A Shallow Grave

“There weren't always dragons in the valley. This was the first assumption, and the impetus of our downfall.”

Ephysias, Circa 487. Two years before the fall.

Faine stared at the body and wondered, not for the first time, if she were next.

She'd found him in a glade near the center of the forest before first light, the valley still suffused in shadow despite the burgeoning light behind the eastern wall. She walked slowly, each heavy footfall pressing brittle brown grass into the ash-covered ground with a muffled crunch. She struggled beneath the weight of her pack, her labored breathing the only sound to be heard in the dead silence of the forest. Animals fled the area long before they had arrived and for the past week the forest was completely silent, save a constant keening wind that rattled the blackened bones of those creatures unfortunate enough to have not escaped in time. The trees filling the forest were unseasonably bare, and even now their long, gnarled limbs clawed towards the sky as if trying to uproot themselves so they too could flee.

Faine kneeled next to the body, next to Javaid. Sparks and ash flew into the air as she stabbed her torch into the ground beside him, un-shouldering her pack with a grunt of relief. The item, the entire reason they were here, was heavy - weighed down by purpose or the burden of what it cost to acquire, she could not tell.

She paused to stare into Javaid’s unseeing eyes, steeling herself, and gently pulled the man onto his side, hissing a sharp intake of breath at the sight.

Deep lacerations scored the flesh of Javaid’s neck and back, exposing sundered muscle to the open air. She tugged harder, the skin of his back stuck fast to the dried blood pooled beneath him, and all at once the skin peeled away to reveal dull white rib bones glinting wetly inside the rent flesh.

She pulled her head away, bile burning the back of her throat. The wounds were just like the others. This creature, whatever it was, attacked from behind and ripped into the back and neck before there was a chance to react.

Javaid, though, had fought back. All around his body were the signs of battle; scorch marks and massive clawed tracks pockmarked the ground, intermixing with pools of sticky black blood. She found the hilt of his sword poking from the grass nearby, though most of the blade was gone. She shifted the torch and broken slivers of steel glittered around them like shattered glass. Upon closer inspection, she could make out a black, resinous substance on the shards that matched the pools soaking the ground - the blood of whatever killed Javaid.

“You did well,” she murmured, easing his shoulders back to the ground and closing his eyes. “Better than any of the rest.”

Something moved in the corner of her eye, and Faine twisted her head to see Torvus, Doru, and her sister Myka forging a path through the grass. The three of them had performed a sweep of the glade in case the creature lied in wait. Unnecessary, as it was now dawn, and the creature had only attacked at night. But Torvus insisted, hoping, she knew, to find Livia - his wife, missing three days now.

Faine raised a questioning eyebrow as Torvus dropped his pack and warhammer to the ground with a dull thud. He shook his head. The others fell to the ground, ash streaked faces falling slack at the sight of Javaid’s body. There were no more tears, no more cries of loss, just silence.

More's the pity, she thought, That we can so quickly become accustomed to death.

She shivered as Torvus threw a blanket over Javaid’s face. Ten days ago, Faine accepted a contract to enter this forest. Easy money was how she described to her friends and family; one week’s labor for a lifetime of gold. Find a hidden temple, grab the artifact, split the money once home. They agreed, and six days ago ten of them had entered the forest to earn their treasure. Now, only the four of them remained.

Easy.

She smoothed the blanket over Javaid’s face and rose, hugging her arms tight around herself as a cold ache settled in her gut. It was only right the guilt fell to her. None of them would be in this damned valley if they hadn’t listened to her, if she hadn’t pushed for it. None of them would be dead.

“A shallow grave is a poor reward compared to what was promised,” Faine whispered. “What a fool I was in accepting that contract, in bringing us here. I’m so sorry.”

