Chapter 3: Dark Things Lurk in the Woods
Leah knew something was amiss the moment that she laid eyes on Jason's home. While nothing jumped out at her as being amiss, something in the back of her mind warned her to be cautious.
Everything around the house seemed fine. A small vegetable garden grew beside the lot, the plants lovingly tended and maintained. During harvest season Jason brought some of his own produce to the inn to be used in the meals.
The wooden log house in the center of the clearing was hand made my Jason himself, and it fit in perfectly with the light forest surrounding the property. The whole place appeared quaint, but homely.
The trio approached the house cautiously. Upon closer inspection of the homestead, Valla noticed that the deadbolt and door frame were broken, quite forcefully.
This really worried Leah. What would someone want from inside Jason's home? It surely couldn't be a robbery, Jason kept few valuable things on him. A kidnapping then? Jason himself wasn't a high-born noble or someone else of societal importance, at least he never said he was anything of the kind, so that theory was also unlikely.
She entered the shack gingerly, tying not to disturb anything. "Jason? You here?" She called out to her friend. The main room was dark, but even without her enhanced dark vision, it would have been obvious to anyone that this place had been in a fight. Furniture was overturned, long gashes ran along the walls, and the bed was in shreds. A cold feeling of dread seated itself in Leah.
"This place reeks of demonic corruption." Valla commented as she too crossed the threshold. The huntress proceeded to pick up various objects and inspect them closely, while Kormac walked over to Leah and tried to comfort her. "I'm so sorry. But this doesn't look good for your friend."
Leah was in shock. How could someone do something like this? Jason was one of the kindest people she knew. He was the last person that this should have happened to. She put a hand to her mouth. "Oh Jason…"
Valla let out an "aha!" as she held up an object for her friends to see. It looked like a black shard of something… No not a shard, a scale, dark as pitch.
Leah took a minute to process the find, but the ramification hit her like a ton of bricks. Her friend had been attacked by a demon. Probably the same demon that had been taking people for weeks.
Kormac let out a yell. "Blasted demon! They will pay for this."
Suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the small shack, Leah rushed outside and hunched over her knees. She gasped, trying to get some fresh air into her lungs. No, this couldn't be happening. There were no demons around. This was her place, her safe haven! Her territory… She shook her head at the thought. Still, the thought of a demon, correction, another demon, prowling near her place and attacking people made her scared and angry at the same time.
Finally catching her breath, the ground in front of her caught her attention. The grass was flattened at odd angles, and as she inspected it closer, she realised a massive footprint was imbedded in the soft ground.
"Guys! I think I found something!"
Valla and Kormac rushed outside to see this new discovery, and Valla inspected the tracks closely. "Fresh, no more than a day old, and heading south." She pointed to some grooves in the dirt. "And dragging something behind it too."
Moving along the path, she reached down a picked up a leaf from the ground, it had a rust coloured splotch on it. Valla gave it a sniff. "Blood, but not human. Seems your friend put up a fight. Good." She turned and looked into the woods in the direction of the tracks. "A wounded demon returns to its lair. Seems it got sloppy this time."
Valla pulled out and primed her dual crossbows. "We must hurry if we want to catch it. Leah, return to your inn, Kormac and I will handle things from here."
"Yes, rest assured we will not cease out search until this foul beast is found and vanquished." Kormac agreed.
Leah seriously considered letting her friends handle the situation. Surely they could handle one demon, they had defeated the prime evils after all. But at the same time, Leah was worried for her friend. She couldn't run the inn without his help, and more importantly, she cared greatly for him. He had been there almost from the get-go.
He'd been the first one to welcome her to the village, and the first one to offer her help with the daunting task of running an inn. His ready smile and caring nature made every day a bit more bearable. He had been her only friend for months, and if not for his hard work, or sense of humour, the inn would never have become the sanctuary that it had for her…
He made the Lonely Demon feel less lonely.
"Forget it." She rebutted, "Jason is my friend, and I will not sit on my butt while you guys are fighting for me." Leah unslung the bow from her back and knocked an arrow.
