Dawn at Huinan Gates

Ronova rested his elbows on the rough, woody edge of the south watchtower, fighting off another big yawn. Sleep dragged at his eyes. It was another hour before anyone in the village would even think of breakfast. But Ronova, in his thick leather coat and iron-stitched gloves, had not slept since the day before. Orders were orders, especially after the strange things that happened near Arnan.

He listened to the quiet. Only the fading chirp of a night insect and the soft rustle of the forest's edge. Once, he'd loved these peaceful moments—he could see the first hints of pink in the sky, the fog over the silent fields. But now? The silence made him nervous.

He peered down the long, muddy road that led to Arnan. The road twisted through a dip, then up a small hill. He'd walked it many times, but now with every heartbeat, he wondered if something would come crawling out of the morning mist. Maybe he'd see something moving, something wrong.

And then, all at once, he did.

First, just a few dark shapes. He narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was the tiredness—maybe his mind played a trick. But no: as the light crept over, he saw them more clearly. Eight or so people, heads down, clothes dark with stains. Their steps dragged. One fell; the others pulled him up. Ronova's spine turned cold.

He almost laughed with relief when he recognized Keynes at the front. He remembered the guard captain from Arnan—sometimes called into Huinan to train the local militia or receive news from the Lord Knight's regiment. Keynes had always seemed unbreakable, but now… he was barely upright, one arm bloody, his uniform torn.

Beside him was Rudy, one of the youngest guards in Arnan, and others that Ronova only barely knew by face. He hesitated by the watchtower's bell—should he ring the alarm bell or not?

His hand hovered. He decided instead to call for the village chief. The guards on the night shift were already awake, most of them, so he shouted for Ton instead.

"Hoi! Someone bring Ton! Now!" His shout cracked the quiet.

A few seconds later, Ton's figure rushed over. If there was a single person in Huinan who radiated calm leadership, it was Ton. Tall and straight-backed, he wore the blue sash at his waist, the village chief's sign. Ton shaded his eyes and looked out through the slit in the gate.

Ronova explained quickly, heart still pounding. "It's Keynes' group, or what's left, I think. From Arnan. But something's wrong. They look hurt. Badly."

Ton's face hardened, eyes narrowing with worry. "I'll get Herman and Trinada." He paused just long enough to clap Ronova's shoulder. "Keep your eyes open. Don't let anyone in until we know what happened out there."

Ronova nodded, staying at his post as Ton hurried away, his steps even and purposeful.

Ronova didn't have to wait long. Herman came first. The old hunter, known for his sharp eyes and silent steps, always carried his twin daggers—blades dark with age, shining in their own way. Ronova had always respected Herman, who had fought off mountain wolvfies, wild men from the north, and worse. Herman barely glanced at Ronova, just nodded and went right to the gate's window.

"Let's go get Trinada," Herman said, his voice low. "We'll need more than muscle for this."

They found old man Trinada barely fifty paces away, standing over his stone forge, poking the embers for a morning heat-up. He was thick through the shoulders, even with age, and had a face lined like a dried riverbed. When Herman explained, Trinada just frowned, grabbed his walking stick, and followed.

Back at the gate, the situation outside was getting worse. Rudy reached the small peek-window, the others huddled behind him.

With reluctance, Ronova unlatched the square wooden cover, just a crack.

Rudy's face was ghost-pale, lips trembling. "Please—let us in. Keynes is not in a condition to talk. Please, just let us explain..."

Ton looked Rudy up and down carefully—a leader thinking fast. "Wait. First, tell us what happened. From the beginning."

Rudy nodded, swallowing, fear clinging to every word.

"We—we thought it was just a strange anomaly at first. Some noise comes from near the west wall. Probably Herman already knew because he checked it with Keynes before going back to Huina. But—" his eyes flicked to the wounded captain, who was shivering, "—then we saw a lot of the same thing coming from the forest. Villagers, animals,... monsters. Some were bleeding and even lost some of their limbs, but they just kept moving. With that kind of wound, they should already be dead. Along the time… it becomes massive, then—"

Swallowing his saliva with eye wondering all over the place while glancing behind him… exactly on the empty road they came from, then continuing his word

"—a sudden scream comes from the village hall… when Keynes checks it, I'm not sure what he sees but… the moment I got there, the villagers that got treated there suddenly became aggressive and attacked… or more like eaten another villager!" 

