Private Tales Read between the lines

[Zana]

Images of Talus' ghostly wings propelling her into the sky danced across her mind.

"N-" her reply was lost to the wind and the sudden rush of fear as they took off. The saddle whilst large and could comfortably seat two people had not been designed for dual riding with the only pommel at the front where Blackforge sat. It was instinct to grab onto the man's waist in front of her and cinch herself closer as her stomach was left on the ground far below them.

Nausea rolled through her and she ended up swallowing down the acidic mockery of her breakfast to avoid throwing up over the Generals back. If Talus had worried about her riding pregnant, god only knew what he would think of her flying.

"Not quite like this..." she finished weakly as the bird levelled out above the clouds. It was far colder up here. Zana tentatively released her hold on the mans waist and conjured a small bubble of purple energy. Inside she warmed the air to stop her teeth chattering.

 

[Talus]

The flight, at least the initial one, took the better part of the day.

It seemed that Zana was the only one who displayed any level of cold, though that was likely due to the way the others dressed. Padding and platemail protected the BlackGuard while Blackforge himself was draped in furs.

By the time the sunset their journey continued, and well into the night was when the three flying beasts slowly began to dip down below the clouds.

They had crossed hundreds upon hundreds of miles, flying high up through the air at speeds an army could only have dreamed of. Blackforge and Zana were the first to set down, the two Manticore being somewhat more clumsy in their flying.

"There we are." Blackforge said as he slipped off the side of the Great Owl.

In the distance there was a city, black buildings lit my a wash of firelight.

 

[Zana]

Zana's feet hit the ground and she managed to hide the slight tremor in her legs. The nausea had followed her for the entire journey and her silence had been more down to the fact she had been concentrating on not throwing up than anything else. She was simply glad to be back on the ground and feel that sickness begin to subside.

"It doesn't look like much," the comment was unnecessary but she had began to understand people liked to have an answer to a mere observation like that. She tugged her pack over her shoulder and then took a better look at the smudgy city.

It didn't look like much, she hadn't been lying. At least not in comparison to Vel'Anir nor Alliria but that didn't mean it should be discounted as insubstantial. It looked easily defendable and had clearly been built with long sieges in mind where the occupants would have to defend themselves against enemies. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

It was still a big task against the small group.

"If you would like an idea on what they are planning, I need to be able to touch something from that city."

 

[Talus]

"We'll be headed inside tonight." Blackforge explained quietly, glancing over towards the city for a moment as the two manticores slowly sailed down towards the ground.

His lips thinned.

"They ever teach you about the war with Kyslith?" The General asked quietly. "Bit of a sore-spot for you Dreadlords, I understand."

The war had been fought with Elbion alongside Vel Anir. The Houses had of course supported the conflict, they'd needed to, but there had been fierce competition between the College Mages and the Dreadlords. Though of course the latter would claim it was no competition at all.

"We never made it into the city. The Arch-Lector at the time disappeared and the council surrendered before we even had to. Undead armies vanished over night, necro-priests disappeared. Kind of a limp ending." He chuckled.

"Look at me, old man recounting history he wasn't even there for." His head shook. "Wasn't alive during the war, but I'll tell you what. That..."

He pointed to Kyslith. "Is a grim place."

 

[Zana]

Zana quirked a brow at that piece of information. Inside by tonight was a bold claim unless he knew of a way inside. Or was he expecting her to level an army in the blink of an eye? Her magic was strong and growing by the day, it had been since Talus had bonded them, but even she wasn't confident she could take out an entire army on her own in a few minutes.

"Not very much, it was more a footnote in history lessons," Zana murmured. Despite not knowing much about it she couldn't help but agree with Blackforge; it did feel like a grim place. Anything that involved the dead was abhorrent in her mind as it was.

She rolled her shoulders and kept the cool expression on her face in place.

"What's your strategy for getting inside? Through the front door?" her monotone voice probably sounded a little condescending and judgemental but then, she supposed, it added to the Dreadlord facade.

 

[Talus]

"Sewers." Blackforge said with no amount of irony in his voice.

The General seemed slightly amused by the thought, his head shaking back and forth as though he were conjuring some sort of secret memory. After a few seconds he flashed her a smile and looked towards where the Blackguards were landing.

"There's an inlet along the river." Or there was two hundred years ago. "We'll go through there and pop up near the palace."

He pulled a piece of parchment from his belt. "Then we use the servant's entrance on the left side."

The General unfolded the paper and then offered it to Zana.

"Kyslith isn't big on updating it's architecture." He explained. "We got this from a defector near two hundred years ago, and luckily it seems we Anirians don't like to throw things away."

Even if they were old.

