Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 1:27 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The man squinted, what did she mean? He shrugged it off. Kes’tral was a mystery. She’s mad, he thought. She’s going to get me killed.

He was determined to get back to the coast, but which way had it been? Whatever way they had come was untraceable, any path in the grass already destroyed by the wind and the amount of spiders that had come for them in the night. What to do, the man wondered.

The pirate walked in a large circle around the camp, one last sweep in the hopes of finding the lost compass. A fruitless attempt. He made a decision and, just as Kes’tral had promised, she followed. Who knew if it was the right one?

Hours and hours of walking was bad enough with vision. He couldn't imagine how Kes’tral felt or what she was experiencing. Once or twice he had closed his eyes to test the sensation, only to trip and almost fall in the grass. He could appreciate now, why she held her hand against his arm, using him as a guide.

It didn't take long for Wendell to catch on, trusting his small warnings were of use, explaining whenever the land rolled away into a steeper hill than others. He told the woman where she sound put her feet, if only to allow her the chance to relax mentally, quieting the need to seek out each step with her magic senses.

All kinds of horrors played on his mind, the thought of running into another mimic the most prominent of these. What would they do if they could not silence it before it was able to call upon the strength of another hoard? He kept extra vigilant, casting his gaze across the horizon every few seconds and glancing behind from time to time.

That thing had found their path and attempted to follow it to its source. They had been fortunate that that direction was the wrong one, it had given the pair a chance to form a plan. Next time, he thought, they might not be so lucky. Mimics, or Chompers, as the dark-haired girl had named them, perhaps aptly, were also able to turn into animals. He could just imagine himself drooling over the sight of a rabbit only to regret it.

“It just goes on,” he said, somewhat defeated by the endlessness of the grasslands of the Bohar Plains. “It just goes on and on…”

Wendell held his hand out to slow the woman to a halt in silence. “We should rest,” he encouraged, crouching down on the edge of a slope. The pirate had a good view from here, though he couldn't see much behind them. Not wanting to be flanked, Wendell shuffled up the hill a little to sit at its peak.

They had no food, but were able to silence their hunger for a spell by gulping at the water in their canteens, which kept their bellies full for a time.

“If you weren’t here,” he said, “and you weren’t on the Oathkeeper… Where would you be, wanderer?”

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 7:33 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

“You agreed,” Kes retorted, “you agreed and I didn’t disagree.” She kept her back to him, because really what would be the point in turning around? She knew that before her the sun would be rising on a golden day. The grasses would glow with its gentle touch. They whispered to her, filled with life and vitality. She could feel all of their roots stretching down into the rich earth beneath her feet. She could feel the pressure her own feet placed on the softener ground, and Wendy’s too. Birds flew overhead and she could hear their frantic hearts beating fast as they called to each other. The world was alive and even without her eyes, she was lucky to see more of it than most. What she already missed, however, was colour. Forced to imagine the different shades and hues of the sky and Wendy’s eyes.

She heard him sit down and start gathering his belongings. Kes waited for him to stand and begin the journey before she advanced. Her own heavy bag slung over her back. She reached out, resting a hand on his arm.

“I will follow you.”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 5:17 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Wendell found himself trapped in the woman’s gaze for a few long seconds. She didn’t see him and yet he sensed that she did. Magic, huh. Kes’tral leaned in and the man found himself rocking back on his heels slightly, bare feet entangled in grass. The woman pulled away and he stilled. Wendell looked down. “Hey, dirty tricks. We agreed no magic… Kes’tral, think of your eyes, we can’t risk making it worse,” he challenged.

The pirate pulled himself free and went to collect up his boots, his feet still not healed after days and days of walking, to no end. The grasslands, just like the desert, seemed to stretch on forever, making it difficult to imagine anything else. Sat in the grass, Wendell gathered his things and closed his bag, the search for his compass forgotten. Now, he only thought about the road ahead and the journey they would face today.

“We best get going then,” he said.

Wendell didn’t wait for a reply, quiet now, lost to his own thoughts as he took the first few steps into the unknown. Without the compass, they were as good as lost. They would never find the boat again, of that he was sure. Perhaps they would never need it.

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 4:42 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes didn’t know if Wendy would ever realise how close he had come to trampling over her. His boots brushed against her back as she dove. Her heart was thudding hard against her chest as she listened and darted again, half skidding across the grasses that remained.

She climbed back to her feet, listening to the frantic thud of Wendy’s heart and couldn’t help but smile. He moved again, but this time he sensed a difference. He wasn’t trying to hurt her and she slowed her own movements, holding still before she was swept up.

Kes couldn’t help but laugh as he crowed. She hit her hands against his back, wriggling in his arms as he spun. “Perfect she grinned and propped her chin in her hand, elbow against his back. “You spin and I’ll throw fire,” it was a plan. It might not have been a good one, but it was a plan.

He paused and she grinned. The shoots of fresh grass had had enough time to rise up from the ground. They curled over his boots and thickener. A few longer strands started to weave gently around the man’s legs. Kes wriggled again, sliding carefully down. She balanced her hands on his chest as she extended her feet, searching for the ground with her toes.

Kes stayed close, his breath brushing against her cheek. His heart thumping beneath her hand. “Champion, eh?” She lent in, as though to press a kiss to his cheek, only to pause before her lips brushed his skin. It was then that she took a quick step back, out of reach. Her vines caught around his legs, holding tight as she turned and sauntered away.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 4:23 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The pirate had thrown his full force into the lunge, having been so sure he would tag her. Kes’tral had been quick to react to the sounds around her, falling to the ground only to roll out of his way a split second before he would have made contact. The pirate tumbled into the grass, rolling to scramble up onto his feet once more. Like a charging bull, he went for her again, but she had him, had those few precious seconds to listen and figure out which direction he was coming from.

He grabbed at nothing again, thrown into the tall grass. Wendell sat on his hands and knees, peering at his target through the swaying grasses. He stilled, trying to hold his breath, though his heart and lungs betrayed him, burning, calling for air. Wendell laughed, staggering to his feet again. How was it possible he had time or the sense to laugh after everything that had gone on? The fight was forgotten, traded for a game of tag.

The man donned a breathless smile, closing the gap again, this time with more control, this time, without trying to take the woman down. Instead he bent, cautious and slow, wrapping his arms around her thighs to lift her from the ground and throw her over his right shoulder, holding her there.

“Champion!” He crowed, as he strutted around like a prize cock, parading his favourite hen. “Now,” he paused, “just imagine a hundred of those things coming from all different directions.” Wendell hadn’t put the woman down. This was the punishment that came with defiance. “Champion!” He squawked again.

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 4:08 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Oh dear, Kes regretted accepting the challenge immediately. Wendy was a strong man, and she had seen him fight during her time in the Oathkeeper; he could be merciless and had left more than his fair share of bloodied noses and broken bones in his wake.

She heard movement and twisted to the side. There was a loud thud and the woman dropped to the ground. Not knowing how or when the man would approach, she had decided to attempt a defence instead. At least until she was able to lay hands on him. She rolled to one side, scrambling to her feet.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 3:58 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

“Joke’s on you,” he said, “I’ve never owned underwear!” Wendell barked a laugh, it wasn’t the truth, but lately, it might as well bed. They had gone so long without stumbling upon any kind of township or village. Of course, they had been able to wash their clothes, though neither of them had a lot to work with.

Kes’tral rose to his challenge, surprising no one. So stubborn, he thought to himself again. Wendell looked about. Was this to be a battle with or without weapons? Everything he owned was lethal, but Kes’tral did have her stick… or what did she call it, a staff? It was a stick. He nodded.

