《Heroes of Nothing》 Welcome to Your End Sitting in the depths of a hidden outpost, the terrorist commander was waiting in contemplative silence. This was the moment of truth. Now that their enemies finally acknowledged that they were a threat, they would be knocking on his door before long. His men were well trained and they had the advantage of being concealed in the Nocturne Forest. The abundance of nightmarish creatures would usually be enough for dissuading even a seasoned monster hunter from entering. But a full army of Rathborian Imperial soldiers was a whole other matter. The hidden caverns rumbled lightly and a small trail of dirt drifted down. With a sigh, he supposed that would be the shock troops doing their handywork. The Imperialists were getting antsy if they were resorting to bombardment this early on. Then again, when your scouts vanish in the middle of what is suspected to be enemy territory, caution takes many forms. The lack of giant earthworms coming through the walls suggested there were no Baruthrumite Tunnelers among them. And even if there were, they would encounter staunch defenses. A hasty knock at his door broke him from his revery. After being given permission to enter, one of his soldiers, wearing the standard issue uniform of the current division: a grayish brown trench coat made from a special wool of the carnivorous sheep, green pants and completing the ensemble was a gray, flat faced, designless mask with magically enhanced, yellow tinted lenses. Wasn¡¯t quite as good as his beastmen¡¯s night vision, but it still gave quite an edge. Overall, it was a decent mix between being light enough for his army¡¯s preferred guerilla tactics, but still sturdy enough that a man wouldn¡¯t suffer debilitating injury from a blade, bullet or stray spell. The soldier drew his knife and held it over his heart in salute, "Chief, the Imperials are about to enter the forest.¡± ¡°Numbers?¡±, the man identified as the Chief demanded. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s difficult to say, but we estimate that there are somewhere between three or four thousand enemies. Over half consist of Cassidian Berserkers, Aesculapian healers and Ingenia Bombardiers five hundred strong each, Halcyonic Navigators and Shield Bearers a hundred strong, the rest are regulars.¡± The commander folded his hands in contemplation and rested his head on top of his hands as he pored over that information. With such an overwhelming force entering the forest, the Chief couldn¡¯t help but surmise that numbers were definitely not one of their advantages. There were, at most, a thousand soldiers in the current base, but the enemy didn¡¯t need to know that. While the conditions could stand to be a little less unfair, this would be a good opportunity to test out the training his newest recruits had just completed. A perfect chance to see the fruits of his labor, and show those arrogant Imperialists and especially that priest that they wouldn¡¯t sweep him away so easily. There¡¯s no awakening like a rude one. Resting his head on top of his hands, he contemplated the enemy numbers, ¡°Have any of our tunnels collapsed?¡± ¡°Three have, sir, but we already cleared them out, so it should just look like an Ant tunnel.¡± Straightening up, the Chief wasn¡¯t quite at eye level but as he squared his shoulders and made proper eye contact, the soldier tried straightening even further. Motioning for the other man to follow, he walked through the labyrinth of tunnels that were dug out a few months earlier. Giant Ants were such a helpful bunch when excavating places like this; And having a partnership with the monsters that protected the Underground from outside forces helped too. Bless those horrifying Ormors. Between the above ground location and how far down they embedded themselves, it was the perfect spot for their training and weapons building operations. Walking with memorized ease through the labyrinth of connected tunnels, the Chief came upon a larger than normal area filled with his soldiers, dressed similarly as the man before. They moved quickly but silently in their brown leather steel toe boots. Perfect for not losing your toes or crushing the enemy¡¯s face. This was the central chamber that connected all the branches. Some soldiers were exiting the chamber carrying large canisters with them. Upon seeing their leader a bark of ¡°Chief on site!¡± was shouted and everyone stood at attention, placing their triangular shaped knives over their chests. Drawing his own knife, the Chief held his blade in front of his face before turning it forward, which everyone mimicked and resheathed. ¡°Men, above us, the Empire seems to think that they can simply dispatch us like any other force that has stood in their way. Through overwhelming force and numbers. And while that is a viable strategy, we will not be so easily brushed aside. You were all trained better than to simply roll over and accept defeat at the first sight of trouble. If you did, I¡¯d have to kill you.¡± A shout of affirmation went up from those assembled. ¡°Today is the day we finally emerge from the shadows. The day the world realizes just how much of a present danger we represent. The Emperor¡¯s armies, the Industrialists'' money, and the Pantheonites¡¯ prayers won¡¯t save them from what¡¯s coming,¡± pausing to observe his men, he could see some of their hands itching to draw their knives once more, ¡°We¡¯ve all suffered at the hands of this country, and we nearly lost our lives in that purge. Even the most decent among us were branded as traitors and discontents for nothing more than the crime of being your own people. Well, it¡¯s time to show them we aren¡¯t quite as easy to dispose of as they once thought.¡± Shouting in agreement once more and stomping their feet, each man looked ready to take on the world. Snorting to himself, ¡®I guess that¡¯s quite literally what we¡¯re about to do.¡¯ The various physical and spiritual wounds many of them carried were finally going to be repaid in full. Taking a moment to glance at the canisters they were carrying to certain points in the forest, the Chief couldn¡¯t help but feel trepidation. He wondered if this really was the route he wanted to go. What he was about to do was forbidden for a reason. True, it would strike fear into their enemy¡¯s heart, but stooping to such a new low still concerned him. Steeling himself, he knew it was too late to reconsider. He had too many men and women under his command and the stakes were too large to play by his home¡¯s rules for this war. ¡°You all know your roles, you all know your positions and you know who your enemy is. The tactic is simple. Hit fast and hard, run before they see you and disappear as if you were never there to begin with. Blind their senses, exhaust them and make them afraid of their own shadows¡±, the Chief paused for dramatic effect to see his troops shaking in that sense of terror and excitement that only the moments before a battle could give, ¡°We¡¯re hidden underneath the Nocturne Forest, named for the myriad of horrifying monsters that live here. Let¡¯s show them just how right they are. Now get going!¡± With those final words, everyone present immediately dispersed, but not before something caught the Chief¡¯s eye. ¡°You there, soldier!¡± he barked out, halting one of the half-wolf men in his scouting party, ¡°State your name.¡± Drawing his knife and holding it over his heart, ¡°Name is Rodmin, sir.¡± ¡°And just where do you think you¡¯re going, Mr. Rodmin?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°To be part of the advance strike force against the invading shock troops, sir!¡± ¡°And you intend to do this without your helmet?¡± Rodmin¡¯s head slightly dipped and he looked down, ¡°Sir, my eyesight and hearing is already far better than that of a human or elf! I can do both better without my helmet, especially at night!¡± The Chief merely stared at the wolfman without saying anything before his hand shot forward to deliver a right cross to his snout. It wasn¡¯t enough to break it, but enough to make the wolfman yip in surprise and make his eyes water. ¡°Did that hurt, soldier?¡± Knowing better than to talk back, ¡°Yes it did, sir!¡± ¡°Do you think a bullet or a fire spell will hurt less than that?¡± ¡°No, sir!¡± ¡°Do you think you know better than me?¡± ¡°I do not, sir!¡± ¡°Well, you ignored my orders, so clearly you must know something that I don¡¯t. So spell it out for me real easy so I can understand!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know anything you don¡¯t, sir!¡± ¡°Well then, are you just stupid? Then you must not be one of my men, because I didn¡¯t teach my men to be stupid!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir!¡± ¡°Only prostitutes and politicians think that looking pretty is a good excuse to die. Maybe I should sell our enemy targets with your picture on them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not following your instructions, sir!¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re too pretty for your uniform, from now on, you are required to wear a dress and corset whenever you¡¯re not on the battlefield. You¡¯ll be the new company showgirl!¡± Wishing he could just die of shame, Rodmin could only say, ¡°I understand, sir!¡± ¡°If you understand, then do what I told you in the first place. Now get going!¡± Watching the young beastman tear out of his sight reminded the Chief of how his army was still so young. They were ready for what was to come, but no matter how much preparation was done, some things could only be learned through experience. But he¡¯d be damned if his efforts turned out to be worthless before they even started. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a little harsh, Chief¡±, a raspy voice asked. ¡°I¡¯ve seen too many young men get a hole blown in their heads and faces to tolerate a maverick¡±, the Chief answered without turning around, ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve seen the training methods you hyena people use, Amani. We both know that¡¯s far from the harshest thing he¡¯s suffered.¡± The hyena woman let out her species¡¯ trademark high pitched barking laugh, ¡°Oh, you know me so well¡±, she put a hand on the Chief¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I taught them everything you taught me. They¡¯re ready.¡± The Chief clenched a gloved hand, ¡°I¡¯d say we can only hope, but hope only ever got us so far. It¡¯s time to get to work, Amani.