heading towards where she hoped there would be a road and paid the woman little mind. 

As they reached the road Meredith found herself wondering how long they had been walking, it dawned on her that Gilnar was talking so she looked at him and tried to understand what he was saying but for some reason it all seemed distant and incompreneseble. The sky was dyed a deep red and felt drowsey as she walked along the road, she looked over at Primela instead of seeing the obnoxious girl instead she saw a shadow of a person, it moved as though it were a shadow puppet behind a white piece of paper, red eyes and sharp teeth her already sharp claws had become scissor like blades that danced. Meredith jumped back and let out a little shriek before realising it was still just Primela staring at her with a furrowed brow. 

"What's got into you?" Primela asked looking her up and down.

"You okay girl?" Gilnar asked merrily.

"Sorry," Meredith felt sweat on her palms and could hear her heart racing she felt like she was floating and knelt for a moment, "I think I'm just exhausted." She panted and stared at the ground. The other two stood and waited for her. She reached out and touched the road for a moment.

"When did we reach the road?" She aksed the two of them.

"Hours ago, are you okay? I think we should really rest, I know you want to go on but there's little point if you're going to die on us little Mere." Gilnar looked concerned.

"I'll go see if I can catch us some food, Gilnar take care of her while I'm gone." Primela offered and gave the pair the closest she could to a smile and then headed off to hunt for game. Gilnar set about chopping branches and creating a lean too for them to sleep under his skills with the axe and the knife unquestionable. Meredith watched a moment and then drifted into a sea of fitful unconciousness. 

"Hey Meredith, wake up." Meredith's eyes slowly opened for a moment she saw grinning shadows holding something hideous but then it became clear that Gilnar was offering her a cooked bird of some sort. She sat up and curled her legs under her body, the sky was red as the suns were setting. "You okay, you were pretty fitful in your sleep there."

"Nightmares." Meredith accepted a bowl of grool that Primela offered her and the started to eat.

"Hardly a suprise, I can't remember much but what I do remember terrifies my every waking moment." Gilnar said and let out a half hearted laugh. Meredith watched him and wondered, then looked at the trees slowly swaing in the red light the seemed to shimmer as things do under the hot summer sun and she squinted her eyes.

"Yes, I find it hard to imagine anything will ever be the same again." Meredith continued to eat the flesh from the bones and she lapped down the salty gruel. "Where did you find the food?" 

"The grool was left over in the bags and we found some wild oats, Primela caught the birds." Primela nodded as Gilnar explained.

"It hit the spot." Meredith smiled and thought about the day so far.

"Get some sleep, we'll take watch." Gilnar patted her on the shoulder and stood up. 

She didn't feel like she had the energy to resist and curled up under the makeshift bedding falling asleep in an instant. Her nights sleep was fitful full of the screams of her comrades, the fleshy floating eye taking them apart piece by piece, layer by layer, the horrifying looks on their faces as they were unable to flee, the inhuman voice from beyond the threshold of the mind. Shapes merging and shifting, bodies turned into things that bodies were not. 

"There's no escape"

Meredith woke with a start, she looked around and saw Gilnar and Primela standing watch and the red suns raising in the distance creating long shadows across the land, the trees looked like the teeth of a saw she thought. She stood up.

"Ah you're awake!" Gilnar noted and walked over to her, she nodded. "Look like you've seen a corpse mind you." She nodded again. 

"We should move, we need to get back to Icini" she and the other two checked that they had all their things and then set off. After what seemed like moments they were passing Florens there was no wreckage of bird cages to be seen as they left the forest and traveled past the great walls.

"Wait, this isn't the side of the city we left from is it?" Meredith asked looking at the other two.

"We must of been right about the god of roads playing with us." Gilnar cursed. Meredith winced something foggy and distant in her mind seemed to somewhat disagree with the statement but she didn't know what so left the thought to one side. 

"This is the North face of the city, we left from the South." Primela stated.

"So we were entirely turned around." Meredith sighed. 

"It looks that way, ah well, we're on our way home now!" Gilnar declared as they headed past the city.

In the distance she spotted some figures moving.

"Wait, something over there" she pointed and the others stopped and looked. 

"By the hells, shamblers" Gilnar said ducking down and watching.

"But the suns are up?" Primela noted and also kneeled.

"Tell that to them." Meredith added as the large group stumbled through the fields in a staggered line. "Is it just me or do they look like they're searching for something?"

"Well that would" Gilnar paused and watched, "would seem to be exactly what they are doing, by the hells."

"Let's no mention the hells." Primela said and looked back and forth between the other two. "We need to get around them."

"Do you think we can sneak past them?" Gilnar asked.

"We don't know how they detect things." Meredith said. "Shit. We should of known this wouldn't be that easy" Meredith suddenly felt quite defensless, there were a frighting number of them but she took in a deep breath and remembered what they'd already been through. "This should be nothing for us, these shambling corpses are childs play."

The other two grinned and nodded. 

"Still let's avoid a direct fight" Gilnar said and again there were nods all around.

Meredith contemplated the geography of the area and remebered the river that supplied the city, "It's probably safest to use the river on the otherside, swim past the whole lot."

"What if they're great swimmers?" 

"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it." Meredith replied with a determined nod and they headed over to the other side through the forest. 

She felt her foot hit something, her legs give out beneath her, the sensation of falling, "Shiiiit" she yelped just before hitting the ground, the impact of her chest against the firm mud knocked the air from her body and sent a jolt of pain through her spine. Yet not missing a beat she rolled onto her back and drew her dagger the beast beard down on her it's freakish eyeballs turned and focused on her, the things face almost made some kind of gruesome smile, she closed her eyes an instant and chanted as she opened them and pointed her mind at the creatures eye it towered above her ready to slice her in half with its huge gruesome maw a bolt of white hot fire exploded from just in front of her and hurtled at lightning speed blowing the left eye to piece and throwing white hot fire that stuck to the vile creatures stink head. 

It threw itself back letting out a wail and began thrashing it self around, falling on its side its legs kept moving making the horrid thing move around in circcles and twist around weirdly. Cries of rage as the fire continued to burn the stink of melting flesh being added to the array of vile smells coming from the creature .

Meredith didn't take any time to bask in her victory quickly getting to her feat she ran down the road the creatures pained squels could be heard fo a great distance before dying away. Eventually she cought up with Primela and Gilnar who had slowed to a walk, they drew their weapons at first as she came up on them but they quickly relaxed and returned them to their sheaths. 

"Oh we meet again, whatever brings you here?" Gilnar said with a smile resting a hand on his hip. 

"How did you make it away, I was sure it was eating you?" Primela asked suspicion written across her face. 

"I blew its eye off with a fire bolt." Meredith puffed as she walked over to them. 

"Nice, Nice, very nice." Gilnar said clapping her on the back. 

"How come you don't pull those tricks off more often?" Primela sniped. 

"Because we've not had a real rest in weeks and memorising new spells takes time and energy so they're best kept for emergencies."

"How many more have you got left?" Gilnar asked as they reached the edge of the forest and onto the flats between the two kingdoms. 

"i can muster a couple more firebolts probably." Meredith looked unsure the beast behind them was long gone. She looked out over the flats and seemed to ponder. "I guess we're almost back to Icini." She let out a sigh of relief.

"Indeed from here we walk to the bridge and over the river and we're home!" Gilnar said with a nod and grinned. "Almost to Icini eh? What will you do when we're back to civilisation Primela?" He looked over at the woman who for a moment seemed lost in thought and didn't answer. "Primela?" Gilnar prompted.

"Ah sorry i was thinking, what was that?"

"When we get back to civilisation what are you upto?" Meredith asked, she was brightening up now that it felt as though they were on the home stretch. 

"Oh, well what is there, we'll go back to the commander and get our orders and then we'll head back out such is our lot in life now." She played with the silver ring on her finger for a moment and then looked back at Meredith, then at Gilnar. "What will you do?"

"Well, I'm goint to drink and whore myself into a stupper make sure I enjoy all the debauchery the Slags and the Companion districts have to offer!" He roarded heartily. Primela nodded. "Then do whatever the commander tells us to do, I'm sure that poisoness old hag has enough of a heart to let us have a few days off after a job like this one. Besides she'll probably need to find some new volunteers. Meredith, what about you?"

"I'll probably sleep and have a bath." 

"You do love a good bath!"

"I find there area few things in life as luxurious and rewarding as the simple act of soaking for hours in a large open bath." Meredith declared wistfully.

It took several more hours but they managed to reach the bridge the guard post on the Vicini side was of course empty but to their suprise as the crossed the large ornate stone bridge the other side was also abandoned. 

"No welcome party?" Gilnar said as he looked around.

"Clearly not." Primela answered as they stood on the Kingdom's side of the bridge, Meredith looked back at the scene painted in red and frowned. 

"How odd." She thought she could make out shadows on the far side like some strange puppet show. 

"Well let's get to the travellers rest and set up camp for the night!" Gilnar declared happily, the group headed out. 

When they found it the camping site in a sorry state, normally it was set up for caravans that travelled between the two nations, but now bushes had overgrown, the grass was knee high, weeds were growing out of the feeding troths, the shacks that held supplies looked grubby and the door swang open. It took some searching but they managed to find enough suppliers to set up a reasonable camp for the first time in what felt simulatniously like moments and months. There were a couple of cans of fruits, some jam, dried vegetables and Primela had managed to catch some chickens that had escaped so there was even decent meat. 

That night Meredith managed to eat and drink well and curled up under a real blanket she curled up and quickly drifted to sleep. 

Despite the comfort her dreams were a haunted hell scape of torment and terror indescribable horrors stalking terrified victims through alien landscapes of fire and misery. Men with sticks of fire burning everything until nothing remained. The feeling of being watched that permiated her every moment was intensified in her sleep blue eyes staring into her soul. 

"Wonderful child, you carry this burden splendidly, just a little futher." The alien voice whispered and she found herself awake, the sun beaming down a beautiful blue sky with white fluffy clouds. She sat up and looked around, Primela and Gilnar were nowhere to be seen, she slowly came to her feet surveying the surroundings. Their tents and packs were gone and only her belongings were anywhere to be seen, she shook her head a moment and wondered around. 

