Chapter 4: A Night of Terror.
Lucina looked around frantically as she navigated the darkness of her latest nightmare. A faint orange glow then pierced the blackness, growing brighter every second. She curiously sniffed the air, the scent of burning wood and brick reached her nose. The glow became brighter and seemed to flicker and dance.
'Fire,' she thought, 'Something is on fire!'
She rushed towards the flame. As she came closer, her breath hitched in her throat once she realized what it was that was burning. Ylisstol, her home, ablaze on that fateful night before her departure. Even from where she stood she could hear the terrible screams of its inhabitants. The world contorted and shifted around and she was now standing inside the throne room. The brave soldiers of Ylisse she'd fought beside were slaughtered by endless hordes of Risen. She tried to attack, but her sword simply passed through as if she was swinging at air. The building around her suddenly crumbled as a dark smoke filled the room. Six glowing red eyes pierced the darkness. Her sword fell to the ground as she then fell to her knees. A twisted laugh bellowed from Grima's horned head. The hopelessness that filled her in the future returned and she couldn't stop tears from flowing down her cheeks.
"You will fail," came Grima's bellowing voice,"you can never hope to stop what is set in motion! The world will burn, and all will come to ruin!"
She then felt something within herself; a small feeling of anger; of frustration, building inside her. She rose to her feet, now standing tall and proud and faced Grima with hardened eyes lit with fury. "No! We can stop you," she said, "hope will never die as long as I stand in your way. I will not let you bring doom to the world, not again!"
Grima's enormous neck sharply jerked itself to look directly at her, twisting about as it lowered itself to be level with where Lucina stood.
She then felt something that made her hairs stand tall on the back of her neck. There came a harrowing feeling that someone or rather something was watching her. Grima hissed and disappeared into the blackness, leaving her alone with whatever terrifying presence was behind her. Dread and fear washed over her. She whipped her body around to see something else appearing from the black, Lucina's eyes widened and she began to shake uncontrollably as she saw the phantom-like form of the black rider with its piercing gaze and icy aura. A cold pale hand reached out for her and she screamed.
Though its hand did not reach her as it too had faded to black. Her surroundings became brighter and she found herself in a serene garden surrounded by high walls, walls that she knew all too well. She was the gardens in the citadel of Ylisstol, the ones that she spent so much of her childhood lounging in when she wasn't training. The strong scent of its flowers came to her and put her troubled mind to ease. She felt her eyelids become heavy and she fell back into a deep sleep.
Lucina's eyes shot open, back into the real world. She stayed laying flat on her stomach for a bit, a raging headache pounding in her ears. It was dark outside, she noticed, but there seemed to be a faint orange glow that coated the trees around her. She looked around for the source and finally saw a flame from a lit torch. Carrying that torch was a figure hooded and cloaked, and there were others too. When she finally was able to focus, her mind flooded with recognition of these tall and rugged forms of the bandits. At their helm the bandit captain she faced off against stared down at her.
Lucina snapped to her feet and stumbled back, drawing her sword as she did. Her eyes frantically darted between each man, and her breath was ragged and hollow. She felt terribly cold and her sword shook in her hand as she herself could not keep a confident composure.
"St-stay back! O-or I shall strike all of you down!"
From the dim glow from the torches on their faces Lucina could see they seemed confused, others seemed wary. Some had their hands on their swords, ready to draw. The bandit captain, the one she had fought, slowly approached her. Lucina backed away as he did.
"Be at ease boy!" he said, "you are still being affected by the black breath." He waved behind him and another bandit strode forward, in his hands was a small wooden bowl with a steaming liquid inside. "Breath in these fumes, boy, it will ease your mind," the tallest bandit said again.
Lucina furrowed her eyebrows. Whatever it was that was in that bowl, she knew it was simply a lure to let her guard down.
"Do you take me for a fool?!" she shouted.
"No harm will come to you from these fumes, you have my word." The bandit captain took the bowl in his own hands and made an effort to draw in a deep and audible breath. He then held the bowl out to her.
"Come now, boy, we haven't much time." She almost snapped at him for calling her 'Boy', but that's what she wanted anyways. She was happy to at least know that her disguise worked well.
"How do I know you don't seek to poison me?"
"We used it already to wake you from your collapsed state. You may have never woken again if we had not used this herb."
She eased up a bit, perhaps this wasn't some sort of noxious or enchanting liquid. Though they were still suspicious. She sheathed her sword and slowly approached the bandit and reached for the bowl. She recoiled a bit at the sudden warmth from the wooden bowl but held it steady. She stepped back a bit, making sure to keep a wary eye on the men as they watched her. She then drew in the steam from the liquid and to her surprise a bright warmth swiftly coursed through her, and she felt her fear and anxiety immediately vanish. Replaced now by a feeling of calmness and relaxation, no longer was she a jittery mess, but stood a little taller as her confidence and valour regained their footing in herself. Oddly, the liquid smelled to her of the flowers in Ylisstol's Gardens, and a bit of the perfume her mother used to wear.
"Where did you get this?" she asked.
