Varian of the Northern Isles

The Northern Isles

Hypatia's POV
I almost didn't notice the subtle changes signaling our escape from the mountains. The snow faded and the air became warmer, the path grew wider, and we saw short tress and shrubbery begin to poke out of the soil. The mountain, having once sucked our spirits, returned them and with this new confidence, our pace quickened. We had no horse nor cart to haul varian's equipment but our foots steps were no longer bogged down with snow and ice. Soon, we were shrugging off our heavy coats and breathing deeper.
"I know about a small village a couple miles out from us," Terrin panted, sweat plastered his blond hair to his forehead but he grinned, "I stayed in an inn there when I was first exiled." I nodded and we picked up our pace.
We were practically running by the time we reached the village and Varian let out a cheer.
"WE MADE IT!" He gasped and collapsed on the ground. I exhaled deeply and surveyed our surroundings.
     I saw no one. There was no activity and the town was deathly still. Varian broke from his laughter and both he an Terrin picked up on my unease. I drew my moonstone knife and Terrin readied his fists. Varian pulled a sharp piece of pipe from the ground and held it like a baseball bat. We moved through the empty town as if we stood on pins an needles. We turned a corner and my mouth dropped open. It was like we hadn't even set foot in the mountains. The village, just like the unnamed one at the beginning of our journey, lay in ruin. Long claw arks and blood stains that looked so similar to those in the cave with the creature. A pile of bones lay at the center of the destruction. These bodies had been here longer than those in the town before. I gulped. The sight was still hard to look at.
     "What is going on here?" Varian whispered, " What is causing this or rather who is behind this?"
     Against every nerve in my body, we decided to spend a single night in the town. We would salvage what we could from the homes and progress in the morning. I don't think any of us slept. Despite the comfortable surroundings, we were all on edge. I slipped out of my bed and began to pace. I let my mind wander to the creature in the cave. There had to be some kind of connection, I just needed to find it.
     "Hypatia?"
     I turned arpipe to find Varian holding a small lantern.
     "Varian? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I asked, but I didn't have the energy to put much authority in my voice.
     "I can't sleep. I was wondering why you were pacing so much."
     "Oh," I said, "I don't know. What I saw in the cave connects to this here. I just can't quite figure it out yet."
     Varian sat next to me and set the lantern on the floor," I find it strange that all of the damage was localized in one area. There isn't a scratch in this town except for the marks where all the skeletons are."
"Yeah, plus this attack looks like it happened a while ago," I said.
We talked late into the night. Despite the fatigue, a coherent string of events began to form. The same creature I had met in the cave had passed through this village on its way out of the Northern Isles. The creatures were somehow created from dogs and could emit a hypnotic sound that drew people close to them. The visions were of something the person wanted dearly and the victim wouldn't be aware of their surroundings. The creature would proceed to kill the person and eat them. If the animal had some sort of bond between it and a particular human, that human may not be killed.
"In short, these creatures are originating from the Northern Isles and along with meeting with Helen, we'll have to find who is doing this and stop them," Varian sighed and rubbed his eyes. For a moment he looked older than he was. Deep shadows flickered over his face and I let my eyes drift up to the streak of light hair. He had put his faith in me all because of something that had happened in what must now seem like a far away life. Without really thinking I reached up and brushed his hair out of his face. He jumped a bit at the sudden act but didn't pull away.
"What caused that?" I said more to myself than Varian and tucked the strands of hair back into place,"Where did it come from..."
Varian shrugged, "I think it came from my mother's side of the family. My father doesn't like to talk about her but I've done a little research. It turns out she also came from the North." I drew back my hand and pulled away.
"We really should sleep. What time is it?" I grumbled.
"Probably about three in the morning," Varian muttered but neither of us moved an inch from where we sat. It turns out we didn't move at all. The lantern went out but I didn't mind although Varian made a bit of a show in his efforts to rekindle the light. The moment was calm and the world was quiet. There would be battles to face and more secrets to uncover, but for now I was content.