"Gilnar! Primela! Where are you?" She shouted and continued to look around a panicked frenzy started to crawl up her back. She paused before it took hold and took a deep breath, closed her eyes and thought about it and verbalised her thoughts.

"It's okay Meredith one of two things have happend, the first is that they may have fled now that we are back in the safety of our own lands and the second option is that they didn't want to wake you or were unable to and have gone off ahead of you so that they can get things ready! That's all." She nodded to herself and feeling much calmer she packed up the things and put them in her bag and then set back out on the road under the bright sunny sky, trees dancing with the gentle breeze and the rustling sounds of animals rummaging in the undergrowth. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the scents of autumn. The hours rolled on and the gentle rolling hills with scattered trees began to take on an oddly wintery look with snow powdering bushes and braches and even the road. She was pleased to note that the road though clearly not as heavily traveled as may once have been looked as though traffic had been along in the last day or so at least she sighed in relief.

The powedering of snow left Meredith wondering how much time had passed since they had left for Vicini, she tried for a moment to run her hand through her natted hair and then thought better of it, memories of her exist from Icini came back to her and she grimmaced. This whole mission had been terrible and she wanted nothing more then to drink her memories away back in the capital. As she looked ahead she could see columns of white smoke billowing from Icini, her heart raced as she picked up her pace. 

As her vision crested the peak of the last hill her heart fluttered a moment until the view became clear and she stood looking down on the large town. Since she had last been there were now hundreds of tents all around the city, banners waving the crest of the Kingdom, chunks of the town seeemed to be gone replaced by these huge chimneys that were belching white smoke high into the air. Everyone seemed to have their faces covered and they many were dragging sacks off of wagons towards the giant chimneys. Meredith forwned and took in more details, large pallisades surrounded the camp and the towns walls had been reinforced and expanded. 

She took a deep breath and headed towards the thriving camp a group of guards manned a picket and looked her up and down their faces covered by cloth. 

"You there, halt" the guards were well armed and there were a couple of balister towers and scorpions all with bolts loaded. 

She halted.

"From where do you herald."

"I've just returned from a mission in Vicni." She stated in a business like tone, emulating Flacidious.

"How?" The guard shouted, they were more on edge now tense, eyeing her with great suspicion.

"Over the bridge, how else would I have come here." She replied somewhat confused by the question.

"Impossible, we destroyed the bridge months ago!" 

With that her mind was thrown into confusion.

"Did you say, the bridge was destroyed?" her brown furrowed and heart raced. 

The guards seemed to be readying to execute her, she blinked a moment and touched the ring on her finger. 

"I'm a member of the Black Fang, I must report what I have found to the Commander." She spoke clearly and with determination and the group of guards seemed to immediately comply, they opened the gate and she walked in and then returned to their business. She wiped her mouth. Then looked back.

"Have there been any others come through here from my order?" Her fingers still on the ring.

"No." The guard said absent mindedly and she nodded and headed deeper into the camp biting her lip and tensing her fingers. She looked from side to side noting the barracks tents and the strangely equipped troops the ground had been cobbled and decked so that it didnt' turn to mud, much of the town she thought that hadn't been turned into chimneys was now below her feet to act as paving. Occasionally she was stopped by a guard she would then use the ring to get some basic information and move on, it took about an hour before she found the Commanders tent, there were grim looking guards in black, scared faces and stares that cut through people, they noted the ring on her finger and made a little head movement towards the tent flaps. Meredith took a deep breath and pulled them apart and went inside. 

"What is it?" The Commander said with looking up from what looked like a map on the table. Meredith stood there silently mouth slightly open warm tears dripping down her face. 

"Well?" The Commander frustrated looked up and saw Meredith a look of shock then spread across her face old boney face. She sat silently for a moment.

"I'm here to report on the situation in Vicini" Meredith sniffed as she felt all the strenght leave her body and she collapsed.

When Meredith woke up there was a guard and an orderly hovering by the side of her, the orderly was a young boy, slim and innocent looking, the guard on the other hand was large and brutish dressed in blacks and dark browns a pot helm and a spear in his hand. She could smell soap and was in a bed that was far to large for her, she looked at the two of them.

"Ah she's awake!" The boy in white exclaimed and immediately headed out of the tent before she could collect her thoughts. The guard looked at her a solemn look on their face dark brown eyes and a nasty scar across their face, a silver ring around one finger a lot like her own. She sat up and he watched her without any noticable reaction as the blanket almost fell away from her and the cold hit her back.

"Where are my clothes?" She asked looking around the tents interior.

"Probably burnt by now." He replied looking ahead.

"And replacements." She was starting to feel a bit tetchy. He didnt' seem to have much interst in her mood. 

"I'm just a guard, I dont' do laundery" He grunted. 

"Wodnerful" she rolled her eyes and collapsed back into the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Took the orderlies a good horur to get the grime off you." He noted.

"That would explain the smell." She glanced at the guard again. "How long was I asleep?" 

"No idea, I'm not a clock." He replied with a slight grin.

"You're a funny one." She muttered.

"Always helps to have a smile on your face when you're at the end of the world." He looked at her with a sorry grin.

"Did any others show up after me?" She asked a hopeful look on her face.

"Fangs?" He queried.

"mmhmm" She prompted.

"No, just you." He shook his head.

"Anyone else?" She asked with a disinterested pout.

"Not been on the gates, but even if I had been I'd not be at liberty to say." He answered with an apologetic tone. 

"Of course not." She let out a sigh and waited for whoever the boy had gone off to call.

What felt like an eternity passed when the tent flaps were pulled too and the commander walked in her face a grim mask of monsterous determination and dedication. A second person followed her, their face completely covered by a veil of white fabric, gold emrbodiery the most significant of which was an eye on the centre. Meredith felt a cold tingle down her spine. 

"Officer Kisini" she used Meredith last name and placed her finger on a bejewelled ring. 

"Yes Commander." Meredith answered.

A pair of young men brought an ornate chair into the room which the commander sat in and then turned her full attention to Meredith. 

"I need you to recall everything that happend on you mission. Only the truth and the facts now girl." Meredith nodded, she felt a slightly fuzzy sensation, the veiled woman seemed to stare at her despite the headdress. Meredith recited the events and activities to the best of her somewhat fragmented memory and the commander showed no signs of judgement she would nod and prompt Meredith through the bizare tale and the recall continued as most debriefings until Meredith brought up the memory of the floating fleshy eyeball and its domain, the moment that memory was accessed the deafening shriek of a woman and the white cloaked figure collapsed wailing as vomit exploded from beneath the veil and then she collapsed to the ground the and sobbed and screamed in horror. 

The Commander looked at the figure on the ground and then looked at Meredith, "Get that thing out of here, I'll hear the rest myself." She pointed at the figure on the ground a look of disgust and disdain on her face as she looked back at Meredith and prompted her to continue. The old woman had many questions and dug through every part of the story looking to find issues and inconsistencies. 

After finishing her questioning the old woman sat tapping her finger against the arm of her chair. 

"I have to say officer I am quite concerned about everything you told me. There are many strange gaps and missing moments as well as the downright impossible, yet you cannot lie to me." The old crone sat back in her chair and looked at the girl as though weighing her value.

"They say the bridge had been destroyed?" Meredith asked.

"Yes. Months ago and yet you say you walked across it just two days ago and you are not lying, which means there is undoubtebly some greater trickery at play." The old crone's one good eye glared at her. "Don't worry child I don't think that you are any more then an unkonwing pawn in whatever game is being played."

"What do you think happend to the other two who escaped with me?" As the Commander contemplated that question she  put her withered old hands together infront of her face and looked at the girl.

"To that I will not speculate, I have sent riders out to scour the countryside in case they have fled though I don't think that likely."

"Then?"

"I will not speculate. You are in need of clothing and food, I will have both sent to you, plus an orderly to clean up this mess, and I feel you'll no longer be needing a guard." She waved a hand at the guard and orderly.

"So, what's the situation here." Meredith's turn to ask questions.

"Hmm, yes, you have debriefed me I should no doubt debrief you. Your troop left the capital some six months ago." 

"but" Meredith mermered and the commander flared, Meredith ducked her head.

"Yes, six months ago. After about a month we received the bird indicating you had reached Florens and that the city had been besieged, shortly after all the birds returned. With that it seemed clear something had happend and I had a retinue of troops march up here. Still nothing came from across the border and we decided to send more significant scouting parties into the area, none returned. So we stopped. Then about three months ago I received reports that some kind pestillance arrived as things began to cross the bridge. The shambling dead as you had described began to cross the bridge and dead lights drifted across the river." The old lady stroked her bristly chin. A man came in to the tent with clothes and food and Meredith immediately jumped out of bed and got dressed with one hand while stuffing food into her mouth with the other. 

"For over two hundred years old you certinaly are spritely!" The old crone laughed and Meredith looked at her as her trousers up.

"If you recognise how old I am, stop calling me girl!" Meredith said and pulled a light buttonless top over her head. The old crone laughed. A rare sight indeed and Meredith smiled. 

"Ah, what's a few hundred years to an Iri? Are you ready for the rest of the debriefing yet?" The black clad commander watched at Meredith hurriedly get into her clothes. The orderlies tended to the food and brought in a stool for Meredith to sit on. 

"Ah it's divine to be in clean clothes again!" She beemed and shouvled meat and vegetebles into her face. 

"I really will miss how refined Flacidious was in comparison with most of my litter" the Commander shook her head. Meredith looked up and then back at the food.

"You can carry on, it's been a while since I've eaten real food."

"Well don't get used to it, there are things for you to be doing alas, but I will contiune. With that people in the surrounding villages were killed and came back to life."

"Is it being killed by the corpses that does it?" Meredith interuppted.

"That's what we thought at first. But no. No it isn't. All the dead now come back to life."

"Like the dead lights?" 

