Realm of Monsters - Chapter 585: Starvation
Chapter 585: Starvation
“Sev, there you are!” Nalindor rushed out from the trees and stopped himself from embracing his friend.
Sev was crouched over a wounded Myn. His hands glowed with white mana as he channeled a healing spell into her body. Her armor had been torn from several large claw marks, leaving behind deep gaping wounds.
The rest of the hunting party slowly trickled into the clearing, their eyes glancing warily around for the giant bear until they spotted its headless corpse just a few paces away.
The goblins muttered to each other, confused. They stared at Sev with almost the same wariness they had given the bear. “I thought he was just a healer?” “Is he a high master?” “A battle mage for certain.” “Why didn’t he tell us?”
Their voices kept growing in intensity until Nalindor gave them a silencing glare. The mage in question needed to focus, though it seemed as if Sev hadn’t even heard a single word. His intention was consumed by the dying Myn.
When the dire bear had first ambushed the group, Myn had been sent flying into the trees. Nalindor thought she was dead on the spot. And if he was being honest, by the looks of her wounds, Nalindor didn’t think she’d make it.
And yet, as the minutes trickled by her green flesh slowly knitted itself back together and Myn’s breathing became less ragged. Throughout his years of service, Nalindor had seen countless dying soldiers on the battlefield, and rarely did any with such grave injuries survive, even with the aid of a skilled white mage.
Nalindor looked at Sev in a new light, perhaps the young goblin was more powerful than he let on or maybe he simply didn’t realize it.
For Sev, it was neither. His sheer desperation and determination to save at least this one life burned through his pain and exhaustion. His magic flowed through him with a singular purpose that silenced all the voices around him.
A soft groan escaped Myn’s bloodstained lips and she opened her eyes slowly. “S-Sev…?”
The healer’s eyes slowly regained clarity and he looked up at her with a smile of relief. “Myn! You’re awake!”
“I’m… alive?” she mumbled.
Sev wiped the tears from his eyes with the crook of his arm. “Yeah,” he grinned, “You’re alive.”
As relief filled Sev’s body, he felt the last iotas of mana leave his heart. A deep wariness filled him and he sagged forward. He almost toppled over Myn before Nalindor caught him.
“Captain?” Sev muttered, a slight look of confusion on his face. He glanced past the captain and spotted the rest of the party. “Oh… right.”
“Sev, I need you to focus for a moment. What happened here?” asked Nalindor.
“What happened…?”
“The bear, Sevryn, what happened to the bear?”
Sev glanced at the bear’s head lying in a bloody smear across the grass and fallen leaves. “…Another beast appeared. It moved so fast. I didn’t get a good look. It was big, fast. The bear fought it and died.”
“And this beast left you and Myn alone?” Nalindor asked.
“Y-Yeah. I don’t think it really cared to eat something as small as us.”
“And what about the bear? It didn’t eat the bear either.”
Sev shrugged awkwardly. “I guess it wasn’t hungry. Maybe the bear was intruding on its territory?”
Nalindor glanced at the bear’s corpse. It was unharmed, save for a singular clean cut across its neck. He knew of no monster that could deliver such a strike, save the one called cold sharpened steel. Even stranger, there was hardly any blood pooling over the body. With a wound like that on a beast of such size, the ground should have been soaked red.
“Myn, did you see anything?” Nalindor asked quietly.
Myn glanced at Sev’s anxious face for a moment then replied with a parched voice, “Nothing, besides the same beast that Sev saw.”
“You didn’t get a good look?”
“No, Captain. Like Sev said, it moved too fast.”
Nalindor stared at the two for a long moment. “Right…” He dusted off his pants and stood up. “I’m glad you’re both alright. We need to move. If this is the territory of an even more dangerous beast, we shouldn’t linger. Can you stand, Sev?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” Nalindor pointed at a pair of soldiers standing idly, “You two, carry Myn back to camp.”
“Aye, Captain.” “On it, boss.”
