4
A New Beginning
\
Village of Sarris, Eostia
Hope
Hope was all they had. The hope that the queen's forces would reach them and save them.
Those who managed to flee found themselves barricaded in the church. Inside the church, few were brave enough to man the barricades, most stuck close to their families and the wounded, others could only sit in almost catatonic dread, confining themselves to the notion that there was no hope.
Those who couldn't flee were subject to all manner of horror at the hands of their enemies. Screams could be heard from all over the village as homes became the sights of unspeakable atrocity, rape, and murder going hand in hand.
/
Faster
He had to go faster. Thankfully his dark steed had seemingly no limits or issues with the demands of her owner.
Riding at full speed, Henry could tell he was getting close as he could smell fresh ash falling.
Soon enough, the village came into sight. The outlying fields were set ablaze, many homes were burnt to the ground and corpses lined the streets. Despite his quick and almost careless advance, he found none of the greenskins were on the watch for danger. He scowled, concluding that the entire group was busy looting and raping to notice his incursion.
Drawing his sword, he charged a pair of orcs carrying a large wooden chest. Before they could reach their weapons the knight drew first blood. Slashing one the creature who fell to the ground, clutching its throat. Returning for another run, he grabbed the fallen orc's spear before using it as a lance to impale its companion.
Before the creature died, it let out a guttural cry of pain, causing numerous other greenskins to exit their respective buildings. Grouping up, the force of orcs and imps quickly formed a loose wall of spears and axes.
"Seems we have to do this the hard way." The knight exclaimed dismounting his horse and removing a potion of blood from his belt.
Taking a long swig, he felt a rush of energy rush over him. His black pupils dilated as the fresh blood awoke the animal within him.
"Tiid Klo Ul!" He shouted, slowing the world around him as he charged forward as the wall of spears quickly broke formation.
The unorganized mob stood no chance. The black knight, only visible as a dark blur continually sped through their ranks. Gutting and hacking his way through the loosely packed group, like lambs grouped for the slaughter. Decapitating one, he turned to his attacking friend to kick the creature to the ground before crushing its head with his boot. Dodging an arrow, he grabbed a fallen spear before impaling the orc bowman with a powerful throw.
After finishing off the mob, the ground suddenly rumbled.
Turning to face a new threat, Henry found it belonged to a massive Giant. Wielding a club as thick as a tree, the knight was forced to avoid its wielder entirely. Despite its large stature and heavy build, the troll was fast to the point of nearly hitting its target.
"Wuld Nah Krest!" The black knight belted out and he quickly sped forward, avoiding the mighty club as he ran under the beast. Stabbing one of the beast's legs, it howled in pain as it stumbled to turn around.
Dive rolling away from another attack, the vampire stabbed the creature's other leg. Howling once more, it was forced to its knees.
Looking up at its foe, the last thing it saw was the vampire's bright fangs before its demise.
Sinking his fangs into its throat, Henry found another rush of energy surge through his body. Despite the Giant's blood tasting like pure lead… it was sufficient.
He felt his senses further sharpen and his injuries suddenly healed. A strong smell now stood out amongst the blood and guts, semen. Henry convulsed in rage and disgust as he could now hear numerous screams and crying emanating from the largest house.
Speeding over to the house, he wasted no time. Kicking the door down, he found a group of women of all ages, nude, orcs and demons crawling all over them.
"Please help us!"
"Please my lord!"
Enraged, the vampire sped forward in a blur of motion, savagely killing all who stood to oppose him. Slamming his blade into the skull of an Orc, he grabbed its dagger before grabbing another greenskin and stabbing it in the throat.
Retrieving his sword, he parried an imp's axe swing before swiftly decapitating the creature. Grabbing the fallen axe, he lobbed it at another Orc, killing the beast instantly. After killing the fifth one with a stab, he found the last stood fearfully in the back, shakily clutching a spear.
Looking at the small girl crying next to the demon, Henry kicked the dead Orc off his sword before stomping off to the direction of the cowering imp.
"Coward…" He growled. The two stared each other down before the imp tried vainly to stab him.
