Thirty Six
Gladius and Fletcher, Elven Burial Grounds
The path ahead was noticeably more sinister as Gealladh led Gladius and Fletcher along with the few Moonsworn guards Magister Lunaris could spare.
Charger and Scruffy were uneasy, their ears perked up on high alert. Their riders two equally tense. Geally's pearly steed was noticeably uncomfortable too.
No pixies or moths danced in this trail. The ancient trees around looked withered and more fragile, even the luminescent mushrooms glowed a sickly gray hue.
Gealladh had her bow notched the entire time.
Fletcher was still queasy and hadn't bothered to ready his weapon.
Gladius rode alongside his Ileuadi guide, a trio of auxiliary Moonsworn footmen followed, keeping alert.
Their destination was clear ahead: a statue of the malevolent deity: Drwg. Her demonic features and appearance were a stark contrast to the angelic Ileuad.
A tangle of sinister thickets flowed from the statue in every direction, pulsating like a blackened swollen heart. The statue was certainly the epicenter of this tumorous magical infection.
The West Venture Company had cleared enough trees that the night sky was exposed.
Fletcher kicked a discarded handsaw into a small pile of sickening-looking wood, the wood crumbled on contact. The resources here were no use to the Ventures.
"Someone left in a hurry," Fletcher mused as he watched the corrupted wood dissipate.
The toppled trees all around showed signs of logging, the tools strewn about were evidence of a quick departure.
Accidental or not, the operation had stirred up the old Drwgi corruption.
Gladius examined a discarded helmet, rolling the leather and enamel object in his hand it had the engraving signature of the West Venture Company, there could be no mistake, the loggers had been here.
Gealladh was closely examining the winding stream of corrupted roots departing the sinister statue. They seemed to be leading towards the Drwgi graves further ahead.
"The vines are corrupting the old burial plots!" Geally declared.
The heroes raced towards the old cemetery adjacent to the statue. The ancient iron fence had since been overgrown by the wilderness. Only the shape of the fence remained visible under the thick overgrowth.
Sure enough, the exposed plots glowed the same strange black aura, Wicker Beasts crawled out of the softened ground using the roots to ascend, given new life as instruments of corruption.
Despite the heroes' best efforts to stay undetected, the Wicker Beasts were alerted to their presence and snarled menacingly, ready to pounce.
"Ready your weapons!" Gladius shouted as he led the charge towards the monsters.
"Take this to finish the job!" in a complex twirling hand gesture Gealladh called upon her Ileuadi magic. Her fingertips illuminated a silvery aura.
The tips of her companion's weapons now burned red hot with a fiery enchantment.
Fletcher took the first shot, his augmented fiery arrow erupted on contact with the Wicker Beast Wolf.
The Wicker Beasts proved swifter and craftier than the Ferals Gladius and Fletcher were used to slaying. The creatures moved in stiff but evasive patterns; they were difficult to anticipate.
Gladius stopped a Wicker Beast lunging at Geally, the beast rattled against his shield but the veteran knight stood his ground. With a turning motion he flanked and skewered the beast with his flaming sword, reducing it to ashes.
After he withdrew his weapon, he reached out a battered gauntlet to help Geally to her feet, but she was already back in the fray.
Geally seemed to dance through the chaos, now carving a clear path through the beasts with a rune-covered short-sword.
Gladius couldn't help but to admire her impressive blade work. She made it look easy.
But the numbers of the Wicker Beasts were swelling now despite how many the three heroes slew.
The Moonsworn guards were not faring well, they were overworked from long battles and their fatigue was slowing them down.
Gealladh drew a pole-arm and held it out to impale a lunging Wicker Beast, but their numbers were growing like a plague.
A larger beast the size of an ogre lunged forward breaking through the phalanx barrier the Moonsworn guards had erected. The fires ate through the beast but it still retained enough force to engulf the three soldiers in a blanket of fire.
The Dark Elves' sickening screams filled the air, fading as the fire consumed them.
Fletcher was handily picking off the smaller Wicker Beasts, staying a safe distance from the larger monsters. Sweat ran down his head as he glanced the Moonsworn soldiers' freshly smoldering bones.
One of the larger beasts broke past Gealladh's pike and lunged at her exposed flank, its jaws burning like the fires of Hell.
Gladius kicked aside his current assailant and tackled the beast before it reached Gealladh.
Gealladh was visibly shaken by the close call and switched to her trusty short-bow. Her shots could do little to stop the monstrous thorny beast mauling Gladius.
The beast's jaws were around Gladius' gauntlet, slowly melting the steel plates but Geally's arrows had little affect on this stubborn attacker.
Gladius stretched out to reach his stray sword inching his fingers towards it.
He clenched the hilt and with one swift slice decapitated and inflamed the Wicker Beast, rolling to safety as it burned away.
Gladius and Gealladh fought back-to-back pruning away the remaining smaller Wicker Beasts, but against a rapidly growing swarm the best they could do was stay alive.
Fletcher darted past and hauled Gladius away from the swarm and fled towards Brookhaven, Geally in tow.
"There are too many of them!" Gladius panted as the trio did their best to fall back to the village, their spooked horses frantic.
But now the town bell from the village was ringing loudly, an alarm rang out. Hellish flames of Drwgi sorcery lined the doomed village.
"We need to reinforce the village defenses!" Gladius trampled a smaller beast and galloped alongside Gealladh and Fletcher.
"Hold on father, we are coming!" Gealladh pleaded as she bounded forth. She wouldn't have time to mourn her fallen Ileuadi guardsman, not until the threat was over.
Seeing the troubled look on Geally's face Gladius promised her: "I won't let your friend's sacrifice be for nothing. We will end this together."
"Together," Geally agreed.