Book 1: Northern Wind
Chapter 1: Foul Wind
You waken suddenly. You find yourself in your bed, the curtains drawn. "O, gods, please tell me it was a dream..." You sit up, and your stomach drops as you see your blood-stained axe laying on your dresser. You want to cry, to just lay and think, but something isn't right. Everything is quiet.
You look out the window, but see nothing unusual. It is early night, and the full moon is low in the sky, but veiled by dark clouds. You can see no one. But then you hear it, far off in the distance. A muffled cry.
(A) Grab your axe and get out there
(B) Look around for anything you could use as armor before investigating
(C) Go back to sleep
Screams are never a good sign, and you want to be ready for whatever's out there. You remember your father had some leather vambraces he used when hunting. You find them after a quick search, and find they fit well enough. They won't stop an attack completely, but they might let you keep your arm. You also slip into a thick, leather coat which has seen you through several cold winters, and heavy boots. You briefly consider slipping a pot on your head, but you decide it would be more trouble than it's worth. You're no heavily armored knight, but you feel like you could take a bit more punishment now.
You step out into the cold night air, and scan the area. Where is everyone? A breeze blows by, creating a whistle as it blows through the broken doors and windows. You wait, and listen, hoping whoever screamed the first time will call out again. A moment later, your prayer is answered; the sound came from the direction of the windmill. You hesitate, but steel yourself and prepare to set out, but you hear a second scream coming from the direction of the barn. Which way will you go?
(A) Barn
(B) Windmill
Thankful for an excuse to not return to the windmill, you set out towards the barn. When you arrive, you find a handful of villagers desperately holding the door shut. Without stopping to think, you run over and slam against the door. You feel a powerful force slam into it from the other side; without your added strength, you doubt the villagers could have held the door. "What in Naga's name was that?" you ask no one in particular.
Bud's father speaks up as he drags a beam of wood toward the door. "Those bandits... We finished digging some graves for them, but when we came back to collect the bodies, they... Well, they weren't dead."
"What do you mean 'weren't dead?' There's no way those two could get back up after what I did to them, no healer in the world could have saved them. Especially not several hours later!" Another slam from inside rocks the door, but you manage to hold it. Bud's father slides the beam in place to bar the door. You hesitantly step back, wondering if the beam will hold. You hear a loud slam, and the beam creaks, but holds.
Bud's father approaches you. "Look, I don't claim to be some fancy healer or scholar or nothin', but I know what I saw. You felt them trying to get out."
You don't have an argument for that... but you do think of a question. "...Where's everyone else? Where's Pa?"
Bud's father pauses for a second, then turns pale. "Rowan took the others, they went to the windmill to bury... You don't think...?"
You have no idea what's going on, but you know this isn't the time for talk.
(A) Take the back door into the barn and look for yourself
(B) Leave the barn for now, you have to get to the windmill
(C) Set the barn on fire
Whatever's in the barn, it's not going anywhere for the time being, but if something's happening at the windmill... You tell Bud's father to make sure the doors stay shut, and head off to the windmill.
As you get closer, you can hear the sounds of a struggle, spurring you on. You grasp your axe as you make out several figures in the clearing in front of the windmill. Even in the dim light, you can tell that some are swinging various tools - hoes, shovels, anything that was handy - at the others. You spot your father swinging a shovel as one of the dark figures slowly approaches him; he strikes it clean in the arm, but the figure does not slow, does not even react. You run forward, placing yourself between him and the...
You're not sure what this creature is. It's roughly humanoid, but its skin is grey, and it seems almost gelatinous, wriggling with every move it makes. What strikes you most, however, is the eyes. Glowing red, you can see them clearly, even in the dim light. As you approach, it snarls, and lets out a deep growl. Suddenly, the creature seems to melt into a puddle before your eyes.
