《The Dark Moon》 1 - Dawn of Madness The Dark Moon, Dawn of Madness ¡°One last time as thy Self before Madness shall take me. One is the Other and the Other is none. One last time as Lord before Madness will take me. This is merely one another Death and Birth. One Last Time as Living before Madness takes me. All can once but after no more. One Time more before I leave. When Madness rules, all are Servant.¡± -- Ramblings of the New Lord. ¡°Hold!¡± Over the sounds of blades clashing and men falling, I could hear my sergeant. He has said it so many times that he continued even if our unit was mostly dead. All who did hear just went on with slowly stepping backwards through the mud, past our fallen friends, towards the black of night. As I had my last two beside me, I looked into the eyes of those lost by Madness. They don¡¯t feel pain or love as I had seen them kill loved ones. They do die though, same as us. ¡°Yorn! How do you fare?¡± ¡°Same as when we started. Tired and cold!¡± ¡°HA and a liar as well¡± my good friend Vera added. ¡°He had pissed his pants not one hour ago!¡± Parrying another slash before bashing the enemy soldier with my shield, I could take another breath before he would attack again. ¡°Yorn, I speak for all of us that I hope the women may forgive your act of manliness. Not to mention Solhok, god of war¡± Taking a step back so the mad one¡¯s blow would fall short, I stepped back in to hold his blade in place with my shield and then slicing at its eyes. It remained silent but fell back in its blindness. Making sure not to leave my comrades side, I went to it and cut his throat. Nearly stumbling as another one got to me, I immediately fell back in line. Its spear seemed to nearly pierce my shield as I brought it up. ¡°Guys! Anyone see another shield?¡± ¡°Anyone see a corpse?¡± A man I briefly got to know a few days prior quipped. ¡°If you offer yourself, I¡¯m game¡± I shot back. ¡°With all these mad ones nearby? Not bloody likely¡± As the man in front of me once more tried to stab me with its spear, I got my shield higher before pushing the spear through it. Letting go of the shield, the mad one before me did the same with his spear. Coming at me with only his teeth and nails, I put him down with ease. ¡°I really need one now!¡± ¡°I have one with a shield here¡± I could hear a soldier in my unit say. Before another one managed to engage me, I slipped behind the others and had a greenhorn fill in. She should be able to handle for as long as I would need to get a new shield. Making way through the men, ducking a few weapons here and there, I made it to my ally. Mad ones with a shield are a rarity since they don¡¯t care much for their protection and a shield only hinders them. The ones that do have it though are a real pain though. ¡°Now!¡± When she heard that she fell back and through the gap in the ranks came a man with a shield. Immediately charging through at him, I got him from behind. As he tried to hit me, the woman came forth again and split open his head. ¡°Thanks¡± ¡°My pleasure. The name is Annessa¡± ¡°Sarmin. You new?¡± ¡°Two weeks ago yeah¡± ¡°Quite skilled for that short a time then. May your shield stay strong!¡± ¡°And your sword strike blood!¡± she answered as she got back into the fray. It took only ten minutes to get to her and the same to get back but my replacement had already fallen. A few other conscripts were holding back the tide but as I came back, I saw one of them get his throat ripped out. Jumping into the mass, I held them back as the other soldiers took a few more steps back for me. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The greenhorn¡¯s sword came stuck in one of those things¡¯ shoulders. It then came close and savaged her. Nothing we could do¡± Vera said next to me. ¡°What a waste. I still remember my first battle. No such things as mad ones or sorcerers then¡± commented Yorn. ¡°Attention!¡± a man next to him said. Weirdly enough it coincided with an arrow striking the top of my shield. I had nearly brought it down too. ¡°That¡¯s a close one Sar¡± ¡°Do what the old man says and pay attention to your own fights!¡± I told Yorn. ¡°Old he says!¡± The man from before said. Then as I got ready for a approaching mad one, it suddenly stopped and horns could be heard in the distance. ¡°They are retreating!¡± I shouted ¡°That¡¯s a new one. Wasn¡¯t even like they were losing though¡± I could hear Vera mumble next to me. ¡°Stay on guard!¡± We could hear the sergeant yell from the back. That¡¯s also when we felt the explosions. ¡°Sorcerers!¡± A man shouted in the distance. ¡°God damn magic!¡± I could hear Yorn say. Then it happened to us. I was hurled into the air towards my right together with Vera who was closer to it than I. More than a dozen were thrown away, several dead and with many more wounded. I tried to stand up but immediately fell down again. ¡±Agh! My side!¡± ¡°Sarmin! Where are you?¡± I could Yorn faintly yell in the background. Next to my stomach was a whole chunk of flesh missing and I had burn wounds all over me. It had been close but once more have I survived by the tip of my shield. ¡°Here!¡± I heard someone rushing over to me but I couldn¡¯t concentrate over the thundering. The man from before helped me up while Yorn was carrying Vera. ¡°Its fine, I can stand¡± I said through clenched teeth. ¡°We must hurry, I can hear cavalry coming. The battle is lost¡± The man said. ¡°The name is Sarmin¡± ¡°Passal, bloodless abyss company¡± ¡°Leave your sword behind, Sar. I have mine and Vera¡¯s blade with me¡± Yorn told me as I looked around me for my blade while my new shield had already broken. We got past near the camps when we heard the short screams over the chaos and explosions. The enemy cavalry had arrived. We saw men clad in rusted mail and a worn and torn tabards ride into any surviving groups of soldiers. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.A man nearby to us got a lance pierced through his chest and then slumped down on the ground. The rider who did this let go of the lance and drew his sword before charging at us. ¡°Hurry up!¡± Passal shouted as he took out his great sword. Yet before the rider reached the old man, its horse stumbled over a hidden corpse under the mud and fell. Passal quickly sprinted over to the horse and ran its rider through. This however made him fall behind as we passed the forest line. ¡°Yorn, you can rest now. We made it¡± Yorn put Vera down next to a tree before going back. ¡°Yorn, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Passal hasn¡¯t arrived yet¡± ¡°Shit¡± I try to run back to the field of the battle but I collapse out of pain when I reach the forest line. I managed to sit up so that I saw Yorn running towards Passal. He is in the field clutching his leg, hobbling towards us as his knee got hit by an arrow. Yorn tried to reach him but a rider got to Passal first. Swooping down with his axe, he cut through Passal¡¯s his shoulder but it got stuck. Yorn stopped short as the rider got down from his horse. ¡°Yorn! Help me! Don¡¯t le¡­ Aaaaagh!¡± Passal cried as the rider removed his axe from the bone it was lodged in. Then he used it remove Passal¡¯s head. ¡°No, you bastard!¡± Yorn yelled in rage. ¡°Yorn! We have to go! He is gone!¡± ¡°But that sanity forsaken mad one isn¡¯t!