"You better make room for one more archer."
The trio of heroes tracked the demon through the woods well into the day. "Good angels, this demon walked a long way. What has it been, ten miles?" Leah complained.
Valla looked unfazed. "More like eight. But I can sense it will be not far now." The huntress closed her eyes in concentration. "The sense of corruption is getting stronger. We are close."
Leah felt relived, but also fearful. What if they were too late? What if Jason was dead and the Demon had escaped to attack more unwitting innocents?
Kormac smiled at Leah. "Well I look forward to battling a worthy foe. And it pleases me to know that this battle will be fought alongside our old friend." He had a genuine smile of excitement and anticipation. Kormac had always had a taste for the thrill of battle. Especially when fought alongside friends.
Leah on the other hand had never liked fighting much at all. Well, she didn't used to anyway. Nowadays, whenever a fight broke out around her, she had a strong urge to join in and show the idiots their place. Or to egg them on and feed off the negative emotions flying from the combatants. The rage and terror of mortals were like a drug, and it took all of her willpower to break up bar fights in her inn instead of feeding off of every last ounce of anger and hatred from them. Just another thing she despised about herself.
The thought of a fight worried her greatly. Yes she had fought a lot in those first few weeks after her fall from the heavens, and she could take care of herself now, but this time the stakes were higher. She had her friends with her, and she would rather die than see them hurt. The memories of her fight, no, Diablo's fight with them still weighed heavily in her mind. She tried to steel her nerves. You are better than that. This is what you practice for. You are in control, you are you. You can do this. The self-pep talk did little to ease her anxiety.
Valla noticed her friend's unease. "Are you okay Leah? You seem distressed."
Leah tried to put on a reassuring smile. "Oh, just pre-battle nerves I guess. It's been a long time since I've fought." It was actually true, Leah hadn't been in a battle for months.
Kormac walked over and gave Leah a hug. "Worry not my friend. We will fight alongside you. A bit of nerves always makes the warrior more alert." He tried to reassure her.
She appreciated the gesture, even if she couldn't breathe in his crushing embrace. "Thanks Kormac." She squeaked out from between his arms. He released her but continued to walk beside her, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. She felt reassurance at knowing that they were there for her.
Valla cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "As much as I love this heart to heart, we have a demon to slay and a man to save. Best we get going." She said as she increased the pace.
Leah agreed, the longer they waited, the less likely Jason would be alive when they found him. As the confrontation drew closer, Leah couldn't help but feel a bit of a rush alongside the nerves. You messed with the wrong girl. She mentally spat at her image of Jason's smiling face emerged in her mind, and an ache spread out from her heart. Hold on Jason, I'm coming.
The cave had an unassuming entrance. No more than 5 feet high at the mouth, from a distance it seemed to be more of a bear's den than a demon's lair. Appearances could be deceiving however.
The cave was deep, very deep. It extended far beyond what even Leah's dark vision could see. Its appearance resembled the maw of a beast, rows of stalactite teeth ready to devour anything foolish enough to enter its depths. Quite frankly, it freaked her out.
"This is it." Valla declared. "The trail stops here." They stood a few moments in silence on the precipice of the darkness.
Kormac hefted his mighty shield in front of him. "Well no use standing around out here. Glory awaits!" He stepped into the maw of the cave holding a torch that he just lit, bravely facing whatever the depths might hold.
Leah motioned to Valla. "After you." Valla nodded and took her position behind Kormac, with Leah bringing up the rear. Should anything attack them from the front, Kormac's shield would protect them from the worst of it.
The cave twisted downwards, and soon the only light source was the torch that Kormac held. Its dancing flames did little to illuminate the cavern. Like a single match held to the dead of night.
While the more human companions shuffled forward blindly, Leah could see quite well. The dim light of the torch provided ample light for her.
The cave was narrow, only wide enough for two people to stand side by side. The rock, despite extending almost twelve feet high now, gave the impression of pressing down on them. Hoping to crush them beneath its mass.