"June! Watch out!" your father calls. Suddenly, the puddle left behind glides toward you. Thanks to your father's warning, you manage to leap out of the way as it reforms and lunges at you. As if by instinct, you counter with a swing of your axe. Your blow connects, and you instantly notice that it feels completely different from when you sunk your axe into those bandits. A large chunk falls off from the creature, and it roars in what you assume to be pain. It swings its arm at you while you still struggle to free your axe. You throw up an arm to block it, and between your coat and your father's vambraces, the blow is blunted significantly. It's still enough to make you wince in pain, but nothing is broken. Freeing your axe, you step back to re-think your plan.
(A) Strike with the blunt of the axe
(B) Focus on lighter, precision strikes to stop your axe from getting stuck again
(C) Try to swing straight through it
You decide you can't risk your axe getting caught in this gelatinous monstrosity. You flip your axe around to use it as a club as you dash in, aiming for the head. The creature tries to move, but you are much faster, and your blow connects. The force causes the creature to shake all over and stagger backwards, but it quickly recovers and shambles towards you again.
You put all your force into the next blow. "How's this!?" you yell, stepping and spinning in a full circle to deliver a crushing blow with the flat of the axe. The creature tries to avoid your swing by collapsing into a puddle again, but you are ready and manage to lower your swing just enough to catch it full on in the side of the head as it sinks past you. The creature lets out a hiss as it finishes falling into a pool. You stand, waiting for it to lunge at you, but it doesn't move. You stare for a few seconds, just to be sure it's not playing possum. The puddle just continues to ooze out, as if it has lost the ability to coalesce into a single being.
With the immediate threat passed, you have a chance to take stock of the situation. Three villagers have been killed, and you count seven still fighting against five of these monsters. Your notice your father moving to help, but you stop him.
(A) Tell him to escape with the surviving villagers while you fight all the creatures
(B) Prioritize villagers who seem to be struggling the most and pick off the monsters one at a time
(C) Sacrifice the other villagers and escape
You notice that most of the monsters are split up, facing off with various villagers. You decide the best course of action is to pick them off, one by one. You try to decide where to begin, when one villager rushes suddenly rushes at one of the monsters with a shovel. The creature takes the hit, but latches onto the villager, who screams in fear as it opens its mouth to reveal a row of pointed fangs. "Don't push yourself, Pa!" you call out, and Rowan grunts in agreement as the two of you dash in to help.
You raise your axe high, swinging it down to cleave one of the creature's arms off. It releases its would-be prey, and turns to face you instead. As you look on, an arm slowly begins to form and grow out from its body. You shrug off your surprise and swing your axe at the creature's head while it's busy. The creature dodges backwards, and you're left off balance. Still in the process of repairing itself, the creature is unable to counter-attack, and you recover and finish the monster off with a crushing blow to the head. As the last creature, it seems to melt into a puddle with a hiss. He mutters a hasty thanks as he runs away.
You turn to choose your next target, just in time to see a creature lunge and impale a villager, its arms stabbing right through her torso while her son looks on in horror. With a cry of rage, you smash the dastard's head before it can free itself, yelling at the child to flee.
You see the three remaining creatures are clustered together, while the four remaining villagers hold them at bay as best they can. As you move to join their ranks, one of the creatures slashes with its arm, and a villager screams in pain before falling to the ground, limp. Rowan stabs with his pitchfork, impaling the attacker. With a grunt, you slam your axe across its temple, and it begins to melt. With the four remaining villagers to help, you are able to pick off the remaining two creatures, with only minor injuries.
You grab your father, supporting him as you head for the village center with the survivors. Upon arrival, you find the two villagers who fled, as well as one blood-covered man you recognize from the barn. "What happened?" you ask, attempting to mask the panic in your voice.
"They... axes... cut through the wall... We tried to stop them, but... They just... They killed them, all of them..."
(A) Leave Rowan to guard the villagers and head to the barn
(B) Barricade yourselves in one of the houses
You decide it would be wise to take the offensive, but after how many villagers have already been killed, you're loathe to risk any more. "Pa, keep everyone safe. I'm going to end this."
"Now hold on, Junebug, you can't-"
"Pa, I killed these dastards once, and I can do it again. Too many of our friends have died today."
