บท 286: CHPT 286: Cries to one, Song to Another. Disbelief to All...
Pellets of rain splashed against his fur like liquid bullets, running off of him soaked in blood and dirt from the violent path he cut into the world on the outside.
He continued moving, faster and faster, drawn by the shrieks and screams of something inhuman. Laced within their cries, a similar feeling of violence radiated.
There were no longer questions filling his mind. Lunar Magic sometimes had that affect on the reasonable mind. He simply moved with the creatures of the wild. As a unit, they blasted across the moonlit glimmering highlands towards the forests and groves in the distance.
One moment they'd be calmly under the cover of darkness. Just a legion of glowing eyes and shimmering fur. Then, the constantly moving network of clouds above would be split by the repeated cries in the distance, splashing them in pure moonlight. At the front, Claude bounded with a predatory focus intertwining with his already hybridized looks. All around him, beings held the same look. Long legged Wolves made for speed and endurance. Foxes.....Coyotes...Dogs and Hybrid Canines. Varying species of Felines mixed into the moving unit, moving with a natural level of grace while the Snakes below them zig zagged with a speed boosted by Wild Magic.
Above them all, a flock of all manner of birds rode the icy harsh wind currents, casting gusts of wind and rainfall down on them with their heavy wing-beats.
They covered mound after mound and blew past valleys until the shrieks left his mind with a pulsing dull headache and the smell of waterlogged wood flooded his nose.
They were close. He didn't know to what....but he knew he was. They all did. The sounds of tired panting and huffing disappeared in the blink of an eye. Footfalls became more controlled, and heads hung low to the floor as they all stepped into their respective means of stealth and absolute sensory alertness.
Soon enough, the entrance to the forest welcomed them in all its vast and somber glory.
At the bottom of the last mound-- that was almost mountainous, the forest greeted them no more than a dozen feet out.
Like the rest of the Tangent, it was gloomy-- yet ethereal and breathtaking all at the same time.
Barren oak trees lined a lonely path. The network of their ligneous limbs formed a dome overhead that cast the place into deeper shadows. Despite the absolute darkness of the place, a thick sheet of glowing fog hovered like a low-hung cloud over the ground, making the path below unseen. Even in the darkness, it shined with the faintest remnants of a blue glow that permeated through the rest of the dark forest.
"AHHHHH!"
Another scream rattled his mind and the fog churned and bubbled with a magical intensity.
Claude shook the rain off his fur and stood up on two legs, scenting the air once again cautiously. The scent of Heroes welcomed him, worlds stronger than the old scent he smelled when he entered the place. They'd only recently entered the forest.
Now though, another scent slithered into his nose. Something cold...damp-- gloomy, like the world around him. Dark and Magical...lacking all heat. He could only use one word to describe the scent. Death-- not a dead body, not a rotting corpse or even the expulsion of blood that comes with the act. Just the simple dark and cold state of undoing. Death.
A shiver rattled his spin as he anticipated another shrill of pain from either human or monster. Nothing.
The silence urged him onward, towards the churning fogged grounds of the lonely and endless path.
The first step submerged his foot into waterlogged grass, sinking into the cold stillness of water. It felt good on his pawed feet, it cooled his entire being allowing him to think clearer than usual.
As soon as his other foot entered the forest, sounds returned. A familiar sound at that.
While the humans within and Arne yelled out in pain as if their eardrums were about to burst, Claude stood frozen, taking in the beautiful sounds with the animals at his back.
It was the same as before. Such a beautiful and dark sound. Loneliness, beauty, pure and smooth chorus that spoke of impending doom...and yet, it fell on his ears as lightly as rainfall.
"What is that?"
"[...Erhm. Careful, Banshee's cries like that are only heard when they are about to kill someone or death is near...]"
Immediately, with his reasonable mind in tact, he moved. Now led by the idea that the Heroes were in danger. But, at the back of his mind, he continued to wonder why he was the only one that liked the sound.
In seconds, he was off. As they moved deeper into the forest. The beautiful tones heightened, snaking through the trees and down the twisting path lined by rivers and pockets of ponds to fall on his ears. The pained shrills that he once heard were a distant memory as the dark song radiated through the forest and called to him.
After a mile or so, the fog began to lessen, moving as if it were being swept away to the outer reaches of the forest. It didn't take him long to realize why. His ears caught it before his eyes did.
"God dammit! These fuckers are louder than i imagined!"
"Yea no kidding. Got anymore earplugs?? Mine aren't working."
"They don't work at all, you dunce! Piece of shit products were a scam. Just keep at it."
Claude caught the tailend of a conversation between two people around the curve in the path. But, based on the sounds of violent movements and cluttered breathes. He'd say there were four.
A relatively legitimate team if he could guess. The one that was called a dunce sounded large. He had a bellowing voice that sounded like it came from a barrel-wide torso and a meaty face. A Tank. The other man-- his voice was stern, commanding in tone with the confidence that laced it. His dominant demeanor and way of speech made him think he was a leader-- but not a defender in a physical sense. Swordsman of sorts-- maybe even an Archer or Mage. A shot caller from the distance sort.
"Could you guys please calm down. We need to get this over with. Randall this better work."
"Woman....a little feisty--- maybe they're all friends. She's also naturally trying to refocus and alleviate the group...Healer maybe."
"[I'd say so. W-- ah!....Damn noise. Erhm. Well done. I ....uhh....I didn't know you had such well honed deduction skills, Claude.]" Arne said as he tried to speak over what he heard as spine tingling shrieks.
Claude snapped out of his own mind for a moment, realizing he was on all fours and waiting like a Tiger in the long-grass. "I didn't know I did either. I don't even know what I'm doing...or why I'm hesitating to look...."
When he spoke his voice shook with fear-- starling him further. The feeling wasn't a natural sense of fear-- but a strong hesitation to understand something.
