“The battles around Marsun have grown fiercer as of late. Scouts report the deployment of more demonic siege engines and ever growing swarms of undead as casualties from the rest of Ingramar continue to pour in. More worringly, there have been sightings of demonic entities that have not yet been subject to proper documentation and as such, we find ourselves with an increasing lack of information on how to combat this threat. Reports from the…”

  - Inquisitor Julian Hastor, Northern Observation Reconnaissance Group, “Letter To Saintsrest”

  The armed column made its way through the initial parts of the Mistveil without much fuss. The thick treelines encroached ever more menacingly over the main road that had been cut like a deep gash through the forest. Dense fog dimmed the edges of their vision as they wispy mist flitted in and out between the trees.

  Sir Taurox led the advance, the minotaur appearing almost completely at ease in the increasingly dense brush. The rest of them followed with a mixture of horses, armored wagons and a single supply wagon containing hastily assembled barricades and cover for their base camp. Janos and Mila meanwhile, managed to scramble an additional detachment of four templars that were stationed in the Rosengart duchy and free at the time of their departure. A hasty if much appreciated addition to the expedition.

  There was little time for goodbyes back at the estate. The tension of having to deal with the dangers of the Mistveil had draped the estate in a cloud of unease that saw most staffers and comrades exchanging only brief words before departure. At least it had been an efficient one not marred by any complaints from Theodore since they had reluctantly allowed him and his retinue to accompany them on the expedition. He brought with him a small force of four other nobles and a dozen knights that served as their bodyguards. A sizable, unwelcome, but useful contribution to the expedition’s manpower, or so Sir Taurox had reasoned. Sophie just hoped that he wouldn’t try anything stupid to jeopardize anyone's safety for the sake of glory or whatever it was that he actually wanted to accomplish by tagging along.

  At least the only noteworthy thing Sophie could note so far were stray undead in the distance. Shambling skeletons and emaciated rotting zombie-like creatures listlessly wandering between the deeper recesses of the forest. No sense of cohesion or grand plan like the ones she had fought before. Not even worthy of a scout or two to quickly dispatch them. Monsters left to eternally wander in the accursed woods until either nature or something else would finally dispatch them. A grim fate for the lost and the damned whom even the darker forces that haunt the Mistveil have left behind.

  A somber reminder of the evil that still lurked within the woods. And of the unfortunate end that awaited those who fell within the cursed woods. Sophie grimly wondered if she would end up recognising any of the faces that she would end up seeing in the city though quickly disabused herself of the notion. In this respect, she could only hope they had already been laid to rest during the siege or the inquisition.

  Death and killing were things she had just come to accept having to do what she does. After all, her hands had already been stained indirectly by the loss of so many. Even more directly by the cultists in Saclia and how it had been her or them. The difference was that they weren’t known to her, just entities that she could rationalize as ‘hostile beings’ and come to terms with the lives that she had taken. If it came down to someone that I knew… she carefully nursed the thought and shook her head. She could only hope that it didn’t come to that. She still didn’t know if she would hesitate in landing a blow otherwise.

  Sophia and Elaria on the other hand, had less qualms about such things. Sophia was, naturally, a shadow born creature. And though she had experienced her own tragedies, she seemed the type to be more than willing to do what must be done whatever the cost. Elaria meanwhile, had gone through something similar to Sophie herself, if her recountings of the far frontiers in the wild lands of Traxia were any sign. An experience about having to fight off crazed tribesmen that were chasing her and Raylani, forcing the two of them to kill. Though in Raylani’s case, she had already told the group that she had served as an assassin and gladiatrix before, leaving little room for ambiguity for her own inclinations. Whereas someone like Mila, Sophie understood that the girl’s role came with its own expectations to fulfill and she hadn’t failed them yet.

  Her main concern aside from herself, ironically, was not anyone from the party. Rather, it was with Eva and her saints. The outlanders were a strange bunch, stranger still that they had been forced to be here. As a matter of fact, she had slowly come to learn that they were not too unlike an ordinary person except imbued with blessings from the Gods. Otherwise they had their own lives, their own way of being, and certainly if Eva’s stories had been anything to go by, mostly avoidant of war or conflict. To be thrust into a situation like this… at least the undead are unfeeling and uncaring. Still, at some point they might still run into people. A grim thought but one that she knew she could do nothing about.