Rowan hesitates for a second. "Alright, but be careful. If you're even a little worried that you can't handle it, you call for help, and you run. Promise?"
"I promise," you say. With a quick glance at your axe and a wave goodbye, you head off for the barn.
The clouds have shifted, and the moonlight now streams down unhindered. A cool wind blows through the trees, but it carries only the scent of dead flesh. You grimace, but press on. Arriving at the barn, you see several corpses strewn about, most of them gathered around a gaping hole in the barn wall. Bud's father lies with a deep wound in his head, holding the remnants of a splintered hoe. You look for tracks, any sign of where the brigands had gone, but can find none. Confused, you peer into the barn, straining your eyes to adjust to the gloom.
Suddenly, 6 glowing eyes appear, and a hand axe flies out. You attempt to dodge it, but you're just not fast enough, and it catches you in the shoulder, penetrating through your makeshift armor. You can still fight, but...
(A) Fight
(B) Items
(C) Flee
You decide you need to fall back to a better position, patch up your wounds, and rethink your plan. You turn and run, but the creatures leap out of the barn after you. "Did they set an ambush? Or was that just poor luck? Maybe they're smarter than-" your thoughts are cut off as you feel a dull thud in your back. Another hand axe...
You stumble, and fall. The axe bounced off, thankfully, but it still did some damage, even through your thick coat. You feel warm blood trickling down your leg as you try to regain your feet. You glance over your shoulder and see the monsters closing in. Suddenly, an arrow strikes the ground in front of the pack. You feel an odd warmth, and notice a soft green glow around your shoulder; you can see your wound closing.
The glow fades, and you snap out of your daze; you scan for the source of the arrow, just in time to see is a flash of white buzz just over your head. You hear a loud thud, and turn just in time to see a woman amount a white pegasus, her soft blue armor gleaming in the moonlight. She raises her lance, the lead monster impaled on it's tip. The pegasus rears its head, and you see its helmet comes together to form a dangerous-looking spike. "June!" a voice behind you yells.
Bud comes running up, bow in hand. He stops short, aims, and looses an arrow. It strikes a brigand with a dull thud, but the creature barely reacts to the pain. It hesitates for just a second before it throws its axe straight at Bud. "That's not happening!" you yell, swatting the axe out of the sky with your own.
"Hold still..." he mutters, nocking another arrow. He jumps and looses the arrow, which embeds itself in the creature's head. The creature freezes, then falls over. Not wanting to be outdone, you hurl your axe, severing the final brigand's head from its shoulders. The head falls to the ground, and rolls your way. The burning red eyes lock onto yours, but as the creature unleashes a final snarl, their glow fades.
Bud grabs you in a hug. "Oh gods, June, I'm so glad we made it in time. When we didn't find you with your father, I was so worried... I..."
You break away from Bud's embrace. "Bud... I... I'm so sorry, but... Your father, he's... I couldn't save him."
"Oh, gods," a voice behind you says. You had forgotten about your winged savior. She finally manages to slide the corpse off her lance. Dismounting, she walks to you. "I'm so sorry, if only we'd gotten here sooner... Wait, you're..."
You realize you know this knight. You remember the smith, the lady who helped pay for your axe. "Lady Rain..." you begin. You notice tears beginning to well in her eyes. "No, there's no time for talking, or crying, or... We've got to do... something."
"You're right," she says, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "Come on, I left the rest of my team in the village center." She grabs her mount's reins and leads the way. You realize Bud's been completely silent, and you take his arm. The three of you begin a silent march to the village center, each lost in your own thoughts.
End of Chapter 1
New character!
Rain
Class: Falcoknight
Skills: Healtouch, rally speed, relief
Weapons: Lance, staff, sword*
HP: ****
Str: ****
Mag: ***
Skill: *****
Spd: *****
Def: ***
Res: ****
Luck: ***
Items: Steel lance, physic, silver sword
New character!
Bud
Class: Archer
Skills: Underdog, prescience
HP: *
Str: **
Mag: *
Skill: **
Spd: **
Def: *
Res: *
Luck: **
Items: Bronze bow