"It is Athelas, or Kingsfoil as known to most. It is a rare find in the wild. Much healing power it has against the ailments of the world, and more so against the powers of the darkness," said one of the bandits. She handed the bowl back to the tallest and backed away a few paces. For a moment they stared at each other in silence, but tension between them ran thick and steadily gtrowing. Lucina thought about drawing her sword, but she was curious as to why the Bandit's had lent their aid, and she wanted to know just what those Black riders were. They clearly knew about them.
But the bandit captain spoke first in a booming voice. "We cannot let you continue in these lands alone. Though I have reason to doubt your intentions are ill, I still want more information on how you seemingly slipped past our defences. So you may come with us on peaceful terms, or should you wish." He drew his sword, the others immediately followed suit. "We shall force you."
Lucina drew in a deep breath and exhaled heavily. She then placed a strong grip on Falchion's hilt, drawing it swiftly. There were ten or so bandits. In any other situation Lucina would not take the risk, but in the dark both the vision of herself and the enemy were greatly hindered. She had confidence her speed would give her the edge in this. She stood now before her adversaries unmoving as a rock in water. She would not be taken now, the future of this world was dependent upon her, she had to stop Grima!
"If you but knew the urgency of my mission, you'd do well not to hinder me," she began. "The world is in danger, teetering on the edge of calamity. Everyone will perish should I not reach my destination in time. This matter is beyond any of you petty thieves. Now let me pass! Or I will not hesitate to strike each of you down!"
The threat was not taken lightly amongst the bandits, but their captain appeared calm. "You misunderstand us," the bandit captain said.
But before he could explain further, multiple shrill sounding screeches filled the night air, striking terror into Lucina's heart. She instantly covered her ears and dropped down to her knees. When the screeches finally subsided after what felt like an eternity, the men were all in a frenzy.
"The Nine have returned!" were their fear stricken shouts as they retreated. Lucina sheathed Falchion and tried to do the same, but something had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. She looked and saw the bandit captain was tugging at her arm.
"You are coming with us!" he said in haste. Lucina didn't think twice and instantly threw out her fist, feeling it connect with his jaw and he staggered back.
She ripped free of his grasp and sprinted off into the trees. "No boy! Come back!" they called out to her. She of course would not heed their shouts.
She ran through the wild as fast as her feet could carry her, ducking and weaving between the trees and thick vegetation. The darkness of the night made it difficult for her to navigate through the forest with speed, and she winced when stray branches cut her face, but she kept onwards. Lucina only had one thing on her mind, she had to get away. Far, far away from whatever those screeches belonged to, which she was certain were more of those Black Riders.
In the distance she could hear the quick stamping of horses' hooves and steel clashing against steel. The fear stricken cries of the bandits reached her ears and she quickened her pace.
It was some time later that she was bent against a tree, gasping for air. She would have preferred to continue for no matter how far she got away she knew she wasn't far enough. But her legs burned and her feet ached, she would have to stay put for the moment. She sat against the tree breathing heavily, trying to collect her thoughts on this day, and what a day it had been.
She definitely considered this to be her most unluckiest day of her entire life. First she had emerged alone, with no sign of her companions anywhere, then she was ambushed by a troop of the most skilled bandits she'd ever faced, who'd never even heard of one of the most powerful nations in the world. But there was then the last and perhaps the most troublesome, her encounters with whatever demonic beings those Black Riders were.
Where had they come from? Were they men, or were they perhaps something far more sinister? She knew for certain they weren't Risen, for not even their greatest champions, the Dead Lords, could strike so much fear and terror at those just by the same vicinity as them. Only Grima had that effect on her. And those screeches, a cold shiver coursed through her just from the very thought of it. Those weren't the kind of sounds a Risen could make, or anything else rather.
Her musings were cut short however as she heard the slow clopping sounds of a horse's hooves coming from behind the tree she sat against, though it sounded far. Upon its arrival, the howls of the night time birds and chirping of insects instantly vanished and she was immediately filled with an all too familiar dread.
Cautiously, she peeked around the trunk and almost screamed. There was a distinctive black shape, far blacker than the darkness of the night, moving through the trees. A long silver sword appeared with it, it's blade shone as it reflected the pale moonlight. It was one of the riders, dismounted. Though it appeared to have not noticed her yet. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and tried hard to muffle her ragged breaths. It scanned the trees around her, it's head, if it even had one, was darting all around, all the while making some sort of sniffing sound.
Lucina pulled herself back and sat low against the tree with her eyes closed tight, desperately hoping that the rider would not see her. Her heart was beating in her ears, yet over it she could hear the sniffing sounds only growing louder until suddenly, they seized.
Terror and despair increased in her heart until she was all but a quivering mess, unable to scream or shout, or even open her eyes. But there was another feeling, a shadow on her mind that seemed foreign, and not from her own thoughts. It was like something from the outside was trying to probe her mind, even speak with her. Horror snatched away her very breath when she realized what this meant, even though she could not see it.
The rider had found her.
Heavy footsteps approached her with a demonic speed. She was frozen, unable to move her arm to her sword.
