Regecide OCT - Round 1 - Part 2

King’s River Pass:

The sound of hoofs echoed down the dirt path as Caddoc lead a small cavalry of soldiers down the road to where the last reported location of the caravan was. with them was Andrea and another member of the King’s Shadow, Thalupe (who was a mage). as they reached the top of a large hill, Caddoc halted his horse a moment to survey the area. far below them along the road, he could make out the location of a small farm. Nadiya had reported to him before their departure that the farm itself was abandoned and in disrepair, due to contaminated soil that rendered the land useless. he could make out the browning dead crops that were in the nearby fields. but little else besides the location. with a snap of the reigns and a wordless cry, he rode on down the hill, leading his men close behind him.

as the men rode nearer to the farm, they came across what could only be described as a massacre. several bodies littered the ground all around the area. on the road and in the close field and yard. however, there was a wide circle of untouched ground where the bodies seemed to bloom outwards. the center of which was the old barn, which was encircled by the many wagons and carts of the caravan, creating a makeshift wall of defence.

as Caddoc and his company rode into the odd, un-touched circle of land, he could make out spear points and helmets peeking above or around the wagon-walls. one figure was bold enough to stand out completely as he recognized the cavalry as members from the palace.

“Captain Caddoc!” cried the young man in relief. his exclamation brought other heads up who were equally glad to see the group. and they soon stepped out of the wall of wagons to greet them. their weapons finally at ease.

“what’s the situation?” Caddoc barked as he approached the men, “is Lady Abadale safe?”

“The Lady is unharmed, sir. she’s inside the barn along with the others. but most of the men are hurt and need a medic.” the young guard reported.

hearing this, Thalupe slid off his horse and walked up to the young man, “take me to the wounded, I’ll do what I can until we’re back to the palace..”

The guard nodded then pointed towards the barn, “they’re inside.”

as the mage went into the barn to help mend the wounded, Caddoc ordered his men to double check the area and secure it. they searched the grounds and looked over the bodies, making sure that the dead were indeed dead.

seated on her mount, Andrea noticed a peculiar pattern in how the bodies were lain. they were all facing away from the barn. as if they were cut down while running away from it. Andrea dismounted from her horse to get a closer look at one of the bodies. The man lay face down in the dirt, his limbs sprawled awkwardly in death, facing away from the barn. he was cleaved from his shoulder blade to just past the bottom rib, the cut passing right through his heart...and everything else.

Andrea stroked her chin in thought, glancing around her at the soldiers that were with the caravan. they all either carried spears or sabers. the soldiers themselves were average. not scrawny by any means, but certainly not specially trained to afflict such a critical hit. not in one clean strike, and not with those particular weapons, that’s for sure.

Andrea turned the body over and searched him, looking for anything that could identify him in some way. the man looked average at best, wearing regular commoner clothing, and there was nothing in his pockets besides lint. she couldn’t even find a weapon on or around the man… almost as if the body had been looted clean.

“hrmm, curious...” she muttered to herself. glancing around her a moment to make sure no one was paying her any attention, she held her palm over the body, “what do you think, Wit?” she whispered.

Andrea instantly felt a little itch at the nape of her neck. the small black inked tattoo of a rabbit had flickered to life and began to move animatedly across her skin, down her arm to the back of her hand. it hovered there a moment, its ears twitching. the black ink then faced her, the rabbit sitting up with its ears forward and nodded. confirming her suspicions.

“there is magic at play here.” she stood up and glanced at the barn with an accusing look. the wagons and carts were being pulled away and reorganized into order, preparing to leave soon, no doubt. she spotted the young guard who first approached them on their arrival and decided to go to him. he was fiddling with the harness of a pair of horses that were pulling a supply cart.

“I know you’ve had a rough day, but can you tell me what happened here? how were you attacked, exactly?” she asked curiously.

The guard looked up to her with an exhausted look, “um, yeah… well we had just made it to the edge of the river pass when we ran into a Lady Rubido, her bodyguard and a minstrel.”

“another noble?” she asked. he nodded in confirmation. “wait, they were on their own?”  

The guard nodded again, “yeah, apparently they were part of Lady Rubido’s escort. but her caravan was attacked a few days ago. and they were the only survivors. Lady Abadale refused to leave without them and made us take them along with us. against everyone’s advice.”

Andrea drummed her fingers against the hilt of her dagger as she listened with a thoughtful expression, “and then?”

“then we were traveling along the road near here. soon as we were passing the fields we were jumped. they came out of the dead crops and just ambushed us. we were barely able to keep ahead long enough to get to the barn and take cover.” he motioned towards the roads and barn as he was explaining his story. indication the direction they came from and how they encircled the building. “we lost a few horses barricading ourselves in. and a lot of our men were injured in the struggle. soon as we had a second, we sent out the drake with a distress message and hoped for reinforcements while we held out.”