The armored men slipped from their winged mounts, quickly walking over towards where the General and Dreadlord were standing.

 

[Zana]

Zana looked at the piece of parchment curiously and then reached out to take it.

A hiss escaped her teeth as her vision tilted and then --

-- the sky was filled with explosions and men and women ran here and there in a mix of emblems. Old emblems. Their armour and weapons looked ancient to Zana's mind but they were polished to perfection which indicated their owners thought of them as suitable. The dead clashed here and there, swarming over bodies no matter how much magic they used, clawing and crushing them to death. The streets were filled with blood and screams. A woman cried for help as her limbs were torn --

Zana ripped her hand away from the map and took two alarmed steps back.

"I think... it is best we get going."

 

[Talus]

Blackforge shrugged, not quite knowing every little way that Zana reacted to these things and simply folded up the map. "Square away the beasts, lads."

The General called out to his men, all four of them nodding as they quickly set about making sure the manticores would not ravage the nearby countryside. Within just a few moments all six of them were standing on the edge of the ridge.

For a few moments they lingered, and then Blackforged began their small march down the hillside.

Though they were in the midst of farmland, there were strangely no houses or anything of the sort. As they moved they would see no villages, no small settlements, nothing like what surrounded all of Vel Anir and it's lush lands.

"It's said they use the undead to farm." Blackforge said as they walked. "March them out during the day and do all the work that farmers usually do."

He chewed his lip as he spoke.

 

[Zana]

Zana eased the dragon-forged blade out of the scabbard by an inch as Blackforge spoke. After seeing how these undead worked she was keen to keep them as far away from the little group as possible. Her eyes scanned every bit of the countryside like an eagle, flickering to a tiny bit of movement to assess whether it foretold of any danger.

"That surprises me given what I saw," she said quietly. Zana had taken the position up directly after Blackforge, though she stood slightly out of his shadow so that she could put herself between him and danger should it arise. It was an automatic thing; Dreadlords were the shield of Vel'Anir. "They looked more animal than human," a small shiver ran from the top of her spine to the very bottom.

Still, even animals could do a job if trained correctly.

 

[Talus]

"Would you use the same creatures to farm as you would for war?" Blackforge asked plainly.

Farmers were sometimes called up for military service in many provinces, but it was never ideal. In Vel Anir itself one had to choose between the two. You could not be a Guardsmen and a Farmer at the same time. The policy made things difficult sometimes, but it was also important.

It kept the Guard strong, especially in times of peace when people would normally go lax upon their training. "The guile of this city shouldn't be underestimated."

That was something he had learned long ago.

They descended the fields and onto the banks of the river. Kyslith was growing larger now, it's tall black towers looming over the small group. They seemed blacker than the night itself. Things could be seen moving across the walls.

 

[Zana]

Blackforge's words were no comfort. Zana decided to sink back into her quiet watchful state instead of further the conversation; it was not providing any helpful insights into what they needed to do here. Dimly, she was aware that that was the Dreadlord training tuning her mind out. A normal person would continue the easy conversation instead of shirking from human interaction. Her lips pressed into a thin line and then shook her head dismissively; there was no point dwelling on the depths of what her training had done.

Zana's eyes tracked the figures she could see moving across the wall. It was hard to pick out details in the depths of night but she saw enough to make her hand twitch towards her sword hilt once more. The river was close, she could hear it now. The sooner they were out of the open the better.

A figure she had been watching seemed to suddenly crawl over the wall.

"I think we might have company soon."

 

[Talus]

Blackforge shrugged.

"To be expected." Kyslith was not a place that many would really think to infiltrate. The city had been for the last hundred of so years rather stagnant. It survived, but threatened now one. Not until rumors had begun to spill forth.

The General withdrew his ax from his back, motioning for the Blackguard to do the same with their weapons.

Tension passed through the party, though none of them seemed particularly bothered. All of them were seasoned warriors, and before long that one odd crawling figure that had gone across the wall returned with twelve others.

Blackforge spotted them, motioning the others towards the river. "Go, into cover until they draw near."

They still had to make it into the city.

 

[Zana]

Zana's eyes flickered repeatedly from her pathway to the figures, tracking them silently the whole time the little group hurried down the bank of the river. In her vision the creatures had been able to move at an inhuman speed and in a group they acted like a swarm when they fell on prey. She was conscious Blackforge was behind her and that it was her duty to ensure his safety. Purple energy crackled across her fingers, her magic eager and ready for the smallest command from her.

She was following the hulking men in their oddly silent armour as they wound their way down the overgrown back to the river. Soon their feet hit water and they quietly splashed their way up stream towards the tunnel she could see up ahead in the darkness. Zana quietly counted the seconds past in her mind; how long would it take a horse to reach them here from the wall? Perhaps five minutes at a gallop. How fast did these things move?