  Where the birdsong and noises of wildlife filled the forests of Carrador with a relaxing melody that sang harmoniously with the soft rustling of the trees under the gentle mountain breezes. Here, there was no such calm. Only an unending silence broken by the occasional snap of a branch or shifting leaves from the few creatures that actually called this damp hell home.

  Here, in the fog covered woods of the Mistveil, even the sun itself has shirked its duties. The fading light left the land in an uncertain haze. As if it couldn’t decide between being daytime or submerging itself in the sickly grayness of it all.

  From the front of the convoy, Sir Taurox came to a halt. The minotaur holding up a hand to stop the rest of them. He then outstretched it to the side before moving it towards the ground, a signal for the group.

  Raylani gave Sophie an affirmative nod that she would remain in the wagon with the reins and Sophie hopped off the side alongside Sophia. The two of them joined the now dismounted saints and a handful of templars as they took their places around the front of the convoy. Forming a wedge-like formation with two trailing columns with the minotaur at the spear tip, Taurox waited for a few moments before gesturing for an advance once more.

  Wordlessly, the forward squadron took their places and moved forwards. The literal tip of the spear, they were to help sweep any low threat undead from the roads to ensure that the horses did not get spooked. While also taking the time to scan the immediate terrain for traps or ambushes so that the supply wagon would be able to proceed unfettered.

  Unfortunately, it also meant they were getting close to the farm that they were supposed to set up base camp at. When she looked around however, all she saw were more woods, mist, and nothingness. Scarcely any sign of what could even be considered farm related.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Though in her case, she barely even knew what the city looked like from the outside. All she remembered was finally coming back into her mind within the walls because Annalise and the others had escorted her to the infirmary after some less than friendly fire. The only other time she had gotten a glimpse of the place was from Maud’s tavern from atop one of the higher points. Even then, it had been clouded by a flurry of emotions and panic at finding herself in this strange environment.

  Pushing up the main road, the group fortunately ran into little resistance. Only twice did the shambling dead disturb them. Both times Sir Taurox deftly dispatched them. The greataxe that he wielded delivered both a terrible strike that could cleave zombies in two while also carrying forth his own sheer power from the blow that shattered a skeleton into bone dust.

  In what felt like an agonizingly slow advance despite the lack of the undead, they eventually broke from the treeline to emerge onto a vast clearing in the middle of the woods. A break in the forest that would almost seem unnatural if not for the signs of civilization gradually appearing along the path. Desecrated wayshrines, ruined buildings, even a few ashen stained bits of roadway that the mist had not been able to wash away. All reminders of a place that once was now lost.

  The road took them on a few twists and turns. The end result of now destroyed siege trenches and emplacements. A sign that the mass of undead that had brought the fortress city low were not just mere creatures, but monsters under the direction of some more malevolent thinking mind. Though she hoped it wasn’t the case, only one such entity floated around in her mind. Arantos.

  Shaking the thought of the death god from her mind. She kept her sights back onto her surroundings. She didn’t like it. Things were too quiet, and when operations were going smoothly for extended periods of time. It usually meant one of two things. Either the rest of it would go well, or the danger that lay ahead would be far worse than they would have expected, no in between.

  After a few more minutes of walking, they finally crested over a rocky outcropping that remained untouched by the war that ravaged the city. One of the templars moved to wave down the long stretch of road to signal the rest of the convoy, the Carradorian knights blowing a soft whistle to signal their acknowledgement of the situation.

  Sophie and Sophia split off with Mila to patrol the left most flank closest to the woods. The other templars took up the wedge to continue sweeping forwards, while Eva and the saints held the right. From the rear, the knights of the Order of Red Hawks both monitored Sophie from the road, while also serving as the final buffer and eyes for the rest of the convoy.

  Only their boot steps, clatter of armor, and horse hooves echoed in the forest. An eerie almost lonely sensation creeping up Sophie’s back the longer they spent here. Unlike most times that she’d felt this way however, this time, the spell wasn’t shattered. Only the creaking of wooden wagon wheels joining the muffled chorus as they made ever so slightly more progress forwards.