¡± Saluting her commanding officer, the two of them moved out to take their own positions for the upcoming battle. [Three weeks later] Sergeant Aeriliya sat straight as her carriage being drawn by a land dragon purposefully cut its way through the lazy bustle of the morning traffic. The fact that the sun was barely cutting its way through the gray haze caused by the new factories did little to alleviate the tiredness or foreboding from her body. Her Corporal came pounding on her door before dawn, saying there was an urgent matter which needed her direct attention. As if it wasn¡¯t bad enough she and her underlings were only making minimal progress with attacks at the industrial centers or the fear gripping the different cities because of the Screaming Specter. Brushing her hand over the sprig of Black eyed Susan and begonia pinned above her left breast, brought an equal amount of relief but caution. Especially when her carriage was bypassing her usual route to the station.Theories about what could¡¯ve possibly arisen ran through Aeriliya¡¯s head,and while the elven woman had a few ideas, none of them seemed to match the circumstances. Along the way, Aeriliya spied a recently ransacked shop. The front windows and doors all splattered with bright orange paint, a sure sign that the owner had been speaking against the Emperor and thus labeled a Dissident. From the look of the shop, it hadn¡¯t been long since an arrest was made, there wasn¡¯t any dust on the ground and the scars on the inside were fresh. Whatever had been left inside had most likely been rapidly nabbed up by a menagerie of street urchins before the area could be cordoned off. The elven woman supposed it would be a matter of days before the property was bought up to make space for Martell or some other industrialist to put in some new offices. While not one to outwardly question her superiors, it seemed quite a shame to have such a quaint little storefront disappear. Eventually the carriage halted outside of the foreboding structure of the Hall of Aequitas, the headquarters of the whole imperial police force. Its multiple pillars on each floor gave it the appearance of a large cage always ensuring there were few loiterers. Presenting her badge to the building¡¯s guard, decorated with the standard manacle and key, she was ushered inside. There was practically a small army of Aequitans running around. Plenty of the officers were either rubbing bagged eyes or nursing flasks due to the aptly named civil unrest. Reaching the secretary who currently had her nose to the grindstone with all the forms at her desk, ¡°Name and purpose of visit?¡± ¡°Sergeant Aeriliya Carnelis reporting in for an emergency summons¡±, she replied authoritatively. Snapping her head up, the secretary heartily apologized and promptly dropped her pen to lead Aeriliya through the headquarters. While people typically knew not to disrespect the elven woman, she had found the woman¡¯s behavior odd as she didn¡¯t go out of her way to be intimidating like many of her fellow officers. That perplexed feeling grew as they ascended to the top floor. Coming to a set of large , heavily reinforced, wooden doors the secretary knocked and announced, ¡°Judge Hardstriker, Sergeant Carnelis is here to see you.¡± ¡°Enter¡±, a gravelly voice barked out. Tugging the door open, Aeriliya stepped inside the office and saw the Judge sitting behind a completely uncluttered desk. Not only him, but also nearly twenty other officers were present. As Aeriliya and the people present noticed each other, the elven woman noticed that nearly everyone was at least the rank of Captain. Nodding in respect towards her superior officers she approached the Judge. While never having personally met the man, Hardstriker¡¯s reputation preceded him. Despite his dwarven stature, his tenured experience as an Inquisitor gave him a presence which innately commanded attention. Behind his bushy, yet neatly braided black hair was his piercing, steel colored gaze. With each step she took, Aeriliya could feel those steely gray eyes petrifying her. She was so focused on the Judge that she almost didn¡¯t notice there was also a human infantryman, wearing a green leather coat standing at attention. Though his posture was dead stiff, she could see the signs of fatigue. She also noted how he seemed to be frightened, seeing his fingers twitching and his eyes darting around the room, as if anticipating an attack. The human¡¯s presence somewhat confused her. A uniformed man wasn¡¯t an unusual sight, but someone from the army being so far from the battlefield proper was far from common. ¡°Sergeant, I am glad that you arrived here on such short notice¡±, the Judge gruffed. Saluting in response, ¡°Reporting for duty, Judge. Though, might I ask for what reason I was summoned? My Corporal gave away no details on the journey.¡± Hardstriker gestured at the crowd, ¡°Take your place and all will be explained.¡± As Aeriliya turned back towards the rest of the officers in the room, despite her apprehension, she tried to keep her face composed. But as she swept her gaze, the rest of the officers were staring imperiously right back at her. She was aware that as someone of lower rank, it would be presumptuous to seat herself among the rest and chose to stand. Standing in front of his desk, Hardstriker began to address the room, ¡°I¡¯m sure it may be confusing to summon the Captains of the Capitol and surrounding precincts, but an emergency has arisen¡±, turning his head and waving the soldier to the front of the room, ¡°This is Specialist Higgins of the Imperial army. He was part of a recent strike force to smoke out a suspected terrorist cell..¡±, casting a glance at Higgins. One of the Captains raised a hand, ¡°Why is a mere Specialist giving a report and not an officer?¡± Hardstriker once more looked at the soldier out of the corner of his eye, and Aeriliya thought she saw what looked almost like sympathy pass through the Judge¡¯s steely eyes, ¡°It would be best if Mr. Higgins tells you why himself.¡± The Judge waved his hand and a magically sealed file appeared in front of everyone. When everyone took them, Hardstriker made a twisting motion with his hand and a small click was heard from each of the files. Appearing nonchalant, Aeriliya opened the binder containing the field reports of the commanding officer up until the foray into the woods. Seeing the name Brigadier General Hammond already filled the elven woman with unease. The old badger was an ¡®interesting¡¯ choice. His successes were only compounded by massive loss of life; Which was why he hadn¡¯t been apart of the current expansion campaign Looking at the disturbed human, Aeriliya could only wonder what would reduce a man to be practically afraid of his own shadow. Welcome to Your End (Part Two) [Three weeks later] Sergeant Aeriliya sat straight as her carriage being drawn by a land dragon purposefully cut its way through the lazy bustle of the morning traffic. The fact that the sun was barely cutting its way through the gray haze caused by the new factories did little to alleviate the tiredness or foreboding from her body. Her Corporal came pounding on her door before dawn, saying there was an urgent matter which needed her direct attention. As if it wasn¡¯t bad enough she and her underlings were only making minimal progress with attacks at the industrial centers or the fear gripping the different cities because of the Screaming Specter. Brushing her hand over the sprig of Black eyed Susan and begonia pinned above her left breast, brought an equal amount of relief but caution. Especially when her carriage was bypassing her usual route to the station. Theories about what could¡¯ve possibly arisen ran through Aeriliya¡¯s head, and while the elven woman had a few ideas, none of them seemed to match the circumstances. Along the way, Aeriliya spied a recently ransacked shop. The front windows and doors all splattered with bright orange paint, a sure sign that the owner had been speaking against the Emperor and thus labeled a Dissident. From the look of the shop, it hadn¡¯t been long since an arrest was made, there wasn¡¯t any dust on the ground and the scars on the inside were fresh. Whatever had been left inside had most likely been rapidly nabbed up by a menagerie of street urchins before the area could be cordoned off. The elven woman supposed it would be a matter of days before the property was bought up to make space for Martell or some other industrialist to put in some new offices. While not one to outwardly question her superiors, it seemed quite a shame to have such a quaint little storefront disappear. Eventually the carriage halted outside of the foreboding structure of the Hall of Aequitas, the headquarters of the whole imperial police force. Its multiple pillars on each floor gave it the appearance of a large cage always ensuring there were few loiterers. Presenting her badge to the building¡¯s guard, decorated with the standard manacle and key, she was ushered inside. There was practically a small army of Aequitans running around. Plenty of the officers were either rubbing bagged eyes or nursing flasks due to the aptly named civil unrest. Reaching the secretary who currently had her nose to the grindstone with all the forms at her desk, ¡°Name and purpose of visit?¡± ¡°Sergeant Aeriliya Carnelis reporting in for an emergency summons¡±, she replied authoritatively. Snapping her head up, the secretary heartily apologized and promptly dropped her pen to lead Aeriliya through the headquarters. While people typically knew not to disrespect the elven woman, she had found the woman¡¯s behavior odd as she didn¡¯t go out of her way to be intimidating like many of her fellow officers. That perplexed feeling grew as they ascended to the top floor. Coming to a set of large , heavily reinforced, wooden doors the secretary knocked and announced, ¡°Judge Hardstriker, Sergeant Carnelis is here to see you.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Enter¡±, a gravelly voice barked out. Tugging the door open, Aeriliya stepped inside the office and saw the Judge sitting behind a completely uncluttered desk. Not only him, but also nearly twenty other officers were present. As Aeriliya and the people present noticed each other, the elven woman noticed that nearly everyone was at least the rank of Captain. Nodding in respect towards her superior officers she approached the Judge. While never having personally met the man, Hardstriker¡¯s reputation preceded him. Despite his dwarven stature, his tenured experience as an Inquisitor gave him a presence which innately commanded attention. Behind his bushy, yet neatly braided black hair was his piercing, steel colored gaze. With each step she took, Aeriliya could feel those steely gray eyes petrifying her. She was so focused on the Judge that she almost didn¡¯t notice there was also a human infantryman, wearing a green leather coat standing at attention. Though his posture was dead stiff, she could see the signs of fatigue. She also noted how he seemed to be frightened, seeing his fingers twitching and his eyes darting around the room, as if anticipating an attack. The human¡¯s presence somewhat confused her. A uniformed man wasn¡¯t an unusual sight, but someone from the army being so far from the battlefield proper was far from common. ¡°Sergeant, I am glad that you arrived here on such short notice¡±, the Judge gruffed. Saluting in response, ¡°Reporting for duty, Judge. Though, might I ask for what reason I was summoned? My Corporal gave away no details on the journey.