Easily dodging the imp's attacks, the vampire grabbed the crude spear before kicking the small demon onto a nearby table. Tossing his sword aside, the knight broke the spear in two over his knee before quickly enveloping the creature. The imp cried out in pain as the knight savagely pinned it to the table with the broken spear.
The women clutched onto each other as they watched the black knight put the demon's head into a vice grip with his gauntleted hands. Some couldn't bear this and soon turned away, while most sat silently as they watched the creature let out pained squeals and vainly fought the man. Soon the creature's skull broke and caved in with a loud crunch.
Stepping off the cowardly rapist, Henry turned to retrieve his sword. Though frightened, one woman mustered enough courage to approach him.
"Thank you, my lord, we owe you our lives." The woman spoke up, covering herself with her arms.
"No… You owe me nothing, I am sorry I couldn't come sooner." He answered with a sad frown as he turned and walked back out.
/
After rescuing the women, Henry found the village was largely cleared. He made quick work of other pockets of resistance, giving no mercy to the beasts. After dispatching all stragglers, he turned his attention to the barricaded church.
Calmly knocking on the door, it was soon unblocked and opened. He was greeted with a combination of fear and distrust as he entered the church. The villagers soon ignored him, however, as they were reunited with surviving family members. The knight walked straight towards the wounded, ignoring the reunions and stares of confusion from survivors.
Approaching one man, the knight cast a healing spell in his hands. Placing them over a man's wounded chest, the survivors could only watch in pure shock and awe as the wound healed itself instantly.
Reaching to his belt, Henry grabbed a Magicka potion before guzzling it down and returning to the wounded.
"Bless you, my lord." One wounded man said with a bow of respect as his injuries healed.
"These wounds aren't completely healed, the skin and any internal organs are merely sewn shut, they will require time for the body to recover." He said to the recovering villagers as a few tried to sit up.
"Who are you?" A voice piped up and soon many other questions of the same nature followed.
"I am Sir Henry."
/
After tallying the dead and living, Henry found that out of sixty-three, thirty-eight lie dead, leaving twenty-five, among them five were wounded. The deceased were quickly identified by their family members and were loaded into wagons to be buried later. The remaining twenty-five stood outside the church, clutching onto their families.
"Listen up!" The black knight's voice belted out and the villagers quickly snapped their attention to him as all talk ceased.
"This village is your home, your livelihood, your childhoods… But it is no longer safe to remain here. The crops have been destroyed, and enemies are all around us… I cannot remain here, other villages remain under threat and will require my aid. I will be leading any survivors willing, to the abandoned fort south of here. All who seek refuge will be under my protection, and will have to contribute in some way." He spoke, sparking a mixed reaction among the villagers. Some immediately grabbed their families and stepped forward, while others discussed amongst themselves.
/
Sitting atop the main battlement, Claire watched over the main road.
Looking over her body, she frowned as she viewed the scars from her abuse. She scowled as she looked to the loaded crossbow and hunting knife on a table near her. Never again would she be at the mercy of man.
The sound of a horn blow snapped her from her thoughts. Grabbing her crossbow, she raised it over the crenel, ready to shoot any who dared to intrude.
To her relief, however, she spotted Henry riding at the head of a wagon train.
He quickly barked out orders and the people immediately piled out and got to work. Most got to work moving the dead out to the fields for burial, others began unloading the wounded into the main hall. The knight followed the morgue crew and watched over them while they worked. He sat on his dark horse stoically, hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
/
Despite his insistence on speed and efficiency, the burial of the dead proved to be a slow and somber process.
In spite of his stoic facade, Henry found it difficult to maintain his hard demeanor when surrounded by tears and final farewells of families to their deceased loved ones.
Feeling his vision blur once more, he blinked. Suddenly the landscape changed, no longer was he in the forests of northern Eostia.
Now again he was a familiar, but cruel frozen wasteland.
/
Looking down he found he now sat on the back of a long-forgotten brown horse.
"Buttons…" He muttered, remembering the horse his liege had originally gifted to him for his coming of age.
Looking around, Henry found he wasn't alone. Surrounding him was a company of Imperial Legionnaires all at work burying their fallen brothers.
Curious, he cautiously rode forward. The soldiers ignored him as he approached them and looked over their faces.
"Tulrag? Crassus?" He muttered to two familiar soldiers, an Orc and an Imperial. The two seemed to be completely oblivious to his presence.
