It was a solemn ride until we hit the tree line. Other than Kit, the boys were taking this mission seriously and everyone was focused on the task at hand. I wouldn’t have believed it otherwise, but I felt the weather take a sharp ill turn the closer we got, and a biting chill was in the air. Duncan had forced me to leave my hoodie behind, and so I was unprotected as a brisk wind blew in from the foul looking clouds. I felt it in my bones and shivered miserably in my saddle. The rest of the group appeared unaffected by the sudden weather change or were just really disciplined. Even Ash managed to keep a straight face with the cold wind flapping at the folds of his robe and through his hair. Any laissez faire attitude the soldiers had exhibited at the fort was now gone in the shadow of the encroaching clouds.

The scenery leading up to the Black Hills was bland, the ground hard and flat, with very little in the way of vegetation. Rocks and gravel were prevalent, having rolled or been washed down the hills over the years. Despite not yet being in the hills themselves, the environment was already reflecting the harsh land ahead.

Once we started making our way up into the forest of pines, the narrow trail used by the townspeople to get to Blackwall for trade was the only clear path forward. The pines grew in thick bunches everywhere around it, and the path, if one could call it that, was merely some dead grass and weeds that had been trodden on, with occasional wheel tracks biting into the dirt. The black pines stretched precariously overhead as well as jutting obstinately into our path, and we had to constantly shield our faces from oncoming branches. Duncan and some of the soldiers at the head had begun to hack at limbs to give us a clearer path forward, realizing it may assist in the need for a sudden retreat as well.

The trees were like nothing I had ever seen before. I had mistaken their black appearance to mean they were dead or dying, or perhaps the remnants of a large age-old fire. In truth, the trees appeared healthy and vibrant, just black as coal from trunk to pine covered limb. Even more disturbing, was the slow realization that the only sound I heard was the clomping of hoofbeats and the snorting of the horses, with the occasional clanking of armor amongst our group. I hadn’t seen a bird in the air or a small animal scramble across our path since we had crossed into the Hills.

Nature, herself, was silent here.

The ground underfoot swiftly became rocky, uneven, and treacherous, and our pace began to slow, as we didn’t want to risk injuries for ourselves or our mounts. Within a mile of where Duncan reported the town to be, the thicket started to clear, as the townsfolk had spent time clearing the woods away from the borders of Rosethorne. Duncan halted our approach for a moment, and I took in our first glimpse of civilization in the north.

The town itself was unassuming enough. The buildings and houses were made of simple wood with thatched roofing. Nothing so extravagant as brick and mortar to be seen. While not as large as Bronzemead, it was still large enough that it probably was home to a few dozen people. Enough villagers lived there that the town going silent was cause for alarm and investigation. But like the land around us, the town was silent and dead. No smoke rose from the buildings to warm their occupants in the chilling weather. No sounds of village folk moving about or interacting with one another. Just a silence as cold and chilling as the air we breathed.

Duncan finally got whatever it was he wanted from his observation and waved us along.

I leaned forward to Dorian, “What do you think?”

Dorian leaned back a bit to meet me, “I think I would have preferred to stay in Bronzemead and have Noelle nearly dislocate my wrist again. Nothing about this smells right.”

Despite the heavy mood, I giggled a little at the joke. He always fell back to humor in the tense moments, and I was grateful for it. “So, do you think the rumors are true? It’s vampires?”

Dorian shook his head, “It’s too early to tell. While I know you’re new to the monsters that call Eitania home, you’ve got to remember what Duncan said. None of us know what a vampire raid on a village looks like. All we have are musty tomes and parchments filled with speculation that have aged poorly. We’re experiencing this for the first time, same as you.”

He leaned forward in his saddle again, “I will say this though: Duncan or the Zannisters may know more, but I don’t know of any other threats to a village this far north. It may not be vampires, but the odds aren’t in our favor for something else.”

We entered Rosethorne and headed towards the center of town. No one greeted us or poked their heads out from nearby houses to investigate our arrival. The town remained lifeless as we moved through it. Once we reached the town square that branched out further into the village, Duncan signaled for us to dismount and then walked his horse to a hitching post. The rest of us followed suit.

“Alright,” Duncan called out to us, “Split up. Groups of four at the minimum. Start looking for any survivors or anyone who can give us answers. Anyone finds anything and we meet back here to share information. Any signs of hostiles, you only engage defensively, understand? Make as much noise as you can and the rest of us will find you.”

We all nodded in acknowledgement and the groups started to form up and disperse. Ash and Dorian both grabbed my hands, as if to say I wasn’t leaving their sides, but I was surprised when our fourth volunteer was Kit.

Dorian gave him a level stare. “I appreciate you wanting to stick close, Kit, but Duncan wasn’t kidding about this. Don’t run off. We have to stick together. You bail, and you are on your own.”