¡± Hardstriker gestured at the crowd, ¡°Take your place and all will be explained.¡± As Aeriliya turned back towards the rest of the officers in the room, despite her apprehension, she tried to keep her face composed. But as she swept her gaze, the rest of the officers were staring imperiously right back at her. She was aware that as someone of lower rank, it would be presumptuous to seat herself among the rest and chose to stand. Standing in front of his desk, Hardstriker began to address the room, ¡°I¡¯m sure it may be confusing to summon the Captains of the Capitol and surrounding precincts, but an emergency has arisen¡±, turning his head and waving the soldier to the front of the room, ¡°This is Specialist Higgins of the Imperial army. He was part of a recent strike force to smoke out a suspected terrorist cell..¡±, casting a glance at Higgins. One of the Captains raised a hand, ¡°Why is a mere Specialist giving a report and not an officer?¡± Hardstriker once more looked at the soldier out of the corner of his eye, and Aeriliya thought she saw what looked almost like sympathy pass through the Judge¡¯s steely eyes, ¡°It would be best if Mr. Higgins tells you why himself.¡± The Judge waved his hand and a magically sealed file appeared in front of everyone. When everyone took them, Hardstriker made a twisting motion with his hand and a small click was heard from each of the files. Appearing nonchalant, Aeriliya opened the binder containing the field reports of the commanding officer up until the foray into the woods. Seeing the name Brigadier General Hammond already filled the elven woman with unease. The old badger was an ¡®interesting¡¯ choice. His successes were only compounded by massive loss of life; Which was why he hadn¡¯t been apart of the current expansion campaign Looking at the disturbed human, Aeriliya could only wonder what would reduce a man to be practically afraid of his own shadow. Watch Your Back (Part One) [At the edge of the Nocturne Forest] Thousands of imperial troops, standing fully at attention, watched the destruction of the forest. It was honestly the most welcome part of their campaign. The bright yellow streaks of magical fireballs descending and the resounding blasts sent tremors through the ground and thrummed through the chests of everyone present. There were any number of fearsome creatures which called the forest their home, and unless you were one of the more battle hungry shock troops, the thought of meeting one was not an appealing prospect. After a few more volleys, the order to cease was given. It was only for a few seconds, but there was silence. No man present could describe it, but the silence from the forest felt so damning. It was as though the partially immolated forest was looking at them. Like a wife inviting the person who killed her husband into her home. The officers of each company barked out their orders and the buglers raised their horns to their lips and relayed their tempo. There was a thunderous beat of thousands of boots marching in unison towards the treeline. Watching all this through the lens of a spyglass, from the command tent, Brigadier General Hammond grinned to himself, his graying mustache pointing upward, ¡°Ah, wonderful. Things are progressing precisely on schedule.¡± Turning back to the table where a map of the area surrounding the forest, Hammond moved a few green rectangles into the area marked ¡®Nocturne¡¯, ¡°And now with the bombardment finished, if each company remains on their course of keeping at least a mile apart from each other, with enough of a thorough search, we can have this whole woodland entirely explored and cleared out in little more than a month.¡± Standing by, his Colonel pointed out, ¡°But sir, our last two scouting parties never returned. Wouldn¡¯t it be prudent to send in a larger force and then report back?¡± Not even looking up from the map, ¡°Those scouts were aware of the four day deadline, Colonel, were they not? Besides, the fact that those specific parties never returned means those areas we bombarded were almost certainly where our quarry is. Or it¡¯s the location of a particularly vicious pack of monsters. Either way, it means less risk for our main force.¡± Stroking his chin, the Colonel wondered aloud, ¡°Perhaps, but sir, doesn¡¯t this seem rather excessive to take care of a group of raiders? With this much firepower, you¡¯d think we were marching into a Corrupted Land to smoke out a pack of demons.¡± ¡°Orders from the top, what can I say¡±, Hammond replied offhandedly. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Back in the Judges¡¯ office, Aeriliya turned through the pages. ¡°It seems Hammond started off well enough¡±, the same Captain as before pointed out before turning a questioning gaze to Higgins, ¡°So what went wrong?¡± ¡°At first, nothing. The going was slow, what with all the splinters and the roots everywhere. It was a few hours in when things started to go wrong¡±, Higgins rubbed a hand over his shaved head, ¡°It all started with that damn fog.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The company had been marching forward for about four hours, stopping only occasionally to have the unranked soldiers move a tree that had fallen in the bombardment from their path. Every so often, the soldiers would come across a burning pile of flesh that remained of whatever unfortunate monster had been in the area. Poison Tusk Boars, Flail Tails, Wolfmen. Even dead as they were, the sight made every man hug his musket a little more closely. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°These raiders must be a tough bunch to live in a place like this¡±, a Shield Bearer named Franklin noted. ¡°Betcha your next monthly pay that whoever¡¯s in here blackmailed a Bishop¡±, Specialist Higgins joked with his fellow Shield Bearer. ¡°Nah, these kinds of numbers, someone definitely gave one of the Aequitans a dirty look when they didn¡¯t know they could see.¡± It was hard to tell the time of day through the canopy, but eventually a new problem arose. Though it wasn¡¯t the right weather for it, a heavy cloud of mist began pouring in towards the company. It wasn¡¯t an uncommon tactic, blunt your enemy¡¯s vision and let the confusion do the rest. Plus, it didn¡¯t help their beastmen trackers any. Luckily there were Navigators in the troop. Men blessed by the sky god, Halcyonus with the ability to orient straight courses and maintain at least a general idea of location. ¡°Well, whoever we¡¯re hunting must not be all that bright if they¡¯re using this old play¡±, Higgins thought out loud. ¡°Eh, they probably figured living in this great, bloody hellhole would be enough to keep us out¡±, Franklin surmised. ¡°So, they¡¯re probably just buying time until they can escape. Works for me.¡± After about many hours of letting the Navigators guide them, the Captain told the men to start making camp for the night. Finally setting down their heavy packs came as a great relief to each man present at being able to feel the blood flow return to their shoulders. Tents were set up, fires were started, chores were assigned and sentries were posted. Every few dozen yards a Shield Bearer was stationed. Another subset of the sky god¡¯s sect. Specializing in defensive magic, they only had so many uses, but what they did, they did well. Darkness set on the woods as the men dug in. Higgins was trying to warm himself and bite into the hard tack that was somehow considered food when one of the Navigators approached, ¡°Oi Higgins, it¡¯s about time for you to relieve Franklin.¡± Standing up and stretching out his back, ¡°You know, sometimes I really don¡¯t like you Navigators. Your sense of keeping time is so bothersome.¡± ¡°Funny thing about that, the times when certain things happen occur around the same time they do every other day¡±, the Navigator quipped. ¡°Ugh, if you were any smugger, you¡¯d make an excellent politician.¡± Leaving the chuckling man behind, Higgins walked to the edge of the encampment. Seeing the man he was replacing leaning against a tree, he walked up, ¡°Yikes, Franklin, watch must be particularly boring if you¡¯re just standing there. You can go now.¡± The current sentry didn¡¯t move. Moving closer to touch the man¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Franky, did you hear me you can-¡±, Higgins gasped as his fellow Shield Bearer crashed to the ground. His eyes stared up lifelessly as slightly dried blood smeared from his neatly sliced open throat. Stumbling backwards, Higgins fell on his bottom before scrambling to his feet, blowing the whistle around his neck and yelling, ¡°Alert! Alert! Man down!¡± There was a great deal of yelling and running as other guards approached the yelling man. Everyone who came upon the scene gasped as they saw what happened to the sentry. Questions came shouting from every man present. Nobody knew how it could¡¯ve happened, but one thing was absolutely clear, whoever the enemy was, the earlier bombardment didn¡¯t work as well as hoped. While the sentries stood arguing, another commotion could be heard from the camp. Being the only one who technically wasn¡¯t on shift, Higgins went to go see what in the blue Baruth was going on. Following the shouting, the increasingly nervous man went and saw that a small group of guards were keeping everyone at bay outside their one Staff Sergeant¡¯s tent. Flipping the tent flap up, out walked their Captain looking stony faced as always, but clearly disturbed in his own way. Before he flipped the tent flap back down, Higgins caught a glimpse of the Staff Sergeant, his face covered in a blood stained, white cloth. ¡°Captain!¡±, Higgins called out and saluted, ¡°Specialist Higgins, sir. We¡¯ve had enemy contact!¡± ¡°I can see that, soldier¡±, the Captain replied evenly. Shaking his head, ¡°It¡¯s not that, sir. Whoever did this, they murdered one of the Shield Bearers before they snuck in here.