Heirs of Hyarch

It was a refreshing surprise that the day's journey had passed uneventfully.

Given the events of early this morning, it astonished Hamond that the knights had pulled back. If they had left anyone else behind to look for survivors, their group had managed to avoid them. They had even found a few more villagers along the way, who after a short discussion had joined them in their journey to Faehaven.

What the knights' true goal was would remain a mystery for now. But they had to have some reason for being there, and they had to have accomplished it in some manner, otherwise they wouldn't have left. Hamond would bet a hexty pikers on it...that is, if he had any.

The sun setting meant they would have to stop for the night soon. Hamond already was keeping an eye out for a clearing big enough that they could all bed down comfortably. The previous night had people all within touching distance of each other, which was not at all ideal with the summer heat. Hamond himself had woken to find his blanket kicked into a bundle by his feet, and from what he had seen he hadn't been the only one.

He had to admit he was sweating quite a bit now. There had been almost no clouds in the sky, and the shade of trees was a fickle cover that did little to protect them from the sun's glare. Hamond chuckled, realizing he'd copied part of those thoughts from a poem Edeline had recited for him. Funny how much in the past month she'd come to be part of who he was.

Who they were.

"What's the laughing about?" It was Kalias, striding up to catch up to Hamond.

"Just thinking about things." He wasn't sure Edeline would want the two of them being together to be known to all these people. They certainly hadn't had the opportunity to talk it over at length. Better if he steered any conversation away from that. "Like how hot it is, for one."

"Figured you'd be used to the heat, what with you being one of those northerners," Kalias noted, "Your folk are called...Remuati. Is that right?"

"Yes, in a sense," Hamond answered with a sigh. This was not his favorite subject. "I've never been there though."

"You grew up in Hyarch, then?"

Hamond just nodded.

"I saw quite a few Remuati who passed through over the years," Kalias continued, "Mostly when I was up visiting Kelshir. Some of them wore these strange tunics, while others wore the same type of clothes you and I wear. They all had these stone charms and beads around their necks. That much I remember."

Beads...now that he thought about it, he did recall his father wearing a beaded necklace on a few occasions. Hamond had never been offered such beads, nor had he really asked. It had always seemed like a personal preference of his father, and Hamond himself had never seen jewelry as being particularly important. Even when made to attend important feasts or other events, he'd preferred simpler attire.

"Suppose I can't say every Remuati is the same as those I saw. After all, can't say every Hyarchian is the same either."

"Indeed," Hamond said agreeably, returning his attention to the present.

"So then, if you're from...wait." Kalias came to a stop. "Do you smell that?"

Hamond gestured behind him to halt the other marchers. "I don't," he said, taking in a breath through his nose. It wasn't as if his sense of smell was dull - he had experience cooking which demanded it - but he really couldn't make anything out.

"It was a whiff." Kalias's face was grave. "Whiff of blood."

"What's going on?" Myron, who had been guarding the group's flank, sprinted up. Edeline was moving up as well from her position on the other side.

"He says he smelled blood." Hamond mentally readied himself, bringing a couple of spells to mind.

"Where?" Myron asked.

"I think...that way." Kalias pointed to the northwest, just ahead and to the left of their current path. A row of trees, almost too neatly lined up to have grown that way on their own, lay in that direction.

Without even waiting, Myron ran forward, drawing his sword. Irritated, Hamond went after him. The idea of taking a moment to scout it out, to make certain there was no trap or enemies ahead, apparently did not occur to him.

Edeline caught up as Hamond made it past the treeline. Myron was standing there, staring at a sight that even Hamond had to admit was astonishing. It was a small field, that had at some point been tilled, but since abandoned. Only wild grass grew here...wild grass that lay flattened underneath the scattered dead bodies of villagers and knights alike.

Now he could smell it.

This would explain why the knights hadn't pursued them with any real force, if they had been occupied with with a fight against another group of villagers. But who among the people of Verdan could possibly have taken out so many of the knights in turn?

"These cuts..." Myron said slowly, sheathing his blade as he stared down at a man's remains. "They went straight through bone. No sword I know of could be swung with such force."

Hamond immediately thought of the thaumaturge among the knights, with the golden armor and infused blade. Him turning back to deal with this group was fair, but that made it even less likely that the villages had taken out so many on their own. Unless there was a third person or group that joined the fight...

...Hamond hoped that would not be the case.

"The knights have an enemy, it would seem," Edeline noted, studying one of their corpses. "Let us hope it isn't an enemy of ours as well."

"Aether, no..." Kalias slowly stepped out as well, followed by a few of the villagers. One of them, a woman, ran over and knelt down by one of the bodies, sobbing.

A harsh sight to behold, there was no denying. At least someone made sure the knights paid dearly for the slaughter at Verdan. Hamond doubted it would be any great consolation to the survivors, but it would have to do.