Kit waved him off and then elbowed his way between us to grasp my hand firmly in his own and started pulling Ash and me along. “We’ll be fine, Dorian! Nothin’ to worry about! Danger’s long since passed, cant’cha smell it? No death for miles!”

I blinked at his claim and cleared my head enough to sniff the air. He was right about that at least. I wasn’t sure we were completely free of danger, but the air had none of the foul smells that I acutely remembered from the undead horde. And any dead villagers would have started rotting a while ago. Dorian’s statement from before floated past me.

“Nothing about this smells right.”

Dorian followed behind us, his eyes darting back and forth from building and window to closed doors, looking for anything that may be a threat. Kit was as relaxed as ever, kicking, and knocking on any door in the vicinity, calling loudly to any would be occupants.

“‘ello?! Anyone home? Gotta nasty hunger and could really use some o’ that Rosethorne pie I heard so much about from Blackwall!”

I shook my head as we continued. He was fearless, which was exactly what Duncan had warned us against.

“Fear will keep you alive.”

Despite all the noise Kit was making, for good or bad, nothing stirred. The town was truly empty. Whether abandoned or raided was also impossible to determine, as I noticed that none of the obvious signs were present. No property looked looted or burned. There were no windows broken or doors kicked off their hinges. It actually appeared as if everyone in town had simply moved on.

“I don’t like this, guys. It’s the distinct lack of anything wrong. My ears are buzzing and my nose tingling, but I can’t figure out why!”

Kit stopped and turned to smile at me, that same predatory smile he gave me at the fort the night before. “Very good, Kitten. Very good! What else don’t you see?”

Dorian and Ash had also stopped to give me their attention, Dorian just as intrigued as Kit. I gave things a second look to try and figure out what else was missing. There was a lack of so many clues that normally were present in a situation like this. Even the tracks in the streets looked faded and old, like people had just stopped living here. But nothing about them looked out of place either, yet something was still very wrong.

I finally gave Kit my answer, “I just can’t put my finger on it, but this whole thing smells like a trap. Any other explanations for the missing people would have evidence left behind. Even deer break branches in the woods.”

Kit folded his arms across his chest, the look on his face implying he was impressed by my observations, but I had other thoughts on my mind. I looked to Dorian, “You don’t think this is for me, do you?”

Dorian shook his head, “Anything is possible, but it’s highly unlikely. Remember, Chad and Duncan were dispatched to Blackwall to investigate the myth of a vampire return before you even arrived. And while this place has only recently gone silent in the last few months, I have no idea how anyone this far north would have knowledge of you yet, nor why they would get the hair brained scheme to lure you here, of all places.”

Fed up with all the secrecy surrounding me, Kit butted in, “Anyone wanna finally clue me in and tell me why the both o’ ya are entertainin’ the notion that this is some grand plan revolving around her? Especially when this investigation is something that has the heirs to the crown and each of the houses involved? If it is a trap, and I agree with the girl on that, how is it for her and not any one o’ us?”

The three of us looked at each other, silently debating how much we wanted to tell our unpredictable loose cannon of a companion. Finally, Ash decided to toss him a bone

“She’s the star.”

Kit rolled his eyes. “I had figured that out already. Don’t know why ya treat me like my cord was cut yesterday!” He got super close again, stared me in the eyes, jabbed a finger in my face and twirled it in a circle, “What I haven’t figured out is what her being the star actually means! Why you three clowns seem to hold this mouse in such high regard. I merely get within inches of her,” he side-eyed Dorian, “and you get all sorts of twitchy!” I glanced at Dorian, and he had, indeed, slid a hand on the pommel of his sword. Ash even seemed to be gripping his staff tighter.

“So? What the fuck is so special about her?! Even Chadwick has got a larger stick in his ass than usual!” he yelled.

Dorian sighed, “She was brought here by the Goddess. She is touched and blessed by a deity and is determined to carry out the Goddess’ vision for a better Eitania, and we are assisting her.” He looked from Kit to me, “But this makes her a target. And the more people learn about her, the more important or dangerous she’ll become, especially to the likes of Oryx’s vampire brood.”

Kit raised an eyebrow at me, “And you both believe this?”

Dorian chuckled, as if it weren’t even a question. “I know someone like you has to see it to believe it, but it’s true.” He never broke his gaze from me, his eyes now laced with a serious edge to them, “All of it.”

Kit ran his fingers through his hair and scratched at his head. “Whatever. If you believe it, someone else does too,” He looked around at our surroundings again, “so I guess it’s time to spring the trap!”

Without a warning, Kit whirled and kicked in the door that had been behind him. It flew open and slammed into the interior wall. In the same instant, both his daggers were in his hands.

“I really just want pie!” He yelled again.

Nothing.

He spun his daggers with a fancy flourish, and they were again sheathed. Brazenly, he walked into the building, dark shadows casting a pall over everything inside. The light from the windows barely seemed to penetrate the darkness. We followed him, and I heard a strain from Ash as the moonstone on his staff started to glow. After a few moments, with sweat on his brow, the staff lit up the small place in a pale moonlight and we began to take stock.

