Our greatest hunt of all occurred about 9ish months into my stay with Emily. We'd been tracking them for the last couple days hoping that they would just turn away, find a different path or something, anything else. But sadly they kept pushing deeper and deeper into the Dark Wood and if we let them progress any further, they would begin to find evidence of the village, which Emily could not allow.
Oh and just to clarify, this is not a horde of Wraiths, this was a group of Wraith Cultists.
I haven't talked about these guys before so let me explain: This is a continent wide cult that views the Wraiths as the harbingers of the next world. These crazy fuckers so Wraiths as the next step on the evolutionary path and revere the bloody things. It's absolute fanaticism. To the point it destroyed two cities. Yes, there used to be two more additional cities on the continent, Bazar along the southwest coast and Atolia to the Northwest. The latter was destroyed hundreds of years before the arrival of the Earthborn, and the former was only destroyed 50 years prior. In both instances, it started with the cultists taking advantage of more lax trade scrutiny, allowing for the smuggling of live wraiths into the city. The first time this occurred it was basically written off as an accident with suspicions signs that were ultimately ignored. When Bazar fell, so too did the hammer on the cultists. Evidence was found and used to locate and then arrest hundreds who were involved. More strict trade inspections were introduced and a complete ban on live wraith transport was implemented continent wide. This forced the cult underground, having now to change from a more open form of operating and indoctrination to a much more subtle approach.
Now, cultists had to lure hordes toward villages in attempts to "spread their gifts". Others showed their devotion in more aggressive manners. How do they do that you ask? By drinking Wraith Blood. Doing so causes their bodies to begin to transform, with appendages changing and distorting. The final result is either a hideous mutated mass of black fur, flesh and fangs or becoming a hollowed out humanoid looking Wraith with nothing left of the person they were before. If you're reminded of Genestealer cults hearing about this then you aren't far off, that's the vibe I got from these quacks as well.
Emily had already done some middle of the night eavesdropping, using her speed to sneak up on them while they were still far from the village. These bastards were Wraith smugglers, or formerly considering they had been chased out of Shroud. They had been sneaking Wraiths into the City to try and convert more people to their cause
Regardless of their circumstances, these people were a serious threat to the village, as with some spare 'merchandise' on hand, if they found us they would almost certainly try to convert. When that failed they would no doubt try to 'continue the cycle'. So Emily made it very clear to me. We had to kill them. Now I'll be honest, this scared me. I'd only ever killed Wraiths prior to this point and I had thought about killing the ST's back a Torch… but there wasn't any questioning what was going to happen here. If they weren't stopped here, they would become an ever greater threat in the future, either becoming a mindless Wraith horde or converting other settlements and growing the sect. And so Emilly made the executive decision. Which again, as a whole scared me. Emily was very cold and calculating about this, a side of her I had never seen. Her bright and warm disposition that I had fallen for was being heavily overshadowed at this moment. For the first time I felt distant from her which was also frightening. This all culminated in an ultimatum from Emily. "There isn't a choice about this Ardit, This is something you are going to have to deal with if you want to safeguard our home, if you can't stand with me on this then just wait for me to get home"
Dinner was silent between us that night. You could say this was our first real fight. We both knew each other's thoughts, she understood my apprehension and I understood her justification/reasoning. We both knew and we both were scared. The only thing that was uttered was Emily telling me to get an early night, we needed to be awake for 2am in order to ambush the cult as they slept. I said nothing and just nodded, my mind racing even more with wild fantasies of the events to come. As I went to my room, just before I shut the door I noticed Emily silently reach for me from the dinner table. But I didn't go back, I didn't know if I wanted to talk to her at that moment. To an extent I didn't know if she could help me with this right now. This was her duty as the protector of the village, this is the burden Gwihir had given her… and now that was also my burden. Right now I was trying to figure out how to carry that. Because of that I didn't sleep a wink. Not a peep. I just sat at the edge of my bed, holding Emily's coat in my hands as I mulled over her words and began to overthink how in the sodding hell I was going to do this. After about an hour or two of that I realised it wasn't going to get me anywhere and began to think more logically about it as I clutched the coat even closer. A wave of cold calculus gripped me in those next few hours, as I conversed with myself on the outcomes of all courses of action. From letting them go to taking them prisoner, I went through it all. Ultimately I came to a single conclusion, they were monsters and needed to die.
