[Chapter 24 - The Silvermine Incident]

  I froze, panic flooding my mind for a brief second before I cleared my thoughts and calmed myself down. My gaze still remained watching the room beyond while my crouched form kept my eyes level with the crack in the wall, and I desperately stared at the Border Guards who had frozen in place in an attempt to gauge their reaction to the sound.

  Sigurd was the first to turn, tilting the handle of his sword ever so slightly downwards as he slowly spun round, and I slid back against the rocks before he fully faced us. My face was pressed against the cold stone, my ears listening out for any indication of what was happening in the room beyond. Bj?rn crept silently forwards, his paws making not a sound on the floor. He was quickly beside me, his head against the stone in a manner much similar to myself, and in his hand was his purgio dagger, opting for the smaller blade as opposed to the gladii sheathed to our sides.

  I did the same, carefully drawing it out by its metal handle to avoid making any further noise, but my focus remained on the few sounds I could just about hear through the rubble my ear was leant against.

  A collection of footsteps, getting louder and louder as they brought the soldiers nearer, accompanied by the unsheathing of swords and the unslinging of axes that were seated at their waists.

  Bj?rn and I looked at each other, myself lifting two fingers to point at the ascending stairwell shrouded in pitch black. He nodded, and I shifted my weight onto the balls of my feet, readying myself to sprint if the soldiers saw us through the cracked wall.

  The thuds of feet on stone were drawing closer… and closer…

  And then a voice, breaking the tense silence. It was a hissing almost, a rasp which sounded from the doorway on the left, muffled slightly by the rock which stood in between us.

  “You lied to uss.” It spoke. Instantly the ringing of mail could be heard as the Border Guards whirled around. “The caravan wass not guarded by mere recruitss. There were legionariess. Ssoldierss… of Italuss’ legion.”

  Driven by curiosity, I lowered my head forwards, placing my eye against the hole once again.

  A band of goblins had come in from the left entrance, a species I easily recognised by their pale blue skin. Their leader stood at the forefront, a single crooked finger raised at Sigurd as he spoke.

  “Italus?” Sigurd’s back was facing me, but the surprise in his voice was undeniably there. It was the most emotion I had heard in his tone, albeit still markedly subdued. “Has he come back already?”

  “I could tell from their damned ssymbol.” The goblin spat.

  Sigurd hesitated for a moment before striding over towards the goblins who had now entered, gesturing for his companions to follow behind. “Bring the body with you.”

  Then they were gone, the soldiers shouldering Erik’s body as they left, leaving behind a trail of blood which indicated the doorway they went through.

  Bj?rn and I kept still for a while longer, listening out with bated breath, straining our ears in the silence for any indication of their return. When none came after what felt like an eternity later, did we finally raise ourselves to our feet, and slowly step up the stairs towards the world above.

  ***

  That guy, he isn’t human.

  I blinked in surprise. For a voice residing in my head, Wrath had kept awfully quiet. The drowsiness in his voice likely attested towards the reason for this, but even when I had urged him for answers he had responded little in turn. His sudden interruption was therefore unexpected.

  The Border Guard leader… Sigurd? It took me a second to recall his name.

  Yes. He wasn’t human, at least not fully. Even if he looked the part.

  What is he then? An elf?

  No. He’s… something else. I could sense it within him. A brief silence, and then a slight exclamation of air. One that was cast out in almost shock. Void. He’s allowed it to possess him.

  Void? The same monsters of the north like the carvings we saw?

  Yes. Wrath murmured now, a surprising caution present in his voice. The Void seeks to devour all. Even the very land of Arithea itself.

  And he’s allowed one to… possess him?

  He must be one of the cult. They worship the swarm that dwells within the Void. Be careful child, they are not something to take lightly.

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  As if everything else had been easy.

  Bj?rn’s voice quickly interrupted me, drawing my mind away from pondering the meaning behind Wrath’s words.

  “We’re here. Keep low.”