¡± The Captain ordered double the number of sentries, but the damage had already been done. Between the fact that someone had killed a soldier who specialized in defensive magic and had gotten the drop on an army officer without making a sound and escaped, the men were rattled. To make things even worse the only things witnesses could claim was seeing a figure walk into the woods but figuring it was someone going to relieve themselves. Even though things eventually settled, sleep was restless at best. Watch Your Back (Part Two) The following day, after their enemy had made their move, things didn¡¯t improve. And whoever it was they were hunting knew how to add insult to injury. The same as yesterday, the mysterious mist gathered around them and made progress slow. But when one of their Navigators stepped and fell through a pile of leaves that turned out to be a pitfall with sharpened stones at the bottom, the journey to the center of the woods became even slower. Every man tread carefully wherever he went, even if he saw that same spot walked over a dozen times. An hour later while the men were searching the ground for traps a Colonel fell from his land dragon with a bleeding head before hearing an echoing crack with no clear point of origin. The unsuspecting Colonel was dead before he touched the ground. The men were looking in every direction for the shooter but they couldn¡¯t see or hear a thing. Whoever it was, was far enough that the beastmen couldn¡¯t smell them either. That awful feeling from before they entered Nocturne Forest was beginning to feel increasingly justified. After that, the Captain had to step in personally. The Navigators were to be accompanied by a Shield Bearer at all times, but that only made things worse at night. Using their magic to shield their guides exhausted the Bearers and only made night sentry duty harder to get through. Their enemy seemed to sense this and only got bolder and cut down a few other officers but mostly focused on the beastmen among them. With the company losing their proverbial eyes and ears, anxiety filled everyone. It had been less than a week of making their way to the center of the forest, and of the two hundred men in their company, forty seven had died so far, most of them officers and scouts. Despite most of their force being intact, the randomness of it all had every man jumping at shadows. While they were marching, Higgins was guarding his Navigator. Going with only a few hours of sleep over the span of a week and a half was taking its toll. The poor soldier could barely keep his eyes open, let alone maintain his barrier properly. As he was stumbling along, he saw the first signs of discord, desertion. He heard running feet behind him, and when Higgins turned, he saw one of the soldiers trying to break from the formation. Two seconds later a shot rang out as the Captain drew his pistol and shot the deserter in the thigh. ¡°Bind that man! He will face court martial once we are out of these damn woods¡±, the Captain ordered, ¡°And that was only a warning shot. If any other man decides to abandon his duty, he will be executed without mercy. Is that understood?¡± A tired and scared chorus of ¡®Yessirs¡¯ sounded off. No sooner were the words out of the Captain¡¯s mouth before his face contorted in pain. He appeared to be trying to scream but no sound was coming. It was like he was being strangled. (Back in the Judge¡¯s office) ¡°So your Captain just began choking¡±, another Captain asked in a tone that implied they thought the soldier was lying. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±, Higgins shouted, ¡°That¡¯s just it. Like I said, one moment he was fine, the next it was like he was being strangled.¡± ¡°Could it have been some kind of poison or maybe some kind of hypnotic magic making him believe he couldn¡¯t breathe?¡± Rubbing his forehead, Higgins mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was most likely magic, but we didn¡¯t see or hear anything. When the Aesculapian healers took a look, it spread through the camp that there was no poison or even any sign that he was killed by an invisible enemy.¡± ¡°So, your Captain shot the deserter and then was killed by something that strangled him. Is that correct, Mr. Higgins¡±, the Police Captain more ordered than asked. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. With a heavy sigh, ¡°Oddly enough, no.¡± (Back in the forest) Most of the men watched in horror as something slowly killed their increasingly panicked Captain. His second in command ran up to try and do anything. But before that, the desperate leader slipped from his land dragon¡¯s saddle. With his neck making a sickening crunch and the lack of any movement, the company realized they were now without their Captain. But then on the tenth day of exploration was when disaster truly struck. It was when the men were making camp for the night. Higgins was falling asleep sitting up as he sat against a tree. They had given up trying to light fires two nights ago, since the light only extended so far and blinded them to actually seeing things in the night. The lack of sleep and the fear was demoralizing the men fiercely. ¡°Do you hear that¡±, a beastman named Thrawn asked. ¡°Do I hear what¡±, mumbled Higgins. Thrawn¡¯s ears were twitching, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Some kind of hissing sound. Like a kid trying to whistle but not getting it.¡± Rubbing his aching forehead, ¡°I don¡¯t know, whatever it is, maybe if we don¡¯t bother it, it¡¯ll leave us be.¡± Thrawn sniffed the air and stood up, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right.¡± Tired as he was, Higgins stood, trying to muster what little magic he had ¡°Can you smell someone?¡± Taking another whiff of the air, ¡°No, it¡¯s not human or any other race here.¡± ¡°Some kind of monster?¡± Flattening his ears against his head, ¡°No, it¡¯s not any kind of living creature. I¡¯ve never smelled anything like this. It smells¡­ wrong.¡± ¡°Walk with me.¡± Higgins and Thrawn slowly walked through the camp. It wasn¡¯t until the pair could see to the edge of camp that they came to a horrifying conclusion together. They saw that mist that had been slowing their camp, the same as it had been for the past ten days. The only thing different about it was that three sentries on duty were currently writhing on the ground, clutching their throats.Their bloodshot eyes, wide in terror as their throat could only produce strangled chokes. ¡°Everyone get away from the fog!¡±, Higgins screamed The Shield Bearer had no idea what was happening, but the singular thought of getting everyone away from whatever was approaching their camp consumed him. Running at speeds he never thought possible and yelling at headache inducing volumes without losing his voice, he drew the camp out of a restless sleep. The other men were struggling blearily to their feet, ready but incredibly ill prepared to meet this fresh hell. When the hastily promoted new leader, the Lieutenant, saw what was happening, he quickly ordered the men to form a tight circle with the shield bearers to keep the mist away from them at whatever cost. Emergency magic replenishing potions were guzzled to give each remaining Shield Bearer one last desperate hurdle. The mist was rapidly approaching the mustered soldiers with still more desperately trying to escape. The Captain tightly grasping his sword shouted, ¡°Shield Bearers, on my mark, erect a dome barrier and do not let it down for anything! And I do mean anything.¡± A sickening knot tightened in the barrier men¡¯s guts at the implication of that order. That horror was only becoming more of a reality at what they saw. Most of the men were within the boundary, but there were a few others. The fog was closing in and try as they might, not every man was safe. It could¡¯ve been due to exhaustion, slipping and falling, or any other reason, but the mist was approaching faster than those poor souls. Among the fleeing men, Higgins could see two men carrying one of the injured on a stretcher. Tears pricked at his eyes as he desperately prayed to each of the gods of the Pantheon that he wouldn¡¯t hear those words. The Lieutenant, being a minor practitioner of wind magic, unlike his former commanding officer who was more experienced, tried blasting gusts of wind at the mist. With each swipe of his sword, he pushed back a swath of the mist, but it only approached from whatever direction more. He didn¡¯t become an officer without having a respectable control over his power, but the exhaustion was taking its toll. ¡°Erect the barrier¡±, the Lieutenant ordered in a voice so resolute yet so defeated. Watch Your Back (Part Three) Higgins¡¯ chin was quivering as he raised his hands to create his magic barrier. What remained of their unit was covered in a golden, glowing orb as the Shield Bearers combined their power to ensure a total blockage of the mist. When people joined the Imperial army, a few people, like Higgins, didn''t want to fight and die. So, naturally, being someone who specialized in protection, it felt like the best way of not only staying alive, but also keeping your fellows alive. In that moment, that entire perception was shattered. He was casting the same magic as always, protecting the same comrades, but never before had that protective layer felt so damning. There were dozens of men, pounding against their barrier, begging to be let in. The Berserkers, who made up a majority of their unit, could only watch in impotent fury as their comrades were condemned before their very eyes. But the mist had finally approached the barrier and enveloped everything inside it. Anything living was having the life choked out of it, sapient or otherwise. Unlike the attacks from before, this didn¡¯t carry the mercy of a quick death. (In the Judge¡¯s office) Higgins looked as though he wanted to throw up and neither the Police nor the Judge could blame the man. Hearing of such an unusual and unsightly form of combat sickened them greatly. One of the Captains became pale and had to cough into his hand to keep himself from gagging. ¡°We held the barrier as long as we could. But we couldn¡¯t save those guys. That fog¡­ it¡­ it¡±, Higgins had to take a moment to compose himself, ¡°We didn¡¯t lose a lot of soldiers, but we did lose a few of our medics and a lot of wounded.¡± As the soldier continued relating his experience, Aeriliya had the sickening feeling that it was only going to get worse before it was over. Oddly enough, Higgins became eerily calm before he spoke again, ¡°By that point, we all came to terms with the fact that we most likely weren¡¯t walking out of that forest alive. We ran into a few more traps and ambushes with no real enemy contact¡­ but we just kept going. About two weeks in that forest and around half our original company was dead¡±, Higgins stared at his two interviewers but his eyes weren¡¯t truly looking at them, ¡°Then we finally reached our destination.