“I don’t see why we have to be the ones to do this,” John grumbled, dumping the last body in its newly dug grave.

“Shut up John, show some respect to the dead.” Tasha snapped as she started shoveling dirt into the grave.

Tasha and her brother had been handpicked by Captain Owin to join him in rescuing the two travelers their scouts had seen. Tasha was originally ecstatic at being chosen, she was the only junior to be taken but her enthusiasm had been greatly dampened when faced with her current situation.

During their march Captain Owin had spotted signs of battle down a side road, after a swift investigation they had found the mangled bodies of a group of merchants. No doubt killed by a goblin ambush, as the two youngest members of the party they were left behind to bury the bodies.

The arrow torn blood-soaked corpses seemed to taunt Tasha, each one a reminder of her failure. She was a sister of the light, one sworn to protect the people of Orera, yet she had failed to protect these people like she had failed to protect her brothers and sisters in arms as they were slaughtered. Tasha felt helpless all of her training, all of her hard work did nothing to stop these people from being murdered.

Tasha gritted her teeth wallowing in self-pity would do her no good. She needed to be stronger to make sure no one she cared about ever got hurt again.

Finishing the burial, she and her brother said a short prayer and started back in the direction the main group had gone.

***

Tasha started in horror at the scene before her, the bodies of her former comrades laid dead in various states of destruction. In the center lay her hero, Captain Owin the Lighthammer crushed and tossed aside like garbage.

She had failed again.

On the other side of the grove, a black haired boy crouched holding a knife and counting coins he had just looted from the bodies of her friends. Next to her, John stepped forward stepping a branch.

The boy shot up and looked at them in fear.

***

Payten was in deep shit, he had just been caught looting bodies by the corpses allies.

His mind raced as he tried to find a way out, strangely his senses seemed to sharpen as his mind worked. Unconsciously he found himself picking up details that he had not noticed before, the coppery smell of blood and entrails violated his nose, the cawing of the crows who had come to feast pierced his ears like knives. His eyes took in details he would not normally see, the soldiers who had come were younger then the others, their eyes filled with horror as they struggled to come to terms with the carnage his master had inflicted.

Despite the sudden rush of sensory input Payten’s mind spat out ideas and plans at such a rate that he had trouble following his own train of thought.

Fight them? Not a chance he was a child with a knife going against two heavily armed trained soldiers.

Run? He doubted he could outrun the athletic teens in front of him and even if he got away they had seen his face and no doubt would hunt him down.

Which left him with only one option.

Lie like he had never lied before.

“Thank Yaza and all the divines you’re here” Payten jumped up and did his best to look scared, it helped that he was already terrified.

“Explain yourself, Boy’ the tall black-haired teen yelled, as he frantically looked at the death that surrounded him, his brain trying to comprehend what had happened here.

Payten was struggling with the bodies for a different reason: the Necris leaking from the corpses filled the area before he was able to easily block it out but it appeared the sharpening of his senses extended to his ability to perceive mana. The wisps of blackness that poured from the liquefied corpse that had once been Dante called to him, urging him to study its secrets.

He blinked hard and gritted his teeth; he had to stay focused, if he wanted to understand the secrets that beckoned him Payten would first have to survive. Visualizing a rising wall of darkness he tried to block the necris from hampering his focus.

He almost lost control of his visualization when he noticed the body of the old man. The necris poured out of him like smoke from a burning house. The amount of necris leaking from the man was more than Payten had ever seen, utterly dwarfing the small candle-smoke like wisps that leaked from the other soldiers.

“Answer me!” The man screamed, reminding Payten that he had more urgent matters to attend to.

“I swear I don’t know what happened!” Payten said as he flinched, to his now sensitive ears the man’s yells felt like a hammer slamming him in the side of the head. “My uncle and I were heading to Longdale when we stumbled on ... “

“Your uncle, where is he!” the boy shouted more causing Payten to wince.

“John, stop it.” the woman spoke and stepped forward, “the poor boy is scared out of his mind, we are supposed to protect the people not terrorize them.”

John scoffed and crossed his arms. The woman took another step forward and dropped to her knee so she was eye level with Payten.

