The Battle of Whispering Pines

A blood orange hue seeped in the evening sky as the sun sat on the horizon drinking in the last of the revelry of the denizens of Whispering Pine who drank heartily in the village’s tavern. The tavern, sitting in the centre of the town, was Whispering Pine’s only stone building, the rest of the homesteads being made of wood and a fraction of the size of the establishment. Our party entered the village from its South side, passing a church outside of which were urns holding vestiges of the village’s deceased. As we passed the church, I noticed a dying column of smoke several miles to the North. A farmer burning sick animals I thought, though in retrospect I wish I had paid more attention to this ominous sign.

As we rounded the corner of a dwelling we spotted two striking individuals and several men at arms standing in front of the tavern conversing amongst themselves. Their coat of arms took the shape of a ferocious boar with a pair of pikes crossed above its head. We immediately recognised this design, having only just come from the manor where we had conducted our clandestine meeting with our new benefactor Lord Valein. We approached the men and confirmed that, indeed, one of them was Squire Aldric Harrowmere, Lord of Whispering Pines Manor. A man in his 50’s, he struck me as a decent and amenable individual. I distested him immediately but kept such feelings hidden deep. The second figure whom he stood with was his Mater-At-Arms, Gerard Voss, a foreboding giant of a man who wore heavy armour as if it were bed attire. We had a brief conversation with them confirming that we wished to embark to Renaga on the caravans that had been arranged for us that very night rather than waiting for the morning to come. It turns out that faith, or something far more sinister, had other plans.

We heard the approaching thud of hooves, something Squire Aldrich commented on as being quite unusual, the isolated village not being prone to visitors. Before we had time to consider what this meant, several horses rounded from the opposite side of the village from which we had entered. The most striking and distinguished of this party were two elves, twins of the opposite sex. They were identical in features thought the male’s hair was quite grimy and greasy whereas the female appeared more well kempt. Surrounding them were several men, they had the look of mercenaries’ and battle tested at that. We stood for a time on opposite sits of the main thoroughfare looking at one another. Then the male elf spread his arms in a rejoiceful manner and in a high-pitched voice sent thanks to the ‘One Living God’ for guiding their way to their quarry. Given what we had endured the last seven days, there was no mistake who they meant.

The male elf shot out his hand from which emerged green sparks the emanated in different directions around the village. Briefly after, we heard the shuffling sounds of laboured footsteps approaching from all directions. Their mercs dismounted and formed a shield wall around their master and mistress. Gerard Voss’ experience quickly came to the fore as he ordered his men-at-arms to do the same, sending one man into the tavern to bar the door and tell the men inside to suit up and join the battle as soon as possible.

It soon became apparent what magic these elven demons were capable of as we witnessed groups of freshly killed women, all now zombies and in the elves thrall, shamble towards us from all sides of the village. I’m not prone to fear but, in all honesty, if switching sides had been an option I would have gladly done so as I felt this village would be our final resting place. But that did not appear to be a choice and, so, I would have to settle for taking as many of these cretins as I could before my last breath.

Our Cleric, Gareth, prayed to his God and blessed us with the courage and sight to strike true and that our enemies might strike blindly. We needed every edge for the battle and this blessing was most welcome though inside I laughed at the idea that any God that was not mired in death and blight might deign fit to bless me. Rimmer and Bonesaw both took the high ground, as crossbow bolts reigned in from the opposing mercs, and reigned down a death of their own . Rimmer marked his sight on the male elf and fired an arrow that was easily blocked by a golden shield conjured by his twin sister. Aldric and Gareth both left the safety of the shield wall to engage a group of zombies emerging from one side of the village. However, this was not the only dark magic the elves possessed and the male, once again, raised his arm and conjured shadow creatures. Three emerged behind Aldric’s shield wall and three more materialised around the remaining party still on the ground. I shouted at the men-at-arms to watch their rear, before invoking the power of my wild shape to shape shift into a brown bear. I dispatched one shadow creature and swiftly moved towards the opposing enemy taking cover behind the inn to protect me from the crossbow bolts being fired form their lines. It appeared the twins could conjure enemies to fight for them all night and we would be quickly done if we did not take them off the field. Bonesaw, realising he was needed on the ground, used his stealth to become a shadow of his own and flanked the shadows surrounding Gareth, Calin and Kaja and dispatched one with ease.

It appeared that the tide could turn in our favour when the female elf now took her turn to show us her power. A spark emitted from her fingertip and a ball of fire shot across the thoroughfare smashing into Alric’s shield wall and burn them to a cinder. Rimmer, not dismayed by the failed first arrow he had fired at the male elf, steadied his aim and took a deep breath. This time the arrow bypassed the female’s golden shield striking her twin in the shoulder. The cretin sounded incredulous, like a child who had his toy taken from him, that we would dare draw his blood. However, he appeared hardly grazed, so Rimmer diverted his gaze and fired at his horse. A pivotal shot, the male elf lost control of his steed and it bolted ahead scattering his merc shield wall to the ground as his horse ran towards the centre of the village.

Meanwhile, the horde of zombies had, at this point surrounded Calin, Gareth, Bonesaw and Koja and with their onslaught both Calin and Koja fell with grievous injuries. Gareth, once again, invoked the help of his deity and placed his hands upon Koja bringing him back from deaths embrace. Koja, rising like a phoenix, fired off two volleys of Eldrige Blast killing several zombies despite the injuries that disadvantaged him.

Realising that Rimmer had presented us with an opportunity to save ourselves, I rushed forward, my paws pounding the ground with fury and met the male elf and his horse in the town’s centre. I bit greedily into his steed’s neck, ripping its throat out and it fell into a pool of warm blood, the male elf falling with it and lying prone on the ground. I stood over the male elf and put a heavy paw on his head, staring at the female elf and leaving off a tremendous roar that conveyed how I would crush her brother’s head like a melon if they did not quit the field. It was a move of pure desperation but it’s all I could do. Clearly fearing for her brothers’ life, she waved a hand and portals emerged above both her and her brother as their bodies took on ethereal forms and they were sucked into the portal’s grasp. Like that they were gone. Sensing the mercs might not wish to stay any longer, I dismissed my wild shape and gave them the opportunity to quit the field which they did. And the battle was over after we mopped up the last of the zombies.

In the aftermath, Gerard Voss was found to be grievously injured, crossbow shafts protruding from may parts of his armour. All of his men at arms, who had remained to fight with us, were dead. One of these men included his son. Aldric informed us that he recognised the female zombies as being the occupants of the Edgerton homestead and we quickly realised the smoke we had witnessed entering the village had emanated from there. Strangely enough, none of the homestead’s men were present amongst the cursed zombies.

Though I do not feel a jot for my companions, I cannot lie and say they did not conduct themselves bravely. Everyone proved their worth this evening. Except for Ronnie/Calin/Dan who fell in battle early and contributed nothing of note or worth. Not surprising for a man who changes his identity as quickly as a high-born lady changes her daily attire.

'From the journal of Vascilles Erdan'