Roizen | ONC 2023

Chapter 1

Salty wind rushed past Alana's face, whipping untamed brown locks onto her cheeks. The girl hardly noticed, marveling at how closely the squeak of the overburdened wagon resembled her father's wails.

I failed you. I'm sorry, so sorry.

Another open-backed cart trundled ahead of the one Alana sat in. It groaned and squeaked at a higher pitch.

No. No! It is my mistake, not hers. I cannot lose another to that cursed place. Take me instead!

Alana shook her head as if she could knock the memory of her father's  hysteria from her mind. Anything was better than the mental image of her father on his knees, begging with her skirt clutched in his good hand.

Alana clenched the new tear in her skirt from the parting and chose to focus on  deciphering the depths of the ancient forest encroaching on the cliffside path. She let her mind wander, trying to piece together the true reason behind her legal abduction.

In the waning afternoon light, shadows played tricks on her mind. The dense  underbrush was so shadowed if felt like the trees themselves slowly crept alongside their miniature caravan. The  wagon groaned and bounced, breaking her concentration. Alana squinted into the shadows of the dense forest certain one of the bushes she had just been looking at was entirely gone.

Before she tried to determine if there really was something in the forest and not exhaustion induced paranoid, the cart lurched again. The person huddled next to Alana in the cart slammed into her shoulder. The girl, barely older than fifteen, murmured an apology and  shifted away before bursting into uncontrollable tears.

A brief image of thick red curls and a flushed face flashed through Alana's mind. Under the delirium of fevers, Alana's younger sister probably didn't even realize her big sister was gone. She could only imagine the fearful tears accompanying the discovery.

A new wave of guilt washed over Alana. She hadn't even held her sister's hand before leaving. The mercenaries sent to collect her had been firm. There was no time for goodbyes.

The girl in the cart struggled to cover up her sniffles. A surge of protectiveness passed through Alana. She grabbed the younger girl's shaking hand and held it close. "It is going to be alright."

Thankful for the comfort, the girl leaned into Alana's shoulder and cast a fugitive glance at the two bulky men sitting astride the driver's  bench. "Did they have to take you from your family too?" She whispered.

"Not  exactly." Alana cringed at the recent memory of learning of her  father's folly and a family debt she wasn't aware of. "I volunteered to go."

Six  pairs of eyes were trained on her with varying degrees of  disbelief.  Alana eyed them back, wondering why the richest family in  the region  bothered hiring men to contractually snatch these specific young women from their homes.

Some were Ettian like herself, distinguishable by their dark hair, brightly colored eyes, and smooth, pale skin. The rest were lower or mid-class Sulpri with their varying shades of bronzed skin and lustrously fair hair.

She had already counted fifteen girls between the two wagons. Many were familiar from her work at the launderers, others she had noticed around town but never had a chance to cross paths with.

"I never took you as the type to give in." The daughter of one of the Ettian elders said.

"I realized in truth, none of us had a choice." Alana said, looking at the  faces of her travel companions. Despite the low quality fabric and signs of heavy use of their dresses, each of the women were clean, healthy, and beautiful. "Unless you are here for another reason than helping your families avoid debtor's prison. My family's contract was very clear."

The following silence was more than enough of an answer.

"You are braver than me." The young girl now snuggled into Alana's embrace said. "They had to drag me away from my brothers."

"I heard they had to knock out one girl's entire family to drag her off."   One of the other girls whispered, motioning to the cart ahead. "She was supposed to get married to the butcher's son next week."

"Quit your gossiping." Ordered one of the mercenaries sitting at the front of the wagon. The loaded crossbow across his lap slid around as he brandished a dagger their way. "We wasted too much time on all yer girlish crying and now yer chattering is giving me a headache."

"Leave them be." Ordered the cart driver. Alana recognized him as the man who gently held her father back as she collected her meager belongings. "Today has been hard enough."

"I don't like this,"hissed the soldier. "You were too soft,  allowing time  for hysterics and goodbyes." He eyed the overhanging  branches as if  they planned to reach out and snatch him from his perch. "We ain't supposed to be traveling after dark."

"It   was the only mercy I could offer them," replied the driver as he   gripped the reins more tightly. "Who knows when some of them will return   to their families."

"If we even return to our families at all." Alana cut in. Both men glanced back at the girl's sharp tone.

"Keep that sharp tongue in your mouth girl," warned the mercenary with the crossbow. "Before I decide to cut it out."

The driver gripped the angry mercenary's shoulder.  "Boss lit his lantern. We should light ours as well." While his companion busied himself with hanging the lantern the driver gave Alana a meaningful head shake before turning around.

"Why did the Bellmonte family needed to call in all  their debts   so suddenly?" Alana hoped he might provide another small mercy and give her more pieces to the puzzle. "And why are they forcing only young women to pay off the debt?"

The two men exchanged glances. "You will  have all of your answers once we reach the estate." Growled the man with the crossbow.

"So you don't know?" She pressed, "or you won't tell us because you do know?"

"Not intimidated by these, are you Girl?" Growled the angry mercenary, brandishing his weapons. "You should be, because these aren't meant for you." He gestured widely at the darkened forest in the quickly fading light. "It's for whatever monstrosity that might be out there. They say a cursed Beast hunts at night."

The young girl latched onto Alana's arm stiffened at the very mention of a monster. Alana's protective instinct kicked in once again as she smoothed the girl's hair. "We've all heard rumors, but I don't believe something like that exists."

The man let out a bitter laugh. "I'm sure you've all heard the stories surrounding Roizen Hall."

Alana  shrugged and repeated what the head laundress had told her on her first day of work. "A rumor goes in one ear and out many mouths. Good gossip is not to be had unless a story is worth selling. Such lies get bigger with every retelling."

"Even the worst of rumors begin with a kernel of truth." He said. "Mark my words; delicate, pretty girls like you aren't being brought there to last."

His words were like a bucket of ice poured over the whole group. Everyone began to shiver because they all knew of the stories surrounding Roizen Hall. Old magic, cursed spirits, dangerous enchantments, and a monster out for human blood.

Alana didn't put much stock into such rumors, but one truth she knew for certain about Roizen Hall was that some people who went there never returned. But she had long suspected people as the perpetrators of those crimes and cover ups, not fanciful myths.

"Quiet." Hushed the driver.

Alana  was about to turn her sharp tongue on him as well, but her skin crawled  in warning. Something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. 

The guard with the  crossbow raised his weapon. The head mercenary shifted uneasily in his  seat as he tried to urge their nervous horses to move faster. The  animals hardly needed any encouragement, their ears already flattened to  their heads.

Alana turned quickly back to the dark of the forest, searching for the source of her unease.

With  a loud roar, a bulky shadow as large as a bear burst from the tree line.

WC: 1351