The Boneyard

A unsuspecting sword for hire finds death incarnate.

  There is a town in western Illthashore called Litus. It's a shoreline

 

village, more like a trading post for passing galleons and HMIS ships. The

 

people of Litus rely heavily on the attention they get from merchants and

 

imperial vessels, for they cannot, except by the sea, leave the place they

 

call home. Or at least they dare not to. 

 

  Surrounding Litus is a forest, and in this forest resides an evil beyond

 

comprehension. The virulent corruption of the land can be attributed,

 

according to local legend, to the appearance of a dark sorceress from the

 

Void ages before. This sorceress was said to have poisoned the land beyond

 

healing. Her darkness took root in the earth itself.

 

  The locals call it The Boneyard.

 

  Fortunately there were individuals who sought to eradicate the stain

 

she left behind. The order of Avaeos was one such group, they fought

 

valiantly to stop the growing evil, a truly commendable effort. The order

 

was able to drive the dark fiends to the western shore, there they built a

 

fortification that eventually became known as Litus. It may be a mere speck

 

of light amongst a sea of shadows, but it remains a haven for those who call

 

it home.

 

  Several days ago I came to Litus on a galleon whose captain agreed to

 

harbor me in exchange for gold. Word spread quickly that a mercenary had

 

come to the forsaken town and I soon found myself confronted by the

 

town's lord, a man named Bale. He told me that two days before my arrival a

 

man had strayed beyond the threshold between Litus and the Boneyard, he was

 

summarily claimed by the forest's unholy denizens. The man, a courier by

 

trade, was unimportant. What mattered was the parcel he was carrying. I

 

never asked what it was, not my business, but whatever the parcel contains

 

seems to be of grave importance. Important enough to hire a mercenary to

 

retrieve it.

 

  That's how I came to be standing here, on the border separating Litus from

 

the Boneyard. The tortured forest yawned before me as if welcoming its next

 

victim. I rallied my courage, checked my weapons, and stepped over the

 

boundary. An overwhelming sense of dread came over me as my feet touched

 

down on the unhallowed ground. My honour was the only thing that kept me

 

from fleeing.

 

  I took a deep breath and continued down the meandering path into the

 

woods. Red-eyed crows perched in the trees studied me from afar, I

 

wasn't sure what they were thinking but I didn't want to find out. I've never

 

been in a place so deathly silent before. Not in the deepest caves could one

 

find a silence as absolute as this.

 

  The path rounded a bend and I came upon a ghastly sight. Dangling from

 

the blackened trees before me were more than a dozen corpses of men, women,

 

and children. Some of them had been stripped bare, others wore tattered rags

 

that fluttered in the breeze. All of the bodies were still decomposing, their

 

flesh gray and eyes sunken. Below them was a cairn of bones with a skull of

 

some demonic beast adorning its summit. I proceeded with caution. The corpses

 

above me were by all appearances long dead, but I couldn't help notice the

 

lifeless gaze of a little girl following me as I passed.

 

  What in the Void had I gotten myself into?

 

  I was glad to put the cairn behind me as I made my way deeper into the

 

nightmarish forest. The path stretched on for quite some time. Truthfully I

 

had no idea how to go about finding the courier, who after what I'd seen I

 

knew without doubt to be dead, but it seemed like a good idea to continue

 

along my current course. Perhaps I would find some sort of landmark, that

 

would be the best place to start.

 

  That landmark came to me in the form of a crossroads. I swore and took

 

stock of the situation. In the end it didn't matter which road I chose, either

 

way it would be wrought with evil.

 

  I was about to make my decision when I heard a grunting noise coming

 

from somewhere in the trees, I knew it wasn't a good idea but I followed the

 

sound anyway. I emerged into a clearing, the land was as dead and gray

 

as those poor souls who hung over the cairn along the path.

 

  I heard the raspy grunts again and searched the area. It didn't take me

 

long to locate the source of the sound. Some twenty paces away from me lay

 

the carcass of a deer, it had been torn apart, I cannot emphasize enough how

 

literally I mean that. The animals entrails were ripped from its

 

belly and now littered the ground around it. The sight of the gore however

 

paled in comparison to the thing hunched over the carcass. I could tell it

 

was a human woman by its long unkempt hair and physical features, but any

 

semblance of something familiar ended there. The woman reached into the

 

deer's torso and tore free a handful of viscera. She opened her mouth and

 

bit into it with gusto, spilling dark blood down her chin and

 

onto the frayed blouse she wore.

 

  Perhaps I'll never know what alerted it to my presence, be it my scent or a

 

noise I'd made, but the woman's head snapped up to affix me with her

 

bloodshot eyes. She snarled and stood, the deer's carcass forgotten. I drew

 

my sword. The leather armour I wore would protect me to a degree but I

 

couldn't place all my faith in it.

 

  The woman stepped over her latest meal and sized up her next one. Thick

 

strands of blood and saliva dribbled from her diseased gums and fell to the

 

ground. I'm a stalwart man, skilled with a blade and brave as any, but

 

nothing in my life could have prepared me for this. I had expected a gloomy

 

forest with shadows to play tricks on the mind, not death incarnate.

 

  The creature began pacing toward me, I dropped into a low guard and

 

waited for the attack to come.

 

  "Stop!"

 

  The creature and I turned toward the voice, a man in a cloak as black as

 

night stood adjacent to us, "Leave us," he said to the woman. He was of

 

average build and his dark hair was slicked back, making his angular

 

features seem stern.

 

  She glanced from him, to me, and back to him again. He merely watched

 

her, not showing the slightest inkling of fear. The woman hissed and

 

fled into the woods. I turned to the man in black, ready to defend myself

 

from this new foe.

 

  "Put away your weapons," he said. "You're in no danger."

