Author's note

As usual no editing or even second read-through done.. Ah well, this is why they don't post drafts.

Word count

This chapter:1521

Total: 41540

NaNoWriMo target for the 25th: 41667

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In the distance, the smoke from the once proud village of Dragonsbreath started showing. Rosedriah looked over at Aitken, to see him looking everywhere but the direction of the village. “You okay?”

Aitken was startled and looked up at Rosedriah. “Ah, I’m fine… It’s just… Well, never mind… Ah, my corpse should be around here somewhere.”

Aitken ran in a direction to the side.

“Don’t run off like that.” Rosedriah said, as she followed along.

Flasor and Cepath looked at each other.

“You curious too?” Cepath said with a large smile.

Flasor smirked back. “You bet… but let’s keep in the background.”

Aitken looked at his corpse - the hair was as short and black as the day he had died, the eyes as blue as the sky and his body was as flimsy looking as the day he had died. Not even the blood had turned to crust.

Rosedriah looked at the corpse, and bent down, putting a hand on the forehead.

“It’s still warm… Didn’t you die weeks ago?”

Aitken stared at his corpse in disbelief. “I did… It’s been here for a long time, I don’t understand.”

“What if I tried to reanimate you?”

“Woah woah, It would shackle my soul to my corpse, right? Then what the heck’s gonna happen with me? Would I be torn from my body? I’d die, right?”

Rosedriah hesitated. “I have no idea… But granted, free will isn’t a thing when you’re reanimated. There’s no such thing as bringing back the dead.”

Aitken sighed. “You know, if I did have my old body, things would be different.”

Rosedriah tilted her head. “How so?”

“Well, for starters, I would have been able to speak with you the whole time… That would have been a plus, considering our... misunderstandings in the beginning.”

“You think that would change a lot?” She lifted an eyebrow.

“Well, I would also not be an imp, which would also be a good thing.”

“Because what? You wouldn’t have the powerful flames or the strength you have now.”

Aitken sighed. “I might have something else… But nevermind that. We should go to the meeting.”

“Aw come on!” Cepath yelled from behind a tree. “Just when you were getting to the good part, too!”

Aitken’s eyes fell on Cepath. “Don’t you think you did enough yet?”

Cepath sighed. “Nothing like a little romance on the long travels though. Don’t blame me too much, I don’t get much entertainment out here.”

Aitken sighed. “I’m an imp, just forget about it Cepath. We’ve got a walk ahead of us. Let’s go.”

“And your body?” Flasor asked.

“Leave it, It’s of no use to us now.” Aitken said as he started walking.

Cepath and Flasor followed along.

Rosedriah looked a bit more at the corpse, as if she was deep in thoughts. “Maybe..” She muttered to herself, as she turned around and walked along with the others.

The charred remnants of a once prosperous village was in front of them.

Aitken looked at the ashes of his childhood home, with a sadness in his eyes.

Rosedriah responded by putting a hand on his shoulder, which startled him. He looked at her for a moment. She had been so angry before, so how could she suddenly be so kind and gentle?

Aitken couldn’t quite wrap his head around the entire situation before Glinda hart walked in front of them, followed by twenty witches.

“I see you made it.” She said, as she faced the crowd standing next to Rosedriah. “We’re all that’s left of the once mighty cult of darkness.” Glinda said.

“Two of the six great witches have fallen… But two of the twelve paladins died in this battle as well, totalling three dead paladins. Molly and Circe have both fallen at the forty second black mass.. and Serafine has gone rogue, leaving us for good. This leaves me, and The grey witch, Melusina and Maura as the only top ten witches we have track of.”

Aitken stepped forward. “We will avenge the fallen. Ramiel will fall.”

“Who’s that imp?” some witches muttered to each other. “Isn’t he the prince of imps? I heard he burnt one of the paladins alive.”

“A bold proclamation. Do you have any clue how little of a chance we stand against the church of light after this blow?”

“Then we will simply have to Improvise.” Aitken said. “Even the church will have a hard time if we don’t face them head on.”

“So what do you propose?”

“We need to find Ramiel and cut the head off the organization. He is the influence keeping the branches together, as far as I’m informed.” Aitken said.

