Chapter 2 - Last Rites

Evening turned to nightfall and the wind died down. The snow fall had stopped, but it was significantly colder without the sun shining through the gap in the mountains. The gates of Stone's Crossing were closed at night, and manned by watchmen working on 4 hour shifts. The streets of Stone's Crossing were nearly empty; there was a bit of a bustle at the tavern, but most folk were asleep. Yu's house was at the end of a row of houses leading up to the southern gate's courtyard. Light flickered through his window from the watchmen's torches. He lay awake, staring at the shadows dancing on his wall.

"It’s a real Suun monk." He thought. "He was amazing! I wonder if he'd show me his swords if I asked." He wondered to himself.

Suun monks carried two matching swords called Sharkta blades. The blades were hand crafted by a master blacksmith in the imperial capitol city of Gariste. They were made from a silver called true silver. The metal was blessed by the priests of Suun and then enchanted by the high priest of Suun. The blades would never dull, nor would they break under stress. The hilt of the blades we're made from a rare blue marble, carved and smoothed to fit the hand of the monk that would wield them. The last step of the crafting of Sharkta blades was done by the monk himself. He would meditate for hours channeling the power of Suun into the blades. Not only was this the last step of crafting the blades, but it was also the rite of passage that would finally allow a monk apprentice into the ranks of the adept monks. Successful meditation would result in blue magic glyphs appearing on the blade, the glyphs were said to be a message directly from the dragon Suun to the monk, a message that only the monk could read and understand. Through these glyphs, the blades were eternally linked to the monk.

A loud creak broke through the night, shattering Yu's thoughts of the monk. He heard a bit of commotion outside and ran to his window to see what he could see. The head watchman had come out of his tower and signaled for the gate to be opened, and he was having a conversation with a courier in the courtyard. The courtyard was empty, and the voices travelled well, well enough for Yu to make out the gist of the conversation.

"Go wake Commander Tigh, tell him an injured scout is riding in on horseback, and that he should come to the gate immediately. Could be nothing, could be something. After you wake the commander, go to Dr. Laen's house and bring him to the gate. Tell him to bring his things for healing." The watchmen said hurriedly.

"Aye Sir!" The courier ran off towards the house of Cyris Tigh.

Yu climbed out of his window and scurried down to the courtyard to get a better look at what was going on. He found a pile of crates stacked against a wall and hid behind them. He struggled to find a crack in the boxes that would give him a good view of the scene. He could see the gate opening slowly, that must have been the creaking sound he heard. The watchman was standing atop the wall, staring into the night. He hadn't seen Yu cross the courtyard as his job was not to keep watch on the inside of the fort. Yu heard the faint thundering of a horse's hooves approaching the gate. His heart pulsed with nervous fear. This was exciting; he couldn't wait to tell Tom about it tomorrow!

A few moments passed before an older man sprinted across the courtyard towards the tower steps. He was an older man, his hair had grayed and he wore rugged facial hair that could be more described as scruffle than a beard. His scarlet shirt shimmered in the torchlight coming from the fort's wall, the emblem of Quaal, a dragon claw clutching a scimitar, was embroidered in gold thread over his breast. His own scimitar hung from his leather belt and bounced softly against his black trousers as he trotted towards the gatehouse. He disappeared into the gatehouse as his leather boots trod softly on the steps leading up to the wall. He reappeared a moment later on top of the wall, standing next to the watchman.

"What is it soldier?" Tigh said gruffly. Tigh was an old man, but his voice carried strength. He was a grumpy old man who cared of nothing but protecting Quaal from invaders. His post was the most important thing that he had, and he took it seriously. He was the third most powerful man in the Quaal military, the first being King Enus Jovan Sulis, and the second being the King's most trusted advisor, Thilesred Finicon. Commander Tigh had started from nothing, a poor soldier's son destined for greatness. The fort's soldiers looked up to Tigh with respect, and all of them felt fortunate to serve with such a man. Men like Tigh reminded the soldiers that if they tried hard enough, they too could achieve greatness. That was pure rubbish, greatness was a result of destiny, and destiny was decided by dragons.