 

  I lowered my blade hesitantly, "Who are you?" I asked.

 

  "My name is Accalon Tenebrus, I am the Gravemonger of this accursed

 

place."

 

  "Gravemonger?"

 

  He walked over to the half-eaten deer and nudged it with the toe of his

 

boot, "Not many know the name. I was charged by my mentor to preside here.

 

Such is the custom for a Deadraiser neophyte, we who guard the Boneyard are

 

called Gravemongers."

 

  I decided to sheath my sword for the time being, "A Deadraiser? Don't you

 

mean necromancer?"

 

  He scoffed, "Necromancers are pretenders. The weakest Deadraiser could

 

crush the strongest necromancer under their thumb ten times over. No,

 

Deadraisers are the descendants of Madreas, true dark sorcerers. The mortal

 

enemies of Avaeos and his crusaders. The Boneyard to us is like the Sanctum

 

of Light to them, our most sacred place."

 

  "How long have you been here?"

 

  "One year and three months," he replied. "A neophyte is charged with two

 

years in the Boneyard. If they survive their sojourn here and learn to

 

command the Boneyard's denizens, they become worthy of being trained in the

 

dark arts."

 

  I made a cursory check of our surroundings, "Why are you telling me all

 

this?"

 

  "I suppose its because I haven't spoken to a living being since I was

 

exiled here."

 

  I said nothing.

 

  "You've come for the courier," he continued, changing the subject.

 

  I wasn't surprised that he knew, "The courier isn't important to me. What he

 

carried with him is."

 

  Accalon reached into the folds of his robe and procured a letter sealed

 

with the Emperor's signet. "You mean this?"

 

  "That would be it," I said dryly. "How much do you want for it?"

 

  "I have no need of gold."

 

  "Then what?"

 

  "Amusement," he said, a sinister smile curling his lips.

 

  I didn't like where this was going, "Care to elaborate?"

 

  "A duel, if you will. Between you and an opponent of my choosing. If you

 

prove victorious, you may leave here with your prize."

 

  I nodded, what other choice did I have. "Lets get on with it then."

 

  This elicited a chuckle from the Deadraiser, he conjured a crackling ball

 

of energy and threw it to the ground. A black mire began bubbling up from

 

where it landed, the sludge rose up and took the shape of a large biped wolf

 

with long arms and wickedly curved claws. The demon shook the sludge from

 

its hairless white body and stretched its limbs. Black veins, seeming to

 

originate from the hollow pits where its eyes should have been, criss-crossed

 

its body from snout to claw. The wolf threw back its head and howled, it was

 

a chilling sound that would haunt my dreams for the rest of my days,

 

granted I made it out of here alive.

 

  "A Ripper..." said Accalon. "One of the Void's most fearsome predators."

 

  Even a pirate would have gawked at the string of profanities running

 

through my mind.

 

  The Ripper lunged. Instinct alone saved me, I ducked and rolled under its

 

attack. The demon landed and spun back toward me without the slightest

 

hesitation. It took a swipe at me but I was already far enough away to

 

simply step back out of harms way.

 

  The first round was over.

 

  We circled each other, I with my sword drawn and the demon with its claws

 

extended. The next assault was not as aggressive as the first. The Ripper

 

feinted left and slashed right. I angled myself so that its claws only grazed

 

my armour, reciprocating with a stab to its lupine face. The momentum of

 

the Ripper's attack cost it a split second before it was able to pull away. My

 

blade scored a hit along its snout. It was a shallow cut at best and

 

succeeded only in angering the beast more.

 

  "Well done," commented the Gravemonger.

 

  The demon smacked my sword arm wide and snapped at me. I was able to

 

stay at a safe distance only by stumbling backward. The hasty retreat caused

 

me to loose my balance and fall to the ground, the Ripper took full

 

advantage of my blunder. It coiled its leg muscles and leapt onto its hapless

 

victim. Luckily I had held onto my sword and was able to keep its snapping

 

jowls at bay.

 

  "That's enough," said Accalon. The demon immediately fell back and awaited

 

its masters command.

 

  "Why not let it kill me?" I asked, picking myself up.

 

  "You've given me what I asked for," he said. "And you drew first blood,

 

nobody has ever even come close to claiming first blood. Take pride in your

 

victory."

 

  "You stop the fight at first blood? What if the Ripper had drawn first

 

blood?"

 

  He smirked, "If the Ripper had drawn first blood you'd be dead."

 

  "Here," he approached and handed me the courier's letter, "As we agreed."

 

  I took it with palsied hands.

 

  "Go," he said. "Follow the path back to Litus. You will not be harmed, you

 

have my word."

 

  I did as he bade, taking the letter without a word and turning my back on

 

the wretched forest.

 

  "What is your name?" he called after me.

 

  Without turning or slowing my pace, I answered him, "Vadeis."

 

  Lord Bale was relieved to have his precious parcel back. I left with my

 

payment, which I realized after was not nearly enough for my troubles, and

 

didn't look back. Whoever said Litus was purged of evil has obviously never

 

been there, and any who wish to dispute me on the matter can spend a night

 

in the Boneyard. Either that or they're welcome to speak with Lord Bale, who

 

I later discovered to be a Blood Hunter.

 

  I'd like to say that I never saw Accalon or his ilk again, but to do so

 

would be a lie. The next time I saw the Deadraiser was many years later.

 

This time though his intentions were less whimsical.

 

  I am no longer a blade for hire, that life has passed. Now I go by one

 

name and one name only. I answer to no man but my mentor, a true lord of

 

darkness. Accalon Tenebrus.

 

  I am the Gravemonger.

Author's Note

Feedback is welcome and appreciated. I tried to make the font bigger but alas, I could not. try this: while holding Ctrl, scroll forward with the mouse wheel.