Wind howled across the downs of the Normerian countryside; clouds raced across the starless night sky, and beneath them, two hosts of horsemen sped furiously over the plains. The first group were raiders, from the nation of Sevesh, they now beat a hurried retreat from a failed attack on a Normerian township, they had grabbed what they could carry back to their barons, and fled into the night. The men who weighed themselves down with gold and other such treasure had alreadyq been run down, and now only those who had taken prisoners, this band in particular had taken the most notable prisoner of all, the outlander cat woman, Katia Managan; and such was pursued by the largest group of Normerian soldiers, headed up by a knight of Aranough, William Vask, and mercenary captain Sera Reneer.
The icy wind tore at the clothing of the pursuing men, and lashed their exposed faces; they observed with glee as the distance between them and the Seveshians gradually narrowed, Katia it seemed had no desire to stay with her captors and was giving them a terrible time; spots of orange and yellow light flashed in the distance, and she hurled bolts of fire amongst the riders, their horses screamed and panicked, and they spat and swore, yet Katia was all they had left, and they dared not return empty handed, so little was done to make her stop.
"they're making for that wood in the distance it looks to me" William said, pointing off across the plains, to thick cluster of trees, that lay at the distant edge of then grassy expanse; Sera grunted in agreement and yanked the reigns of her mount, moving to intercept the Slavers, the Normerians muttered to themselves and cast concerned glances at the tree line, but William and Sera ignored them, they had seen far worse than some woods in the dark. A rider broke from the pack in front of them, speeding away, while the man tried to cast of his, now flaming cloak; a sharp gesture from Sera sent a Normerian rider to meet him on his course.
William winced at the constant jostling of the galloping horse, he was a foot soldier, with little experience riding, but the discomfort he could stand, just a slight sacrifice as he carried out the wishes of his king. The distance had nearly halved between the two groups, they grew ever nearer to the approaching wall of trees, and the Normerians seemed to grow ever more uneasy as they did so. Sera and William took in the sight of the Seveshians plight as they struggled to restrain a prisoner they refused to harm. They had tied her hands now, but, she still struggled on, kicking one man who rode to close, causing him to topple from his saddle. The man was slow to rise from his fall, and was cut down quickly after he reached his feet.
The Seveshians reached the trees then, disappearing down a narrow path that led deep into the thicket; as Sera and William made to follow, they noticed the Normerians bring their horses to a halt.
"what do you think you're doing!" Sera exclaimed angrily, her shiny black plate glinting in the dim light of the moon.
"those woods belong to the red rider, the cat is lost" one of the Normerians protested
"I don't care if the trees conceal hell itself, do your jobs, and get after them!" Sera snapped back, shaking her head dismissively
"I'll not have a run in with the laughing specter" an exceptionally pale faced soldier whined, turning his horse around; William looked at the shaken warriors, then back to the darkness between the trees.
"m-maybe we ought to listen to them, this is their land after all" he said, suddenly fearful of what may hide in the forest, Sera swore, violently, and sped off alone into the trees, muttering of the men's cowardice as her blonde head vanished into the blackness; William sat on his horse for a moment, then decided it would not due to be branded a coward, and he begrudgingly entered the woods in pursuit of Captain Sera.
Katia sat, hands tied; and cursed her continuing streak of bad luck, she had been abducted by raiders, was taken by the one group who out ran their pursuers, and now, the Normerians who tailed them had seemingly given up, as the last she had seen of them, they were slowing down as the Seveshians made their way into the trees. She was of modest build, around five feet tall, she wore tarnished leather armor, marked with a blue symbol, a wolf. She stood out from the others of this land, being the only one of her kind. Her whole body was covered in soft yellow fur; she had a tail, fangs and claws, along with large eyes and ears, the expected features of a cat. The cool air soothed her senses, smelling of rich soil, bark and damp moss. She glared at the few men who remained in the splintered group, they looked about uncomfortably; their armor clinking beneath their emerald cloaks, their long hair blowing in what little breeze that reached the forest floor, and Katia took some relief in the fact that, while she could see in the dark, the men could not, and she could at least know that they were uneasy. The riders had slowed their pace, and the man on the horse upon which she was restrained now boasted of how he had outsmarted the warriors, by entering woods that they believed to be haunted.
