Dance Macabre: Tales from a Cursed Land

IX: Soulless Dolls (1/2)

"I'm only going to explain this once, so pay close attention," the Viscount of Shadows said as he unrolled a detailed map of the realm on a large table.

Two pairs of blue eyes just stared at him.

"Your goal is to retrieve a certain item from the Queen of Harpies. A crystal of blood. Unfortunately she has embedded it in her body and won't part with it voluntarily, so the only way to retrieve it is to kill her. Whether or not you kill her followers doesn't matter." He tapped one spot on the map. "The harpies' lair is here. High cliffs at the seashore. Is that understood?"

"Yes, master," Noel and Nea echoed as one.

"You're going to need a special blade to as much as scratch her. First, kill a black unicorn and take its horn and as much of blood as fits into that container I gave you." He pointed the next location on the map, knowing the twins would memorize it instantly. "Handle it with utmost care - the blood of a black unicorn is lethal poison. Next, pick up the darksteel ore from dwarves living here. Say that Nightshade sent you and they'll know what to give you."

"And for the last part, here," he tapped the map again. "Here lives a blacksmith who can combine these ingredients into a pair of weapons that can kill the Queen of Harpies. Give him whatever he wants, just get those weapons. He didn't care about the gold I offered last time, but I've heard rumors that he likes children."

"Understood." Noel took his sister's hand, his face still expressionless. "Whatever he wants."

~*~*~

Never before had they left the hidden castle, so at first glance the world outside was a little overwhelming. An orange-tinted sunrise was a stark contrast to the dim daylight slowly fading into the darkness of the night in the evening and back again come morning, an open horizon a stunning view compared to the small world ending in the castle walls.

They sat at the location where the Viscount had teleported them and watched the scenery until the sun climbed higher to the sky. Perhaps it should have stirred something in their hearts, but it just did not. Their reason to wait was practical - more things hunted in the dark and it was easier to get lost. Whether they would be the hunter, the hunted or both today would remain to be seen.

According to stories there had once been both white unicorns - ultimate creatures of purity and kindness - and the black unicorns sharing all their grace, yet being much darker and more malevolent in nature. The white unicorns had faded into legends, not witnessed by even the Dark Lords for centuries, while their darker counterparts were elusive beings rarely seen by mortal men. At least not any who lived to tell the tale.

But the Viscount had said that there was one in the vicinity here. The twins didn't even think there would be any other option than to find it. And kill it.

"This way," Noel nodded slightly off their current course. "There are Outcasts nearby. We should check what they know. It could save us days of searching."

Nea nodded in response and followed her brother. It was important to complete their task as quickly as possible, although deep inside she felt no rush to return to the castle.

Mothers quickly gathered their children close as the twins entered the campsite. There was fear on the Outcasts' faces, hatred tempered with acceptance that comes from giving in - not that the two grown up without knowing the company of other human beings recognized any of these -, yet none of them made any hostile moves. Just like they recognized the robed, otherworldly messengers of the Viscount, they also realized on first sight that these children directly served their one and only liege.