The Commander nodded "Indeed, except now every single one and every single beast return to life, you recall that before heading out you all eliminated a group of bandits?" Meredit nodded, "well they came back to life and began to reap havock in the surrounding towns and villages, for the most part it is mindless rampage like a fox in a chicken coup. Yet at the same time all things that die return to spread this mindless violence, it becomes an endless cycle, for now it seems to only be this region. I fear now due to your report that it something much worse then a simple plague or a mad necromancer or even sheer chance. Now I fear that something divine is in motion. Anyway I arrived here a couple of months ago and we set up these furnaces and two new cults have exploded in members as they are want to do, one worshiping the cleansing fire, the other worshiping the Fiend of the Dead. Both were small and insignificant before the outbreak but, as you may guess their practices and rites sing to people now." 

Meredith nodded and sighed.

"So now we burn our dead and not just ours any livestock or horses or other large animals, they all go into the fires. These crematorium are mostly operated by the worshipers of the cleansing fire so they double as place of worship and work, a nuisance indeed. The Fiend of the Dead worshipers though" She shook her head "they don't even seem human anymore, we tend to find them by the trail of horrifying ritual murder they commit." Meredith fronwned then pondered a moment.

"Before I left for Vicini I came across some kind of trade in body parts?"

"Really, before?"

"Yes, we rescued some children from the bandits and took them to the temple of children here, the rites master was in league with some group and had the children butchered and boxed, I killed the rite master and some of the others but."

"Yes indeed, I was intending on having you infiltrate this group for me. Though I had not heard of them before this dreadful plague fell upon us."

"Oh, what was that person with the veil?" Meredith was curious.

"I truth seer, they can see into your mind and relive your memories I rarely work with them but some of the higher ups were insistent. Clearly whatever you experianced wass far beyond her feeble minds ability to comprehend." The old hag grinned and looked at Meredith. "But of course one of my litter wouldn't be phased by a visit to all the layers of hells." She stood up.

"Has word spread of what is happening?" Meredith looked up at her and asked. 

"Of course, such a vast issue is hard to conceal." The Commander shrugged.

"So I guess there isn't going to be much of a brake?" 

"No, likely not, but for today rest, then tomorrow we will plan for how you're going to infiltrate these Fiend worshipers. You're free to go about your business as you please, this tent is your for the night and report to me in the afternoon tomorrow."  The Commander left the tent and Meredith stood up and checked that her new clothes were properly fitted and the right way around she slipped on her boots, grabbed her new short sword and headed out of the tent the bright sun slighly hazey thanks to the smoke from the chimneys. The orderly gave her a little bow, despire how young he was he was still almost a foot taller than her. 

She headed up to Icini paved path underfoot.

She reported as oredered by the Commander and officially received her orders to infiltrate the order of the Fiend and find out what if any their relationship was to the monstrous events befalling the region and the events in Vicini. Her first order of business was to investigate the town and see who the temple master may have had relationships with, it didn't take her too long to find that the shipping company that she had found that day belonged to a company that operatead out of the Slags called "Mortimer, Reeves and Co." reportedly they had done a lot of business in the town up until the military lockdown and since then they'd not been seen or heard from. 

Meredith took detailed notes of her various encounters and it seemed that dissappearences had been common in Icini and the surrounding region for some time but most put that down to banditery and slavers from Vicini until the strange happenings with the dead and the night that someone killed the temple master and left her strung up disembowled in her own temple. The captain of the guard recounted how they'd found the parts of countless people in the temple but that they'd not reported that fact to anyone other than the commander and herself. The more Meredith looked the more it seemed that something ominous had been afoot, she felt a slight feeling of frustration that if she'd not killed the vile bitch when she had she may have more information to go on now. 

Another string of information indicated that many of the people in the region had been fleeing to surrounding ones since the outbreak many of them would have ended up in the capital and that a shanty town even more repulsively run down than the Slags had begun to form on the outskirts of the city walls. With that she felt that she had covered most of what she could in Icini itself and reported back to the commander.

"So, what's your intention now?" The Commander asked while scraping what looked like blood from under her nails.

"I'm heading back to the capital, first look into the trading company and then this new slum."

"Hmm, what do you think you'll find in those slums?"

"The temple master and the transport company couldn't of been responsible for all the dissappearences, there must of been more consipartors"

"hmm"

"It only makes sense."

"Sound reasoning, very well, take this" the old crone handed Meredith a seal. "It'll get you replacement horses from the scout stables between here and the city."

"Have there been any more word on Corrinth?"

"Not yet, I sent a bird after you told me your story yesterday and there's yet to be a reply." She shrugged, "cities that recently burnt down can be slow on the reply, though it may be wise to send some runners. I'll have a bird sent to the capital, both for them to expect your arrival and to furnish you appropriatly" 

Meredith nodded in confirmation.

"and secondly to have a runner sent to Corrinth and see what has them taking so long."

"With the help of the scout horses i should be able to make it back to the capital in a few days." Meredith mused remembering the slow journey to Icini and seeing the burning of Corrinth in the distance. 

"Indeed, and take this as well." She put a silver ring on the between them.

"What's this?" Meredith asked picking it up.

"You're a Leutenant now. Beign the only survivor of a squad gets you a promotion."

Meredith looked up a moment and then placed the ring on her finger and nodded. 

"Well I'll get on my way." Meredith said with a confident nod.

"Good luck, I don't say it often but I feel we will all need a good dose of it to make it through this thing we now find ourselves in." The old woman said looking glum and Meredith nodded and left the command tent. 

She took a deep breath of the camp air and looked at the suns as the began to set. She went back to her tent and collected what little she had there and then went to the stable to collect a horse showing the guards there the seal she selected a good runner and then headed out an hour of heavy riding and she was coming up on the first of many scout stations she would be seeing, showing the ring and swapping the horse again and again the moons raised in the sky and traveling at pace became perilous so she stopped at a travellers roadside tavern. The stable boy eagerly took the horse as she gave him a couple of talents and then headed in. All around were troops, scouts, messengers and other servents of the Kingdom, the innkeeper looked mighty pleased with business as he saw her walking in. 

"Why hello madam, how may I help you tonight?" He asked, the tone of his voice setting Meredith on edge.

"I need board for the night, feed for my horse and whatever slop passes for food in this piss hole." Meredith said and then scanned for a table. "And a jug of your sweet wine." 

"Of course, that'll be ten talents." He said with a grin and Meredith slammed the seal on the table. He looked at it a moment and then nodded.

"I'll run a tab." 

"Of course! Of course."

She didn't really need or want a tab but he'd annoyed her so she had acted out, she tutted to herself, the jug of sweet wine and a mug came almost immediately she poured it and drank it quickly. Her memory drifted back to their last night in Icini before heading out to the villages, she leant back and stared at the ceiling a moment. The food came and she quickly demolished it, and the wine then she saw herself to bed.

"Breakfast in the morning?"

Meredith nodded "I'll be up before sun up"

"Of course."

Her nights sleep was fitful the same recuring themes again and again, being chased like a rabit by a demonic Primela, Gilnar roaring with thunderous laughter, insectoid incisors slashing, she woke with a start covered in sweat and heart pounding. "What in the hells is wrong with me." She muttered to herself.

"Nothing at all."

She looked around startled, but no one was there, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she quickly got dressed then opened the shutters to look at the weather outside, she estimated that dawn was an hour or so off. She headed down the stairs, settled her tab and ate breakfast, around her a number of others were also hastily eating their bowl of oats, almost certainly all of them were messengers or scouts. She checked the route on the wall before heading out and noted that she'd have to sleep out for the next couple of days a situation that she didn't look forward to. 

"Come along Meredith no point in being scared of the dark" she whispered to herself and then headed out as the sky began to turn a paler blue she was on her horse and back on the road. She spent the night in her small shelter, one advantage of her height was it was quite easy to set up her sleeping arrangements and after a hard ride all day she slipped to sleep with ease only to be woken at some point in the night a great pressure on her chest and something leaning over her, her canvas above it, it looked a bit like a face but instead of eyes and a mouth it jsut had black holes that seemed to sink into an abyss and looked like it was woven from a patch work of parts. She tried to struggle but couldn't move, the sound of raspy breathing was against her ear and then something seemed to start crawling across her face like a long spindly finger, or claw, or an insect leg. Finally she shook herself and there was just the surface of her canvas.

She gasped and sat up. "These night terrors are getting to much" she splashed some water on her face from her flask and ran her hands through her hair. 

"Hey"

She spun around and she clicked her tongue. "Stupid branches, stupid wind, stupid Meredith." She shook her head, and packed up deciding it was better to just ride through the early morning hours than it was to try and go back to sleep only to wake up again in a few hours. Or minutes if her mind still felt like playing games with her. 

She rode at a leisurely pace, while the scout stables may have been open it was risk to ride fast at night, to easy for the horse to miss something and end up laming itself and then you were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no horse an unenviable position for someone in a hurry. 

The next few days followed the same pattern of long hard riding during the day, a fitful sleep and then a ride through the early hours. Occasionally she'd stay in an roadside tavern when it was possible and then by the end of the sixth day she could see the massive city walls of the Capital, she could see the shanty town growing off the side like a tumour, the high towers of the watch and the higher towers of the arch magicus. She could see the smoke stacks of the guilds and the smithies belchjing out black smoke, a long line of caravans and coaches trying to get into the city. 

"At last, we're home" She smiled and nodded at Gilnar who let out a hearty laugh. 

"That we are, at long last, the Capital of the greatest kingdom in the land!" Gilnar laughed again and went on ahead. 

Meredith weaved her own way through the crowd to angry shouts and mutterings that she ignored reaching the front of the queue with ease a guards man looked at her a moment and splayed her fingers to show him the ring. He nodded and waved her in Gilnar and Primela off either wing. 

Meredith woke up in her bed in the Queens district looked around, and frowned. She got dressed and headed out of the room a seargent was stood outside waiting for her. 

"Report Seargent"

"We've got some information about Mortimer, Reeves and Co gotta a lad who can show you where their offices and warehouses are." 

"Good."

"You want me to get some folks together to raid the places?"

"Probably best to have some bruisers and knuckleheads ready to pound the places if this doesn't turn out to be simple but I'd rather not have to."

The seargent nodded. "Glad ot be back after all that time in the sticks?"

"You couldn't possibly imagine just how glad I am to be back in the capital, even the Slags will be a delight"

"Aiye, I bet" the man nodded with a grin on his face. 

"Lets go get that boy." She said and indicated for him to lead the way.

