“Wake up, Elysia! Something is coming!”
Elysia came out of her doze, her mind still cluttered with remnants of haunting dreams, shaking her head to clear it, her neck and back aching from lying on the cold forest floor. The chill had broken through the insulation provided by the leaves of the trees and drained the strength from her body. She got slowly to her feet, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and, as quietly as she could, drew her sword and looked around her.
Frey stood close to her, like a solid statue frozen in the dim light of the dying fire. The red glow of the embers reflected on the blade of the sword, and it seemed that the dark hero held a blood-painted weapon in his hands.
Elysia looked up at the sky, and saw that the moon had almost set. Fortunately, dawn was not far off.
"What is it about?" she asked, but her voice caught in her throat and came out as a raspy whisper. She didn't need to see Frey's alert posture to know that something was wrong, for there was an air of quiet menace in the forest that she could sense with her sixth sense.
"Listen!"
Elysia obeyed, straining her ears to catch any unusual sounds. At first, she could only hear the heavy beating of her own heart. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, just the buzzing and chirping of nocturnal insects and the rustling of the breeze in the leaves of the trees. But then, from somewhere in the distance, she heard the murmur of voices so low they might have been a mere figment of her imagination. She looked at Frey at that time, and nodded.
Elysia turned her head to see what had happened to Kat, and she saw that she, too, was awake and sitting hunched over by the fire. Her eyes were wide and frightened in the firelight. The catgirl prayed that the sun would rise soon; She looked away from the fire and back into the shadows, determined never to impair her night vision again.
"Kat, add more fuel to the fire," he said quietly, and felt an almost overwhelming temptation to turn to see if she had obeyed him, but he fought it and was relieved to hear movement behind her and the crackle of wood. that lit The shadows quickly retreated, and the island of light they stood in spread out to encompass the nearest stretch of forest, where the trees looked like monochromatic titans in the dim illumination.
The catgirl stood completely still. Despite the chill of the night, her sweat ran down her back and dampened the fur on her tail; her palms were slippery, she felt the force leave her body, and she experienced the urge to flee from whatever approached her, which, to be sure, made no attempt to sneak up. .
In the distance, she could hear heavy footsteps, and at one point she heard a groan. Her stomach muscles had tightened and there was a quivering, shocked feeling in her belly. The unwary approach of her enemies betrayed an overwhelming confidence. Was she about to meet the destroyers of Kleinsdorf?
The strangest thing was that he began to feel the urge to move toward the noise, to investigate, not just stand by the fire like a ram awaiting its sacrifice. To calm himself down, he swung the sword a few times experimentally. The weapon hissed as it cleaved the air, and the leaf frogs gleamed brighter, as if in anticipation of the coming conflict. The flexing of his muscles and the alacrity of the dragon-hilted enchanted sword had the virtue of relaxing him a little, and a smile touched his lips. If he died here, he wouldn't die alone.
His confidence vanished as a chorus of howls echoed through the trees from half a dozen triumphant bestial throats. In the darkness before dawn, they were like echoes of his nightmares, of things out there, things he didn't want to face. The pursuers knew they were close, and prepared to rush in and kill.
Elysia wanted to drop the weapon and run; her strength poured out of her like wine from an overturned glass. Behind her, Kat whimpered, and she heard the sound of stealthy movement, as if the girl was crawling for cover.
“Calm down, Elysia. They do that to scare their enemies, to weaken them before the slaughter. Don't let fear dominate you."
Frey's thunderous and calm voice was almost reassuring, but Elysia couldn't help thinking that no matter what happened, the outcome would be acceptable to Frey. Either he would defeat the attackers or, more likely, meet a heroic death.
The catgirl wondered if this wasn't the right time to point out that if she didn't survive, there would be no one left to record Frey's glorious end. Her sense of humor made him chuckle softly, and she heard Frey approaching her.
They had the enemies practically on top of her, for she then heard the gritty scrape of her feet on the trail. They couldn't be more than a hundred paces apart, and Elysau looked around her for cover. Beneath the largest tree was an area of bushes, and she wondered to what extent it would be advisable to hide among them and then come out to surprise those who approached, or not to come out at all in the simple hope that they would not find her; but she realized that for her it was a very slim hope.
"Kat," she whispered as she pointed the point of her sword at the rose hips. “Hide there. If anything happens to Frey and me, stay hidden!”
