Chapter 55: It was too late to save him

A pair of guards were running for their lives within the mist. They had been running for nearly an hour, and a sheet of water and sweat covered the faces hidden beneath their helmets.

One was a large man. His long legs took giant strides as he stomped through the soft ground. The other was a feminine figure with shoulder- length black hair that flowed out from underneath her helmet. A pair of pointed ears could seen with every chance the archer took to glance behind them.

They stopped again to catch their breaths, but it wouldn't be for long. The terror they were running from was still fresh in their minds, and the tension of being pursued could be felt in their stiff postures and the fearful looks in the direction they'd come.

"Where are they? They should have caught up to us by now after stopping so frequently." The man wheezed as he hunched over to catch his breath. His elven companion ignored him, once again listening for anything that could be following them.

A few moments passed in a heavy silence. Then the elf reached for her bow, rekindling the fear of her companion.

"Desha?" he called in a hushed tone. "What is it? What do you-"

She raised a hand to silence him just as a silhouette appeared in the mist. Moments later, a guard came running up to them with a blank expression and jet black hair plastered to his face.

"Mavas!" The man called out to the running guard. "What took you so long? Where is the lieutenant!?"

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The man named Mavas slowed to a stop as he came up to his fellow guards. He glanced at Desha, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes, then he turned to man with a grim expression on his face. "The lieutenant's dead, Leon." he said breathlessly.

"What? How?" Leon asked.

"You know how! He was singled out and devoured, just like the damn priest!" Mavas hissed.

“But you went back for him…” Leon whispered.

“Did you not see that thing!? I’ve seen monsters in my day, but that thing is different! Out of all of us, the first one it kills is the priest!?” Mavas shook head, then the blank expression returned to his face. “...I tried to help him, but it was too late by time I reached him.”

Leon sighed heavily. "May Thena take him. " He whispered a small prayer for his former superior. Then he looked back at Mavas with all sympathy gone. "Where do we go now? The Captain's detachment is in the opposite direction, and the only others on this side belong to Elroy's squad. The latter option seems the most logical choice, seeing as we’d have to go back the way we came. If we don't move soon-"

"That's why we're leaving right now. Charles had the map, but I got a good look at it before we separated. If they kept a steady pace then I know exactly where they could be by now. All we have to do- Desha? Desha!” Mavas turned to the elf and grabbed hold of her shoulder. She was looking back into the mist, where he had emerged, as if hearing something that the others could not. Then she looked at Mavas with her eyes wide and body trembling.

Mavas drew her close and looked her square in the eye. “He's dead. There's nothing we can do for him now. Understand?” he whispered menacingly. Desha nodded slowly, taking a moment to collect herself, then she shook off his hand.

Mavas looked at her one more time before turning back to Leon. “We need to get moving. If Elroy kept south-west, then I know where they could be. Come on.”

With the decision made, the trio set out to make for the other guards that they had left only hours before. They stomped through the undergrowth that was soaked through from the mist. As they ran, other than their footfalls, the only sound was their heavy breaths. In the unending cloud, it seemed like hours passed before sounds of combat could be heard.

Mavas stopped ahead of them and held up his hand for silence. “Sounds like they're already fighting…” He drew his sword and looked at his Leon and Desha. “Come on, let's go lend a hand. It’ll help with persuading them afterwards.” he said as he lead the charge. Leon was right behind with his long-sword at the ready. Then Desha followed slowly with her bow drawn and an arrow nocked.

They all surged forward, expecting to plunge headfirst into chaos. But what the three saw in the mist before them as they approached was entirely different from the scene they had imagined. Dozens of croaka were sprawled on the ground in a wide circle with a second layer of corpses forming on top of them. In the center our the massacre, fighting fiercely, was a group of five men.

They were split into two groups of two, with one man standing in the back to cover the rest. The first pair was a tall warrior and a priest off to the left. The towering brute was swinging his great battle-axe at the while the priest was using his staff to ward off any other enemies that would try to flank.