  She could just about see it now. The tops of the fortress walls in the distance. It shocked her all the more that the tract of land occupied by Eichafen had been a part of such a vast clearing in the normally thick Mistveil. What she saw however, brought her mood back down readily enough in mere moments.

  Crumbling spires, blown apart walls, and a layer of ash grey soot that seemed to cling over everything. The damp cloying sensation of the mist that surrounded them now felt ever more pervasive than she had ever remembered it being. In its own way, it reminded her of the sickly humidity of the deep below. And that was an experience she wished to simply leave behind.

  “I don’t like this.” Mila muttered, the first words that any of the three had traded since they began the advance.

  “Too quiet?” Sophie offered.

  “Yeah. Something like that. Feels like the moment we go into town all hells will break loose.” Mila scowled.

  “I know what you mean.” Sophie mumbled.

  The two shared a knowing look and Sophie could finally put a word to her feelings. Dread. She dreaded going back into the Mistveil, and dreaded the idea of even visiting Eichafen. But perhaps most of all, she dreaded what she might find within.

  “It’s like we’re walking into a tomb.” Sophia snarkily added, "A tomb with dead people inside who we already know want to kill us."

  The two glanced at her but said nothing. She was right.

  Eichafen was a tomb for the people who perished within it. One that had been then put to the flame by the Inquisition. Yet despite having been there, even Sir Taurox believed that there were more things lurking in the darkness of the rubble. Things that they would likely find if they truly wished to pry out the secrets of the city’s last days.

  “Do you think we’ll find them?” Sophia continued.

  “Hmm?” Sophie let out a confused grunt.

  “Remnants of the Crows. Otto and Nyria.” Her twin didn’t elaborate further.

  “You know their names.” Sophie whispered in surprise.

  “Of course. Because you remember. Naturally, I would know as well.” Sophia stated matter-of-factly.

  “The suspected traitors?” Mila queried.

  “Mhmm. Or so the rumors and reports went. But…” Sophie muttered.

  “Anyone who could’ve given accurate reports probably died in the fighting.” Mila finished for her.

  ‘Yeah.”

  “Well, you signed us up for this. So I suppose we’ll find out one way or another. Let’s just hope things aren’t as troublesome as it was back in Melton, eh?”

  “Heh. I suppose.” Sophie sighed, “Is it really that difficult for things to just go smoothly?”

  “Knowing our luck?” Mila scoffed, “Just a tad.”

  “Mmm.” Sophie grunted.

  The three settled into another long silence as they took to their task. Pushing forward that much more so that they finally had the farmstead in sight.

  Contrary to her expectations based on the countryside so far. There was a strange serenity where the farmstead lay. Though the fields around it were barren and churned into mulch from when armies marched past. The main compound itself stood surprisingly resilient. Two tired but otherwise normal looking barns held strong while three half destroyed houses sat nearby as hollowed husks of their former selves. Still, all in all, the farmstead could be considered standing in the loosest sense of the word. Certainly more serviceable than the decaying ruins of the city walls just beyond the reach of its fields.

  There, large gaps in the stonework and collapsed guard towers spoke of a brutal fight that had taken place. Sophie still remembered witnessing the early stages of the city’s bombardment by the besieging undead. How the rapidity of the undead’s assault had seemed to catch the city’s defenders on the back foot. Even if they recovered quickly enough by the time she had departed the city with Riza to rendezvous with Annalise’s expedition at the Myndiri ruins.

  Now this expedition’s headed for a ruined city. How things repeat. Sophie let out a low grunt.

  The clitter clatter of horses stole her away from her thoughts. With the way ahead cleared, the Carradorian knights raced forward to help secure the area. Behind them, the supply wagons rolled forward, templars and Theodore’s retinue maintaining a defensive posture around them.

  Safe for now, Sophie felt some of the tension leave her body. Yet not all of it. For the closer they got to entering the city, the less she could see of the future. Only a dark haze that now threatened to cloud her mind. Goddess keep us safe.