"Crassus?" He spoke up, putting a hand on the Imperial's shoulder, forcing the man to drop his shovel. Turning, Henry was surprised to see his brown eyes had been replaced with soulless, black ones.
"Captain, when do you think our replacements will arrive?" The Colovian asked flatly.
"What?" Henry asked, unsure of how to answer.
"Captain, when do you think our replacements will arrive?" Crassus asked again, sparking the Breton's memory.
"That… That was the last thing you said to me… Before you died." Henry responded to the Imperial who only stared on blankly.
"Captain, shall I commence the attack?" Tulrag suddenly spoke up, his eyes as black as Crassus'.
"When we were ordered to assault Fort Kastav… You volunteered to lead in my place when I fell ill." Henry answered.
"Captain, we missed our daily supply delivery." Another voice asked.
"I'm scared Captain."
"The path ahead looks clear, Sir."
Suddenly, Henry found himself surrounded by other dead soldiers who endlessly bombarded him with the same questions and chilling last words.
"Sir Henry!"
/
Snapping awake, he found the burial crew surrounding him in curiosity and concern.
"Are you alright sir? We've finished burying the dead, what are your orders?" One man asked, forcing the knight to look over the burial grounds.
"Back to the fort, there is much to do." The Breton ordered, turning Shadowmere and walking the group back to the confines of the walls.
/
Night
Sitting at the top of the keep, Henry sat on a stool. Sharpening his sword with a small whetstone, occasionally glancing up to survey the environment.
As his new "subjects" were peasants, they most likely lacked any combat training and thus were currently useless as guards. This meant he was responsible for both leading and solely protecting the population for the time being.
"I see you're keeping yourself busy…" A harmonious voice spoke, causing the knight to look to the stairwell and emerging form of Claire Renault.
After acknowledging her with a nod, he turned his attention back to his sword.
"I did that recordkeeping you asked of me, I took inventory of our food and water supplies as well as medicine and other amenities." Claire said pulling up a stool and retrieving a small leatherbound pocketbook hooked onto her belt.
"What's our situation?" Henry asked sternly.
"Good or bad news first?" The dark elf with a comical tone which immediately earned her a hardened glare.
"All"
"At most, we have three days worth of food and only basic medicine. The water from the well appears clean and should provide us with a reliable source to drink from. The two horses you recovered from the village are relatively healthy but will require maintenance." Claire spoke, looking over the list.
Grimacing, the knight sheathed his sword and pocketed the whetstone before standing up.
"Shall we break the news, my lord?" Claire asked, putting away her pocketbook.
"In the morning, I'll give them the night to settle in." Henry answered heading for the stairs, the elf following suit.
/
Three Days Later
Living up to his pledge of protection, Henry spared no time in strengthening his position and small society. Coordinating with right-hand woman Claire, he began to organize roles for the colony of now thirty-one with new arrivals. All of the age were required to train in basic weapons handling such as the spear and crossbow. As the population was low at only thirty-one, they would routinely rotate between guard duty and farming detail daily.
With the skill and determination of the people, a farm had been established along the hillslopes. Though limited by the soil to potatoes and carrots, they offered a sense of assurance to the people.
Unfortunately, as the crops were expected to be ready for harvesting after around seventy days, another food source was needed. As he found the kingdom was on high alert due to the recent raids, the roads were empty.
Save for the brigands foolish enough to patrol them.
/
Tracking a scouting party back to their hideout, Henry found them to be operating out of an abandoned iron mine. Surrounding the mine entrance was a small camp, enclosed by a wooden palisade wall with a wooden platform by the gate.
Looking into the camp from a nearby hill, he found the camp was manned by four bandits, on watch stood an archer in leather armor, who casually watched the horizon with seemingly little care. The unwary would make for easy kills.
/
Parrying one man's axe chop, he slashed the axeman across the stomach before kicking him away. Grabbing the man's dagger from his belt, he quickly dodged a spear thrust before closing in and finishing the spearman with a stab to the throat. Sidestepping a series of clumsy mace swings, he slashed at the back of the bandit, felling him instantly.
Whistles in the air alerted the Breton to the archer who began firing upon him with a barrage of arrows.