It was a small house. We had entered the main living area and there were a couple of rooms to the side and back. A layer of dust was on the tables and chairs, all left in place where their occupants once were. Nothing was overturned or looked like anyone had left in a hurry. There were no signs of looting, with no objects missing from open pantries or the rooms. The whole situation was just weird. After a few minutes of digging around, we exited back out into the street.

“Well,” Dorian said, “we can either start kicking down more doors, probably finding more of the same, or we can bank on the knowledge that Kit has made enough noise for the four of us and any survivors or threats would have shown up by now. I say we make our way back to the square and see if Duncan or the others found anything.”

We each nodded in agreement and backtracked the way we had come, trudging back through our lonely tracks in the dirt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We made it back to the sprawling square and found most of the soldiers had already returned, waiting for the rest of the group. Chad, Julius, and Duncan weren’t anywhere to be seen. I did a quick head count and realized, had everyone followed the rules of minimum per group, they had gone together and were the last remaining. We loitered around the dry well in the center for a few minutes until they appeared from down another far street.

“Well, anyone find anything?” Duncan asked openly.

“Not unless you count finding nothing as anything.” Dorian responded. “There’s no tracks. No destruction. Nothing is missing, save the people.”

“There’s no pie either!” Kit added.

Duncan raised an eyebrow, understandably confused at Kit’s pie comment, but nodded in agreement with Dorian all the same. Garbled acknowledgements from the rest of the soldiers all confirmed Dorian’s assessment. No one found anything amiss, with a universal agreement that nothing was out of the ordinary being the only, and most disturbing, consistency of the state of the town.

“So, what’s next, Duncan?” Chad asked. It was weird to see him in a position where he wasn’t calling the shots. As long as I had been around him, he always displayed the take charge attitude. But around Duncan, he displayed a level of respect he showed no one else.

“Well, Prince, I believe we have unfortunately found out all we can about the status of the village. The lack of any information at all is very concerning. Out of all the possibilities I planned for, this was not one of them. Our next step should be to search the surrounding area for any other clues, but I had not planned on that being one of today’s objectives and have no desire to flail through this dense forest blindly. We can make a quick search in the cleared area around the town, but then head back to the fort for more information on the surrounding area and a new plan of attack. I will not return to my king empty handed!”

Chad and the rest nodded, and Chad began to bark out orders for people to fan out and look for anything useful in the cleared wilderness surrounding the town.

Dorian, Kit, Ash, and I moved out as a group again, taking the route we had come to enter Rosethorne. We spread out a bit, with the notion that no one would leave anyone’s line of sight and go beyond the trees. We had enough ground to cover that we were supposed to separate from each other, but Kit kept close by, attempting to continue our earlier conversation.

“So, you bein’ an avatar of the Goddess herself is the tale? I mean it explains some of your peculiarities I suppose.” He didn’t really seem to be paying much attention to our task, just occasionally kicking the loose rock in a lazy attempt to make it look like he was working. I was eyeing the ground for anything that stuck out, but it was more of the same in the village: a complete lack of anything interesting.

I gave an exasperated sigh, “Why does everyone assume I am her avatar? Yes, she brought me here from another place, but I am still my own person.”

Now more than ever.

“So, the Goddess decided to bring us a savior from some other unknown realm, but chose that this person would be… you? A weaklin’ who needs babysittin’ and hand holdin’ every moment to make sure you don’t get carried off by a large bird?” he snickered.

His pointless prodding was beginning to annoy me. If our encounter in the dark yesterday was any indication, he knew there was more to me than he was letting on now, but he wanted it spelled out for him. He was obviously through with the dance that Chad and Dorian were making him play out and wanted in on the secret Goddess tree fort.

I just wasn’t in the mood.

“It’s…. complicated.” I finally said.

“Riiiight. Not surprising. Most things involving the Gods are. Days like this make me miss the pits. Back when things were simpler.” He interlaced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the red clouds continuing to swallow the sky and further shroud the land in shadow. “I stab that guy before he stabs me. Or maybe I had to stab a woman, whatever. A world where survival lies at the end of a knife is so much simpler. No politics or intervention from higher powers.”

He kicked another rock in annoyance, but this time aimed it at me, and it connected with a thump to my thigh. I whirled and scowled at him, wishing that the child would wander off and go pretend to care about the present danger somewhere else. The look on my face had its intended effect and he raised his hands in surrender and wandered off.

“Fine. Fine. If you don’t want to let me in on the big Goddess secret, that’s fine. Don’t know why everyone is so Hell bent on not tellin’ me. Who am I gonna tell anyway? I’m the walking disaster, ‘member?” He grunted out his displeasure as he finally went off to his own section to peruse.

Or he would have if the air hadn’t been pierced with screams.