Half of her was intimidated by the environment, but the other half admired it as the perfect entrance to a lair. The demon had made a clever choice. She smacked herself in the side of the head. Stop it! That's wrong! It's a creepy cave, who in the right mind would want to live here?
They walked for a few minutes, picking their way slowly through the passage. Carefully listening for any sign of danger that could be lurking in the shadows.
"I don't fancy the feeling of this place." Whispered Kormac.
"Indeed, the further we descend, the more this place reeks of corruption. I do not wish to dally here." Valla agreed.
Leah remained silent. She too felt an unease, but it was more akin to the annoyance of an unwelcome guest than the uneasy fear of an unknown assailant. She kept this to herself, and tried to banish the thoughts from her mind. We are here for Jason. Not some sort of dignity. Remember that. She scolded herself.
Lost in her self-reprimanding, she failed to notice that they were no longer in a corridor. Their once narrow path had opened up into a large cavern. It was almost 40 feet high and nearly double that across. Humongous stalactites and stalagmites jutted from the floor and ceiling like trees in a forest of stone. The sound of trickling water could be heard echoing in the cavern, and the torchlight cast eerie shadows on the uneven stone of the wall.
Valla's foot hit something hard, and the huntress recoiled slightly as she realised it was a human skull. "This is the lair all right." She proclaimed to her companions.
Kormac let out a low whistle that echoed in the cavern. "Would you look at this place? If it wasn't the stinking cesspool of a foul demon, it could be beautiful."
A low groan of pain emanated from across the cavern. All three heroes heard it, and Valla held up her hand as a signal to wait. Silently, she started to pick her way across the cavern, with Kormac and Leah waiting for her signal to proceed. Valla looked carefully around a particularly large stalagmite, and her eyes widened in surprise. She quickly motioned for her friends to join her.
"Jason!" Leah exclaimed. She bent down to the hunched figure on the floor. "Oh my god Jason you're alive." She was relieved to see him, but he looked badly wounded.
Jason reached out with a bloodied hand and touched Leah's cheek. "Leah? I'm so happy to see-" He let out a rattling cough and spat blood on the floor.
He was in bad shape. It looked like both his legs were broken, likely done by the demon so that he couldn't escape. He was covered in bruises and scratches from head to toe. One of his eyes was swollen shut and crusted over, while the other one was bloodshot and tearing up.
Leah gingerly reached out and brushed some hair from his eyes. "I'm so sorry Jason. But we're here now, you're going to be okay."
Jason took a rattling breath. "The bastard. I didn't see him coming until it was too late. I managed to knife him, but he just shrugged it off like it was a bug bite." He let out another painful cough.
"That shit broke my bones, broke my ribs. He's just toying with me." He coughed even more loudly, and Leah feared he would pass out. "I just want to go home." He finally managed to rasp between spasms.
"We will. We will be home soon." Leah looked towards her other friends. "Kormac can you help me lift—" She stopped. Kormac was looking around frantically.
"Something doesn't feel right." He muttered.
Valla was also on edge, surveying the room carefully. "Why was your friend so easy to find?" She asked while shaking her head. "I was foolish. This place reeks of evil."
Leah was now concerned too. She started looking around frantically for the demon as well. She could see much better in the dark than her friends could, and was more likely to spot the fiend should it be lurking close by. Come on Leah! If you were a demon… Scratch that, if you were setting an ambush in this cavern, where would you hide?
She knew immediately, and shifted her gaze to the ceiling… only to meet a pair of glowing red eyes.
"The ceiling! He's on the ceiling!" She shouted a warning to her friends, but it was too late. With a roar the demon dropped from its perch and attacked.
Caught off guard, Kormac barely had enough time to raise his shield to keep the creature's claws from ripping his face wide open. The torch skittered out of his hand and landed in a patch of oil from a toppled lantern. Soon the whole cavern was alight with an orange glow.
Finally able to see their assailant, the three heroes took a good look at their opponent.
