The next morning, Marina awoke exhausted. It had taken Cal a full ten minutes of shaking to get her to finally rouse. Her body was amazingly sore, between the travel and the training. She hurt in places she didn't know could hurt. She felt like she had died that night, sleeping dreamless through the dark twilight.
She wanted to stay that way just a little longer…
With Cal’s relentless efforts though, she was rolling out of her blankets, and helping break down their camp. They were all rather experienced in the procedure now, and in no time they were on the road once more.
As the sun began spilling over on the grassy plain, Marina began to feel more energized. She breathed in the crisp morning air, smelling the sweet smell of the grass surrounding them.
“We are almost out of Leoradan now.” Galen suddenly said. “Just on the other side of the border of Dalren, near where we’ll be crossing the border, there is a village called Elome. We will skirt the village, and continue on. It’s possible those who were tracking us previously have placed people along the border to search for us. We won’t reach the border until midday, but everyone on your guard none the less.” Galen said.
“Keep an eye open for corpses as well.” Marina said darkly, shivering.
The day wore on silently, and they rode in peace through the land. As midday approached, a small town came into sight in the distance. Something seemed wrong though. Tufts of black smoke were rising from the village. More than would be normal for simple cooking fires.
“Something is wrong.” Marina said. Estaria began dancing nervously beneath her, only increasing her feeling of unease.
“You’re right Marina.” Galen said. “That village is definitely on fire.”
Marina looked over at Nihlen. He was staring at the village, the reigns of Palata gripped firmly in his hands.
“Change of plans.” Nihlen suddenly said. “Lets go see what’s wrong. They may need assistance putting the fires out.”
Nihlen spurred Palata forward, and the group picked up their pace, galloping toward the village. Every second they came closer to the village, the devastation it was suffering became easier to see. Nearly all of the buildings were smoldering piles of ash. She couldn’t see one building that still remained which wasn’t on fire and destroyed to some degree. If not outright destroyed.
At full gallop, it only took minutes to reach the village. The group burst into the chaos at full speed, and into the true devastation which the village of Elome had suffered. Everywhere Marina looked, there were dead bodies. Men, women, children, it mattered not. No matter where she looked, no one stirred. The destruction and death was absolute.
Marina suddenly turned sideways, emptying the contents of her stomach. Her head felt woozy, and she was on the brink of passing out.
A hand on her shoulder pulled her back though. She looked up to see Nihlen in front of her, his eyes dull and sullen. He didn’t speak, but that was all right. There was nothing he could really say to her right now. She nodded at him, and straightened up. She made it a point not to look around any further though.
“What happened here?” Cal asked.
“It looks like a bandit raid, but to have killed everyone…” Galen said. He was definitely the most experienced with this kind of thing. Anger was clear in his voice. “This seems highly unusual. This feels like far more than a simple raid.”
“You’re as sharp as they say, Galen Inglid.” A voice said. Marina turned her head to the source of the voice, wishing she didn't see everything in between. Standing nearby, next to a now burnt pile of ash, in a completely relaxed manner, was a man. He was tall, with short honey colored hair. He was quite handsome Marina had to admit, and well built. His eyes were alive, but alive with a dark quality. He seemed happy, and the smile on his face, especially considering the surrounding situation, was quite sadistic.
“Are you responsible for this?” Nihlen asked, his tone much more even than Marina had expected. She knew he was only masking his rage though. His hands still gripped Palata’s reigns in fury.
“Indirectly.” The man said nonchalantly, shrugging. “I didn’t actually kill these people, but I may have ‘prodded’ the bandits into doing it.” His smile became even more menacing with the ending.
“Why?” Nihlen asked, simply leaving the question hanging.
“It was a means to an end.” The man said simply. “People like you are so easy to predict. Put a nearby village in danger, and suddenly you throw your own objectives aside to help weaklings.”
No! These people all died just because…
“It was so easy though.” The man continued. “We rode in, setting fires to the buildings. When all these little ants-” He gestured at the bodies around them. “Scurried out of their holes, it was a complete bloodbath. They didn’t even try to fight back.” The man finished, breaking out into hysterical laughter.
“So you have us here, now what will you do?” Nihlen asked, his voice taking on a very dark tone.
He’s activated the eye… Marina thought, shivering from its cold presence.
“What now?” The man asked, as if it were an understandable question. “I’ll eliminate your comrades and take you back to Illian of course.”
“Do not forget you are outnumbered four to one.” Galen said, finally interjecting into the situation. “Even if you are powerful, you will not find us easy prey.”
“Fighting you all by myself would certainly be a rush…” The man said, having a slight fit of hysterical laughter. “But I must prioritize the mission unfortunately. It’s a shame to cut down such a promising group of fighters this way. I would have loved to taste personal combat with all of you.” The man finished with an eerie grin. It was clear this man was crazy, but he radiated danger just as much.
What’s with this guy? Marina thought, slightly in shock from all these sudden events. He’s completely insane! And what’s he doing now!?
The man was reaching inside of his coat. From within he pulled out a strange, solid black cube. Without a word, the man tossed the cube forward onto the ground. As it landed, time seemed to stop for Marina. An invisible force, almost like a wall, slammed into her.
Then the world went black.