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It has been years since I felt the way I did now. It wasn't a good feeling. It was a horrifying sense of anticipation.
The rain had stopped, slowly, and was replaced by an eerie mist. The sky, once filled with dark clouds began to clear up, and reilluminated the world below. The sun was setting, casting the world in a deep yellowish orange light. Its nearly horizontal rays shining through the tree trunks onto the fog set the world in a very haunting atmosphere. The lush underbrush and deadfall had soaked up most of the water from the rain, so puddles were few and far between. We moved quickly, by foot, Brother Thurm, the Hammerite captain, several scouts, the lieutenant, and myself. We traveled silently, not looking at each other, all dreading what we were about to see.
Along with a sudden gust of wind, the smell hit us. A rank, putrid small of rancid meat. The captain and Thurm were openly disgusted by it, their faces twisting into grimaces of disgust. I, as disgusted as I was, was unfazed. We continued on without a word. After nearly fifteen minutes of travel, we were there, at the lodge, or what was left of it.
We should not have been as shocked as we were, after all, not only had the lieutenant told us exactly what we would see, but the smell had greeted us quite a distance away. However all of that still could not have prepared us for this. The lodge was gone, and in it's place, pure death.
Only once before had I seen anything like it. But that was under different circumstances.
There was a structure, comprised of flesh and bone, mostly human, held together by a loose frame of rotting wood and vine. It was a hideous, ghastly sight, a monument to all that is evil and sadistic. Human pelts, some still dripping with blood, some rotting, were stretched across wood and vine as if it were leather. I tried not to look too closely, but the sight was overwhelming. There was little doubt in my mind anymore, who this Lady was, but I dared to not utter it, even to myself. I did not want it to be true.
The construct was in a state of collapsing in on itself. Brother Thurm cast his eyes down in despair, while the captain slowly walked towards it, gasping in horror. The captain walked up to the 'wall' slowly. He looked at it for several moments, slowly moving his eyes back and forth across the torn skin of the wall, tacked and bound to the wood underneath. I could not the expression on his face. Suddenly, he let out a scream of rage, pulled his hammer high above his head, and struck the wall with all his strength and rage. Where his hammer fell, the structure shattered. Bits of wood, vine, skin, and blood went everywhere. He then looked up, has face marred by bits of rotting flesh, and proclaimed at the top of his lungs, "Master Builder! Guide our hammers righteously! Bless us on our quest to rid your earth of the evil which hath done this!" He then turned to Brother Thurm. "Brother, what shall we do?"
Brother Thurm looked up grimly, and then looked to me. Finally, he looked to the wreck. "Captain, summon your men. This creation must be incinerated, and the ground on which it stands, exorcised. The captain nodded, and ordered the three Hammerite scouts to follow him, as he dashed back to the group. Brother Thurm then just looked at it, his face unreadable. The lieutenant slowly walked up to me.
"Master Nightfall, you are wise in the lore of the land, what creature hath done this?"
I didn't look at him for several seconds, my eyes locked on the structure, and where the captain had struck it. I was in no mood to discuss it with the young man. My mind was too filled with the horrors which I saw before me. I don't know why I continued to look at it, though the site sickened me, I felt like I needed to honor those who were slain in its construction by my attention. I glanced something, and then shut my eyes to block the image. Yet it was there, in my mind. A head, with skin still attached, with eyes and jaw still locked in the shock of agony, as it was removed from his still living body.
"Master?" he said again. I opened my eyes, and turned to look at him slowly.
"The Order of the Vine," I said simply, and then walked a few step away from him, making it clear that I did not want to discuss it further. I glanced over at Thurm, after several moments.
He was whispering to himself. The words, I could not hear. It was a prayer no doubt. I looked back up at the wreck. The portion that the captain destroyed sagged, and soon another section crumbled as well. The entire thing was in a constant, however slow, state of collapse. The woods were dead silent. None of the usual forest background noises could be heard, not a wind, not the rustle of leaves, not the sound of water dripping off foliage.
I took a deep breath. The sound seemed out of place here.
I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A shape which did not quite belong. I did not turn my head, or even my eyes. I pretended that I did not see it.
After nearly thirty minutes, the task force arrived, sans the machines. It seemed more like an eternity as Thurm, the lieutenant, and I stood in total science. What was once a huge, proud, strong force of Hammerite Soldiers had been beaten down to a group of several dozen wet, tired, and wounded men. As marched into the clearing, their expressions were the same as ours: shock, despair, rage.
Brother Thurm spoke, "My sons," he hesitated, slowly turning away from the 'building' to face the men, "demolish it."