¡± (Back in the forest) The soldiers trudged on and on, their feet only moving because the movement had been seemingly ingrained in them. Even some of the hardier soldiers like the Cassidian berserkers or the dwarven soldiers were listless. One of the remaining Navigators announced they would reach the center of the forest within the hour, but nobody had enough presence to be happy at the announcement. They continued on until they heard the unmistakable sounds of guns and spellfire. Marching at doubletime, the remaining company thought maybe they could rejoin some of their comrades, but like every other time, they were proven wrong. When they reached the clearing, the only word that came to mind was devastation. There were their comrades, and looking at their uniforms, they recognized that what remained of every other company was already present. Or at least, physically present. The ground was littered with the green jackets of Imperial troops. Soldier and mage alike were bleeding on the ground, holes the size of a fist in their bodies, claw marks, spell wounds and sometimes entire limbs missing. Any semblance of structure or order was gone. It was a complete free for all against their enemy which seemed to suit them just fine. Their enemy, clothed in brownish gray uniforms and wearing faceless helmets with large tinted frames with no pattern were tearing their men apart. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Muskets at the ready¡±, ordered their leader, ¡°Cassidians with the Precision spell, take aim and don¡¯t miss.¡± The musketeers readied their guns to aim at the chaos in front of them. Normally, this would be reckless with the inaccuracy of so many muskets, but with the magic spell allowing for straighter shooting, that was easily remedied. The Berserkers nearly splintered their guns with their strong hands. After seeing their strength belittled, they were ready to tear someone¡¯s head off. Their comrades turned as they heard the order and began yelling. Maybe a second wind was finally coming. Their impromptu leader raised his sword to give the order to fire and for once Higgins felt less scared, now that he had a clear enemy to face. But just as the sword was coming down, the Shield Bearer had an ill feeling. Rather than face forward with the rest of his comrades, he turned around and erected his barrier. Their leader¡¯s sword came down and gunfire was heard, but it wasn¡¯t all from the green clad warriors. Behind them, flashes of light, was closely followed by the Imperial soldiers'' rear flank being pelted with bullets. Rapidly following that, more gray-brown soldiers with faceless masks appeared from cleverly hidden holes in the ground and blitzed them. Higgins realized their comrades weren¡¯t yelling because they were happy to see them, but to warn them about an ambush. They were armed with oddly shaped rifles with even odder shaped knives tipping them, like an obelisk. The Imperial troops barely had time to react before the enemy was on them. One of the faceless men closed the distance in seconds. A fellow Imperial who didn¡¯t fire yet, trained his musket on the charging man, having him dead in his sights. But before he could get his shot off, the faceless man whipped out a hatchet, and hooked the musket, making the shot fire harmlessly into the ground. The soldier looked back up with wide eyes to see the faceless enemy draw his oddly shaped knife, shift his body and swing his knife up, cleaving off the man¡¯s hand before reversing the grip and driving the blade into his chest and running off to attack another soldier. All this happened in less than five seconds. One of their Bombardiers tried to charge a detonative spell to scatter the enemy, but as he raised his hands, one of the knives came flying in and embedded in his throat. Losing control of his magic, the spell detonated early, blowing away three other soldiers. One of the Berserkers drew his broadsword to do what he did best and cut the enemy to pieces. But as he ran forward, two blasts were heard and the Berserker fell on his face, his knees blown to pieces. He was quickly swarmed by three faceless men who pinned him to the ground and stabbed him repeatedly. The poor Lieutenant, in the span of less than a minute, saw what was left of his company overrun. At that moment, something in him snapped, his face twisting in righteous fury. Lifting his whistle to his lips, he blew to gain his soldiers attention, ¡°Soldiers, to me! Gunmen, reorder formation to reload, Berserkers give us cover and-¡± Four shots in rapid succession cut off his orders. All the Lieutenant could do was fall to his knees, his eyes wide in shock as he collapsed with four fist sized holes in chest. Watch Your Back (Part Four) (Back in the office) ¡°It was all over in just a few minutes¡±, Higgins recounted, ¡°Formation was already broken and they closed the gap before we could regroup. They fought like nothing I¡¯d ever seen. They did battle individually, but always had each other covered. And they were brutal but quick and clean. Like a Berserker that could still think right. And the scariest part was, I barely think I heard a single spell cast by them.¡± Aeriliya was aware she was treading in unsteady ground with the next question, ¡°If they were so brutal, how did you survive.¡± Every head in the office craned to look at her as she practically dared to voice her question. Aeriliya felt highly on edge, but she remained resolute. ¡°We surrendered¡±, Higgins said as if it were obvious. ¡°Coward¡±, bellowed several of the Captains, ¡°You soldiers were taught to never falter in front of the enemy!¡± The shaken soldier snapped to his feet, ¡°And what would you have done in our place?! We were soundly routed, picked apart and brought to almost nothing. It was the only option if we wanted to get out alive¡±, after Higgins calmed himself he looked faraway again, ¡°But after that, we almost wished they had done us in.¡± ¡°What did they do to you¡±, the elven woman gently enquired. The Captains still looked unimpressed with her, but her gentle questioning helped Higgins to relax slightly. ¡°After we surrendered, the fighting stopped almost immediately. But they didn¡¯t restrain us. They brought us a little further into the forest clearing and¡­ and¡­ t-they got the Brigadier General.¡± The entire room was left stunned for a minute, ¡°But Hammond was behind you all! He remained outside the forest, didn¡¯t he? Are you sure about what you saw?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not crazy¡±, Higgins claimed, ¡°I know what I saw.¡± (Back in the forest) Indeed, there was Hammond. The face was heavily wounded, but everyone could easily recognize the uniform and that ridiculous mustache he was always grooming. Though the man was a blowhard it broke many of the men to see their Brigadier General in the spectacle their enemy had him in. Hammond and all his high command were up in the trees, tied to the branches with some kind of metal wire. Their faces wide with terror, like a collection of once living chandeliers. The wire had them splayed out, their arms and legs broken at angles that shouldn¡¯t be possible. But the stomach of the Imperial¡¯s twisted when they heard a ragged moan from Hammond¡¯s bloodied mouth. They weren¡¯t dead, they were just tortured and hung up in the trees to watch their army be slaughtered before their half dead eyes. The men were given no time to even process the sight before a small group of the faceless soldiers approached them with armfuls of spade shovels. Guns were trained on roughly less than three hundred of what remained of the original force of two thousand that entered the forest. The faceless men dropped the shovels in front of them and one merely said, ¡°Dig.¡± It took days and hundreds of holes, but eventually the Imperial soldiers were told to stop. The men were resigned to their fate. This was the end. ¡°You may bury your dead.¡± (Back in the office) ¡°They allowed you to bury the men they killed¡±, asked the Judge. Higgins nodded, ¡°Couldn¡¯t tell you why, but they let us collect one identifier from each body and then we buried them all.¡± ¡°Did anyone try to fight back,¡± one of the Lieutenants asked. ¡°A couple. But they were shot so quickly there wasn¡¯t time to react¡±, Higgins looked ready to cry. Finally Hardstriker approached the man and told him to sit down. With a clenched hand, the Judge turned back towards the Officers, ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to explain just how volatile this situation is and could become. We have a terrorist organization with enough martial might to bring an army to heel.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. An officer raised his hand, ¡°Judge, if I may ask, if these terrorists are so dangerous, shouldn¡¯t such a matter be handled by the military?¡± ¡°We have reason to believe these terrorists were largely recruited within the Empire itself. Criminals, Dissidents and the like. So there¡¯s a decent chance they would have no issue attacking civilians as well as the military¡±, Hardstriker pounded a fist against the desk which made everyone sit straighter, ¡°Which is why you are being called in to assist. From what Higgins and the rest of the strike force have told us, while this enemy is dangerous and their numbers are unknown, it¡¯s likely they wouldn¡¯t be so brazen as to attack when we are alert and heavily fortified. It is by direct order of the Emperor himself that you are to remain vigilant. If there is so much as a whisper of a petty criminal that hasn¡¯t been seen before, you are to take note. Citizen identification is to be double and triple verified and raids upon certain locations will be come more common as time goes on.¡± At the mention of orders from the Emperor, even Aeriliya who had nowhere near the responsibilities of the rest felt her heart skip a beat. One Captain, either braver or more stupid than the rest, stood up, ¡°But Judge, with the citizens becoming as restless as they are with the martial law and the new expansion campaign, how will we know where to look? Besides, you have not even said who these people are, or any person of interest to look for.¡± Hardstriker¡¯s face was stony at the man¡¯s questioning, ¡°There are certain details about these terrorists that are classified and they shall remain so. Further instruction on how to approach this situation and whom to report what was given. The Judge dismissed everyone and Aeriliya was about to follow along when she heard, ¡°Sergeant Carnelis, a moment if I may?¡± A few of the Captains still in the room whipped their heads back at hearing the request of the lowest ranking officer. Hardstriker made a sweeping motion with his hand and the door brushed close enough to Aeriliya that she felt the wind as the door closed in the Captain¡¯s faces. The elven woman approached the desk and stood ramrod straight, wondering if she was in trouble. ¡°Sergeant, I¡¯m sure you noticed that you were the outlier in this briefing?¡± Aeriliya nodded and quirked a delicate eyebrow, ¡°Judge, I don¡¯t understand, I handle organized crime cases, I haven¡¯t been a part of the military for over seven years.