Dreadlords You Are Digging Your Grave

[Vittoria Larrainth]

"Do not stop!"

The order was desperate as it was commanding, belonging to a Dreadlord that was not slowly weakened before being feasted upon by the creatures. Scouting missions did not often send out Initiates and Dreadlords out to the Falwood, but several reports of strangeness had been going around almost daily for the past month. A team had been sent in two weeks ago, and what they had discovered allowed a larger response to take a look into this.


"Keep running!" The voice was stronger, determined. He saw a reprieve they could afford, and called the command for the Initiates.

It was their luck that their group had made camp in an old ruin of a town that once existed in these parts of Liadain. Vittoria had heard her peers wonder if it were an elven town or one occupied by lesser fae. It did not truly pique her interest to dwell on such things, not when it was obvious no one had lived here for centuries. There were only a fair few buildings left standing and appropriate for them to find shelter in to sleep, but one night could not pass without a blood-curdling scream waking them all in the night.

Chaos erupted throughout their camp. They were far too spread out, and only three Dreadlords and four Initiates were in the same area for Ophir to direct to one of the larger buildings in the area. Vittoria reckoned it used to be a manor home, with the garden estate at the rear of the property now one with the Falwood. From here, they entered the home made from stone, wooden supports and beams rotted and waiting to collapse in the next storm.

Her side felt as if it would tear apart, but Vittoria pushed herself, willed herself to run and make it past those doors. She had such a speed on her that she did not register how soon she would crash into a mossy wall, but even that sharp pain could not be felt over the burning of her lungs and protest in her legs. Fear of the unknown. None of them knew what it was they were running from, but Vittoria replayed the image of the creatures running on all fours before standing on their hind legs, looking almost humanoid save for the abnormal shape of their heads.

It felt like a risk to breath, to catch her breath.

Were they even safe here?

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

There were plenty of creature stories told to young children about beasts that went bump in the night to make them mind. Most of them, where Vel Anirian children were concerned, originated from the Falwood in order to maintain the appearance that only horror lived within. Kilien knew better than to believe such stories, but it didn't stop his own feet from scrambling to keep up with Vittoria who was proving to be much faster than he'd thought she could be.

He'd made it through the doors mere moments after her, brown hair wildly strewn about eyes wide and white as he nearly ate-dirt in an attempt to turn and hold the door for the others behind him.

"Come on - COME ON GET IN!" his yell did not carry as far as he hoped through the heady air of the Falwood, but he stood ready to slam the door shut and block it as soon as the last of them cleared the entrance.

So much for a simple scout mission. This was far more than any of them bargained for.

 

[Norah]

Norah's fair skin never looked so pale. Brown and dark leathers sticking to her skin like the thick air around them. Her lithe form slipped through the door Basmarc held open after his shout. The brown-headed girl had been lucky tonight. Those around her?

Not so much.

The scream of the guard behind her hadn't lasted long before it had gone silent with a squishy-crunching sound. Another guard in front of her had tripped and, well, that was that. Her shoulder thumped lightly against the mossy wall Vittoria nearly ran through. And for a moment, the shadows of the house edged closer to Norah - reaching and eager.

"Did you see their eyes?" She managed after pulling some air into her lungs.

 

[Cormund Augur]

Cormund ran like hell, tears lightly stinging his eyes. His visions were being agreeable lately, and he was given inklings of exactly where not to step. The screams of the damned in his ears rang out both in reality and in his senses. Only the gods know why he was invited on this mission, maybe precisely because they didn't think things would be going quite this wrong.

The raven haired boy dived for the door held open by his classmate and now almost savior. He was bringing up the rear and felt something cut into his calf. Maybe he caught it on something, but in his mind it was no doubt the claws of something just on their heels. Cormund was the last, just barely making it through the door as it shut behind him.

He lay there on the floor giving panting, heaving breaths. He tried to wipe the tears from his eyes but they just kept coming, even if they weren't accompanied by any sobs.

"Gods, but did I see the eyes... horrible, horrible things..."

Cormund wouldn't be rising from that musty floor for a good long while.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria was not going to chance anything reaching them. With a surge of magic, she sent it out the door Kilien held open. A series of chittering could be heard and Vitt pushed the door closed with Kilien's help, latching it closed to buy them some time. She looked to Kilien for a brief moment, looking as if she were to say something before Ophir began to pick up those who made it inside off the floor.