"Our scout seems to be returning Sir, but best that I can tell he's injured. Slumped over on his horse, he is. Have a look." The watchman handed a crude telescope to Tigh.

Tigh took up the telescope and looked out into the darkness. "I say you're right. Has the doctor been summoned?" Tigh asked.

"Yes Sir! The same courier that was sent for you was sent for the doctor as well." The watchman replied, taking pride in his foresight.

"Good man. Go and send another courier to the barracks. Have the archers take the wall, wake the infantry and have them dressed for battle, but have them remain in their barracks until they hear word. As for the archers, make sure they take the tunnels to the wall. We don't need to alarm the civilians just yet. When that horse draws within 100 yards, start closing the gate. If he's being followed, we don't want that gate open. Those are my orders." Tigh said.

The watchman was stunned. All he could think to do at the sight of trouble was to send for Tigh and the doctor, but Tigh had it all figured out. He had a plan ready and in place within moments of knowing about trouble. Tigh was an exceptional leader; he was battle hardened, and what physical prowess he had lost in his age, he more than made up for in experience and skill. He was a master with a blade, seemingly able to sit in his opponent's mind and read their thoughts anticipating their next move.

"What are you doing standing around, do as I say!" Tigh barked.

"Y..Yes Sir!" The watchman said, realizing that he was lost in wonder. He took off down the stairs to carry out his orders.

Yu watched the whole scene with excitement. Moments later, Dr. Laen ambled into the courtyard followed by the Suun monk. Dr. Laen was wearing a white tunic and carrying his bag, normally filled with potions and other items used for doctoring. The monk walked past the doctor and yelled up to Tigh, "Anything I can do?" He asked. Tigh turned and looked at the monk and the doctor and sprinted down the stairs to meet them.

"I heard a monk had arrived today. I don't know what might happen tonight, but having you around will sure to be a blessing. Maybe you can ask Suun what evil the night holds for us?" Tigh asked, directing his question at the monk.

"Sorry, monks don't do that. Only priests gain insight from Suun regarding the future. I can help in battle though. You, you're commander Tigh? You’re a legend in central Quaal." He said.

"Aye, I'm Tigh alright. Legends are for fools. If I were to believe every legend I heard, they'd have me believing that you could defeat my entire army without lifting a finger. I've heard tale that I received this scar while fighting a dragon, can you believe it? Ha, Legend indeed." Tigh said humbly, rubbing the scar on his face that ran from his forehead across the crown of his head disappearing above his right ear.

"Fools indeed." The monk said. "Where did you get it anyway? The scar that is."

"Doesn't matter where it came from, only what it means." Tigh said.

"And..." The monk started, but was quickly cut off by Tigh.

"And it means that I wasn't a good enough swordsman." Tigh said jokingly. "I got better."

"I see." The monk chuckled at Tigh's joke.

The two men were interrupted by a horse bursting through the gate. The gate creaked shut seconds later. The horse was wild and out of control. The monk leapt at the horse grabbing the reigns and pulling it backwards, attempting to settle the startled animal. It took a moment to calm the horse; something had spooked it. Tigh pulled the scout off of the horse and lay him on the courtyard. "Doctor!" He barked. The doctor rushed over and kneeled before the man. He was dead. Quite dead.

"Nothing I can do for this one. He's long gone. Horse must've come back this way by instinct. Only way I see it." The doctor said.

"What killed him?" He said to the doctor, and in the same breath turned to the man standing on the wall, "Anything coming?" He shouted.

"Nothing Sir!" The watchman replied. The walls were covered with archers now, they had rushed through the tunnels under the fort and taken their post as Tigh had ordered.

Dr. Laen looked up at commander Tigh, "Starved to death I say."

"Starved to death? Are you mad? He's only been gone for two days; nobody starves to death in two days. Some doctor you are, you...you crackpot." Tigh said.

"Crackpot? Oh, I see, I'm a crackpot because your man died on his horse? Starvation, that's how I see it, that's how I call it. The man starved, look at him you old goat. See for yourself!" The doctor quipped back. The two men began to argue back and forth over who was a crackpot and who was an old goat, and who's eyes were better or worse.