“We all knew the risks,” Torvus grabbed a small shovel from his pack and knelt, driving his torch into the ground opposite hers. “But if it makes you feel any better, I won’t stop you from drinking away these memories when we’re home. Right now though we need to move — quickly. That monster is still out there, and I don’t plan on dying here.”`

“Where do we even go from here?” Myka asked. “No matter where we go that thing follows. It’s been dogging us for days, picking us off one by one.” She rose and began to pace, voice trembling as she spoke. “We’re still three days from the forest’s edge, it will kill us all by then, we’ll—”

"Why hasn’t it done it then?” Doru interrupted, drawing looks from the others. “It’s bigger, meaner, and clearly has the tools to get the job done.” He gestured to Javaid’s body. “Javaid was the best swordsman among us. He gave it a few cuts, but it took him down with no trouble at all. It could easily handle the four of us right now if it wanted to - just look at those tracks, it's huge.” He shook his head. “We could all be dead right now if it wanted us to be, it just doesn’t know it.”

Faine frowned. “What do you mean?”

Doru dropped to his haunches, drawing a cigarette from the inside of his cloak and lit it on Faine’s torch, drawing deep before responding. "If I had to guess it’s young, or new to the valley and doesn't know its place. That’s why it ambushes before it kills or drags one of us off while we’re sleeping, to ensure it has the advantage. Maybe a massive, rabid bear or—"

"Something the mages concocted in Tavrasa?" Faine suggested.

Doru wrinkled his nose at that, but the worry in his eyes confirmed to Faine the thought had already entered his mind.

"Whatever it is," he continued, smoke rolling from his nose, "It's already hunted every other type of creature in the forest before we arrived, hence all the bones. It kills indiscriminately, regardless of predator or prey, and it will keep coming after us until we can convince it otherwise."

“Have you seen this before?” Myka asked. Back home Doru was a ranger, guiding hunters and merchants through the Black Leaf forest that separated their village from the rest of the empire. Before that, he served as a scout in the Imperial Cohort.

“Never.”

Torvus leaned forward heavily on the handle of his warhammer. “Then what do you propose?”

Doru was silent for a moment before responding. “We work together, force this thing to face us head on.” He nodded his head further down the valley towards a massive, oblong hunk of stone leaning against the valley wall. “That boulder is our best shot. There must be level ground there for it to have not fallen all the way to the forest, and even from down here we can see that there’s no tree cover. Nothing but rocks on all sides. We make it there, and we prepare. If it’s young like I think it is, and we give it a tough enough fight, maybe we stand a chance.”

Faine’s chest tightened as Torvus and Myka nodded their agreement. Doru looked at her and she nodded.

“Okay,” Torvus said, grabbing a small shovel from his pack. “Faine and I will bury Javaid while the two of you scout ahead for any sign of the monster on our path forward. But for pity’s sake stay in sight of the torches. We lose the two of you and Faine and I don’t stand a chance.”

Doru flashed a mirthless grin and the two of them set off without another word. Torvus looked at Javaid’s body and sighed again, fingering the ring on his left hand.

Six lives lost, Faine thought. Six souls owed more than I can give.

She sniffed once, unhooking a shovel of her own from the back of her pack, and began to dig.

____________________________

Faine sat with Myka atop the boulder, a few hardtack biscuits and their waterskins between them.

“Some last meal,” Myka muttered beside her, wiping crumbs from her pants. “I miss mom's biscuits.”

Fever had taken their mother two years ago. Neither Faine nor their father talked about Leanna, the pain was too great. Myka did though, remembering and speaking of their mother often, as if the more she spoke of her the longer she would remain.

Myka was staring at her, and Faine replied, “So do I.”

“They’ve almost finished,” Myka said, gesturing towards the two men beneath hem. “That’s the last of the traps.”

As Doru predicted, the ground around the boulder was level enough to stand on without fear of tumbling down the valley wall and was surrounded by rocky scree that spread across the entirety of the basin wall that formed the valley walls. The four of them spent the majority of the afternoon clearing the circle, with Myka and Faine helping clear rocks and shale before switching to the sharpening of swords and arrow tips. She and Myka would be posted atop the boulder some twenty feet in the air, raining arrows on the monster, while Doru and Torvus drew the creature towards the traps.

“Look at them,” Myka said, a small smile on her face. “They’re like toddlers.”

The two men were arguing over the placement of a hole in the ground as if raising the festival tent back home. Doru interrupted Torvus by grabbing the shovel from his hands and walked to a different spot. Torvus threw his arms in the air in response and walked away, shaking his head.

