Nightfall came swiftly as a stage coach raced toward Marchnik. The only light from the few stars and moon that poked through the clouds prevented the darkness from completely dominating. A couple leagues away from the village, the stage coach rushed desperately down the old wore out road. A hooded man held the reigns of the black two horse coach. A chest and a crate were tied to the top as the door and windows to the coach were tightly secured. The stage coach moved at break-neck speed bumping over small rocks and dipping into depressed parts of the road. The hooded man smacked the reigns again on the horses' backs as light from Marchnik finally became visible while leaving a trail of dust. The gates were closed evoking a gasp from the hooded man as he reached in his coat and pulled out his musket gun in one hand and fired a single shot into the air.
Two watchmen sat gazing across the field where the road disappeared into the dark. To the west, the pine trees became more thick with bushes and brier patches making travel by coach impossible. Each watchmen was armed with a shortsword, a crude rifle, and wore crude studded leather armor. Most nights were fairly uneventful with few intrepid travelers. It was rare for monsters or animals to wander near the village walls, but the frequency for those kinds of incidents were beginning to rise. Lightning could be seen flashing way off in the distance with a soft rumbling thunder. A sudden blast put the watchmen back on guard as they quickly readied their rifles.
"Sounded like a gunshot!" one of the guards said as they tried to look beyond the darkness as the watchmen sat on a platform ten feet above the ground.
Not long after the gunshot, two horses and a stage coach could be seen racing toward the gates.
"Looks like we have outsiders coming from the north, and their moving pretty fast" the other watchmen called out to a third watchmen below.
"They better have a good reason for coming so late" the third watchmen said glancing out a small hole big enough to poke an arrow or the end of a rifle through.
Late night stragglers were usually bandits posing as merchants or travellers, rarely were they actually what they claimed to be.
"Please! Let us in! We are being pursued!" came a shout as the stage coach stopped with the horses prancing nervously in front of the gate.
"Oh yea? And who might you be? Another bandit?" one of the watchmen shouted back.
"We are coming from Hamlet, please!" the hooded man said nervously looking back behind him.
The main light from the hanging lanterns did not reveal the faces very well, only shadow and vague glances of detail.
"State your business" the other watchmen shouted sternly.
"I am escorting Frau Heidi, she's here for your local chapel!" the driver said knocking on the sliding window door on the back.
"I am here to cure your diseased" A robed and hooded woman came out holding up a lantern revealing her face to the guards who recognized her.
"Why are you coming at this late hour?" the first watchmen asked suspiciously.
"We need nightshade, thyme, and rosemary herbal leaves which you have" Frau Heidi quickly answered.
A feint growling could be heard back in the distance of the darkness as a flash of lightning lit up the sky behind them.
"You don't have others with you?" another watchmen asked sceptically.
"We did, we lost them to bandits on the way here-please help us!" the stage coachmen pleaded.
"Fine! Let them in quickly!" the town guard ordered loudly to the gate keeper after hearing the distant growl.
One of the gate guards came down off the platform to help the guard open the gate as it required two to move the bars. The doors weren't so easy to open and required a bit of strength to open them fast. The gates were tall thick logs cemented together with hard clay. Once the gates were open wide enough for the stage coach to come through, the horses dashed in startling the few villagers out late.
"Whoaa!" the stage coach driver shouted trying to calm the horses down.
"Hurry! Close the gates! Incoming! Monsters!" the remaining watchmen on the high platform said as he fired his rifle.
"Stay in the Coach Frau Heidi!" the driver said as he held out his gun preparing a target.
"Schizer! Rabid Gnashers!" The woman dressed in dark robes cursed as she came out of the coach. A loud shot rang out from the top of the fort blasting one beastly rabid dog with a rifle musket gun.
"Go find safety Frau Heidi!" the driver said as six blood thirsty beasts blitzed the gate. The woman put on a beaked plague mask and armed herself not having time to flee.
The stage coach driver fired a shot blasting one of the rabid hound's back, it got back up and continued charging towards him.
"Giles!" the woman shouted as two more rabid gnashers raced at them.