Dive rolling out of the way, he grabbed the injured axeman who attempted to get up. Wrapping an arm around the man's neck, Henry used him to weather the bowman's attacks.
After three arrows, the axeman was finally dead. Utilizing his friend's fallen spear, he lobbed it at the archer like a javelin, quickly catching the man's shoulder and sending him tumbling off the platform to the ground below.
Taking the opportunity, Henry rushed forward and ensured the brigand a swift death with a quick stab through the heart.
Hearing a door open, the vampire knight found it came from the mace-wielding bandit who managed to stumble his way into the mine.
Smiling evilly, he calmly walked after the man.
/
"Someone help me! I'm fucking bleeding here! Boros and Nils are dead!" The bandit pleaded out, limping down into the mine.
Jumping to their feet, three bandits drew their weapons and rushed towards the entrance. Rounding the corner, their stomachs sank at the sight before them.
Before them, their friend stood, a red-eyed man behind him. His teeth sunk into his victim's throat, the man could only look on with wide eyes.
"By the goddess..."
After draining the man, he simply loosened his grip and the man fell forward and landed facefirst.
The three bandits could only stare in bewilderment at their now dead friend before resuming their gazes to his killer. Seeing their fear, the knight bore his now bloody teeth to them, and their hands began shaking.
"Good afternoon…" He said chillingly and the men stepped back in fear.
Exploiting their fear, he immediately rushed forward, catching them off-guard. He swiftly decapitated one man before he could raise his weapon. Turning to face his friends, he dodged an axe swing before stabbing the axeman. Before the third man could swing his club fully, the vampire lunged forward and grabbed the man's wrist. Much to his surprise, the man found the slightly shorter vampire was far stronger than him.
Twisting the mace from his grip, the vampire struck the man against his abdomen, knocking him to the ground.
"No no… Help!" The bandit spurted out, short of breath as he tried to crawl away.
Rounding the corner once more, he found two more bandits rushing to his aid. Before they could reach him, however, the mace came down once more, crushing the fallen bandit's skull into a mess of blood, pulp, and bones.
Spotting the two charging bandits, he took a deep breath in.
"Yol Toor Shul!" He belted out, and the two men were soon engulfed in a blast of flames. Dropping their weapons, they dropped to the ground and attempted to roll around to put out the flames.
Before long, however, the screams and squirming ceased.
Ignoring the smell of burnt flesh, Henry retrieved his sword before proceeding further into the mine.
/
Roads south of Sarris, Two Weeks Later
Patrolling the roads was a dreadful slog today, for the new mercenary Lucy, it was a test of patience. From the tone in Maia's voice, the young sellsword figured they were up against a whole horde of greenskins. While they came across numerous sacked villages and dead commoners further east, something just didn't feel right about today. Instead of corpses lining the roads, they were completely empty. Lucy thought maybe the nearby village had not seen any orc incursions at all… or maybe, it was even worse than the eastern settlements.
"Do you think we'll see anything today?" Lucy asked another mercenary who showed a hint of annoyance at the question.
"You'd rather we take a horde on, just the six of us?" The mercenary answered scoffing.
"Cut the chatter and look alive ladies!" Maia suddenly shouted out and all chatter ended as they entered the forest clearing.
Approaching the sacked village of Sarris, the band drew their weapons.
Entering they were greeted by the usual sights of burnt and crumbling buildings, what had them all perplexed was the entire lack of people. Though much of the spilled blood was likely human, only the corpses of greenskins could be found. Fanning out, the mercenaries inspected the battlegrounds with curiosity and awe.
"Damn… Looks like we missed one hell of a party." Lucy commented, looking over a curb-stomped orc.
"Looks like some other merc company rolled through earlier, probably paid with whatever these sods could afford." Another mercenary speculated, spotting the numerous weapons left embedded in the deceased.
"No…" Maia spoke up, catching the attention of her subordinates.
Turning to their commander, the four women gasped at the sight of the dead giant. Its throat lay torn open but drained of its blood.
"What beast could've done this?" Maia asked herself.
"Hey lemme go!" A male voice screeched out.
"Look what I found, it seems we have an eavesdropper." The sixth mercenary revealed herself dragging a teenage boy by his arm.