Katia tuned out the peacockish slaver, and took a look at the forest that surrounded them, she could certainly see why the Normerians did not like it, the trees grew close and tall, what little light the moon had provided was blocked out completely, leaving the trail in thick, strangling darkness; even though her keen Khajiiti eyes could see through the inky blackness, the underbrush grew so thick and tall that she could not see far off the path, as she wondered how she would escape from her current predictiment, her mind wandered off, if no one comes into the forest, then who maintains this path? She thought, now imagining armies of small monsters that tended the road, from there, her thoughts jumped to what actually called the wood home; she looked off the path once more, now imagining pairs of eyes in between each gap in the undergrowth oh well she thought, the last thing she had done in her own world had been destroy a giant imp monster after all, so the forest creatures seemed slightly less threatening.
The group continued on for a time, the Seveshian peering through the dark, and Katia pouting as she could not figure a good way out. After a time, a sickly feeling came over Katia, roughly the same as her dinner with the countess, she saw by the furrowed brows of her captors that they were similarly effected, the group pressed forward, and a nagging sensation hummed in the back of Katia's mind look back she thought, but she did not want to. Katia was suddenly very much afraid of looking back, she looked at the men around her, saw there heads, stuck rigidly forward. Why do the Normerians not come here? She wondered once more. She had been thinking of using eye of fear on the Slavers, the slipping away while they panicked, but suddenly, the idea of being alone seemed far worse than continuing on with her captors.
"c-can you see in the dark?" one of the men asked suddenly, breaking Katia's train of thought. She looked at him, and noted his deathly pale complexion, she didn't speak, but nodded.
"then will you look back, I tried, but…. I can't see more than a couple yards" the man pressed, Katia squeezed her eyes shut, she did not want to look back, every thing about the idea seemed… bad.
"if you tell us what you see I'll…. I'll untie you, let you stretch a bit" the leader of the group chimed in. Katia gritted her teeth, if she was going to escape, she had to be untied.
"fine" she said, and braced her self as she slowly turned her head. Her mind raced she thought of every terrible thing that could be following them, kings, great shaggy beasts and depraved creatures with spindly hairless limbs, don't be ridicules there is probably nothing, just the woods getting to us she thought desperately. She finally turned the rest of the way and peered down the path, she instantly felt ill. There, far down the path, almost out of site, was a man, atop a horse; leisurely trotting after them, she could make out few of the details. Chainmail, black surcoat, red cloak, helmet. Oddly in fact, he looked just like the soldiers who had been chasing them, nasal helm and all, although, his surcoat was a different color. Despite his familiar appearance, Katia felt as if she may vomit.
"what is it what is it!" the men asked anxiously, Katia took a moment to regain her self.
"it's just some guy, on a horse" she said
"what's he look like?" the leader asked slowly, Katia frowned
"untie me… you promised" she whined, looking back down the path, feeling aa new wave of nausea overtake her as she discovered the man was no longer here. The leader thought for a moment, then withdrew a dagger from his emerald cloak, and cut the bindings from her wrists, he gestured to two of the riders, men clad in plate armor, marked by the long garish plumes that tumbled from their closed helms.
"rid us of our tail" the leader barked, pointing down the path; the two men looked at each other with uncertainty, but complied anyways, and after a moment, disappeared around a bend in the path, near where Katia had seen the suspicious man.
They pressed on through the woods, Katia sullenly wondered why no one seemed to be looking for her anymore, the men grew anxious as more and more time passed, and the two riders did not return. Katia thought she could hear laughter, taunting and faint, from far behind them, but she pushed the notion from her mind besides, even if there is a ghost, aggy was a ghost, and he helped me… maybe this one just wants to rescue me she tried to reassure herself, mind now filled with the fantasy of a noble ghostly prince, seeking to save her… she now feared the man even more.
"enough! We must make camp, I can't take the dark any longer!" one of the soldiers exploded, shattering the silence that had engulfed them; the men muttered in agreement, all but one. This man rode on the fringe of the group, a set of segmented plate armor protected him, a sash was tied by his waist, and a long cape topped with thick grey fur covered his shoulders, the cloth on his gear was a rich, dark blue color, contrasting with the flamboyant emerald worn by the overs. A light beard grew on his humorless face, once more clashing with his fellow Seveshians, rather than long flowing hair, his head was shaved bald.
"ought not stop, should push through" he grunted, gazing sullenly away from the group, a large sword was slung across his back, and he seemed to genuinely dislike his compatriots.