The monk avoided the confrontation and walked over to the body of the man and looked down at it. His eyes were filled with blood, as if the blood vessels inside of them burst, and he did look emaciated, but not starved. His flesh was pale green, sunken in at his face and wrinkled elsewhere. The monk grabbed his arm noting that it was bruised and broken at the wrist. A single word left his mouth and caught the wind, floating upwards to land in the ears of the two arguing men, the small boy hiding behind the boxes, and seemingly every archer standing on the wall. "Vampires." He whispered.

"Wh...what was that monk?" Tigh said, turning his attention away from the doctor.

"Seems he was killed by a vampire. He wasn't starved, though it seems that way. His life force was drained. Must've been a scuffle too, because his wrist is broken. My guess is that he got a hand on the beast." The monk said.

"Those creatures don't leave their swamp. What business would he have killing this man?" Tigh asked.

"S'pose you'll have to ask him that. One thing I know though, if one's come out of the swamp, you can bet that he means no good." The monk said.

"Sir!" A voice called from the wall. "There's movement in the trees, lots of movement! Something is coming!"

Clattering could be heard drifting in from the night outside of the gates, the clattering of bones, and the clumsy footsteps of dead things. Skeletons and there were a lot of them. It was no lost being wandering the night. It sounded like an army of the beasts, hundreds of them. The noise was unbearable. This was an attack! The monk turned and ran towards the Inn.

"Where are you going?" Tigh Shouted.

"I'm going to put my armor on and prepare for battle. You'd do well to do the same Tigh. Evil is on us this night!" The monk yelled. He started off, but caught the sight of Yu cowering behind his stack of boxes. The boy's eyes were filled with tears; he was frightened beyond belief, terrified by the noise outside and the sight of the dead man. What must he have thought of the conversation about vampires? The monk turned and walked towards the boy, crouching down on one knee and looking into his eyes. Although his face was veiled in shadow by his hood, it was comforting. "What is it boy? Why do you cry?" The monk said. His voice was calm, and steady; it sounded as peaceful as a waterfall, and as safe as his mother's arms.

"I'm...I'm scared. Vampires, what, why? What is that noise, what's going on?" The boy looked for words, but found only stuttered fragments.

"What's your name young one?" The monk asked calmly.

"My...my name is Yu. Yu Hitori, and I'm going to be a Suun monk!" He exclaimed.

"I saw you fighting with that other boy today. Being a monk isn't about the fighting; it’s about protecting the ones you love. It’s about protecting the people that you can, for as long as you can. Do you understand that?" The monk asked.

"Uh...Uh-huh...sure. What's your name?" Yu said weakly.

"I don't have a name. It was all I had to give to Suun for accepting me as a student many years ago. I gave him my name when I swore service to him. They call me nameless". The monk replied. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a onyx medallion attached to a leather strap which had the emblem of Suun etched in gold at its center. He opened the boy's hand and placed the medallion in his palm. "This will protect you tonight. No matter what happens, Suun will see to your safety. Now run along and gather your mother and father. Protect them tonight, but don't worry, this is a mere rabble of skeletons, it should be only a slight disruption in the night." The monk said peacefully, and then walked off towards the inn.

Tigh was shouting off orders to any man that he could see that wasn't moving. "You there, go and tell the archers to light their fires, flaming arrows only! You! Get men in the alcoves on the wall; shoot at anything that moves out there! Hey! You! Get over there and wake the civilians, gather them together at the north gate! Over there, go get the infantry, have half the barracks here protecting this gate, and send the other half to protect the civilians. And you! What are you doing there, get moving! Someone ring that damned alarm bell!"

The peaceful night had turned to chaos, and the chaos was being organized and directed by commander Tigh. Even in chaos, he seemed to be able to create order. Flaming arrows light up the night sky, and the clattering of bones could be heard outside the gates. Archers shouted ranging information to each other from atop the walls. Yu ran off to warn his mother, for his father was surely already in the barracks preparing for battle. All of the sudden a loud bell began clanging in the night. It was the alarm bell, the warning to the fort that attack was imminent. He clutched the onyx medallion in his and and did not let it go. A soldier was already at his house telling his mother to proceed to the north gate for protection.

