The Blood Legion (#4 to 'Motionless in Wonderland')

Chapter 18: Welcome to Banshee's End

CHAPTER 18: WELCOME TO BANSHEE'S END

The barren wasteland had been dragging on for ages and Chris had had just about enough of seeing absolutely nothing of interest as they walked in the dark, being escorted by the group that'd directed them away from Crest Hill.

By the time something came into view, the sun was rising.

There was what looked to be an outpost having come into view, the large wooden structure surrounded by a rather high fence that was made half out of wood and half out of what looked to be some sort of metal. Either way, the surrounding fence was very well made and looked incredibly reinforced; it also all spread for what looked to be quite some time. Maybe it was more of a small town than an outpost.

The closer they got, the more detail Chris could make out.

The entranceway had a gate attached, a black flag hanging from the top of the fence. The gate had the words 'Banshee's End' at the top, the words 'Welcomes You' down below, all crudely scrawled into the wood in thick lettering.

It was all a bit eerie.

"Gentlemen, welcome to Banshee's End," the man said, the first words spoken between any of them in the travelling party since they'd left Crest Hill.

The land around Banshee's End was completely barren, the plain completely flat and lifeless, the ground beneath it all and the surrounding areas for miles just dirt and what looked to be almost like desert sand. Chris was glad he'd never seen this part of the land before.

It certainly wasn't an area he was willing to spend a whole lot of time in. At least having the area completely flat would make it easy to spot an attack if it ever happened.

"You'll all be given passes to get you in and out of the Outpost," the man explained as they continued to walk, getting closer to the gate, Chris seeing there were guards posted at the front of the gate. "They'll ensure that you can get access to all the correct areas within Banshee's End and it'll help with identification so we know who we have within the walls."

They reached the gate, the man taking something out of his pocket and holding it out to the guard on the right who took it; it looked like an ID card like they'd used within the City. The guard looked it over before moving back to the post that was holding the gate. He put the ID card against a small part of the gate which lit up a bright green, the gate beginning to open slowly once the light had disappeared.

The man indicated for them to follow him before he headed inside through the gates, the remainder of his men getting their ID cards checked as well before being allowed to enter.

"As I just said, you'll all be assigned cards to get you access," he explained as they all followed him inside, the guards talking to the others as they checked their ID cards before letting them in. "First though there's someone you need to see."

He fell silent as he walked, Chris taking the chance to look around.

There were a few people around at this time of morning; it was still early, but there were a few people that looked like regular, normal civilians, some of them looking like guards or people that clearly worked within the Outpost.

The ground was still all dirt and desert sand, nothing paved in any way whatsoever, no roads or streets. It really was one rather big outpost. There was some housing and what looked to Chris like small market areas as they walked further into the Outpost, the people that were out giving them a few strange and curious looks as they passed by.

By the looks of it, they didn't get a lot of unfamiliar faces within the walls of their sanctuary.

A rather large building had come into view, the path they were walking on that approached it from the front rather well used, as there were marks in the dirt where everyone walked. The building was an old stone church, the towers reaching high up into the sky.