ASCEND INTO DARKNESS
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 19
Leo wasn't quite sure what he'd expect at the Ulvenwald town Helgarr, and on the carriage ride to the town, he found himself trying to formulate a plan for meeting the Heidin Brotherhood mages without Abigail knowing about it. Still, he remembered the promise that Johann had made him: when the Wild Branch Cathars were found and rescued, Johann would help Leo find the Brotherhood members in secret. But would Leo be fast enough? Any day now, the demon will appear and demand payment for the pact Leo had made as a young Cathar. He could not afford any mistakes.
"It certainly gets dark quickly in this forest," Abigail commented tensely at length.
"That's just the nature of this forest," Johann told her darkly as the carriage sped through the dense, misty forest. "And with the darkness comes danger. Luckily, we're almost to Helgarr. We should be safe there, and with any luck, we'll find intel on the Wild Branch Cathars."
Helgarr had better be close by, Leo thought, giving another look to the deep, mysterious forest that flashed past through the carriage's window. All sorts of monsters could be hiding in the primordial depths, from werewolf packs to vorapedes to wrathful nature spirits. It made him realize how pampered and sheltered that the people of Gavony and Thraben really were. This was the hard reality that many people of Innistrad faced on a daily basis.
Before long a wide wooden sign came into view announcing "Welcome to Helgarr" in curly red letters, and the carriage slowed to a halt before a wooden gate built onto the dirt road. A trio of Cathars clad in thick leather armor approached the carriage, swords at the ready. "Who be you?" one of them demanded.
"I am Johann, captain of the guard force at Welmot, a port town," Johann called back. "These fellas hail from Gavony and are aiding me on an assignment to find the missing Wild Branch Cathars."
The man looked at his fellows, exchanged a few quiet words, and nodded. "Enter the town, visitors. But mind yourselves."
A few laborers pulled on a wheel and pulley system on the large wooden gate and the gate raised itself, allowing the carriage to roll into Helgarr proper. Leo, who was expecting a small cluster of wooden huts, was amazed by the sight. Set in a wide clearing in the dense Ulvenwald Forest, the town boasted numerous two- and three-story houses and taverns, plus a pair of two-story churches. Crowds of people and carriages bustled in the stone-cobble streets, and a lively marketplace had vendors selling fruits, dried meats, weapons, and clothing.
"One of the nicer towns 'round these parts, if you ask me," Johann said happily as his carriage crept though the streets at a leisurely pace. "I ain't visited ol' Helgarr in some time."
Leo had to agree that Helgarr had a lot to impress a visitor with, but he still noticed that many buildings here had been recently repaired, and some small houses on the outskirts had been torn down completely. Also, many of the people were on high alert, constantly checking over their shoulders and around the street corners. Apparently, monsters loved to raid this place even during the day.
"We'll get off here," Johann stated, motioning for the driver to slow to a halt in front of a tavern with a crooked sign. "Leo, Abigail, the lot of ya... stay with me. I don't want nobody getting separated. We'll check for leads in this tavern, then get to the travel records department in the main church facility here."
"Let's get going, then," Leo nodded. He entered the tavern with Johann leading the party, but as soon as he stepped into the candle-lit room, he could tell that he and Abigail were not welcome. Hard glares and muttered curse words were thrown at him and Abigail as they walked through the tavern's main room, but Johann ignored it all as he addressed the bartender for info.
"Think we should order a little something?" Leo muttered in his wife's ear while Jorge and the Cathar named Zento stood in a corner.
Abigail gave the barmaids a glance. "Perhaps, but let's be careful. We are strangers here."
Clearing his throat, Leo led Abigail to the bar and motioned to the nearest barmaid. "Hello. Could I get a pair of Nearheath Ales?"
The brunette woman scowled at him. "We don't have none of that fancy brew, and we don't serve yer kind in here anyways! What makes you think we want any boot-licking Thraben folk 'round here?"
Leo winced. "I was just looking to wet my whistle, that's all."
The barmaid threw her wash rag onto the counter. "Then do it someplace else 'cause I ain't serving you! Make room for other patrons, if you please."
"Hey, it was worth a shot," Leo defended himself when Abigail gave him a funny look. "And the Nearheath Ale is my favorite drink."
"Leo, Abigail, we're movin' on," Johann called over the babble. "To the church. No one here knows nothin'."
Shrugging, Leo made his way past the crowded tables to reach the front door, but when he squeezed past a fat man seated at a table, Leo squished someone else's foot with his boot.
"My mistake," Leo hastily told the foot's owner, a tall, thin man with a tattered tricorn hat and black stubble on his cheeks.