¡± ¡°We can still leave. Don¡¯t drag us down with you my friend¡± I stood up and got Yorn with me before the rider got back on his horse. That one just looked upon us the entire time. Making our way through the foliage with the whole white moon as our guide, we returned to Vera who looked to be unconscious. After treating her gash on her head and broken leg as best as we could, Yorn picked her up as I was in no state to do so. We walked away from our fallen army towards the moon for what was probably hours. We only stopped when my side hurt too much for me continue walking and breathing was also getting troublesome. ¡°Yorn, I think we have to rest here. I can¡¯t go on for much longer and you must be getting tired carrying Vera for this long¡± ¡°We have to find shelter though. Fine, lets sleep here but come dawn we will have to go again. If anything is pursuing us, we most likely have a big enough lead. This forest is too thick for horses¡± with a ploff Yorn sat after he put Vera down. She still hasn¡¯t awoken but with that leg, it won¡¯t change anything. ¡°Sar, I doubt we can keep a watch and you can forget a fire. Sleep well.¡± ¡°You too¡± I said before immediately fell asleep due to the exhaustion that was even greater than my pain. Yorn woke me up just before dawn. He certainly looks better but my dreams prevented me to be the same. They brought me back to before the New Lord came to be. How different my life was then. My twenty-five year old self was a mere guardsman, unlikely to every see battle in a prosperous city deep within our kingdom far away from the front lines. I had a wife and a son and daughter before they conscripted me into this all. Before Roth burned down. ¡°How does Vera look?¡± I asked Yorn as we got the few things we still had together. ¡°She seems paler to me. Most likely hungry too¡± ¡°How can she look hungry?¡± ¡°I have always said that I see myself in her didn¡¯t I?¡± He answered. ¡°Smart ass¡± ¡°Certainly smarter than yours¡± ¡°Oh shut up¡± Picking Vera up, Yorn and I set too walking once more. A few hours later we rested and ate whatever we could forage. ¡°You know, I think I¡¯m going to stay in the first village we come across. I can already see me being a ferocious and heroic guardsman and the New Lord be damned if he wants that village too¡± Yorn said between handfuls of berries. ¡°Good plan but you seem to be confusing a guardsman with a dog. Just guarding something is entirely different, not to mention your questionable manliness for the role. Trust me on both of these if you will¡± I grumbled while trying to start a fire. Seeing that the wood was too wet I gave up. ¡°You could try to be a wife though. Handy for washing those pants of yours¡± ¡°As if you weren¡¯t scared then¡± ¡°Friend, I have survived marriage and believe me when I say I got one of the betters ones. Nothing can make you piss your pants after that¡± ¡°Guess that means you must be full of shit then¡± ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re such a smart ass¡± ¡°Ironic coming from you¡± After that we finished up and went on since staying here would be pointless and potentially dangerous. It took us a few hours to stumble upon a cave. It had become more hilly the further we continued on. There were hill both to the south and north of where to battle was so this didn¡¯t tell us anything but if we are going north towards the New Lord then we are in trouble. No such evidence yet though. ¡°Look, a cave. Finally and it¡¯s nearly dark too. The gods really are smiling down on us¡± Yorn said when he saw the cave. He gently put Vera down in the back of the cave and laid his cloak over her. I myself sat down too. I was very tired and didn¡¯t feel quite well even if you left out my wounds. Yorn however got up again and walked to the entrance of the medium sized cave. ¡°Sar, I am going to gather some firewood and if it suits me maybe try to make you a bow. Can¡¯t have me running beasts through on my own and you may forget me hunting with my sword¡± ¡°More like running after them with a sword. Whatever, I don¡¯t feel too well. I¡¯m going to sleep¡± I mumbled while slowly nodding off. ¡°I will be back before night. I don¡¯t think we will need a watcher now so feel free¡± Yorn said to deaf ears, as I was already asleep. Yorn smiled as he looked upon Sarmin. ¡°Have a good night my friend¡± he said and then went out of the cave under the white moon¡¯s light. If Sarmin had looked up, he would have been able to see a speck of black on it.
This is a side book I am working on. I will try to write this one differently than my other one as to get my writing skill up to my wishes. 2 - Respite of Madness The Dark Moon, Respite of Madness ¡°At the village wells, you can hear the bells. From mountain skies you could hear their cries. Those in the army could only deny as they felt their loved ones die. They that were there had gone when he had come. For the New lord came with sword and flame. Roth was burned and lost forever.¡± ¨C voice of a Herald ¡°Daddy! Wait for me!¡± Said Yllane after which she latched on to me. ¡°Honey, I really have to go now. Papa¡¯s friends are going out on a patrol and they are waiting for me. Let go of me and I will tell you all about it tonight together with Armin¡± I told her while trying to untangle her arms from me. ¡°But mommy says its dangerous¡± ¡°How can anything be dangerous for your daddy? I actually think they are more scared of me¡± ¡°Why are you scared of mommy sometimes then?¡± ¡°Hehehe, because if I¡¯m not careful then she would eat you, my darlings!¡± Tickling her as I say this, I finally get her off me. Now I quickly have to get to the door before she tries it again and after I reached it, I waved her off. ¡°Bye my little darling!¡± ¡°Bye daddy!¡± And then I closed the door. I made my way to the west gate where the other guardsmen should have gathered by now. Extra patrols have been organized as mad ones have started showing up. ¡°Sarmin, you¡¯re late. If it wasn¡¯t that everyone didn¡¯t want to go we would have left without you. That would have been three days in the stocks? More maybe?¡± said the leader of the patrol. His name was Gwilherm and if he hadn¡¯t have more money than he is useless, I would have told him to shove it up there. Ironically enough, those two are the reasons he is still only a captain. ¡°Whatever, you don¡¯t seem to have suffered from it¡± ¡°No, but some people might have. A previous patrol had gotten engaged with a group of mad ones. Some fled when the guards didn''t start dropping. The patrol left it to us to find those as their duty was finished, bastards¡± ¡°Smart ones too. Mad ones only flee if there are more of them to return too. Otherwise they would just fight until their deaths¡± said an old buddy of mine, Jirmus. ¡°And we aren¡¯t given any reinforcements?¡± I asked the captain. ¡°Don¡¯t think it will be necessary. With me we will go clean and easy¡± Add arrogant to his pile of shortcomings. ¡°Guess that means Gwilherm is our vanguard today boys!¡± Jirmus shouted over his shoulder. Leaving a bewildered Gwilherm behind and many more smiling men in front, we set out through the west gate of Roth. Slowly my mind woke up. I look around me to see the cave. Taking a deep breath I bite through the pain as I sit up. Waiting for my mind to clear I look over at Vera. She twists and turns with an occasional grunt as she moves her broken leg. Her leg was starting to look bad though. I could see it starting to look red and swollen from where I was sitting. Seemed like an infection to me but it should still be preventable at this stage. Getting up, I went outside to see if Yorn was there. What I did find was a decent pile of still wet wood left out in the sun to dry. Carefully walking to the front of the cave, I tried to make a fire pit. My injury made it much harder but I still managed in the end. After having a look at my side, which looks worse if anything, I returned to inside the cave and went to rest next to Vera. I wasn¡¯t asleep when Yorn came back though. ¡°Nice pile outside. Awfully wet though¡± ¡°Good morning. I would have liked to see you find something better Sar¡± ¡°I am injured if you had forgotten¡± ¡°And the same for me. I can only count to 7 fingers now¡± ¡°At least you can count. I have known many dogs who can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what you have against guardsmen but it seems like the best idea for me¡± Yorn said to his defence. ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, nothing wrong with guard dogs. But lets say we were to stumble across the city of Lorthen, would that also be fine?¡± I asked him. ¡°As long as they have maidens galore. Anyway, the only reason I came to see your ugly mug was to tell you I found a river nearby. If you leave the cave, go west and then follow the dawn sun. That¡¯s how I came there at least¡± He told me before going outside again. Stretching myself, I followed him. ¡°Should we scout for nearby settlements or just accommodate the cave some more? I would suggest that we¡¯d scout but with Vera and me injured like this, we can¡¯t have any one person leave for a long time. Not to mention we should be wary for any nearby mad ones¡± I told Yorn. ¡°It would be nice to have something to return to if there was indeed nothing nearby but we should always be able to follow the river¡± He mumbled to himself. ¡°Vera is also showing the early signs of an infection¡± ¡°What? Damn. Guess we have to try to get rid of that before it really sets in. Worst case we have to remove her leg with a sword¡± ¡°Yorn, have you by any chance refilled your canteen?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Here¡± Handing it over to me, I take a big gulp. ¡°Thank you. What would you say any about going over to the river to refill the other canteens?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have only just returned from there¡± Yorn complained to me. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.¡°It will be a good opportunity to set a few traps too. If the army taught me anything, it was how to get your food through any means necessary¡± After making sure Vera was still unconscious, we went west where we will rest. Following game trails and going around bushes and trees when there weren''t any, we came to the river. I dunk my head in the water and took a few gulps. ¡°Aaaaaah, that was refreshing. Hand me the canteens¡± As I refilled them, I had a quick look around. Yorn took a seat next to me as I worked. ¡°You see that?¡± He pointed at something. ¡°Those are wolf tracks and a few deer as well. I wouldn¡¯t doubt that if we placed a few snares further off, we could get some hares¡± I took a good look at what he was pointing. ¡°Seems like just deer to me¡± ¡°No, there at the uneven ground is where they drink. Seems to be quite a lot of them too¡± ¡°You do have your sword with you, right?¡± I nervously asked him. ¡°Never left it¡± With a nod I stood up and looked for a suitable place for a snare. When I did finally find some suitable spot, the sun had gone down considerably. ¡°Hey, Sar. Look at this¡± Yorn shouted when he noticed me. He held a long stick in his hand and had a few arrows without fletching next to him. ¡±A bow?¡± I guessed. ¡°What else you dimwit. Its for you as I need a few more fingers for it otherwise. I need to dry the cord right now before I can finish it but that will take a few days at most.¡± ¡°Then you won¡¯t have to come to my aid anymore when I need a manly saviour! Thank you¡± Yorn suddenly got into a coughing fit at the mention of his manliness. ¡°Yeah, sure. You¡¯re welcome¡± Grinning ear to ear I went ahead on the route we took to get here. ¡°Wait, take the bow already. You can then either use it as a weak quarterstaff or just carry it for the moment. Least you can do¡± Accepting the unfinished bow with a grunt, I continued on. Yorn was behind me when we heard some rustling. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± bringing my voice to a whisper I turned to Yorn. ¡°Seems to come from next to y¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence before I got tackled. ¡°Shit¡± As I looked into the eyes of the mad one before me, the lingering fear of a horrible death returned. I hadn¡¯t even noticed it was gone before I looked into its eyes. Then funnily enough, it scratched my left one not a moment later. Submersing the fear, I began to frantically kick the thing to get it off me. A good few solid hits later I finally manage to get it away from me. Seeing the unfinished bow beside me, I grabbed it and smacked it across the mad one¡¯s face. Slightly stunned I nearly managed to get up when I hear one behind me. Jumping away from both of them, I accidently let go of the bow. ¡°Shit. What do I have?¡± Giving a quick glance at my equipment, I see that my favourite knife hasn¡¯t fallen out yet. The others have though. Taking a look at my opponents, only the one that came at me from behind had a weapon. The first one looked like an ordinary peasant except for its tattered clothing and pure black eyes. Seems like whatever those sorcerers have done is either spreading to some villages or the poor sod was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I really don¡¯t know what''s happening up in the north. The one with the axe had clearly been a soldier before. With only a knife in that regard, I ran. I tried to do that in a circle so that I could get to Yorn, who no doubt had some fighting him. Obviously, with a few mad ones on my tail, I didn¡¯t do a perfect one. I smacked right into one. It didn¡¯t fall but its weapon and shield were rendered useless. Yorn taking advantage of this ran his blade through the things eye, killing it. Taking its sword, I took up position next to Yorn. ¡°I had two of them following me¡± ¡°At least the one with the shield is dead¡± Yorn commented. ¡°Incoming!¡± I yelled before dodging the charge of the unarmed mad one. ¡°I will take the peasant one¡± ¡°Want to swap otherwise?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not going to die just yet¡± I told him. ¡°Engaged!¡± I heard Yorn shout in tune with a clang. It¡¯s rather hard to keep something that doesn¡¯t care for hurt away from you. The only reliable way is to further hurt it. Taking the unarmed mad one¡¯s fingers off as she tried to scratch me, I kicked it away from me for further distance. However, from my peripheral vision, I saw a blade coming at me. I can¡¯t dodge this one because then Yorn could get hit. Taking the blow blade on, I nearly fell due to pain in my side. As it was, he only shield bashed me head first. For what seemed like the longest time, I could only see white. Then black spots appeared all over my left eye and I lost coherency. My sense and vision only returned when I saw the mad one¡¯s body fall. Nearly crumbling on the ground in exhaustion, the unarmed mad one looked at me. Then it ran. Hearing a wet slice and something splashing on my neck, Yorn spoke to me. ¡°Another one with a shield? Damned unlucky. Amazing you managed it by yourself. Doesn¡¯t look like a peasant though¡± ¡°No the mad peasant fled¡± I told him among whispered breaths. ¡°Fled? I didn¡¯t know they did that¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they only do that when there are more to return to¡± The last word I heard him say was ¡®shit¡¯ before I collapsed. I could faintly sense being carried but most of it was beyond me. 3 - Fear of Madness The Black Moon, Fear of Madness ¡°He cleaned his blade but not the rivers. He left no foes but brought no allies. They can bear the load but are crushed nonetheless. They would fear for their lives if they thought it still there. One army may live but the lone man dies¡± ¨C The life of an new soldier, Phirrin I woke up in a dark cave. The silence was all encompassing. I tried to stand up but I immediately collapsed. Breathing heavily, some sound started to return. Ragged breaths could be heard to the right of me and foot steps to the left. Tiny specks of light started to appear in my vision until my eyes were restored. Vera was lying on her back further in the cave while I appeared to be near the entrance. The footsteps must have been from Yorn, who was building something outside. As I once more try to stand up, I accidentally let out a cry. ¡°Aaaagh!