Chapter 73: The Night Filled with Darkness

On the fort, the wind howled. The crows were crowing and the sounds of mugs smacking on tables were heard in the halls of the fort. Inside the halls were drunkards that have flushed faces. It smelled like of beer and of sweat. There is a clanging of their weapons and a thud coming from their foot, stomping the ground. A white cloud of breath would appear out of their mouths. The lamps and candles lit up were flickering as the wind enters from the open walls.

“It is the late night,” said Jess “And all of them are drinking their souls out. Aren’t they afraid that it will dull their senses?”

“That’s where you are wrong.” Gezhu snorted. “It makes them even braver than they usually are. Winter is coming to en end lad. Right now they are enjoying the feast while they can. Before long the night will come and the fort will be under attack. Midnight today, next to spring will be either the last drink we will have.”

“I don’t plan on dying here,” Jess said. “I still need to go somewhere and live my life. Dying in this mossy shithole isn’t going to be my end.”

“Hah,” Gezhu laughed. “That’s what they all say. Better not get killed, lad. I am starting to like you. Unlike the small cocked bastards here, you have balls and the grit. You’re also a great marksman and that’s something I want to befriend with. Listen here to me lad.”

“What?”

Jess saw Gezhu’s face grew serious.

“If it comes to it then I want you to shoot me right in the face.” Gezhu sips on his beer. “Being turned into a bloodless or being sucked by them is worse than hell. If you can, shoot me in the face or in the heart, you are a good shot lad, and I know you can aim well with that bow of yours. Do that for me and if you are bitten or sucked, then I will do the same to you.”

“So I’ll kill you or you’ll kill me. I agree.” Jess sips on his beer pensively. “But I don’t plan on dying here and you shouldn’t be dying here too. Go home back to the eastern tall lands and marry peasant girl or something.”

“Bah.” Gezhu sneered. “You want me to spend the fortune of mine to travel back in those lands? What then? Become some levy farmer for a noble again and have myself dragged back into wars?”

“Well, it is certainly better than spending time here in this shithole.” Jess turned around very slowly at the others. “In the past days, I have been here. I grew to hate drunks and muscled bearded men with unwashed faces and piss-like scent. Now I understand why no women are in this place aside from the fact that there are beasts.”

“Aye, the men and beast and the sweat, and piss make one very irritated. Even the pothole that we use is filled with shit and is now littered with cold. Most of us are squatting in the corners, shitting our breeches and the likes.”

“It’s fucking dirty.” Jess cursed. “I thought the beast will be the only problem but to think I would have to worry about the men too.”

“Well at least there is beer lad,” said Gezhu happily. “As long as there are beer and food we are a-okay. Beer clogs the nose and it puts warm in our bellies.”

“And it also dulls the senses. I don’t see Sir Garland drinking any beer.” Jess remembered Ser Garland standing in front of the walls battlements. “He’s standing there as if he’s part of the wall itself. How long has been standing there?”

“It should be about hours now. The Lord Commander is using his energy to stand tall in the night. Most of the time we can only cower while he intimidates the bloodless freaks and the beasts, he’s a monster but he is our monster.”

“Yeah, without him the fort is fucked.”

Jess eyes the outside trees. The trees were the same. They look dreary and is coated white. He could see some shadows jumping around and eyeing the fort. He could feel their bloodlust out there. That thirst to kill seems like it would flood the whole fort.

“Those fucks are really moving.”

“Aye, even I could tell.” Gezhu looked outside. “They are rustling around and moving like they have springs on their feet. They would probably want to climb the walls but with the Lord Commander standing firm, they cannot dare. Even if they are beast they fear for their life.”

“And we do too. I can’t believe I have been cursing this badly since I have come to this place.”

“The stress is getting to you lad. You should really drink more beer.”

“No thanks, when spring comes, I am out of here. I’ll be staying someplace nameless and live the idyllic life for two or three days to flush out the irritation I got in this place. And drinking the wine from the barrel will seriously make me further sick.”

“What?” Gezhu said. “It ain’t half bad at all. I have been flogging the beer and so far they taste the same.”

“Not even a moss?”

“Not even a moss.”

“Good God of Light, have mercy on you lots.”

“What’s with you?”

Jess chugged his beer and put the tankard on the table with a thud. The table is filled with various dishes and fruits that are either half bitten or cold. The hearth nearby was filled with people warming their food up. He could see that some of the food is starting to catch dust. The dust came from the ceiling. They have Moss on the food which probably because of the unmaintained walls.

He would probably chug the beer and ate a lot of the food. But now, he rather not ate them. At best he would only touch some of the fruits that don’t have any bite marks. He does not want to devour the spit the others left behind. Not to mention that most of them have put their dirty hands inside the barrel while scoping some of the beer inside. To Jess, their hands have been touching the dead or whatever’s filth ridden. So he rather drinks his own beer and at best reduce the chance of him catching a disease.

