Hero and her party rushed forward to engage the monsters that had once been the villagers all the while the Necromancer and his two Faceless Men watched their battle. Hero and Sword Saint's blade easily cut through the emaciated werewolves; their hides were not nearly as tough as the monsters they had encountered in Crossroads. Sage took aim at the harpies in the sky with her staff, casting lightning bolts to strike them down as they swooped in to attack. The only creatures that would prove to be bothersome were the Arachnids or spider-like creature though only possessing six limbs they were able to spew out web from the thorax-like bottom. Sword saint found this out the hard way as a quick spray covered her left leg and kept her from moving as the monstrous creature charged toward her.
"Ah horseshit, what the hell is this…" Sword Saint looked up to see the Arachnid spread out its four arms and open its jaws wide to attack her.
"Get away from her you monster!"
A bolt of fire passed through the monster's head, piercing it and instantly setting it a blaze; the monster quickly collapsed to the ground much to the relief of Sword Saint. Hero quickly went to work slashing at the web around her friend's legs once again allowing her to freely move about. The Necromancer watched the battle continue, against these powerful opponents a mere twenty monsters would not be nearly enough to defeat them but being able to observe their techniques and ability to work together was indeed quite enlightening.
"Master, you should flee while we keep them occupied. These fools do not fully understand the miracle you wish to endow the people with, and this world cannot afford to lose your brilliance."
"Then I shall leave the matter to you, know that your sacrifice will not be in vain. You and my other loyal followers will be hailed for your bravery once the ignorant masses have been dealt with." Necromancer had a calm smile on his face as he nodded toward his followers. "For the Miracle of Life!"
"For the Miracle of Life Master!"
The two Faceless Men quickly went about breaking the vials in the beaks of their masks and drinking their elixir while the Necromancer took a couple steps back. Just like the others they transformed, it may have been their constant being near the elixir in the sewers of their blind devotion, but unlike the villagers, they could retain their mental state as one grew into a hulking figure much like the Highway Man while the other mutated into was could be described as a giant bug with a dark brown exoskeleton and his mouth erupting mandibles.
"Now…how to get a hold of the Hero's blood? I must quickly formulate a plan and with this, I may finally achieve my godhood." Necromancer chuckled as he watched his subordinated stalk toward the heroes before whistling for his mount to approach. "Come to me Cerberus!"
There was growling sound, or rather there were multiple growls, as a beast, bigger than the Hellhound, walked toward the Necromancer. The beast, had three of the Hellhound faces sown to the body each head in a state of trauma such as large gashes from the splitting of the flesh on the right head, the center head had a giant eyeball in the center of its face with several smaller eyes scatter around its face and the left had several horns of varying size scatter around its snout. Attached to the body was a thick reptilian tail, taken from a dead lizardman, as thick scaled covered its clawed legs. Necromancer reached out to gently pet the heads despite the fearsome face the monster was giving while it continued to growl, but the beast did not attack him.
"Such a wonderful and beautiful creature, I wonder if this is because of multiple uses of the Elixir in its body to create such abnormalities. Oh well. I can always conduct further testing once the country is mine." Necromancer chuckled before mounting the Cerberus to look back at the battlefield. "Hmmm…it would seem that the Hero is up to something. Let us leave this place my pet."
The monster's three heads roared in unison before it turned its body and ran from the village. What the Necromancer had seen was the Hero raising her sword high to use Sun Burst to rid this village of the monstrosities in one strike.
"May you find peace in the next life…Sun Burst!"
A bright light filled the night sky, as the blast erupted through the village, in that moment, the monsters closest to the hero and her party were vaporized while the others were blown apart as was the village. When the light subsided, all that remained of the village was little bit of rubble that had once been the houses and the small, charred remains of the monsters and the villagers. Hero lowered her sword as a visible frown crossed her face while she looked over the devastation of the her attack, though she and her party had stopped the monsters from going any further, the village had been completely wiped out in the attack.
"We…we couldn't save any of them in the end." Hero sighed as she closed her eyes.
"It needed to be done, this village was gone by the time we got here but now, others won't have to worry about the monsters attacking their village." Sage placed a hand on her friend's shoulder in an effort to help console Hero.