  We had reached the top of the stairwell, and he held out an arm to stop me as he scanned the area for the presence of any others. Staying in pitch black for too long made the blue sky dazzlingly bright in my eyes, and I stumbled back for a second as I blinked to regain focus.

  The village was exactly the same as it had been when we left, yet I still felt a rush of gratitude at the broad open space I was now exposed to. Claustrophobia was not exactly something that plagued me, but my experience in the stairwell had been hardly comforting.

  Bj?rn had now crept forwards, his right paw steady on the floor he moved his head warily side to side. This was soon finished with a grunt of satisfaction, and he raised his body ever so slightly higher into a crouched form, his weight placed upon his back legs.

  “We were meant to meet the others at midday.” He growled out. “It hasn’t been long enough yet, so I’ll send the signal while you keep an eye out for the others.”

  I responded with a nod and he raised himself up, bringing his claws to his mouth.

  Fuuweeet.

  His whistle rung out across the ruined village, a tune kept purposely soft enough to not seem unnatural while also fluctuating in its pitch to mimic that of bird cry. I kept my eyes peeled, my gaze darting from building to building as I watched for even the slightest movement. None came. The hillscape remained unmoving, offering nothing to indicate the presence of others.

  Feeewooo.

  Bj?rn knelt back down.

  “Changes every time.” he glanced at me, a slight grin flitting across his mouth. “Good thing I remembered it this time ay?”

  I smiled at his remark, a small huff of breath following with it.

  “We’ll go that way.” Bj?rn jerked his head to the right, towards the cluster of ruined houses within one of the buildings still remained partially standing. “That will give us some cover at least.”

  We crept our way over, taking care to remain crouched as we ran from building to building. The presence of a room when we finally got there brought with it a surprising sense of relief, even if the walls were clearly in disarray from the fire damage it had sustained. It felt reassuring to rest against the wood and stone which made up the remnants of its frame, the small shelter it created providing a strangely comforting atmosphere as a result of the ceiling which was still standing.

  Roxas and Aela joined us first, both bearing a grim expression upon their faces. They threw up a tired hand in greeting before collapsing, leaning back against the walls along with us. Ante and Valen came next, and then Reyna and Marcus. All four bore similar gaunt appearances, and Felix and Ullr who were last to join were no different.

  “What did you see?” Felix spoke as he came in, wasting no time as he stepped through the doorway. The gravity of the situation was clear from the seriousness he composed himself with, a marked contrast to the cheerful demeanour which usually occupied his tone.

  “Border Guard.” Bj?rn answered for me. “Five of them. Armed and in military wear, they’re with the goblins. They knew the route of the carriage, and helped organise the ambush.”

  Felix raised his eyebrow, taking in the information with an increasingly worried expression.

  “Border Guards beyond the wall? How did they manage to get here while wearing military gear?”

  To that Bj?rn shrugged.

  “Cultists.” I spoke out, and all heads instantly turned towards me. “The leader at least, if not all of them. There was a dispute and he killed one of them. Told the others to use the body as part of an offering.”

  “That would explain the relic blade he was carrying too.” Bj?rn growled.

  “Fuck sake.” Felix swore. “We need to report this back. Let alone the goblins, if the cult is here then we can’t deal with them by ourselves. Let alone a fucking relic blade user. Grab everything, we’re heading out immediately.”

  “Guys.” Reyna had stood up, her voice urgent as she pressed her back against the wall, her stare directed outwards from what had been the window frame. “They know we’re here. There’s four goblins at least watching this house from the street opposite.”

  “Too late for that then.” Ullr grunted. He pulled the recurve bow from his back, opting for its short length as opposed to the longbow which he still shouldered. In his hands he held several arrows which fetched from the quiver by his side, notching them in place. “We should go now, before any more of the fuckers come and block us in.”

  “We’ll head eastwards then. Follow behind and we should be fine. Everyone ready?” Felix glanced at each one of us in turn. I did not look at the others, but I knew the same expressions of nervous anticipation likely rested upon their faces as well. “Let’s go.”

  So we ran.