...

Shadows move on the dreary trees. Ser Garland narrowed his eyes while his hands touch the hilt of his sword. The shadows move along the uneven path of trees. He could see them moving around slowly and at the same, he could hear footsteps loudly.

“Sound the alarm,” said Ser Garland. “The beasts are coming. Tell the men to gather up and prepare to defend the fort.”

“Yes, Sir!”

The one hiding behind the shadows shouted. He ran across the battlements and entered a room. Inside the room, there is a rope connected to a bell. He pulled the rope. The bell sang loudly and every half closed eyes on the fort opened widely.

...

“It’s time to get to work.”

“Ready your weapons you shits!”

“Wake up, time to work.”

“Got it, anyone seen my sword?”

“Here you go.”

“Aye, time to bash some bloodless freaks, anyone has the coated silver solutions?”

“Should be near the battlements, let’s go.”

The men in the halls quickly changed attitudes. Their once flushed drunk faces turned serious. When it comes to war these men will change their attitude. Sure they drunk themselves and some are even forcing themselves up. But most of their senses are still there.

Jess has seen this happen twice now. First when he arrived at the fort and second when killing the wereman with a trap. They are battle-hardened and even he is nothing compared to them. Jess went with Gezhu as usual to the battlements. He nocks his bow and readied it to shoot anything.

The shadows in the distance grew larger. There the pale corpse-like freaks of the night came out wearing tattered and padded boiled leather armor. They held stakes and simple wooden spears. Some carried rusted tools while the others carried pitchforks.

They scream and screeched as they speed across the swamp. The weremen were with them and they use them to jump the moat and climb the walls. The men in the battlements started throwing rocks. Ser Garland the Great traces his sword into an arc. He gathered light to his sword and with one swing he cleared the monsters climbing the walls. Another batch of monsters came running at the walls. Jess aimed and shot the first beast with an arrow coated with silver mercury.

The beast died when it fell on the spikes below the wall. The moat was deep and even though there are blocks of ice in the moat due to the cold. The bloodless who tried to swim got their head broken by the stones hurled by the men on the walls.

Ser Garland the Great took care most of the beast trying to climb. His shining sword seems to burn with flames as he swings it. The men in the battlements could feel the heat spreading from his sword. They could fight well in the cold but with the warm given to them they can fight even better,

“A dark lord!” shouted one of the men. “Prepare yourselves!”

The dark lord went out of the woods covered in black. It opened its mouth and there a screeching sound came about in the mouth of the dark lord. Most of the men manage to cover their ears while the slow ones got their eardrums popped out. Some fell on the floor convulsing, while the others had their eyes popped.

The Dark Lord of the Bloodless could cast this kind of sound. So seeing the dark lord of the bloodless appeared. Ser Garland the Great leap down below and coated himself with his own energy. His shield was finally drawn and with a bull’s rush, he crashed on the bloodless trying to attack him.

Jess could see the shining knight half step to Paladin hood killing the bloodless left to right. He has seen the power of a Magus and a Ascended Knight once. But comparing them to the seemingly unstoppable Garland made them look weak. Garland the Great, was strong to the point that the dark lord who he targeted started shouting at him. Jess could feel his eardrums rumble but he endured it simply because of the bloodless and beasts climbing the walls.

Screams echoed on the battlements. Jess could see some of the men from the halls getting struck down. One of the bloodless tried to attack Jess. But he curled up on the spot, grab the arrow he nock and stabs it in the throat of the bloodless. Another one came about and tried to rush at him. He put his bow away and parried the beast’s attack. The claws of the beast slid across his blade. Jess tried to counter attack but the beast was faster. He jerked back and somehow avoided having his stomach clawed.

He took a step with his right foot. He lowered his posture and twisted his torso. The beast saw this and thought he was planning to attack him head on. It was a feint. Jess spun his blade in a semi-circle and drove it right into the throat of the beast.

He pulled his blade out and there he saw Gezhu being bitten in the neck. He could hear Gezhu shout in pain. His eyes were tearing up as the beast tore his neck. Gezhu’s life got extinguished. Jess clicked his tongue and retreated back. He looked at the battle down below the walls and saw Ser Garland landing a blow to the dark lord. The dark lord turned to ashes and when the bloodless saw their leader struck down. They begin to cower and tried to retreat back. But Ser Garland raised his might flaming sword and stunned the bloodless. Seeing the sun-like rays on his sword, the men in the battlements roared with fury. They struck the beast and the bloodless down with impunity.

Jess joined in with the battle and before long he found himself lost in swinging, slashing and stabbing. The time he calmed down he saw the walls filled with the dead of both sides. Some of them sighed, while some leaned on the battlements, completely exhausted.

The Night was done. And so was winter.