Battle of the Pure

Chapter 13: The Outpost

Arman's training began. Arman started by running the circumference of Galath Nalore every day. Then, he would train in many forms of weaponry, finishing with a training in Graymayre-or the art of magic. As this went on, he found himself thinking of Lamarin more and more. Every time he saw her, he wanted to go to her, but she always disappeared before he had the chance.

Soon, after three months, it was decided to send the Pures on a test battle, while Galath Nalore shored up their defences for the upcoming battle with the Isvanredni Okrugi. They were to go to an outpost at the northern edge of the lands,- right by the fringe of the warfront- so that they could try to repel the Daemon that blocked their way to the iron mines.

The One Pure sent them-through magic- to the Sjeverna Granica Outpost, or the Northern Frontier Outpost. They were immediately hit by the bitter winds, and the snow coated them in minutes. All but Arman. The snow melted on him, and the snow around him melted, revealing a patch of green grass in a perfect circle about three feet around. The other Pures stare at him, dumbfounded.

He simply shrugs, and starts towards the Outpost. The rest follow, and Lamarin appears out of nowhere.

"Thank goodness that worked!" She laughs, trying to catch her breath.

Arman jumps back. "Lamarin, what are you doing here!?"

Lamarin laughs. "Joining you, duh. I have never been outside, so I wanted to tag along."

She has the energy of a child, looking around with a fervent look on her face. Arman rolls his eyes, and heads towards the outpost, with Lamarin by his side. As they approach the outpost, it is clear that something is very wrong. The door swings on its hinges, and a dark red streak is visible on the door.

As they stand in the doorway, they all freeze as Arman uses his body to stop the younger Pure from seeing the horror inside. The guards stationed at the outpost, almost all of them were torn apart. And the ones who weren't were nailed to the walls, blood making a cross on the wall behind the bodies.

Arman yells behind him, "Get any Pure younger than eighteen out of here, now! Jacaris, I want you in charge of that. Lamarin, follow me. The rest of you, I want to surround the place. This looks like the work of a Mesožder type Daemon. Maybe a Sljedbenik-Kulta as well. And they don't leave the area of their kills, usually."

As the other Pure start to follow his orders, Arman and Lamarin head into the outpost, weapons drawn. They head into the outpost's main room, taking care not to step on any of the bodies. The room is sparsely furnished, with only a small wooden table, cards strewn all over its surface, and four chairs, torn to splinters, decorate the room. No paintings, no timepieces, nothing but the table and the chairs.

Arman starts towards the southernmost wall, upon which a door stands open. Stairs head down, a black, inky darkness is all that's beyond the door. Arman makes a light, and Lamarin follows. As they go deeper into the outpost, an unnatural chill touches them, making both of them shiver.

"Are you sure we shouldn't call for backup?" Lamarin asks Arman, her voice a mere whisper.

Arman looks at her, the fear plain to see in his eyes. "I don't know. We might need it, but I don't know."

Lamarin starts to head back up the stairs, and as Arman turns to follow, he hears something. It barely reaches his ears, but he does hear it. He grabs Lamarins arm, and gestures down the stairs. The sound, louder now, drifts up from the darkness.

It is the sound of a little girl, screaming for help.

The pair run down, and see the door lying on the floor, and blood is smeared on its once-glossy surface. Beyond the door, fire burns, yet has no heat. Just like in the pod room. Lamarin looks into the room, and her face goes pale.

A large, dark beast stands in the middle of the room, with long, skeletal arms, long dark claws, blood dripping from its maw. It has no eyes, but rather, it just slits, a glossy film protecting the sliver of the brain that was visible. It faces the opposite wall, slowly walking towards a little girl on the floor, her back against the wall. Aarman throws his hand out, and nearly shouts out a spell, but Lamarin stops him.

"It's a Mjesečar Daemon. They only respond to sound." She whispers, pronouncing the "S" sounds with a "Th", so as to reduce the risk of the Mjesečar hearing them. "Get your sword. We need to kill this thing."

Arman nods, and slowly draws his sword. They slowly head towards the Mjesečar Daemon, and raise their swords. Just as they are about to stab the thing, it turns, and releases a horrible screech. The noise sends Arman, Lamarin, and the little girl to their knees, with Arman and Lamarin dropping their swords. They all cover their ears with their hands, attempting to block out the noise.

The Mjesečar Daemon jumps, reaching for Lamarin, jaws open wider than should have been possible. She rolls to the side, grabbing her sword, and swings it at the Daemon. The cut would have killed any mortal being, but the sword merely bounces off the Daemon's exo-skeleton.

Arman tries to stab the beast, but the blade merely bends, and annoys the Daemon, which swipes at Arman. Arman tries to escape, but the Daemons claws rip into his arm, leaving long, deep gauges. The Daemon screeches, again driving all of the humans to their knees. Lamarin is the quickest to recover, and starts to shout a chant, but the demon sends her flying into a wall, slumping to the floor.

Arman, seeing Lamarin's limp body, falls into a rage, seeing only red. He lets loose a scream, and a flash of light beams from his body, and spears into the Daemons head, right through the gap in its skull. The smell of burning flesh fills the room, and the little girl slumps to the floor unconscious. Arman struggles to his feet, and walks to the girl, and checks her pulse. He then does the same with Lamarin.

After checking on both the girl and Lamarin, he stands the door up, slumps against it, and faints.