DARKSIDERS: Return of the Horsemen

Chapter 3: The Ashlands

The night had, fortunately, been uneventful. The thing that seemed to wake Alli up was the sound of ruffling feathers and the feeling of dust spreading onto her face. Causing her to nearly sneeze. She sat up and saw the raven looking at her. “Using dust as a wake up? You are one strange bird.” She said, reaching into her pack for a granola bar. The bird made a sort of noise when it heard what she said. “Hang on. Your name is ‘Dust’?” She asked. The raven cawed in response. “Alright. Dust it is.” She said, getting up off the ground, getting her pack on her back and even splitting her food with Dust. “Alright. We got until sundown to find both Ruin and War. I need you to be my extra pair of eyes.” Alli told him. Dust perched himself on top of her pack. “One tug for yes. Two for no. Anyways, let’s get going.” She said as they left the room and began their journey. The Ashlands was a vast and desolate place. There were caves and other structures that the demons used originally to escape the large ash worms. Now, anyone who ventured into this hellish landscape used them to escape the sun. The two reached the entrance to one of the caves.

“Okay, Dust. Think you can scout ahead and check to see if the coast is clear? I’ll tail you.” Alli said  Dust took off into the cave. Alli drew two daggers she received from the resident Maker, B’jorn, then took off after the raven. The demons here would probably be a little bit tougher to kill with her pistol, so the daggers would definitely come in handy. Better safe than sorry after all. After reaching a crossroads, Dust reappeared and perched himself on the tracker’s pack again. “Any sign of Ruin?” She asked. The raven tugged at her hair twice. Meaning no. “Do we have company up ahead?” She asked. Dust tugged her hair again, this time once. “Got it. Thanks, Dust.” She said as they moved into the pathway he came from.

She rounded a corner and saw a small handful of demons in her way. Conversing amongst themselves with their backs to the tracker. Dust took off once again as Alli quietly snuck up on one of the demons and executed a stealth kill. “Mind if I cut in?” She asked sarcastically. Before another demon could attack, she struck another one down. The rest of the demons took notice of the tracker and tried to rush her. Thanks to her combat skills, she was able to parry and counter attacks. She managed to land some lethal attacks on the demons who timed their attacks poorly. She aimed for their necks, the best way to take the demons down. Angels were a different story. Best way to kill them was to rip their wings off. Once the demons were taken care of, Alli checked herself for injuries.
Thankfully, they were only minor. Nothing a little gauze couldn’t fix. Her right arm was cut up the most. Dust returned as she pulled the first-aid kit from her pack and reached for a roll of gauze. The raven landed beside her and even helped keep the gauze in place as she wrapped her arm up. “Thanks, Dust.” She said. Dust replied with a sound. Once she was patched up, she put the first-aid kit away, grabbed the daggers and got up off the ground. Dust took flight again, leading the tracker down more paths in hopes of finding Ruin.
They reached an open area with the remains of protective structures to hide from the ash worms. Alli was even greeted by the rotting corpse of one. Upon further investigation, she saw it was full of bullet holes, especially around its fanged mouth. ‘Holy fuck. I bet War did this. Just how powerful is this guy?’ The tracker thought just as a new sound was heard. It didn’t sound demonic or angelic. It sounded like an animal. Dust returned from his scouting. “Lead the way, Dust!” Alli said. The raven cawed as he doubled back the way he came from. The tracker followed as best as she could due to poor traction.

Dust lead Alli to an open area that resembled an arena. Inside, there were demons, hellhounds and what looked like a huge black horse surrounded by a fiery aura. Dust landed on Alli’s pack to avoid detection. “That’s got to be Ruin. Looks like he’s a little outnumbered. We’re gonna have to work together on this one. Think you can distract one or both of the hell hounds while I get the focus of those demons?” The tracker asked. The raven tugged her hair once in reply.  Alli nodded, gripping her daggers tightly as she stealthily began her approach. As they crept closer, Dust took flight. He cawed loudly, distracting the demons just as the tracker impaled one in the back of the neck. The other three looked back, and the hellhounds took notice as well. “Sorry, but I can’t allow you to take Ruin.” She said just as the demons rushed her, only giving her seconds to counter. Luckily, she managed to strike one in the legs, watching it bleed out. She slit the throat of another, giving a sinister glare to the lone demon still standing. Suddenly, one of the hellhounds rammed into Alli, knocking her into the ground. It began stalking her, ready to go in for the kill. Alli gripped her daggers in defiance, ready for the attack. As the monster charged, it was suddenly bulldozed over by Ruin. The horse was fed up with these demons harassing him and decided to strike back. He charged at the hellhound again, this time, landing a lucky blow and he stomped on the hellhound’s neck. A defining crunch could be heard as the horse broke the neck of the demon.

The last demon knew he wouldn’t be able to win this fight, so he signaled for the other hellhound to fall back. Alli managed to stand up, sheathing her daggers as Dust landed on her shoulder. “Man, that was crazy. You both okay?” She asked. Dust cawed in response as Ruin approached. He was a massive horse. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, Ruin. I’m not looking to pick a fight with you. I’m looking for War. This Endwar’s gone on long enough. Help me find your rider and we can find the others.” She said. Ruin glanced at Dust, like they were having a silent conversation. Ruin suddenly vanished into thin air. Alli seemed worried, but that worry vanished instantly as the large horse reappeared from under the tracker. Alli gripped onto the chain, used for reigns. “Does that mean you’re going to help us?” She asked. Ruin turned his head, his fiery eye looking into hers before nodding with a snort. Alli smiled, rubbing the side of his neck. “Thank you, Ruin. Now, let’s go find War!” She exclaimed. Ruin reared back onto his hind legs before running off into the Ashlands, and Dust flying overhead.