The other pair consisted of two swordsmen fighting back to back in order to cover their blind spots. One seemed more experienced than the other, cutting down one foe after another. Still, his younger companion kept pace by using more strength than skill.

The way the squad methodically cut down foes in waves was a testament to their training and teamwork, but it was the man in the back that drew the attention of the three guards that watched on. Whenever an enemy seemed to be a threat to one of his squad members, his hand would reach for a throwing knife in his hand, and a second later, another enemy would be dead on the ground.

“What in the hells!? How can they kill this many frogs with only four people?” Maverick asked. He was stunned as he surveyed the carnage.

“There's more than four people.” Leon said quietly. His eyes were glued to the scene before him just like Mavas, especially on the dark skinned youth that stood closest to them.

"I never count priests... All they do is point and pray." Mavas replied solemnly.

Leon pointed his blade at the small priest who was currently using his staff as a bludgeon with startling efficiency. "Well he seems to be doing a lot more than "pointing and praying"." he countered.

Mavas looked at Desha, and when their eyes met, she motioned towards the combatants with tension stiffening her every movement.

"Aye,” he said quietly as he turned back to the fight. “The lot of them seem a lot stronger than I gave them credit for. Why don’t we go see if they’ll let us join their ranks? Looks like they're about finished anyway…”

Just as Mavas finished his sentence, one of the remaining croaka jumped high, aiming toward the dark-skinned youth. The man took a graceful step back practiced ease and threw two knives in rapid succession. The first knife buried deep into the monster’s shoulder while the second pierced its chest.

The impact of the knives caused the croaka to backflip as it fell towards the youth, but he responded quickly with a final throw that sank a knife deep into the creature’s skull.

The dead croaka hit the ground just as another ran up to flank the youth. It croaked loudly and brandished its spear as it charged. Most of its comrades had already been slaughtered by the man from afar, and it was determined to get revenge for its kin.

Desha nocked an arrow and took aim, but Leon moved to placed a hand on her arm to stop her. “Save your arrow... he knows it’s there.” he said.

Under her helmet, Desha frowned.

“What makes you so sure?” Mavas asked.

Leon shook his head and sighed. “I know from experience. Watch closely.”

The trio looked on as the final croaka rushed for the youth while he was reclaiming his knives off the fresh corpse. It attacked with reckless abandon, ignoring all the natural signs that told it that the man was not to be trifled with. The man leaned back and evade the thrust without so much as glancing at his assailant. Then he unsheathed the sword on his hip, immediately cutting the makeshift spear in two.

His speed caused the croaka to take a step back, but the youth shadowed its step and aimed unleashed a skill, aiming for the monsters neck. The scimitar in his hands glowed green and hissed as it began to slice through the pale-blue flesh of its latest victim. Yet half-way through the monster’s neck, the light died and the hissing stopped, leaving headless body to fall to the ground with only half of its neck cauterized.

Although the battle was won, the youth frowned as he looked down at his blade while the squad gathered around him.

Seeing his chance, Mavas sheathed his blade and approached the squad. “Hail, guardsmen!” he said, spreading his arms out. “Fancy running into you lot all the way out here, huh? Mind if we tag along? I think it’s safe to say we’re lost!” he chuckled.

All the men of the squad looked to the youth, who stepped forward. Mavas suppressed a shudder as he the man’s fighting spirit enveloped him.

“What happened to the Lieutenant? Weren’t you guys going south?” the young man asked as he eyed Leon and Desha. They hadn’t moved from their original spot and seemed to be fine with Mavas doing all the talking.

“We got into a scuffle with some of those frog-men and got separated. But uh...shouldn’t I be telling him all this?” Mavas gestured to Elroy, whose jaw clenched under everyone’s gazed.

The young man looked from Elroy to Mavas. “Elroy has temporarily relinquished command of this squad. My name is Thadius, and anything you need to say to Elroy, you can say to me.” he declared.

“Well do you mind if we tag along, sir? Just until we can reunite with the Lieutenant.” Mavas asked.