Expedition 3 - Retaliation
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From Tales of the Alliance the Diaries of Sasha...
Day 1
So here we are again, The Vale, land of wonder and death. After our last trip here, I’m a little more wary of…everything, and although I can sleep safely again without setting everything a blaze, I can still feel that darkness around me.
Upon entering the camp, I see old and new faces, but before I can speak, The chosen starts to scream that the barrier protecting the camp is down. Everybody rushes to the fane to pray in desperation to be safe. As I am of The Lion Guard, I make it my duty to patrol the area in case of an attack. Suddenly, The first chosen falls to the ground in agony. He is carried into The Fane and the doors are shut. He cries, begs and pleads for ‘The Father’ to help him, his voice becoming more horse as he screams for aid. The doors open…and the chosen steps out with wings of gold. He looks like an angel, but a shadowy figure lurks behind his form. It smiles a white toothy grin at me and I avert my eyes, before walking off to the Tavern…I need a good drink for strength and courage to get me through this trip I think.
Not long after that, the younger chosen, Michael, comes to me, asking for a…faith chat. I cannot look at him for a shadow figure, like the one following his brother, also follows him, but he understands and says to seek him out when I am ready. I really need to speak with Kaylen about these creatures I am seeing.
After some time, I manage to steal Kaylen away long enough to report my findings on the research she had me do. Like me, she doesn’t take the news too well but until I can do further research, we cannot confirm or deny if this is good or bad news.
Oh! And Lord Fenix wants to marry me off to one of his men….what have I done to receive this kind of attention?!
Night started to fall, and I was stood talking to Leto, a scout from Kaylens house and our new beastkin lightning mage in The Lion Guard, when The first chosen came over to speak to us. I started to walk away, afraid of the shadow that follows him, but he grabbed me by the strap of my bag and pulled me in front of him. I snapped my eyes shut as he yelled in my face, telling me that if I continue to act this way, there would be consequences. He demanded that I look at him, but my eyes remained shut tight as I shook my head no. I could hear him growl before he stormed off, and only then did I open my eyes again.
Later that night, I went up Preachers Hill with Kaylen and some others to deal with an Undead rat….turns out he wasn’t alone and I received a nasty wound to the arm. I was helped back to camp and healed in the Guild tent…well; Lawrence tried to heal me whilst drunk, before Father Matteo took over. Next thing I knew, it was Guild drinking time. It sure was a long night and the storm was setting in for the night.
Day 2
As I exit my tent, I see the looming shadow creatures stand outside the fane, most likely waiting to latch onto the chosen ones. The fact that they can willingly jump from host to host frightens me. What is stopping them from following me and whispering into my ears? They cannot be fought with weapons or magic from what I can tell. There is no stopping them from causing pure chaos. I know those who follow the faith would defend the creatures and say that they are good, but no creature of pure darkness with that white a smile could ever be called good in my mind.
I decide to leave camp and clear my head. As I leave, I see chosen number one exit his tent, only for one of the shadow creatures to instantly start following behind him.
Leaving the camp alone, I know, isn't really allowed after what happened last time but honestly, I just want some me time. I wander the hill path only to run into a lone orc. We stop and stare at each other, my heart in my mouth. I could see him looking at my wand and sword, obviously confused as to whether I am a warrior or a mage. Using his confusion, I quickly cast magic armour and flame sword on myself and dash toward him. He steps back as I swing at him, sword catching his arm. Side stepping around him, I attack his flank, but he quickly turns and his sword hits my head and top of my arm. I back up slightly, worried that I may have gotten to over confident and could very well be killed here and now, but to my surprise, the orc runs back towards preachers hill. I quickly try to bolt him down but he is out of my reach.
Heading back down the mountain, I enter camp and many a face turns to stare at me. I am covered in blood, but not worried for my life. I seek out a healer and spend the next few hours resting....though I should have told Kaylen, as whilst I slept in my tent, she feared that I had been killed or taken by the Khanate.
Later in the evening I spoke to Rafe the elf, who is loyal to the king. We spoke of a number of matters that I will not mention in this journal for fear of it getting into the wrong hands. The consequences could be dire for many.
Word had reached us that tomorrow; The Khans would attack the camp, and I assume it is because our barrier is weaker than it normally is. In light of this news, some training was carried out. This involved drilling our shield wall and deciding tactics for dealing with tomorrow’s battle. We had decided that we would use the narrow crossing of the bridge and trench to try and concentrate their forces into smaller and more manageable groups. The training was received well and it boosted camp moral. We knew that we may now stand a small chance.
Heavy fog rolled into the camp making it harder and harder to see who or what was in front of us. Whispers in the camp say that the Khan will be sending people who look like our own to our camp in an attempt to infiltrate. I noticed that a few of our Lion Guard were patrolling the perimeter, though the fog made it difficult, we managed and the camp remained safe for another night.
After a few rounds of cider and good company, I decided to turn in for the night, hoping that tomorrow would be a brighter day.
Day 3
Oh journal, I fear for my future in this land and our own. The magic bracelet that has been stopping my dreams stopped working last night and I was "gifted" with what I can only describe as an unsettling vision.
In my dream, I am stood at the bottom of a rocky hill, covered in dirty rags. I start to climb up the mountain, sun searing my skin, jagged rocks cutting into my hands and feet causing them to bleed...but it does not stop me. Higher and higher, I climber to the top, the heat getting more intense as I near the peak. I reach the end, and in front of me is a rock with an eagle etched into its face. With bloody hands, I reach out to touch it. White hot fire engulfs my body. A voice calls out to me, "Arise my servant!", and the light and heat subsides. I look down at myself and see I have been healed of all cuts, cleaned of all blood and dressed in the purest white clean robes.
I know this vision is linked to 'The Father', as all his symbols are present....and it frightens me. Knowing what I know about the faith....I don't want to become his servant, I don’t want to lose who I am and what I stand for, I don’t want to become a mindless chosen slave! Yes they may be powerful, but their souls are not their own, not in control of their own paths....they are not mortal beings.
If this dream, is what 'The Father' has planned for me....then I will fight tooth and claw to remain who I am.
The rest of the camp slowly started to arise, and began to prepare for the battle ahead of us. Those who could not fight were told to stay safe in the fane, protected by The first chosen, whilst the rest would organise themselves into battle formation on the bridge, with the shields at the front. It wasn’t long before we saw the Khan’s forces appear on top of Preachers Hill.
Namtar made his way down to the battle field to speak to Kaylen. She yelled back to us that the battle would not commence so long as we heard Namtar out…sadly some idiot lacked a brain and cut him down where he stood. The Khans horde yelled down at us and proceeded to move down the hill to begin their attack. Everybody was ready and in position, once they got within reach of our spells, all hell broke loose. The Battle was quick and bloody; they broke through our shield wall like it was make of paper, and took down all that stood their ground. Many were pulled back across the barrier to be healed and less were left to fight. The Khan himself stood at the barrier and spoke to Lord Fenix. He said that so long as nobody else attacked one of them, they would leave us alone, otherwise he would shatter our defences and annihilate us all…again some people don’t have a brain and one of the Khans men was attacked. In order to keep his word, Lord Fenix cut that man down. Satisfied, the Khan and his forces left us to lick our wounds. Once again we were shown how our so called ‘Camp Unity’ was a sham compared to our enemy.
The rest of our time in The Vale was used to rest up after the battle. We began to pack up our gear and readied ourselves to be taken home. In some way, our expedition was successful and in others it was not. I know that once we return home, I must continue my research for the sake of us all.
Sasha Emrys
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© Jason Axelrod from 8WAYRUN.COM