Crossing the border into another nation is always a pain. At least, it is so when the nation you are traveling to is not exactly on the best of terms with the one you came from. Likewise, it is even more of a hassle when you are crossing illegally and have what some would consider ‘malicious intent’. There is always the risk, in those cases, that you may be caught and, if caught, treated like the spy that you are. This thought was in the back of the mind of every single agent of the Sultanate Intelligence Committee as they tried to sneak through the nation they had entered. Of course, this was easier said than done, as once they entered a small town, they realized just how much things had changed since the fall of the Luminas Confederacy.

They had expected that their disguises would work perfectly and allow them to meld in with the traveling peddlers and other such wastrels that once roamed the dirt paths that led from settlement to settlement. This was not the case at all. Their outfits were woefully out of date, made of fabrics with designs that made them look silly to the rest of the people there and their use of pack animals to carry their wares was another instant giveaway that they were most certainly not normal. It was almost like having an obvious extraterrestrial trying to disguise themselves as a human with the clothes, speech-patterns and mannerisms from the 1940s; it just wasn’t going to work.

Was it any wonder, then, that after realizing how out-of-place they looked that the spies tried to bid a hasty retreat back across the border? They may have hoped that this would work, that by fleeing with their tails between their legs that they would be able to escape unscathed. But, sadly for them, this was not to be. They had long been spotted, and a certain vampiress was on her way to… ‘introduce’ herself to them. They may have thought that they were invisible, but to alter the quote from a certain man, “One does not simply walk into Darksol. The Bats are always watching.”

…

“Faster! Faster! We need to go faster!”

The eldest and most senior of the spies pushed the driver, who was also a spy, to make the wagon move more quickly. The roads were not working in their favor, however, as the smooth asphalt did not lend itself well to iron-banded wagon wheels or horse hooves.

“The horses are giving it their all, Brother! If we push them much harder than this, they will break before long!”

“I don’t care! As long as we cross the border, we will be safe. Once that happens, we can start again and make sure the others do their damned research! Whose bright idea was it to send us into these lands without doing proper recon?!”

“That would be-.”

“Irrelevant!”

Before the driver could finish, a rain of icicles dropped from the sky as a feminine voice finished the sentence for him. The magically created spikes struck home, each one shattering enough spokes of a single wheel per wagon to cause them to break and send the wagons to the ground. Horses and men screamed as everyone tumbled and skidded across the pavement, creating multiple red streaks from where bodies of man and beast were injured and moved along the highway.

Those who could move well enough stumbled to their feet and hastily took a rather slapdash formation. Their eyes scanned both the skies and the ground, searching for the mage responsible for both the destruction of their wagons, the crippling of their horses and the damages dealt to the men and their goods.

“I would welcome you to the Greater Darksol Empire, but I have no compassion for those who would pollute my home. However, I am feeling uncharacteristically generous today. I shall grant you a chance to explain yourselves, but please do be aware that I can tell if you are lying. Do not waste this mercy; speak of your plan and intent, and do so quickly. I may be immortal, but my patience does not match my infinite lifespan.”

The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing out from above, below and to the sides as a heavy fog rolled in.

“W-we are but simple merchants who wished to-!”

One of the spies tried to lie his way out, but his words were cut off when all the blood in his body ripped itself from his form, froze into spikes and then lodged themselves back into his body, turning him into a kind of reverse human porcupine.

“What did I just say, mortal? No. Lying. What part of that was too complex for your brain to handle?”

A silence took over the rest of the spies.

“Well? Do I have to rip the information I want from your heads and leave you all as nothing but human vegetables? Do speak up, or I will be far less merciful.”

The most senior of the spies spoke up next.

“My good madame, please spare us. We just came to investigate the change in rule over these lands. We did not mean anything malicious!”

The feminine voice in the fog hummed a bit before replying.

“A truth, seasoned with a bit of a lie. Still, I wonder; what drove you to send spies instead of ambassadors? Do you really fear us that much that your nation would forgo a more open and peaceful form of investigation and instead go straight for espionage? Well, it doesn’t matter. I will let you go, for now.”

“Thank you! We will-.”

Before the senior spy could finish, he was cut off by a mocking laugh from the fog.

“I said that I will let you go, for now.”

“What?! No!”

The fog was now so intense that each person could not see anything save for what was mere inches in front of them. The cackling of the monster in the mist intensified as man after man was dragged into the haze and screamed bloody murder until being silenced. Finally, the vapor cleared and the senior spy was left alone, surrounded by nothing but an empty road that was dotted in stains made from blood and bile. He cursed himself for his foolishness, but also counted his blessings. He was lucky to have survived, and now he needed to tell his masters of this horrid place. He turned to leave, walking down that lonesome road, but his steps ceased as he beheld something horrible.

He did not get the chance to understand exactly what he saw, as before he could even utter a sound the creature’s massive clawed hand tore his head open and spilled his innards outside their container. The creature’s hideous laugh echoed through the area as the sound of bones and muscles cracking, popping and tearing signaled Alexis’ transformation from her monstrous form back to a human one.

“Like I said, mortal. I would let you go, for now, but I never said how long ‘for now’ was, now did I?”