“He’s constantly guarded by at least five of the great twelve paladins. We can’t just go there and kill him.” Glinda said.

“We will need a plan.” Aitken said. “But it’s doable.”

Glinda pondered for a second. “We may just be out of options. At this rate, and with this new weapon looming, we won’t have the luxury of stalling and rebuilding.”

“Exactly.” Aitken said. “So we’re going to need a plan… Or at least a way to get the information we need to make a plan.”

Glinda nodded. “We will need Melusina and Mauriel, they are currently on a quest to obtain crucial information as we speak… At the headquarters of the church of light.” Glinda turned to Aitken and the grey witch. “I’ve got preparations, scavenging and rebuilding to do. Go find Melusina and Mauriel, they will need your help in infiltrating the church of light. The cult of darkness will not take this lying down, we will strike back one last time before one of our organizations fall… May it be the church and not the remains of us that fall.”

Aitken nodded, as he turned around and walked up.

Rosedriah shouted to Aitken “Wait!”

Aitken turned his head and looked at Rosedriah. “We have to do this. This is the only way we can bring down the church. If we fail, we will die and what’s worse, their plague will eliminate every person who isn’t a fanatic of the light… There is only us to do this, Rose.”

“Rose? Ah.. Well… It’s just, the capital is that way” She smiled and pointed the opposite direction.

“Oh. Uhmn. Let’s go that way, then.”

A witch or two snickered in the crowd.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do…” Glinda’s voice grew fainter as Aitken and the party walked away from her.

“So, you don’t like me calling you Rose?” Aitken raised an eyebrow and looked at Rosedriah.

“It’s not like that, It’s just so sudden.”

“We’ve known each other for a while now, right?”

“We just started talking today, Aitken.” Rosedriah said.

“We’ve been talking a while, with Cepath as the translator… Even if it was… Faulty… Translations at times.”

“It’s just… Rose was what my mother used to call me.”

“Now I’m intrigued. Where did you come from, and who was your mother?”

Rosedriah started fiddling with her Pendant.

“I was born in the swamp beyond hope… My mother was a great witch… I haven’t seen her since the twenty first Sabbath… They killed her, Aitken.”

“I.. I’m sorry.” Aitken responded. “I shouldn’t have brought that up, and today of all days.”

“It’s okay, It’s been…” She merely sighed, and left her sentence unfinished.

Silence fell over them, as they kept walking towards the capital.

A while had passed, and Flasor suddenly asked. “Who are those two witches we are going to meet?”

Cepath quickly translated.

“Melusina the broomrider is the fastest broomrider alive… Well, she is one of a handful who knows the art, Not sure whether or not she is the last remaining witch to use a broomstick after today…” Rosedriah said.

“And Maura… is…. Maura.“

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aitken asked.

“Well… She… Speaks with the dead… She’s a bit odd, like Glinda, she has her peculiarities.”

“Glinda seemed pretty normal to me, though.” Aitken said.

“That’s because you’ve only seen her as a leader… Just don’t talk to her personally and you’ll never even notice.”

“So how is this Maura special?” Cepath asked.

“She… Speaks a lot.”

“That’s not really unusual?” Cepath asked again.

“Well.. She speaks to herself… Or dead people, as she claims.”

“I’m not really surprised after Serafine.” Aitken said.

“In any case, we will meet them and they might know something, right?” Flasor asked.

“Yes, they might have information. If not, then we will have to improvise the rest.” Aitken said. “It’s worth a shot though.”

The party approached the capital after several days of travelling. It was huge, with thick stone walls and a large gate manned with tens of guards carrying chainmail and large swords, checking every single person entering.

“We’re never getting in.” Flasor said.

“We will just need to sneak in.” Aitken said. “Over the wall, tonight.”

“How do you propose we do this?” Cepath said.

“Ah, you don’t climb so well… Flasor can carry you?”

“Heh, you just want to carry Rosedriah.” Cepath laughed.

“Ah, I’ll go through the gate in disguise.” Rosedriah said.

“You sure it’ll work?” Aitken asked.

“Better than climbing walls” She answered

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Thanks for reading!