Suddenly her feet hit stone again as they passed under the tunnel archway and stepped up onto a narrow cobbled path that ran along the length of it. It was impossible to see anything ahead.

 

[Talus]

Blackforge had to bend down to fit into the small sewer tunnel, his size more than a small obstacle when it came to wandering underground. It was almost comical, the way that he had to hunch himself over in order to fit.

The other men did not fare much better, though out of all of them the General was clearly the largest and had the most difficulty.

For a few seconds the General looked around, frowning as he dug around his back pocket before pulling a small stick from his satchel. He shifted it in his palm and then handed it to one of the men. There was a soft spark, and then a glow erupted from one end of the strange device. "Glow torch, made in Elbion."

He explained then motioned to some of the soldiers.

"You go on ahead with this, Zana, with me in one of these alcoves." He motioned to the odd divits in the side of the tunnel. The intent clear. The light would act as bate, then he and Zana would slay the hunting beasts.

 

[Zana]

When Zana slid her blade from its sheath there was barely a whisper of steel against steel; a testament to how well the dwarves had forged the blade. Even in the limited light it seemed to gleam as she took her place in the alcove. The others had moved further down the tunnel and for a brief moment there was complete and utter silence as everyone waited. Zana had positioned herself in the smaller alcove directly opposite Blackforge's slightly larger one and she caught his eye as the sounds of lurching footsteps came from the entranceway.

It was a weird noise, as though someone were draggining their feet and yet trying to run at the same time, and from what Zana could tell there was a large group of them. Alongside their footfalls came a grinding of teeth and low guttural moaning noise.

Her hand tightened on her blade as they drew closer, their shadows being thrown up against the wall as they came closer to the light. The first few passed by their hiding spot and when Blackforge gave the signal Zana leaped forward, blade flashing, to slice down into two of the hellish creatures before they could even scream.

 

[Talus]

One might have thought that a man like Blackforge would fight with brutality and rage. That the stroke of his ax would come once with the strength of ten ordinary men.

There was a truth to that, but there was more.

The General burst from his alcove like a force of nature. He made no roar, gave off no sound, but swiftly moved through the undead creatures like they were trees to he felled. As Zana's blade cut through the fell beasts, Blackforge rushed the creatures like a storm.

His half-moon blade swept through skulls, dug through necks, and split torsos in half.

Blackforge moved like a man half his age, cutting through their for as though they were mats of straw instead of living creatures doing their best to kill them. Black brackish blood splattered the walls and mixed with the waters of the sewer and the General rent his way through more of the foes, his face impassive as he cut them down.

 

[Zana]

Zana put her boot on top of one of the corpses and held it down as she wrenched her blade from its gaping stomach. She barely paid it any mind though, she was watching Blackforge with growing admiration and respect. Now she knew she was a marvel to watch in the heat of battle, especially when she had her horse with her, but Blackforge was something else entirely. The way he moved a testament to his training that he hadn't succumbed to the trials of his age. She wondered, if she ever made it to his age, if she would move with half her grace still like Blackforge.

The Dreadlord drew out a piece of cloth and wiped the black blood from her blade, careful not to touch the stuff, and offered another rag to Blackforge.

"When this lot do not come back they will send more," her green eyes lingered on his for a moment as if she were about to say something else and then she looked away, past him to the light of the others. "After you, Sir. I will burn the bodies behind us."

 

[Talus]

There was an odd pale glow to the half-moon ax, and when Zana offered the rag to Blackforge she would see that none of the undead blood remained on the blade. He shook his head and waved her hand away.

"Aye." He agreed with a nod of his head.

There would always be more. It was a lesson one would have to take to heart, especially with Kyslith. This place was a plague, capable of producing endless foes and only bringing more as the days of war wore on. That was what the histories had said, and Blackforge knew it well.

With a nod of his head he moved after the others.

The light in the distance was waiting, and the members of the Blackguard stood at the exit of the sewers.

Ahead looked a massive keep, dark stone set against the skyline and highlighting with the barest splotches of light in windows. A frown settled on the Old Generals face, and as Zana approached he whispered quietly. "Don't get caught."

He told them.

"If you do. End it before they can reach you." The other soldiers nodded, as though there was no question to be asked.

 

[Zana]

Once Blackforge had moved off a little, Zana didn't set the bodies alight per see. She disintegrated them. The power had been building in her uncomfortably so, as though her body couldn't contain it or that she was fighting with herself not to use it. So now she had an opportunity to get rid of some of it she didn't hold back.