Meredith and the other guard were looking at a child of around twelve covered in filth and wearing rags instead of clothes he had a dull look and filthy brown hair. The room was lit by a collection of candles a small wooden table in the centre that had a plate on it with the only the slightest of grease left from whatever had been on it and a bowl beside equally clean. He glanced at the two as they walked in.

"What's your name?" Meredith asked as she weighed him up.

"Rat" he said in a squeeky voice.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked with a bored tone.

"T'other skags." He replied nonchalently.

"I can't argue that it suits you" Meredith shrugged. 

Rat nodded. Though he seemed flumexed.

"What do you know about Mortimer, Reeves & co shipping?"

The boy looked confused for a moment "The skip jacks that dropped the bag."

"Ah them fuckers, yeah I know where they main station be, got lotta wagons them do. All kind of bits and things comin' day 'n' nights they are. Even know the toilet way in I do." Rat looked as pleased with himself as someone covered in that filth could. Probably more so then he ever should. What few teeth the boy still had were black and the stink as he spoke was quite pungent. 

"How'd you know about it?"

"We had a bag, sealed and all then they dropped it when I gave em the goods."

"Who runs the place?"

"A gruff old bull called Waggler. Billy club in his hand and he's eager to put it to good use I got more then a few wollops off the geezer."

"You see anything else strange?"

"They got folks in and out all night and all day all sorts of strange goin' on there love, all sorts. They bring in all the stuff from elsewhere and flog it out to the people here." The boy blabbered.

"Have him show our people where it is." Meredith walked out and the other man followed. 

"Other plans?"  The seargent asked.

"Yeah I'm going to find out about their actual office, you lot keep a low profile I'd ideally like to get a client list and have a look at what they have in their warehouse." She tapped her foot looking deep in thought. 

"I'll get someone to show you the way. Is that all?" The seargent was leaning against the wall looking quite bored. 

"No, send a runner when you've got the people ready at the warehouse. I'll be waiting in the reception room." She put her hands in her pockets for and stared for a moment and then headed to the reception. The room was blandly decorated for a building in the Queen's district it had some drapes over the wall with the kingdoms crest and the crest of the royal army as well as a final crest of the Pantheon there were two guards stood against the door that she'd just left she looked them over a moment unlike her and those that she worked with these two were in ornate dress uniforms. There was a small seating area to the right with a low table and a sofa and a couple of chairs arranged neatly, she walked over and took a seat and looked up at the ceiling.

"Lietenant?" A girlish voice interrupted Meredith's unexpected slumber, looking at the source, someone with short black hair a full face and a rough uniform. 

"Who are you?"

"Amil, Seargent Barathoon told me to show you the way." 

"Excellent, don't call me that again, Meredith will do." Meredith stood up. Amil nodded and they set off into the city a dull sun hanging in the sky, the Queen's district was sedate but as they moved into the merchants and guild districts the loud din of the city became formidable. Meredith could make out some of the rumours and fears with her sharp hearing, wondering if they should be burning their dead and rumours about the plagues. 

"So where's the office?" They were passing through a busy street weaving through oncoming walkers and those going too slowly in the same district.

"Clerks district." Amil was keeping up though seemed to be a bit less apt when compared to Meredith.

"Anything odd about it?" Meredith clicked her tongue as a fat beast pushing their wares slowed her a moment.

"Not that I can tell, I've been watching them for the last couple of days" Amil slipped in behind Meredith.

"They know they're being watched?" They turned onto another busy street heading towards the Tanner's district.

"Nah, been doing it via a scry" Amil caught back up and slipped in beside her.

"That works?" Meredith looked a touch doubtful.

"Well it does for the outside of the building, I didn't want to risk triping a ward by trying to penetrate the actual building." Amil shrugged and they passed from traders disrict and into the Tanners.

"mm yeah I concur." Meredith nodded.

Amil nodded, they moved through the tanners district the stink of the feaces used to prepare the leather was thick and streams of efluent flowed down open sewers into the Slags below grim looking people could be seen in small workshops working the material, the dippers and the racks most people had rags across their faces and a perfume sellers walked the streets pushing their wagons of goods. Occasionally someone would buy a small wrap and place it into the scarfs around their faces. 

"As the months ware on and the area gets hotter it only gets less pleasent." Amil said to Meredith who nodded in response. 

"Yeah I know, I used to work these streets before I got." She paused and thought a moment "Commisioned" she finally flashed a sly grin.

"aiye, commisioned" Amil said and glanced at the rings on Meredith's fingers. "How long you been in the force?" Amil murmerd.

"About ten years." Meredith said ponderously.

"How'd you join?" A spark of curiosity in Amils glittery eyes.

"Same way we all did, the Commander found me in a cell in the pit and offered me a way out and I took it." Meredith reported with a matter of fact tone. 

"What had you done?" Meredith flinched and looked at Amil.

"You know it's not good practice to ask such things." Meredith shot a wicked glance at Amil.

"Not like it matters, we'll all be dead soon enough anyway." Amil said with a shrug.

"What makes you say that?" Meredith tilted her head and furrowed her brow again.

"I'm no tard I can read reports, it's the end of the world and the Commander knows it." Said with a touch of bravado.

"If it's as you say why hasn't she just let us all go and enjoy the last few weeks? It's not like she's a renowned jobsworth." Meredith took a moment to check her finger nails then looked up at Anil who wasn't that much taller then herself which made a nice change she thought.

"Who knows, I'm not a mind reader." Amil shrugged and puffed their the cheeks.

"That stands to reason, I dont' think predicting the future is your strong suit. The commander must assume it's worth one last roll of the dice and that there's going to be something left."

"I don't know about that" Amil looked at Meredith with one eyebrow raised and her other eye squinting. Meredith returned the look and smiled. 

From the tanners strip they turned into a road that led them past the paper makers and then they were in the clerks district. It seemed as though the area was placed ideally to avoid the stench of the earlier areas well to do looking gentlement in suits and boys and girls that looked clean bar ink smudges and welts from the lash ran back and forth delivering paper, envelopes and boxes. Amil led them off the main street and then into a tributary road and pointed at a building. Meredith looked at it intently for a few minutes, there seemed nothing particularly intersting about the road there was s throng of foot traffic going by and the road had the odd carriage going by and the building itself was jsut like all the others.

"Have I drawn a bust?" Meredith grumbled and scanned the generic looking building up and down.

"They normally have this one guest that always leaves around this time, drives my scry mad." Amil said looking up at the suns, they lent back against a wall and waited. A pale man came out of the store, gaunt and sickly looking. Meredith let out a hic and covered her mouth, Amil looked at her in mute shock mouth agape eyes squinting to see what was the matter. 

The man was begining to mingle into the crowd and Meredith snapped back to the current and quickly headed after him, she kept her distance and weaved effortlessly through the crowd Amil was lost somewhere behind them. A number of times Meredith thought she'd lost sight of him they moved through the smiths guild the loud claning of metal on metal and thick acrid smoke stung the eyes and nostrils but thanks to the lighter foot fall it was easier to keep up. Then the man weaved into an ally that led to the Slags and Meredith followed all the way to a black obolisque of a building, it was huge and imposing. Meredith felt a chill run through her as the man went inside it. She stared at it from the shadows her hand covering her mouth.

"Hey" Meredith spun around to see Amil talking to her. "What's got into you?" Meredith stared and then looked back at the building.

"How long has that been here?" Meredith pointed.

"Oh, well. I've never seen it before." Amil looked confused and put a finger to there chin and seemed to be thinking.

"It wasn't on any of the reports." Merediths heart was pounding so loudly she could hear it in her ears she felt faint and propped herself against the wall.

"No, no I've not heard about it, must pay good bribes I guess." Amil shrugged. Meredith let in a sharp breath and looked back at the building, it was as black as an unlit room, every once and a while someone would help somebody inside. 

"I think that may be an overly optimistic assumption. You need to go back and report this place." Meredith stood up and brushed her self off and checked her weapons.

"What are you up to?" Amil looked at her like she was a spooked horse.

"I'm going to see what's going on and then I'll report back on it." 

"You don't look up to it." Amil looked her up and down again with a grim look.

"I don't feel up to it. If I'm not back in an hour raid the merchant and this place." Meredith sighed.

Amil nodded and headed off before pausing,

"If you get yourself killed I'll take it that the dice roll failed right?" 

"Sure, do what you like." Meredith kept focused on the building.

"I always do." With that Amil ran off into the smog.

"Here we go!" There was a roar of laughter. 

Meredith looked at the people entering, most looked like any other person she took a breath and headed in.

The inside of the building was lit by pitch torches and candles the entrance hall had people haphazardly scattered about lounging on the floor or slumped over low benches made of the same black rock that the outside seemed to have been made of, the floor was of a similar material the surface had a rough texture to it. A large open entrance towards the back of the room had more people scattered around in various stages of conciousness many were smoking pipes and a strange sweetness mixed in with the smell of bodies that permieated the hall. There seemed to be no ventalation and the smoke that didn't escape through the fronto entrance curled its way around the ceiling like a dence fog.

Nobody seemed to take much notice of her as she passed through looking for the man that she had seen infront of the merchants office just a short while ago. She could see that the fog was thicker in the corridor and she decided to head on and follower the corridor, it seemed to curve around to the right and then opened up into another larger hall with more figures shrowded in darkness moans and groans coming from the collected bodies and the smoke was thicker almost enough to make her cough a harsh musk joined it. However she didn't recongise any of the faces she could see, at the end of the room there was yet another large entrance, pausing a moment longer to look around and see if there were any guards but there didn't seem to be so she pushed on. 

Again a corridor that seemed to curve to the right as she entered another body filled flop room something pulled on her leg. Meredith looked down expecting to see some kind of animal but instead it looked like a haggard old person sunken wrinkled face a puckered toothless mouth and sullen eyes, hair grey and malting. 

"Food" the wrinkled thing groaned pulling its way up Merediths leg. 

"Get off." Meredith pulled her leg back, the thing had a look of one of those gods forsaken shambling dead but without the good graces to be dead. This time the door towards the end of the hall appeared to be locked.