The demon was almost twelve feet tall, and heavily muscled. Its reddish-orange figure had massive black spikes jutting from all parts of it. Its legs extended backwards like some sort of raptor, and yet it stood on two feet. It had a similar appearance to Diablo, but much smaller.
"A Terror Demon!" Yelled Valla.
The demon wasted no time in following up on its initial attack. It struck Kormac again before the warrior could regain his footing from the initial blow. The Templar fell over with a crash, the claws of the demon cutting through his plate armour like a hot knife through butter. It's claws left deep gashes in the warrior's flesh. The demon gave him a powerful kick and Kormac went flying across the room. Before the monster could pursue his foe, it was hit by an arrow in the side of the head.
Leah stood twenty yards away from the creature, another arrow already in her bowstring. "Come on you overgrown lizard! Try me on for size!" She fired her second arrow, this time lighting it on fire with hell flames. She hit the creature square in the chest, but the arrow didn't stick very deep in the thick hide.
The fire did more damage to the creature than the arrow itself, but that wasn't saying much, as the only sign of effect was the slight sizzle of flesh around the tiny wound. Little more than a bee sting to the monstrous beast.
Her attack only seemed to enrage the demon further, and this time it lunged at Leah. She instinctively raised her bow to defend herself, but it knocked her down with its mighty blow. Even worse, the blow snapped her bow in two.
Lying on her back, the demon loomed over her, ready to take her head off. She desperately let off a blast of hellfire at the creature, but it didn't seem to have much effect. The thick hide and scales protected the creature from the heat of the blast. She braced for another blow, when suddenly the creature was hit in the back by six crossbow bolts in quick succession. Valla had joined the fight!
The demon hunter prepared for another volley of deadly bolts as she paced her foe. She threw down the spike traps she had been preparing to slow the creature down as it advanced on her.
The demon forgot his incapacitated prey and instead focused on the new threat. Leah knew that Valla didn't have much time. While the huntress's ability to inflict harm was great, she had no defence should the demon actually reach her.
The first spike trap triggered when the demon stepped on it, then the second, all the while the brave huntress peppered it with bolts. The demon was taking considerable damage, but it was not working fast enough! Leah watched helplessly as the demon stalked towards her friend.
The monster was almost upon the hunter, when an angry Templar tackled it from behind. "You will not harm her!" He roared at the demon as he tried to bring his mace around to hit his opponent in the face. To Leah's horror, the demon reached back and grabbed Kormac by the chest and hurled him into Valla as if he weighed nothing. The both of them fell to the ground, and they struggled to get back to their feet.
The demon had all but forgotten about Leah, sitting on the ground with her broken bow. She tried to think of a way to help he friends. They were going to die!
Her bow was broken, and there were no other weapons around that she could use, let alone was trained in. Should she try hellfire again? No, it didn't do much to the creature at point blank, and it was even less effective at a distance. Worse still, she had no way of avoiding her friends in her attack. Fire didn't discriminate between friend and foe.
She was running out of time! What could she do?! Just one scrawny girl without a weapon against a monster…
Realization struck her. She wasn't just some girl, but still she hesitated. She didn't want to use her power. There was no telling how her friends would react, or if she could take on the demon in front of her even at full strength.
A pain shot though her heart. She thought back to the laughs that they had shared. The gusto of Kormac proclaiming his vision of honor and dedication to protecting his friends. The quiet understanding that Valla had whenever Leah needed to talk about her problems. They were her best friends, they had fought through hell and flames together, and Leah realised that there really wasn't a choice.
If she did nothing, then the outcome was certain. If she took this risk, then there was a chance, no matter how small, that she could save them.
She would not lose them, not here. Not to this thing.
With new conviction the fear vanished, and all that was left…
Was rage.
A/N
I originally had this split into two chapters, but it was just too short. So the story is going to be one chapter less than originally planned, but hey, you get it sooner!
Thanks for the support I have been getting for this story, it means a lot to me.
Battle conclusion next update! Cliffhanger muhahaha!
Until next time. ;)
