SS - Chapter 2 - Disturbing Developments

So... I'm thinking that I'll be doing 2 chapters of Stones, and 2 chapters of Imaginary per week for the next few weeks, until I figure out exactly which one I'm going to publish on Royal Road and Scriblehub.

I'll probably add in the occational chapter of Wicked Witch, (I tried to get a chappy done over the weekend but couldn't get done it. T_T) I have a pretty clear idea of how long it'll take to get into the meat of each story (Img only 2-3 more, SS 5-6). I won't be making a decision right away, so speak up on which is your favorite, it'll help me decide.

The farther we followed the stream, the more concerned I became. Based upon the amount of blood in the stream I’d expected to encounter a dead, or dying, animal within the first fifty feet of entering the treeline. 

We didn’t. 

Instead, we followed the creek for nearly half a kilometer, watching the water get darker with each step, before we found the source of the trouble. 

While I was focusing on the stream Camille came up behind me, nearly silently, and placed her hand over my mouth. The petite girl was unusually strong for someone her size, and easily pulled me away from the water and into the brush.

“What?” I whispered quietly, once she released me.

“A small group of soldiers and constructs, just ahead. You almost walked into them.” 

Camille popped her head up, just enough to peer above the bush we were crouched behind. “If I had to guess, they’re from Skyla.”

“Are you sure?” I hissed as I scrambled to get into a position where I could peek from.

“They fit the description we had in the reports back home,” she muttered.

Peeking around our cover, I finally got my first look at the invaders. Camille was right, even though I couldn’t make out the heraldry from this distance, the only country that used sky blue uniforms in the area was Skyla. If the color didn’t give them away, the eight foot tall gaunt humanoid constructs that appeared to be made of stained glass did.

Every kingdom created a unique style of construct, like Iskel’s Gilded Knights, and most of them were different enough to be identifiable at a glance. Even compared to other constructs, being made of glass was a pretty defining feature.

I probably would have thought they were stunning, as the scattered sunbeams shone through their bodies, if they didn’t have blood dripping off their long, razor sharp fingers.

“What are they doing here? They’re a long way from home. Skyla is nearly as far from here as Iskal,” Camille muttered.

“They’re prepped for a fight, and based upon the amount of blood in the water they got one,” I whispered. “I’d love to get a look at the battlefield, that would tell us more, but it’s not worth the risk.” 

I could just barely make out the small squad’s leader, probably a noble based upon the amount of ornamentation, yelling at the troops.  “A better question is, if they just won their fight, why are they still here?” 

“You don’t think they’re done?” Camille growled.

“I don’t think we can take any chances. If they decide to go exploring, and discover the village, they could cause a lot of damage before we drive them off.”

“Why would they attack us? What would be the point?”

“All the kingdoms attack, and pillage, pretty much every independent settlement they discover. They don’t care about the resources, they just hate the idea that there are people running around who are unbound to a liege,” I explained quietly before dropping down behind cover again. 

“Cammie, I need you to do something for me. Run back to the village, and inform Siegward of the situation. Tell him to distribute the magical weapons, and armor to the knights, and rifles to the others. It’ll strain our stores of magical stone, but if the Skylian’s head towards the village, I want us to be prepared.”

“And what are you going to do?” Camille hissed. “Is it something stupid? It’s something stupid isn’t it.”

“No, I just want to keep an eye on our friends here for a while longer. If they decide to wander away from the village, I want to sneak up and see whoever they fought with. And if they decide to wander towards home, I’ll be able to give the defenders a heads up,” I said quietly.

“Why don’t I stay here, and you go back then?” Camille growled.

“Camille, this is neither the time nor the place to argue. Go!” I demanded.

The girl pouted, but still slipped away. I watched as she quickly snuck back down the creekbed, before disappearing out of sight.

Poking my head around cover again, I just caught a couple quick glimpses of the squad as they disappeared deeper into the forest.  They appeared to be moving further away from the village, which was good, but I wasn’t willing to relax yet.

I waited a couple seconds before cautiously creeping forward. I’d already expected the situation to be bad, there was no way that much blood got into the stream without bodies, but I was unprepared for exactly how it would be.

There were over a dozen bodies, split between Skyla troops, Constructs, and what appeared to be armed civilians. While the Skylians were killed cleanly, most of the civilians had been partially flayed, eviscerated, or burned. Those badly mangled bodies were the source of most of the blood in the water.

The smell of blood, and charred flesh, nearly made me sick, but I still crept forward to check out the scene. 

Since the Skylian troops had been pulled to one side and lined up respectfully, perhaps the remaining troops were planning to come back and collect them later, I decided to start with the untouched civilians.

Most of them were wearing little more than threadbare linen tunics and trousers. A few of them had a wool vest, but none of them had what I would have considered armor. Their weapons were in poor condition, and some of them were armed with little more than clubs.

I could only think of two reasons this ragtag group could deal as much damage as they did. Either they had better training, which was unlikely given how skinny most of them were, or they were exceptionally desperate.

It was only after I pulled the third body out of the creek, and begun checking it over, that I finally noticed what all these people had in common. They all had slightly pointed ears.

Elves were extremely rare on this continent, most of them preferred to stay within the Elven empire across the western ocean, but there were a few, and signs of elvish blood would stick with a family for generations.

Since they were fighting back, I didn’t think this was an attempted genocide, but it was possible that this group attempted to run away to escape discrimination, or persecution. Unfortunately, unless you were forcible severed from the liege, like I had been, the royal family could track their wayward servants. And most royals didn’t take the act of desertion lightly. 

“Poor bastards,” I muttered as I stood up, brushing my hands off on my trousers. I didn’t dare take anything off the bodies, especially if the Skylian’s came back.

I considered turning around right then and there, and heading back to the village, but I paused. 

“Why haven’t you left yet,” I whispered as I wandered over to the trail of broken branches and disturbed leaves the Skylians left behind when they left. “What was so important?”

Whether through good timing, or some stroke of fate, just as I was scanning the path something glittered, illuminated by one of the dancing rays of light peeking through the canopy. 

Unable to resist my curiosity, I stalked forward to see what it was. Half hidden by a bush, and buried in debris, I found a doll. It wasn’t like the delicate, porcelain ones I had as a child, but was little more than a bundle of cloth stuffed with straw.  In the place of eyes it had two mismatched buttons, one of which was some sort of shiny metal. 

“Fuck…” I groaned, a scene developing in my head. 

A large group of civilians, one with both children and the elderly found out the Skylians were pursuing them. Since they couldn’t outrun, a group of volunteers stayed behind in order to try and delay the pursuers.

They put up an unbelievable fight, and nearly convinced the survivors to give up, but the remaining troops decided to follow the rest of the group.

I bit my lip and stared at the path. On the one hand, this entire conflict had nothing to do with me. I had my own village, and people to protect.

On the other hand, it wasn’t like I didn’t understand why someone would flee from a Skyla. I tricked the royal family into banishing me, and my retainers, just so I’d have the freedom from their oppression, even if it meant sacrificing my system and magic.

Laying one hand at the rapier at my hip I paced back and forth for a couple seconds. Even though I tried to rationally evaluate the risks, deep down I already knew what I was going to do.

“Fuck it,” I whispered as I took off, heading deeper into the forest, following the path of disturbed vegetation that the fleeing civilians left behind.