“No weapons then,” he said.

No weapons, he thought. Even with two working eyes, he didn’t trust that Kes’tral would not best him. The pirate waited, the breeze was calm, there would be no way to hide his approach, not with her listening like she was. That was when the idea struck. He slipped off a boot, a slow, cautious smile pulling up the left side of his mouth as he then reached for the other one, silent. Wendell dragged the left boot across the top of the grass beside him, before letting it roll away, the other already airborne, came to land at the woman’s left.

He charged at her right.

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 3:20 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes couldn’t help but laugh at his answer. “We both know you ran out of clean underwear over a week ago,” she teased. Everything was better when there was a way to laugh. “I don’t need to see, to tell you that!” She sat down where she had been standing. Without knowing what was lost, she had no way to search it out. She had her legs crossed, hands planted in the dirt and ash. Moving her fingers over the surface and exploring the different textures.

She felt his footsteps as he moved around, half shuffling with his feet. Something small then. But what? With no way to help, she extended her senses instead, exploring the world around them. There was no impending sense of sickness. For now, she hoped that they were safe.

His sudden offer caused her to sit up. Kes scrambled to her feet, dusting off her hands on her trousers. “Alright,” she replied without hesitation. She bent her legs a little, feet shoulder width apart. As she moved, waiting for his attack, she summoned the shoots and seeds beneath their feet. The grass close to the surface and covered so far in ash.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 3:13 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

“I,” he paused. Wait, how did she know he had lost something? “Nothing,” he said, not wanting to admit that he had lost, no, misplaced their only means of navigation. “Its nothing, I just… can’t find any clean underwear, that’s all.” Wendell almost could have laughed at that, if he weren’t so disappointed with losing the compass. It must have fallen out while we were fighting last night, he thought.

The pirate stood up and started to wander around camp, moving the grass with the toe of his boot as he looked about the place, trying to recall where he had fought the night before.

I had been running, he thought, and looked about the ring of scorched earth, trying to recall which direction he had come from, right before the spiders had attacked.

“Good,” he agreed, “so you will let someone look at you.”

Kes’tral had a point. Who in their right mind would be wandering around the grasslands just waiting to help them. Why wouldn’t she consider turning back? Did she not know how to accept defeat?

“Fight me,” he challenged. “Prove you can fight and I will accept that you are well enough to do so.” Wendell squinted at the woman, knowing her, she still had some spells up her sleeve.

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 2:19 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

He made a reasonable case, but Kes knew herself to be an unreasonable person. She bent as the snake moved past, extended a hand to the creature. The animal moved up to make a home in her palm at first before winding around her wrist and arm. It settled against her short, long forked tongue kissing the air. Kes’tral patted its head with her free hand.

“What have you lost?” She asked the man without turning to look at him. Disheartened by her inability to see. His heart rate had increased, not quite panic, but no longer steady.

“I can fight,” Kes countered, she bent and let the snake wind its way back down her arm before it slid away through the long grasses. “We search for someone that can help, agreed…but the girl was warning everyone here. How many people do you think have stayed to fight.” She turned toward him then. “Wendy, if we do not fight, do you believe we will ever stop running?”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 2:00 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

She was so stubborn. Why was she so stubborn?

“Kes’tral,” he said, low, quiet, as if to plead with her. Was she being reckless. Was he just scared? “Please be reasonable… You can’t see, how can you fight?”

He was tempted to take up a weapon then and throw it at her, to see if she had the ability to snatch it up out of the air even with her vision being impaired.

“Sure,” he reasoned, “you might adapt, reply on your healing more than you used to. It could save you from one spider, a snake in the grass?” He watched the long, brown snake sliver past their camp in no real hurry. “But you saw how many of those things there were! Last night they seemed to have no end… Who knows what summoned them away or when they’ll be back?”

The pirate looked in his pack for something to eat, not sure why, he already knew there was nothing in there. “At least let us continue moving in the hopes of finding someone who might be able to help?” He suggested. If that direction just so happened to be by way of the coast, how would Kes’tral know?”

Wendell felt around for his compass. Where had he left it? He looked through his pack, hurried, a little panicked. “Uhhh,” he uttered, “where did that thing go?”

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 1:15 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

He sat up and she turned, as though to watch him. Only to realise that she still could not see. The woman tilted her head to the side, listening to the steady drum of his heartbeat. Something moved through the grass, a snake by the sounds of it and she turned a little to ensure that the creature skirted the edges of their camp. The breeze lifted and stirred the hair that had escaped from her braid in the night, sticking up at angles from her forehead.

“I still can’t see,” she confirmed, quiet. It was a hard thing to admit. As though every time she said it out loud, it became more real. As if saying it, would make it more permanent.

Wendy suggested that they made for the coast and she couldn’t help but smile. Kes pushed her hands into her pockets, somewhere, by her feet she knew, was her staff. “You don’t think a little thing like blindness is going to stop me, do you?” She lifted a brow as she looked in his direction.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t scared. She was terrified. The wrongness in the land still tugged at her, she could feel it wrapped around her soul like an infection. “I have to stay.”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 12:48 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Started awake, the man stared, wide-eyed at a too-bright dawn. He blinked, his vision spotted with small, glowing black dots where he had mistakenly looked directly into the sun. The soft hairs on his forearms prickled under Kes’tral’s touch, it seemed she too was awake. The man watched, smiling, only to realise she looked at him without seeing anything. The woman bowed and the pirate held his breath as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Did she realise he was awake?

Wendell didn’t dare to make a sound as the bird-woman moved about the camp, as if going in search of something. He tried to imagine what it might be like to be in her predicament, to be blind, a thought he could not fathom and so, entertained for only a short while. The dew on the grass around him left his clothes damp, though the ground under his back was warm, if not a little firm.

He sat up, quiet and looked around at the small insects that crawled up and down the long, narrow blades of grass. They were all busy at work, as if nothing was wrong with the world. It wasn’t often a person could say they envied a bug, yet in that moment, Wendell thought he might. His gaze found Kes’tral once more and he smiled, something almost fond.

“Good morning,” he greeted her. “Is your sight any better?”

With her reply, Wendell felt they only had one option. “Then we return to the coast, sail to the closest city and make sure we find a healer.” The man suggested.

Author: Kes, Posted: Mon Oct 7, 2019 12:31 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

It was the first brush of dawn that woke her. Kes stirred, sitting up she ran a hand over her face and her eyes. Nothing. She stared into a dawn that she could smell, but couldn’t see. Wendy’s arm fell away and she tilted her head. She remembered being warm, sleeping soundly in his embrace.

With careful fingers she touched his arm and traced the shirt to his tunic, then his shoulder. She could feel him breathing. The steady rise and fall of his chest in slumber. Kes bent, pressing a kiss to his cheek before she edged away on her knees. With her hands, she explored the ground. The Earth was coated in a thick layer of ash that crunches as she moved. The taste of it lined her tongue and she imagined that she was covered in the stuff.

Kes stood up, careful and slow as she found her balance with arms outstretched. What could she sense? The grass that had escaped the fire still whispered and waved. There were small animals running between the strands. The rising sun would be warm. She couldn’t smell rain, were there any clouds?

She cast her senses wider. There was none of the strange sickness near by and she let out a sigh of relief. Having spent so long with Wendy, she could sense him as though he was outlined with her own magic.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sun Oct 6, 2019 1:15 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

“I’ll wake you,” he promised.