She was gratified when she saw the little figure dart into the bushes, lie on its belly and slither away into the undergrowth. That way, she might have some chance of surviving if they perished.
“How did they find us?” she wondered. Was it just bad luck? Was it a scouting party that had stumbled upon them? Was there perhaps some kind of malevolent sorcery at play? When evil was involved, she could never tell. For a moment, she allowed herself the fantasy that it was just a mistake, that it was a group of merchants who would give them shelter; but she knew that only the dead or their murderers would march the Kleinsdorf road at night, and the thought made her shudder.
The sound of her footsteps was then so close that she had a feeling that the pursuers would appear in her sight at any moment, and she wished that the setting moon would break free of the clouds that covered them and provide her with comfort. More light. As if the gods had heeded her prayer, she tore a breach in the cloud canopy, and then she wished that hadn't happened.
The mysterious silver light of the moon filtered through the treetops to fall on the faces of those who stalked them: aberrations from the wildest reaches of their nightmares.
In the lead was a beastman, crouching low to the ground, sniffing the trail; he was the author of the wheezing sound Elysia had heard. He had a hairless dog face and a huge nose, and the spiked collar around his neck was attached to a heavy steel chain, the other end of which was held by a mighty goat-headed beastman. He had enormous muscles; A leather cloak was draped over his shoulders, and around his neck was a necklace that seemed to consist of dried eyes. He had no eyes of his own, just an expanse of white flesh in the sockets. Still, he walked as if he were able to see, and Elysia wondered what spell allowed such a thing. In his other hand he carried a huge club with a spiked end; the end was surrounded by coagulated substances, the nature of which she Elysia preferred not to think about.
Behind him, her minions advanced: small versions made after the same monstrous boss, hulking, muscular giants carrying rusty spears and swords. Bestial eyes, turned red by the fire, glared at them from the heads of goats and deer. Aside from the leader, none bore any obvious stigma of any special quality. The sight of it gave Elysia goosebumps and she raised the fur on her tail; the thought of what they had done in the village the night before filled her with both fear and anger.
The eyeless leader paused to gesture his followers with a massive, knuckled hand, and they entered the clearing and formed a semicircle before the catgirl and the dark hero.
Elysia moved into an attack stance, and she forced her muscles to relax as Frey had taught her. She tried to quiet her mind, to calm down, but before those enormous monsters she found it impossible.
For a long moment, the catgirl and the goatman glared at each other across the shadowy clearing. Elysia forced herself to stare into the eyes of the nearest goathead. "I'll kill you." She thought hoping to intimidate the creature, but her animal mouth opened from her and she stuck her tongue out at him as little flecks of foam appeared on her lips. She gave the impression of making fun of the catgirl. "Well, then maybe I won't." Elysia thought, and she smiled.
She wanted to look at Frey to see what she was going to do, but she didn't dare look away from her opponents because she was afraid that they might attack with supernatural speed if she looked away. That was the worst thing about facing enemies of an unknown nature: who knew what they might be capable of?
The beastmen stood as if they didn't quite know what to do with two undaunted opponents, looking at each other with amusement and indecision. “Perhaps they are deciding who will have priority over the meat of the prey and who will be the first to mate with me” Elysia thought. Suddenly it occurred to her that it was strange that beings with such a horrendous reputation for eating human flesh should have the heads of herbivores, and it occurred to her that perhaps this was a joke by the Evil Powers.
"Ready, Elysia?" Frey's voice seemed remarkably lucid for a frenzied madman who was about to go into combat. The tone was deep and calm, balanced, and conveyed not an iota of emotion.
"As much as I can ever be."
Elysia clenched her sword hilt to the point of pain, and the muscles in her forearms stiffened like bands of steel. When she heard Frey's wild laughter, she too charged to meet the enemy.