¡± Yorn looked at me before rushing over. ¡°Idiot, be careful. I am not going to lose you, else I might go mad in solitude¡± ¡°Why would I ever want to leave. You two are the only ones left,¡± I said with clenched teeth. Vera and Yorn really are the last people I know so I would never leave them. After the pain subsided, Yorn helped me over to the fire that was burning on this cold autumn day. ¡°Yorn, what happened? I can remember having to face a mad one with a shield but further than that it is merely black¡± ¡°To tell you the truth, the only thing I was paying attention to was not getting killed. The mad one really was ferocious. Most likely, I only live now because it suddenly stopped at the end. I killed him before he could continue of course, but it was a close call non the less. I only noticed you when I heard your weapon fall and boy did it scare me¡± Yorn said to me. ¡°Not really helpful but how did I get here then?¡± I asked him. ¡°Well, when I asked you where that former peasant¡¯s corpse was as I couldn¡¯t see it, you started to speak some gibberish and then mumbled about how it had fled. Are you sure that it means there are more though?¡± ¡°Yes, back when I was a guard, we once had to track down some mad ones that ran. One of the veteran guards knew that it meant that but we didn¡¯t really pay any attention to it other than complain. We didn¡¯t find them so we returned home but on the way a group of them that was larger than ours ambushed us. If not for our captain¡¯s sacrifice, many more than just the five would have died¡± ¡°Hearing you say that may change my plans as a guardsman¡­ not to mention that it may come to kill us here¡± ¡°No, Yorn. Don¡¯t give up on your dream, even if it¡¯s a shitty one¡± I jokingly told him to lighten up the mood. ¡°We have killed too many of them to be afraid. We will survive¡± ¡°Ha, with Vera unconscious and you injured, I would like to see my poor self stand up to them with only said person¡± He hysterically said. ¡°Calm down Yorn. Thinking like that leads to fear and madness¡± ¡°Good for you to say, but you most likely will be able to get away as they rend me to pieces. I don¡¯t know about you, but I have seen what they do to captured people. First they scratch of your skin and then make you eat it to fatten you. Then¡­ I¡¯m sorry but I think I need a moment alone¡± With a sudden silence he stood up and left. It looked like he really was riding on that I was delusional back there. After Yorn left towards the trees, I took a look around the entrance of the cave. Yorn seems to have been able to construct a small, unfinished canopy where our firewood is presently. He was placing the leaves on its roof when I interrupted. With a grunt, I stood up and went over to the pile. Spacing them out on its slanted top I worked quietly for about an hour, while also having to collect more sticks or branches with leaves when it either wasn¡¯t strong enough or I had found an uncovered spot. Finishing up, I went back to the smouldering fire only to hear a coughing fit from in the cave. Carefully making my way to where Vera was, I pulled out my canteen and put it to her lips.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Thank you¡± came out a forced whisper. ¡°Vera. Thank the gods that you are conscious. We feared you would die before we got to speak with you again¡± ¡°What happened?¡± she asked between ragged breaths. ¡°I don¡¯t remember coming here¡± ¡°You remember the battle?¡± I waited for a slow shaking nod from her before continuing. ¡°The sorcerers completely turned the tide of the field. I am sure we would have managed another day before one rank breaking but those bastards doomed all of us. An explosion took our rank out. The survivors were run down by cavalry and further beset by magic. We only survived because of our low numbers and even then we lost Yorn¡¯s friend. Yet none of us left unscathed, you least of all¡± I told her with the brief explanation. Like she wanted to know the hunger we felt as we walked for hours looking for the safest bit of shelter. Trying to ignore the pain and hopelessness. She has enough with all this than to have to know about the fear we felt each time as the dark came forth. The madness. ¡°Damn¡± when she closed her eyes, she looked like a corpse. ¡°What do we have left then¡­?¡± She mumbled as her mind faded away once more. ¡°Each other¡± I told us both but only I ever heard it. Making her eat some berries and wild carrots before leaving the cave, I cleaned my bandages before going over my equipment. My tent and other belongings were still at camp. Since the mad ones wouldn¡¯t rummage through them all, except walk over a few and their binders and sorcerers wouldn''t bother with the belongings of a lowly foot soldier, I think we will be able to collect a few items there when we are all healed up amongst the rumble. What I did have with me was the string for the bow I lost, we will have to find it soon. Furthermore I also had a few arrows that Yorn had made today, one remaining knife, a very damaged common Histern armour and a pack that had a few bits and bobs we needed on the field like flint and steel, a canteen and a blanket for if we couldn¡¯t make it back to our tents that day. We obviously didn¡¯t but I am still thankful we brought them with us. After going over the other¡¯s gear that was present, I also cleaned Vera¡¯s blade as otherwise I would be defenceless since Yornhad takenhis sword with him when he left. He will return soon but I don¡¯t know when, as he seemed pretty distraught. I could do nothing but wait for him, so I set to making myself useful. I tried to replicate what Yorn had made but I did change a few things that I thought would make it better and as the sunlight lessened, I lighted a fire. The canopy was nearly finished except for the roof when I heard wolfs baying in the distance. Just to be safe, I placed a few extralogs on the fire, to keep it strong. The sun was entirely gone now and the moon had come up. With Vera¡¯s blade in hand, I stood guard near the fire, watching the trees for any signs of wolf. Then, in the moonlight, I thought I saw something move. ¡°What is there? Answer me Yorn, dammit!¡± I shouted as the shape swayed in the light. From the darks of the forest a white woman came forth with pitch black eyes. Her face was gaunt with tears seemingly coming out ofthe void in her eyes. As she held her face up, she came towards me with her hands reached out. ¡°No¡­ Ylla. Gods don¡¯t do this to me. You can¡¯t still be here Ylla, don¡¯t break me again. Please Ylla¡­¡± I hysterically said as I nearly broke down into tears. ¡°The dead are gone. The dead don¡¯t walk. The dead don¡¯t talk. The dead are gone¡± I keep chanting to myself as she came closer step by step. I brought my blade up to meet her once more. Then when she stepped into the fire¡¯s light, she was gone. From where her silhouette once was, a black wolf sprung forth. Coming out of my stupor, I immediately fell away from the wolf. Getting up, I had my blade just in time in place to prevent the wolf getting to my throat. As the wolf bit unto Vera¡¯s sword, I pulledon it throughthe wolf¡¯s mouth and kicked the cursed thing into the fire. With a yelp, it thrashed around before finally getting out of it with a bleeding mouth and burnt side. It then ran away from me. As I got back to my previous place with a god damned hurting side and head, not to mention distraught, I started to hearmore rustles in the trees as soon more eyes appeared in the shadows. ¡°Yorn, where the hell are you. Get away you beasts! You will find no food here!