Wendell held the woman close until she drifted off, his own heart racing for a time. During the days they had spent in the woods fringing the coast, even after the first attack, the surrounding trees had offered a sense of security. Here on the plains, out in the open, Wendell felt naked. An attack could come from any direction, with nothing to conceal their whereabouts.

The smell of death lingered in the air, mixed with the scent of ash. His only hope was that such a stench would ward off any other creatures from the void, but there could be no knowing for sure.

By the time it was dark, Wendell found himself blinking as he stared off into the distance, trying to see better. His mind was playing tricks on him, making anything that moved a threat. Wendell could feel a sense of madness spreading, finding that he was beginning to dwell on everything that could go wrong, a vicious cycle that only fed his inner panic.

In the end he lay down beside Kes’tral, hard against her form, his arm around her for warmth. He closed his eyes, relying for a time on his hearing alone. There was little to keep him company but the sound of his heart, still throbbing in his ears, the whispering grasses and distant call of night owls.

There had been no intention to fall asleep and yet sleep came, silent in the night to take him away. Who knew what the dawn would bring. Every time he shut his eyes seemed like it might be the last. Still, what an adventure they had shared.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sun Oct 6, 2019 12:31 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

She could hear him approach, but his steps sounded weird. They shuffled across the ground and she stared, blind, trying to make sense if the movement. Warm hands curled around her arms and she wobbled. It was hard to find her balance without knowing where the ground was beneath her.

Disoriented, she clung to the man and was all too eager to be pulled into his embrace.
She could feel his heart hammering, pounding against his chest as they sat, wrapped up and close. What could she say? Sleep? Kes closed her eyes, perhaps it really was a simple matter of resting.

When he moved, she could sense him dimly with her power. He circled the perimeter of the ash and collected up things from the ground. She sat still, turning as she followed him with her sense of hearing. Another day she might have teased him, that she tracked his movements by smell.

He returned and she flinched, not quite knowing when the touch would fall. She moved into his embrace, more then he had offered Kes was sure. But he had been right, sitting within the circle of his arms was a comfort. Her head bowed against his shoulder. “If I rest…wake me and I will cover you.” She touched a hand to her eyelids. “I can sense the grasslands… if there is anything out there I can wake you.”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 5:02 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes’tral spoke and the man listened, his beating heart the only contender standing to thrum louder than spoken word. “What?” The man asked, turning to look at her. What a pair, he thought, how had they come this far?

Wendell walked on his knees towards the woman. He took her up, hands on her arms as he helped her kneel. Staring into her eyes, the black dots at the centre had almost tripled in size, the milky blue now no thicker than a hair. “Close your eyes,” he told her, pulling the woman into his arms to comfort her. Was this the price of fire?

“It's going to be all right,” Wendell said, “you just need rest.” He prayed that was all it was. What would they do if the woman’s sight did not return? “Rest and tomorrow we will make a plan.” Such was his way. There had to be hope, hope that tomorrow would come.

Once settled, he left Kes’trall to rest while some light still remained, enough for him to collect his weapons, pack and the arrows that had fallen out of his quiver. Wendell returned to Kes’tral then, putting an arm around her as he sat watch. Things were going to get a lot worse before they got better, he thought, especially if he was to go without something as crucial as sleep.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 4:38 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Were they gone? It seemed that they fought on for hours. The toll of her physical exhaustion however, was nothing compared to the drain on her ability. She was a conduit for the magic, and it took more of her than she could afford to give. There was always a price. Wendy had been cross, angry at the advantage her magic gave her. He did not understand the price. Her arms moved with rhythm as she dispatched any who dared venture within the circle of fire. The muscles ached, fuelled only by adrenaline. Her limbs were heavy, her throat hoarse and dry.

Suddenly, as they had been in the forest, the creatures were quick to depart. The last one was dead and she dropped once more. Staff cast away from bloodied hands. The fire vanished as though snuffed out like a candle and left only the charred blackness behind.

The line of fire was burnt across her vision and she stared. As though she had her eyes closed, darkness was all that she could see, and the line of flames, as though she had been staring at the sun. But it hadn’t been the sun. And the darkness did not recede. She could not see stars, not her hands as she lifted them to inspect the damage. Soft hands had been torn on the wooden staff.

Kes stared without seeing, into the night.

“Wendy…” she inhaled, surely if she didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be true. She steeled herself. “Wendy…I can’t see.”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 4:30 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Wendell didn’t know himself, what he was capable of in those moments. He had slipped away, as if in a trance. Kill, survive, keep fighting, his silent mantra. Some of the spiders beyond the wall had come too close to the flames, trapped by the army of their own kind piling in at their backs. They wrestled for freedom, dragging the circle of flames further still from the pair who fought to keep them at bay.

The hand axe Wendell had claimed in the desert had proven to be an invaluable weapon, swift, light and easy to use. He cut through his enemies with a focus that might frighten any other man. Every now and then he chanced a look at Kes’tral, to make sure she was all right, to encourage her to keep fighting. The hoard appeared to be endless, but just as quickly as they had come into view, they seemed to be dispersing, perhaps called to arms by another distant master, the dead beast of Wendell’s back no longer holding dominion over them.

A few determined stragglers stuck around to fight, nothing the pair couldn’t deal with. He dreaded to think how many he had cut down, only to live with the knowledge that there were so many thousands more out there, tearing the Plains of Bohar apart. They had killed half a hundred at least with fire and steel, but it wasn’t enough.

Alone, Wendell slumped down on the grass to sit and catch his breath. He looked at Kes’tral, but said nothing. After all, what was there to say? Was she determined to stay? Was there still time to run? How could anyone run from this, knowing it might be the end of mankind itself.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 4:17 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

He was stronger then she could have imagined. Dragging her back to her feet, then saving them both with his quick thinking. But she felt very distant from the man. As though she was floating away with the smoke that rose from the fire. It had been a foolish idea and a desperate attempt. Using magic she was not used to, had never tried before had done more then just exhaust her. There was always a price.

He shouted for her and summoned her back. She climbed to her feet, hands wrapped once more around her staff. It took all of her will, to keep the fire back from where they stood. It was a command, and one she was forced to maintain. One of the spiders dropped through the flames and she slammed the butt of her staff into its crown, crushing it with a satisfying crunch.

She advanced on the wall and it retreated, rolling back over scorched earth and the spiders against it. They twitched, trying and failing to flee. The circle expanded as she walked, flexing out. It left an expanding line of black ash in its wake. The dead grasses turned to dust beneath her boots as she staggered. The sudden expansion of the circle had rolled over any number of arachnids. Any that survived the fire wall were weak and she followed the inside wall, careful to dispatch anything that still looked alive. Grateful that she wore her boots and here feet weren’t bare.

Ash coated her feet and rose in a cloud. She was filthy from it and the scent of charred grass and void bodies filled the air.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 4:08 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

He caught the woman, forcing her to stand, there was no time to be weak, not now. This had been her hope, her desire to save the Plains of Boahr that had kept him here, she couldn’t back down now. He wouldn’t let her. Wendell smashed his hand axe into the creature’s skull once Kes’tral was on her feet, at least, he thought it was the skull. The black beast seemed to have no beginning or end. It’s black, shadowy flesh was malleable though, caving in under his powerful blows.

After a time, it lay still, burning and silent. Wendell believed they had achieved what they had set out to do. He looked back at Kes’tral to find her in a heap on the ground, exhausted by the use of her powers. He had to act, the giant spiders were closing in and fast. The pirate leapt through the flames, making a dash for his abandoned torch. Taking it up, he saw to it that the end was lit and returned to the edge of the fire, closing the gap between the two ends of the circle as fast as he could.