"Fooood" Meredith ignored the person and pushed on having to try to avoid standing on any of the bags of skin and bone that littered the ground but the dim light from the torches made it hard though even when she did accidentaly kick or tred on one they did little more than let our a slight groan or a moan for food. Meredith was begingin to think that this was simply a flop house and her mind had been playing tricks on her as she reached the locked door she looked back at the hall and then at the lock on the door. 

"Magical?" she ran her hand over it before taking a little step back and murmering a few words then knocked quietly. The door then quietly opened of its own accord, she looked back at the hall again and confirming nothing had changed she slipped throuhg the door. Behind it was a corrider that went streight forward with a steep incline until all was enveloped in darkness, she looked at the door behind her again and took a deep breath to steady herself. Oddly the air here was clear and had a chill to it. She furrowed her brow and grabbed one of the lamps that were handing next to the door and lit it using the candle that was provided for the task.

It took a moment for the fire to catch as it did she placed the candle back and headed down the corridor the darkness was oppressive and the air got colder and colder as she went on her breath began to fog in front of her and she could hear the dripping of water, she looked up and around the ceiling of the endless corridor she could see that it was made of the same material the higher levels had been constructed of. She ground her teeth a moment bot carried on the light only penetrated a few meters ahead of her and she was yet to see any other light source. She looked abck for a moment thinking that she should go back but she felt a need to carry on forward. She lost track of how long she had been going down her hand tracing along the right hand wall and her other holding the lamp high, she thought about how unpleasent it would be if the lamp went out but pushed the thought to the back of her mind. 

Her quite foot steps rung in her ears, everything was so quiet until she began to hear what sounded like chains jangeling and a sound comparable to that of a mill stone in a windmill that they used to make flour. She quietened her foot steps and took more care as she got slowly closer and closer to the source of the noise a door came into view signalling the end of the nearly endless corridor she'd walked down. She blew out the candle and then listened at the door, the sounds of clanking and grinding were clearly behind it, she tried to make anything else out but she could not. So she tried the handle and it turned with ease, she slowly pushed the door open and a dim red light flooded the corridor as she pushed it ajar and continued to listen for voices or footsteps neither of which she could hear so  she slipped into the red lit room. 

The room had lanterns of some sort giving off a dim red glow that seemed to travel further than it should, there was a raised area to the left of the room where the sound of grinding was coming from, The walls were no longer the strange black rock but instead it looked as though they were roots clawing upwards towards the surface, everything was dyed red so she couldn't discern the true colours of anything. Occasionally her mind would play a trick on her and it would look as though a collection of the branch like material would form a face or a hand or some other macarbre body part. She couldn't see anything else in the room and so she walked over to the raised area and it became clear that it was more like a low wall that led into a vast pit, looking over the side she couldn't see the ground just an endless dark red abyss where the sounds of clanking and grinding echoed up from. There was a ladder in the middle that may lead her all the way down. She looked over and then looked around the rest of the room only to click her tongue and fling herself over the edge and onto the ladder and began to climb it rung by rung down into the unknowable depths.

As she went down the wall behind the ladder fell away and the hole opened up, the ladder seemed to hang in mid air and she could see what looked like the trunks of endless trees going down as far as the red light allowed her to see. Occasionally a gust of rancid air blew over her, she ignored it all and carried on going down. 

"In for a copper in for a talent" she muttered to herself as she went down. 

A loud squawk echoed up from somewhere down below and she grimaced and looked at first she could see nothing but as she carried on going she could see what looked like large birds circling what she realised was the ever widening hole, so large now she could only consider it a cavern the trunks behind the ladder were getting slenderer, leavless branches reaching out in all directions macarbe shapes, an oppressive feeling of dread was washing over her with each rung she decended. Then one of the large birds turned up its face was that of a crow mixed with much of its skull exposed and what looked like wriggling creatures in one of its eye sockets and a bulging yellow ball in the other. 

"Shit!" She almost lost her grip on seeing the things face and realised it was heading up towards her at speed. Meredith grimmaced and then as it was almost upon her she slid down a numebr of rungs and the creature flew streight through the ladder as though one or the other were just an illusion, but the stench from the creature adn the turblance were enough to convince Meredith of the fact it were quite real. While she was also convinced of the reality of the ladder she tried to speed up her descent looking towards any sound to make sure that she could dodge their attacks when they came, and come they did, at times having to hold on by a single hand or let go entirely in the hope that she could grab back a hold before it became impossible. 

Exhausted she almost lsot her grip several times the creature seemed aware of that, Meredith drew her sword and decided to face it down this time, it came at her with immense force and she returned its assault her own attack the two colliding knocking her loose from the ladder and at the same time hacking the creatures wing clear off it took a moment for her to realise she and the beast were both plummeting to the ground the ladder was out of reach  she frowned and wondered how far down it was but then she closed her eyes and raced through her memory opening her eyes she smiled a moment having found what she was looking for and she began to recite a mantra several minutes past as she constructed the complex spell in her mind and the space around her shifted to comply to her new reality. Just as it would seem too convenient the spell clearly finished and instead of smashing into the ground and being smashed into a bloody pulp she slowed to a gentle stop and placed one foot on the squigy fleshy surface. She looked up into the sky and could see what looked like an endless forest of grim red trees almost dripping the from the roof their horrible branches hanging like the entrails of a person who had been quatered. 

She stopped to take in the rest of the scenery, to was flat, red, and textured like an endless surface made from meat, not to far in the distance she could see what looked like a temple so she headed towards it. Black suns seemed to light this freakish underground world the crimson red that permieated everything, she looked at her own hand and it seemed clear to her that light did not work the same here as it did above. 

She frowned and headed with legs that felt like lead after all the climbing of the ladder towards that temple. Tutting to herself and drawing her sword. 

She felt as though she had been watched the whole of her walk to the temple which took longer than she had imagined it should. As it became clear that what she had origonally believed to be a near by small contruction was instead far away and vast, it gave the feeling of squat black building comparable tot he one she had entered on the surface and as she got ever closer it got larger and larger the black sun reaching its venity directly above the building as she reached it. 

Unlike its companion up above this huge structure was lit by some magical source in the same dim red light as the rest of this underground world in some ways she felt as though she was forgetting what normal colour should look like as her eyes became adept in the new ligtht. She had thrown caution to the wind as the land was unnaturally flat on her way to the building that there was no point in trying to be subtle and the decent had forced her to exhaust much of her reserves of both physical and magical energies stealth was impossible. Figures that drifted around the megalith payed her no note and though she felt malice from the build the wraith like entities that milled around seemed to have no interst in her. 

She entered the vast building and there was a faceless being sat behind an ornate wooden desk.

"Name?" The figure seemed to have asked without using any obvious means.

"Pardon?" Meredith looked closely at the figure its what she could only consider its face was stained by the same red everything else was and completely smooth.

"Yes, name, a term that you respond to when queried? I believe I selected the correct word." The entity seemed to express some level of doubt in its' query.

"Why do you need to know my name?" Meredith tilted her head and walked closer to the desk. The figure was wearing a robe that had large pointy shoulders and covered the entites body entirely.

"How else am I supposed to refer to you? Hey you? Elfkin? Child?" The figure raised what looked like a hand made from bits of metal riveted together and tipped with the blades of scissors. 

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused" Meredith furrowed her brow and rested her wrists on the desk.

"That much seems obvious" The otherworldy entity shrugged and pulled some papers out from somewhere under the desk and set about writing on them officiously.

"Where am I?" Meredith looked around the ceiling was so high it seemed like a whole other sky.

"Tela, think of it as the administrative department of this collection of planes." The entity took out something from beneath the desk and holding it in one hand slammed it down on the paper the sudden loud noise made Meredith jump as she processed the information.

"Tela, that's supposed to be one of the hells!" Meredith took another look around and checked her feet.

"I suppose that would be appropriate you are from the material realm after all." The entity leant back in its chair and nodded at Meredith.

"Material realm?" Meredith wasnt' following this.

"Look young one I am not an informational entity, I am simply tasked with taking the names of all that arrive and then see to it that they go where they are supposed to." The entity brought its two metalic claws together as though in prayer. 

"oh" Meredith nodded a moment.

"Yes, so, what is your name?" The entity asked once again.

"Meredith." A book appeared infront of the faceless aborition. 

"Very good Meredith, ah" It trailed a long needle like finger down a page in the book, a text written in some alien language covered the pages.

"Hmm?" Meredith tilted her head.

"Yes, I have you in here" It felt as though it looked back at her. It leant over the table a bit and pointed towards a black swirling vortex.

"What's that?" Meredith turned to look where the finger pointed.

"That one is for you young Meredith. It will take you where you to where you're supposed to be." There seemed to be a note of sympathy in the way the entity expressed itself. Meredith nodded awkwardly and with little other options she headed over to it and looked for a moment and looked back at the entity, it made a little gesture of encouragemetn and Meredith frowned then looked at the vortex, sighed as though resiging her self to fate yet again and walked through the portal.

Her foot landed on the ground and she was confronted by vast open vista a foul wind blowing she could see for miles in every direction she was stood on what looked like polished bone at the top of a tower. Everywhere was a strange alien landscape of twisted boils and turmours below rivers of what looked like blood and puss flowed a what looked like a city covered in an obscene organic growth in the distance large vulture like birds swooped through the sky diving down suddenly at something below far to far away for Meredith to make out clearly. A howling ringed through the air like wind in a tunnel.

"Well if it isn't Meredith." Meredith winced, she heard Feng's voice behind her, slowly she turned but it wasn't Feng she saw isntead on the ground a few meters away from her was what looked like a pile of wriggling internal organs and gore that seemed to be pulling itself towards her, there were all manner of bits and pieces amongst the grotesque ooze. 

"That's right, I'm this delightful pile of flesh now" Feng sounded spiteful and Meredith backed away then stopped quickly checkign to see where she was only to find that she was on the very edge of the vast tower and another step would of had her tumbling to her death. 

"You're dead?" Meredith was looking for a way around the thing that had Fengs voice. 

"If only! No, no I am not dead! But maybe if I kill you I will be!" Meredith looked at the pile for a moment a lost look on her face when mangled bloody arm sprouted from the gore and propelled itself towards her. She leapt out of the way and the Feng pile roared in anger. 