Then suddenly, there was a loud crash as something came barreling through the underbrush. The rider then shrieked loud and steel clashing against steel echoed through the forest. Since it appeared the rider was occupied, the grip on her mind vanished, and she was free to move again.
Wasting no time, Lucina snapped to her feet and took off away from the ensuing battle, not bothering to see what had assailed the rider. Yet she could have sworn she saw many sets of distinctive red eyes peering at her from the darkness, but she paid it no mind. Her primary focus was getting away, as far as she could.
The sounds of battle lessened, and a sharp snapping of reins along with the ferocious whinnying of a horse sounded in the distance. Lucina stopped for a moment to listen. Slowly it seemed the sounds of the night time forest were returning, and Lucina was able to take a deep and loud breath as if a huge weight had been lifted off her. It seemed that the rider had fled, however its assailants were possibly still at large.
She continued in the forest at a much quieter pace, preferring to sneak now that danger wasn't apparent. Last thing she wanted was to walk into an ambush. Eventually the trees started to thin and she was greeted with a clearing of sorts that sloped down towards a river flowing at a leisurely pace over a ford.
Lucina knew she needed to cross that river as it would put another obstacle between her and whatever pursued, but Lucina stayed within the treeline, as she had just noticed something else. Before the ford was a series of what appeared to be tents arrayed in a circle for a sort of camp.
She was doubtless that this camp belonged to the tall bandits, but she didn't see any activity within. There were no fires lit, and she couldn't hear anyone marching about.
Something occurred to her then. She recalled, during her fight with the bandits, a horsemen had interrupted them, warning of the black riders attacking the ford. This must have been where that attack occurred. In that case she could definitely not approach the camp now, lest any black riders have straggled behind.
Slowly, Lucina came out from the treeline, staying far outside the outskirts of the camp as she rounded back towards the ford.
She made it all the way down towards the base of the water, but stopped and peered back towards the camp. There was nobody. No bandits, and no horsemen. Oddly, there seemed to be a series of wooden stakes driven into the ground. This camp was some sort of defense, she guessed. Probably a base of operations. Which meant they would have all sorts of supplies stored within.
Lucina shook her head of that thought, she did not steal, not even from thieves. She was about to continue on to the ford but stopped to stare at the camp once more, her fists clenched tight.
Lucina knew how much she carried in her pack, and she knew it was barely anything at all. She had not even begun to break into her provisions yet but she knew it would not be enough to sustain herself for even a day. There was a hard journey ahead and foraging for food was a luxury she could not afford. They also probably had a great number of other provisions she would need yet did not have. Lucina exhaled sharply, finally coming to a decision, and made for the camp.
She felt awful, stealing even from thieves just did not sit right with her. But she was in desperate need of supplies for which that camp would surely provide. After all, they were thieving scum, surely they were undeserving of even a single morsel.
Using the cover of the large rocks that jutted from the ground, Lucina approached the camp. She made it towards the outside of the first tent and crouched low beside it. She was about to lift up the clap and peek inside until she caught scent of a rancid odor. One that she knew all too well, it was the smell of death. She realised at last why there wasn't any activity within, everyone here was dead.
She stood up and walked straight into the centre of the camp. Sure enough there she saw the bodies of a dozen or so bandits laying dead in the mud. Most were towards the outside of the camp, it appeared they were trying to flee.
She tore her gaze away from the gruesome sight and moved on to the tents. She scoured through bags and crates, snatching up anything that would seem useful. She found bandages, some rope, stale bread and dried meats, along with a few other useful provisions, which she stuffed away into her traveling sack. In one of the tents she found a small bag. Upon inspection she could feel and hear small metal objects grinding against each other within. It was a coin purse. Definitely useful.
Lucina wanted to laugh, she never thought of herself as a thief, and stealing coin was a thieves main endeavor, but she reminded herself that she was in great need. Her mission was much too important for her to bother with morals at this moment. However this was the absolute last thing she would take, the rest could be left for whomever else happened across this camp.
She made haste back towards the ford. The water was rather shallow at this part and small islands of sedimentary rocks peeked out from the water, close enough together that she was able to leap across them without getting her feet wet.
Once she was across, Lucina bent down to refill her water flask. She felt a strong temptation to sit for a while and wash up, and in normal circumstances she would have, especially after the day she just had, but that was a luxury she could not afford now.
She filled the canteen and took a few greedy sips to parch her now apparent thirst. Then she refilled it again, placing the cork into the neck and storing it away. Finally she could begin her journey into the wild. Hunger ate away at her and she resolved to munch on a few strips of dried meat as she walked through the trees.
The trees began to clear, and she was now met with a road that stretched for many miles. Following this road would be her best bet of finding safety, she decided, as it was certain to lead to some village or town. It wouldn't be wise to simply walk along it, so instead she stayed a few yards into the forest, and followed it close.
Every now and then she stopped to check for any pursuers. When nothing could be heard, she continued onwards, despite the very real fact that she was absolutely exhausted. But Lucina would not stop this night, she could not stop, not until she found civilization. For now she had to stay vigilant against anything that could assail her on this terror filled night.