Bodanen: Cobalt War

Chapter 24: The Lone Sentinel

Five warriors peered out of the forest, away from the highway, trying to discern the source of the smoke without giving away their position. Past half a dozen fields of various grains and vegetables was a small town right on the imperial highway, much like Burkhart. The road ran northwest to southeast through the village with fields all around. The smell of the marshes flowed up from the south with the wind, and the forest could be seen thinning a few kilometres south. The five were to the west of the village, slowly approaching its outskirts. However, the smoke was coming from further east of the village, just beyond houses that blocked their view. Though they moved slowly and methodically, they reached what would have been the town square quickly, only to find the town seemingly deserted.

"There's no one here? It doesn't look like there's been any fighting in town. ...what's going on here?" Siegfried poked his head into a few buildings to see if anyone was around; he was disappointed at what he found. "It's completely deserted."

"Let us move further east and try to find the source of the smoke." Boris had been on edge since they entered the village.

"What's this place's name anyway? Sage?" Sayen began to sneak toward the houses at the village's edge.

"The village of Alfsige; it's a border town between the northeastern and southeastern continents. It's not the only border town, but it sees some of the heaviest traffic, being on one of the main highways." Talib was poking around in alleys between some shops, looking for any clues on the whereabouts of the villagers.

"This doesn't feel right...we should leave." Blake was at the back of the group, doing his very best to stay out of sight.

"Quiet, coward! Everyone else, quiet, please." Siegfried was quick to silence the others as he closed his eyes to focus. "This certainly isn't right. There's no life here, mortals or animals. There's no sound of fire either, so what's making that smoke?"

"This is truly eerie; it feels like Burkhart did before the artificial mortals broke through the tree line." Boris froze as the sentence left his mouth. He turned to Siegfried, pale as a sheet and fear in his eye; he didn't want to hurt his friend and brother. "Sorry, Sieg."

"...No problem. If you didn't say it, I would've. This is exactly like Burkhart; the calm before the storm." Siegfried was the first to round the last house at the east edge of the village; what he found stopped him in his tracks. "By. The. Gods."

What lay before the five were fields similar to those they passed as they entered the village. Beyond those fields, however, sent chills down their spines and nearly made Siegfried and Boris' hearts stop. Standing as the lone guard defending the village, a single young man stood defiant. Before him were fields that had been razed, leaving nought but ash; strewn across those fields, beyond and among the trees, and at the lone guardian's feet lay countless bodies. The bodies were mainly those of artificial mortals, headless and with no uniform set of armour or weapons, but lying in a line next to the lone figure were half a dozen other bodies that wore similar leather armour and held similar spears. Amidst the bodies in the fields were small orbs releasing the smoke billowing toward the sky; signals meant to attract the attention of travellers. A call for help. The man stood defiant amidst the bodies, bloodied, bruised, and cut far beyond what the limits of his body should have been able to withstand, yet he stood ever proud. His hair hung in a loose pony tail behind his head; its caramel strands flowed in the breeze. As the five approached the man, he turned to show deep grey eyes, curious yet exhausted.

"Are you okay, sir?" Siegfried rushed to the man's side, only to find the man standing by the strength of his spear alone. "What happened here? Are there any other survivors?"