Kat moved under the bushes. She didn't want to, but the fascination of horror made her look outside again. She knew that the beasts were coming, she could feel it, for the air carried the same sensation that she had felt the night before. She looked at her two benefactors of hers and felt sorry for them, because they were going to die. Although her appearance was frightening, they had tried to help her and they did not deserve the death that the beasts would give them.She looked at Elysia and saw that her beautiful features were torn between hopeless fear and savage exultation. She understood how that could happen, because she had felt the same way when Karl had driven his car too fast down the path full of sprouting roots; she was kind of itchy, excited, scared and happy at the same time. However, Elysia did not seem very happy, and that was the difference.The dark hero did look like it, as he laughed slightly in a psychotic way. Kat was sure that she had noticed hi
She was still alive. Elysia repeated that phrase to herself like a mantra.She had passed through the terror and out the other side, and her enemies, the monsters who had wanted to kill her, were dead. And she was still there to feel the sun, draw in her lungs, and watch Frey and Kat as they moved cautiously down the hill, putting their feet on the stones that protruded from the mud of the steep, slippery path.Her senses had been heightened and she felt more alive and energized than ever; it was as if she had leveled up. It was just a delight to be the sensation.Cobwebs glittered with drops of early morning dew, birds sang, and everywhere the bustle of life filled the forest. Small animals moved through the undergrowth, and Elysia paused to let a snake cross the path without making any attempt to kill it. That morning she had a clear notion of how precious and fragile life was.The fight with the beastmen had made him understand how precariously he clun
The arrow struck the trunk of the tree next to Elysia, and he stood there vibrating. The catgirl looked around with fierce eyes, sniffing the air and probing the tall grasses. Had the beasts come back to catch up with them? Why hadn't they just killed them?Elysia looked at the black feathers on the arrow's tail, and thought that the spear couldn't have belonged to a beastman, since it didn't look like the kind of weapon one of them would wield, and Kat hadn't mentioned seeing one armed with one. bow. Goosebumps rose at the threat of danger, and she strained her senses to see if she could hear anything; but all she heard was the wind in the branches of the trees, the song of the birds and the noise of the distant river."That was a warning shot," she yelled at them in a harsh, uneducated voice. "Don't come any closer."Upwind, Elysia thought. “The goalkeeper is upwind. Very professional." Her own thought had no doubt just occurred to Frey when he glared at
An old man sat cross-legged on a reed mat near the door of a log cabin, smoking a long curved pipe. He and a boy were playing checkers with pebbles on a board drawn in the dirt. He raised his eyes from the game and regarded Elysia with a woodsman's heightened suspicion of strangers, before blowing several columns of smoke rings into the air. Messner nodded to him, and the old man responded with an elaborate wave of his left hand. "Is he warding off the evil eye?" Elysia wondered. “or communicating something to the other through sign language?” He surveyed the small town with interest, paying special attention to the burly men carrying large two-handed axes. Their faces were covered in multicolored tattoos, and their eyes were narrow and watchful. They stomped through the muddy streets in their tall, fur-trimmed boots; they had the arrogant confidence of a champion of the Theocracy but without their distinguished chastity, for they sometimes stopped to gossip with the fat mer
Kat hurried toward the base of the watchtower because she felt the need to be alone. She had grown tired of sitting by the large central bonfire, and not even Frey's presence reassured her. She felt very alone in the midst of all those busy adults; in reality, there was no one with whom she could talk, and for the first time she realized that she no longer knew anyone in this world and that she had no place in it. Her flames reminded him too much of the Kleinsdorf fires. The ladder barely creaked under her bare feet as she climbed toward the trapdoor with the agility of a monkey.Elysia was sitting alone, and she was looking into the darkness. She had long since set the sun like a bloodstain on the horizon; the moon had risen through the sky, its silvery light bathing the surroundings. A gentle breeze cooled Kat's cheeks and made the forest whisper and murmur ominously. Elysia watched him mesmerized, lost in her own thoughts, and she hurried across the tower and sat down besi
Elysia looked up at the ornate golden hammer that gleamed in the early morning light streaming through the open door of the temple. The runes etched into the Hammer's head reminded him of the ones adorning the blade of her own sword, but that didn't surprise him too much. Her sword had been the most prized possession of an Order of paladins and it seemed only fitting that the sword be engraved with holy signs.There were few people present; only some old women who were sitting cross-legged on the floor and praying. The babies with their mothers were outside, getting the cool while they could, and Elysia guessed the air might be unbreathable in there with the doors closed.The temple was a simple sanctuary with a simple altar, except for the presence of the Hammer, which was used to bless marriages and contracts. The Father, The Mother and The Son were not very popular deities there, since most of the woodcutters looked to Belial, Lord of the Forests and God of the Eart