"what's the matter? Wolf dragoon afraid o the sodding woods?" one of the men snapped, to the amusement of the others
"well… I think we should keep going" Katia said shakily, feeling that she was on her own as long as they stayed in the smothering forest. Much to her dismay, the men erupted in laughter, taunting the lone man further
"don't be scared Tanlen, maybe the girl will protect you" one chimed in
" maybe you two ladies can ride on alone, while the men rest" added another. The man, apparently called Tanlen looked to Katia and sneered
"I wonder, my keen eyed friend, if you can locate the trail?" he asked sarcastically, all at once the men's eyes darted around, desperately, they all realized that he was right, they had lost the path.
Panic slowly crept into the voices of the men as they shouted, some cursed Tanlen for not speaking up sooner, and some cried out that it must have been the spirit of the woods that led them from the trail.
"best bet would be to stick straight, the woods are shallow in these parts, we'll leave them soon enough" Tanlen said in a calm, even tone,
"no no no! We stumble in the dark no longer, we make camp, and find the path in the light of day" the leader barked, bidding the group to stop, as they reached a small clearing.
"there will be no light of day you damn fool, do you see how thick the trees are?" Tanlen snarled, but despite his protests, the group tied their horses, built two cooking fires, and soon were chatting calmly in their camp.
"oh, Tanlen, lord of the pragmatic, heh, you can watch the prisoner" jeered the leader of the group, shoving Katia forward. Tanlen said nothing, but simply indicated for Katia to follow as he tramped to the edge of the camp, he gestured to a bed roll, which Katia sat down on, he then took up a position leaning against a tree, eyes scanning the surrounding foliage.
"soooo, not gonna sit?" Katia said, trying to make conversation with the large man, he looked at her briefly and his eyes met hers, his features softened slightly
"don't trust those drunkards to keep a decent watch" he said, retuning his gaze to the trees. His shift in demeanor did not go unnoticed, and Katia affixed her best puppy dog eyes, and spoke once more
"Ya know, I didn't wanna stop either" she said, he shifted slightly, but said nothing, pointedly looking away I may be able to make something of this Katia thought slyly; she layed down on her side, closing one eye, watching as slowly, the conversations waned, and the men lay down and slept, until she was certain that only her and Tanlen were still awake. She lay here, counting the seconds, wondering if she would be lucky for once, and Tanlen would nod off. She found sleep was trying its best to take her, as the ground seemed to soften, and the warm air pressed down upon her; then, as she was just about to succumb, a noise reached her ears, that made her heart pound. The clip of hooves, and the snapping of branches. Far in the distance, but drawing nearer. She looked to Tanlen, but saw he looked in the opposite direction he can't hear it yet she realized, her thoughts turned to the strange rider, and the missing two men.
"hey" she hissed, trying to get Tanlens attention, he looked down, one eyebrow raised "there is someone coming, on a horse" she said, pointing in the direction from which the noise came; the warrior took up his weapon, cast an impressed look at Katia, then stepped back into the brush, until he could not be seen. Katia sat then, alone, listening closely the sound crept closer, coming from the same direction the group had come. Soon the noise was clearly heard, driving from down the narrow path the slavers had trampled through the undergrowth, a couple of the men raised their heads, and looked groggily around; the leader climbed to his feet, eying Katia suspiciously. He took a couple strides towards her, jaw locked in anger, as he tried to piece together the role she had played in this new development. There was a thunderous noise, as horse and rider broke into the clearing, a sleek brown war horse, Katia's heart sunk as she recognized the rider, seeing the glossy black armor, and blonde hair, of her friend, Sera Reneer. Fuck! No! Katia thought, as the mercenary captain stormed across the clearing, her mouth locked in an angry sneer, she braced her heater shield against her shoulder, and raised her long sword to cut down the standing Seveshian, when Tanlen broke from his hiding with a roar, he swung his sword in a flowing motion, and with one perfectly timed blow, removed the head of Sera's mount. The mercenary's eyes widened with shock as she tumbled to the ground, the Seveshian captain sprung forward, but Sera kicked his feet from under him, as she struggled to get to her feet. The Seveshian was quick to recover, as Tanlen reached Sera as well, he smashed his sword down against Sera's shield, as she looked franticly for her own, dropped weapon.
Katia hurled a fire ball between the two warriors, who jumped back, the other soldiers struggled to get to their feet, and stumbled over one another, Sera found her sword, and placed her self between Katia and the men. Just then another horseman burst into the clearing, clad in leather armor, adorned in blue and white patterned cloth, a knight of Aranough, though, not one Katia was familiar with. He rode through the pack of men, swiping at them with his war pick. The mounted raiders were ironically ill suited to deal with a foe on horseback. Katia rose to her feet, she prepared to blast the group with eye of fear, to give the trio a head start on either the killing, or their escape.
