The Masked Bird

Leave them for the wolves

We got attacked again tonight. It was just one person, and she ran at one of our woodcutting teams. She tried to scratch and bite, but Charles managed to bring his axe down on her. They all say something wasn't human with her, that no normal person would've acted that way. But she did - are people getting sick out here? And if so, what's stopping it from happening to one of us? We built a pyre for the lady today. They used to bury people but the soil's too cold for it now, so we either burn them or leave them for the wolves. The gods have abandoned us - what use do they have for our souls?

I woke up to the sound of flashpowder, and black powder weapons. Tom was already awake, grabbing his rifle and chambering a round, but Sorna was still in the process of getting up. I grabbed a bolt out of my bag, sliding it into my crossbow immediately as I jumped out of bed, looking around. What it could've been, I had little clue. We stepped out into the moonlight, and I was greeted by an odd sight. There were figures shaped like men, dressed in dark colours with strange tube-like things over their eyes, and a third one over their forehead. The 3 tubes were all connected by a solid black material I couldn't place, and connected to their helmets. "You three! Put these on!" Someone snapped, pushing helmets into my arms. I handed one over to Tom, and another over to Sorna, before putting my own one on. As I put the odd plastic tubes to my eyes, I realised something odd. Everything got brighter, but at the same time it all tinted itself green? That made no sense to be perfectly honest, how could things get bright but also be green just by putting some tubes to your eyes? I reached up, tilting the strange goggles off my eyes, and saw Tom was doing the same. My eyes were better than any strange green light, and I'd put faith in them before I did anything else. Looking around, I saw people in the towers firing flashpowder weapons into the forest, and occasional return flashes from the forest in reply. Looking around some more, I realised there were other people in ditches, probably to avoid being hit by black powder rifles. Listening in closer, during the brief pauses of gunfire, there was this strange ever-present humming in the background. Then, all of a sudden, the gunfire seemed to come to a stop. Illuminated in the moonlight, after a moment, in the treeline just ahead of the gate was someone waving a white cloth. Slowly, the gate opened with a loud whirring sound, leaving a large open gap. One that I could very easily see an opportunistic enemy taking to charge into the base. However, rather than that, it was a single man walking out of the treeline, and one of the men who ran this settlement walking out to meet him. I began to approach the gate as well, Tom and Sorna with me, watching the environment carefully. We came to a stop near the gate, watching as they talked. Pointing occasionally in our direction - then I realised - not in our direction, at me. It was quickly becoming more and more tiring being hunted, especially after dragging two other people into it alongside me. They didn't need to be out here, but they were. Though I knew they weren't going to complain about it to my face, I was fairly certain they just wanted to be back in their home.

The two men seemed to finish their conversation, and the man from this town walked back to us - I didn't know his name yet. Seeing us, he made his way straight towards us, as the gate began to close behind him. I could tell he was a man because unlike everyone else, nothing covered his face other than those funny tube things. "Kid." He spoke, his voice stern and unbending like the oaks of old from way down south, leaving no room for any of us to enter the conversation, though Tom gave it a decent attempt by stepping in front of us, ensuring the message was received. "Real brave boy, but I'm not talking to you. The kid's clearly in charge, step aside and let her speak." to which Tom replied coolly "she doesn't. That's why we're here." I looked between the two of them, unsure of who to expect victory from in this altercation. The man's hard unbending steel, or Tom's gentle but unending force like a river everflowing outward. The question was just going to be who came out on top. Perhaps my doubt was unnecessary, as the river that was Tom simply flowed around the man, leaving him no choice but to accept. He nodded after a moment, but a quick glance at his face told me he didn't like it. I on the other hand was more than happy to have them come along, being alone with a stranger didn't seem like my idea of a good time. He nodded after a moment, before beginning to walk and nodding at us to follow. Behind him we walked, listening to the conspicuous silence after the constant banging from a few seconds ago. He took us back into the building we'd come out of, but instead of turning into our last room, we followed him into another room that held a desk, chairs, and a few shelves with books. On the back wall was another map, but this one was obviously higher quality and newer than the previous one. "So. I'm sure you know why they're here." He said coldly. Trapped under his gaze, I felt like a deer finding itself caught in a hunter's torch. I glanced to the side, not sure what to do, before nodding quickly. I was given a bit of respite when the other two stepped forward. "We already said - she doesn't speak." Sorna said, putting herself in front of me, like old times again. Tom nodded, the two of them seeming almost like a wall between the man and myself. He got the message too, sighing and sitting down. "We've been in an on and off conflict with them for a while." I nodded, looking at the map behind him. There was something a little odd about it. The rivers were wrong on the map. The map showed one passing through the valley, but from what we'd seen it routed around the valley instead. "Your presence here has reopened those hostilities. Because of what's under her mask." I ignored him, letting him talk at the air for all he cared, as I looked at the map. I stepped around Tom and Sorna, and walked to the map, ignoring what the man was saying. The way we'd seen the river going, I traced my finger along the map, seeing where it diverged. Perhaps a dam broke? It'd explain why this map, which looked newer than the other one, was so clearly wrong. I looked in closer, tracing the path the water had taken for us, in comparison to this.