“Kes’tral!” He yelled, he knew she was tired, but he needed her help. She had to stop the flames from closing in on them.

The spiders stopped beyond the wall of flames, circling the pair, looking for some gap in the wall. One or two of them braved the leap, only to catch fire, hot enough to cause their legs to curl up and become useless. They made for easy kills, the man’s axe dispatching any who dared to leap into the ring with a single swing.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 3:55 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Her manipulation of the flame had left her drained. Then Wendy came charging out from the darkness like a conquering hero from the ancient stories. The firelight flickered on his face, his features stern and hiding his terror well. Her own fear, she was sure, was imprinted on her features. The split creature screeched aloud and the sound was deafening.

Kes found herself running towards the man. Suddenly, the screaming stopped. Was the animal dead? She almost ran into Wendy, tripping over her feet in the long grass. A ring of fire. Sure. It was just that easy. Dizzy, she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. Fire was hard, but working the landscape was more natural for her. The grasses around the mimic seemed to spring into the air as it writhed and twisted against the flames. The foliage extended, wrapping around the beast till it was covered and dropped, crawling over the ground it screeched.

A ring of fire? Dizzy, Kes dropped to her knees. She moved her hand towards the flame and the semi- circle it had made. It was too close, but the skittering sound of a hundred arachnid abominations we’re getting closer. She shouted; screaming herself as she pulled the fire along the ground, casting it in a sweep of her arm. Truly, she tried to give Wendy what he had demanded but her reach only extended so far. She managed a circle that was three quarters closed before she sagged. Her hands landed in the dirt. They were surrounded by the fire. The smaller creatures on the far side, but the mimic beast with them. And the circle wasn’t closed. It wasn’t just the dark night that made things difficult to see. Kes rubbed a hand across her eyes, the dizziness made everything blurry.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 3:43 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The long sharp whistle had stopped the mimic, though Wendell continued his sprint, his heart not ready to stop. When he no longer heard the creatures footfalls behind him, he dared to glance back, finding that instead it raced towards Kes’tral.

“No!” He yelled, at the top of his lungs, but it did not slow the mimic, his new target locked in.

Wendell fumbled with his arrows, causing them to spill all over the ground. He bent to retrieve one, strung it to the bow and took aim. His vision blurred, a bead of sweat having spilled into his eye. He rubbed at it with the back of his hand and blinked hard, trying to focus on the shrinking body as it ran towards Kes’tral.

Fire exploded from the grasses, snaking through the tall grass to halt the mimic just long enough for Wendell to take his shot. The arrow zipped through the air, closing the distance between prey and hunter in the blink of an eye. The mimic was struck in the centre of its back, causing it to cry out and drop its form, taking on its true appearance.

The large, black beast was fearsome, even from where the pirate stood, staring. He could only imagine what was going through Kes’tral’s mind right now. Its black maw opened, showing row upon row of razor sharp teeth. Wendell dropped his bow, taking his axe in hand. He fetched up a long dagger from his pack and ran towards the creature.

The black thing seemed to scream at the sky, as if to bark out commands at the clouds. The wind died down, causing Wnedell’s steps to slow as a familiar scuttling sound rang in his ears, whispering through the grasslands.

“Spiders…” he mouthed, and darted towards the wall of fire, taking a swing at the black beast as he passed it. “We need to form a ring of fire!” He called to Kes’tral. “Its summoning them!” He shouted, and pointed out towards the distant rolling hills, turned black as hundreds of the oversized spiders seemed to crawl out of nowhere, headed straight for them.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 3:27 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Wendy made his plan clear and was moving before she could protest. If Kes had understood his thoughts at that moment, she would have been horrified. She was frightened, but she didn’t believe they were doomed. There was always hope. So she let the man go and edged more towards the other direction, doubling the distance that he put between them.

The next arrow shot and then the next. Wendy moved fast through the grasses and he was was sneaky too. He called out the mimic, but seemed to fumble his third shot. Kes stood then, whistling. The note was long, loud and clear and she reached with her ability, searching for the fire within the grass.

She had told Wendy she would need to learn how to manipulate the elements, well, she reasoned, there was no time like the present. With the fire caught in her mind, she willed it to grow. The mimic had turned, the man stomping through the grass towards her. Unable to move while she concentrated on her task, Kes felt her heart flicker with fear. The man drew closer, and closer and she remained where she stood, staff held between her hands.

Before he was two strides away however, a line of fire snaked through the grass before her feet. It cut her off from the mimic, who screeched, reeling backwards. Kes took her chance to flee. She sprinted away, stumbling in the long grass before she could turn. The line of fire had been a deterrent but it was only knee high. She poured her power into the blaze and lifted her hands. The line rose to the height of her shoulders. She spun the staff in a slow circle as the mimic tried to run around the line. The fire spread, racing to snare the creature before it could escape.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 3:12 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Panic and adrenaline were an intoxicating mix, especially when panic was undone by fleeting moments of bravery. While there was space between them and the thing that was sure to kill the pair, Wendell found that he had time to think, to consider his next move, but he would not waste it. As soon as an arrow left his bow, a second was stung up and ready to be fired.

When the thing spoke, Wendell went pale, how was that possible? These beasts could both take familiar forms and understand their language? It seemed to cycle through a number of different dialects, trying to coax them from the safety of their hiding place, which Wendell knew wouldn't be safe for long if they remained.

“We split up,” he whispered, “I’ll led it away…” His words were somber, believing they had no chance of winning this. At least one of them should survive, Wendell thought. Kes’tral had the ability to take to the wind, it only made sense that she should be the one to get away.

He crawled through the grass to her left. The man didn't stop to look back.

“Please help me,” the creature called.

“I’ll help you, friend,” Wendell replied as he rose, a good fifteen metres from where he had left Kes’tral.

He stood holding his bow, another burning arrow linked to it. The arrow was fired and the beast struck again. It screamed out in agony, more man than creature. Wendell had killed his fair share of men in his lifetime. One never got used to the screams though.

The pirate ducked down and was on the move again. When he rose this time, he was almost thrown off balance at the sight of how close the beast was. He loosed an arrow, this one clumsy. The element it took on was ice, seeming to match his fear. The mistake had worked, however, slowing the beast just long enough to give Wendell the opportunity to run, which he did.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:57 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

“If we don’t stand against it, then it will spread.” Kes’tral reminded him of his earlier words and intention to help save the world, to try and heal it. Truly, it was an abomination and she felt it pass like a wave of illness. She could almost smell it on the air, something festering and rotten. Although that could have been her imagine and her sheer determination to despise it.

Wendy cursed and she couldn’t blame him either. Kes wondered if he would leave her at this point, return to his boat and sail away. She watched his face, hoping that he would stay. With faith that he was a braver man then he gave himself credit for. It turned out that she was right and she smiled. He was brave, it was time that she was too.

Kes has always avoided the elemental magics. Summoning water in the desert had been an act of desperation, so what was this. She clutched her hands around her staff and stood, nodding that she was ready. The woman inhaled and centred herself, focusing her attention on the blazing arrow that lit across the dusk. It landed with a thud in the distance and she heard the creature twisting in the grass.

It was coming back. It looked like a man. Tall, almost handsome but mostly non-descript. He had dark hair and eyes and walked with a swagger that she found familiar. He appeared like a stranger from the grass, hands raised in surrender.

“Who goes there?” He called and even smiled, with a slightly hopeful and whimsical expression. Behind him, she could sense the fire catching in the grass. Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea.