Tigh had climbed back onto the wall to watch the battle progress. He peered out into the darkness and noticed the many flaming arrows stuck in the ground lighting up the night. Volley after volley of arrows rained down on the snowy ground outside. The skeletons were advancing slowly, and in formation. "Formation?" Tigh thought. Skeletons weren't organized enough to form an attack like this. "How is this possible?" He wondered. He noticed a column of skeletons branching off to flank to the left, and another column branching to the right. A line of beasts continued marching forward toward the gate ahead. "What are they thinking, they can't breach the gate, and they certainly can't make it over the walls. This is madness." He thought. "Archers! Columns flanking, thin them out, don't worry about the gate force! They'll not breach our walls tonight!"

The column advancing towards the gate split, and formed two columns, while the flanking columns drew their bows and began firing arrows back towards the archers. Arrows clacked off of the walls and a few archers dropped with shots in their chests. Between the gate columns a man dressed in black darted forward, moving faster than he should be able to and dashed towards the gate. "Archers! Bring him down! Kill him!" Tigh shouted, gesturing towards the man in black, but it was too late; the man had gotten below their cover. There was a loud crash below as the gate buckled and cracked inward. Standing behind the splintered remains of the door was the man in black, his hand outstretched and glowing with a black light. The man was wearing a dark cloak that was tattered like rags. His skin was pale, and his eyes were dark; his black hair draped over his pointed ears and rested on his shoulders. "Attack!" He hissed. "Attack!" He reached his arm up and grabbed the hilt of a giant curved great sword that hung on his back. He brought it into ready position and rushed towards the infantry standing in the courtyard. His movements were swift and deadly as he heaved the heavy sword effortlessly at the defenders.

Tigh leapt off of the wall, landing and rolling to his feet. Skeletons were pouring through the splintered gate. The archers were doing their best to thin their numbers, but there were too many of them, and once they mixed with the infantry, it was too dangerous to fire into the fray. "Fall back to the north gate!" Tigh shouted. "We can't hold them here! Where is that damned monk?" The infantry fell back, rushing to join the other half of their ranks defending the civilians at the north gate. The archers remained on the wall taking shots at the skeletons as they followed behind.

As the column of soldiers formed up with the infantry guarding the civilians at the north gate, Tigh barked off orders to his men. "Form up, hold your ground. Kill anything that's not alive, and for the love of Suun, protect those civilians. Where the hell is that monk?" The battle was going poorly, but Tigh would not show any weakness to his men. He stepped up into the mess of skeletons and began swinging his sword with ruthless efficiency. It seemed that every time he moved a skeleton would fall to pieces, sometimes two or three at a time. Watching him fight was entrancing. Skeletons were advancing from all sides now. The infantry had its hands full, but it was soon bolstered by the archers who had taken the tunnels under the fort and arrived on top of the north wall to fire at the advancing skeletons within the fort. It was an odd feeling for them to be firing into the fort, for it had never been breached by invaders in all of Tigh's time as commander.

Nameless emerged from the inn that sat on the north wall. He was now wearing plate mail bracers on his wrists, and a plate mail chest piece that bore the emblem of Suun. His head was still cloaked, but this time it was cloaked by a true silver chain mail coif that hung over his shoulders. His Sharkta blades were visible hanging from the blue sash around his waist. He had put on plate mail boots to cover his shins and calves to avoid blows to his hamstrings that would leave him immobile. His arms were bare from the shoulder to the elbow. They were covered with blue magic runes that looked like tattoos of magical glyphs. His true musculature showed now. He was a menacing man indeed. He surveyed the battle field for a moment, analyzing the surge and determining where he was most needed. Tigh stood in the middle of the invaders, cutting down foe after foe in a series of deft moves. The left flank of the encampment was well defended by the infantry who were doing a fine job of holding their own against the skeletons. The right flank seemed to be doing its job of holding back the enemy. Volley after volley of flaming arrows were raining down behind the main force, and then he caught the black eyes of the vampire advancing to the right flank.