"Schizer!" Frau Heidi quickly stepped out of the way as one of them lunged at her with frightening speed. She quickly side stepped it's lunge and came up with her kris dagger ripping an already gaping wound on it.
"Get away beast!" Giles the driver shouted as another went for his leg biting him. He quickly countered with another shot shattering its skull.
The two guards were busy struggling with two other rabid gnashers having taken some vicious bites.
"Nicht gut!" Frau Heidi exclaimed as another ran past them scaring the horses to go off into a trot deeper into the village.
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In a matter of seconds, the evening of mirth dissolved into chaos as patrons let their curiosity get the better of them rushing out the front while others hid. Men were shouting out orders frantically as horses were whining loudly and screams of villagers began to carry. The two performing jesters at the bottom of the stairs stopped quickly putting their instruments on the main counter desk, then quickly made their way to the door as well. The village center bell could be heard throughout the town warning of an impending attack.
"I wouldn't be so quick to throw my life away if I were them" the woman in the buckled hat replied.
"It's not our business to get involved in others' affairs... unless there is coin involved" the man said through his red bandanna around his mouth.
Loud shots rang out then the sound of horses whining and a stage coach racing by drew more curiosity, including Mariah's. She cautiously left behind the counter going towards the door when a sudden scream made her jump back, but something inside her made her continue forward.
"Mariah!" Jordan called out to her as she was just about to open the door. It was too late.
When she opened the door one of the patrons had been bitten badly by something as he was bleeding out profusely on the ground. She quickly spun around to see one of the jesters wielding a sharp rounded curved sickle.
"Everyone, get back inside if you value your life!" the jester shouted then suddenly lashing out at the beast almost decapitating it. Another patron had a dagger out standing over his friend who had been viciously bitten while trying to help him to his feet. Mariah quickly ran to aid one of the fishermen who had been bitten badly. Mariah was about to help both fishermen get in the inn when she heard a loud growl a swift movement on her opposite side.
She looked toward the gate as the night watchmen were struggling to close the gate as a huge pack of these vicious diseased dogs invaded the village.
"Aarrrgghh!" the other fisherman yelped as he was bit again making her jump back in shock amazed at the sheer speed of these beasts. The other fisherman pulled out a dagger and stabbed the diseased dog in the abdomen. Then it turned to bite him even after it had just been stabbed.
"Look out!" Mariah shouted. Quickly out of instinct, she yanked out her bodice dagger and stabbed the foul beast in the head forever silencing it. Both fisherman looked at her amazingly even though they had both been fairly injured. Mariah quickly retrieved the small dagger.
"Mariah!" Jordan shouted with concern from the front door of the inn.
"Get back inside Jordan!" Mariah scolded. Before she knew it, outside came the tall fourteen year old holding a thick wooden table leg.
"The performers!" Jordan pointed out.
"Jordan no! You get back inside!" Mariah told him again as she realized one of the fishermen had a bad wound that would need attention very soon.
The two jesters were contending with another couple of rabid gnashers as they relentlessly continued to attack anything that moved. One of them lunged at the older jester biting his arm. The other jester stabbed the beast below its eye forcing it to let go. The other gnasher was still moving and ran to bite the younger jester but was quickly stopped as the jester countered in rapid succession with his sickle almost slicing it in half leaving a gory mess.
"Close the gate!" Just then a night patrol of militia man came dashing past to the front gate.
Mariah could see the gate keepers and two other people struggling as more rabid gnashers were popping through the gate. Four more came rushing up towards them, two attacked the trio of patrolmen rushing to aid the front lines.
"Get inside now! Both of you!" the younger jester yelled as he readied his sickle and dagger for the next onslaught. It was too late, those decaying diseased beasts were almost as quick as a galloping horse. The younger jester held his ground as one of the beasts came directly for him. It lunged in the air as the jester dodged countering with a fast slash with his sickle.
The second dog ran straight for Jordan, not being a seasoned warrior, he only had the instinct to hold the table leg out in front of him. The creature charged ferociously biting the table leg fortunately for Jordan, but the lunge knocked him down.