He was so confused by it all he almost missed the source. A sound, beneath the beautiful chorus that emanated from where the Heroes were.
A steady shock. Loud enough to invoke the images of a focused Lightning current within his mind. Something was being electrocuted in a way he'd never heard before.
"Hey....Randall, my Mana is almost out completely, man. We done yet?"
"No! The more the merrier. Im telling you, this is what they like. Trust me guys. A real payday is on the hor-- AHH!!"
They all yelled in pain once again as the song heightened, drawing him in.
"You loud bitch! SHUT UP!" The leading man, Randall yelled followed by the sound of impact.
The heightened state of movement drew on his predatory senses and got him moving. In a single soundless leap he left the path and entered the marshy woodlands with the animals of the wild in tow.
As they sifted through the damp woodlands and drew closer to the abundance of sounds and smells, he couldn't help but notice the way his heartbeat pulsed in his ears...along with the tingle in his arms and legs.
Something was wrong.
After a few more steps and climbs over wet hills, he found them.
Four of them. They stood in a clearing the size of the one he often fought in, in his dreams. Only this clearing had dozens of oddly skin colored haggered corpses and the remnants of light fog washing away from the center to reveal wet grass ground instead of stone.
The Heroes stood in a loose circle with their backs facing him. The beautifully haunting chorus had reached its apex in sound and intensity, causing the fog to flee the clearing in a rush as the Heroes held their ears.
In the middle, he was looking at who he assumed to be Randall. A man made of lean muscle and long bones-- he could see it even through his silvery light armor and dark brown hooded head. The double edged sword in his left hand was ridged with sharp grooves running the length of the blade either by choice or aging. Either way he could smell the blood radiating off of it from where he stood.
At his right, a large man in thick armor stood above the rest with a shield and whip in his left hand that he pumped an endless current of Lightning into. He could smell the mustiness radiating from the man. He was sweating-- tired, he'd been at it for a while.
On the other side of Randall, a woman in a dark robe stood with her hands balled into fists until they shook. Beside her another man much smaller crouched down on one knee with dark leather armor and two daggers at his hip. Assassin and Healer.
Whatever they were huddled around left them intently focused-- but he couldn't see. Part of him no longer wanted to pry since their seemed to be no living Banshee's....but the song continued...it emanated from the center. He needed to see.
Part of him knew what he'd find. It's why his body was pumping endless pools of adrenaline and an odd fear clouded his mind. The other part of him needed to see to believe...believe something he'd been seeing inklings of for a while.
Ronin....The Red Knight of Rage....The SkyLight Guild.....
He pushed away his thoughts and pulled himself up onto a higher branch within the trees above.
As he rose, he moved from seeing their backs, to the tops of their heads...further and further.....until he saw exactly what they were focused on.
The one who sang to him and screamed at the rest.
At their feet, the Banshee lay in a tangled mess of whips and binds lined with currents of electricity that shocked and burned the creatures wavy and ethereal frame. The creature thrashed and shook while its face went from calm and almost spiritually beautiful to horrifying and ghastly in a reactive instant of absolute pain.
The woman-monster looked like she was underwater. The way her hair flowed and swayed in slow motion following the movements of her ragged clothing. It all clashed so heavily with the pained expression on her face. He could almost imagine the screams the Monster was letting out....and yet, all he heard was song...
In hindsight none of this mattered. He now knew why he was afraid to see what they were doing.....why he was afraid despite the absence of Monsters and combat.
It's because they weren't in danger.
"They're torturing it..." He thought in disbelief.
"[.....Yea.]" Arne spoke, matching his tone although not as intense.
A splitting headache rattled his skull in a flash as anger and confusion fought for dominance within his mind. "What the fuck?! Why not just kill the Monster and go? This.....what is this?!"
"[Some Heroes lose family to these Monsters...they come in here seeking vengeance...I--...I don't know. This seems more sadistic than any--]" Before he could finish they began speaking again.
The Dunce spoke first, "Randall...you're sure this will work right? And not get my Hero's license revoked?"
Randall smacked the back of his head as if the man was his little brother instead of a teammate, "Like I said before. We. Are. Fine! I spoke to a guy thats IN the Guild! This is how we get in. They're intense....always saying some shit about returning the pain and madness the Monsters unleashed onto the world. By doing this, we're showing that we're capable. I mean look at us! A few Silver Ranks, completing a Tangent on a Full Moon. They'll take us in because we're gritty and skilled..then we'll make real money."
"..And because we're Night Runners." The Healer chimed in.
"[Oh for fucks sake.]" Arne whispered in shock as he caught on.
Randall nodded at the Healers words in the distance. "Exactly Jenny. They'll take us in because we're gritty, skilled and Night Runners. The Midnight Wardens respect Night Runners."
The last thing he smelled from them in his stunned state before his vision began to redden were the faint scents of .....excitement?
He was so stunned and angered by it all that he couldn't move. He was frozen, frozen solid as his world flipped on its axis repeatedly until it was simply spinning. For the first time, he didn't know what to do..
It's like they always say...
Never meet your Heroes.....or any that are like them, in Claude's case...
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_Avatar0FFury_
_Avatar0FFury_ YO! A bit of a dark chapter with some mysterious elements within...hehe. Either way, for those of you that guessed this involvement great job...your making me question my level of skill when it comes to revealing mystery. Anyway thanks for the powerstones frenandoi, alex99, WarriorWolf, krissch, TheLucidParagon, Bop_, shadowwolf1928, Sonius, Bonb_Crusher, Lucas_Gommes_1300, AnnabelleXD, XX_Osiris_XX, Amith_Sydney, Zombireno, Kawwumkalle, DaoistQJ3j2B and Daoist084681! Hope you enjoyed!
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