"Kalias, is that you?" a tired voice came from the bushes to the side.

"Tedrick? You old dog, you lived!" Hamond turned to see a short man come out, his clothes stained with dirt and dried blood. Kalias pushed by Hamond, moving over to greet the man.

"That I did. Thought I was the only one, too." Tedrick answered, then looked past Kalias. "And who's this?"

"Hamond." Looking more closely, Hamond could tell Tedrick was not the most civilized man. His tunic, if it could be called that, was sloppily stitched together patches of leather and cloth with no pattern at all. It was the mark of someone who did not have someone to sew clothes for him, and didn't care to spend the coin on having them made.

"You were asking about hunters before. Tedrick's the best hunter in our village. Galian apprenticed under him." That fit with what Hamond had seen.

"Did Galian make it?" Tedrick asked, "Or his wife?"

Kalias's face fell. "They...did, but...you know what, I'll let them explain it. It's...complicated."

"I see." Tedrick rubbed at his face. Hamond could tell the older man was exhausted, similar to how they all had been the previous night. Clearly things had gone worse for him.

"What happened here?" Myron spoke up.

"Led a group this direction, evading those men. Was thinking of trying to lose them in the crowd in Kelshir." Tedrick's lined face was grim. "We made it through the night fine, but they caught up to us early this morning. Animals for the slaughter, that's all we were to them."

"And you're the only one who survived?" As harsh as Myron's question would seem, Hamond was wondering the same.

"I'd be a poor fool if I was," Tedrick said with a snort. He turned, and cupped his hands to his mouth. "You all can come out now!"

More rustling, and then with painful slowness, a group of five children came out of hiding.

"Parents told me to take them and run. So I did." Tedrick did not turn from looking out into the distance, past the approaching children. "If she hadn't shown up when she did, I don't even think we'd have made it."

"She?" Kalias asked.

"That one-armed witch. You know, the one they've been telling tales about? I forgot what she's called, but I'm sure it was her."

Hamond froze in place. The Witch of Wrath, here?

This was a horrible situation. While it wasn't likely that she knew of any of them specifically, a thaumaturge of her skill would easily be able to track them if he or Edeline openly used their spells. For all he knew, she already had a rough idea a thaumaturge was somewhere nearby, after Edeline chasing down those knights.

It was...frightening. Hamond had to admit it. The Witch of Wrath frightened him. And with good reason - it would be foolish to not be very wary of the thaumaturge that had slain the Spellking, even if you were the bold type. Standing up to the single strongest thaumaturge known in all of Hyarch was not something anyone sane wanted to do.

Someone rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" Edeline asked gently.

Hamond took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Again, the Witch of Wrath didn't know about them. All they had to do was keep it that way, and they shouldn't have any issues with her.

"I'm fine," Hamond said, looking Edeline in the eyes.

"I know it might be asking too much, but we do need to find a safe spot to camp for the night." Myron, meanwhile, was focused on the more immediate concern, which Hamond supposed he should be as well.

"If I've got it right, there should be another farm field just over there." Tedrick indicated just over to the north. Hamond could just see it, beyond another stand of trees. "That is, unless you brought the whole rest of the village with you."

"I'm afraid not. With your group, we have around a hexty in all." Myron's eyes went back to the bodies of the villagers.

"Rough," Tedrick commented, then narrowed his eyes. "Please tell me that idiot bastard Hudde isn't one of them."

"He's dead," Hamond told the old hunter.

"Bet he squealed when the knights came for him too." The venom in Tedrick's voice was hardly surprising. It wasn't worth it to say that Hamond's own spell was what killed Lord Verdan, before the knights even showed their hand.

"I'll go get the children settled in with the group," Kalias said, "You all just make sure there's no more knights around."

"Will do. You boys and girls, go with Kalias here. He'll get you set." The children, having stood silently to the side, fell in behind Kalias without hesitation.

"I'll go tell Nela," Myron said, "She'll want to look them over." He trotted off back towards the main group, leaving Hamond and Edeline with Tedrick.

"Let's get this done. I just want a good place to rest my bones." Tedrick ambled around, stretching his legs out a bit before they set off. "Maybe find a couple of fellows to play some conquest with."

"I'd join," Hamond said immediately. It had been too long since he'd had a chance to pick up the cards, and it would be a nice distraction from everything, if only for one evening. "Just don't expect any betting. I'm straight out of coin."

"Think I can spot you a few pikers, since you've been helping keep these people alive." Tedrick grinned, which only deepened the lines on his face. "No fun if there's no stakes, that's what I say."

"We'll see if you say that when I take them all," Hamond joked, drawing a laugh from Edeline. If luck was on his side, this would help a bit with the issue of their stolen coin.

"Bold words," was all Tedrick said as they headed towards the prospective campsite.