When there was nothing left of them the Luana Dreadlord wandered back along the alleyway to join the group.

Her eyes were on the looming cityscape before them and not the General when he spoke of ending their lives. Unlike the others she didn't nod in assent. Her lips pressed into a thin line and her arms crossed over her abdomen loosely.

"It will not come to that if you stay close," already the magic was building again as though it could sense the danger she was in. A keen eye would even see the purple energy running around the iris of her eyes.

With that she pushed forward into the city.

 

[Talus]

One of the soldiers shrugged at Zana's comment. Not dismissing her words, but silently signalling that they were prepared for either outcome.

The Black Guard were an entirely different breed, and the odd armor they wore did not help with their rather odd inhuman qualities. Blackforge watched them for a few moments, then shifted his weight and hefted his ax. "Let's hope so, Lass."

He said with a smile.

"It's why I brought ya." The General suppressed a small chuckle, and then motioned for them to continue on.

The streets of Kyslith were abandoned, empty despite the lamplight casting into them. The group walked slowly along the edges of the road, sticking towards the building as they approached the citadel standing far above.

From his satchel Blackforge pulled out a length of rope with a metallic hook on the end. He motioned towards the wall of the Keep, shifting so that the group would hold themselves tight against the wall as he threw the grappling hook.

 

[Zana]

Too quiet.

Even for a city of the dead it was silent. There should have been some sign of movements at least on the walls but Zana's keen eyes could see nothing from their position in the shadows. The undead were not the only things in this city either from the reports Blackforge had given them so far. So where were they? People no matter the city tended to have similar day time activities that forced them outside their stone walls.

The sound of men climbing behind her dragged her eyes back to the task at hand.

She was the last one up and with her she brought the end of the rope then tugged the hook off the brick with a little bit of force. It was best they leave no evidence of their climb.

"No patrol," the Dreadlord frowned as much as a Dreadlord ever frowned. Clearly she was unhappy about the lack of people.

 

[Talus]

He motioned towards the courtyard below. "Not on the walls."

There Zana would see what Blackforge meant.

In the courtyard below there were dozens upon dozens of strange figures. They shambled and moved oddly, their forms humanoid but a mockery of what they should have been. Corpses, hundreds of them standing and shifting about.

"Farmers by day." The General said quietly. "Alarms by night."

The figures seemed to swarm the courtyard entirely between the Central Keep and the wall, moving lazily around from one place to another.

Zombies, plain and simply. Meant as little more than a deterrent to those who would enter the Keep.

 

[Zana]

Zana couldn't suppress the shudder than ran down her spine as her eyes rested on the forms below. There was just something incredibly wrong about the undead. With effort she turned her attention away from the shambling husks and to the other walls just to ensure Blackforge was correct with his assessment. For the moment they were alone on the turrets but for how long? The group of creatures that had come after them had seen them from the walls after all - there must be more patrols.

The walls went all the way around the strange courtyard but the keep itself stood like a lonely shadow in the very centre. If they wanted to get inside they were going to have to find a way across or chance going through the zombies below. The Keep looked to be made of some smooth material so the hook would probably be of little use to them. Her eyes continued up to near the top where she spied a dark window.

"I can get us up there," Zana pointed to where she was looking. Like with most keeps, windows were only found up high where it was unlikely to have a stray arrow put through it.

 

[Talus]

Blackforge looked at Zana for a moment, then nodded his head. "Do it."

If nothing else it would breach the gap.

So far it appeared as though Kyslith was all but abandoned, though The General knew the truth. This place was unlife. There were living people still here, but they were suppressed, pushed down by the Priests and the Arch-Lector.

Freedom was not a word within the city of Kyslith.

Blackforge doubted that it would ever be. Even if the crusading armies of the Guard came through and burned this place to the ground, there was something...wrong, with the ground here itself. Though just what he could not have said.

 

[Zana]

"Very well."

Zana barely moved a muscle. The only evidence she was doing something was the slight glimmer to her eyes before the stone under their feet began to move. It was quite easy to see why the Second Level was so prized within Luana for not a sound came from the great slab of rock as it came apart from the rest of the battlement, small piece of the wall and all. No tiny bits of debris fell and gave them away, it was as though the shelf of rock had always been designed to move in such a way.

Slowly the slab began to rise into the air towards the dark window. Zana didn't dare move them at the speed she was used to in case the sensation made the others uncomfortable or ill - it was nothing like riding a horse nor owl after all. It could be quite disjointing for the average person.

Once it pulled up alongside the ledge Zana pressed her palm to the glass. Purple energy rippled over it and then the panes simply vanished in a shower of dust.

"After you."