"Jordan!" Mariah rushed with her small bodice dagger stabbing the creature, but it quickly snapped its head around and nipped her hand with a grazing wound forcing her to leave her dagger buried in the beast's side. Jordan desperately swung the table leg hitting the creature in the head. It quickly snapped back at him grazing his cheek thanks to the table leg. It would not be enough to prevent more attacks on the young teen.
"NO!" Mariah screamed as the beast was about to inflict a serious wound on the struggling Jordan pinned underneath it.
Something even stranger happened. A huge raven dived down from the roof of the inn squawking madly with its talons in front of it landing on the beasts head gouging its eyes out giving Jordan just the distraction he needed to roll out from under the monster. While the beast was preoccupied with its newest threat, Jordan took the advantage and swung down as hard as he could on the beast. The impact shattered the creature's vertebrae with a loud crack.
As Mariah and Jordan finished off the beast with the help of this unknown ally, the beast that had been stabbed changed its target and ran directly for Mariah only allowing her enough time to turn to see her assailant. Unarmed and defenceless, she threw up her arms, but a quick breezing wind hit her instead as the beast fell dead to the ground. She saw the woman with the double buckled hat casually walk over and collect her daggers from the carcass as the raven quickly vanished back into the night.
"That's some ally you have there" the woman said nonchalantly.
"Thank you!" Mariah said gratefully.
"Damn! I told her not to come until dawn!" the woman looked up quickly sprinting away toward the gate.
"Women! They never listen!" the man who was with her came out dashing after her.
Mariah noticed ahead the familiar mask and instantly knew who the woman was talking about. She quickly retrieved her small dagger from the carcass.
"We're lucky to be alive!" Jordan said looking at the carcasses to Mariah.
"Brother!" Bradley came outside with Johann.
"Frau Heidi!" Mariah rushed after the two strangers.
"Mariah!" Jordan said starting to rush after her but was stopped by his grandfather.
"You're not going anywhere! You nearly got yourself killed!" Johann yelled.
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Mariah dashed after the two strangers wanting to help Frau Heidi. The shady man pulled out a gun and finished off one of the dogs with a loud violent blood spattering shot. The lower part of the beast's jaw almost dropped from its head as it was attacking the trio of militia men. They quickly finished off the other beast allowing them to aid their allies. The woman flashed her two daggers as soon as she arrived stopping two more monsters from entering the gate. Frau Heidi was holding her own standing next to Giles her driver who had a serious wound fighting with two horrid rabid gnashers.
"We'll take care of the remaining monsters just close the damned gate!" the man shouted through his bandanna with a raspy voice.
There was still a few beasts. Two were nibbling off two of the gate keepers who had died fighting. One was struggling with the last watchmen as he quickly flashed his shortsword in a brazen attack hacking its skull. One of the beasts attacking Frau Heidi quickly decided to lunge at her.
"NO!" Mariah screamed with more intense rage and the raven swooped down out of the sky again landing its talons right in the creatures eyes blinding it as it squawked madly.
"What the hell!?" the man exclaimed not seeing anything like this before. Deciding not to question this turn in good fortune he shot the beast at point blank range finishing it off. The woman took a pick axe and quickly drove the point of it down the other attacking rabid gnasher's throat. Continuing their momentum, the woman raced to aid the last live gate keeper with another well struck attack instantly killing the beast.
The man fired his gun in succession shooting both the beasts standing over the corpses of the other two watchmen. They quickly turned to him to attack but was slowed by Heidi's quick reaction as she threw a small vial from her robes down at the beasts' feet. Green looking smoke immediately spewed from the broken vial.
The woman with the buckled hat watched as the raven flew back up in the air circling around them then just seemed to disappear.
"Don't breathe the vapors!" Frau Heidi warned. The man with the red bandanna fired shots in succession finishing off the creature.
The patrolmen quickly shut and barred the gates and began to survey the aftermath. Frau Heidi wasted no time and quickly began tending to the wounded as the others cautiously made sure the threat was eliminated.