Elysia watched the clouds overhead, racing across the sky like a mass that twisted and undulated in a strong wind. The color of the forest had changed from a light green to a darker, more ominous hue; she seemed as if the trees, like everything else, were waiting.She was standing on the parapet at the top of the wooden wall, and she was looking across the fields, straining to catch any sign of movement in the undergrowth. By her calculations, it was the end of the afternoon. Next to her was Frey, who was looking at his sword with disinterest. Every ten paces along the wall there was an archer, one of the woodcutters, men who could hit an ox's eye from two hundred paces, and measuring the distance between them and the line of trees, Elysia realized. realized that this was a slaughterhouse. Any attackers would get bogged down in the plowed fields and be easy targets for archers.She tried to let that thought reassure her, but she couldn't. Night in the woods was not lik
Jasmine watched as the great cannon blasted the third breach in the city wall, then decided enough was enough. They had to save powder for the next fortification they came to, and the gaps were big enough for their soldiers to squeeze through. The defenders were tired and bewildered, so the time had come. She signaled to the bugler, and he sounded the advance blast. Marching to the beat of the human-skinned drums, the beastmen sprang into motion.Jasmine felt the thirst for blood rise within her, and with it, her desire to offer souls to the god of Wrath. She that night she would make him a great offering.♦ ♦ ♦Elysia watched as the tide of beastmen surged across the grounds, and archers began firing from the ramparts. They chose their targets calmly, methodically, and efficiently, and fired. Arrows pierced the darkness, piercing chests, throats, and bestial eyes. As the infernal drums beat, the relentless bloodthirsty beastmen continued to adva
“Take the sword!” Elysia yelled at him.But the stunned Frey was in no condition to heed the advice, and besides, he wanted to spill blood. He took an unsteady step toward Oleg, who was standing where he had left him, howling as he clutched his nose. Then, hearing Frey's staggering footsteps, she looked up and let out a tremendous bellow of anger and pain. He rushed toward his foe, crouching low and arms outstretched, intending to once again ensnare the dark hero in a deadly embrace. Frey remained where he was as the monster charged into a thunderous race towards him, as unstoppable as a runaway horse-drawn chariot.Elysia didn't want to look… The mutant was big enough to crush Frey, but she couldn't look away in horror.Oleg reached where Frey was. His massive arms began to close, but at the last second Frey ducked and dove between the monster's legs, then spun around and lashed out with the chain, which wrapped around the mutant's ankle. Fre
"Ulber?" I ask. Ulber Roger?"Do not call me that way!" The man's voice approached the scream. "Address me as 'Sir'.""Do you know this idiot?" Frei asked.Elysia nodded. Ulber Roger was a philosophy friend of Elysia's owner before the catgirl had murdered her mistress and escaped from her. He had been a quiet young man, very studious and could always be found in libraries according to his mistress. He had probably never exchanged more than a dozen words with her in the two years he had been friends with her mistress. He also remembered that Roger had vanished. There was a bit of a scandal… something to do with some missing library books, and he also remembered that some Inquisitors had shown interest."Stop!" Roger yelled at him in his thin, irritating voice. "You are my prisoners and you will do as I command for the remainder of your wretched lives."“Will we do as you bid us for the rest of our worthless lives?” Elysia looked
Elysia noticed that all the patrons were looking at the innkeeper strangely, as if he had spoken at the wrong time, or said something they had never expected him to say. But she dismissed that thought. Maybe they were just scared. Who wouldn't be with a servant of the Dark Powers housed in the castle that overlooked the town?“He is wicked like a dragon with a toothache. Isn't that right, Helmut?"The peasant the innkeeper had just spoken to froze in place like a rat staring at a snake."Isn't that right, Helmut?" the innkeeper repeated."It's not so bad," replied the farmer. "Considering how evil warlocks are.""Why don't you storm the castle?" Frey asked, and Elysia thought that if the dark hero couldn't guess the answer from the beaten-dog looks of those louts he was more stupid than he looked."Because the monster is there, sir" replied the farmer at the same time that he dragged his feet and looked at the floor again."The