"Will anyone even remember this village when we're done…will anyone other than family even notice these people gone?"
"You can't think like that, right now we have to stop the Necromancer before his evil destroys any other villages. He fled before your attack we can still catch up to him and end it here and now." Sword Saint took hold of her sword and charged forward through the ruined village.
Hero and Sage were right behind her, she wad right of course, right now was no time to mourn the loss of these people but to find and destroy this evil as they had been directed by the Supreme God to do. The three girls rushed ahead, Hero overtaking Sword Saint as she wanted to put an end to the Necromancer that very instant.
"A hear a noise ahead of us…sounds like running water." Sword Saint calmly replied through ragged breaths as they continued to run.
"Tha must be the river…we'll be crossing it soon then." Sage also struggled to keep up with her comrades as they rushed onward.
Hero continued to push herself ahead when she saw a wide bridge wooden bridge ahead of them and on the opposite side of the bridge was a man standing there, and beside it was a massive creature with red skin.
"The Necromancer!" Hero tightened her grip as a sudden adrenaline boost pushed her faster to kill this man.
Using her Agility, she suddenly leapt into the air, leaping across the bridge in a single jump ready to split the man in two with one strike of her sword. She noticed the Necromancer's mouth moving as he mumbled something while holding out his left hand.
"You die here and now by my sword!"
"Protection."
Hero's sword suddenly struck something that wasn't there, an invisible barrier now appeared between her and the Necromancer.
"This…this spell, I've seen it before with that Priestess who travels with Goblin Slayer, how can he use it?"
"Destroy the supports." Necromancer was calm in his delivery as he lowered his left hand.
The Cerberus roared as with a swipe of its mighty claw destroyed one of the thick wooden support poles then quickly repeated same action before the Hero could react. The bridge creaked before finally breaking apart, Hero in a panicked leapt forward and gripped the earthen ledge with her left hand to keep herself from dropping into the swift moving water below. Her comrades were on the opposite side of the looking in shock as their friend dangled there with the Necromancer and the Cerberus standing right over her.
"Damn it."
"You need not worry my child, I have no interest in killing you here and now, I need you and the others to stay alive to see the wonders of my work." Necromancer had a small smile on his face as he chuckled looking down at the young woman.
"You damn bastard, I've seen your wonder or rather the horrors you unleashed upon this world! Hell is too good for the like of you!"
"My, my, what a temper you have, but you should be rejoicing…you are going to help create a brand-new paradise on this world." Necromancer had a sinister grin on his face as he took out a small knife from within his cloak. "For the Miracle of Life."
Hero worried he would actually kill her then and now, but instead watched as he quickly raked this blade across the top of her left hand. Hero gave a brief yell and found her grip slipping as she fell down, in a panic she rammed her sword into the earthen wall to stop herself from plummeting into the river below, halfway down the wall she clung to the grip of her sword with both hands. Her comrades were relieved to find her still above the water but there was still immediate concern for the Necromancer and his beast were still nearby seen calmly walking away from the scene. Though they wanted to attack him, rescuing their friend took priority.
"I'm going to toss you a rope, you'll have to loosen your grip on the sword to catch it!" Sword Saint sheathed her sword and quickly took out her rope and before tossing it towards her friend.
The Hero now handing onto her sword with her right hand reached out with her left hand to catch the end of the rope. Sword Saint and Sage took hold of the rope while Hero placed both feet on the wall an pushed off, pulling her sword free and as she fell into the water below. Had she not held onto the rope, she would have fallen into the water and eventually drowned with the weight of her armor, but her friends quickly began to pull on the rope and after a few tense minutes helped pull Hero back up to their side of the river.
"Are you okay?" Sage knelt down to check on her soaked friend.
"I'll be fine…thank you both, you saved me." Hero coughed out the last of the water and was breathing heavy as she struggled to catch her breath.
"That damn man got away! We had him, but…"
"He used Protection." Hero recalled the invisible wall that appeared between her and the Necromancer. "How the hell can the gods allow him to use such a technique?"
The young women were left there to question what they had seen both in the village and with this man and just what this meant for the world. While they were still recovering from the harrowing rescue, Necromancer was calmly examining his knife and smiling at the blood left along the edge of the blade.