“Sev, with me. If something happens, stay by my side, I’ll protect you. The rest of you, keep an eye out for any more threats,” said Nalindor.
The group nodded and started to make their way back to camp. Hopefully, some of the other groups had been luckier on their hunts.
Sev was oddly quiet and reserved on the trip back. Usually, he was chatty, and always looking out for herbs or flowers he could use for one of his elixirs. Instead, his eyes were glued to the ground, his gaze unfocused. It wasn’t until one of the soldiers walked up to him that he looked up.
“Glad you’re alright, Sev. Even gladder that damn dire bear is dead.”
“It’s not a dire bear.”
“Huh?”
“It wasn’t a dire bear.”
The soldier frowned. “That thing was fucking enormous.”
Sev shrugged. “The beasts in the forest are big. If it had actually been a dire bear we’d all be dead I think.”
The soldier paled at his words.
~~~
The next few days were uneventful. Every day a few of the hunting parties returned with some food, smaller prey that they had managed to take down. One party had never returned, though Nalindor and his party had tracked down a few bloody remains.
Their food supply was dwindling, but thankfully their priestess, Lenore, had managed to find them the secret path to Evenfall. With food running low, Nalindor decided to push his small battalion forward, only stopping when night fell.
After two more days, they found themselves at the base of the mountain. As they walked out of Vulture Woods and up the mountain, familiar Lunisian tents came into view. It seemed that they were not the only ones who had managed to find their way to Evenfall.
The more they walked, the more people they found camping on the mountainside. The goblin soldiers looked spent and ragged. Some had tents, but most slept on nothing more than a bedroll. A few of Nalindor’s battalion shouted in exclamation when they spotted a familiar face and requested permission from him to see their comrades. The word ‘yes’ had barely left his mouth before they were running off.
When they reached the end of the haphazard encampment, Nalindor spotted a soldier, dressed in far finer armor than the rest. Her golden and blue platemail was polished without a scratch on them. This soldier hadn’t been to war.
“Drale, you’re in charge while I’m gone.”
“Aye, Captain.” The stocky goblin nodded and planted his battle axe on the ground.
“Sev, Lenore, with me.” Nalindor didn’t wait to see if they were following. He walked up to the gilded soldier standing atop a flat boulder as if overlooking the entire mountainside.
“Are you in charge?” asked Nalindor.
The gilded soldier glanced at him and her face broke into sympathy. “I’m afraid not. Just a messenger.”
“From Evenfall?” Nalindor guessed.
“Indeed,” she nodded.
Nalindor glanced at Lenore standing behind him. The old woman took his cue and stepped forward, “I am priestess Lenore.”
“Well met, priestess,” the soldier bowed her head.
“Where are the wayfinders?” Lenore looked around pointedly. “Are they all leading groups into Evenfall as we speak? Surely there must be one still here. I’d very much like to speak to them.”
The gilded soldier grimaced, “I’m afraid not. The wayfinders have been all recalled into the fortress.”
“For what possible reason?” Lenore crossed her arms.
“Evenfall is currently at full capacity due to the refugees.”
“Refugees? What refugees?”
“They haven’t told you?” the soldier blinked in surprise.
“We have only just arrived,” Nalindor interrupted.
“Ah…” The soldier’s expression fell. “I am sorry to be the one to tell you, but while our armies were fighting the Ebon Lords in the valley, it seems that the Ebon Lords sent another force to attack Lunis. Word has it, the Warrior Elect betrayed us and opened the gates to the city.”
“No…” Sev muttered in disbelief.
The soldier nodded sadly, “Lunis has fallen. The orc warlords and the Blue Rose’s army ransacked the city. Some of the refugees that managed to escape were led by a few priestesses from the Moon Temple; they led them here a few days ago.”
“The fortress was never meant to handle so many people at once,” Lenore said in understanding.
“We can’t take anyone else in,” the soldier admitted. “I was sent here just to give the message.”
“What of the survivors?” Nalindor’s voice choked.
