The Damsel
Lady Clerisy awoke with a gag tight around her mouth and feeling the rope bonds still wrapped tightly around her wrist and ankles. The bright summer day was blinding to her eyes. She could feel the sun rays sting at her pupils. She lifted her head to look around at her surroundings and see what her captors were up to. She caught sight of them quickly, they were about 30 or 40 paces away gathered around in a circle. She could see a large husk of an animal that was being spit roasted over a small campfire. She could smell the sweet meat cooking and it was maddening to her how hungry she had become. How long had it been since she had even eaten? As she continued to look around, she was able to recognize the forest trees that surrounded them. They were tall and broad trunks that could only be those of the forest of memories. She had not seen them since she was a child. Her father took her to pay homage to the spring in the forest that people of the land would say held the memories of those who had passed from this world.
Her silken blue dress was tattered and muddied. Her light blonde hair glowed in the sun’s warmth. She wiggled and squirmed to get herself to sit up and put her back to a large log that was laying next to her. As she was sitting up now, she became aware of a figure that had been sitting behind her watching her the entire time. This person was noticeably different from the others. He had a stillness to him that seemed unnatural and eerie.
A raspy voice croaked out” so the fair maiden awakens from her long slumber.”
The man scoffed a small chuckle sounding more like a forced wheezing breath.
She couldn’t help but feel a chill crawl up her spine, something about this man made her nervous and uneasy.
“I’m sure you have questions you want answered and since we have time while we wait I would be entertained with giving you the chance at asking those questions bobbing around in your head”
The mans face was wrapped in a black and gold trimmed sash that covered all except for his eyes. As the man got up and moved toward her, she looked at his eyes and could see they where a slightly green with a white haze and dullness that reminded her of a dead corpse. He bent over her to untie the gag from her mouth, and she began to gag at the smell that came from the man. It was like he had crawled out of a crypt.
He wandered back to the stump he had been sitting on before and waited for her response.
She gathered herself and composed her bearing once more but she couldn’t shake the unnatural fear that was pricking at the back of her mind.
“who are you and what do you want with me” her voice shaking, she cursed her voice for trembling as she could tell the man had tilted his head slightly as if he was enjoying her fright.
“well those are two simple questions that will need not so simple answers”
“I shall start with the second question first, as it is the simplest to answer. Our lord has ordered for your capture and his reasons are not known to any of us, for you see we serve with out question to our lord.”
“As for the first question that will be a more lengthy answer that will require you to recall some historical knowledge”
She was frustrated with the man for toying with her but what choice did she have, all she could do was endure his game. She nodded to the man” I am well educated in historical knowledge, so can we get to the point of this” her heartbeat pounded a little faster as she spoke why could she not get here bearings in control, she had never experienced this loss of control before in all her life.
He nodded back in acknowledgement “then perhaps you are aware of the old empire that once ruled overall. It was without end, it seemed in its day. As there were none who could even begin to challenge the empires rule.”
She recalled the old books that had recorded the events of the empire. There were not many left around to read as many had been destroyed or had been damaged over the years. But she recalled what she could.
“Yes, I recall the old empire, it ruled over our lands for a thousand years until the war of hero’s brought their rule down and freed us from the tyrannical reign.”
The man nodded once again in acknowledgement.
“Yes, and I’m sure you were aware of the ruler of that empire and those who served him?”
She was puzzled by this notion as there were no known records of any rulers and or their followers.
She recalled her grandfather would tell tales of the evil king and his army of wicked knights that would frighten and scare her and her younger family from going out in the woods late at night or not abiding by the family’s code of honor. But these were tales for children and never held any merit in her mind as she had grown older.
“No there is no record of the old ruler or of those that followed him, regardless, what point does that have to do with who you are or serve?”
“Are you some kind of fanatics that worship the old empire.”
The man chuckled once again with his wheezing rasp,” not my fair maiden you see it has everything to do with who we are because we are the heralds of the old empire’s rebirth, and serve the old lords and king who once ruled these lands.”
Stunned, Clerisy was in disbelief that anyone would actually believe they could serve a long dead empire. A small bit of relief washed over her; these men could not be that dangerous if they could be so gullible to follow some ridiculous group with an even more ridiculous purpose.