“More like dogs,” Faine said. “Fighting over a bone.”

The two of them shared an easy smile as Torvus stalked over to the fire and pulled a torch from it. He circled the edge of the cleared ground and lit the rest of the torches surrounding the encampment, until the entire battleground was surrounded by a ring of blazing yellow light.

She looked away and, despite what was to come, felt herself relax. The valley’s east and west walls met to the north, rising to form the Tavras peaks that marked the edge of the empire. The sunset cast the valley in an orange glow as light played across a river they had crossed further to the south four days ago. She breathed deep as a cool breeze lifted from the forest, bringing with it the scent of damp earth. Myka scooted closer, leaning to lay her head on Faine’s shoulder just as she had done when they were kids. They sat there, saying nothing as the purples and blues of night swept away the light of day. They didn’t need to.

Myka jolted upright, snatching her bow from the ground, and Faine felt goosebumps crawl over the nape of her neck.

A presence, just beyond the treeline fifty feet away, watching. They stood together, Faine’s eyes darting across the treeline, searching for any sign of the monster. The men below sensed it as well, placing their backs to the boulder and facing the forest with weapons in hand. Torvus with his warhammer, Doru opting for a simple sword and shield.

The last shred of light died behind the valley wall, and with it, death emerged from the forest.

It was merely a shape at first, a formless shifting of the trees and grasses in the twilight shadow. It entered the torchlight and Faine sucked in a sharp breath.

The flickering torchlight danced across its scales as it crawled up the wall towards them. Powerful back legs propelled it forward, its muscles rippling as clawed wings pulled it ever closer to their position. It reached the edge of the clearing and reared its head up, towering above them. Doru hefted his sword and the creature rumbled low in its throat, revealing a toothy maw with dagger-like fangs the length of her forearm. Massive horns curled around its head, ending on either side of its jaw to point towards the four of them.

“It's a demon,” Myka choked out.

Faine forced a raspy breath into her lungs. Her hands were cold, clenched into fists by her sides. She forced them to uncurl and picked up Doru’s bow still by her feet. She couldn’t keep her hands from shaking, but managed to nock the arrow on the second try, aiming it right for the beast’s head.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as man and monster regarded one another.

Slowly, it stepped into the circle, one of its hind legs stepping directly atop one of the traps. Steel snapped around the ankle, piercing the hide with enough force to draw a trickle of blood from where its teeth bit into the demon’s flesh.

A low hiss of rage and pain emanated from the demon. It pushed into the trap, pressing its full weight onto the metal plates and springs until the metal sheared away and sprung loose, releasing its hold on the demon’s leg.

Faine blinked and the demon towered over Doru, crossing the distance in an instant. Its long neck arched high over the flames, hate filling its eyes. Myka loosed an arrow and Faine followed a second later, both arrows bouncing harmlessly to the ground.

It moved in a blur, slashing with its wing tip. Blood sprayed from Doru’s chest as a crimson slash opened his body from shoulder to hip, the demon’s claw tearing through his armor with ease.

Torvus ran forward as Doru slumped to the ground, planting his feet, and slamming the warhammer into the monster’s chest with his full might. A dull echo resonated as if he had struck an anvil. The demon lowered its head and snatched Torvus by his midsection, effortlessly pulling the large man into the air and whipping him from side to side like a dog with a rat until he stopped moving.

It turned to face them and launched itself from the ground, gliding directly to their position on top of the boulder - directly at her. Faine fired once, then twice, each time the arrow skittering harmlessly off the demon’s scales.

At the last second, Myka shoved Faine off of the boulder.

Time slowed. Faine reached out to her sister, but could only watch in horror as the demon snatched Myka with its rear talons - and then they were gone.

Faine slammed into the valley wall, tumbling down the wall in a jumble of shale and limestone, coming to a stop back at the level ground. She coughed and gasped for breath, the wind knocked from her lungs. Slowly, she lifted herself onto her hands and knees.

She stared at the ground. Blood painted the rocks beneath her as it poured from a wound on her head in a steady stream, spattering across her hands and the artifact they had found.