"Die! die! DIE!" Feng screamed she rolled and got back on her feet as what looked like intestines that had grown a row of razor sharp teeth exploded towards her this time she took a different tact, leaping forward in and a single smooth motion drawing her blade and slicing the foul thing from its host the end dropping to the ground and flopping about on its own accord like a severed worm not yet having the good grace to realise it was finished. 

"BITCH" Feng let out a shriek, more bizare appendages sprouted from the gore but none of them reached Meredith who had steadied herself and exploded into a furious flurry of slices and stabs leaving the tumour quite literally disarmed and trying to slime its way away from her. 

"There's no need to be rude Feng, if you wanted me to slice you apart piece by piece all you need to do is ask and I'll happily oblidge." A wicked smirk crossed Meredith's face as she stalked the thing. Another stalk protruded this one now with the tortured stretched face of Feng on it.

"I didn't mean to Meredith, don't hurt me any more it already hurts enough!" It continued to back away yellow buldging eyes pointing in opposite directions. 

"You should of thought of that earlier." Meredith sliced the head limb in half used forced the thing off the edge of the tower, Feng screaming in her head for several seconds before falling silent. 

"I suppose I didn't get sent back home then." She spoke to herself and looked for a ways down into the tower itself when she reached where she assumed Feng had come up from  the ground began to giveway to create a staircase. 

"Going down." She followed the stairs as they opened up for several minutes before coming to a new room.

The room looked like some kind of seers observatory, strange charts adorned the walls, bottles with strange things inside them stakced on shelves and books everywhere. A table in the middle of the room had a what looked like a corpse halfway through a dissection. 

"Ahh visitor!" Meredith looked to her side and saw something hanging from the ceiling, weird and spikey it was attached to the ceiling by what looked like a bundle of veins and pipes, bone and muscle. But whatever it was also seemed to grow out of that bundle. Four gangly arms an eyepiece over one of its half dozen human like eyes, eyes that looked like they came from as many again people. It's fingers all looked like surgicle implements and it didn't have any legs that she could see. However it came over to her and looked her up and down.

"Ahh Ela's guest yes? Yes. Ela has been expecting a guest. You don't look particularly delicious." Its mouth was slanted with no lips just a set of perfect human teeth in nice pink gums. She gulped memories flooding back to her. 

Meredith tried to say something.

"Has a cat taken ownership of your tongue?" Its long tongue waggled but it didn't come out of the things mouth but instead some other orrifice at the side of its thing. 

"I, yes, what?" 

"Look at it, so confused." It slid along the roof towards the corpse on the table and stuck a needle finger into its pink brain the corpse's eye opened and screamed. She noticed now that it was harnessed to the table, it's hands spasamed. Her eyes darted back to the monster which returned her stare and grinned at her and it wriggled its finger a bit more resulting in more screams of terror.

"You'll find Ela lower down in the tower, you shouldn't stay here less I get curious and decide to play with you instead of my latest toy." One large eyeball looked down at the man that the thing was tormenting. Another of the creatures arms was pointing in the direction of a door. Meredith looked at the man again, it occured that she knew him, he was the seargent who had been at her door in the capital. She shrugged and then headed to the door leaving the thing behind her and carrying on around the corridor and down a flight of stairs. 

"I sure have been climing a lot of stairs today" she pushed a door open and found what could only be an abatoir, the stench was overwhelming, Meredith looked up at the ceiling as though looking at the creature from the previous floor.

"Really if you're going to have toys you should be made to clean up properly." She trudged through the room unfazed by its macarbe content. 

"Meewadif" She turned to the source of the sound an emaciated arm reached up towards her and with a begrudging look on her face she headed over to see what it was.

"Meewadif" It groaned again and she kicked it onto its back. 

"I thought I recognised those choppers, hard gig there Bedros" She knelt down and looked him up and down he was emaciated, both his hands had been replaced with tubes that connected to the ground and the same had been done to his legs.

"Meewadif" it glared at her, eyes a milky white. She stood up looked around and then back at the shit covered Bedros. 

"Fine." She lifted her foot, pursed her her lips and broght her boot down crushing Bedros's skull.

"Whose gonna do me?" She turned and headed out of the door and down to the next floor. 

The next room had someone sat facing away from her eating, she frowned.

The room was large with an unreasonably high ceiling held up by pillars in the form of weirdly elongated people holding a heavy burdern racks of weapons lined the walls and the figure at the table hadn't yet acknowledged her, it was squat and ate loudly reaching over the table it brought a jug to its face and glugged and spluttered while another gauntleted hand grabbed a piece of flesh and loudly began to devour that. The persons hair was thick and red 

Meredith moved silently her eyes never leaving the persons back a loud crunch as it bit through something hard, she tried not to breath and placed one foot on front of the other.

"I can hear you you know." Meredith stopped.

"Every single breath, every step even your heartbeat, everything." The person turned to face her the top half of its face was Erek's the bottom half was a set of mandibles reminicent of the giant milipede. She could see now that his arms were covered in interlocking plates of metal, his torso was protected by a brigandine the studs where the rivets were held together were clear to see on the black leather.

"What are you doing here?" Erek asked as he began to stand.

"What happend to your beard?" She tilted her head.

"You have to give some things up to transcend." He spread his arms as though worshiping the tower. 

"I think you got a bum deal" She shrugged.

"Bah, you wouldn't understand, you should already be out on the front line, why are you here?"

"I could ask the same thing, though there are a few more questions I have." Meredith drew a blade and focused on Erek. Apart from the new jaw line she couldn't see anything else unusual. 

"Well, I'm preparing to head out onto the front lines." Erek began to walk over towards a rack of weapons. 

"Frontlines?" Meredith began to put a bit of distance between herself and Erek.

"Yes, of the invasion." He picked up a spear and checked it for weight giving it a spin.

"Invasion?" Meredith tensed and watched for every little move.

"Did you get Primela and Gilnar over the bridge safely?" He turned to her eyes wild.

"Pardon?" She frowned.

"I'll take that as a yes. You always were so reliable Meredith. But." He stopped and then in an explosive burst of speed began closing the distance with here spear driving towards her, Merdith swiftly dodged and brought her blade down a loud clash as he produced a dagger and spun the spear one handed falling back to take up a new stance. 

Meredith instantly leapt into a new bout of attacks their blades roaring as impact after impact was blocked or dodged, Meredith spun effortlessly away from another attack and Erek's spear shattered. 

"Tsh" With that he dashed towards one of the weapon racks, Meredith in chase her cold determined killer instinct matching his burning bloodlust in equal measure she let out a flurry of attacks that he barely deflected with a mix of blade and his heavily armoured gauntlets. His hand rested on a new spear and he launched into a fresh round forcing Meredith back fatigue was begining to set in but Merediths moves were still crisp the as she was pushed back past the middle of the room. 

One jab after another tore the air that she had just been in a clang echoed as the spear knicked her own brigadinne armour she retorted with a number of explosive attacks pushing him back only slightly his responce was a number of lighting fast strikes forcing her back again, this time past where the table covered in food had been she glanced at it and then she kicked it in in between Erek's legs and he clumsily attempted to avoid it.

"Bitch!" With that her knife shot forward at his moments distraction wedging in his throat her short sword then thrust up through his crotch into his torso some where that she pulled upwards with great force. All this in a matter of moments following up with a kick that pushed her away from Erek who stumbled back a moment and looked down, his biganndine came apart and then a dozen worm like things fell from his now gaping stomach and started to wriggle towards Meredith.

"Shit!" she exclaimed and put more distance between her and the unpleasent worms. 

"Damn it, I suppose this is why I'm only a captain." He coughed and spluttered and tried to gather up his worms and muttering to himself.

She kept her distance from the now rambling Erek and she tried to control her breathing and she wiped the sweat from her face. 

"What did you mean when you talked about the other two?" Erek didn't answer her but instead continued to crawl around the floor collecting his worms and putting them back in his stomach.

She left the room, rested her back against the wall and slowly slid to the ground, her fingers ached and her arms and legs felt like they had had hot lead pumped through them. She leant her head back and looked at the macarbre walls, she felt like she was floating for a moment and she could feel herself drifting away as everything caught up with her. 

"There's no time for this" she said to herself trying to force her eyes awake as the adrenaline left her system and her breath became normal.

"You'll end up on someones surgical table or floating from a wall, or with giant monster maggots eating you." She opened her eyes again and then stood up refusing to let exhaustion get the better of her. 

She returned to walking through the corridors, room after rooms she readied herself for battle and to be assaulted by some horrifying scene she would become so silent that she questioned whether she existed at all and if this were just some confunded nightmare brought on by her mountain of sin. Every room had monstrous occupants but most seemed to take little interst in her waving her on futher down into the depths like a trap that the more you struggle the deeper into it you descend. 

She had started hearing a low moan that slowly grew into a collection of screams the futher down she went and finally opening a door that led to a room that was fmiliar to her the large floating thing called Ela that claimed to represent God was pottering about with some of its appendages while a couple of its eye stalks looked to be studying some arcane tablet that were propped on tables. 

"Ah you've arrived, and just on time!" The hollow alien voice rang out through Meredith's mind once again.

"What are you doing?" Meredith stood streight and faced the grotesque ball of flesh as it turned all its eye stalks to focus on her. 

"Not quivering with fear anymore I see." Meredith glared at it as it approached her. It hadn't seemed to occur to her how big it was until it was hovering over her.

"Good, to be expected. We tend not to make mistakes but when dealing with the material world you can never be too sure." The eyes seemed to inspect her head to toe. 

"Answer my question." Meredith squared up to the grim construct.

"Hm, I am laying the ground work for the deliverance of your world into the hands of God." Ela stated coldly and slowly backed away from Meredith.

"What kind of god would do such things?" She followed it keeping no more than a couple of arms lengths away.

"Not a god, God. The only God." It stopped and its alien voice snapped in Meredith's mind/

"I thought you were a god?" She sneered at it, hand on her short sword.

"No, I am an angel, one of God's chosen to deliver God's message to your plane of existence." It looked down at Meredith as though it were weighing her worth.

"A, what?" She glowered back at it.

"An angel, a member of God's holy chorus, I deliver God's word to those who have not yet embraced God's way." The began to explain slowly.