"Come on! I wasn't spying, per se." The teenager said defending himself with a sheepish grin.
"What are you doing here kid?" Maia asked as the mercenaries turned to surround him.
"I'm just following orders…" He answered with a smug grin.
"Whose?" The redhead mercenary questioned, grabbing the young man by his collar.
/
The group trained tirelessly, the air whooshed as they practiced their spear thrusts. Though they had only lived within the stone walls of Blackthorne for a few weeks, their leader gave them little time to recover. Since day one, the knight had made it a priority to train the group of now sixty-four in combat. Due to time and resource constraints, the man could only teach them handling in simpler weapons, such as the spear, shield, and crossbow. The past week was a combination of exhausting physical training and conditioning, along with drills and marching.
Now they lined up, cloth and sack dummies had been set up before them. Upon his command, six stepped forward at a time, at his command, they would stab the targets.
"Strike!" He barked out.
"Kill!" The men and women shouted out as they stabbed the targets.
The group watched as the knight quickly singled out a teenage boy for his seemingly soft stab into the target.
"This isn't a dancing lesson, take his head off!" The black knight barked and the boy struck harder this time.
After being satisfied with the first six, he ordered them to the back and the next six stepped forward.
Again he ordered the row to stab the targets, like the last six, he immediately spotted a weak link with this bunch.
"Faster! I've seen corpses with more life than you!" He screamed at a young woman, the girl could barely move as she appeared to be completely exhausted.
"I… I need a minute, Sir Henry." The girl said, weekly, dropping her shield.
"A minute?! Is that what you'll say to an orc?! 'Don't kill me, I need a minute!'" The knight yelled directly into the girl's face, grabbing her collar and yanking her aside.
"Come here! Stab me." He said to the confusion of the young woman and the surprise of the rest of the unit.
"You heard me! Stab me!" He ordered and she finally complied.
Due to her fatigue, she could only muster a feeble attempt which was easily swatted away with a backhand.
"Come on! I said stab not pinch!" Slapping away another weak stab, this time he seemed even angrier.
"Will you ask an orc to give you a minute, before or after he has his way with you?!" He snapped, this time triggering a response from the woman who now charged him.
Henry anticipated this, however, as he quickly sidestepped the blow. Missing her target, the woman was met with a strong punch to the jaw. The knight then reached out and grabbed the spear from the woman before striking her in the stomach with the blunt end. He then struck her across the face with the shaft of the spear, knocking her to the ground.
Looking up, the woman lay on the ground, her own spear pointed at her face.
"I'm sorry, I failed you, my lord." The young woman said sorrowfully. Rather than give her another fist, the knight reached out and pulled the maiden to her feet.
"That's alright, don't be ashamed. All must start from somewhere." He said, lowering his voice to a whisper.
Suddenly, a horn was blown, interrupting the training session.
"Six horsemen approaching!" A sentry called out.
/
Leaving the security of the fort, Henry was confronted by six armed women on horseback. Their well-maintained weapons and nonstandard armor showed they were likely mercenaries. They also likely meant business, seeing as they had his scout captured. Pulling her horse forward, a pretty redhead approached him.
"Good day to you sir, I hear you're the one responsible for 'saving' the village of Sarris." The leader said, putting particular attention on the word 'saving'.
"No.." He answered.
"You didn't? But our friend here is adamant that you saved him along with the people you have now." The woman spoke gesturing towards the scout.
"I didn't 'save' them, I failed them, most were already dead or tainted by the beasts. I did what I could for those who survived." The knight clarified with a frown.
"Such modesty, how… admirable. Well regardless, we saw the outcome of your little 'battle' back in Sarris. Your scout told us of how you singlehandedly destroyed the raiding party, is that true?"
"Yes." He responded simply.
"Yes?… That's it? No bravado or tall talks of 'honor and valor'?" The woman said with a chuckle as the man simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Not much of a talker eh? What? Cat gotcha tongue?" Another mercenary teased to the indifference of the black knight.
"What do you want?" The knight spoke up, earning a grin from the redhead.
"What we want is you. My employer has a use for someone like you. I'll release your little friend here, and you'll come with us to meet with Lady Celestine herself."