"Good, I managed to draw some of her blood and now…" Necromancer reached into his cloak and pulled out a vial of the Elixir he had been saving for himself and pulled out to stopper with his teeth. "…let us see if my hypothesis is correct."
Necromancer scrapped the blade across the top of the vial and watched with a smile as the Hero's blood slid down the side of the glass vial. Her blood mixed with the Elixir and after a few silent moments he saw the liquid in the vial suddenly turn red as a bright glow could be seen radiating from within.
"It must be the will of the gods that I had a chance to encounter that woman here and now." Necromancer chuckled as he replaced the stopper and admired the red glowing liquid in his hand. "There is only one obvious answer here…the gods are inviting me to take my place among them and with this…I am one step closer to achieving that goal. All that's left is to burn down this old world and raise a new one."
xxxx
"Okay, so that makes the Padfoot village the fifth place we've checked within a week of travel." Dwarf Shaman took out a map of the countryside and crossed off the villages and farmlands they had seen thus far.
The morning after the battle, and a few restful hours for the adventurers, the party departed from the Padfoot village with the villagers thanking them for their timely rescue and the children happily waving. From Frontier Town, the group had started with the hero's village and told them to be careful of the faceless men and continued n their way until the recent Padfoot Village. The group decided that it would be in their best effort to secure the "perimeter" as it were before moving further into the countryside.
"You think we're the only group that knows about these men and their monsters?" Rookie Warrior sighed as he leaned his back up against the wheel of the nearest wagon.
"No, if this Necromancer and his subordinates are making a move other villages and adventurers will be out and about." Heavy Warrior shook his head as he looked over the map with Dwarf Shaman. "We just need to stick with our plan and gather what information from the villagers so we can determine what areas have not been checked yet."
"And who made you leader?" Spearman frowned as he looked toward Heavy Warrior, though he really didn't mean to start anything.
"No one, just going by what we discussed earlier. You're free to take over." Heavy Warrior smirked before turning his attention back toward the map.
Off to the side Half-Elf Light Warrior and Scout Boy were doing so practice sparring, Lizard Priest was teaching his daughter and Goblin Slayer was looking over the area with Wolf and Snow.
"What are you looking for Goblin Slayer?" Spearman turned his attention toward the armored adventurer.
"Goblins. Even while we take on this quest, we can't ignore them."
"Given what we've seen, I'd gladly welcome a little bit of goblin hunting." Spearman sighed as he too went to lean against the wagon.
"Now, close your eyes and see if you can find your connection to your great dragon ancestors." Lizard Priest had his eyes closed and his hands pressed together as he calmly exhaled.
His daughter copied her father's movements but when she closed her eyes all she saw was darkness.
"I'm not seeing anything papa."
"It will come in time; you want to picture the great dragons from whom you descend from."
"What do they look like? In the time my mama traveled we never met any other dragons."
"These dragons themselves don't take on a physical form, rather you feel their presence and other time you begin to see their bright eyes shining in the darkness looking at you. It may be somewhat scary at first to see this, but if you mean no ill-will to them then you have nothing to fear."
Dwarf Shaman smiled as he watched Lizard Priest teach his daughter, this short break was made possible when High Elf Archer could hear the sound of running water moving calmly enough that it could only be a stream. The women decided to go down and wash themselves as they did not have the time after their fight in the Padfoot Village and made sure that Half-Dragon Daughter would stay behind to tell them if any of men tried to peak at them.
"Hey Long Ears, how much longer?"
"Be quiet dwarf, let us enjoy this respite from the recent battle…AND DON"T YOU DARE PEEK!"
"Why would I peek, I've already seen the anvil in the Blacksmith's shop!" Dwarf Shaman chuckled to himself as he already knew what kind of reaction he get.
"SHUT IT YOU FAT BARREL!"
Dwarf Shaman broke into laughter as the others around him also chuckled, for the Half-Elf Light Warrior and Scout Boy the prospect of seen these lovely women washing themselves was enticing, but then they would have to deal with the wrath of Heavy Warrior and Spearman who fancied their own women, not to mention the Female Knight and the others.
"Hey come on, you want to see her too don't you?" Half-Elf Light Warrior joked as he moved to elbow Rookie Warrior's sides.
