A DETOUR
ROLANDIA
Kane's group fans out, their eyes sweeping the area. Cleared paths stretch before them, unmistakably leading toward a sprawling compound.
A place of youthful learning, a school.
Bodies lie around, torn apart. Whatever did this had no feeling for any kind, it left men, women and children lying dead in it's wake.
Blades, broken shields and a few farm tools lay on the ground amongst the dead. Seems they did not go down without a fight.
The school stands, a stark Georgian relic, its concrete walls stubbornly unpainted.
The main structures, miniature manors, whisper of misplaced grandeur, a hint of lords and ladies in this austere setting.
Gargoyles, stone sentinels, perch along the buildings' roofline.
At the school's heart, a fountain's steady drip gives sound to the silence, a rhythmic counterpoint to the stillness.
"We should leave this place. The blood is fresh on some of these bodies, whatever did this is not far away", Emmet says.
"We have to tell the warriors", the Wagon rider says, making attempt to leave.
He almost slips but walks regardless, heading toward the gates but something swings by, fast moving it charges toward the man but he is stopped as Kane matches its speed to block it's attempt on the rider's life.
Blade in hand, he points it at the monster. An insect-like creature, standing at 6 feet with thin wings.
Its body looks hard like stone and its eyes, a marvel of shattered reality, a mosaic of countless tiny lenses.
It's exoskeleton takes pale resemblance, almost white and it's long pointy hands look like blades of wood.
"What is this thing?", Kane asks as the creature stares at him and the rider backs away from the beast.
The creature suddenly charges at Kane, punching him with swiftness to knock him off his feet.
Emmet slides past a corpse and picks up a lying sword, he jumps and spins in the air to swing down the blade but the creature blocks with its hard exterior.
It shrieks and delivers a drop kick to Emmet's chest before taking to the skies.
"Braga, throw me", Kane says as he runs toward him.
Braga grabs Kane by his clothes and with a single spin he throws him into the air, with pinpoint precision towards the chitinous monstrosity.
Braga's aim, as ever, strikes true.
In a glance, Kane reaches the creature and with precision and strength, he sends a cut between the joints of its exoskeleton to let it's head fall down to the ground while he crashes onto the rooftop of a building.
"Are you alright?", Braga raises concern but the volume of his voice only welcomes more of the creature's kind.
More insect-like monsters appear but they lack the advantage of thin wings like the one Kane killed, still they are enough to merit concern.
Braga looks around and picks up a rake for defence.
"Emilia, return to the wagon with the old man", Kane shouts as he runs toward them.
He charges and jumps toward danger, screaming and swing blade like a man drunk on battle.
"Target their joints", he says as he dances with blade in hand around the crowd of monsters, relieving them of their limbs before killing them.
Braga fights a good fight for a while but soon loses his weapon to their strength as it breaks under their attack. He tries to pick up a sword but the creatures are fast to prevent this.
They deliver punches to his midsection, endures he does on his hard belly.
But they gradually gang up on him as he struggles to fight them off.
He bashes two of their heads against each other to paint the grounds with black goo of their blood.
They claw at his back and he screams just before tearing off its horns to stab its throat.
Their red glassy eyes dash around as they storm the men, teeth thin and pointed like needles with lengthy thin horns sticking out of their heads.
"Come, feel the wraith that is Braga", the seven footer raises his thunderous voice as he charges past the pain of bleeding flesh to stab them with horns he now use as weapons.
The ants are swift, but fall short in comparison to the half-elf and the silver haired man.
Both using swiftness to cut them down, they dodge the creatures' attacks while reducing their numbers at snake's pace until the creatures turn away to flee.
Braga beats his hands on his chests like a wild monkey, "Run", he screams with a smile.
A smile quickly replaced with perplexity as Kane runs past him to give chase toward the creatures.
"Where are you going? Where is he going?", he turns gaze to Emmet.
"Let's find out", Emmet follows behind.
"Beware of silver hair, they are unpredictable and often seek death", the giant whispers to himself before he follows.
The three stop at the back of the school where they find a dark pit, no way to see the bottom, exuding no form of life except the sounds of insect feet scribbling through the earth.
"They dug this up. I think monsters are about to invade Rolandia", Braga says.
"We have to leave this fucking country, fast.", Emmet says, "If we leave, no one will warn them", Kane says, "The old rider will", "Not enough. We are heading west, right?", "Yes".