The men looked at it, sick with anger, and hesitant with fear. The captain spoke reassuring words. "My brothers! Use the gifts which the Master Builder hath granted thee, thy hammers, thy holy instruments, to purge the land of this abomination of pure evil! The dark power here cannot harm thee, as long as this sacred tool is clenched within thy fists! Built into this structure lies the bodies of thy fellow man. Free their flesh from the wood which captivates them, so that they may find rest!" At that, the group rushed the building, and struck hard with their hammers. The surrounded it, systematically pounding and smashing, without any hesitation or reserve.
**
It has taken three days to remove the worst of the damage, although I couldn't get rid of all the bloodstains. Not that it really mattered. I wasn't planning on sticking around. The hardest part had been Els's burial. Letting him go was the hardest thing I have ever done. I must have sat at his graveside for hours, thinking.
Once that was done, I saw to myself. I splinted my damaged ankle, applied salve to the many cuts and bruises and strapped my arm to my side. I didn't
have the courage to set the dislocated shoulder. Then I moved everything I could out of my onetime home, taking anything unsalvageable to the dump and
selling the rest. The only things I kept were a few supplies, my bow and the necklace Els had given me after he had first rescued me from the lady's
clutches.
I did all this is a state of numb depression. All my feelings, everything that had happened over the last few days, I took and locked up in a little box deep inside me. I needed to be calm now. I needed a clear head. I had no doubts as to who was responsible for Els's death. I wanted my revenge. But I was almost sure I could not have it.
I let the cool stream water wash over my fingers as I stared down at the city gates, watching the flow of human traffic that passed through them. Four hammer guards checked every person through, asking them their business and checking their possessions. I had avoided the gate myself, choosing to climb out where the stream flowed into the city. The small hole that allowed it free passage was a tight squeeze but I had used it fairly regularly in the past. A bit stupid really, considering I couldn't swim.
I sighed and turned my back to the city for the last time. I had no desire to go back there again, Lady or no. I had been hurt to often to see it as my home now. My eyes roamed over the rolling green land that eventually led to the woods and the Lady's lodge. I considered going there and making one last futie attempt for vengance. Something I should have been doing instead of running off to fight undead. I felt no urgent need to do so though, so I let the idea drop.
'Where then?' I asked myself as I stared at the ugly paved wound that the hammers had created through the untouched land. There was surprisingly little movement on the road, considering the amount of people at the gates. Follow the road to the docks, hop on a boat and go back to that other world I had known briefly? I was torn on that one. It would be good to forget about this place but I wasn't quite ready to let go of it yet.
Small white clouds drifted across the pale blue sky as I considered what to do. I glanced at the sky above where the Lady's lodge would be, and saw many dark clouds manifesting, unnatural, evil looking clouds. I found the site disturbing, so I looked away. I looked in the other direction instead, to where the clouds were small and thin. The sun's rays cut through, giving everything they touched a gentle glow. It was getting late now, almost evening. Soon the sun would set behind the mountains, and the world would belong to my people, the thieves. A flight of birds passed overhead, flying in a perfect arrow formation. I followed their course, turning on the spot as I did so, as they flew their course to the range of mountains. I found myself staring at something I had spent many days and nights staring at before. A tall narrow structure, silhouetted as the sun set behind it. It was the place to which I had gone, and started this terrible adventure: Master Nightfall's tower.
I felt my whole body relax for an instant as I gazed at it, remembering all the times I had trekked up there, to deliver to Nightfall a trinket, or bauble I had stolen. He always accepted, and always found one way to repay me. A smile crossed my face for the first time in days as I remembered the time which, rather then pay me with supplies like I asked, he handed me a half broken lockpick and told me where I could steal some from. He never made it easy, but he did so in such an odd way that I didn't seem to mind. I pulled myself back to the present, and refocused my eyes on the tower, which suddenly didn't seem so far away. It was almost as though it was waiting there for me to come to it, beckoning me.
**
I spoke the Hammerite prayer right along side them. It was more then just a facade this time. Though I do not belive that the Master Builder was any more then a great man who lived long ago, I still prayed for the souls who were sacrificed at this evil's whim.
After the structure had been torn down, by hammer and ax, three piles were made. One was of broken wood, vine, and lead. Another of the flesh and bone of animals, and other creatures. These two were thrown in a heap, and burred. The third pile, one of human flesh and bone, was laid out and stack carefully, blessed, and then cremating them slowly. The ashes were placed in whatever they could find, as no urns were handy. By the time it was over, we had twelve large sacks of ash, ready to be transported to the cathedral where they could be exorcised thoroughly, and according to the Hammerite beliefs, the spirits would then be able to rest.