Laughter erupted from the forest around them. Clear, and jeering, it's source unidentifiable, yet its tone unmistakably malevolent; it rolled through the night in feverish bouts, just when it seemed to reach its peak, it would begin again, with insane new intensity. The group turned it's attention from each other, and shrunk together in the center of the clearing, pulling back from the dark that lay beyond.
Katia took full advantage of her night eye, scanning the darkness quickly trying to locate the sounds source, but she could not, all she could make out was thin wisps of fog drifting between the trees, and the laughter seemed to be an echo of itself, it came from everywhere, yet it's source was nowhere. Then, it cut off; it didn't wind down, it just stopped, and when it did, it left no trace, not even an echo.
The group stood, in the near deafening silence that had been left after the end of the laughter. The soldiers stood tense, hearts pounding, and Katia carefully listened, ears struggling to pick up anything, any hint, any warning of impending attack, she heard it then, a gentle noise, so faint she doubted any of the humans could even hear it; the sound of hooves, stamping lightly on the soft forest floor. Out of the blue Katia was struck with the same sick feeling as when the mysterious rider first appeared, the tingling sensation that crept up her spine sent her whirling around, just as the horseman from before burst into the clearing amid a new symphony of demented laughter.
The men scattered and yelped, trying desperately to get away from the rider and his black horse, he rode briskly through the group, howling with laughter as he cut them down, one after another, soon only Tanlen, Katia, and her two wood be rescuers remained standing; the horseman rounded on the three survivors, holding his long sword high above his head, Katia noticed that no blood stained the blade, despite the many men slain by it, combined with the horror that was felt whenever he was near, she knew, he was not natural. Think like a witch hunter! Think like a witch hunter! Katia thought as the Rider, chuckling deviously, spend towards them, a small crate, property of one of the dead slavers, caught her eye, she hurriedly grabbed it telekinetically, and hurled it at the attacker. It struck him in the chest, the worn wood shattering upon impact, the rider slipped backwards, yanking the horses reins, causing it to rear up, screaming menacingly as it did so.
Tanlen seized his chance, gripping the horseman's long red cloak, and tearing him from the saddle, he landed on his back with an odd clink, and before he could rise, Sera lunged forward, plunging her sword into his chest. Tanlen and Sera both, looked down at him for a moment, then nearly in unison, leapt back with surprised shouts, and looked pale faced at the rider. He began to laugh once more, he climbed to his feet, Katia and the others unable to move. He tore the weapon from his chest, gave it a quick swing, then threw it, the weapon struck Tanlen with such force that the blade pierced clean through his armor, and with a ringing sound, broke in two. The warrior collapsed with a gasp in a heap on the ground, his death breaking the others from their trance.
The rider looked around briefly, his gaze settling on Katia; he slowly approached her, still barking out mad laughter.
"stay the hell away!" Katia shouted, trying her best to sound tough as she sent a blot of fire whizzing towards him, it found it's mark, quickly setting his red cloak aflame, he paused for a moment, as the fires licked at his form, he looked back at her, and, still laughing, resumed his march fuck everything Katia thought as the now flaming, and much scarier, Horseman made his way for her. Katia backtracked, as Sera scrambled to find a new weapon, and the knight watched on, frozen in terror. Katia saw then what had scared Sera and Tanlen so much, beneath his nasal helm, and the mail coif that lay under it, there was nothing, just an empty void, where his head should have been. The rider halted, shaking his head, or rather, head void, back and forth, swatting in front of himself as the gap between shoulder and helm filled with smoke the smoke is blinding him Katia realized,
"aggy was a better ghost than you!" Katia shouted, feeling sudden bold. Sera, realizing the riders disadvantage charged forward, slamming her shield into his back with all her might, driving him to the ground; he shook his head and pounded his armored fists against the earth, howling in frustration.
"Will, take her and ride, I know these wood from a map of the area, we must be near the edge!" Sera shouted, pointing off in a seemingly random direction, then in turn, at Katia. The knight William looked at the quickly recovering rider and protested weakly, but Sera would have none of it
"you take her on your mount, I'll go on foot, he chase the easier target and you'll make it out!" she hollered, with an expression that was determined, but also showed her resignation to her own fate, the sacrifice caught William as well as Katia off guard, there was no protest after that. William rode over and helped Katia climb into the saddle in front of him, and they took off, the air tearing through Katia's fur, and Williams cloak. Katia leaned around, Craning to see past William, to catch one last glimpse of her Mercenary friend; what she saw was Sera take off in a slightly different direction on foot, and the Rider, now absent cloak, take of on horseback after them, rather than Sera.