¡± I managed to get out between deep painful breaths. They remained there for what seemed like hours with only the fire andthe occasional thunder showing their eyes and indicating their presence but eventually they all suddenly left at the same time, as if something else got their attention. I was most likely a buck or a mad one. With my exhausted mind, I remained there until dawn, whereby I fell asleep next to the dead fire. I only woke up when it started to rain a few hours later. At least it wasn¡¯t snowing yet. Slowly getting up, carefully moving with my reopened injuries, I went over to Vera. I tried waking her up but shake as I could, she wouldn¡¯t wake. I did put the canteen to her lips but there were only a few drops left in it. We really needed something bigger that can hold water than a mere canteen. I remember a few basic structures that could help us which are also quite easy to make. I don¡¯t know how to make a pot though, so I would have to experiment with that. As I left the cave, exhaustion once more set in but I couldn¡¯t sleep now. I had¡­ Too much to do. Yeah, too much to do, that¡¯s all. I stumble from there on to the edge of the trees. I collected some nettles, what yucca and even a few flowers for their fibers. My father taught me how to make cordage so that I could be somewhat useful in my youth. While it should be a great skill to have now, it hardly made any difference then. I then sat making cords and strings for some time until I once more fell asleep. I woke up shaking and covered in sweat. The horrors of the dreams were dispelled and I ignored its visions. These dreams were not new to me but seeing her¡­ She shouldn¡¯t have been there, that¡¯s all. I got up and though the rain had long since stopped, the dark clouds were still present overhead with thunder and its flashes appearing every so often. Yorn still wasn¡¯t back, even after a full day. I know that he is a competent swords man and a pain in the ass sometimes but with a few fingers less I really got worried then. With some pain, I picked up the piles of wood I still had and tried to obscure the cave entrance as much as I could. Even if Yorn or I weren¡¯t here, I would have to protect Vera. Even more so, just imagine how they would have killed her if I hadn¡¯t been there last night. I left Vera¡¯s sword here as I would only be gone for an hour at most and I doubt that I would get attacked in that time. Yorn can¡¯t be that far and if Vera woke up, she might want to have a weapon nearby. I set out into the darkening woods with my knife and an unlighted torch. I never really minded the shadows and the blackness is actually quite comfortable. Yet always hold your guard, as you¡¯re not the only monster to stalk the darkness.
Just want to say that this isn''t my main fiction that I am writing so I won''t be too weird if a chapter doesn''t come out for some time. You can expect at least 1 per week and especially if there has just been one for Crowns. Hope you enjoyed! 4 - Night of Madness The Dark Moon,Night of Madness ¡°Through mountains high and the rivers low, Death came upon the darkest tide. Over oceans and within tombs long forgotten, Screams of tortured ones filled with dread assault the ears of those not dead. With wonders terrible and greatness feared, The new one devours man whole. Bearing broken hearts or minds, Armies fight themselves. Until the sacrifice is complete, The world will drink our Blood.¡± - From the book of Pyrian Through the dark among the trees, a man ran with confidence. Past the shadows of monsters, a man walks in doubt. Under the blackendmoon, a man stands surrounded by fear. Where trees once were, now the abyss stays still and beasts could sleep. Why would a man even walk in such a wood with the horrors of night? If you had remained near your pitiful light, little man, maybe I wouldn¡¯t come near you. Maybe if your anger and fear weren¡¯t carved onto thy face, I wouldn¡¯t have seen you. Maybe¡­ Maybe if you weren¡¯t burned by madness, I wouldn¡¯t have felt you. But that is what once could have been, not what is. Your fate once more brings you further away from the white of life than I myself ever could take you. Still, whether or not you may hear me, you intrigue me. I hope you survive and continue to amuse me because that¡¯s the best thing left for you. Other than death that is¡­ I don¡¯t know why you remain while your friend who was better suited to your coming role is long gone. Guess it just shows your will and desire to remain nothing. Take my blessing, you pitied man, for where you are going you need safety for your soul. I try to give him a piece of myself like I would my children but something inside of him banishes me. It was not quite the same as me but still powerful nonetheless. It saddens me as I cannot help him like that, maybe I can do him a favour? That should be fine and also put him into my debt like I wanted. Yet through the unknown force within him, he senses me. As I walk beside him, he turns away from me. As I stand before him, he stops. As I leave him, he goes. Riding the wind as the man once more runs, away from the howling wolfs that fear me less. The wolves came near him again but I stopped them. They should know to tremble in my presence as my children once did. The night blocked their way and they changed their path. Once more they came to a halt but this time true horrors came for them. I respect them but they simply can¡¯t have the man yet. Maybe when he¡¯s lost? No... Then he will be mine of course. If I could smile then I would but instead the forest shined in the dark light. Sarmin¡­ I don¡¯t know if this was the best thing I couldhave done, as there is something around me and I doubt that it wouldn¡¯t eat me. I shouldn¡¯t have come looking for Yorn, I am sure that he will be fine. It¡¯s Yorn after all. I had slowed down to a walk at this point and then even stopped. I could only imagine the horrors around me as the darkness hid them from me. I look back once more but then a feeling came over me. It felt like a cold breath blowing in your neck while you know that if you turn around, the ground before you will open up. I walked step after step away from there, away from where I came from, further into the forest. I know that I have to find him, even if he should be able to take care of himself, for he has been gone far too long. The feeling recedes with every forward pace, as did my memory of it, but that never truly left. I wander through the forest in search of Yorn but I didn¡¯t find anything except the earth and plans with the moonlight in front of me, showing all and any paths that there were. I really don¡¯t know where Yorn could have gone to except for the river, so I stopped goingthe way I saw him walking off to and hopefully went in the direction of the river. Worst case, I would sleep in a tree and retrace the footprintsI left behind.