¡± Hardstriker, handing her a binder with a military sigil, ¡°Perhaps not, Sergeant Carnelis, but you¡¯re the only one I can ask for help.¡± Aeriliya wasn¡¯t sure why, but rather than anxiety, she could feel true fear pooling in her chest. Hardstriker interjected, ¡°Sergeant, you were asked to this briefing because you bring a rather¡­. Unique perspective to this investigation¡±, the Judge looked at Higgins while talking to her, ¡°The Specialist, under my orders left out a piece of his story.¡± ¡°M-Ms. Carnelis¡±, Higgins trembled as he approached her with another file in his hands, ¡°You were also part of the Anti-Demon Inquisitors, yes?¡± Brushing her hand over the rapier attached to her hip, ¡°I had a part to play within that division¡±, returning her gaze to the officer, ¡°But I assume we aren¡¯t here to discuss the past.¡± As soon as she said that, Higgins¡¯ eyes became even more haunted and distant. Oddly enough this was the calmest the man had seemed since Aeriliya stepped into the office. Slowly shaking his head, Higgins leveled those disturbed eyes at her, ¡°No, Sergeant Carnelis, that is exactly what we¡¯ve come to discuss. The past has come to kill us all.¡± Higgins picked up where he left off, about how the enemy gave them shovels. Higgins closed his eyes as small tears trailed down his face, ¡°But then he appeared.¡± (Back at the forest) The Imperial troops finished burying their dead and any would-be resistance from their remaining force. They stood surrounded by the faceless men, sure that they would soon follow the rest of their comrades. This whole operation was a disaster from the start. Facing an unknown enemy who withstood their bombardment, stalked them the whole way through, destroyed their leadership and ensured any chance at fighting back once the real battle started was completely out of the question. Suddenly, there was a shift in the stance of their enemy. They all stood at attention, drew their misshapen, triangular knives,and held them over their hearts. The Imperial troops flinched at first, thinking the faceless men were going to kill them next, but they didn¡¯t move. The men were confused at this sudden change in attitude. For no reason, the hair on Higgins¡¯ neck was standing up. It was like what he felt before his unit was ambushed just a few moments earlier, but this ran even deeper. Higgins had a deep sense that something was watching him. The Shield Bearer was standing behind the front of the crowd, and the faceless men weren¡¯t singling him out, but something in him just knew. ¡°You¡¯ll do¡±, a deep voice simply uttered. Whipping around in shock, there was another enemy behind him. He just seemingly appeared from nowhere and the Imperials all withdrew in shock. Unlike the others, this one had a mask with the face of an unsmiling man. Higgins could barely see through the eye slits, but he caught a glimpse of the man¡¯s yellow eyes. He could feel them, as if seeing every physical and metaphorical piece of him. ¡°I want you to go back to the Capitol. And I want you to tell anyone with true authority that the Hatchetman intends to finish his work.¡± With those fateful words, Higgins felt his mouth run dry. State Secrets (Part One) Aeriliya couldn¡¯t fathom how her day could get any more complicated, and it was only just a bit past lunchtime which she just realized she had skipped, but it was a bit late to remedy that. The Hatchet Man. The mere mention of that name made her feel like her heart stopped beating for a moment. It had been years since that name was in anyone¡¯s near memory, but even that group of ¡®anyone¡¯ wasn¡¯t many. Looking back, the Hatchet Man was one of the greatest mysteries she never solved. Memories of her time as an Inquisitor, exposing demons hidden in plain sight and any criminals that worked with them for an easy coin flashed through her mind. The man just appeared like a ghost and disappeared just as quickly. There both was and wasn¡¯t a pattern to where he¡¯d be. Something unusual would happen, he¡¯d be involved somehow, but before anyone could obtain proper clearance, he¡¯d and the unusual something would vanish. People went missing, property was destroyed and at least one thing was always left sitting on fire. But for as much as the Hatchet Man seemed to be at the epicenter for rampant destruction, two things always happened. She had never heard of anyone being given orders to hunt the man down and it didn¡¯t seem to matter because the next time she heard of his movements, it was somewhere she didn¡¯t even know he could get to so quickly. A journey to the Rathborian Capitol¡¯s Library of Chronicles was certainly in order. The library was the country¡¯s highest authority on all things related to the Communion of Twelve Pantheon. There were many kinds of books here. But its focus was everything related to the religion¡¯s history, its dogma and in recent history, its heroes would be documented here. The outside was nearly fifteen stories tall, the stones weathered by years of sun exposure, giving them the same yellowed appearance as the papers within. The inside was no less impressive. One could seemingly lay flat on their back and not see the top of the bookcases. A man wearing the light blue cloth of an Epiphinian, a follower of the sect of Knowledge, approached her, ¡°Sergeant Carnelis, we¡¯ve been expecting you.¡± It was always a little unnerving just how rapidly information seemed to reach certain ears, ¡°I need you to point me towards all the information you have on the last Demon War.¡± Offering a benign but troubled smile, ¡°That¡¯s quite a tall order, Sergeant. It was such a long and widespread war that there are any number of records available.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t let me finish¡±, she calmly interjected, ¡°I want books about the Corrupted Lands. The librarian¡¯s smile remained, but his eyes seemed a bit pinched, ¡°That¡¯s going to be difficult in a different regard, miss. There are very few of those records and many of them are out of reach for¡­ the sake of secrecy.¡± Aeriliya was used to people giving her roundabout answers, but it was always the bureaucratic dodging that was the hardest to navigate, ¡°I was under the impression that the Demon War was one of the most widespread wars in this world¡¯s history¡±, the man¡¯s smile became more reserved, ¡°So I find it hard to believe that there¡¯s so little information on the lands our enemies turned into their dens.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The man¡¯s smile was gone, but his face was diplomatically neutral, ¡°Sergeant Carnelis, you must understand, the Corrupted Lands were many, but as for what all we know about the lands themselves is limited.¡± Holding a sealed envelope in her hand, ¡°Even with a letter of recommendation from Judge Hardstriker himself?¡± Before the man could answer,¡°That will be all, Librarian¡±, a woman¡¯s authoritative voice said, ¡°I will oversee things from here.¡± The man bowed as a half-elven woman approached her, "I am Barya, the head scholar of the Library of Chronicles.¡± Aeriliya could detect the smell of alcohol on the sleep deprived woman. Saluting in greeting, ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be within this place of learning, Scholar.¡± Barya led Aeriliya to an office which could be a library in itself. The only indication it wasn¡¯t was that the desk inside was less organized and that the sight and smell of empty wine bottles weren¡¯t typically part of a library¡¯s decor. Despite the clear lack of rest and hygiene, the Scholar still retained the presence befitting her title. Sitting with her chin resting on one hand, as if Aeriliya were just another tome to be read. ¡°Sergeant Carnelis, even if you have a letter of recommendation from a Judge, what you seek is highly confidential.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t a place of learning be ready to give me that information? Especially if it relates to what almost brought the world to heel less than twenty years ago?¡± Steepling her hands, Barya explained, ¡°The things that went on in the Corrupted Lands and what every nation had to do to drive it back is something that isn¡¯t for many to learn. There were any number of forbidden spells and arcaic magics practiced. Corruptions of which we hope never to see explored. And for as much of a war against evil as it may have been, even those who fought in the name of the gods had to do things which would cause them to shake their heads. So, even if you have a letter of recommendation, and even if you were part of secret things yourself, Former Inquisitor, I can¡¯t allow this.¡± ¡°You misunderstand, Scholar. I¡¯m not looking for what any one nation or even what the demons did. I¡¯m looking for anything I can find about the people who actually walked into the Corrupted Lands to kill the demons where they slept.¡± Barya waved a dismissive hand, ¡°Oh, those old rumors? You had me thinking you were actually after something important.¡± Aeriliya crossed her arms, ¡°If that¡¯s your attitude, then point me to the nearest rumor mill, because we both know that¡¯s not mere hearsay. And a mere rumor doesn¡¯t appear in a forest claiming the lives of almost four thousand soldiers and swearing revenge either.¡± Barya sighed in annoyance. She leaned down to open one of her desk drawers and pulled out a half filled bottle of wine. Not even getting up to grab a glass, she took a large swig of the purple concoction. She slammed the bottle on her desk but Aeriliya didn¡¯t flinch. The half elf stared at the full elf, ¡°Rumors don¡¯t get recorded.¡± ¡°I know¡±, Aeriliya simply replied. Huffing as she hauled herself to her feet, Barya walked over to the bookcase. Dusting off the front of the shelves, she spoke in the magic tongue, ¡°That which has been forgotten, is merely that which is waiting to be relearned.¡± There was a soft grating of stone on stone as the bookcase backed up and moved to the side. Muttering the incantation to a weak light spell that flew into the dark hallway, the two women followed it down the staircase. State Secrets (Part Two) Aeriliya took note on the way down that the steps were made of a smooth wood. It wasn¡¯t new, but it was in good condition. Implying either this part of the library was new, or important enough that letting it fall into disrepair wasn¡¯t allowed. At the end of the staircase was a seemingly open doorway. The half elf woman held up her hand and the red outline of a magic lock appeared in front of her. Simply twisting her hand to the side, the lock undid itself and she moved forward. As soon as the two women stepped over the threshold, the magic lock reformed itself over the doorway before once more becoming invisible. ¡°Only those who are part of the library can get in here. But even they have to open the lock before going in or out. No exceptions.