"Up! Get up!" Dreadlord Ophir roused them all, and was quick to walk through the room and into a dark hallway. "And whatever you do from now on, do not use magic."

Vitt hardened her face. It was all she could do as she made to move after the Dreadlord that worked with Initiates the most in this coming year. To help them become ready for after graduation.

She passed Norah, giving her a flick of her gaze before looking to Cormund. "I do not know what you both saw, but those things out there hunt in packs. They have no eyes."

She did not wish to say it aloud, hoping there was a chance she was wrong. But she saw what dasked behind Cormund and wounded him, had seen the way one of the unlucky Dreadlords further back fell victim to.

"Move!" Ophir bellowed, and Vittoria ushered her classmates to follow after the two other remaining Dreadlords that did not wait around for the door to break down behind them.

The group moved through the hall, slowing their pace in order to better hear what was happening on the outside. The manor had seen better days, but the roof and ceilings held true despite the many gaping holes in some walls of the place. "I can't be sure what is attacking our camp, but best we caution and not use magic. If it is what I think they---"

"Kraits." Vittoria interjected. "I saw them."

Ophir swore. "Kraits hunt on sensing magic. They know where we are, but magical traces would lead them straight to us. Who here is injured? We're going to find a secure spot to rest a moment and tend to wounds."

 

[Cormund Augur]

"No eyes?" Cormund stared at his hands, what he saw almost as burned into his vision as the sight of the doomed. "I-I guess they didn't have them, but it felt like they were staring right into me..." The initiate shuddered. He had never felt so hunted before, encountering his natural predator in the wild.

He quickly got to his feet, limping slightly with the gash in his calf. He followed the group as he talked.

"No Magic? I'm-I'm practically a magical beacon, I can't turn this off!" The Doomsayer pointed to his piercing teal eyes. "The best I can do is avoid saying any prophecies out loud, I hope that's enough..." Secretly, he was a bit glad to avoid the dehydration that came with stating his visions aloud.

Cormund raised his hand sheepishly when Ophir asked for the injured, and made his way towards whatever temporary triage they were setting up. Too bad healing magic was out of the question.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Don't use magic. Right. Well, that was easy.

For him.

Kilien peeled himself away from the door after checking it was properly locked, giving it a hairy second glance on the thought that it still might not hold up to whatever those things were. Kraits, according to Vittoria. He had no idea what a Krait was and he'd not gotten a good look at any of them - among the Initiates, Kilien was the sort to put self preservation before bravado when it counted.

Taking up the rear as the group moved deeper into the manor, the dire circumstances of their situation continued to slowly unveil themselves. His eyes followed Cormund and his lamentations, wondering if there was anything in his own arsenal of parlor tricks, as King so thoughtfully put them, that could help.

"I... know a spell to mask one's presence for a short time," he offered to Ophir, "it's quick and unconcentrated - shouldn't draw their attention too much. I could also set some lures to distract them from us."

 

[Norah]

Maybe it was a glint of moonlight off their carapace.

No magic?

Norah grimaced but silently trailed after Cormund Augur. Then let the space grow between them as he talked about being unable to turn it off. The slight, shorter girl became a shadow next to @Vittoria. Others eyed the other initiate warily but Norah walked as closely to the other girl as if she could trust a dagger not to suddenly slit her throat.

Her thumb brushed the outline of the coin in her pocket.

There were thieves tunnels around here. Norah would recognize the entrance of one if she could get back outside. It was a gamble for how close they were. She'd just have to find the right opportunity to slip away. She had a feeling staying together would only paint a larger target on their backs.

"Maybe we should split up," she offered to Ophir.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Ophir spoke before Vittoria could twist the knife into Cormund's lack of control.

"Do it." He said to Basmarc. "And the lures. Buy us enough time to make a plan here."

"Maybe we should split up." Came the words of the smaller Initiate. Ophir looked at the four present Initiates and gritted his teeth. He turned to the other Dreadlords, two others beside him. Third Levels.

Their exchange was wordless. How many times had Ophir said he was in charge of the Initiates? They both moved on, scouting ahead.

Vittoria met his gaze. "Kraits are resistant to magical attacks." She stated simply.

"But destructive magic can slow them down." He answered.

Vittoria smiled. It chilled him.