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The hunger wasstarting to set in though as I had forgotten to eat and the fears of the darkness weren¡¯t lessening even if they became more bearable. I walked for some time, unmarked by the moon or sun, within these woods until my sight failed me. I stumbled over a root or something that I didn¡¯t see in the pitiful light and my side and leg atoned to it. ¡°Eris damn you¡± I whispered through clenched teeth. Aside from my side flaring up in pain, there was also a cut onmy leg. Slowly standing up again, I try to have a look at what gave me that wound. There, under the root with its end sticking out was a sword. I bend down and remove the mud and roots so I could get to it. Specifically, it was a decent Histern style sword. Weird that one of them could be found here in such good condition. I put it back down on the ground while I brush myself off. I think I had a sheath for one of these myself, most of us in the army had¡­ I don¡¯t know why but I am feeling¡­ a bit dizzy. I¡­ will continue this later. Maybe. With the blade in hand I took a step forward again. ¡°Forget the damn sword, what was that?¡± I mumbled as I heard something rustle in the bushes nearby. Holding my newly acquired blade in the noise¡¯s direction, I continue my way. When it happened again, I nearly shat myself if not that an actual beast jumped out this time. ¡°Solhok damn you¡± I cursed as I only just managed to hold the wolf off by slashing at it. That in turn caused me to stumble and the wolf to dodge past me mid jump. Even though I could hardly see it, I remembered this black beast from last night with its charred fur and now several slashes. A slight rage at what happened last night and before started to overwhelm me. ¡°Come here you bastard. I will kill you Gerran!¡± I shouted at him as I charged. The bastard was as ugly as ever but luckily didn¡¯t even have a weapon. The feral that he was, he bit for my throat which would certainly be fatal. ¡°You won¡¯t beat me this time Gerran!¡± Feeling only anger and no pain, I pierced his throat with my blade and then shook it off from my arm. The pain was starting to return and my arm was blazing with it. I staggered back and somehow managed to extract the blade from the thing and now sits discarded on the ground once again. I picked it up and went to the corpse of the beast. It was a black wolf and somehow seemed familiar but I couldn¡¯t remember where I had seen it before. Wolves could be heard howling in the distance so at first I stumbled away from it and gradually my steps got firmer and faster until I was once again running through the night. I hardly stopped, only when I tripped or hit a tree in my haste. The wolves seemed to be getting closer to me to the point I could hear their deep breaths. Then that started to fade away. I dared not look back for it could be a trick. I felt that this had all gone wrong, I should not have left the fireplace or Vera. Why am I such an idiot when making important decisions! ¡°Yorn! Where are you?¡± I shouted as I finally had given up on remaining unnoticed. All I could do now was outrun whatever beast there would be. ¡°Yorn!¡± I shout with desperation echoing through my voice. ¡°Yorn! Please gods damn you, answer me!¡± was the last thing I could say. The last thing I said before I fell into the raging torrents of the river. I struggled to remain heads up but only a few breaths came in. In the darkness of the night, I sputtered along the river. The current was too great for me to swim in as I could hardly do that in the first place. Not to mention that I had a few heavy items on my person. I was bashed against the rocks, which did my arm, side and even that flimsy wound on my leg no favour but I could hardly protect myself against it. Somewhere along the river I managed to grab a tree branch after a collision with a rock that push me upwards. I grabbed hold of the blade and flung it to the bank. I was a few kilograms lighter already. I didn¡¯t have my pack on me and my knife was somewhere in the river so I could hardly remove those. I still had the unlit torch with me though but in my haste, I had forgotten to bring flint and steel. Not like I had the time to do it the old fashioned way¡­ though I do think I should have taken more time before I left. Maybe never even should have left. All of that is too late now. The branch was starting to break under my weight so I had to hurry up whatever I was going to do next. Having nothing else that I could throw over, I slowly pulled myself up the branch with everything under my waist still being in the water. I tried to pull myself up but at the last moment, my strength failed me. As my body fell down from having pulled myself up a bit, the branch broke and is now only connected to the tree in tethers. So I further floated along the river and gradually lost consciousness. ¡°Mama! Papa is back!¡± My little girl said as she ran back inside. Soon my wife was outside with Yllane at her side and Armin in her arms. Yllane came rushing over to me but I am hardly in the mood to play with her. The patrol endedhorrendously and I fear that I won¡¯t ever forget. That can however be a good thing, something to keep me focussing on why we had to do that. Lying is never the best option though. With a sigh I catch her in my arms and throw her in the air. ¡°Eeeek!¡± She squeals with a laugh. ¡°Oh, did I miss you my little piggy¡± ¡°Mum says you can¡¯t call me a piggy!¡± she says as she tries to get away from me. ¡°No escaping for you my little piggy. You have to expect to get burned in the dragons den¡± After which I set her down. She set of like an arrow and hid herself behind mummy, looking away when I saw her peeking from behind her. I come up to my wife and gave her a relieved embrace. ¡°It has been so long for me. I even feared I would not see you again my love¡± ¡°Hush Sarmin. Not with the kids¡± She said as she put down Armin who had been crushed. ¡°Yll, why don¡¯t you take Ar and go play with him for a bit?¡± ¡°But daddy just came home!¡± I smiled at her apparent love for me, like any parent would. ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days. I will come and play with you too after I talked with mummy okay?¡± I said with a slight laugh. ¡°Okay¡± Yllane dejectedly said as she grabbed hold for little Ar¡¯s hand and practically dragged him with her. That earned her a second laugh for the day from me. My wife took hold of my hand and brought me inside our modest little home. My grandfather built it many years ago and my father and I added to it before he died. We only had a bigger family in recent years. Just being here brought a smile to my wearied face. ¡°What happened?¡± She softly said. I took a moment for reflection before I began. ¡°It went badly wrong. We should have listened to Jirmus and I doubt he can continue guard duty nowwith an eye missing and a mangled foot. We were returning with grumbling stomachs and sore feet but still, we should have been more careful. As we returned at a late hour to the city, we passed the Wasrichs their farm. From behind the fence and among the wheat, the mad ones jumped out and instantly killed Jollum and Weign. As badly prepared as we were, no else were as close to the fields as they were. There must have been nearly two dozens of them but they luckily only came at us from our direct sides. I could only start hacking at them while pushing forward through them. I can hardly remember it but Prian, Kuln and Ferrant must have fallen then as I didn''t see them again after that. We ran then but they managed to catch up. Captain, a dick and a bastard he may be, stayed behind and held them off as long as possible. When we returned with reinforcements from the nearby watchtower, we found his and the Wasrich family behind their house with broken bones, flayed skin and arms and legs ripped to shreds. They even¡­¡± I could not get more out of my throat, which simply refused to give word to my memories, and rested my head in my hands. It could have gone so different¡­ ¡°Take your time honey. I am here for you and I will always be. Don¡¯t you forget that¡± My love said as she embraced me once again. I looked into her beautiful eyes and could only find love there. With her at my side, my nightmares can be put to sleep. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would do without you¡± I told her with smile. 5 - Search of Madness The Dark Moon, Search of Madness ¡°I don¡¯t want to remember what is was that I forgot but then I try and it comes back with rot. I shall go no further searching to remember what to forget but then it always comes back with regret. I seem to forget that I must not remember for sanity lies there not. I can¡¯t remember if I was mad or not. It seems I forgot.¡± ¨C Words of a jester I¡­ am tired. That could sum up my whole being presently. I couldn¡¯t care less for whatever happens if it would not disturb me from this moment of painful bliss. Something hits my head and my tranquil state of mind is shattered into oblivion as I splutter around me. ¡°Agh!¡± Is the first thing I could say as water gushes into my mouth. I opened my eye to see an unknown area just beyond the river. It was more like a beach at the bend of the river. It must have been pure luck that the current slung me here instead of further down the river. I could even have drowned if it had dragged me further. I try to get up but could only take a few steps before falling over in a daze. I am just lying there for the world to kill but I can¡¯t give up, not yet. This time I managed to stay upright when I got back on my feet again but if not for the rock that I lent on nearby, I would have gone down as fast as last time. What was I doing again? Oh yeah, Yorn was missing. But why did I leave? He must be back by now. I did need to find the cave again so I think I should follow the river upstream. The sun started to peak over the trees to shine on me, which meant that it was one meal past already. I will have to hurry to make it back before third meal. I shakily take one step after the other until I could walk with confidence again. Also, I found that I had nothing on me except drenched clothes and even those looked shabby by now. That¡¯s when it hit me, Vera was still at the cave and if not the gods then no one could help her now. Except for me of course but to do that I have to be there real fast. Taking off like a madman, I managed to run for about a kilometre or less following the river before I stumbled out of exhaustion paired with forgotten injuries and nearly fell back into the river. I¡¯m such a fool! Why did I do that? Ugh, it¡¯s just that¡­ I need to save her. Catching my breath, I once more continue on but this time at a more leisure pace, hoping to be able to ignore my leg and other places of arduous pain for some time longer. I don¡¯t really know why I sprinted such in the first place, for it seems mere madness and it was pure luck I hadn¡¯t fallen before when I did. I dare say I must have drifted quite some distance away on the river as the sun is nearly at noon and I haven¡¯t even stumbled upon whatever it had been that I¡¯d thrown onto the bank. It all seems a bit fuzzy when I try to remember, like when I am thinking about Vera and Yorn. I am sure they will be fine anyhow. To make myself useful during this time, I quickly made some twine. It¡¯s very useful to know how to make rope as my father had told me so many times. I can recall my brother and I having to sit there with our father nearby fletching some arrows, only being able to escape when guardsman Barren¡¯s son came by and my brothers withering look as Gerran and I left. Good old forgotten times, I at least remembered how to make those cords but I never stayed long enough to learn father¡¯s art. My brother did become a ranger and I hope he is still alive but how would I ever know right? It is better to not know and hope, than do and despair¡­ I am getting too off topic. So with whatever imitation of rope I could make, I used it to make a crude sack of my undervest in which I placed all the feathers and sharp rocks I could find along my path. No time to learn new stuff like fletching today as that would have me try for ages with only the vaguest idea on what to do. I could also have used my under trousers but that would have made me too cold and I didn¡¯t really need the extra space. I have my pack back at camp after all. At least I am not a savage yet, by which I mean that I have clothes under my amour I am wearing and also know what they are called. Like who wouldn¡¯t in this age. I can also read a bit as a fact, which most people wouldn¡¯t even think of to be able to do. The time went past as slow as the scenery. It took ages before I could even recognise the area a little bit. I saw very little wildlife on my side of the river, which I can only think is due to the mad ones and that heinous wolf pack, while on the opposite side there was movements among the trees every so often. It is said that time passes slowly if you speak with someone and faster if you are merely doing chores.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I think that they should also have considered people talking to themselves but I have personally never seen anyone seriously do so. Yorn was starting to when the battle of vender happened, when the army I served in was annihilated but I didn¡¯t notice anything after we escaped from the slaughter. I continued on for some time but when I suddenly stepped on an old rotten tree trunk, it rolled away and got my injured leg pinned under its new position. ¡°Argh! In the Gods bloody names!¡± It happened in a flash but the intense unexpected movement made my leg blaze with pain, again. I was laying there panting heavily for a few minutes, not able to muster the resolve for action. It happens in every man¡¯s life when one day, you just can¡¯t take it any longer. Then you decide your fate. The brave and cunning aren¡¯t beaten down in their worst moments but in their longest hours. Any hero, or even any common man, would be shattered if hit enough times upon the anvil of fate. Then you decide your fate, for one can only life or die at the hand of his or hers own choices. I shakily reached out for a branch to lift the trunk ever so slightly so that I could pull my leg out from under it. ¡­ A man was walking beside me. He seems familiar, like if he had passed me not moments ago. Time flows by so fast that it is nearly all one picture. It is interesting though since this was the first human that I have seen along my shores for quite some time even to me. I think. This one also seems to have not as many holes in him unlike the previous ones that had stoically ridden the torrents until they continued no more. I had been red for days then. That¡¯s why this human is so interesting, it has more wishes and desires than any of my creatures could even think to have. What I don¡¯t understand though is why he ran like that, as it was clearly a stupid thing to do with those damages. So of course he fell and nearly joined me too. A shame it didn¡¯t since the previous humans were quite fun to play with after you ignored their silence. Even the fish liked them and I must admit that they had a peculiar taste. After that fall, it behaved a little differently, like as if the one before would be brave in the face of danger, this one