"And what way is that?" Tapping her finger on the hilt of the blade her palms begining to sweat as she slowed her breathing. 

"To sacrifice everything to be one! To understand the God is the master of your fate and that we are all but instruments of God's glorious will!" If it had been able to express itself like a humanoid it would no doubt have spread its arms at that point, Meredith muttered to herself.

"That's lunacy." She shook her head.

"That is God's will." Ela exclaimed and then lowered itself.

"Now, you must continue to play your part thank you for taking our children across the barrier." The cold voice seemed to be quite pleased forcing Meredith to grimace.

"Barrier?" She tilted her head while tracing shapes on the hilt of her sword.

"Of course, you carried two of our Cherubs across the boundary of the worlds." The entity rested a claw on a tablet.

"While we can influence the material planes it's very hard for any of us to actually transcend the walls between worlds, even if God wills it." It explained and moved its whole focus to the tablets.

"Not much of a god then." Meredith scoffed.

"And what influence has your pathetic worship of your little Pantheon ever yeiled?" The entity snapped at her and looked for a responce, Meredith shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing hm? Indeed." It was pleased with itself and its focused flipped from tomb to tomb.

"Where's Flacidious?" Meredith streightened and brought her hands together.

"Hmm, oh him, well he's leading the army, he wasn't my first choice but he'll do." It said with a mental shrug.

"Army?" Meredith frowned and looked down.

"Yes, of Angels, in the material plane." It turned and looked at Meredith mocking in its tone.

"What?" Merredith slowly looked up at the vile blob of floating meat.

"Now now, we have work to go, now come over here." It indicated the stone tablets.

"No." Meredith finished preparing.

"Don't think that you have a choice." It sneered.

"Die!" With that an explosive blast of chaotic energy sprouted from Meredith's arm and enveloped the eyeball for several moments. Screaches and the stench of crackling flesh which as it stopped Meredith began hacking at the creatures appendages and eye stalks as it tried to back away black ooze sprayed every where and Meredith redoubled her violent assault. A feroicious intensity focused at the end of her blades as she carved chunks out of the hideous mound of rotting flesh. When she finally stopped she was covered head to toe in gore and surrounded by pieces of whatever had made up the grotesue monster.

She stood up and wiped her mouth and looked over at the tablets it had been studying they were written in a script that meant nothing to her and in a fit of rage she smasehd them to pieces. 

As she did a swirling votex appeared before her, she rolled her eyes.

"Of course, more magic contrivances." She scowled and then walked through, a feeling that she was simply following a script tugged at her as she tumbled forth a moment later she was stood outside the ruins of the temple she'd entered some time ago fires were bellowing smoke into the sky and she could hear the sounds of combat in the distance.

The doors and windows of the tenements had been borded up and there were signs of battle all around her there were scorched bodies and debris. She tutted and headed towards the Black Fangs headquaters. 

"Well look what the cats dragged in." Meredith hadn't got very far before she heard a familiar voice from up high, she looked up and saw Amil perched on the roof of a barricaded building. 

"Amil, what's happening here?" Amil looked to contemplate Meredith a moment before jumping down.

"I didn't expect to see you again" Amil shrugged and tilted her head back.

"To be honest for a little while I doubted that I'd make it back." Meredith looked around at the scene of utter destruction around her. 

"The Commander told me to wait here until you came back, I thought she was mad" Amil raised her hands in an exagerated shrug. 

"The Commander?" Meredith frowned.

"And here you are. Yeah she said you'd probably pop up around here at some point and I should wait here until you do." Amil eyed Meredith with suspicion.

"How long was I down there?"

"A month give or take, I've been waiting since our position at the Iron Keep became untenable. We should make a move" Amil started walking and Meredith fell in line. 

"What happend after I left?"

"We raided the temple and the merchants when you didn't return the records for the merchants led us to a number of groups that had been purchasing human cadavers and slaves captured out in the provinces."

"What about the temple?"

"It seemed to be a flop house until we found a secret door that led to where the cult was providing the drugs and sacrificing those too weak to put up much of a fight. Finding that though took a day." They were weaving through back alleys and through abandoned workshops. 

"Anyway a few days ago we were about to bust a bunch of nobles and temple masters when all hell broke loose we received a bird that said an army had crossed the river and we needed to send reinforcements so of course we sent them and so did the guard, the king sent word to his lords to start gathering their hosts." The two of them scramled over a ruined balister and watched as something inhuman scurried between two buildings like a large lizard. 

"That stopped us from having the people and time to raid the nobles and they all left the city to start putting together their hosts and in the streets the various marshals and levies were out getting men to join the war." They sped between the two buildings and crimed up a piece of piping to get back onto the roofs.

"I can imagine there weren't as many takers as normal." Meredith looked behind them towards the Slags with its now empty streets.

"Well, no, but still a little bit of coin goes a long way in the slags and the shanty town." They made the jump between two close buildings and clambered up onto a higher set of roofs.

"Then what happend?" Meredith easily kept up despite the height difference. 

"The fiend worshippers came out a few days after the hosts had gone, they had their own host of killers and monsters they decended on the rabbles looking to sign up and the panicked citizens in the streets." They stopped at a ledge and looked down on a street, they were above the smiths district.

"A blood bath I assume, any word on what happend on the border?" Meredith put her hands on her hips and joined in the surveyence. 

"As it turns out the bird was a lie." She pointed at a path that would lead them back to the road. Meredith nodded.

"Didn't it have a seal?" They started their rapid decent, Meredith could see that they were heading out of the city via the East gate. 

"It did." They ran along an empty street.

"Then how?" Meredith glanced at Amil.

"I don't know, but no doubt the commander has her suspicions." They past an empty wagon that had a half dozen arrows sticking out of it.

"Then what happend?" Meredith looked into the open door and saw that the inside was bloody.

"It took a week for the army to get back to the city and it turns out most of the lords didn't make it to their own terretories to start raising their own hosts. The guards and kings host tried to restore order but well it wasn't like a siege, the cultists and their fiends didn't hold the city they just went down into the sewers and hid in basements and let the troops back in then pounced and picked them off in small clumps. Patrols vanish all the time." They could see the gate houses.

"Yeah I can imagine it doesn't suit the rigid thinking of the noble generals." They stopped and watched the gate houses carefully for a few moments.

"mmhmmm, that's why we've joined up with the fire cult." Amil made a hand gesture to go.

"I take it the dead still aren't behaving." They started running towards the open gate.

"Yeah, being dead seems to be optional nowadays." Amil snorted a laugh.

"Heh" They made it to the gate, murder holes lined the sides and ceiling of the gate passage way.

"So as things stand citizens are hiding in their houses or in the camps, so are the fiends, the military is fractured, oh and an army did eventually march across the river it seems once the Commander and much of their camp headed back here." They made it out of the city to see rolling hills and trees, looking behind her Meredith contemplated the sad looking city its gate house that once lead to a vibrant capital of a mighty kingdom now led to a kind of hell.

Amil slowed to a walk and looked across at Meredith.

"So what have you been up to for the last month while I've been trying not to be eaten?" 

"Honestly Amil, I don't really know."

"Well I'm sure the Commander will want more of an explanation than that."

"And I'll be sure to give her one."

It took about an hour for the two to walk to a small make shift fortification on a hill next to a river and a small village below it surrounded by a wooden pallisade. 

They were waved through the gate of the village quickly and headed up through the middle to the steep hill that led to the twoer again they were quickly ushured through.

"Not much ceremony?" Meredith took note of the guards lack of questioning.

"They recognise me and also" Amil held her hand up and twirled the ring a bit. Meredith nodded. 

The keep ontop of the hill was about three stories tool, the bottom most layer was made of piled stone and then the upper layers were wooden, there were many arrow slits in the upper two floors outside of the entrance were a couple of heavily armoured guards that ushured the pair into the keep where the commander was sat behind a desk, there were several curtains strewn about and bed rolls on the floor with sleeping guards.

"Ah, I was wondering where you'd gotten to." The Commander looked at the both of them, she looked like she'd somehow gotten even older.

"I've no time for dilly dallying so give me an abridged version." The Commander stroked a silver ring and waited. Meredith nodded and covered the major points, the individuals she thought and knowledge she'd gained. Amil looked aghast as the commander simply nodded along. 

"I had begun to fear something like this. I had reports that on inspection the sigil used to sign the order to send troops was from Flacidious and I'd heard repors of someone matching Primela's description traveling between scout posts murdering the scouts there and their horses." The old woman looked at Meredith and picked up a letter opener.

"I suppose my main question is what to do with you, are you a poison well or a final chance for survival." The commander said while pointing the letter opener at Meredith.

Amil rolled her eyes and looked at the sleeping guardsmen that covered the floor. 

"With all things considered I can't lose a capable operative so I have a mission for you, kill the general of the army that is heading here. Kill this mockery of Flacidious." The old hag clenched her fist.

"Flacidious." Meredith frowned as she recited his name.

"You know, he wasn't like the rest of you, I selected him from a military academy to the south." The commander lent back and took the measure of Meredith again.

"Mmm I was aware." She nodded along thining.

"Did he tell you?" The old lady crossed her arms.

"No, it was obvious he was a from the south and he was a follower of the twelve, he simply seemed to be the kind of person who gets the job done." Meredith swayed a little on the spot.

"Hmm indeed, I suppose in a way he was like you all, but just a little bit less of a jail bird" she laughed.

"But he was a ruthless tactician and a strategist, if he's in charge of their army then the world may well be doomed, so find him and kill him, for good."

"I will, but I'd quite like a sleep first." 

"Of course." The Commander smirked and pointed at the floor.

"Thank you." Meredith found a bed roll and laid in it. Amil sat behind her and then also laid down. Within moments Meredith was fast asleep, exhausted by however long she'd been gone. Amil followed. 

When Meredith woke up the commander was still busy writing things under candle light her eyes flitted over to Meredith.

"Good morning." Meredith sat up and looked at the Commander and nodded.

"I can't offer you a fine meal like last time, supplies are low and there's no real cook here, but outside you'll find them making barley and potato soup, it think there may even be some kind of meat in it."

"That will do fine." Meredith stood up and stretched and noted Amil still asleep.