¡± ¡°And what happens if someone who isn¡¯t tries their luck?¡± ¡°Either they would be locked in here until we let them out or whatever they try to take would burst into flames¡±, the Scholar said with a frown. Clearly the loss of even hidden knowledge didn¡¯t appeal to her. Walking down a corridor with the ball of light leading the way, they came to a gate, flanked by two suits of armor. Without pausing the half elf woman continued walking forward and the gate simply opened in front of her. Above them, there was an unlit chandelier that Barya loosed a knot on the wall to lower. Lighting a match and eventually all the candles, she lifted the fixture back up high, revealing just how large the room was. While not as high vaulted or seemingly endless as the upstairs, there were rows upon rows of shelves, each with impersonal looking spines. The boring uniformity of it all either contained something as mundane as a manifest or potentially harmful like an exhaustive record of a human being Corrupted. And with the chandelier only providing so much light, it gave the impression that the underground records just kept going. Leading her to a bookshelf, every bit as innocuous as the rest, Barya led Aeriliya to a section with only half the shelf filled. Holding up her hand, little balls of light appeared in front of certain books that drifted down and formed neatly into a pile. ¡°These right here are what we have on the man you¡¯re seeking. If you think you need anything else, just ask and I will obtain the needed permissions. Stolen novel; please report. Taking the stack of record books and piling them on top of the table directly underneath the chandelier. Staring at the blank cover of the record in front of her, Aeriliya almost felt like she was condemning herself. As if she were about to slather herself in entrails and start running around a pack of untamed land dragons. But those words from the disturbed soldier in the Judge¡¯s office kept coming back to her. ¡°The past has come to kill us all¡±, she recalled, ¡°The Hatchet Man intends to finish his work.¡± She knew she was going to hate the answers she found, but answers were what she needed. Flipping to the first page: War, life¡¯s constant companion and natural enemy. Every nation dreads and yet thirsts for war. And in this way, no greater example exists than the Demon Wars; An event that occurs when all the evil in a generation reaches its zenith. Demons, while a peculiar existence are not a natural one, but they are undeniably a part of this world¡¯s being. Born as the result of a person¡¯s improper idealism and misappropriated use of magic abilities, the destructive potential for a demon is frighteningly diverse. And for as terrifying as these demons can be, the gods didn¡¯t abandon us by giving us a way to combat them, the twelve summoned heroes. Brought into this world from parts unknown and imbued with the blessing from one of the twelve gods each, they have proved instrumental in the prevention of this world¡¯s subjugation and its subsequent reparations. It had been over ten months worth of fighting against the demon king Muma ¡® Iru Rabasa Du¡¯ ¡®Umis. The various races had formed the customary confederacy of alliances to fight against the threat but few victories compounded by gradual loss of ground grew with the passing months. Summoning the heroes was a foregone conclusion, but we had hoped to do so when the situation was less volatile and we would have more time to familiarize the heroes with their new world and their abilities. But on January 7th, during the 41st year of the reign of Emperor Aquila Rathbourn, there came a highly perplexing event. Several hours after all the heroes were summoned, about two hours past midnight, the summoning runes in the temple of the holy city of Acolynia acted of their own accord. There were two witnesses to the event, composed of the guards for the summoning room. While waiting for guard change, the sound of activating magic was heard. Unable to open the door, as once they are shut, they cannot be opened until after the summoning is complete. After the room was silent again, the guards found a man standing in the activated runic circle. The man who was marked to become the world¡¯s thirteenth summoned hero. Hows That For an Entrance (Part One) Pain and fear were two commodities that the man dealt with like a Wall Street shark would trade in stocks and bonds. He was used to dealing them out, and even taking it but never to the point that those two things turned on him. His two dealings smothered his senses like a can of tear gas. Ironically, tear gas was something he had grown used to. All around him, his comrades, their mottled green uniforms stained crimson from the dozens of open bullet wounds weeping with blood. He angrily thought to himself, ¡°It wasn''t supposed to turn out this way!¡± This was just supposed to be a routine scouting mission. Stake out a few hundred meters from the area of interest, in this case, being a half dozen seemingly abandoned Russian city blocks. Then just keep watch for a little while, inform the brass about what you see and move on. It¡¯s natural to expect things to go completely wrong, it''s just what he did. What he wasn¡¯t expecting was to be literally surrounded on all sides by men who were wearing a uniform that designated them as allies. Slumped underneath a window, the haze of what he thought was terror, physical exhaustion, mental taxation and sheer unbridled anger were clouding the man''s ability to think , which for someone like him, was an especially dangerous thing to do. "Gary", a nameless grunt shouted, "They just took out two more guys and are swarming their way up to our floor. Orders, sir?" Ugh, even though he had been called that for years now, that nickname still instinctually irked him. Thoughts of trying to lay down their arms to surrender and possibly buy themselves a small measure of leniency crossed the man''s mind. Sliding a mirror from his breast pocket and carefully angling it to see outside, he could see a few bodies, ally and supposed ally alike from the first attempt at friendly communication. Now they were callously kicked out of the way to make a clear path for the incoming troops. Yeah, that immediately dashed away any thoughts of negotiations. And considering that the building they decided to bunker in was completely blocked off, escape was looking equally impossible. Swallowing his emotion, "Obstruct all stairways and paths up. Barricade any potential entrances and set up claymores within those parameters. Frisk any bodies for whatever you can use. When you''re done, retreat to the nearest staircase, and do not move until you can no longer hold your position." The grunt saluted and ran back to complete his task. A pained laugh sounded a few feet away, "You should really work on your poker face. Despair is not your color." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Casting a sardonic look, "Can it, Sarnosky. I''m not in the mood for your sass right now." The now identified Sarnosky lifted his hand which was wet with bright blood and shrugged, "Eh, I figure if there''s a time for insubordination, now would be it." Dragging his way over and ignoring the shooting pain in his thigh, the man propped himself next to his second in command. An explosion and a round of gunfire below signaled that their assailants were closing in. Lighting a cigarette, Sarnosky groaned, "Guess what they say about how you Gary''s come with one hell of a price tag was an understatement." The man responded indirectly, "Hey, can I bum one of those?" His number two handed him the pack with a grin, "Sure about that? I hear these things kill." Taking a deep inhale from the cancer stick, "Do you regret having someone like me lead you guys?" The muffled gunfire below had died down, replaced by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps and yelling. Shots rang out anew, and the pungent smell of powder was already reaching them. "I''d be lying if I said I didn''t", Sarnosky admitted, "You little science experiments always cause one hell of a ruckus." Another drag and another heavy exhalation, "Yeah, can''t refute that." "But, either way we were probably going to be sent on an assignment that would turn sideways or have a zero percent chance of surviving. Ain''t that the usual MO?" The shots had once again fallen silent and the rhythmic sound of approaching boots drew ever nearer. Spitting the cigarette out of his mouth, the man forced himself to stand with his back against the wall. Checking the magazine on his rifle, he had less than half his bullets left. Low ammunition, practically all his men dead, a gaping wound on his thigh, and an unknown number of enemies closing in. Yeah, it was definitely a Thursday. Standing next to him, Sarnosky readied his own rifle, "When we meet on the other side, let''s go out and have that drink I was always saying I''d get you." Flipping off the safety and training his sights on the door, "I''ll hold you to that." The reinforced door flew off its hinges. The man and his partner gave one last cry as the flash of the muzzles blinded their vision. Fire punched through every inch of the man''s body. All the strength left his body as he collapsed on the floor. Breathing became near impossible as fluid was starting to fill his lungs. Despite his vision growing progressively darker, he could clearly see another man standing above him. His mind barely registered, ''General... Avalon?" Humorless and sharp was the gaze that peered down. "Sorry, Puppet", the general said in a voice that could make a robot sound human, "We need this war to be publicly won cleanly. And you''re putting that at risk." The general leveled his sidearm right between the bleeding man''s eyes. Flash and then darkness. Hows That For an Entrance (Part Two) If the man were coherent, he''d probably equate the sensation to being in a sensory deprivation tank. There was nothing. Just an awareness of weightless floating. No sight, smell or hearing... at least that''s what he thought. ''..eek me.'' ''W-What", he blearily wondered. Clearer than before there was a voice that came from nowhere, but was unmistakably present, ''Seek me.'' The words made no sense to him. Seek? Seek what? Where was he supposed to seek it? Who was that even talking to him? Wait, there was a light. Shining like a lighthouse in the infinite nothingness around him. He drifted towards the light or rather the light was dragging him towards it and all the while, ''Seek me.'' With the light drawing closer, coherence was ever so slightly returning to his previously muddled mind, "Who are you? And what do you mean ''seek me?''" One final time the voice reiterated, ''When you reach the lowest point, seek me and I will guide you.'' The light was now forcefully wrapping around him. Confusion about everything was flooding his mind but he called out, "What does that mean?" But the voice had stopped repeating itself and now, even though he was squeezing his eyes shut, the light was still practically blinding him. The feeling of weightlessness disappeared and the man came careening down into something. Returning to normal physics after being subjected to... whatever had just happened to him was disorienting. Vertigo, weakness, the still blinding light, some kind of sweet smelling smoke and what sounded like a kind of chanting was assaulting his every sense. Naturally, the only thing to do upon going from nothing to plenty of something was, in his case, to eject his stomach acids onto the floor. Heaving and desperately pawing around to find something to steady himself on, he barely caught the sound of a door opening and feet running forward. Through his ringing ears, the man heard, ¡°What in the name of the gods? How did he get there?