“I see so you are going to use me to gain some kind of ransom for my return and fund your groups progress then, that would make sense.”
“But you all didn’t have to drag me all the way to forest of memories.”
“Its going to take at least 4 months for you to receive your prize and another 2 months to bring me back and return me to my family.”
The man shook his head “no my dear I believe you have us mistaken for some trivial merry men seeking fortune.”
“Most of us have obtained our own fortune over the years and the coin your head would bring Is not of value to us.”
“No…no no.. your value is not in anything other than... well… whatever our master sees in you.”
“But I’m sure it has something to do with your blood line.”
The conversation was now weighing heavy on her heart, these men where crazy… they followed orders with out even knowing the purpose of them. This didn’t make any sense, What kind of person would be willing risk their lives to kidnap the grand daughter of a Sigil paladin.
She looked closer at his garbs, they were of fine black silk and a red sash with two curved obsidian daggers were tucked neatly in them. But nothing beyond that could be distinguished from the man’s appearance.
“You still don’t get it do you my dear” his raspy voice strained with irritation now.
“Perhaps you need a little bit of demonstration to understand.”
He got off his log again and walked toward her while unwrapping the sash that covered his lower face.
Clerisy’s heart almost stopped beating all together when she saw his face. It was the face of a dead man, or one that was close to it. His eyes sunken in and his flesh was rotting and molding, a green shade covered his skin, and his lips were sliced in several different spots.
He resembled more of a corpse than man.
“What in all the sacred flames light is wrong with you?”
“What disease plagues you and corrupts your body so grotesquely. You look like a walking corpse.”
But as she was looking at the man’s face, she noticed that it started to hiss and sounded like it was burning, not but a second later his skin started to char right before her eyes, as if it where being burnt in a fire.
“Yes, now you see, we are not some group of rebel uprisers or some feeble-minded bandits, we are the heralds of the old empire breathing life back to it and serving the old dread lords.” the man covered his face once more protecting it from the sun’s rays.
A shadow had fallen over the area, clerisy looked up to the sun to see it blocked out by a monstrous horror that was descending onto them. Tears began to form in her eyes, it was like something out of one of her grandfathers’ stories and she was living through it. A small whimper escaped her lips.
The man’s voice snickered “yes I just love that look on your face, no matter how many times I have seen it over the years on the others It never looses its satisfaction to me.”
As the creature descended, she felt a new wave of dread crashing down in waves.
. The man snickered “well play time is up.”
With effortless efficiency he sliced through the ropes. She was frozen in fear, she wanted to run, everything in her mind told her to run, but her body was locked and frozen in the overwhelming ocean of panic and fear.
“Oh, I do love watching this part, when all hope fades from your eyes.”
“a shame that our lord will be taking you from here, I do wish I could watch the next part,”
She couldn’t see it, but in his voice, the man was smiling and enjoyed watching her fear grow with every passing moment.
The air chilled to a freezer, burning her skin. She could feel her breath stinging her chest from within, it felt like she was being consumed, lost to a cold dark void.
She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes she was shivering out of control, and her mind was franticly fighting against the darkness that was closing in on her, she had to move…. now, she had to move now.
She opened her eyes and with all her might she got to her feet. But it was too much of a strain. Her head swirled and her knees buckled beneath her. As she lay on the ground, she could feel the wet grass had turn to frost.
She had to get up, she had to fight against this feeling, if she continued to lay there the cold would consume her. She heard her grandfather’s voice call out to her “ get up and face the evil of the world with no fear, face the darkness with the light of the eternal fire that burns within you”. Something he would always tell her when she was afraid of anything growing up.
She mustered all her strength and got back onto her knees, as she opened her eyes again, she noticed a pair of blackened leather boots adorned with silver plating that had faces of souls screaming to get out.
Her gaze followed the body up to see a figure fully armored with black mail and similar silver armor plating.A helmet crafted to the likeness of a serpent crowned a pale skinned man’s head, instead of eyes he looked on her with black shadows that moved and swirled around like flames would in rolling fire.
As she gazed on him he reached down to grab her and just as the sick bastard that had brought her to this fate had stated, she lost all hope…..