“Kill him,” Kes murmured silently. They couldn’t be taken in by the mimic. Not if they wanted to live.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:45 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The woman had left the man blinking at her. Truly, he thought, she was mad. To face that thing was to invite certain death. He wondered how many travellers it had fooled before almost finding them.

You can’t be serious,” Wendell said. “Kes’tral that thing will kill us, of that I have no doubt.” His words didn’t seem to dim the light in the woman’s eyes. He knew her, was beginning to understand how much she cared, even if it did little to inspire him.

“Damn it, Kes’tral,” he cursed her.

The pirate raced back to fetch his torch and tinderbox, hurrying the items into the woman’s hands to prepare. They may need that fire yet. He took his bow then and pulled one of the elemental arrows from their keep. Holding the stave, he lined up a shot, willing the arrow to fire far and true.

Once Kes’tral was ready, Wendell loosed the arrow, which caught fire as it whizzed through the air, catching the shoulder of the beast who posed as a man. The creature turned sharply with a roar, looking about for who or what had struck it.

Wendell had ducked down to prepare a second arrow. “I don’t think that worked,” he muttered, perhaps fire was not their best bet.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:27 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes joined Wendy in speechless horror. Everything about the creature screamed it’s wrongness. It did not belong here, on this plane of existence. Like the arachnids a few nights before it had been called forth from the place of nightmares. She held his hand tight, squeezing and not ashamed to admit her own fear.

She didn’t move as she watched the tall knight, if that’s what it was at all, stalk through the grasslands. It was following their trail. How long before it returned to them. Eyes as wide as an owl, Kes looked around at Wendy.

The woman sucked in a breath. “We have to kill it,” she said with more ferocity and determination than she felt. “How can we ever rest, knowing that it might return to us?” Her voice was a low murmur. She felt the loss of those birds, their lives over with the single beat of their wings.

Did Wendy have any ranged weaponry? Kes didn’t want to get close enough to touch.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:16 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The figure took a few more steps before slowing. Wendell didn’t dare to look, though he knew he must. What if it had spotted them. A whole flock of small black birds seemed to race from the tall grass then, beating their wings hard to escape whatever strange energy neared.

The knight’s torso rippled, like still water displaced by a stone. It snapped in two, tearing open under the man’s left armpit to form a giant maw that stretched from there to its opposing hip. Wendell’s eyes seemed to mimic those of a cat in the seconds that followed, shocked to his very core as the beast closed its jaws about a handful of birds that had made the mistake of racing by the knight.

With the utmost care, the pirate ducked lower, careful not to make a sound. His free hand reached out, taking Kes’tral’s, ready to run or fight, anything but die.

The weightless footfalls of the creature went by them as it carried on through the grasslands, off into the distance, seemingly following the path they had formed in the grass, only to travel the wrong way down it.

Wendell’s heart was pounding. He squeezed his eyes shut, concerned the dark thing might return to devour them as it had the birds. “You still want to camp here?” He asked, staring across at the woman.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:02 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Wendy seemed to stare at her for a moment, a long moment and she held the mans curious gaze. He responded by teasing, and that only made her smile. Good. He had taken himself far too seriously, and now faced with impeding doom he was starting to see humour in the world around him. It had only taken a season, imagine who they would both be after a year? She stuck her tongue out at the man before turning to walk onward once more. Her arms swinging by her sides, staff still gripped securely. Everything was better with a smile.

He made a strong case to push on, but she couldn’t help but wonder if they would have bene faster if they’d taken horses from the herd. “It wasn’t trickery,” she looked back at the man as she walked. Her free fingers brushing over the tops of grass. “I simply told the horse our plan, and she agreed.” Kes looked at Wendy once more, wondering if he believed her. He seemed to have a distrust of anything magical and she couldn’t blame him. The woman had encountered too many mages and wizard who abused the arcane arts for their own purpose. Was it perhaps the reason that he had left his home so far behind? Why he would not return?

Pulled down with the dusk, Kes found herself curling her hand in his. She peered in the direction, squinting in the half-light. What, or who was it? It looked like a man, surely it was? She shared a look with Wendy and edged forward, her staff held ready in her fingers. He moved strangely, if it was indeed a man. The actions reminding her of something more animalistic. Was that how people saw her, when she lost her animal forms?

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 1:48 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

There she goes again, he thought, preparing himself for another one of her sharp retorts, only to be surprised. It wasn’t like Kes’tral to offer a kind word.

He was stopped as she turned around to look him in the eye and he couldn’t help but hold her gaze. There was something interesting about the dusty blue of her eyes. How had the gods summoned such a colour in her design? He imagined them pouring milk into the ocean and starting there.

“I think one of those spiders must have bitten you,” he said, teasing of course.

Kes’tral pondered whether or not they should set up camp and Wendell shook his head. “We have hours of daylight yet. If we stop now, we’re unlikely to catch up to the forces standing against the Eldritch hoard before they are too few to make an impact.”

He wanted to push on, wanted to find some form of evidence that suggested people lived here. They had been too long in the wilds of Canelux and it was starting to get to him. He had spent years on a ship, not touching land for seasons at a time. Yet, now that he walked the plains, there was an expectation which his mind had built up. Where in the world was civilisation?

They pressed on until dusk, walking for hours at an easy pace, only to find more of the same. It was impossible to start a fire in the grasslands without something to prepare the ground first, leaving the two of them to face the dark without one.

As the sun began to set, Wendell caught sight of something or someone moving on the horizon. He ducked down, dragging Kes’tral with him. His hand went to her mouth. “Shh,” he said. “What’s that?”

The silhouette was difficult to make out, seeming to zigzag through the tall grass, spear in hand, the steel point leading the way of the figure that carried it. As the being drew closer, Wendell could make out a uniform, perhaps something worn by a soldier or knight. He squinted. Why did the man run as if he were lost or looking for something, stopping to turn at the slightest sound.

A bird rushed from the grass a few metres from them and Wendell could have sworn he saw the white and red figure respond almost like a liquid, drawn to the movement of the escaping animal. The pirate dropped his hand to the axe on his belt, freeing Kes’tral.

“What in the world…” Wendell mouthed.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 1:18 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes was surprised by his answers as they came. Stealth was more difficult as they talked, but they were both careful. Kes stalked forward, weaving through the trees until the vista fell away before them. The grass in places would reach up to her knees, it swayed, moving like the ocean in waves caught in the wind. If it wasn’t for the hordes pouring forth from the Void then it would have been a restful scene. Somewhere she could have found peace.

“Trust me,” she replied with a small shake of her head, “you have no idea what I am thinking.” As ever, she tried to soften the sting of her words with a smile. Wendy seemed to feel she was an antagonist or keen to injure him with her words. The opposite was more true, the woman just didn’t take much very seriously.

“I think you’re too hard on yourself.” The woman turned around to face him as they made their way into the grasses. She stood before him and looked up, scanning his expression. “I think, you believe I think badly of you. I don’t. We are here, together.” Kes shrugged. “If it had to be anyone,” she smiled “I am glad that it’s you.”

She turned away then, planting her hands on her hips. “Do we carry on walking through this grass, or do we make camp for the night?”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 4:20 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The man lifted his shoulder in a lazy shrug. What were his reasons for going? A small part of him wanted to say it was to see her fail, only because, a few days ago, she probably would have said the same just to get under his skin.

“It’s not like I have anything better to do,” he said, like he had nowhere else to be. “Besides, what’s the point of trying to outrun something like this? Left unchecked, this could become an issue for more than just the people of the Bohar Plains.” He had a strong sense of wrong and right, however, Wendell only seemed to acknowledge this when it suited him.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Wendell said, “he’s a pirate, what does he care for the world’s problems? I still have to live in this world. Those blood suckers better leave something for me to conquer.” He teased.

