Rogue Firefury

CHRYSALIS

By the time the Crimson Blades reached the scene of battle, it was over. Bodies lay strewn over the uneven terrain; both Scourge and Sigil of Shadow. The place was eerily quiet, bathed in moonlight.

With a growing sense of fear and dread, Tiene scanned the guild bodies. Some were barely recognisable, mutilated, their limbs a short distance from their ravaged bodies. A scant few survivors rallied around the Crimson Blades as they arrived. Their wounds were severe but would heal in time.

Trembling, Tiene stumbled through the battlefield. She tripped, nearly losing her footing, and as she glanced down, she saw the broken body of Belaen Bloodbane. His body, flayed, armour and skin lying in shreds, innards splashed over the grass. His head lay a few feet from his body; the wide eyes staring up at her, terror remaining within.

The steel which had separated his head from his body lay close by still in the hand of its wielder. A Sigil of Shadow, whose body was also battered and torn, lay prostrate on the bloodied ground. His breathing was shallow, exhausted.

"I had to," the assassin whispered. Tears glistened in his eyes, with his mouth trembling. "The necromancers - they brought him back. He - he -" Overcome, the man's voice failed him, and he wept, mourning the loss of his Guild Master and fellow Shadows.

All Tiene could think of was her husband. "Where's Camnath?" she asked the injured rogue.

He didn't answer, couldn't - his grief was so that he was unable to speak. He managed to point though.

Tiene looked and saw Brett with a small band of his elite standing around a fallen tree. The burly Guild Master looked up as he heard Tiene approach. The anxious look on his face did not bear well. She locked eyes with him. Clapping a hand over his mouth Brett looked away.

Tiene's heart contracted and her feet felt as though they were dragging through a mire, heavy, weighed down.

Then a movement caught her eye. Camnath's ponytail bobbed above the fallen tree.

Relief washed over her, and she grunted as she pushed herself forward, forcing her feet to move. Gradually, her pace quickened across the blood-drenched grass, as she dodged lifeless, broken bodies underfoot. "Camnath!" she called, her heart beating madly.

The ponytail disappeared. "Camnath!" she cried again. Why was he not answering her?

As Tiene reached the tree, Brett stepped toward her, his hand grabbing her arm. She looked at him. His eyes were wet, sorrowful, defeated. "I'm so sorry, lass. We tried to reach him in time..."

Tiene's breathing quickened in short, sharp, panicked breaths. Feeling weak as if she was about to collapse, she grabbed Brett's arm for support. Her colleagues then stepped back but maintained a silent vigil.

Fearful once more, she slowly turned to face the figure they had all been shielding from her.

Camnath sat with his back to her, head bowed. Hope flared as she saw he was breathing, his shoulders rising and falling. She fell to her knees, tentatively reaching out to him. "Let me help you, my love," she said, sniffing, fear making her voice tremble. "Fyn will be here in a moment, and he will heal you."