"Bring me some back, we have things to discuss." Meredith nodded and went out to find the soup.

Outside of the keep was quite but she could smell the soup cooking and headed towards it a group of guardsmen were nestled arouund talking in hushed tones, she walked past and greated the person handing out the soup. She saw a ladder leading up to the top of the pallisades and decided to go and take a look once up there she could see the capital, almost entirely shrowded in darkness. Here and there she could see smoke or a light high up in a tower but otherwise it was completly black, it reminded her of Florens just a lot bigger. She withdrew and returned to the commander.

She placed a bowl of soup in front of the commander and another infront of herself and they wolfed it down without a moments notice or pause putting the licked clean bowls ton one side. 

They discussed where the fiends army had been last seen and its movements, the commander described a number of the monsters that traveled with the force and some of the magics that had been seen, Meredith nodded along and interjected with other information where she had it. Also the Commander pointed out where the other noble bands were and settlements that the hoard might decend upon. As the sun started to rise outside the two sat back.

"I need you to take Amil with you, she'll be of some use." Meredith glanced at the girl who was starting to stir, Meredith grimaced and frowned but offered no resistence and nodded.

"Very good. I hope that at long last we'll have some good news." The two women relaxed in their chairs for a moment. 

"I'm going to soak in the river for a little while, once I'm done I'll need some clothes and we'll head off, can we get together some traveling packs?" The old women nodded. Very well.

Once Meredith returned Amil was waiting for her with the supplies, Meredith checked it over once and nodded reporting to the Commander that they were leaving and then headed off into the wilderness.

They'd been on the move for several days heading through the forests, Amil turned out to be an exceptional trail blaizer and had the two of them moving with ease and well fed though they had got only the minimal of rest needed. They had to alternate their watches and only got about five hours each, on one night they'd had to respond to a group of montrous scouting animals that found them while they rested and ended up having to move through the early hours of the morning, since then they tended to sleep up high. Fortunatly the forest provided ample opportunity for that. 

They had just made it over a fast flowing stream when Amil indicated for them to change direction slightly. She repeated the act a half hour later and then sped up the pace.

"We're being followed" Amil whispered as she led the two of them through a collection of brambles.

"How many?"

"One"

"Human?"

"I don't think so. It's been stalking us since the sun rose."

"Shit."

"I guess it must of caught scent of our camp or maybe our tracks?"

"Not much we can do about it now. We'll have to deal with it."

The two sped up their pace and looked for a spot where they could gain an advantage finding it after a while Amil nodded and indicated that this would be the place for the ambush, the wind was blowing away from where their pusuier was coming and there was a slight incline and the trees that the two of them had just past had been blown down. Amil quickly climbed a tree and readied her bow while Meredith ducked behind a large rocky outcrop spear in hand. 

When the stalker moved into the clear Meredith curled her lips and readied to pounce as Amil let loose an arrow, the creature effortlessly dodged out of the way it's long claw fingers faned out, its red eyes focused on where the arrow had come from and its pointy black ears twitched. It moved like a macarbre marrionette towards the tree line as Meredith dashed from her hiding spot and silently closed the ground with the monster in a blink of the eye, it looked in her direction and grinned as it batted away another arrow efforltessly.

"Well there little bitch," The mocking tone of Primela as it also dodged the first jab of the spear.

"I thought it would be you." Meredith danced back and then thrust foward aiming for Primela's thigh.

"Time to settle our score." Primela leapt over Meredith effortlessly.

"At long last." Meredith spun the spear in an elegant arch her body following it like a fine ballet.

"Did i ever mention that everything about you made me sick?" Primela slashed out at Meredith claws barely missing her as she leant back out of the way.

"You imagined I cared?" Meredith flung the spear as though it had been fired from a ballister and followed up with her now drawn short sword and stilleto. 

"grr" The shadowy figure of Primela barely dodged the spear and then almost stumbled as the sword danced back and forth infront of her, she lashed out with her claws again.

"Tsch" Meredith grimaced at the sound of metal slashing stone and sparks as Meredith's short sword slashed Primela's claws. 

"Hah!" Primela raised her right hand claws to bring them down when an arrow from above hit Primela squarly in the neck followed by Meredith thrusting her stilleto into Primela's chest cavety and darting back. Black blood began to ooze from the wound and Primela broke off the arrow shaft and looked at Meredith who grinned back at her.

"Ready to die again?"

"Snivling little sow!" Primela launched into a frenzied attack as Meredith batted away one attack after another none looked like the risked breaching Meredith's defences as another arrow hit Primela in the back.

"Just hurry up and die you withered old husk of hate." Meredith counter attacked her blade hacking into Primela who flayed her arms about wildly under the vicious onslaught. Primela stumbled and rolled onto her back, Meredith leapt onto her chest and with a maniacle grin brought the stilleto down again and again while Primela let out squeels and shrieks of pain and confusion. 

"Probably dead by now." Amil said after a few minutes, she was stood next to Meredith who lent back and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Old friend?" Amil proded the strange demonic looking puppet with her bow.

"You could say that." Meredith stood up and cleaned off her blades, Amil watched her quietly.

The two returned to their mission.

A few days later they began to see an increasing number of crows in the sky and the forest had come to an end and  they had made their way up a set of hills when they'd heard the sounds of an army on the march. They decided to set up cover and watched the fields as the mostrous host first came into view their ranks went on as far as the eye could see and Meredith felt her heart sink as rank after rank after rank filed forward and these didn't look like the shambling corpses they'd been seeing, these were highly ordered and armoured. 

"I guess this is the army of their god." Meredith rested her chin on the backs of her hands and counted to herself. There were massive mosnters matching the description that Erek and Primela had given of the mountains of meat, there were huge winged beasts, all kinds of terrifying monstrosities built from flesh and bone. Loud drums rang out to command the march a constant thundering rhythm.

"By the hells!" Amil exclaimed eyes almost bulging at the sight.

"Pretty much." Meredith checked that the cover above her was still there.

"Is that what we face?" Meredith gave Amil a long hard look.

"Yeah, looks like it" She turned back and looked out at the army.

"Can you see the one we are after?" Amil strained.

"Not yet, he'll be closer to the back I suppose." Meredith let out an irritated sigh and checked her pocket.

"Hells, we are doomed." Amil looked ill and downcast.

"I think you're most likely correct." Meredith scrunched up her nose and pulled the dried meat up to her mouth and started to chew.

Amil looked at Meredith who looked back at Amil as though weighing up the situation.

"We have a mission, we either succeed in that mission or we fail, that is all there is to our lives." Meredith chewed.

"Do you think it ever ends?" Amil asked as yet more ranks came into view.

Meredith didn't answer she just watched. 

"Tsch, there they are." The drummers came into view, they were huge fat beasts macarbe mockeries of men made of patch work sat atop huge eight legged beasts among them a small group of the most bizarre servents clustered around an ornate wagon pulled by slaves. 

"I can't see them"

"Woe to human eyesight." The suns were setting over the horizon.

"Do you think they'll set up camp?"

"Now there's a question, when I first encountered them they only moved at night, then they seemed to shamble about aimlessly during the day, now they march in ordred ranks. The hells knows."

"What should we do?"

"Eat the rest of our food. We wont be needing any come sun up." Amil looked at Meredith who was staring at the army intently and frowned.

They stayed on the hill and watched as the sun set the front of the Army had started coming to a halt and for the most part seemed to stand where it was. Torches weren't lit, fires weren't raised, if you hadn't of given adequate attention to the seen you likely wouldn't have noticed the army at all. Close to the back though a fire was lit and it in turn lit up the caravan.

"They don't seem to have set up any pickets?"

"I suppose they assume that they wont need them, I think it's safe to say they can see in the dark."

"Then why stop?"

"Maybe they can't see well enough to be sure they wont lose troops in the forest. Flacidious being too human maybe, he always was a bit too compasionate"

"Why light the fire?"

"Food, from what I've seen the intelligent ones keep their mortal appetites, well their appetites I'd say are increased and show me a mortal that doesn't like a good meal."

"I suppose." 

"We should formulate our plans." Meredith rolled next to Amil, by mid night they were ready to activate their plan, Meredith would create a spell to hide their aura's from the dead so that they seemed to be lifeless as well and then they'd simply walk to the command tent and stab flacidious to death. 

"Simple, do you think it will work?" Amil asked.

"No, but it's as good a plan as we can get so let us get to it." Meredith smiled and Amil nodded and looked out over the vast army. Meredith closed her eyes and began creating the magic needed to cloak them both her quiet muttering and tracing of invisible patterns with her fingers carried on for almost an hour before she placed a hand on Amil's shoulder and took her hand away. 

"Done." Meredith let out a little huff and wiggled her fingers/

"Really?" Amil didn't look to sure.

"Probably. Let's go see." Meredith shrugged and headed down the hill.

As they neared the army Amil looked to slow down but Meredith walked as bold as brass forcing Amil to skip a bit to keep up. They both kept their mouths shut and a metal clad guard turned to look in there direction and Meredith kept walking towards them, the soldier turned back to face forwards as though she was supposed to be there and she smiled and carried on her swift walk looking back a moment and nodded at Amil who joined her. The two continued past rank after rank of soldiers, the place smelt of rancid meat occasionaly they would see a maggot drop from between a join in the armour or an eye hole but they looked away and continued towards their target. 

The fire made it easy to stay on course and within a half hour of walking they could see the ornate wagon, the giant beasts with their mamoth drums and mountains of beastial flesh that they rode. 

"I thought I smelt something sweet." Meredith's head jolted towards the voice to see the strangely monstrous Long stood their staring at her and Amil.

"What's this, have you bought us a gift?" Long asked looking at Amil.

"Something delicious to gain your seat?" He paced forward.

"You didn't have to, your place is guaranteed unless of course I slice your pretty head from your shoulders" 

"I don't have time for you Long, she'll play with you." Meredith pointed at Amil who looked both confused and concerned at the turn of events, Long looked at Amil and back at Meredith.

"My target is Flacidious. You deal with Long" Meredith turned her back and walked towards the wagon. Long roared and leapt after her but Amil jumped in the way batting his scyth like arm away. 

"Want to die first then?" Long asked as Amil sliced at him. 

"Very well, I'll oblige you."