I stood, not far where I had first stood when I first arrived, and looked at the spot where the structure had once been. After they were done pounding the structure to debris, they had scrapped and ripped everything off the ground they could. The pentagram shape the building once held was still clearly scorched into the earth. Where the substructure of the building had been, was now a wide pit, about ten feet deep, and filled with loose dirt and broken roots. At the center of the pentagram, and therefor the base of the pit, was a large, very large, stump. It was laden with bruises and cuts, where hammers and axes had fallen in an attempt to destroy it, but it seems that they either lost interest or were defeated by it, for it was the only part of the lodge that still stood.
Night had fallen, and most of the soldiers had already been relived, and traveled back to the campsite. Before they left, they set up a perimeter of torches in the clearing, to keep it illuminated so that the soldiers who were staying to keep guard could see. The campsite was set up at the scene of the battle with the mongbats, using the wreckage of the machines for shelter and fortification. The only people who were still here aside from myself, was the captain, Brother Thurm, a few solders and scouts, the troops who would keep watch during the night, and Richen.
I saw out of the corner of my eye, Thurm and the captain speaking. I listened.
"Brother Thurm, I feel as if we hath not done enough here. We were sent to slay the pagans, and all we hath done is to slay their monsters and destroy their temple. We would not honor the Master Builder by turning back now. It is true that was hath know way of knowing to where these fiends have flead, and pursit would be vain. I suggest that we pave this road which we hath worked so hard to construct, and then build a tower, dedicated to the Master Builder, directly on top of this temple's unholy foundation. It has been done before, and we shalt do it again. This land shalt be conquered, and from this day forth be a monument to our vigilance." I could tell by the mans voice how angry he truly was, and how hard he was trying to contain it. He felt as though this was a slap in the face to him and his soldiers. They had worked this hard, come all this way, only to be thwarted at the very end. He wanted victory so badly, and was searching for a way, any way, to find it. He continued. "This campaign must not be left incomplete."
Brother Thurm nodded, and spoke his reply. "I agree, captian." Thurm then took a deep breath and looked about. "Yes, a tower shalt be built." It was disturbing to see the usually long winded and enthusiastic man so drained and depressed. I could see it in his eyes, his faith was weakened. His faith in the machine and technology were being tested like they never had before. Those wrecking machines of his where his pride and joy, and he watched as they were reduced to junk. To add insult to injury, it didn't even matter. In the end, the work he had envisioned the machines doing was accomplished by simple men. That, plus this display of raw might put forth by the pagans had weakened him severely. He would recover, I knew that for certain, but he would never be the same. He was less naïve now, in a way. I don't think he had ever before seen what the Order of the Vine was capable of. He had lived in the cold, clean, polished world of the Hammerites all his life, and knew little else. As rigid and brutal as their doctrines may be, they were still sheltered. They were sheltered from chaos. Thurm now had his shelter whisked away, and was fully exposed to pure chaos. I understood how he felt. After all, I was every bit as depressed as he was.
I was slightly embarrassed when I realized that the captain had hailed me at least three times before I noticed. "Nightfall?"
I averted my gaze to look at him. "yes?"
"Brother Thurm and I shalt be making our way to camp. Wouldst thee like to accompany us in our tent?"
I shook my head no. "I'll be staying here for a little while."
I noticed a tap on my shoulder just as the captain said. "Art thou sure?" I glanced over my shoulder to see Richen. I turned back to the captain.
"Yes, captain, I am sure. Thank you for the offer." I gestured to Richen to wait a moment.
"Very well sir. Just note that Brother Thurm doth indeed wish to speak with thee. I shalt tell him to approch thee in the morning."
"Very good I said. Tell Brother Thurm that I wish him well." I didn't even noticed that I was no longer even trying to do the Hammerite accent. The odd thing was, the captain didn't seem to take note of it. I turned back to Richen.
"Yes, my friend?"
"I 'eard you say ta tha cap'in that yea wilt be stayin oot 'ere fer a bit. Jus askin' ya ta find out if I should save ya any dinner? I'll be makin soom beef stew."
I shook my head no. "I have no appetite, thank you anyway Richen."
He nodded. "No prob then ser. I set us up a capsite jus ootside the 'ammer tents. I've goot Suzy tied up all proper like. Shood I expect ta see ya thar t'marrow mornin?
I sighed. "I don't know." I placed my hand on his shoulder. I glanced about the clearing, and saw that all of the Hammerite scouts had taken up their watchposts. I turned back to him slowly. "Get some sleep, Richen."
"Aye, that I will." We shook hands, and he walked off In the direction Thurm and the Captain had. I was now alone.
"Plumb and plane, fire and forge, purify their spirits;
And draw from them all which does not meet Thy plan.
Take them to serve with Thee in Thy Home,
Where they may rest in peace eternal."
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