A second survivor behind Rudy—a woman with stained dress and blood in her hair—sobbed softly into her hands.

Ronova pressed closer to the little window. Even through all the wool and wood, the smell of blood was faint and sickening.

Rudy's voice lowered, quaking. "The dead. They—they got up. They attacked. Eyes empty, mouths full of—" he shuddered, refusing to finish.

"A curse from the rumor that merchants bring," murmured Trinada, voice deep as distant thunder.

Rudy pressed on. "We tried to hold them back, but every time we cut them, they just got up. Blood gushing but they look like—not feeling anything. People went mad. Broke through the east and north. We tried to lead as many out, but most… didn't make it." His jaw worked, remembering more than he wanted to. "Then the west gate—something smashed it. Something… huge, probably an Alpha monster. Another thing hunts the villager after breaching the gate. Its fur as black as midnight, jaws wide as a river. It… it ate the chief. Swallowed him."

Tears ran down the cheeks of another young survivor. The group huddled tighter together outside the closed Huinan gate.

Ton, listening to every word, asked the most important question after realizing it matched with the rumors that merchants bring.

"How many of you were bitten or scratched?"

Rudy shook his head hard. "We ran before they could get us. Two fell, but the rest of us—just wounded from running and hit by some tree chip, the result of that monster that threw our village wooden log everywhere." He held up his arm, where mud and dried blood crusted a torn sleeve.

Herman looked at the chief, his face calm but his eyes burning. "We have to let them in, Ton. If this is what the hunters… Gilian and Arvan feared…"

Trinada nodded. "Better inside than out. If there's sickness, we can manage. The monsters—they will follow soon."

For a moment, the leaders hesitated. Ton looked at Keynes, then at each survivor. Their injuries looked real—wounds from running, not infected bites; fear clouded every eye. Most were half-collapsed from exhaustion, not sickness.

Ton made his choice. "Open the gate. But keep your weapons ready. Nobody touches anyone else until we know they're clean. Herman, Ronova—watch the sides. Trinada, bring your hammer, just in case."

The guards worked quickly, dragging the wooden bolt aside. It screeched—creeeeeak—and the heavy door swung inward on thick hinges. One by one, the survivors shuffled in, blinking into the relative safety of Huinan. Keynes had to be half-carried, nearly fainting.

Inside, villagers peeked out from their homes. The morning buzz of daily life was cut short by the horror on these people's faces, the blood on their hands and clothes.

"Get them to the treatment hall," Ton said, voice brisk but gentle. "Cren's still inside, but there's room. I'll call Rutina, she probably can help using her healing spell to ease their wound."

The survivors stumbled toward the hall, already crumbling into tears and half-sobs. Some collapsed on benches inside; Keynes was lowered to a cot near the wall.

Herman stayed near the door observing the road behind the south gate before it got closed, daggers drawn, as if expecting the dead of Arnan to follow behind at any moment. As far as he can see, it's the usual road surrounded by forest trees on each side.

Outside, Ronova sagged against the gate, exhaustion catching up all at once. But he didn't dare leave. The world felt suddenly fragile—like one push from the monsters would end everything.

As dawn turned to full morning, Ton joined Ronova at the wall, eyes searching the now-empty road.

"We'll need to double the patrols," he murmured. "Get the word to the others in every house. What happened to Arnan could happen here."

Ronova nodded, feeling his own throat close with worry. They'd let the survivors in. That was right. But fear lingered with them, thick and heavy, like the fog that never seemed to entirely leave this part of the world.

In the silent halls of Huinan, eight new beds were filled. But behind every locked door, the villagers of Huinan listened for the sounds—the sounds of something dead, something wrong, moving in the shadows just beyond their gates.