"Huh…well…I've already seen her."
"Wait what…when?" Scout Boy was at a loss for what he was hearing.
"We…spent the night together a while back…and recently as well." A visible blush present on Rookie Warrior's face as he felt embarrassed to talk about this in front of the others.
While this was going on the ladies, down the embankment, away from prying eyes, wiped their bodies down aiding in washing away the tension, though they made sure to keep their weapons handy should anything happen. Guild Girl was not quite used to all the travel and made sure to wear something more akin to what Cow Girl would wear so that she could be comfortable and able to aid in any way possible.
"Stupid Dwarf and his idiotic comments. It does feel rather nice to rest my feet in the cool water." High Elf Archer's frown quickly changed to that of a smile as she soaked her feet in the water.
"It really does feel nice." Guild Girl commented as she wiped down her neck and arm with the cool rag.
"Thank you for telling them to keep from spying on us." Druid Girl still felt a bit uncomfortable with some many well-endowed women around her and the prospect of her comrades possibly watching her form from the road above.
"Though in truth…I wouldn't mind…if he were to join me." Witch smiled as she dried her body.
"Thinking about the Spearman of your huh?" Female Knight having finished washing up was already putting her clothing and armor back on.
"Is it not…the same for you…and he?"
"I think if I was to go into detail about what he and I do, I'm likely to make the rest of you blush." Female Knight chuckled though there was a blush evident on her face. "What about the rest of you, don't you wish for them to potential peep on you?"
Many of the women were quiet as they each imagined the men watching them, the red hue evident on their face as they pictured certain individuals observing their form.
"My Love has already seen me so, like you I would not mind having him here with me." Half-Dragon Mother smiled as she pictured Lizard Priest with her.
"And the rest of you…perhaps…a certain…armored adventurer?"
Priestess was suddenly reminded of waking up to find Goblin Slayer sitting with his back to her the time they were in Water Town and her face lit up. High Elf Archer was the same when she though about Goblin Slayer rescuing her in her nightmare during the Lich Queen's attack. Guild Girl and Half-Demon Thief were silent and surprised by the suggestion from Witch and the thought of Goblin Slayer seeing them. Though a blush was present on her face Cow Girl face, she also smiled when she though back to the time her friend saw her and commented on her figure.
"Oh, is that a smile I see on your face there?" Female Knight chuckled as she looked toward Cow Girl.
"I…I wouldn't mind him seeing me again. He said it was nice." Cow Girl smiled as she walked away from the stream.
There was a look of shock from many of the women as they registered what she had said and almost instantly they wanted to ask questions and get more detail, but Cow Girl only smiled as she redressed.
"Another time, we should hurry." Cow Girl smiled toward them before making her way up the hill to meet with the others.
xxxx
"Supreme God no."
The King, Sword Maiden and their small detachment had been fortunate enough to reach the nearest villages before the Faceless Men had a chance to attack, in one case slaying them men before they could poison the water well. In their caravan were ten warrior priests and priestesses as well as 20 of the king's best men. This village they had reached though, had been laid to waste, many of the buildings were demolished and remains of people could be seen scattered around the area. Off in one of the ruined fields, the caravan could see piles of bodies set ablaze on a bonfire, perhaps the people themselves believed this would cleanse the evil in the land by burning the corpses.
"My…my lady are you alright?" One of the Warrior Priestesses asked as she covered her mouth to avoid the smell of burning flesh.
"This smell…I have unfortunately smelt it before. How many?" Sword Maiden had a visible frown on her face as she turned toward the King.
"Too many, I see people gathered on the outskirts of the village on the other side there. Let us see who needs assistance."
The caravan calmly walked onward through the ruined village carefully examining all the destruction around them, these poor villagers had no warning of what was to come but it seemed as though not the entire village had been affected. On the opposite side of the village, they could see more than a couple dozen people gathered near the village elder, off to the side they could see bodies laid out and covered with sheets. The King could see the parents holding onto their children's hand and a fearful look on their faces.
"Those bodies they seem so small…the poor children." The King frowned as he looked toward the bodies then back to the village elder who stood near a young child. "Perhaps a funeral for the fallen people. Wait…these kids look terrified for some reason."