Wendell fell quiet then, lost in thought. He had joined the Oathkeeper crew to escape his life. Really all he was, was an oath breaker and nothing more. There was nothing in his life he could be proud of, no significant achievements to date beyond basic survival. He had no family, no children, no girl pining for him back home. Wendell had only ever taken care of himself. Of course, to his friends he had always been loyal, especially those who were apart of the Oathkeeper crew, but this felt different. Staying behind to actually help for a change filled him with a quiet sense of pride no one could take away from him.

Beyond the woodlands there was only a sea of endless grass. Out in the open, they would need to be careful about taking cover. Less they wanted to be spotted. The pair were yet to see any of the scars in the earth the dead supposedly rose out of, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t exist.

“At least we know if we run into anymore spiders, we won’t have to watch out for them falling from above us,” Wendell said, trying to make light of what they had been through.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 3:07 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The rest of the night had been thankfully quiet. As had the next pair of days as they had gathered themselves after the horror of the arachnid creatures. It had been their dying screams that haunted the woman. She had tried to explain it to Wendy, but the best she could come up with, was that they were wrong. They felt wrong to her senses.

She too was dressed in dark clothing, a tunic, trousers and boots. Her hair, even longer now had been braided back and coiled at the base of her neck, out of the way, the staff, she kept gripped in her hand at all times. They walked quietly together, carefully where they trod even on the well-worn paths of the caravan trails.

“I can take a different shape,” she frowned as they went, keeping her voice quiet. “But not all…I’ve only learnt a couple. One, you know.” The others she wasn’t sure that she wanted to reveal just yet. “As for other magics,” Kes seemed to pause. She scanned the landscape as they made their way through.

“I am…connected to the life within this world. There are things that I can communicate, the Earth, things that grow within it, creatures…but fire…” she shook her head. “Again, it is something I could learn in future, but I do not know it…”

Kes looked at the man then. “You’re handy with you’re weapons, and that torch. I know why I must follow this sickness to the root…but why do you?”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:25 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

“I haven’t seen or heard anything since the attack,” Wendell said. “It will be dawn soon. The fire should last until then, so you’ll have enough light.”

Kes’tral had offered to sit and guard him while he took his turn to rest. He wondered if every night would be like this from now on. The pirate lay down, head heavy and shut his eyes. Once comfortable, he looked up at the woman for a spell, offered a sleepy smile and closed his eyes again.

Fin.

It was some days later by the time they had gathered what they needed for the road. The pair set off on foot, able to appreciate the care that needed to be taken with their mission. Stealth, they realised, was one way to avoid the creatures that crawled up from the cracks in the earth. Fire had proven its value as had the sword. Of course, Wendell had one weakness he would need to rely on Kes’tral for, magic. Who knew how these creatures would react to spells, he had wondered aloud as they walked.

“What else can you do?” The pirate asked. “I’ve heard of mages who can conjure all kinds of things, fire, rain and even storms! I bet those spiders would have hated being struck by lightning.”

Wendell had traded his sword for an axe, choosing to wear the new weapon on his belt. It had the added advantage of doubling as a ranged weapon, something that might come in handy. His throwing knives too were positioned evenly on his belt, balanced between the two sides while the handaxe hung off a loop on the front.

He wore a black tunic, recently washed, with dark trousers and black leather boots. Wendell’s hair had grown out since he had met Kes’tral, though he had endeavoured to keep it short in the sides, the top was now long enough to tuck behind his ears.

Not sure what they would find down the path they had chosen, the pirate traveled with caution, more alert than he usually was. The cart and wagon tracks were still fresh upon the earth where families had made their escape. Wendell couldn’t help but wonder if they were doing the right thing.

“Another adventure.” He smiled, something fond. Let’s hope it isn’t the last, he thought.

Author: Kes, Posted: Sat Oct 5, 2019 12:49 AM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

He didn’t protest the unusual closeness and Kes’tral closed her eyes. She didn’t need telling twice to get some rest. Her mind was already foggy with slumber after the healing. He laughed with dark humour, a rumble rising through his chest and she chuckled in reply.

“Wake me, when you need to swap,” Kes asked the man. She smothered a yawn with her hand and edged away just enough that she could lay down beside him, close enough that she could reach out and touch him for reassurance if needed. The creatures had frightened her. They had left her with a deep sense of unease and that strange sensation of sickness. The healing has exhausted her, along with the time spent fighting them off. Kes dropped into a deep sleep.

Wendy woke her a few hours later and she stretched out. Sitting up Kes took stock of their surroundings. He had done a good job of clearing their battlefield, but the dark trees still made her feel uneasy. At least the gentle breeze was back, rustling the leaves as it should. She could hear an owl in the distance and a faint scrabbling that might be a mouse or some kind of badger.

“Get some rest?” She rested her hand on his arm. “I’ll watch over.” The woman promised. How far was it from dawn?

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 10:02 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Their meal wasted and evening disturbed, had put the man on edge. He paced about the camp while Kes’tral concentrated, tension high. What if those things did return, he thought, could he really take on more than two or three alone? Had he been alone tonight, he knew he would not be alive, or at least not well, depending on what those bites did to the average person.

Wendell sat down to build up the fire once more. He put a severed, black insect leg on top of the logs and watched as it sizzled and burned, curling up under the intense heat of the flames. Black smoke with a hue of purple peeled away from the limb in long, winding ribbons. That wasn’t right, he thought, nothing he had ever come across in his life had burned like that.

Soon Kes’tral joined him and Wendell was surprised to hear her thank him. Pain, he thought, the great leveller. Suffering a wound and accepting the help of another person was often very humbling. Kes’tral slumped against him, choosing to rest her head on his shoulder. Wendell didn’t mind, not really. He was tired too.

“Get some sleep,” he encouraged. “One of us might as well rest in case those things come back. I don’t want to wake up strung up from a tree with one of those things snacking on me.”

Wendell chuckled, seeing the humour in such. They had been lucky really. If the spiders had the sense to wait, they could have both been knocked off in their sleep and been none the wiser. Tomorrow he would go out, check the snare traps he had set up and look for more food. The two of them could formulate a plan and head in the direction of wherever that caravan had come from. There were bound to be others who could do with a little help.

Author: Kes, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 8:02 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The water stung as it hit the charred flesh and she hissed, flinching away and grateful of the hold he had taken of her arm. Kes looked away, at least the water eased the sense of burning. Heal it, he said and she sighed. Worried, that even if he were willing to act as a guard, that she was wasting her ability on herself. What if they needed the power for something else? Something more important?

But it hurt, and after a few long, agonising minutes the woman was forced to accept defeat. She remained where she had sat and closed her eyes. Her good hand wrapped around her wrist she sank into her concentration. Wendy has said he would defend and she trusted him, perhaps more than she trusted herself.

The beat of adrenaline faded and she had to work hard to put out the fire that still lived within her hand. Seeking out the flesh that still burnt and pinching it, as though snuffing out a candle with her mind. Once that was done, the pain faded enough to manage. It was then she started the long, laborious work of repairing the damaged tissue. Working with the deeper parts first. It wasn’t like Wendy’s cut, which had just needed closing. This needed skin to be replaced, the damaged parts to be stripped away.

By the time she was done, the woman was exhausted. She peered out at the night and the crackling fire. Without a word, she edged closed to Wendy where he sat. She lent against him, and tucked her head against his shoulder before closing her eyes.

“Thank you.”

