Chapter 4

Eleonora calmed her breathing as much as she could and opened the satchel that was on the table next to where she sat on the ground. All the herbs that were there she took in and immediately ate one of them. She was bleeding on her leg, a cut. She rubbed one of the herbs on it, not to heal but for the effect to reach her bloodstream as fast as possible.

Her sight started to clear and her mind became less overwhelmed with fear and adrenaline. Not by much, but enough to let her think. She ate another herb against the pain that would overwhelm her soon. ‘Smell...I need to do something against the smell’ she thought and started to tear herbs apart and throwing them over herself, her piss and her blood. It was green husk, one of the strongest smelling plants she knew. One the beast wouldn’t know or wouldn’t associate with flesh and blood. At least that’s what she hoped. She knew little about shape shifters, at least not about hiding from one. She further slowed her breathing and heart beat down and quietly chew on some herbs. The effect of all of them would not be as high as when consumed with their respective best method. The smell in the room changed, the blood and other fluids didn’t prevail anymore. The noise upstairs quieted down and after ten minutes of sitting there, silence settled in.

Eleonora stayed in that position for two hours processing what she saw. After that she moved very slowly trying to make no noise at all. She cut up her shirt and bandaged her leg, then tried to make out what was wrong with her back. The herbs against the pain were making her a bit dizzy. The devil bloom she used to get her mind back on track long since lost its effects. She could make out two broken ribs and a generally bruised back but no blood. ‘Hopefully nothing internal either’ she thought as she sighed and quietly prepped anything comfortable looking under her back. Then she tried to sleep but it wouldn’t come.

After four more hours she moved a little to get a book from one of the shelves. One that she hadn’t read before. One of the hero stories that she was neglecting so far. She liked them as a little girl but the real world was rather different she thought and many of those romantic thoughts were ripped out of her with pain and disappointment. ‘Maybe this is exactly what I need right now’ she thought as she opened up the book and started reading.

It was a nice story, Asalbul, a great hero in a desert country and his fight against a great necromancer. In the end he defeated his adversary Kul Ahmyk and buried both himself and the enemy army underneath a prison of sand and stone. The book seemed foreign, likely a folklore story of a nation far away. ‘Grandmother must have traveled far and wide to have this in her possession.’ Elly didn’t realize that she read through the whole book in six hours and the sun has already been out for hours. It wasn’t a big book to be fair but she was completely engrossed in it.

“Maybe I should pick up stories like that again….” she murmured as she examined herself. She knew that shifters could tolerate the sun but didn’t like it. ‘It’s probably already left hours ago...maybe hunting the people from the village...’ “Jeffrey!” she yelped as she tried to get up hastily, immediately falling down again. She lay there in pain for a moment before slowly getting up. After examining her body again and checking the bandage on her leg she went up the ladder and listened for five minutes without making a single sound.

The hatch opened with a creak. Two green eyes looked through a slit to check on any movement. It opened a little more to reveal raven black hair and a girl of around 17 years climbing out of a cellar. The house was nearly completely destroyed. There was a claw mark on the ground right next to the hatch. If she hadn’t already left some blood on the ground when stumbling the beast would’ve very likely found her. Only one of the three walls was still standing, the rest ripped out. It was apparent where the beast went. ‘It must’ve left minutes after I fell down...’ she examined the tracks the beast left. It wasn’t hard with clawed feet half a meter long.

Outside the air was filled with the smell of blood. Parts of the men who died the previous night were still laying around. Elly immediately went towards Jeffreys house. Inside she found what remained of him. ‘He must’ve stayed there and after the beast lost track of me….’ tears filled her eyes as emotions overwhelmed her logic. She left his house towards the back, grabbed a shovel and started her task for the day.

