----Prologue-----
The clash of steel split the quiet of the clearing. Azre's blade cut through a bandit's shoulder, sending him sprawling into the dust. She didn't flinch.
Behind her, Eldhar moved with methodical precision, broadsword swinging in wide arcs, shield deflecting crude strikes with ease.
Aven held the line, his shield raised, forcing the remaining bandits into tight, dangerous angles.
Thalia's arrows streaked through the air, striking silently and accurately, felling enemies before they could react.
Rowan's sword moved in rhythm with hers, every strike deliberate, every breath measured.
Nilda, the newest recruit, moved with uncanny grace. Her rapier flicked in tight, elegant thrusts, piercing gaps her comrades left open. Calm, precise, lethal.
Azre couldn't help but note her skill; she may have just graduated from the academy, but she was no weakling.
The last bandit fell with a strangled cry. Dust hung heavy in the air, mingling with the coppery scent of blood.
The squad checked their surroundings, scanning for hidden foes. Silence settled over the clearing, but peace was fleeting.
A messenger burst into the clearing, cloak torn, breath ragged, eyes wide with urgency. He carried a sealed letter, trembling in his hands. Azre tore the seal, scanning the words:
"Villagers in Arcaun have vanished. Immediate return required. Only your squad may respond."
Eldhar's jaw tightened.
"Arcaun… many of us have ties there."
Azre's grip on Executioner hardened.
"No time. We move immediately."
-----
Horses thundered along the narrow dirt path, hooves hammering against stone and earth. Dust stung eyes and lungs, but the squad didn't slow. The forest loomed ahead, dark and silent. Every second counted.
"Stay sharp," Eldhar barked over the wind.
"Shadows can hide more than you think."
Nilda's gaze flicked to the treeline.
"Not wind," she murmured. Azre gave a subtle nod.
The squad rode as one, instinctive and coordinated. Aven led slightly forward, shield raised, protective and alert.
Thalia rode a pace behind, bow nocked, eyes flicking to every rustle and movement in the underbrush.
Rowan's sword rested lightly in his hand, fingers flexing as if ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Nilda's rapier caught the dim light as she rode, scanning shadows, angles, and every subtle change in the forest with careful calculation.
Branches clawed at their faces. Roots twisted across the path, threatening to unseat horse and rider alike. Birds took flight in sudden bursts, leaving the forest strangely still in their wake.
The air felt heavier here, charged with something unseen, almost alive.
Azre rode at the front, Executioner in hand, every sense taut.
------
After a whole day on horseback, they arrived at Arcaun.
The village emerged from the forest like a memory frozen in time. Streets empty, doors closed tight, chimneys cold. Silence pressed down on the squad like a living thing.
Azre slowed her horse, scanning every detail. They fanned out instinctively.
Aven still led with shield forward, careful to cover every approach.
Thalia's bow stayed nocked, eyes darting to rooftops and windows.
Rowan kept his sword ready, muscles coiled to spring.
Nilda's rapier remained poised, movements small but exact, analyzing every shadow and beam of light.
Azre dismounted. "Stay close. Keep formation. Be ready for anything."
The village felt… wrong. Every empty doorway and shuttered window pressed uneasily against her chest.
And then, the Chief Elder appears.
From the village square, a stooped figure emerged, leaning on a crooked staff. His robes were worn, eyes sharp beneath heavy brows.
Each step carried weight, deliberate and unhurried, yet authority radiated from him.
"I am the chief elder," he said, voice steady but grave.
"Many have vanished from our homes. Garin and Noran left a letter before confronting men in black hoods. They spoke of an abandoned ruin deep in the forest," he said, his voice heavy with concern.
"At first, we did not believe them, but they have not returned since yesterday. For the safety of the villagers, I evacuated them until someone could investigate. I trust you to find the missing and bring them home safely."
Azre nodded. Eldhar's jaw tightened. The forest, the ruins, the shadows—they could not afford hesitation.
-----
The squad mounted again. Horses pounded along the narrow path as it twisted into the heart of the forest.
Branches snapped against armor and cloth, and more than once a root forced a rider to steady their mount with a sharp tug of the reins.
The silence made every sound feel intrusive—hooves on dirt, the creak of leather, the distant rustle of something unseen moving through the underbrush.
Aven edged slightly ahead, lifting his shield as the trees thickened.
"Anyone else hear that?" he muttered, more to himself than the others.
Thalia didn't answer. Her bow was already half-drawn as she tracked a flicker of movement between the trunks before letting the string slacken again.
Rowan flexed his grip on the hilt of his sword, jaw set as his gaze moved from shadow to shadow.
Nilda rode quietly behind them, rapier angled low across her thigh, her attention fixed not on the path but on the spaces between the trees—as if expecting something to step out from where the light failed to reach.
The deeper they rode, the colder the air seemed to grow. Even the forest sounds began to thin, replaced by a faint, steady hum that none of them could place.
Azre tightened her hold on Executioner.
Garin and Noran had come this way. Whatever waited ahead had already swallowed them.
Darkness had already taken root.
Aven moved ahead of the group, angling his shield toward the open street as he checked each approach in turn.
Thalia tracked the rooftops with her bow half-raised, pausing now and then to watch the darkened windows that lined the village.
Rowan walked close at Azre's side, blade low but ready as his gaze swept the empty walkways.
Nilda followed a step behind, her rapier held steady while her attention drifted from the broken beams above to the long shadows stretching between the houses.
They moved into the ruins one step at a time, their boots scraping softly against the worn stone. The corridor carried the sound farther than it should have, letting it drift ahead of them into the dark.
No one spoke. Even their breathing felt out of place in the stillness, as though the quiet itself might turn on them for the intrusion.
The shadows between the broken walls left too many places for something to hide.
Then Nilda stopped.
"Wait."
Azre turned toward her.
"What is it?"
Nilda didn't answer right away.
Her gaze was fixed on the wall beside them—on a stretch of faded stone half-swallowed by creeping moss.
"This isn't abandoned," she said quietly.
Azre followed her line of sight.
There, carved deep into the ruin's surface, was a mark cut cleanly through the age-worn stone.
Not weathered.
Not ancient.
Recent.
Azre's grip tightened around Executioner.
Garin and Noran had come this way.
And whatever had taken them…
was still inside.