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 7:45 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Wendell scoffed, hurt, him? He sobered, remembering the woman’s pain. “I’m fine,” he told her, moving to collect the canteen without complaint. He wondered, if the tables were turned, would she have laughed at him and told him to get it himself? She was snappy at times, he knew that much.

With canteen in hand, the pirate undid the lid and poured some of the liquid over Kes’tral’s scorched limbs, just as she had done with his cut. “Heal it,” he said, “I’ll protect you if anymore of those things find us.” He sounded genuine, but if there was any doubt, the look he gave her confirmed the same.

While they had their peace, Wendell started clearing the camp. Their ruined meal was tossed out and the giant spider carcasses that littered the floor were kicked side, as if to form a dark ring about their camp, warding others off. One of the corpses reanimated after being kicked aside, but was swiftly dealt with. He hadn’t realised how much fun it was to crush the disgusting bugs under foot, now that his inner panic had passed.

Using his sword to gather up all of the string-like cobwebs, the pirate spun it into a ball on the end of his weapon. He wiped it off on some nearby bushes, stabbing at the rustling leaves, paranoid as the wind returned. What in the world was wrong with this place and how long had all this madness been going on for?

“You still want to stay and fight?” He asked, turning to look at Kes’tral. “I’m not sure we are prepared for this. What if there had been more?” What if one or both of them had been bitten, he thought to himself, would they become a part of the sickness?

“I’ll stay,” he said, “if that is what you decide.” Perhaps he gave her too much power, but it wasn’t like he had anything waiting for him beyond the shores of this strange land.

Author: Kes, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 7:00 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

With Wendy’s torch on the ground, their battlefield was illuminated and it was frightening. Kes sank down further, peering up at the strands of white webbing that hung, broken and tangled, swaying in the breeze that had returned. She sucked air in through her teeth, holding back a whimper as he took her hand.

The woman shuddered, staring at the little threads before looking down at the mass of bodies and still twitching limbs. She wasn’t one to usually suffer from bad dreams, but suspect that this, coupled with the sense of adrenaline would be enough to cause her trouble.

Can you heal it? He seemed concerned and Kes’tral looked up at Wendy as she knelt. She fumbled, trying to reach for her canteen only to find it out of reach. “Please?” She asked him to pass it, her gaze caught with his. It hurt, the skin had blistered and peeled away from flesh down to the bone in parts. She shivered, shoulders quaking and lashes lined with hot tears. “I can heal it…” she admitted, “but I can’t…it would take my concentration. I wouldn’t be able to defend.” She swallowed, it was something that might have to wait until the morning, or whenever they felt safe enough.

Kes looked him over, scanning his features before looking down over his shoulders, broad chest, his arms. With her good hand, her fingers followed her gaze, exploring carefully. “You’re not hurt? They did not get you?” She sagged with relief.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 3:06 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The onslaught was endless, enough to put the man off his dinner, the skillet now riddled with severed insect legs and bits of sticky twine. The defeat of two spiders hadn’t filled him with any more courage than the first, but after three or four, he wondered, no, hoped, that they had a chance of surviving this unscathed. Even if they did, he realised, he was sure neither of them would be able to get any sleep tonight.

The creatures didn’t seem intelligent, per say, rather it was their persistence that frightened him the most. No matter how many they took down, more followed in their wake. How had they found the pair and why had they come? Wendell could only be certain that this was not normal, that it must be part of the sickness spreading across the Plains of Bohar. Were these creatures the ones the driver of the caravan had hinted at, were the spiders crawling up out of the earth? They couldn’t be, unless… death walks the earth, he recalled her saying, would these things bring death with them? Wendell wasn’t willing to find out.

As another beast descended from overhead, Wendell swung his torch with such intensity that it left his hand. The torch spun through the air and rolled as it met the ground, shedding light in the clearing of the camp, enough that they could both see what they were fighting without issue.

Kes’tral had cried out, causing the man to turn, not quite sure why. Was he willing to defend her or simply make sure he wouldn’t be next? The pirate noticed that the makeshift torch she clutched in her hand was the source of pain, realising then just how capable Kes’tral was of defending herself.

Something jumped at his back and without thought, the man threw himself on the ground, crushing his attacker. A second spider seemed to recognise his vulnerable state, scuttling towards him like a pig might make a beeline for a scrap bucket. His throwing knives in reach, Wendell took up one of the weapons and pinned the spider to the earth, its legs still walking on the spot for a moment before going limp with its death.

There was a pause and Wendell sat up as Kes’tral dispatched of their last foe. He sat panting, not sure if it was exhaustion, excitement or relief that had left him in such a state. The canopy above them was littered with long white threads of web, the ground with the disfigures remains of their enemies. Were they safe, was that the last of them, he wondered.

Kes’tral discarded the burning log and seemed to cave in on herself, clutching her hand. The sight of her in pain urged the man to his feet. He moved to kneel, taking her hand to look over the burning flesh.

Wendell made a displeased sound, glad it was not him, but sorry it had been her. “Can you heal it?” He asked, was that how the magic worked? She had certainly healed him before, but perhaps that was different?

Author: Kes, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 2:38 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes cursed, swearing aloud as she batted another of the fiends away, this time hitting it hard enough to make it crunch. “How many are there?” She demanded, although she didn’t really expect an answer. The woman couldn’t move her staff quick enough and was forced to kick one that got too close, this was getting ridiculous!

Wendy was having better luck with his sword and torch. She bent, curled her hand around on of the logs on fire. She let out a cry of pain as her flesh singed, but she gripped the flaming brand and waved it, catching it against two creatures that had advanced. They caught and screamed, legs twitching they dropped to the ground.

Kes swung again, staff and burning log raised in fury as she kept fighting, spinning, kicking and brandishing her weapons. Sweat coated her skin, her heart hammered so hard for so long she was afraid it might burst. The log itself had seemed to fuse against her skin and she groaned.

Were there less of them? Kes found that suddenly there was time to breath and pause. She panted, tossing aside the log and a chunk of her skin with it. She hissed in a breath of pain, clutching her hand to her chest as she yelp. She swung her staff at a final creature and watched it die. Wanting to make sure she moved forward and stamped until certain it was dead.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 2:29 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

A surge of adrenaline raced through him as he felt the weight of the beast through his sword. Terror-stricken by the thought of them being overrun, Wendell did not right away notice as the creature he had struck, crawl out of the undergrowth to charge at him. It latched onto his leg, biting down on his trousers only to catch the loose fabric.

Kes’tral said something, but the man was left frozen, deaf and dumb.

Terror left him rigid with fright, to see the creature close up was enough to give him nightmares for the rest of his days. He batted at it again, this time with the torch, realising its dislike for the flames he had held at its feet. The spider let go of his leg and moved from side to side, faster than he liked, its front legs raised as if it was considering a second lunge at the man.

Wendell was all too aware of why people seemed to do a little gig on the spot when faced with such things, wanting only to get out of the way of the insect at his feet. He stomped at it as it neared him, trying to crush the creature under foot. An opening afford him a heavy swing of his sword, severing the spiders front left legs from its body. It spun on the ground in front of him, pathetic in its attempt to continue its pursuit even when faced with certain defeat. Another swift swing ended its life, though the small achievement did little to ease the tension Wendell was under.

There was no time to think, only act. The spiders were coming from everywhere. They needed to be quick, fight and stay alive.

“Don’t let them bite you!” Wendell warned. “They have teeth!” He swung his weapon again, cutting through a thick, sticky line of silk, only to stab a second spider as it fell to the ground.