"Stupid outsiders!" the man hissed, seizing Leo's shoulders with his grimy fingers. "I oughta beat some manners into you! You look like you could use the lesson."
"Move it. This man is with me," Johann snapped, wandering over to the scene and shoving the man away. He led Leo and Abigail back into the open streets, hands on his hips. "People here have suffered much, and they never trusted outsiders to begin with," Johann admonished Leo. "They feel abandoned by the central authority in Thraben and they're takin' it out on you."
Leo flushed. "Should I wait in the carriage, then?"
Johann shook his head. "No need for that, fellow. Church warriors like us don't back down from our duty. But... be sure that you don't step on any more toes, literally or otherwise."
Leo tried to stay out of trouble as he and the others moved further into Helgarr, but he couldn't restrain himself when he came upon a shocking sight.
"Animal bastards!" one man hooted, rallying a small crowd of people carrying rocks and rotten fruit. He hurled a rock at one of several nude men and women locked in tall iron cages in the market square, and the rock bounced off the shoulder of a man huddled at the bottom of his cage. Shouting similar insults, the other people tossed fruits and rocks at the other caged people, and the prisoners didn't even try to resist or squirm out of the way.
"What the hell is this?" Leo demanded, confronting the crowd's leader. He jabbed a finger at the prisoners. "Public humiliation? Maybe you're the animal here."
The man snorted with a grin of contempt. "You must be an outsider. From Gavony, judgin' by your outfit. Let me tell ya a little something: these freaks in the cages are convicted werewolves, caught by the local Cathar teams. They're sentenced for execution, yes they are, and the Church is lettin' us common folk have some fun with 'em before they get what they deserve."
"That sounds a bit extreme."
"Extreme!" the man's eyes bugged out of his head. "You don't think it's extreme that these men and women become killers by night and slaughter their friends and family? Almost everyone here in Helgarr has lost someone dear to 'em because of these werewolves."
To make his point, the man took out a rock from his pocket and hurled it at a red-headed woman in the nearest cage. "S-stop it already!" the woman shrieked, making the crowd chuckle.
Leo's hairs stood up on end. I know that voice! He hurried over to the huddled woman, gripping her cage's bars. "Hey! Karin, is that you?"
"L... Leo? The handsome Cathar from Thraben?" Karin responded, her normally cheery voice weak and fearful. She sat up in her cage, covering her breasts with her hands. Her intense eyes, haunted by torment, bore into Leo's. "I didn't think I'd see you again!"
"Glad to see you too," Leo forced a grin as Abigail, Johann and the others joined him. "Look, is there any way I can get you out of there?"
Karin shook her head, her long red hair tangled and dirty. "Not unless you convince Father Gerto, the local high priest, to transfer me elsewhere. What's the point, anyway? I'm ruined, Leo! I was bitten and turned, and I've already killed so many! The Cathars trapped me and showed me the bodies of everyone I killed. I deserve this." Tears leaked down her cheeks.
"No, you don't. You never chose to become a werewolf," Leo insisted. "Listen, Abigail and I came here to find and rescue the Wild Branch Cathars. Your headquarters was abandoned. Can you tell me where everyone went?"
"We scattered," Karin told him. "Only days after the attack, I was with a group of three others when werewolves ambushed us. The others were killed and I was turned. I don't know where the rest of my fellows have gone. Not for sure, anyway."
"Do you still have your fox powers? Could you help us track down the other members?"
"Maybe." Karin sighed. "The others might not even be alive. I don't think your mission can be completed, Leo. There's not much left in Kessig except fear and death."
"I'm here to fix that," Leo told her firmly. "I'm going to speak with Father Gerto and search for leads. Either way, I'll convince him to let me take you back to Welmot, a port town, that's acting as our base of operations. I won't let these people kill you."
Karin made a sad smile. "I'm dangerous, remember? If I turn, I'd try to kill you too."
"I'll see about that."
*o*o*o*o*
"I told you, I cannot spare any men to escort you back to your headquarters!" was the first thing Leo heard when Johann led him into Helgarr's main church. The speaker was a balding man in long, white and gold robes and he was currently yelling at a pair of men clad in dark green robes with black belts.
The older man in green robes insisted, "It is imperative that we reach our brothers before it is too late! Demonic forces are gathering in Kessig, and my own men were slain by werewolves that broke into our outpost."
"We are all feeling the pressure from dark forces," Father Gerto snapped. "I have respect for the Heidin Brotherhood, Martin, but I'm not leaving Helgarr vulnerable to werewolves and flesh-hungry geists in order to escort you to your headquarters."
The man named Martin pointed an angry finger at Father Gerto. "The Wild Branch Cathars are scattered and desperate, and by the reports I've received, they are flooding to my Brotherhood's headquarters to find a cure for their problem."