“My name is Tasha, what's yours”

“Kirk,” said Payten. A feeling of hope rose in his chest, he could work with this.

“I know it may be scary but you have to tell us what happened,” Tasha said in a soft voice.

“I was with my uncle when we found the bodies, he told me that he was going to try to go find someone he could report the murders to. He said it was too dangerous for me to come, whatever was in the woods may still be out there.” John drew his sword and started to scan the woods for anything amiss. Payten almost smiled maybe he could get out of this after all. “I was told I should wait here until he returns”

“Then why were you stealing from my friends, boy” John snarled turning his attention back to

Payten

Think Payten think

“Uncle told me that if he wasn’t back in three hours' time I should take something that would prove what I saw and run back to Leeside,” said Payten hoping that he sounded genuine.

“Then why were you counting coins when we found you?” Tasha’s eyes narrowed as she spoke.

Shit I'm losing her gotta think of something

“I knew it was wrong but … but ..b” Payten raised his palm to his mouth and bit down making tears well up in his eyes. “Uncle is the only family I have and if he was gone I don't know how I would survive”

Tasha’s face softened again as she spoke “It’s okay just put the money back and remember to repent in your prayers. Now, which way did your uncle go.”

“The same way you came from,” said Payten pointing down the road. He was so close to making it out if they went after Hark he would do the rest.

“All right then, why don't we go and find him them,” said Tasha in a soft voice as she reached out to touch him

Hark’s words popped into his head: Some priests of Yaza can tell if you're lying just by touching you. Time slowed down as Payten’s mind kicked into overdrive. How could he know if Tasha was able to divine his honesty? If she could it was over for him, Payten weighed his options frantically as her hand approached.

He made his choice; he just hoped it was the right one.

Payten slashed his uncle’s knife across Tasha’s face. She screamed as a jagged ravine of crimson was cut into her flesh.

Wasting no time Payten turned and sprinted into the woods like a mad man.

***

Tasha's world was red. Just when she thought she could finally save someone they had stabbed her in the face.

“Tasha!” John's voice rippled with rage as he ran over to his sister.

“I knew that kid wasn't right,” he whispered as he grabbed her shoulders and started to wipe the blood from her eyes.

“Listen to me, you're hurt and we are in over our heads. I’m going to chase down the boy and capture him. I want you to run back to the temple as fast as you can and raise the alarm tell them what happened”

“I can’t leave you, John.” Tasha grabbed John, she had already lost so much.

“You have to I'm your commanding officer. Run to the temple that's an order” John said nudging Tasha away

“Promise me you will come back,” Tasha begged

“Always,” John said with his cocky smile. Gods Tasha wasn't sure if she wanted to punch him or hug him

“Now go! As fast as you can.”

John, sword in hand ran after the boy called Kirk.

***

Payten’s legs were fire, each breath he took felt like tacks in his lungs and filled his mouth with the taste of blood. His ploy had paid off, cutting the women’s face had given him a head start while his scheming was immaculate his execution left a lot to be desired, he had covered less ground than he had hoped for. The athletic soldier boy would no doubt run him down unless he acted fast.

Payten began visualizing the spell framework his master had taught him charging the pattern that appeared in his mind with mana. When the lines and symbols snapped into place and lit up with a faint light Payten knew the spell was ready.

He tossed himself into the brush that surrounded the road and said the word that would activate the spell held in his mind.

“Grow”

Payten poured as much Vitus as he could into the flora around him causing it to sprout at incredible rates. The bushes encased him as he curled into a small ball and waited.

From his position in the greenery, Payten’s view was limited he could only see a small section of the road in front of him.

He held his breath as a pair of boots stepped into view and stopped. Time seemed to slow as he waited if he was caught here all he would get for his escape was a sword to the neck.

The soldier boy’s boots took off in a sprint taking him further down the road.

Payten remained in his position weary of a ruse meant to draw him from hiding. He had not planned this far ahead. Every moment he spent laying in the bushes raised his chances of discovery. If he ran back on the road he was bound to run back into the soldiers, if he ran off into the woods he would almost definitely avoid detection but if Hark was unable to find him he would starve to death. For now, waiting seemed like the right choice so he tried to make himself as comfortable as possible within his defensive bush and waited.