The idea must occur to readers of these pages from time to time that my companion and I were under the influence of some curse.Without any effort on our part, and without any desire on my part, we managed to meet all manner of worshipers of the Dark Ones. I myself often suspected that we were really doomed to oppose his plans without ever understanding why; but such speculation never bothered the Dark Hero.Frey took all such events as they came, with a groan and a resigned shrug, and dismissed any such speculation as that of a useless and vain philosopher.However, I have thought long and hard on the matter, and I have the feeling that if there is a power in this world that opposes the servants of evil, perhaps it was the one who sometimes guided our steps and even protected us. What is certain is that we often stumbled upon some of the most outrageous and malevolent schemes perpetrated by the most unlikely of evildoers...Elysia, 'The Adventures of the
The desire to kill reverberated through Jasmine's brain, and the darkness rooted in her soul threatened to overtake her completely. Madness bubbled through her veins, and bloodlust flooded her as if she were a drug; her carnage gave him ecstatic pleasure. She wanted to find the black-armored warrior and kill him, for of all the enemies she had faced, he was the most powerful: a worthy offering indeed to the god of Wrath. At the last second, when she was about to brush aside his sword and kill him, her fate, in the form of her own idiotic followers of hers, had intervened to separate them. She wanted to find him again and finish the fight.And then she saw the girl. As if against her will, she gazed at the frightened little face that peeked out from where she was hiding. He knew what he had to do, because it was time to end this once and for all, to take the first step on the path that would end in eternal life, to take advantage of the opportunity offered to him of a glorious
Jasmine watched as the great cannon blasted the third breach in the city wall, then decided enough was enough. They had to save powder for the next fortification they came to, and the gaps were big enough for their soldiers to squeeze through. The defenders were tired and bewildered, so the time had come. She signaled to the bugler, and he sounded the advance blast. Marching to the beat of the human-skinned drums, the beastmen sprang into motion.Jasmine felt the thirst for blood rise within her, and with it, her desire to offer souls to the god of Wrath. She that night she would make him a great offering.♦ ♦ ♦Elysia watched as the tide of beastmen surged across the grounds, and archers began firing from the ramparts. They chose their targets calmly, methodically, and efficiently, and fired. Arrows pierced the darkness, piercing chests, throats, and bestial eyes. As the infernal drums beat, the relentless bloodthirsty beastmen continued to adva
Elysia watched the clouds overhead, racing across the sky like a mass that twisted and undulated in a strong wind. The color of the forest had changed from a light green to a darker, more ominous hue; she seemed as if the trees, like everything else, were waiting.She was standing on the parapet at the top of the wooden wall, and she was looking across the fields, straining to catch any sign of movement in the undergrowth. By her calculations, it was the end of the afternoon. Next to her was Frey, who was looking at his sword with disinterest. Every ten paces along the wall there was an archer, one of the woodcutters, men who could hit an ox's eye from two hundred paces, and measuring the distance between them and the line of trees, Elysia realized. realized that this was a slaughterhouse. Any attackers would get bogged down in the plowed fields and be easy targets for archers.She tried to let that thought reassure her, but she couldn't. Night in the woods was not lik
Elysia looked up at the ornate golden hammer that gleamed in the early morning light streaming through the open door of the temple. The runes etched into the Hammer's head reminded him of the ones adorning the blade of her own sword, but that didn't surprise him too much. Her sword had been the most prized possession of an Order of paladins and it seemed only fitting that the sword be engraved with holy signs.There were few people present; only some old women who were sitting cross-legged on the floor and praying. The babies with their mothers were outside, getting the cool while they could, and Elysia guessed the air might be unbreathable in there with the doors closed.The temple was a simple sanctuary with a simple altar, except for the presence of the Hammer, which was used to bless marriages and contracts. The Father, The Mother and The Son were not very popular deities there, since most of the woodcutters looked to Belial, Lord of the Forests and God of the Eart
Kat hurried toward the base of the watchtower because she felt the need to be alone. She had grown tired of sitting by the large central bonfire, and not even Frey's presence reassured her. She felt very alone in the midst of all those busy adults; in reality, there was no one with whom she could talk, and for the first time she realized that she no longer knew anyone in this world and that she had no place in it. Her flames reminded him too much of the Kleinsdorf fires. The ladder barely creaked under her bare feet as she climbed toward the trapdoor with the agility of a monkey.Elysia was sitting alone, and she was looking into the darkness. She had long since set the sun like a bloodstain on the horizon; the moon had risen through the sky, its silvery light bathing the surroundings. A gentle breeze cooled Kat's cheeks and made the forest whisper and murmur ominously. Elysia watched him mesmerized, lost in her own thoughts, and she hurried across the tower and sat down besi