“Some of the acolyte scribes in the Celestial Shrine are currently writing a list of every person who has entered Evenfall. They’ll be bringing a scroll with all their names soon enough. A day or two at most.”
Nalindor swallowed a lump in his throat. “How many?”
“Pardon?”
“How many refugees entered Evenfall?”
“…A few hundred.”
“Only a few hundred?” Sev whispered. “What of the rest!?”
Nalindor took a few short breaths and clenched his eyes closed. The world felt as if it were spinning. Lenore hugged him tightly, “I’m so sorry.”
Nalindor steadied his breath and stepped back. He turned to the guard and nodded, “Thank you for the information. Have the remaining Elects issued any orders for us soldiers?”
“The Lunar Elects are all dead. Only the Silver Mother remains. She has decided to withhold from making any major decisions until she has more information on the situation. For now, she has only given one order. Survive.”
“…Understood.”
The gilded soldier bowed. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t do more.”
“Thank you,” Nalindor saluted curtly, then marched away.
“Wait, that’s it?” Sev frowned. He hurried to catch up, Lenore in tow. “Captain, where are you going?”
Nalindor said nothing until they reached their battalion who were starting to set up camp. “Drale.”
“Ah, Captain, you’re back,” the broad-shouldered goblin smiled.
“Tell everyone to pack up, we’re leaving.”
“To Evenfall?” asked Drale excitedly.
“I’ll explain on the way,” replied Nalindor. “Drale, after you’ve given the announcement, I want you to gather a small party and round up the rest of our battalion that went to see their comrades. If they wish to stay with their original battalions let them, otherwise bring them back here immediately.”
Drale’s expression grew bleak, but he nodded. “Aye, Captain.”
“Nal, what are you doing?” Sev pulled Nalindor aside. “We can’t just leave. What about your daughter?”
Nalindor spun around and grabbed him by the shoulders tightly. “If my daughter is in Evenfall, then I’m not about to let her become an orphan,” he growled.
“What?” Sev furrowed his brow, “I don’t understand.”
“Look around you, what do you see?” Nalindor said under his breath.
Sev glanced about the encampment, “I see our fellow soldiers.”
“I see hungry folks,” answered Lenore in grim understanding.
“They don’t have enough food to last for long,” said Nalindor.
“Evenfall can send down some food,” said Sev uncertainly.
Nalindor shook his head. “Evenfall is a fortress, it was never equipped to handle so many people at once.”
“Even under the best circumstances, it would take several years to be able to accommodate the amount of people on this mountain. And without the help from Lunis…” Lenore’s voice trailed off.
“What are you both getting at?” Sev whispered.
Nalindor eyed the tents lining the mountainside. “When the food runs out, all these soldiers we’ll grow desperate. And when that happens…”
“Chaos,” Lenore finished.
“They wouldn’t,” Sev frowned. “These are the trained men and women of Lunis. They are honor-bound. They would never turn on their own.”
“Lunis is gone. The honor they fought and sacrificed so much for means nothing if the people they did it for are dead. Why do you think they aren’t letting any of us into Evenfall? There is not a single wayfinder here to even show us the cave path into the fortress. Why?”
“Because the fortress’ guards can deal with hungry and tired refugees, but an army of desperate starving soldiers?” Lenore shook her head.
“So if they can’t get into the city and they can’t get food…” Fear bloomed in Sev’s eyes. “What do we do?”
“We need to move quickly,” replied Nalindor. “All these people are in shock, but it won’t be long until the rest of the battalions come to the same conclusion. This place is a battlefield, they just don’t know it yet. We need to find somewhere in the forest to hide. We can hunt for food and wait out the storm.”
“What of the monsters that lurk in the woods? We’ve already lost a dozen soldiers,” said Sev.
Nalindor glanced up at the mountain and for a brief moment, his eyes were filled with desperate hope. “We’ll lose everyone if we stay.”
Lenore nodded and stared at Vulture Woods behind them, “I’ll take my chances with the monsters.”