***

Payten’s whole body hurt, by his estimation he had been hiding for close to twenty minutes when a pair of dusty boots stepped in front of his hiding place and turned towards him. Payten started praying to every god that he had ever heard of.

“Lad, why are you in a shrub?” the deep voice of his master called out.

Payten was overcome with joy at the sound of Hark’s voice and dashed from his hiding place.

“Much happened while you were away, master”

“Is that so, lad?” Hark’s eyebrow cocked by the slightest degree

Payten explained to Hark everything that had happened in his absence. His master said nothing and merely nodded at points of interest. When he concluded his tale his master patted him on the shoulder.

“ Once again, lad, you have exceeded my expectations. When faced with a dangerous situation possessing a limited tool kit you eked out every advantage you could and struck with speed and decisiveness. You’ll make a fearsome necromancer one day, lad.” said Hark, Payten swore he could even hear a slight note of pride slip into his master’s low calm voice.

Still, Payten could not bring himself to feel joyful at his master’s praise, he had a lot of time to think in his bush and he had come to an upsetting conclusion. There was nothing in the world that Payten hated more than being called a coward yet a coward he was. All he had managed to do so far was either hide behind Hark or run away, actions far from the brave and powerful wizard Payten dreamed of being.

“Master, should you really be praising me for fleeing like a coward, my uncle told me that there was no bigger shame than running from a fight,” said Payten

Hark scoffed and shook his head “Lad, you mistake us for knights, fools with the chains of valor and gallantry wrapped around their necks like the leash of a dog. Men like you and I are the truly free Payten, bound by no restrictions but the ones we set for ourselves. Had you fought those crusaders of the light in an honorable way you would be laying gutted in the road. Honor in combat is a trap used by fools to kill fools. It has no place among us, lad.”

Hark’s speech had improved Payten’s mood, logically he knew that retreat was his only chance of survival, still, his pride was damaged he would have to prove himself to be brave the next chance he got.

“Enough chatter, lad. Control of the situation is slipping out of our hands as we speak. We have to get a move on now.” said Hark before turning towards the site of their last massacre

“Yes, master” Payten took a deep breath as he steeled himself, he still wasn't use to the sight of dead bodies especially ones that he had helped murder.

“One more thing before we go, lad,” said Hark he turned to face Payen. “It’s not cowardice to run from a situation that you cannot handle. It is only cowardice when you could do something but you choose not to” with that his master took off down the path.

***

Upon returning to the clearing Payten studied his surroundings. The necris in the air was thicker than ever, it seemed to press down on him like a pillow over the face. The body of Dante had been reduced to a reddish-brown puddle, the two soldiers hit by Hark’s acid had been stripped to nothing but the bone, other than that the scene seemed unchanged. Hark stepped into the middle of the clearing and spoke.

“Be quiet and watch, lad”

Payten nodded and began to watch his master intently. Hark began to move his hands with practiced ease and started to chant in a language that Payten did not know. The necris in the air started to condense around his hands covering them like a pair of gloves. Payten almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the flesh of the old man’s body began to bubble and squirm. To his surprise when he looked around all of the bodies (with the exception of Dante) were undergoing a similar process. The bones to his right began to crack and splinter as necris poured out. The bodies on his left also began to burst sending more even more death mana towards his master’s hands. Payten jumped when the corpse of the old man audible popped sending a bonfire of necris towards his master. This process continued for three more minutes and did not stop until all that was left of the crusaders of the light were their possessions and black stains on the ground. Just as the sun was setting Hark extended his hands and began shaping the necris into something. It’s pure black form was like nothing Payten had ever seen. Its head was a mix between a dog and a spider, from its broad many-eyed head extended a long fanged jaw. It had an unnaturally sloped body that reminded Payten of a predatory cat about to pounce. So extreme were the angles of its body that its front shoulders came to the level of Hark’s elbow while the joints of its back legs rose above his head. The body of the thing rippled with muscle and was supported by four limbs. The front two limbs looked like massive hands tipped with curved talons longer than Payten’s forearms, the back two had the hooves of a horse.