Katia held her breath as she heard the pounding hooves of the two animals, as well as the snapping branches and crushed undergrowth, and she knew the Rider was gaining fast. She could hear the maniacal laugh of the rider, and the swoosh of his sword, as he swung it wildly about, Katia cast her eyes to their left, and saw that the Rider was now right alongside them, drawing back his sword to strike; she prepared to hit him with another fire ball, but William was faster, striking the rider savagely in the rim of his helm with his war pick, the rider dropped back, as his helm tumbled off
"knocked of his head I did!" William shouted excitedly, looking triumphantly ahead
"but he doesn't have" Katia began, but was cut off by renewed Laughter from the rider, she turned around and got a good look at the headless man, as he leaned forward she saw down his neck, finding that there was no man at all, just a hollow set of mail and leather, with faint black wisps inside. The rider was now precariously perched on his brown horse, both feet planted on the saddle, holding the reins with one hand, and reaching with with the other; before Katia could realize what he was doing, he grasped the tail end of Williams long cloak, and pulled the man back, off of his horse, as he fell, Katia lost he balance and fell as well, twisting midair to avoid being trampled by the rider as he clambered to a stop.
William struggled to get up, wheezing as the air had been driven from his lungs, Katia however was quick to recover, springing up and facing the rider, her mind raced as she sought a way to save them both his horse was black before, this must be one of the raiders horses…. A normal horse! She realized as the horseman jolted into a gallop, she looked up, and gave them both a full blast of eye of fear, the ghastly rider was unimpressed, but his mount shrieked in fear, veering off course, the rider was clipped by a low tree branch, and as the horse rode on, he fell, landing flat on his shoulders. William looked around frantically as the rider cursed and swore in an incomprehensibly hollow and ethereal voice.
"I see a break in the trees!" he shouted, pointing, and taking off at a full sprint, momentarily leaving Katia behind. That Rajirra wannabe dick! She thought as she took off after him, she bounded over roots and logs, eyes locked on the clear sky, visible through the trees at the abrupt end of the woods. As she was about to clear the last trees, she cast a last look back, and saw the rider, leap up, unnaturally, and grab the branch that had dismounted him, her eyes widened with disbelief as a black horse sprang from thin air, in a swirl of an opaque grey mist, and the rider took off after them, laughing once more.
A final push was all it took, and Katia was free, springing out, across the soft grass of the Normerian plains, beneath and unobstructed sky, now tinted orange as the sun began to light up the world. She tripped over her own feet, and collapsed into the dewy grass, she rolled, facing the forest, and saw the rider, at the very edge of the trees, sat on his black horse, once more with helm and red cloak; he simply stared, then seeing her and William, he began to laugh once more, with no less energy than ever
"what are you laughing at!" William screamed, "ha! We beat you! You hollow monstrosity" he threw down his helm, stepping towards the wood, waving his arms, fists clenched
"we beat you and your own damn game! What do you think of that!" he strolled brazenly closer, laughing tauntingly. Katia looked at the tree line, one of the riders arms was held back, behind his shoulder, the other was outstretched as he continued to cackle. Several yards down the line of trees, Katia caught sight of a dismayed Sera Reneer exit the woods, the soldier, heard the commotion and looked up, her face lighting up as she saw William and Katia,
"ha! Another escapes, you! Are! Beaten!" will said taking a final step forward. A sick realization struck Katia as she saw the curiously postured rider, as William boasted and taunted, Katia, to whom life had been routinely cruel, realized that the Rider had no intent on following what ever strange rules bound him
"William look the fuck out!" Katia cried as she leapt to her feet, charging to knock the man from dangers path as the riders jerked in his saddle. Katia was a Khajiit, and thus sported cat like reflexes, but even she was too slow; the rider hurled his sword, it cut through the air, impaling William in the chest. He sputtered and fell as Sera and Katia rushed to his side. Katia looked up, and saw the rider, remove his helm, holding to his chest and leaning forward, the way a lord might bow to a lady, then he replace the helm on his head and cackled once more. Katia turned her attention down, feeling tears well in her eyes at the loss of one of her attempted rescuers. Sera shouted, trying to hold Williams attention, as he passed to the after life, and Katia sniffed as she tried not to cry, and over everything, was the now fading laughter of the Normerian Red Rider; the wraith from which no man had ever escaped.