FROM THE SCRIBBLINGS OF RANY

I was out on an impromptu scouting run when I saw the outlander.

I had taken to wandering a bit lately, as routine and boredom had set in. The army had not moved in weeks. Alec had finally succeeded in brokering an agreement between the two queens, after a week of arguing, wasting time and trying Alec’s patience to the point he damn near went to war with both of them. Now the army of Konn was heading back to its land, moving at roughly the pace of a snail. Three days on the march and you could still see the smoke from their campfires.

Nevertheless, they were gone, and there was now little to do. Alec and Jade spent less time around. When they did come, they often went exploring on their own, looking for undiscovered dungeons. Romantic.

So I would go off and do some exploring of my own. I simply could not just sit in camp and do nothing all day.

I heard the man coming before I saw him. He was on horseback, moving briskly along and making no effort to be quiet. He was riding in my direction, so I moved off to hide in some brush. I waited for him to ride by, and then I followed on my horse, at a safe enough distance, though he did not appear to be paying any attention at all or concerned about being followed. I stayed behind and watched him for several miles, out of curiosity more than anything. The man was not wearing a uniform of any army. I did not know for sure he was an outlander yet but had guessed it somehow, by the way he carried himself.

My guess was confirmed when he leapt off the horse while it was at a full gallop. He did a tumbling somersault as he landed and took off at a sprint.

He stopped near a small hill, where he disappeared into some underbrush. I stopped and watched with my scope, but could not see him. His horse wandered about, munching on grass. I waited for the man to emerge.

After a bit, he did so, leaping onto his horse and departing at a full gallop. I thought I knew where he was going. There was a hamlet nearby named Weiburn, and he was heading in that direction.

Rather than follow, I waited a bit, and then moved down to the area where he had been.

I dug through the brush, thorns cutting into my hands. I donned my gloves and pushed my way through about ten feet of the stuff. I came upon an opening, with a door that had been left open. My breath caught. A dungeon. Inside, I could see a tunnel, just large enough to walk in, going deep into the ground.

I was not stupid enough to go in, of course. I stayed out of these things. Let the outlanders have them. All the gold in the world was not worth going in,, for I would never make it out alive.

I tried closing the door, but it would not budge.

I heard movement from inside. I decided it might be wise to take my leave now.

I bolted out of the thicket, jumped on my horse and kicked it into a gallop.

I rode for a bit, glancing back over my shoulder.

A horde of undesirables began to trickle out.

At what I hoped was a safe distance of two hundred span, I stopped and watched. I saw half a dozen skeleton men, seven or eight beast men, three Jackos and five giant spiders. They formed a line and began marching off at a quick pace, going in the same direction the outlander had gone – toward the village of Weiburn.

Without thinking, I galloped off toward the village, in hopes of beating the creatures there and giving warning to the villagers.

In minutes I was there, and I rode in like a madman. I am surprised I was not shot.

“Prepare yourselves!” I yelled. “Monsters are coming! Demonspawn! Get behind closed doors!”

Or something to that effect. I do not remember what I shouted, but my point began to come across.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” a burly blacksmith yelled, standing outside his shop.

Or maybe it hadn’t.

“Get your people together,” I said. “Everyone indoors! There are monsters just minutes away – skeletons, beast men and more! Get everyone to safety!”

“Creatures such as that don’t leave their dungeons,” the man said, not budging. “What game are you trying to play here?”

“They are coming!” I yelled. “This whole village will be wiped out in minutes if you do not listen to me! Come and see for yourself!”

A woman screamed.

The blacksmith decided to take me seriously all of a sudden, taking a massive hammer and running past me to assess the situation.

More screams followed.

Most of the villagers were spread about, working their fields, far from the safety of the buildings. Those able to get inside were safe. The smith and a few other men attempted to fight. They destroyed a skeleton and a beast man but were quickly overrun.

I took a few shots with my crossbow, but the few bolts that hit did little apparent damage. I made myself of better use by riding about, attempting to pick up stragglers and get them indoors. I managed to get one woman on my horse and to the safety of the inn, where most of the survivors were gathering.

It was incongruous seeing these creatures out in broad daylight. The spiders were the worst – larger than dogs, fast as hell, crawling up and down buildings and atop roofs. One went down a chimney. The screams from inside still echo in my head. Another squeezed itself through a window that was just partly open. Three women fled out the door, only to be ravaged by beast men and jackos.

I had done all I could. I could only watch as chaos and terror consumed the town. I galloped off to get the army.

Our camp was nearly an hour away.

By the time I returned, with three dozen men, most of the damage was done. Torn bodies were scattered everywhere, jackos feeding on corpses, beast men and skeletons finishing off the dogs and the livestock. Outside, there was little left that was alive. I could not see the spiders, which made me quite nervous.

We had two outlanders with us who had experience fighting these monsters. They directed the men, and after a brief battle, all were destroyed but the spiders, who remained unseen. The outlander in charge was Easton. He asked me again how many spiders I had seen, and I assured him there were five. A careful hunt began. One by one, they were found and destroyed. One managed to attack before it was seen, and we lost a horse.

There were sixteen surviving villagers, out of sixty.

They came out and looked upon the carnage, their faces haunted.

Easton convinced them to pack up and leave, and they came with us back to camp.

Alec and Jade returned that evening. I gave them my report in Alec’s tent, drinking a good deal of wine as I told the tale.

“Pontius,” Jade said, after. “He’s become notorious for this bullshit. Goes around to dungeons and opens them up so the creatures can escape. He has a spell that leaves the door open. No spell has been discovered yet that will close them back up.”

“We must find him and stop him,” I said.

“He’s on the list,” Alec said.

“How many villages have been wiped out because of this fucking prick?” I asked.

Alec shrugged. “Several dozen that I’ve heard about. Mostly in other parts of the empire. Pontius isn’t the only one doing it now. There’ve been a few copycats.”

“And this is the first I’ve heard about it?”

“Easy, Rany. We’ve had our own problems to deal with. We’ve been keeping an eye on the dungeons around here, but we didn’t know about that one. It wasn’t on any map that we had.”

“Gods!” I said. “Some of your people are really a fucking menace!”

“Yeah. No shit. Anyway, when the hell did you become the concerned citizen? When I met you, your only worry was getting your hands on as much coin as possible.”

“That will always be my priority,” I assured him. “I’d just rather not see the fucking world burn, that’s all. It’s bad for everybody!”