The Calling - Blood and Snow

07.

Miya lays still, watching as Faris prays peacefully with beauty and devotion. Lifting his hands in supplication, he whispers the hopes of his heart with emotion. Finishing he notices the pair of eyes looking at him.

"Did you manage to get any sleep?"

Faris asks.

Miya shakes her head.

"What language was that?"

"Arabiya, the language of my homeland."

"Oh. Originally, are you from somewhere far?

"I was born in Filosteen, more than a full moon's ride from here." Faris says while looking at the ground.

"You say that in sadness. Do you not like it here?"

Miya reluctantly asks.

"It's not that. I miss my wife. I've not seen her in too long."

He says placing his fingertips on his head as he sits.

"You have a good heart. Would you....."

"Where's Axil?"

Faris asks, shocked to not see him sleeping.

"I'm not sure."

Faris picks up his sword and runs a little forward

"Axil!"

He calls, loud and long.

"Wait here!"

Faris stands atop a tree stump and calls again and again and again, facing a different direction each time.

...

The glittering forest stays quiet and still. Faris starts to inhale deeply trying to remain calm, trying to imagine a scenario where Axil would be up, awake and off so early but he can not convince himself things are fine.

-

In pursuit of the witch, Rohain moves west through hard ground and light snow.

"She is barely half a day in front of me, can't have got too far."

He says to himself as he checks for tracks on the road.

Fortunately the cold had a strong hold on prints provided the wind does not carry fresh snow. Being on horseback has many advantages such as the ability to haul more weight and cover ground faster at the cost of reduced tracking proficiency. Unfortunately, the path is a well used trader route as old as time is covered by many traders day by day. At a crossroad Rohain decides to dismount his beautiful black horse, easily distinguished by its platted white mane and white war paint liken to it's skeletal structure. Crouching down he waves his hand over the ground as if casting a spell, shaking his head as if to confess his skills can not be utilised so well under such challenging conditions.

"So, what do you think Phantom? I'm guessing the far smoke is a good sign to follow but it's just guess work."

The horse just looks at him completely blank.

"Yeah, me too."

The horse shrugs it's head left in the direction of the smoke path.

"Alright then, let's get going."

Rohain says, offering Phantom an apple from a tree.

Climbing back on the saddle he prompts his road partner to gallop pronto. Through the naked trees and mudded road, phantom carries his armoured rider.

"Whoa there!"

Bodies are littered all around. Jumping down reaching for his crossbow, low and quickly manoeuvring behind a dominant rock whistling for his horse to fall back. Rohain raises his charged bolt from cover, surveying for threats hiding off path. The corpses appear to be encompassing a caravan flipped on it's side. Moving in for a closer look taking position behind the carts near side, the fire burns on it's last legs under the light rain. The dead appear to be of two kinds: criminals and security. Lots of steel from both sides is the how but the placement raises the why.

~Bodies appear to be facing each other randomly, as if each man was for himself. Bandits turned on bandits, nothing special about that, but security detail, ...very rare.~

"This was not just some ambush turned bloody, something made them all turn on each other."

The knight suspects cargo, there's something about treasure that brings out the worst in people. This theory would usually hold water but not when the payload appears to be untouched. The zone appears clear enough for the knights crossbow to be slinged. He lowers his weapon, kneels at the load fallen on the floor and spots a deposit box still locked...

"No? Is it possible?"

~There is only one way this makes sense;

The merchant must have come into something more valuable than usual forcing him to hire more security than usual. A convoy like this would be a six man job at the most but I see at least double that.

The bandit waited behind these trees, bushes and rocks setting up a ramp contraption to tilt any caravan carrying what looks like a profitable load. Standard routine.

The carriage was flipped but the robbers had not encountered such a strong defence team before, judging by the gear they are wearing at least.

They would have argued first, trying to negotiate but they went at each other inevitably, but something stopped the fighting before it managed to get bloody.

The witch wanted something from the convoy and had managed to track it somehow. The only set of female prints here were made strolling judging how clean they sit.

She probably cast some kind of spell, driving everyone into madness. These are not simply kills, these are untamed, wild savagery, not a single clean kill, except the merchant centre stage amongst the bodies.

Nothing appears to be missing though...except the merchants head and three fingers as far as I can tell.~

Clearly being on the right path Rohain whistles for his horse to return. Mounting and charging on due course before the rain washes away all traces he fails to notice the head of our talkative traveller, formerly a guest of The Bragging Dragon, laid far in tall grass.