"A terrible curse has befallen the land. Man, woman and child…neighbor and friend…none are free from this terrible fate. The evil of the world has consumed us and now turns us into the very monsters we fight to protect ourselves from." The village elder looked to the young child near him who was trembling with fear. "We must do the right thing and spare our children from this terrible fate…it is the will of the Supreme God."
The village elder raised his right hand high and it was then that the King and the others could see the large knife in his hand. Before they could stop it, the elder stabbed the blade into the young boy's midsection who screamed in pain as the elder slowly dragged the blade across his stomach.
"What the hell are you doing!"
The people turned, finally realizing there were others watching them, many of the people holding their children tightly as if they were afraid of the King and Sword Maiden. Even with her blindfold covering her eyes, she stood there with mouth agape as she watched the shadow of the young child fade as he died there.
"My Lord, you need not worry we are doing the will of the Supreme God, sparing our children of this foul curse." The Village Elder had a weak smile on his face as he hoped the King would understand and be happy with their efforts.
"You damn fool I should kill you here and now! There is no curse upon the land, your water has been poisoned!" The King drew out his sword wanting to kill this man but controlled his rage.
"Poison?"
"Unhand those children immediately!" Sword Maiden pushed past many of the people to check upon the young boy who had been slain.
The villagers responded and released their children who immediately ran from their parents towards the King and his men while Sword Maiden clutched her sword and scales and dropped to her knees to check on the young child. Even though she knew there was nothing she could do, she gently placed her hand upon the dead children and reached up to close his eyes, tears running down her cheeks before she turned her attention toward the Village Elder with glare.
"I…I didn't know…I thought this was the only way to save them…we did this because we thought it would please the Supreme God!"
"You…your ignorance has killed this and those other poor children!" Sword Maiden stood and walked toward the elder and slapped him across the face. "I should do much worse, but then I would be no better than you!"
"That's enough, we need to find these Faceless Men and put an end to their evil." The King frowned as he looked over the land then his eyes fell upon the well. "There we need to do something about the well, perhaps maybe destroy it and collapse the well to prevent others from drinking the water."
"No my Lord, the water would still be contaminated…we must purify the land." Sword Maiden calmly walked toward the center of the village with sword and scales in hand. "Lord of judgement, sword-prince, scale-bearer, shower this land with you mercy…Purify!"
Sword Maiden slammed her sword upon the ground, and a dome of golden light bathed the land. The villagers had to cover their eyes while those who traveled with Sword Maiden watched as the light slowly receded back towards her.
"The land should now be cleansed of the foul elixir your Majesty."
"Thank you for saving this land." The King had a light smile as he looked toward Sword Maiden then turned his gaze towards the surviving villagers. "Your land and water have been purified, I will not tolerate any further actions as what you have demonstrated. See that these children are protected!"
"Wait a minute! You and your subordinates just wander in and expect us to believe your word. King or not, you have not seen the horrors we have!" One of the villagers was pointing a finger at the group with a scowl on his face. "How are we supposed to know for sure that this poison you claim was in the water is really gone?"
There were other villagers who also angrily voiced their opinions about the King and his supposed pompous attitude. The King had enough of their petty behaviors and boldly walked toward the well much to the surprise of everyone and began to pull up the pale of water. Once at the top, he grabbed the nearby ladle and dunked it into the water before bringing it to his lips to drink the water.
"Your Majesty!" The King's Lieutenant looked toward his lord with wide eyes.
The villagers too looked on with shock faces, they had seen how those who drank the water transformed, in their minds it was because the curse they believed had fallen upon the land. The King finished the water before setting the ladle down and turning to face the others.
"I am not one who just sits on his throne, content with power alone. My responsibility it to my people!"
The villagers immediately dropped to one knee and bowed their heads toward the King, who remained unaffected by the water he just drank.
"Fools!"
The King and the others turned their attention toward the forest and just as the other hamlet they saw two figures in black robes with plague masks upon their faces.
"How dare you use your wretched magic to undo the miracles our master has bestowed upon this land."
"Your master's miracles? More like the atrocities he has committed against these people." The Sword Maiden was rather angry as she looked toward the top of the hill.
"You will be vanquished here and now! When we find your master, this Necromancer he too shall share in the same fate!" King drew out his sword, a long gleaming blade made by the high elves long ago.