¡± "It doesn¡¯t matter how¡±, a second voice said, ¡°We need to alert the High Priest right now!" A hand roughly grabbed the man and instinct took over. Turning whoever''s pinky upward, he cranked the wrist and was rewarded with that person loudly cursing some word he had never heard before, "Faex!" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. More hands roughly grabbed at him and held him still. The man shot out a straight kick that at least hyperextended his assailant¡¯s knee. Quickly kicking the man he was grabbing before spinning him around to put him in a headlock, the man took stock of his situation. There were only the three of them in some kind of high vaulted room that looked like it belonged to a castle. The two that had tried to grab him were wearing some kind of all white uniform with breeches and robes. The man knew for a fact that he didn¡¯t recognize anything about where he was, but he couldn¡¯t remember what it was that was supposed to be familiar. Whatever situation he was in, the man knew that remaining in one place in unfamiliar and possibly hostile territory got you killed. Increasing the pressure on his victim¡¯s neck, the man felt him go limp. One guy unconscious and the other immobile, but still lively. The man saw him draw some kind of short sword. Whoever designed the sword was good with its surface being almost mirror clear. Snatching the same sword from the unconscious guard¡¯s hip, he held it above his neck, ¡°One more move and your friend dies.¡± He didn¡¯t even know if he was speaking the right language, but at least he got through clear enough that the other guard¡¯s sword clattered to the ground. Quickly taking it into his hand, the man smashed the but of the sword into the hinge of the guard¡¯s jaw, knocking him out. A scream made the man¡¯s head snap up as he saw a woman run away from the doorway. Tucking the blades in his belt, he thought that was definitely his cue to get out. Cautiously peeking his head around the doorway, he was definitely in some kind of castle or church. The interior design was definitely some kind of Renaissance style architecture with different figures and scenes he couldn¡¯t place carved into the stone walls. Through the intricate patterns of a window frame, he could see it was the middle of the night. The hallway was clear, but the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. They were coming from the right, so the only option was to run the opposite direction. As he ran, the man thought it might have been prudent to grab one of the uniforms, but the robes didn¡¯t have a hood, so it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. Tearing down the hallway, it split off in two directions, he paused and used his ears. The approaching footsteps from before were drawing closer. There were fewer than before, most likely a couple stopped to take care of the two he dispatched a moment ago. Beyond that, he could hear more voices off to the left, but the right was quieter. Moving as quickly as he could without sacrificing the silence of his feet, he took off down several hallways, no real direction, but keeping out of sight. By some miracle, when he turned the corner, and arrived in the foyer that led to what appeared to be a chapel. And more importantly, at the other end of the foyer there was a large door. The man got so caught up in the hope of the moment that it was only reflexes that saw him tuck and roll from a blast that made the rock behind him shatter. Growling to himself, he realized his pursuers would realize he¡¯d try to escape,and used their familiarity with the building to cut off his exit. Quickly running to the wall, he flipped over a table to form a makeshift shield. Before he pulled it down, he saw seven guards. ¡°Fool¡±, a voice scolded, ¡°We were told to capture only.¡± Introductions Are in Order (Part One) Aeriliya read and reread the lines in the account. Though his arrival was certainly unexpected and the first impression he left was far from stellar, there was little use in denying it: The young man, who identified himself as Edwin Thatch, found himself in the Summoning Temple. Such a thing, upon hearing it the first time, seemed so preposterous to the elven woman. And yet, there it was, sitting right in front of her, approved by the Pantheonites themselves as fact. Everyone on the continent and beyond knew of the heroes. How could they not? Twelve of the most powerful people in the entire world, trained by the finest this world had to offer to continually save the masses from demonic invasion. Like many others, Aeriliya was inspired to do what she did because of the heroes. Their courage and strength always seemed a testament to good and unity. But a thirteenth hero was not only unprecedented, it was unbelievable. One didn¡¯t even need to have an education like she did to know that the demons had sparked wars in every time period in recorded history and possibly beyond. And in each war, there were only ever twelve heroes. This had Aeriliya¡¯s analytical mind looking for any plausible angle, ¡®Why would an extra hero be summoned then of all times? There didn¡¯t seem to be anything too terribly different about the last war compared to any of the others. That same morning, an emergency summit of the entire High Priesthood of each of the Pantheon, several Scholars, Record Keepers and Scribes. The purpose of the summit was twofold: First, to determine whether the arrival of Mr. Thatch was mere happenstance, or an unprecedented divine decision. Secondly, and more importantly, what it was they would do about it. It was the first of what became an interminable number of summits and meetings over the next few months. (Twelve Years Ago) ¡°This cannot be! There must have been some kind of a mistake¡± ¡°Are we sure he isn¡¯t merely a thief?¡± ¡°What thief could break into a room that only has one entrance and exit?¡± After Ilphas had dropped the proverbial bomb on them, it had been absolute mayhem for nearly two hours and forty minutes. There was a cacophony of voices arguing and bringing up potential theories for the mere existence of the increasingly confused young man in front of them. Any man or woman present that wasn¡¯t part of the High Priesthood was running to and fro throughout the various seating tiers. They obtained and the Priests and Scholars pored over every scrap of historical record, holy text or even simply the recorded musings of past men. A few of the lower ranked people even had to step in to prevent fist fights from breaking out. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Edwin sat silently observing, taking careful note of everyone of interest. He knew the ones who were shouting would likely be annoying, but would only hold so much power. The ones whispering to each other were probably every bit as surprised as the rest, but much more level headed. Or simply better at hiding it. But there were two that almost didn¡¯t catch his eye, and that was what piqued his interest. One was wearing light blue robes while the other wore pastel orange. They weren¡¯t seated anywhere near each other, but they shared a similar disposition. Both had completely neutral expressions, but their silence and their unblinking eyes were telling a different message. Whatever that message was, Edwin knew they would be the ones to continue watching. Ilphas, being the only member that Edwin even recognized, raised his hands, ¡°Brothers, peace, peace¡±, he beseeched, ¡°I understand your frustration at this matter, but simply shouting at one another will not help us arrive at an answer.¡± ¡°How can we be calm at a time like this, High Priest Ilphas¡±, one man demanded, ¡°We have absolutely no way of knowing what this could possibly mean.¡± ¡°High Priest Medford, I am equally confused about this matter. I joined the Temple guards in apprehending Mr. Thatch and I almost paid for it with my life. The cut on my neck bears testament if my words cannot.¡± This set off a whole other slew of shouting. ¡°Even for a confused man, such is unbecoming of a hero¡±, one voice shouted. ¡°That supposes this Traveler is even a true hero¡±, a surprisingly calm voice cut through the noise. The voices quickly died down as they listened to the speaker. Edwin noted it was the same unusually neutral man, wearing light blue robes from before, ¡°We are under the assumption that this person is a hero, while we already witnessed all twelve heroes were summoned yesterday.¡± Everyone wasn¡¯t completely sure at first, but they had an idea of where the man was heading with his statement, and now they were wondering if he would be audacious enough to finish it. Ilphas gestured at the man, ¡°Please speak your mind, High Priest Feygon.¡± The man now identified as Feygon stood before the assembly, ¡°We here have been teaching and leading in our faith for a great many years, have we not¡±, he paused to let the others murmur their agreement, ¡°And in that time, man, elf, dwarf or otherwise, we have all witnessed our fair share of demonic warfare.¡± Ilphas once more interjected, ¡°You were asked to speak your mind, High Priest, and I implore you to do so.¡± Feygon shot an annoyed glance at Ilphas from the corner of his eye before turning back, ¡°As I have said, we have all seen more than one demonic war. And, in all the times in between, we have taken careful measure to the intent of our gods and the methods of past heroes¡±, he lifted his hand towards Edwin, ¡°This stranger, has appeared outside our chosen time and throws centuries of long held tradition away. How are we to know his very presence is even the will of our gods.¡± The silence within the hall only seemed to deepen as the implication was considered.