The pain was horrible and in her battered state it took hours to dig the five shallow graves. Evening was approaching as she closed up the last of the graves and remembered the dead. The guard still fascinated her. ‘If only I was stronger...’ she knew she couldn’t have done anything. Even if she were awakened and could use some sort of magic or power, it would take years to be able to fight a shifter. The guard looked at least forty and with awakened people it was nearly impossible to tell their age. But still it angered her, that she wasn’t able to fight and protect someone she cared about.

She heard the hoofs minutes before the men rode into the village. She was too tired and hurt, both physically and mentally to react in a cautious way. She simply stood there as they approached the village center. Two of them immediately looked at the bodies and started to analyze the tracks. One man spotted her and walked towards her after dismounting his horse.

“What happened here?” he asked casually. “Shifter….” she briefly answered, aware that it was likely a test to see if she was what they were looking for. His lack of caution frightened her. ‘He’s either very stupid or incredibly capable...’ she thought ‘...likely the latter...’ she completed as she spotted the dark red glowing tag he wore around his neck. ‘Two above gold...’ City guards were normally around the gold level of a guild member.

“I’m sorry.” the man said as he gestured towards the graves. “You’re hurt, I will send someone.” he was about to leave when he heard the girl talk. “The others? The ones fleeing into the woods...how many?” he briefly stopped and continued walking “Eleven.” ‘Eleven...’ she didn’t know how to feel ‘There were at least thirty people fleeing...’

A woman of very thin stature quickly came and helped her move to a clean bed in the village. Eleonora slept after she was cared for by the woman, a healer presumably.

She woke not having dreamed at all. ‘Not a good sign...’ she thought as she examined her body. Her leg was healed completely and her back felt much better. Bandages covered her whole torso. ‘A healer, a good one at that.’ she concluded. There were certainly some good healers but not as many as fighters by a large margin. For them to awaken their talents they would have to survive a dangerous situation and survive...them not being mainly fighters didn’t help. That was the reason why many a man and woman would find themselves rather surprised after starting a fight with a supposed person of healing.

There was water and some food next to her bed and she managed to eat some before a woman entered the house. She wore the mark of a Dunewatch guard and introduced herself as such “Good day, Irina. Officer of the guard. Pleased to see another living soul from this cursed village.” she nodded towards Elly and sat down on a chair next to the bed. “You must have questions so I’ll start with the obvious ones. You’ve been asleep for nearly a full day. Don’t worry about the shifter, a group of very capable people is already on its trail. Eleven people survived from the village...twelve with you, let’s hope your relatives are among them.” Elly nodded “They are not. I already found him. And buried him.” Irina was quiet for a moment before she continued “I’m sorry for your loss. Truly. Our guards weren’t enough apparently. I will dispatch all the manpower I can to increase security in close villages around Dunewatch. Did you see the guards stationed here?

Elly told the story, leaving out some unnecessary bits and the secret cellar of course. Irina was quiet for a while. “If only it was someone more experienced than Marvin. Maybe more would have survived. But what is past is past. William saved twelve people from dying and they gave their lives for the Empire. They will not be forgotten. You buried them?” Elly only nodded “I’m the only one left here, can you take me with you when you go back to the city? I want to sleep in my own bed.” Irina understood and after leaving for a while she came back to carry Elly herself to a wagon that would bring them back to the city. She was rather embarrassed at the scene but none of the other people there thought of ridiculing her. An atmosphere of sadness and respect for the dead was hanging over the village. The way back was a quiet one.

Eleonora could finally truly relax when she saw the city of Dunewatch in the distance, its high walls promising safety. The second and third ring protecting nobility and royalty. Its west flank was half built on the mountain, the keep towering above all, half chiseled into the mountain rock itself. ‘A beautiful and powerful city’ she thought. Evening was already coming and the sun was setting over the gray houses of Dunewatch.

After ensuring Irina that she was completely and utterly fine on her own Elly went home. Her mother wasn’t home ‘lucky’ she thought as the went to her room and went to bed. The green eyes and black hair vanishing in the warmest blanket in the world, at least in Eleonora’s opinion.