"You are fools." The Faceless Man raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.
There was visible rustling within the trees and out emerged the transformed villagers. The men had become horrid werewolves, the children red, devilish imps and the women grey-skinned harpies flapping their wings in the sky. Further behind them was loud pounding as if something heavy was hitting the ground, literally knocking over a couple of the trees and out emerged two of the goblin Brutes.
"What…what are those giants? They look like goblins but they're massive." A female warrior priestess was rather worried at the sight of these creatures.
The moment goblins were mentioned, Sword Maiden felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She looked towards the hill, she at first was not sure of the two massive shapes, believing them to be trolls, but now that she was told they were goblins, she wondered what she would do.
"Goblins…why goblins? He is not here. Can…can I actually fight?"
"If any more goblins appear, call me…I'll kill them for you."
Goblin Slayer's words echoed in her mind, even if he was not here, she need only recall his image and that would give her the strength she need…or at least she would hope that would be the case. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to observe the shadow of the King.
"I can focus on the goblins; I know that they're not the easiest target for you. If you'll focus on the other monsters." The King made sure his voice would carry to the villagers, the priests, or his own soldiers.
"I appreciate the offer, but as a hero myself, I too have to pull my own weight." Sword Maiden smiled as she tightened her on her sword and scales. "When next I see him, I can now proudly tell him I was able to stand against these monsters."
The Faceless Men drank their own elixir vials and transformed into monstrous spider-like creatures whose slime-like drool oozed out of their mouths.
"I need five of my men and five of the warrior priests to stay with the villagers. The rest weapons at the ready!" The King stood at the front of the group gripping his sword with both hands.
"Slaughter the people! Feed upon their flesh!"
The nightmare creatures charged forward to devour the villagers only to see Sword Maiden step up with her sword and scale raised high.
"Lord of judgement, sword-prince, scale-bearer, bathe the land in your radiant glow…Holy Light!"
A bright light flooded the land and the monsters screamed in pain as they were blinded by the light. With the creatures blinded the soldiers charged with swords and arrows while the warrior priests began to chanting for their miracles against the creatures.
"Come forth…alligator!"
Sword Maiden held out her sword and a portal of light appeared and from within rushed out the massive white alligator hissing loudly while snapping his jaws. Sword Maiden rushed and leapt onto the back of the massive alligator and placed her left hand upon the creature's back.
"We must keep these beasts from harming the villagers."
The alligator bellowed before charging forward, one of the Brutes would swing it arms from side to side in an attempt to strike at the attacking warriors when the white alligator bit down on the brute's arm and dragged it to the ground before savagely shaking its head from side to side until it had torn the arm off. With the brute down, Sword Maiden once again tapped her familiar and the alligator quickly backed while devouring the goblin arm.
"Even I am able to deal with a single goblin." Sword Maiden once again raised up her sword to begin her chant. "Lord of judgement, sword-prince, scale-bearer, grant us the speed and accuracy of your light…Arrow of Light!"
At one nearly a dozen arrows of pure golden lights erupted from her sword each one tearing into the body of the Brute killing it in a matter of moments. Sword Maiden breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped the sweat from across her forehead, the cause of which from both the use of miracles one after another and the fear of fighting the goblin.
"I did it. I really did it. I'm sure even my dear Goblin Slayer would praise me for such fine work." Sword Maiden smiled then gasped as she returned her attention back to the battle around her. "Let us continue this fight."
She gave her alligator a few gentle pets who finished devouring the arm of the Brute before roaring and charging toward the next closest monster. The King flew through the air as if he weighed nothing despite being in his militaristic outfit and light armor, with a single swipe of his eleven blade her decapitated one of the mutated Faceless Men. He gave a brief grunt of disgust and dissatisfaction was the giant body slumped to the ground with a heavy thud.
"How pathetic. You've been completely deceived by this Necromancer to the point you willingly allowed yourself to become a monster." The King then turned his attention toward the final Brute who charged toward him. "A giant goblin is still just a goblin."
The King quickly jumped back as the Brute smashed both of its mighty fists down upon the ground where he had been standing moments before. The Brute growled as it looked toward the human who stood before him with sword pointed forward like a fencer.