"Then we best patch up the dead weight and get moving." Her gaze settled on Cormund.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

"Yes Sir," Kilien drawled while simultaneously procuring his wand from the inner pocket of his coat. The worn handle secured within his fingers, his boots quickly brought him to Cormund Augur's side. If they wanted his wound to be healed quickly it would require magic - either by potion or spell which would do exactly the opposite of what they needed right now.

The masking spell would have to come first.

"Hey Augie," Kil offered his fellow Initiate a wane smile that he hoped would calm his nerves a bit, "gonna get you fixed up but first need to mask you. Hold still a minute."

With wand raised just before Cormund's head and his free hand lightly furling open in a gesture towards his figure, Kilien closed his eyes and silently began the incantation within his own mind. The wand tip gave off a faint glow the color of strained peaches as he slowly began to sweep it side to side, criss-crossing the air before the boy's face and then-

THWACK - tapped him sharply with the end on the center of his forehead. The whole casting took no longer than a few seconds.

A sensation like an egg being broken over his head, its contents flowing down over top would follow as the spell washed over him. A light scent of burnt hair wafted through.

"There," he said as he clapped a hand on Cormund's shoulder, "try not to have any prophetic sneezes, okay?"

 

[Cormund Augur]

Most of Cormund's nervousness or pain seemed to disappear when Kilien called him 'Augie'. No one has ever called him that before, but he was more taken aback than annoyed. It made Cormund's mind blank enough that he just followed the wand back and forth across his field of vision. It was really almost mesmeriz-

"OW!"

Cormund held his forehead, then shuddered at the strange feeling enveloping his body. He felt sticky.

"Um, yes no prophetic sneezes or anything like that. I don't really speak them on accident anyways..."

He hadn't really interacted with Kilien much, but wondered why he needed a wand to do magic. Maybe it was just for style, which would be something he could get behind. Superficial thoughts left his mind quickly as he heard the faint skittering outside. Were they trying to find a way in?

"Let's just please do this quickly, I don't want the dead weight comment to become literal."

 

[Norah]

If it came down to leaving Cormund behind to save her own skin Norah would not hesitate. She'd do it to any of them. Her dark eyes briefly landed on all those present.

Yes, any of them.

She moved on near silent footsteps as she walked with the rest of them. She forced her fingers to leave her pockets and the coins that lay there. "Do you need help with the lures?" The short, smaller girl appeared next to Basmarc with the question shot in the air between them. "I know a way we might be able to travel quickly and unopposed."

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Ophir clapped Basmarc at the back of his shoulder and hurried all four Initiates along.

Vittoria took point. If there was a threat coming at them, she was their first bet at slowing them down with her magic. Even if she could not obliterate them as a whole, at least she could buy them time to work together and cull them one by one.

From her lower back, she scratched past her skin to the concealed sheaths that kept her two largest knives. Her sword was back in her tent, out of reach, but there was always truth in that Vittoria was a walking weapon.

She led the group of Initiates and Ophir towards a large hall that had seen better days in centuries passed. Vittoria stopped, motioning for all to do the same. Ophir knew it as soon as he entered the room, and in a hushed voice told thembto stay quiet and slowly move back out the door.

But she did not move. Vittoria's eyes fixed on a creature at the opposite end of the room, prowling. If there was one, there was sure to be more nearby. Taking a quick second to look behind her, she nudged Kilien. "Your lures. Can you lead them all somewhere else in our camp?" They all did not know who else in their unit had survived, how many were fighting back. "Somewhere that can buy all of us time?"

The Initiates were at an disadvantage being stuck inside this dilapidated manor, unable to gain insight of their surrounds trapped within these walls.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

"If you're offerin'," Kilien nodded to Norah as he and the others were herded along the corridor by Ophir. His feet skidded to a stop just short of Vittoria as they entered the larger chamber, nose twitching and eyes setting keenly on the moving silhouette of a creature at the other end.

Kilien didn't take his eyes off it as his head craned to listen to Vitt, giving another nod of affirmation, "Aye - can lead them wherever you want."

In the opposite direction of where they needed to go would likely be the best place.

"Ready when you are, Norah."

 

[Cormund Augur]

It was a bit disappointing that Kilien's spell didn't suppress his visions, but he was glad to no longer be a walking homing beacon for those things. Cormund had little time to dwell though, as Ophir and Vittoria ushered them on. He limped on without complaining, even though he still hadn't been patched up yet. He might be able to power through it if he needed to run, but he didn't know for how long. Looking behind him as he shuffled along, the trail of blood he left certainly didn't bode well.