Lapis lazuli, Torven had called it. Its surface was the richest, most vibrant shade of blue Faine had ever seen. Intermixed with veins of slate colored strata and flecks of gold, the rocky fragment glimmered in the twisting torchlight. She hated even looking at it.

Faine grabbed the rock and threw it into the forest, but it froze midair. She gaped as the rock exited her palm, now slick with her blood, hovering in front of her face. The blood smearing its surface disappeared, melting away as if absorbed like a sponge. The stone fissured, splitting the air with a sharp crack as light poured from within. Faine watched in amazement as the rock split twice more, shielding her eyes as it fell apart midair to rotate around a blazing ice blue nimbus.

The three shards orbited the nimbus once, then stabbed into her wrists and chest. She cried out as the stone pieces molded to her flesh, slate colored manacles wrapping themselves around her wrists and throat. The blue light flashed once and surged into her.

She fell to the ground, gasping for breath. She ran a hand through her hair, breathing, and when she pulled her hand down she stared at her hand. The bleeding had stopped.

A blood curdling scream cut through the night. Faine whipped her head towards the circle of torches in time to see the monster slam into the ground, her sister still in its claws. Myka struggled beneath the creature’s weight, still fighting. The demon’s head bobbed once, and Myka fell silent.

She stared, numb as the demon approached. The scent of blood and rot overwhelmed her senses as the monster stood before her. It arched its neck high into the air, and a bolt of lightning struck it in the chest.

The stones around her shook as the beast howled in pain. A second bolt took it in the shoulder, and a third in the neck before it turned away. Its tail whipped over her head as it launched itself into the sky, narrowly avoiding a fourth bolt as it fled the valley wall.

A man sprinted into view, throwing two more bolts into the sky. He faced her now.

“I admit, I am surprised to find you alive, especially against a dragon.” he said, relief clear in his voice as he walked towards her. “I left as soon as I felt the fragment awaken, but still,” He looked at the ring of fire, at the bodies of her friends. “I am too late.”

“Dragon?” Faine breathed, voice quavering. She couldn’t comprehend what the man was saying, how he had arrived out of nowhere and driven that creature off. A senseless wailing echoed in the back of her mind as her sister’s broken body flashed across her vision.”

“A Lesser Helldrake; a wyrm to be more precise. Juvenile, if you can believe it.”

He stopped in front of her and lowered himself until they were eye level, pulling back the hood to reveal a weathered dark skinned face and kind, sad eyes.

“Lie down my dear,” the man said softly. He waved a hand and at once a blanket was wrapped around her, squeezing her shoulders. The man pressed his palm against her forehead and her mind was blank, replacing the wailing with a warm buzzing sensation that left her feeling as if her head were filled with syrup. Her eyes drooped as the mage eased her down onto the ground, tucking her pack beneath her head and another beneath her feet.

“The fragment will soon overwhelm you, continuing to acclimate itself to your body. Until that time it’s best you sleep. And please, rest assured,” he added, an edge entering his voice. “My brothers and sisters will soon arrive and hunt that beast down.”

“Who are you?” Faine whispered. She tried reaching out to grasp the hem of his cloak, but found her limbs were too heavy to lift as a numbness spread through them. Ice blue light gathered in her fingertips, but the numbness quickly swelled there too, and the light dimmed.

“I am called Ephraim,” the mage stated. “And I am to be your master. But we will discuss that later. Rest now, you’re safe.”

Safe.

Ephraim stood and walked towards her sister. Torvus and Doru’s bodies rose with him, gliding a few feet above the ground to rest beside Myka. Ephraim hovered over one body to the next, golden light spilling from his fingertips as white gilded cloth covered the two men from head to toe.

He shifted to Myka, and though darkness threatened the edges of her vision, she was still able to make out her sister’s eyes. The once beautiful, bright eyes were now dull and lifeless, without a hint of the spark that once inhabited them. They stared directly at her accusingly, accusing her, just like all the others.

Nine souls lost, she thought, tears sliding down her cheeks. Nine lives forfeit to my greed, yet I alone survive. What a waste.

And then she knew nothing.