Father Gerto huffed. "What problem?"
"The natural order is corrupting in Avacyn's absence," Martin hissed. "The Wild Branch Cathars are strongly connected to Kessig's green mana for their abilities. They're getting warped and are dying, and they need the help of my Heidin brothers and I."
"It is his business to know such things," the younger Heidin mage offered.
Leo's heart hammered with excitement in his chest. By the Archangel! These men are with the Heidin Brotherhood? And the Wild Branch Cathars are at their headquarters? This is perfect. My luck is finally changing for the better. He cleared his throat and his voice rang throughout the candle-lit Church. "Father Martin, I will escort these men to their headquarters."
All three men whirled to face Leo and the others. "Who are you?" Father Gerto asked with strained patience.
Johann gently pushed Leo to the side and raised his chin. "This fella is Leo, a Cathar of Thraben. He's with me. I am Johann, guard captain at Welmot."
"Did you say you'd help us?" the younger Heidin mage asked eagerly, his eyes lighting up.
"Hush, Erik," admonished Martin. He stiffened his back and looked right into Leo's eyes. "So, a pampered Thraben sword jock thinks that he can get us to our headquarters?"
"I have seen and, more importantly, slain countless monsters in my time," Leo retorted. "Less than two weeks ago, I watched my father's house burn down to the ground by devil-fire, and I watched my father's casket get buried in a Thraben cemetery. I know what suffering is, and I wish to prevent any further death."
Father Gerto clasped his hands together. "The road to the Heidin Brotherhood headquarters is a dark and obscure one, and there is no telling what misfortune would await you. I can't spare any of my men to help."
"We can handle the job, Father," Johann offered. "With Martin's permission, we will set out for the Heidin Brotherhood headquarters first thing tomorrow mornin'."
Martin hesitated, looking back and forth between father Gerto and Johann and Leo. Then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Very well. If you give me your word on this, Johann, I will place my life and that of Brother Erik in your hands. But I do hope that you have more men than this."
"Yes. I have a few other fellas in a nearby town, Jyergton. I'll call 'em over here and we can assemble for tomorrow's mission."
"Oh, and something else," Leo added while he still had the chance.
Gerto eyed Leo coldly. "What do you want, Thraben boy?"
"One of the caged werewolves in the marketplace, a redheaded woman named Karin, is a member of the Wild Branch Cathars," Leo explained quickly. "I fought with her in my youth and she is a devout disciple of the Church. I implore you to allow me to take her to the Heidin Brotherhood headquarters to address her condition."
Gerto barked his laughter. "What a foolish thing to say. Many men have tried to find a cure for lycanthropy but all have failed. Why, not even the Heidin Brotherhood has -"
"We'll do all we can for this woman," Erik put in boldly, drawing all eyes to him. "We can at least try to restrain her condition to some extent. We know how to suppress transformation curses to an extent, and it sounds like this Karin deserves a chance."
"She is an animal who slaughtered innocent people!" Gerto spat. "I won't have her sentence waived because she -"
"I can handle that," Abigail announced, taking a step forward. "I practice white magic, and I can restrain her for the duration of the trip. She will pose no threat."
Leo secretly wondered how certain Abigail was of her holy powers, but he knew better than to say anything. Finally, Gerto pursed his lips. "Very well. You may move the prisoner's cage and keep her in your custody. But I forbid you to open her cage until you reach the Brotherhood headquarters!"
Leo swallowed. "I understand, and thank you. Martin, Erik, come with us. We've got some work ahead of us."
*o*o*o*o*
"You realize that I can never pay you back for this," Karin said in awe when Leo and the others surrounded her cage a few minutes later. The gang of tormentors had dispersed, but Karin had a few new purple bruises on her skin from thrown rocks.
"I'm not asking for repayment," Leo assured her. He had bought a long traveling cloak at a general store and slipped it into the cage. "Here, cover up. I can at least protect your modesty."
"Thanks." Karin donned the cloak gratefully, fastening its straps. "I can see why Abigail married you, Leo. You have such a kind heart."
"I just do what I can," Leo said modestly. "Let's get you into the carriage. You'll be safe there."
The other caged werwolves glared longingly at Karin as her cage was carried off, but Leo knew that he could do nothing for them. Instead, he and the others walked off to get the carriage into the market square and loaded Karin's cage into the back compartment. Then, Johann pointed his finger at the sky and released a tiny but bright mana flare from his fingertip. Once the magic projectile broke through the forest canopy, the spark of mana exploded in the sky like a firework. "There, that's the signal to the other team," Johann told Leo. "Now let's rent a few rooms at the local inn. We've got to get our rest."