Author: Kes, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 2:18 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes jumped when his back touched against her own, their meal to their side and long forgotten now. With wide eyes she stared at the creatures and realised that she didn’t have time to study them, not if she wanted to live.

One scuttled across the forest floor towards her and she swung her staff. The wood flipped up beneath her hands, catching the underbelly of the arachnid type creature. It hit with a disgusting thud and crunch at the animal screeched at her, front legs waving in the air as it rose on the rear pairs. She could see teeth, by the gods, she could see razor sharp teeth and she swung her staff again, smacking it down hard on the top of the beast. The screaming stopped and the animal dropped, dead. It’s legs twitching as the last life fled from the body.

She barely had time to stare, as another of them seemed to fly out of the tree line, leaping towards Wendy. She swung her staff once more, caught it square in the middle and watched as it was thrown off, back into the darkness. It wasn’t dead, it would be back. Kes set her back to Wendy again.

“It’s going to be a long night,” she said softly.


Of th

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 2:11 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

This was silly, Wendell tried to rationalise with himself, believing himself in that moment to be no better than a child, excited by silly, childish stories. The small, invisible hairs on the back of his neck, however, disagreed, the horripilation of the skin of his arms seeming to agree as tension wound its way through his body.

“No, I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all,” he said.

Wendell raised his weapon, ready to swing at whatever invisible foe stalked them through the tree line. Was he going mad, he wondered, was that the sickness spreading through the land, madness? For he certainly felt as if he were going mad.

The pirate kicked his backpack, both to get it out of their way and spill its contents, hoping to draw out or scare off whatever it was that stalked them. His throwing knives were displaced and littered the ground at the edge of the camp where his bag had ended up.

Kes’tral touched his arm and he flinched, realising his senses were heightened. He hadn’t dared to steal his gaze away from the tree line, but as the woman spoke, Wendell dared to look up. The man had often laughed at people’s fear of spiders, but what crawled across his line of sight now was absolutely terrifying, spiders bigger than he had ever seen, larger than was right.

“By the gods,” Wendell mouthed, their dinner forgotten. “Stay close,” he warned, putting them back to back.

His gaze did a quick sweep of the ground to make sure the creatures were confined to the trees. When the first dared to venture closer to them from a branch overhead, Wendell raised his torch, causing the giant insect’s skin to sizzle, its legs curled up. The creature made a highputched sound, one echoed by its friends, as if to hiss at the pair. That was when he swung his blade, batting it from the sky and into the surrounding shrubs.

Author: Kes, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 2:00 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

There was something comfortable in the way they communicated with one another. After all, they had been travelling together for over a season so it had been important to learn all those verbal shortcuts. Kes knew that she irritated Wendy, but she also knew that the man took himself far too seriously. At least he trusted her.

The ransom was thrown in the skillet and she joined him as he stood. She curled her hand around the wooden staff, leaning against it. “Yes,” the women replied, quiet. “There is something…” the night was eerie with the wind missing. But it meant that she could hear more clearly. What was that noise? It sounded like a spider, though a spider had never been so loud.

She darted her hand out, touching Wendy on the arm as a long, spindly leg came into view, creeping across the leaves towards them. Bigger than any spider she had seen, it was the size of a small dog and it didn’t feel right. It was wrong, whatever it was, or wherever it came from it was wrong. Her headache intensified and she back up against Wendy.

“There are more in the trees,” she whispered. “Don’t let it touch you,” she warned, her voice deadly serious for once.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 1:47 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

The low sizzle as meat cooked in the skillet and the odd crackle of flames had distracted the man from the fact that he could hear nothing else of their surroundings. Not even the leaves shivered overhead and, though Wendell thought he had imagined the wind, sitting so close to the fire, he realised all of a sudden how hot it was without it.

Cautious of the heat that radiated through the flesh of the rabbit, he took it by one of its severed ends and flipped it in the pan. The movement was swift and well practiced, seeing to it that both sides of the carcass would be browned evenly before he added enough water to make sure the meat was cooked through properly without burning their meal.

Perhaps the wind had not stopped and he had just imagined it. Maybe, he thought, it was just hotter near the fire because Kes’tral had moved to join him. She offered up herbs and he nodded his agreement, anything to lift the flavour of the meal was worth trying.

“Sounds good,” he said, accepting her offering.

He bunched the herb and twisted them between his hands to break the lot in two before it went into the skillet, followed by a cup and a half of fresh water from his canteen. Wendell chose not to feed any more wood to the fire pit, instead allowing it to burn down while the rabbit was left to simmer away.

When the pirate got to his feet, he turned, not sure why. Kes’tral had said the land was sick, had She sensed his unease too? Wendell stepped over to his pack and took up his torch. He held it against the flames that remained until the torch caught light and he was able to raise it to a comfortable height. Just as he suspected, the flames did not fight and bend in the breeze, for the wind had completely fallen away in a matter of seconds.

He looked at Kes’tral, brow knitted with concern. “I have a strange feeling,” he sad, and ducked, taking up his long sword in his free hand. “I think something might be out there.”

Author: Kes, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 1:33 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

Kes’tral stood with her back to the campfire. Her pale gaze trained on the dark trees as they shifted in a gentle breeze. The leaves seemed to rattle, shaking as the wind moved through. What was out there? She wondered. There was something, a strangeness that she couldn’t put her finger on. It made her feel nauseated, just like the time she had pulled infection from a wound on Wendy’s arm. The sensation was similar to being drunk, or hungover. It lingered like a bad taste at the back of her mouth. So she stood, searching, listening and trying to work out what it was that had everyone they came across, racing from the land in fear.

Wendy has convinced her to return with him to the shore, but really, she wanted to go inland. If there was an infection in this land then she would help the world fight back.

He called and she turned and was confronted by the stink of cooked flesh. She bent, picked up her bag and moved closer to the fire. Dropping down beside the flames with a whumph, Kes pulled a selection of herbs from the pack. Their scent was stronger then the rabbit, something akin to garlic.

“Wild ransom,” she explained and offered them to the man. “You want them?” It was a long, grass like plant which was a pale white at the bottom and green on top.

Author: Wendell, Posted: Fri Oct 4, 2019 1:23 PM, Post Subject: [Event] In The Night [C] [R]

They had returned to the small grove of trees that fringed the coast, knowing the boat was only a few hours trek from where they had set up camp. If things were as bad as everyone said, escape was not far away. Wendell had collected a pile of old wood to build a decent fire. He sat on one knee upon the forest floor, stacking the shorter pieces to stand very similar to a teepee, with enough room between two of the pieces at the front to reach in with his hand. At the centre of the fire he added a ball of knotted, dry-grass and a few lifeless twigs.

From his bag, he fetched his tinder box and struck a flame, shielding it from the night air, his left hand cupped as he placed it with care inside the stacked pile of wood. The grass caught with ease and filled the small space with smoke, causing the man to dip low and blow, aiding the flames. It took two attempts, with the second seeing to it that the twigs sparked to life, more and more added until the flames were strong enough to lick the underside of the logs.

Soon they had a roaring fire, burning through anything they deemed worthy to challenge it with. A rabbit Wendell had caught and skinned earlier that afternoon, was placed in an iron skillet and set on top of the flames once the fire had burned the first lot of wood down to embers. Wendell made sure the flames were kept fed while the flesh of the rabbit sizzled, its headless body shrinking slowly before his eyes. It was a pity they had no butter, he thought, or salt and pepper to add flavour. Instead the carcass was left to cook in its own juices, the smell enticing enough.

“Supper isn’t far away,” Wendell said, turning to seek out Kes’tral.