These were people who delighted in worshiping the things that destroyed my home, make the simple, non-warrior folk of this world scared to go outside some days and delighted in using the creatures to hurt said people. They were less than people, some of them actually were after drinking the wraith blood. As 2am approached I slipped on the coat and put up the hood. I had convinced myself that it would be my shield this night, something I could use to protect myself from their horror as I destroyed these monsters in human skin. If I let even a single one of them live, the lives of everyone here would be at risk. People that wanted to get away from the insanity that was this world, including Emily. When I stepped out that room I was ready, I didn't know if that feeling would persist when I was holding a person's life in my hands before me, but a monsters?... That was easy to snuff out, I just had to keep hold of that concept with both hands. Emily told me later that as I strode out of my room the air seemed to grow heavier, like someone else entirely was walking past her. I stopped in the living room and turned to face her, still sitting at the kitchen table in the same seat from hours earlier. The bags under her eyes told me she also hadn't slept. She looked up at me with puffy eyes, letting her concern show in every gentle wrinkle.
"Ready to go?" she asked softly.
I said nothing in response, a nod was all I could manage. A couple seconds passed as Emily looked at me in silence before standing, strapping her knife to her waist and making her way past me to the front door. The cold night air practically dove in to replace the warmth of our house as she opened the door. Following her through it, I strapped my blades to my harness and took a look around the sleeping village. Being late Autumn, patches of snow had begun to appear on roofs, slowlying beginning the overtake the number of crunchy leaf piles the village kids love to play in. This meant that currently everyone was wrapped up in their homes, warm as anything. Unaware of the work that needed to be done to keep them safe. With a deep exhale I climbed onto Emily's back, who then used her speed to close the 20km distance between us and the cultists in little over a minute. As we sped along, my grip on her shoulders tighten as we drew ever closer to yet another shift in my life.
Stopping a fair walk from their camp, Emily let me down before giving me a light brush. Once she made sure I was free from dust and leaves she gave me a weak smile.
"You do look good in that coat" she said with a smile, doing her best to hide the guilt I could sense from her. I said nothing in response, my eyes fixed on the direction of the camp and the faint glow of their lights. That's why I had no way of seeing her coming. When my brain finally caught up with what was happening, I realised that Emily was burying her head into my chest, gripping my shirt tightly.
"I'm sorry" she said softly. "I hope when this is over you won't hate me". I blinked several times as I processed her words. A small smile formed on my face as I looked down at her, wet eyes meeting mine. I just chuckled slightly as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in as close as I could.
"Such a crybaby" I chuckled.
"Shut up" she retorted as she thumped a fist lightly against my chest. "Do you know how agonizing this night has been, not talking to you, having to prepare for this, the guilt… I should never have asked this of you"
"Maybe not" I replied quickly, to prevent her gaze from leaving mine. "But I know you wouldn't asked this of me if you didn't trust me to have your back in this and… this is the job, these people want to hurt others and… we have to stop that, get bloody so others don't… does help that these bastards are completely fuck ass mad" Emily laughed a little as she wiped a few tears away.
"I am scared Emily but I know we need to do this to keep our friends safe, so let's go, let's get started shall we?"
"How touching" proclaimed a rather sinister voice from behind a tree somewhere around us. "But if our death is what you seek you really should have been a lot quieter than that" In coordination with these words we watched as the cultists emerged from the bushes to surround me and Emily.
"Oops" she exclaimed as we separated from each other and went back to back, rotating around in order to get our bearings of the foes. As far as we could tell the entire troupe was here. Including their now uncaged Wraith cargo.
"We sensed we were in the proximity of something… but this now confirms it, truly wonderful" said the voice again, seeming to echo from all around us now. "Brothers and sisters we shall start with these two, either as meals for a sacred beasts or as new initiates" said the voice as it became clearer. The speaker came into my view, standing before me in a pose that was designed to accentuate the features. Only in this instance it did nothing but to highlight the horror standing before me. A man twisted with multiple wraith-like features, horns and spikes growing from the head and limbs. One hand was twisted into the form of a Wraith Fangs monstrous claw. A purple robe with golden trim covered the rest of the man. "Hey Em, remember when I said fuck ass mad?" I said with a painked breath before initiating a spin so she would be able to see the man.
"Accurate is all I have to say" she said with slight hysterics. "This is way further along than anything I've dealt with before!" That did not fill me with confidence.
"I see you now both tremble before my magnificence, come, step forward and I will gladly remould you with the flesh of our goddess." Unfaltering pride dripped from every syllable, I knew instantly the kind of crazy I was dealing with, the kind you don't reason with and put down.
"I knew it, she is back, that white haired bitch!" Emily yelled. And then it clicked. With another rotation initiated by me, I stood before the transformed cultist once more.