"No matter how big you are or how massive your muscle are, mindless strength is nothing to developed skill."
The Brute roared as it once again attempted to strike the human with his left fist but the King swung his sword to the side meeting some resistance but just as before cut through the monster's arm. The Brute did not seem fazed as it looked toward its bleeding stump before trying once again with its right fist to kill the human and just as before, the King cut through the monster. With a final swing of his blade he decapitated the monster giving his sword a quick slash to the side to remove the Brute's blood before sheathing it. With the combined effort of the soldiers and warrior priests the monsters had been defeated though there had been two fatalities, two of the soldiers had gotten to eager and were cut down by the werewolves.
"Thus ends this battle." The King frowned as he looked over the carnage and the two bodies which were now covered with a cloth. "Thank you, both of you, for all your hard work. Your sacrifice was not in vain, the village is saved."
The King had gone to speak with the villagers while Sword Maiden finished her prayers for the fallen and the caravan reorganized by the other end of the village and carefully loaded the bodies onto the wagon.
"We shall see that they receive a decent burial once we have left this place." Sword Maiden frowned as she looked toward the bodies then back to the King.
"Your village has been freed from the horrors of the Necromancer. Watch for others in black robes and plague masks as they may try and repeat the same atrocity." The King had a scowl on his face as he looked over the villagers, still angered by their ignorance.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, we apologize for our foolishness." The Villager elder along with the rest of the villagers bowed their heads.
"Do not apologize to me, apologize to your children. These young ones require your protection, and you won't be protecting anyone by giving into your fear." The King turned his attention toward the children with a bit of a small frown. "These poor kids will have a hard time trusting these people but I'm hopeful they'll be able to grow up with no further problems."
"We are ready to depart when you are Your Majesty." The King's second in command calmly approached with the king's horse in tow.
The King nodded as he graciously mounted the horse to join the others, but before they caravan could head out, the village elder called out to the King.
"Your Majesty! Before you leave, I must tell you that a group of adventurers passed through here some time ago, they bought supplies to hunt goblins."
"Goblins…was one of them a man in leather armor with a large dire wolf?" Sword Maiden could not contain the smile on her face, nor the blush, as she though about seeing Goblin Slayer again.
"A dire wolf? No this was a group of five young figures, but in addition to burning supplies they also refilled their drinking pouches with water from our well!"
"What? They took water from the well? When?" The King was visibly worried about the spread of this poison.
"Right around the time we started experiencing these problems, less than a week ago."
The King and Sword Maiden both had a frown upon their face as they turned their attention to the forests and wandering countryside wondering just how far this evil would spread.
xxxx
That evening, the five adventurers groaned as they writhed in pain along the floor of the forest. They had begun to experience some discomfort shortly after leaving the village, but now they were in so much pain they could not stand back up. They had come to slay the goblins that had been plaguing a nearby village, but this strange illness seemed to but any stop to those plans. Their leader suddenly heard a cry of pain come from one of his comrades and as he struggled to turn saw a goblin plunge his dagger into the boy's stomach. He heard the cackling and managed to see the horde of goblins surrounding them with weapons in hand but there was little any of them could do.
The goblins moved in closer to attack and devour the humans when they heard a scream of pain cry out from the boy they had just stabbed. The goblins looked to see dead human thrash about but soon enough all the humans were acting in the same manner, which greatly confused the small monsters. The human with the dagger in his stomach suddenly roared as he jumped up and from his side two extra arms exploded from either side of his body. The goblins closest to him collapsed to floor in shock and fear as the human continued to transform its teeth changing the massive jaws and its backside now resembling the thorax of a spider. The human, or rather the Arachnid lunged forward and snatched up one of the goblins and began to feed upon him. The goblins screamed in fear but there was nowhere to run, the other humans had transformed as well and covered the small goblins bodies in thick webs before moving into to feed upon their would-be assailants. The screams of the goblins and the roars of the monsters drew the attention of two of the Faceless Men who stood on the outskirts of a ruined village with the menagerie of monsters around them.
"It would seem, that some poor unfortunate creature has encountered the miracles of the master."
"Indeed, let use continue to spread his wondrous gift with the rest of the countryside."