The Hall of Heroes

26. - The Punitive Expedition

"Clydus is the name. And this here companion of mine is... Bonus."

Duzz gave him a tired stare.

"We are travellers from a faroff country, as you can see," Crefar continued.

"Yes, I can see you must come from very far," lord Moontzar said, eyeing them suspiciously. "How did you even know where to find our fortress?"

"Oh, we were just traveling by and saw your fine castle and thought we could stop by." Crefar tried to be convincing.

"I see." lord Moontzar was obviously not convinced. "What are you looking for here, if I might ask?"

"Oh, merely supplies. We have been on the road for some time and need to replenish our resources. We will not trouble you for long and of course we will pay for everything. And perhaps, seeing as you are the law and order around here, maybe you could tell us what to look out for while we travel? Places to avoid? We do not know this country very well and we have heard there are some... dangers around here."

Lord Moontzar weighed his answer carefully. He had no idea what to make out of these suspicious character. The best he could guess, they were some decadent circus duo that have lost their minds and ventured out into the wilds because they were driven from everywhere else. They didn't seem like a danger to anyone else than themselves, so he saw no point in misguiding them at the time.

"You'd better keep well off the western road. This country is infested with the dead and if you go that way, you'd be walking right into their nest."

"Thank you, good sir," Crefar said, obviously happy with himself. "You don't have to say anything more."

As the two were waiting for the rations they ordered and Crefar's shoes being repaired, they saw there was quite a commotion in the horse stables. The stable boys were bringing in heavy buckets of water and large bales of hay, while the horsemasters were walking the horses out, checking their hoofs and straps. Crefar narrowed his eyes, drawing on Alois's knowledge of horse managing.

He found the first soldier he could see hanging around the stables and asked, "Excuse me, master knight. Eh, is there a battle preparation going on? And if so, could you tell us which place we should avoid so we don't get caught in a battle conflict? We are traveling on foot, you see."

The soldier was a tall young squire and being called master knight evidently pleased him. "We're going against the skeletons. Gonna give them a thrashing as a message to keep out of the world of the living. Just stay off the western road tomorrow," he said.

Crefar curled his lips and nodded importantly as if to say he approved. When the soldier was out of sight, he came over to Duzz.

"Do you think we can travel faster than horses?" he said.

"Wh-wh-what?"

"We have a need to be somewhere earlier than a certain group of messengers of ill news." Crefar pointed towards the soldiers hanging around the horses. "Because if we, by the grace of some greenskinned god or another" (he poked Duzz in the ribs) "manage to get there in time, we will have this outstanding opportunity to present ourselves in the best of lights in front of our next best friends."

Duzz looked at the soldiers, than at the determined face of Crefar, and sighed.

Some time close to noon the next day, a group of horsemen rode their steeds fast on the dirt road through the hills. Up ahead of them a strange carriage appeared in sight. It was a rickety creaking dray towed by several hooded figures and piled high with some clattering stuff. It was still some kilometer away.

The ringing of horses' hoofs gained in intensity as the horsemen drew their bows and arrows and charged into battle.

An arrow whizzed through the air and hit the backside of the cart and the hooded figures turned about to see the men on horses. They started panicking. Some of them lifted garden sickles and scythes, some turned to run to the fields around the path.

Suddenly, a duo of unexpected characters turned up. A fat man in an ostentatious dress that was hard to forget came out of hiding near the road and stood in their way, hands on his hips. A village girl dressed like a ranger poked her head out of a bush at the side of the road and knocked an arrow in her short bow. Both of them had been their guests in the fort only the day before.

Seeing resistance ahead, the horsemen took up their spears and galloped in full speed towards the carriage. The fat man smiled, seeing the men who had no way of knowing what they were up against and running in speed towards their doom. He put his hand behind his back, creating small pockets of fire in his palms and waited until the horsemen got close enough for him to send a fire blast right ahead of them where they would not be able to stop their gallop. And when they got in range, he unleashed the full inferno upon them.

The men started screaming, horses started whining and panicking and running in every direction off the road to escape the flames that consumed them. Two of the horsemen fell dead with arrows through their necks and about four of them fell off their horses, that galloped away escaping the fire. The horsemen that didn't get caught in the fire turned their horses and went running back where they came from. The whole hell broke out in several seconds and was done in no more than half a minute.

One of the soldiers that fell to the ground crawled up to another and seeing the arrow sticking out of the dead form's armor, turned its helm-covered face to Crefar and Duzz. Some distant cursing was heard, but Duzz's arrow quickly silenced the last bit of life in him.

Crefar and Duzz turned to the confused band of hooded figures, who seemed to be still preparing for battle, picking up rusty curved sickles and scythes. But seeing the mayhem that had taken place not five hundered metres away from them, their hands lowered and they stood still and dumbfounded.

One of them started walking towards Duzz and Crefar, who still held a battle-ready position. The figure slowly walked until it was just far enough from them to see its face and removed its hood, revealing a dirty white, fleshless skull.