"White hair… you don't mean that she… destroyed my planet!?" I watched as the mans eyes went wide with glee.
"You were there? You are an Earthborn?! You bore witness first hand to the gifts she wishes to bestow to us all, surely you understand what it is we are trying to do then, trying to emulate her divine mission?"
Any remaining aspect of hesitation fizzled out in that moment, all that remaining was a hatred and rage similar to my buried emotions in regards to the ST's that Emily had long since helped me overcome. These 'men' wanted nothing more than to spread misery and destruction, walk in the footsteps of the woman that had been my reason for losing everything. With all of this information, after holding back for so long… I sorta snapped.
"I'm gonna kill you" I uttered slowly, ignoring his question utterly and drowning the air with venomous intent. I watched as his gaze shifted and his mouth opened as he prepared to respond though I can't tell you what he said cause I sorted, maybe had already sprinted forward and bisected him before he could react. And well I didn't exactly stop there. The closest man next to him only just started to react as my blade was swinging down from above to slash him nape to hip. Emily only just began to react now as well, just as stunned as the rest of them at the various slew of expletives that began to escape me as I started to hack the cultists to pieces. Speeding between the cultists she was able to make very short work of those she went up against, dispatching them all with quick stabs to vital spots like the heart and liver. I on the other hand could only be described as a butcher. My lack of speed resulted in fights I actually had to parry and block my way through but even those didn't last long when I would send an arm or leg flying before moving onto the next cultist, swearing and cursing as I went. "Scum sucking monster loving fuckwits…" is just one example I shall repeat for you all, just picture whatever creative insults you can think of for people like these and I probably said it as I rendered limbs. The battle ended when as Emily slit the throats of the un-caged Wraiths before the could even react to the attack. As they began to fade to ash Emily looked over toward me, stood silently in the clearing, splattered with blood and moonlight.
Gurgling laughter began to echo up into the night sky as I walked over to the barely alive head cultist. His torso lay face up leaking blood and fluids onto the grass at it's base. The mans head slowly looked upwards to meet my eyes. "She…will…" he began to utter before I cut him off.
"No…she won't"
I leaned down a little so I knew for certain he would have a good look at me before he died.
"Because she didn't kill us" we said before I leaned back up and raised my left foot before bringing it down on his head. I then raised it again. Stomp…Stomp…Stomp. This continued for a good few seconds before I was tackled onto the grass by Emlily. She quickly got on top of me, pinning me to the ground.
"You okay?" she asked simply, clearly very worried but also not questioning my actions. She knew, she understood. I breathed heavily, eyes locked with hers before finally I answered her.
"Yeah… Yeah I'm good" I said with a nod feeling my body relax slowly.
Relieved with the response she leaned down and hugged me, letting out a great big sigh as well. Letting my blade slip from my hand I reached up and returned her embrace. As we sat up and looked around and the carnage both our eyes finally fell on me, covered in blood.
"How do you feel? You sorta really let them have it… I've never seen you fight like that, not even against the Wraiths" Emily asked, trying to wipe some blood from my clothes.
"I dunno, when they glorified Earth… I just snapped."
"Well I mean I'm glad you did, you turned their ambush back on them and made my life a lot easier, I hope you don't feel guilty for having to do any of that."
"I don't at all actually, I'm kinda glad they're dead now"
Emily recoiled slightly at my words, not disgusted but a little surprised after having now done a complete 180 from my previous feelings on having to kill them.
"I know you told me earlier but it didn't really sink in until they said it, they wanted to cause more of the destruction that destroyed my world, if killing them reduces the chance of that happening to yours then… well I'm saying I no longer have any doubts moving forward."
Emily smiled at me reassuringly after that. "I know it's not perfect, and the rest of the planet will probably never forgive us for how we go about this if they find out, but I won't let it end with that woman winning, it's either us or them and I sure as hell won't let it be us" she said firmly.
"I think I can live with that rather happily" I said as Emily got off me and helped me too my feet.
"Still, I'm curious about how you know this white haired woman"
Emily looked at me for a moment before her eyes narrowed in confusion, followed by a head tilt. "I… don't remember if I'm honest with you" she said to me puzzled. I looked at her bewildered as she continued to look around as if searching for the memory but to no success.
I finally patted her shoulder and just shrugged, "Sounds like you need a holiday" I joked as I slid my arm around her shoulder. As Emily wrapped hers around mine she chuckle in response before falling silent.
"That actually sounds like a pretty good idea" she whispered to herself mischievously.