Andrea nodded, looking over the area again, “well, it looks like you managed just fine on your own.” she saw Thalupe exit the barn with a few of the men he healed, “all things considered.”

the guard scratched the side of his head nervously, “well, see… that’s the thing… we didn’t.”

Andrea arched an eyebrow, “what do you mean?”

“we were completely surrounded. the bandits were closing in on us… then all of a sudden, these… warriors appeared and cut them down!” he was waving his hands trying to mime his explanation as if the motions would make his words clearer.

“warriors?” Andrea repeated.

“I can’t explain it, but it’s true! they just popped in out of the air. like phantoms or smoke or something, I can’t really explain it. all I know is as soon as they appeared, the bandits were cut down.” he motioned around the border of the clean circle were the bodies didn’t breach, “nothing could get into this area without those warrior ghost things appearing and offing them off… to tell you the truth… we were down right scared to venture out! even after the bandits were done for and the phantoms vanished.”

“well that explains the wounds, at least.” Andrea thought to herself. outloud she asked, “these, phantoms… they just took out the bandits and vanished. you don’t remember anything else? nothing that sticks out at all?”

the guard took a moment to think it over, his eyes squinting in concentration, “actually, now that you mention it, there was music.”

Andrea blinked, “beg your pardon?”

“yeah, I just realized that during the attack, that minstal didn’t stop playing music… in fact he didn’t even lose a beat even when we made the run to the barn… personally, I thought he was just batshit crazy.”

“I see.” Andrea drummed her fingers on the hilt in thought, she looked back at the scene, taking it all in before turning to the guard and giving him a nod. “thank you for the insight, it was… interesting.”

the guard nodded and went back to helping the other men get the wagons ready to depart. An  hour later, the men were in place and the caravan was moving again, with the injured riding in a wagon and the soldiers protecting them on all fronts. Caddoc was in the lead.

Andrea and Thalupe rode near the back of the caravan, covering the flank. Andrea looked on ahead as she thought everything over. putting the pieces together in her mind. up ahead, she could see the minstrel riding a mule beside the noble’s stagecoach. at a glance, he looked rather ordinary. normal features, dull brown hair, a costume fitting for a traveling bard or storyteller. he was playing a soft melody on a lute. a golden lute that had a red-and-yellow flourishing ribbon looped over his shoulder. Andrea’s curiosity got the better of her and she urged her horse forward to ride alongside him. as she got closer, she got the feeling that there was something odd about the air near him. it looked like the distortion you’d get from heat waves. only, these ones almost resembled… dragonflies, perhaps? she couldn’t quite tell without really squinting to try and catch them.

instead, she decided to smile warmly at the man, “you’re quite talented. do you have a name, minstrel?”

the man turned to Andrea and met her smile with one of his own, his eyes appraising her with a quick scan, “I am called Rumor. and whose fare grace do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”  

“oh, aren’t you one with an eloquent tongue,” she said with mild amusement, “is that how you greet all the ladies?”

Rumor simply smiled with a small wink. his fingers gliding along the lute’s strings as if he were serenading her. “what can I say? I’ve a soft spot for pretty faces. and yours is a face I would very much like to have accompanied with a pretty name.”

“it’s Andrea.” she finally offered. noting that his music never wavered with his attention to her. she also noted that the lute simply looked golden, but upon closer inspection was clearly not actual gold. though what it actually was, she couldn’t quite say. “you truly are a talented musician.”

“Thank you. I love being able to use my music to bring joy and pleasure all around me.” he said with a charming tone.

“have you any other talents, I wonder? or is the lute your only love?” she asked with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Rumor grinned, accepting the challenge, “my dear, I am a performer of many talents. you need only ask and I shall deliver.”

Andrea was still wondering about his odd golden colored instrument when she suddenly felt an itching irritation at the name of her neck. almost as if her tattoo were reacting to his words. over the years, she’d learned that certain conversations along with her train of thought would cause her tattoo to itch if she wasn’t fully sure of her answer. and she learned to interpret when it was an itch of confirmation or negation. she caught the hint and smiled at Rumor. here bright blue eyes gleaming with mischief as she leaned towards him a little in her saddle, “I’ve always fancied the panpipes.”

Rumor gave her an elegant bow, “as you wish, my fairest Andrea.”

with a flourishing movement, he twirled the lute in his hands. and the golden instrument glowed and melted into liquid light, dripping and reforming in his fingers. when the light faded, he was left holding a set of golden colored panpipes. he brought the instrument to his lips and began to blow a tune that instantly made you think of a happy spring day.

Andrea blinked in surprise. even with a guess, she hadn’t expected his lute to actually change form. but the surprise was quickly replaced with admiration, and then thoughtfulness. she listened to the melody, her fingers once again drumming on the hilt of her dagger as her brain mulled everything over.

the caravan continued on its route to the palace. there were no bandits in sight for the rest of the trip.