would merely be unfazed. I find that strange but then so again were most humans that too. Maybe my creatures aren¡¯t so bad after all. I wish I could ask them. Well, since they can¡¯t understand for themselves, maybe I should tell them of the man¡¯s actions. If they can pay attention to me that is since I don¡¯t want to waste my time anymore than I normally do. Well as long as the human remains interesting, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The man is still walking past me, seemingly to a destination. Maybe he is going to those items that lay upon my shores quite some distance the river up but then why doesn¡¯t it just walk straight? He moves one leg in what I think is normal for humans but he barely uses the other one. Why bother with the possession of two of them if you only use one? He should also take better care of it too, for the erosion really has gotten to it or whatever you call it for humans. And he shouldn¡¯t at all place that foot upon that other rotting¡­ Well, that certainly is interesting. Again, to be fair, it will only be interesting if he does something from under there and I really can¡¯t be bothered to just watch him lie there. Maybe I can encourage him a bit. Hmm, I can¡¯t seem¡­ to¡­ do anything. It works with my fish so why not with the human? Oh, that¡¯s good but I didn¡¯t expect the human to do anything after all. At least not without my help, since he was just staring there at the sky. I can understand that the sky is very big and beautiful as I myself have looked at it many times but that human most likely was supposed to do something. It barely managed to escape from under the tree trunk but it was smart and lifted the whole thing slightly up with another branch so he could then pull his leg from underneath it, which I hadn¡¯t thought of. It then boringly rested for some time but I am pretty sure that it was still the same day even if the sun had moved a bit; I got somewhat distracted then. The human then just suddenly stood up and started walking a bit but he properly looked where he walked this time, as he should. The sun¡¯s light barely reached him when he was just about to miss the stuff he threw on the bank before. I can¡¯t let him leave without those since he amused me when he was under that log, it would be very¡­ unthankful towards him if I did. I try to tell him that he is walking past his stuff but I don¡¯t think he could hear me. Just infuriating! Argh, the torrents are raging in my frustration. It came so suddenly that the man even stopped to watch. Maybe that¡¯s something I can try. With some power I draw his attention to where his items lay. I let out a small chuckle when I saw the human suddenly see his metal object and spun around, just now noticing that he fully recognised the surroundings. He quickly grabbed his stuff and broke into a slow jog. He seemed very excited, which I can only think is because he must be close to wherever he wants to go next. He stopped when he arrived at where the ground evened out into the river. I can faintly remember the lions coming to drink here periodically but I don¡¯t think they have been here for some time. Even the trees are taller and more plentiful now, so even the water keepers must have begun to just them alone. I can still think of the fun I had with them but even they must have left me now. After the man rested again, he went back into the woods even if it was nearly totally dark now. So he left my river and left me too. The last moment I saw from him was that he glanced behind him towards me, as I once more tried to reach out to him. Then he was gone. Sarmin¡­ I left the river¡¯s side when I finally recognised the shore where Yorn and I had been a few days ago. It was nearly dark but I think that I should be able to find the cave before that. Yet without the sun as my guide, I will have to rely on my memory. I have only come this way once and been dragged away the other time, not to mention my escape into the river. That¡¯s what brought me to this moment in the first place, or if not that then it must have been Yorn leaving. So I think we came from the east but it will be hard to keep going that wayif the sun isn¡¯t here to check. I had lost my torch so the little I knew of tracking was useless without light to see by. I am sure that an experienced hunter could still operate with minimal light but I doubt I could become one within a year if not more so till then I will just rely on the obvious. I am adaptable like that. It was so boring though during my walk through the forest that I just had to speak with someone. Loneliness could make a person mad, and not the cursed kind but the normal type if there is one such. There was no one to be seen but I would still rather not talk to myself. ¡°So I am Deamos. How very nice to meet you Sarmin. If I were here, then I would of course try to help you but I can¡¯t.¡± A man, with features you would immediately forget after seeing them,said. I stifled a laugh as I imagined it. I thought of him again but this time I could see his long black hair, tall figure and a fair, elegant face. When I paid attention to it, I could also see that he had sleek and sharp fingers. ¡°Hahaha, how nice to meet you too. I am Sarmin but apparently you already know that. No matter. Your company is help enough so worry not my friend.¡± I thought that he narrowed his eyes before letting out a sigh. ¡°If merely that already gladdens you, then I think I can do one more. So how about you start to pay attention?¡± ¡°What?¡± He confused me there but before I could ask what he meant, I stumbled into a hole. It was a shallow one luckily. I stood up while blessing the fact that I fell forward with my most intact leg, and instantly noticed several bodies nearby. Yet he couldn¡¯t bring Deamos back to mind as his thoughts were once more brought to panic as he saw them. He scrambled out of the hole and was about to run away when he saw that they were dead, very dead. Clearly they had been killed some days ago. I had of course known that they were dead but whoever did that could have still been nearby. It seems I have nothing to fear and even if there was, I can¡¯t forget that I have this blade. I have the experience of battles dark and long. I will survive! With newfound courage I go over the bodies. As I lookat the possesionsof the first one, I recognize it as one of the two that Yorn had killed. This was where we had fought the mad ones before, however they seemed to have been placed next to each other by someone. I take a look at the somewhat shallow but long hole once more, and finally make the connection. ¡°Yorn. Seems he came here after he left and dug holes for them. Surely he wasn¡¯t going to bury them, but what else then?¡± With a sigh he left the place but not before he noticed some clearly disturbed leaves and signs of something being dragged. They appeared to be going north but that was not in the direction his cave was. Who knows why Yorn dragged something to or from here, maybe another body? It truly was dark by now, enough that I could only hope to get lost again if I went further into the forest but rather than staying near the bodies, I went back to the river. It wasn¡¯t that far from here and while dangerous beat may be attracted to the water, I had forgotten to fill my canteen myself and it didn¡¯t hurt that I vaguely knew where I was there. It has been a tiresome and long trip to get back here, but I don¡¯t doubt that my sleep would be even worse. Maybe I should talk with Deamos again? I hope he is around, I am sure he would like to see the moon clearly. Its almost pure white light is truly startling.