Cormund stayed silent for fear of announcing any prophecies as he witnessed their comrades ripped apart in his head over and over. The sight of the Krait in front of them caused him to freeze in his tracks, and grip the throwing knives strapped to his thigh.

Not that they would do him any good. Gods he hoped this lure plan worked.

 

[Norah]

Norah glanced to the right as they walked. There was an old stone chimney there. She couldn't be sure but she thought she might've seen...

She came to a sharp halt as the other initiates did the same. Eyes snapped upward to the Krait. It was on two legs - one of the larger ones. A good six feet tall with its black skeletal frame almost disappearing into the wall it was prowling along.

Of course, anything seemed taller to the petite initiate.

Norah made sure to keep Vittoria between herself and that creature. A half glance back wishing she could do the same with Cormund Augur. Her delicate nose could pick up that tiny prick of blood he trailed. She clutched a small, crescent-shaped blade in her left hand and her arm tensed for a moment. Picturing how easy it would be to stab him and leave him as a lure.

She forced her arm to relax and nodded to Kilien Basmarc. A silent motion back over her shoulder to that chimney. Without taking her eyes off that creature, she'd backtrack and pause back in front of the stone. There. A small symbol that would be invisible to most right on the stone. Reaching up, she pressed it inward and there was a groan that made her stiffen as the stones began to move and open up into a dark passage.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

"Lure them south of here. That side of the settlement we have not occupied, and perhaps that will buy us enough time to reassemble." Ophir nodded to Kilien. He looked to Cormund next, shoving a roll of cloth into his chest and growled for him to bind his hand tight.

Vittoria still did not look away from the krait.

She knew they traveled in packs, and that another would be nearby. Unable to use her magic to get a sense of how many of them prowled around them, she resorted to visual confirmation.

"Three..." She breathed. For in the darkness, two more joined the first.

The dark passageway was their only exit from here, and soon as it opened entirely, there was now a pack of five present in the hall.

"What if... I lure these ones to the hall. I can tear down the walls and ceiling, crush them and slow them down."

Ophir swore beneath his breath, looking at Vittoria then the number of clicking creatures within the hall. It was a risk, but effective.

"No. Allow Basmarc to take care of it. Cover our retreat with a lure, and only as a last resort will we use your magic, Larrainth." Sidelined again. It seemed every time he was paired with the young Initiate, he never approved her magic to get them out easily.

Always the last restort.

"Get into the passage. Stop when we get to a crossroad."

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Travel quickly and unopposed.

Kilien wasn't super familiar with Norah's magical abilities, but he'd learned not to second guess the Initiates in the school. Best to just assume they were all masters of their craft and just agree to whatever suggestion was made - questioning usually only lead to drama. Boots backpedaled across the stone floors, following Norah's movement toward the hearth and stopped himself from suggesting the use of Flue Travel as a joke.

Now isn't the time for jokes, Basmarc, he could practically hear Vitt saying in the back of his mind.

Watching with some small amount of wonder as a secret passage opened up, Kil felt his jaw go slack, "How did you even..." there wasn't time. He should his head and gestured for Norah to go first, "Lead the way."

 

[Cormund Augur]

Cormund tensed a bit seeing Norah's arm twitch. Gods, he did not want to be a sacrifice right now. The secret passage opening baffled him a little bit, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He listened to his superior Ophir, filling into the passage without so much as a missed beat, not even waiting for Norah. The boy didn't even realize in his haste to get away from the things behind him that he was now leading into whatever danger could be ahead.

The doomsayer looked left and right, and it seemed as if the passage was too narrow to switch it up now without some obvious effort, and he didn't want to look like a complete coward. The boy just figured he'd continue until a crossroads like Ophir told him.

He decided to turn to Norah after getting far enough to fit everyone, whispering to her in the damp darkness.

"Do you know where this leads? I got a bit eager and I'm not sure where exactly we're going."

Cormund looked ahead to the pitch blackness and then looked back

"Also, do any of you have a torch on you that you could pass to the front? I think if anyone uses a light spell it would be a death sentence."

Norah

 

[Norah]

"How did you even..."