Braga and Emmet glance at each other, "Please tell me he is not going to say what I think he is going to say", Emmet says, "He is not".
"We will go west, but underground".
HIGH TOWN
Gwendolyn walks through the halls of the royal castle, evening breeze blowing through the majestic structures of miraculous architecture. Curved edges of the tall pillars hold the ceiling like the cursed titan who holds the heavens.
Her steps her voiceless, giving her the movement of a ghost. Her presence rattles unsuspecting guards, forcing them to stand at attention before her but she walks past them, taking glorious steps like a swan.
She takes turn and climbs stairs, eyes and minding mapping out the castle, remembering its corners from the East wing to the West wing.
Admiring its granite walls for even in the dark her eyes sees all.
Since she was revived, she has felt a new surge of energy that she never had before her coma. She sees the little ants at the edges of the hall way. She smells the burnt spices at the bottom of the unwashed pots in the kitchen on the ground floors.
She hears the heartbeat of every living being around her. Her sight is beyond anything she has ever seen, "What is this artifact that my husband used to revive me? It is incredible", she thinks.
She suddenly speeds off, forward at wind's pace, knocking off a maid as she uncontrollably moves.
She manages to get a grip of herself as she reaches the edge of the West wing, almost slamming into the wall.
She stares at the wall for a few seconds before smiling broadly.
She takes in a deep breath and suddenly frowns. She walks slowly to the left, approaching a balcony with open doors, welcoming the high winds of Heavenstone.
"I know you are here woman", the Queen suddenly says, "Walk with me".
She reaches the balcony, letting the evening stars shower her pale skin with their heavenly illumination.
She looks up at the skies and takes another deep breath, she turns her eyes to the dark corridors, staring at a figure too shrouded in the dark for normal eyes but not hers.
"You are the one that performed the ritual that broke the curse on me", Gwendolyn says.
"Yes, my Queen. But you misunderstand, I simply imbued you with a shard of divinity but your curse remains. Unfortunately, even with such a powerful relic I am not strong enough to break The Witch Queen's curse", the darkened figure says.
"Then what is this beautiful miracle that has happened to me?", she asks as the wind blows through her black hair.
"Like I said my Queen, the relic in you is divine. You have a piece of godly power, no curse can stop it", "So without it I will revert back to my former state", "Yes my Queen".
Gwendolyn staggers backwards, shivers go to through body and her stomach churns as her hands vibrate under the winds' kiss. She turns her loose hands into a fists, "That cannot happen".
"You, witch in the dark. What is your name?" "I am called Willow", she responds.
"I know you. You betrayed my husband. I know what you did?", a smile suddenly creeps unto her face.
As if the witch in the dark is about to make a run for it, the Queen moves in a swift motion and wraps her hand around the figure's throat.
She throws the witch on the floor under the eyes of the thousand stars in the sky, hooded cloak exposed to reveal her scaly black skin and yellow eyes.
"You are a snake-kin. That disgusting race", she glares down at the woman as she crawls backwards on her elbows.
"Don't worry. If I was going to kill you, you would be dead already", the Queen bends down so her eyes meet Willow's, "I believe you also betrayed your master and I wonder why?
You sent word for the assassins as soon as you had the relic. And yet you used it to save me, why? What is your motive for helping me and pretending to be loyal to your master", the queen says.
Willow's frame suddenly shrinks, shivering like cold grip her bones.
The Queen's eyes shine brightly, "Speak creature", she commands.
"I work for a powerful sorcerer by the name Zarek. He planted me here years ago while you were still in coma, I am of little importance to him", "Then why did you betray him?".
"My Queen. What you have is a piece of the gods power, a piece of the godspark. There are legends about it, I was curious to see what it would do for you.
I cared about the king, he was always good to me and made me important even though I operate in secrecy.", she whelps.
"So you wanted to help?" "Yes my Queen".
Gwendolyn pauses and then stands up. She gives the snake-kin a hand which Willow reluctantly accepts, "I assume you know how my husband truly died, yes?", Willow nods in acceptance.
"Your lips will remain sealed. If word of what really happened or who you really are becomes known, I will kill you. From now on, you work for me", she says, slowly levitating into the mid air.
"Now, tell me all I need to know about the kingdom in my absence".