Hark bought his hands down as his chanting raised to a fever pitch, immediately the creature began to move. It scurried around the grove like an insect, suddenly moving with a blinding quickness only to stop and remain completely still except for its nostrils which sniffed the air with a frightening eagerness, before repeating the process.

Hark turned to Payten “you can speak now, lad.”

“What the hell is that” Payten blurted out unnerved by the beast.

“It’s a shade, lad. An elemental made from necris.” explained Hark as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I see…” he understood that elementals were a type of spirit made from mana that mages often bound or created, still he did not expect them to be this horrific.

“Let me see the knife you cut the girl with,” Hark said holding out his hand

Payten obediently passed him his uncle’s knife. Hark ran pinched his fingers at the base of the blade and moved them upwards causing Tasha’s dried blood to flake off into his hands. He gave the knife back to Payten and whistled. The shade bolted to Hark as he raised his hands towards its mouth. The creature’s long prehensile tongue shot out and licked Hark’s hand clean of the blood. The creature’s demeanor changed as drool began to leak from its mouth and it began to pace back and forth filled with an energy urging to be released.

“Hunt”

and with a single word it was. The creature shot off like a tightly wound spring. Now that it was hunting the shade moved in an unusual way. Its back hooves would move forward to touch its front limbs before kicking off from the ground in a great leap. Payten only saw this three times before the shade disappeared into the woods.

“What now?” Payten asked genuinely unsure of their next courses of action.

“Same as before, lad. We head to Longdale, albeit ahead of schedule.” Payen’s master said as he reached into his bag and removed a gray crystal. The crystal glew as Hark placed it on the ground and backed away.

Space around the crystal began to distort and tear as shadows leaked through the cracks in reality and began to take form in front of Payten.

Great another one of Hark’s monster I hope this one won’t give me nightmares.

Payten could only see the backside of the creature but to his surprise, it looked like a normal dark grey horse with the exception of the large raven-like wings that sprouted from its back.

A winged horse that's not even a little terrifying Payten thought to himself as he circled around to the creature’s front

Gods dammit it, of course

Any thought of the horse-thing being somewhat normal flew from Payten’s mind when he saw its front. Its neck was that of a horse but its head was completely hairless revealing rubbery dark violet skin. Where its jaw should be was a mass of slimy tentacles covered in sharp barbs with rows of a bizarre mouth suction cup combo.

Does Hark own anything that doesn't look like a walking nightmare?

“What is that?” Payten said, gesturing at horse-thing in front of him.

“This fine young lady is Kindness, a creature from the plane of shadows and our ride,” said Hark as he affectionately patted the abomination on the side.

“Yes, master.” Payten’s tolerance for weirdness was steadily reaching its max so he decided to just go with the flow.

“Right lad, Make sure you hang on tight.” With that Hark picked up Payten and set him on Kindness’s back.

“One more lesson for today, lad. Never miss an opportunity to misdirect your enemies. If they are acting on bad intelligence then you already have the advantage.” With that Hark closed his eyes and started to quietly chant. Knowing better than to interrupt his master’s casting Payten took this opportunity to lean in next to his ride’s ear and whisper “Please don’t eat me Kindness”

*Snort* snorted Kindness. Payten sighed, it was worth a shot.

Hark finished his chant with a snap of his finger, his shadow split off into pieces flying into different sections of the grove where they began to take shape.

“Don’t worry, lad. These ones are just illusions made to confuse our enemies and cover our tracks” Hark said as the illusions began to finish, there were five different groups of the illusion each one containing the shadowy figure of some form of flying beast and various amounts of people.

“To Longdale lad.” Hark swung his leg over Kindness’s back and once he was fully mounted he gave a whistle and tapped the beast with his legs.

Kindness hunched low and then leaped high into the air spreading its wing as it flew. Payten held on for dear life as tried to avoid looking at the ground far below him.

He did, however, look up in time to see the Hark’s illusions also take flight and head in different directions.

Payten gripped on to Kindness’s fur with all the strength he could muster, the ground below him passed rapidly as he flew for the first time.