The slight girl looked on the verge of telling him something. Then thought better of it. Then winced as the injured and loud initiate joined them. She squeezed past Cormund and took his non-injured hand and put it against the rocky-wall until his fingers would hit a small carved-out pattern. A line of raised bumps. Then her finger went to her lips in a clear shush gesture.

"Feel the way," she said quietly. If someone else had a torch that was fine, too. But these tunnels were designed to use other senses. To those who knew what to look for and what they meant.

With her hand along the wall, she began heading south like Ophir instructed. She couldn't see a hand in front of her face it one was there. She relied on the feel of the curving wall. The slope of the rough floor beneath her boots. Free hand gripped the hilt of a slim dagger. Grip tightening as they walked further until the slope of the floor began to curve upward, signaling an exit.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria had turned quiet, the dangerous point about her. It meant her mind was alive with thoughts, assessing their situation as if she were the one calling the shots. Ophir had found an interior trigger that closed the tunnel behind them, submerging them all into darkness. They all shuffled quietly for what seemed an age, until Vittoria heard Cormund speak.

Without magic, without light, it was hard to determine where they should go. There was no use looking at compasses, not when the darkness swallowed all sight.

She could feel Ophir behind her, breathing steadily as he too thought of what to do next. He would not be able to feel the earth without tapping into the reserves of magic he possessed.

"Do you feel a breeze? An indication that there is an opening, somewhere?" She asked softly. Vittoria did not care if Ophir would over rule her, perhaps he may suggest they split and take either direction, but the Dreadlord remained silent. Good. "My instinct tells me we should go left."

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Apparently Kilien was the only one in the party with dark vision. Soon as he stepped into the blackness of the tunnel his eyes shifted under a set of quick blinks to pale, moony orbs. While it did not allow him to see in color, not fully, he had no problem navigating the narrow pass and its winding structure.

When the group slowed to a halt at a split, he pushed himself past Cormund as carefully as he could in order to join Norah just at her back.

One joint hall lead left, the other right. He was not easily lost, and it was here that they would split in order to achieve the original plan.

"Vittoria's correct," he spoke up as he glanced back at the others, eyes flashing, "go left. Norah and I will go right and draw the beasts to us on the other side of the compound."

 

[Cormund Augur]

"Right, who needs light" Cormund whispered.

He felt his way along the wall, and shuffling his feet so as not to trip over anything. As usual, he didn't need light to see his visions, even being able to clearly know what was happening in places he knew was dark. It was a bit like knowing a fact in a dream that you have absolutely no reason to believe. Cormund shifted himself right as he saw a vision of him tripping over a crack and breaking his nose.

He focused on those speaking behind him, gathering that there was a split in the path. Kilien suggested he go with Ophir and Vittoria to the left.

"I don't mind that plan. Be careful, though. D-don't go becoming krait food."

He especially didn't mind that plan considering he felt like Norah was absolutely willing to sacrifice him if need be. Left he went as he felt his way along the wall, keeping ears as open as he could despite the constant noise in his head.

 

[Norah]

Norah absolutely would sacrifice Cormund Augur.

The rogue could only hear the others. She couldn't offer luck because that would activate her magic. Fingers trailed on the tunnel walls as she turned right, her ears picking up the footsteps of their companions disappearing the other way. Their tunnel slope upwards. The light of the moon finally providing some light to Norah's eyes, illuminating the shadow of a door.

She didn't need to turn around and remind Killien to be quiet. He seemed...sensible. Fingers trailed along the wall until she found the mechanism to open the door in front of them with a small click. They'd exit from the trunk of a large tree this time. Other trees stood around them like shadowy guardians and through a small break was a field showing the structure they'd just come from across that field.

"How fast can you run, Basmarc?"

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria wished she could see Kilien in the dark, to pierce him with a look that conveyed the words she would not say aloud. You best not become krait food.

They parted ways.

Vittoria, Ophir, and Cormund went left, and after a few minutes, they found a door. Fortunately, it opened with ease, sliding to reveal that it in fact had been a concealed door. The stone had been tough to move without Ophir's magic, but with combined strength they all left the passageway and into a room that looked out onto an overgrown terrace.

The only thing was that there was one lone krait they could see, but theu were a creature that hunted in packs. It could not be alone and taking it down may even attract more to them.

"Do not advance. We need to trust that the others can draw them away... then we move." Ophir set his jaw, ready to move back into the passageway if they needed to.