Kourriel's Cult

By Metabad

A lone woman was running through a hedge maze, tears running down her cheeks. She looked absolutely horrified. Sharp sickles cut through the hedges, revealing the cloaked, hooded figures wielding them. She turned left, then she turned right, just barely dodging these sharp weapons. Until she ended up running into a dead end. The woman turned around, the cloaked figures brandishing their sacrificial tools, she tried getting through the hedge, but her pathway was blocked by the sharp barbed wire behind it, she moved her hands through the hedges and she cried desperately when she saw them bleeding. She fell to her knees and covered her face. One of the robed figures approached her and raised his sickle, the sun reflecting against the metal, all that was visible were their silhouettes as he brought it down on her head.

---

Deep in the heart of a remote city, there stood an ancient castle with a long history of mystery and darkness. It was said that anyone who entered the castle would never return. Within its deep dark dungeons were a group of prisoners that languished behind the dank rocky bars. In one of the cells, a woman with long red hair and pink highlights paced back and forth, while in the cell next to her, another woman with jet-black hair and blue streaks clutched the bars tightly.

"How are we ever going to get out of here?" The redhead asked. Her large bangs framed her brown eyes, and she wore a snug, pink jumpsuit that matched the colour of her highlights.

"I really have no idea..." replied the woman with black hair, her blue eyes filled with uncertainty. She too wore a matching blue jumpsuit, the exact same colour as the streaks in her hair.

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to think." interrupted a third woman, her orange hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She wore an orange biker outfit with black knee, elbow and shoulder pads.

"It doesn't matter." A tall man with a buzzcut responded. Dressed in rugged military gear which included a utility belt, and various pouches, yet there were no weapons where there should have been. His face had a serious yet forlorn expression "We're all going to die down here."

"Well, might as well get to know each other before we're sent off to the gallows." a middle-aged man chimed in. He had neatly cut blonde hair that greyed around his temples, wore tactical clothing underneath a dark jacket, his build lean yet muscular, and his strong, weathered face had a rugged, intense expression.

"Who goes first?" The other man asked.

"How about Ms. Sunshine over there?" The blonde jacketed man pointed at the ponytailed biker girl.

"Whatever, if we're gonna die anyway, my name's Eliza Parker." She introduced herself with an indifferent shrug.

"Hm, nice name. I'm Kate, Kate Hudson." The red-haired woman replied.

"And I'm Judy Brenwick!" the black-haired woman exclaimed.

"Christian Murphy." The burly man with the buzzcut introduced himself.

"Jack Bale, nice to meet you all." The lean blonde man said.

A hooded cult member wearing a phantom mask stepped up to a podium, ready to make an announcement. "Attention, children of Kourriel." The robed figure raised his arms. The other dark cloaked beings turned toward the lead cultist. "The time has come for us to test our prisoners. We will release them from their cells, they may run, but we shall begin the hunt." The head cultist placed his hands down on the stone slab in front of him. "We shall seek out these offenders, those who escape may go free, but those who get caught will be sacrificed in Kourriel's name."

"For Kourriel!" The other cultists raised their fists.

"What are they talking about?" Kate asked. "Who's Kourriel?"