"To the right then." He thought. The glyphs on his arms glowed brightly, and the matching glyphs on his blades shared their intensity. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the blades began to hover next to him, floating silently in the air. He opened his eyes and ran towards the right flank, his blades flying off in front of him and hewing down skeletons that stood in his path. Torch light flickered on the silver blades as they flashed through the night. Behind them, Nameless was fighting the skeletons with his hands, crushing their skulls and breaking their bones with each move. As one approached from his backside, he turned and threw his hand out in front of him and opened his fist. The skeleton flew back 10 feet and smashed against the side of a building.

Yu was hiding behind a wagon, shaking with fear, but he couldn't take his eyes off the battle. He hadn't seem Tom yet, but he imagined that he was somewhere with his mother. The battle seemed to be going well now. The defenders were holding back the skeletons and it seemed as if everything was going to be ok. The night was riddled with the screams of dying men, the light of flaming arrows, and the cackling of skeletons as they attacked mercilessly. He was shifting his attention between the monk, and Commander Tigh. Both were tremendous warriors. The monk seemed to be controlling his swords with his mind, while still fighting with his hands and throwing the foes around with magic. It was an amazing sight. He thumbed the medallion that the monk had given him and thought that everything was going to be ok.

Nameless crushed the skull of a skeleton, just as the vampire stepped in front of him. The large blade of the beast swung at Nameless' head, but his own silver blade caught it in mid air as he lunged forward punching the beast in the stomach and following it with a spinning kick to where his head should have been. The beast was fast, and had already moved out of the way. "Why are you doing this?" The monk asked.

"There is something here my master wants, and I suppose, there is something I want as well." The creature hissed. His voice was cold and hollow, like it was an echo from the grave. He seemed to blink out of existence, appearing behind Nameless, and struck at his back. Again, the monk's blade caught the blow, and he slid in close driving his knee into the creature's groin, as his other blade flashed forward for a killing strike at its neck. The vampire disappeared again, and appeared a few feet back.

"I fight with the power of Suun, vermin! You can't win tonight!" Nameless shouted, commanding one of his blades to shatter a skeleton that had come to close to him.

"Ah, you fight with his power, but not with his protection. Tell me, where is your amulet fool?" The vampire hissed.

"I don't need it to take care of the likes of you." He darted forward, striking again at the creature’s chest. It was so fast, faster than the monk, stronger too.

"You made a grave mistake monk. Entering into a fight you cannot win, without the protection of your dragon, on a night that you are doomed to die." A smile cracked on the creatures face. "I see." He said. "I understand, what is your name monk? I am Sillik?"

"I have no name, but it won't matter to you soon." He responded.

Commander Tigh smashed skeleton after skeleton. He had grabbed a rusty blade off of one of the creatures and was now fighting with both blades. More creatures kept appearing out of the night. Where were they all coming from? How were there so many? How could they survive such an attack? An arrow pierced the night striking Tigh in the chest. He fell to his knees, but got up quickly, parrying the blow of a skeleton, but it would be his last parry, for another of the creatures struck him in the back with its spear, and thus, Commander Cyris Tigh resigned his post as the commander of Stone's Crossing.

Yu gasped as Tigh fell to his knees, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The soldiers seemed to loose a bit of their fight when the man died. Panic ensued, and the soldiers lost their organization. The flanks fell and the skeletons began to pour in to the camp on the north wall. The men grabbed what they could and rushed to repel the attack, but it was too much for mere civilians. Yu looked over at the monk who was locked in combat with the man in black. Their fight was happening almost too fast for Yu's eyes to follow. Clang, smash, whoosh! The swords were flying through the air parrying the beast's attacks as the creature phased in and out of existence appearing around the monk and striking ruthlessly at him. Yu let out a shout as the giant blade of the creature pierced through the monk’s chest and ripped through the back of his cuirass. His silver blades fell to the ground, and the glyphs dulled to darkness. The nameless monk had died.

Everything fell apart, the day seemed so normal, but the night...the night had been terrible. His whole life had been destroyed by that man in black. The monk was dead, commander Tigh was dead, and the skeletons were slaughtering the civilians. It was too much for Yu. The world faded to black as he passed out.

Stone's Crossing had fallen.