•Ashford Village•
Valen stared numbly over the jagged walls. It has been years since they had any sort of maintenance. Not that anyone really minded. The soft greens of moss added some colour to the monotone brown of the wooden logs. Here and there lay scratches of untold battles long forgotten. Ashford was a border village, having been started by a passing army. Which was then tended to by a merchant caravan that followed . And where there was money, there was the church. Constantly telling stories of old , the church was synonymous with knowledge, with power. After all they ever managed to make a stone fortress in the middle of nowhere like Ashford, something not even the military achieved.
Valen was currently grinding his teeth silently. Having found out about the early morning expedition which they so happily excluded him from. He was silently hoping they would return home safe, but he was too annoyed to admit that currently.
"Huh, what's that?" A guard nearby asked. Dragging the ever distracted Valen back to his duties.
Eyes locked forward, he could make out a faint silhouette in the distance. The silhouette was seemingly sprinting towards them, occasionally tripping on unseen debris. Slowly the guards picked up bows, notching an arrow each using the top of the wall to hide their bows.
As the guards waited with bated breaths, the trees shook, as countless birds escaped the forest.
Slowly, the silhouette became distinguishable . And quickly the village gate was open to let in the bandaged hand man.
"What happened? Where are the others? Where is the captain?" Valen immediately barraged the breathless man with questions.
"Monsters! No. DEMONS! Close the gate! Close the gate now!!"
"Slow down and tell us. What happened?". Valen demanded , his gut lurching with a thousand different possibilities. "And close the damn gate so this fool can relax a little."
A couple guards chuckled lightly, having known the cowards personality for years. For all they knew it could've been a simple wolf or bear that scared him. Still, they threw nervous glances at the suddenly eerie forest.
"They were huge! With scaled feet and arms longer than a greatsword! They were unkillable, our swords didn't work , our fists didn't work. Nothing worked."
"And are where are the others?" Valen's eyes had already started to water. His gut confirming things before the coward ever could.
"They stayed behind. They fought so I could relay this message to everyone. We must leave now!"
"Leave? You want me to abandon my home? You want me to leave my family with no place to come back to? No. I will stand and fight. I will fight here guarding those who trusted us enough to come here."
Just as Valen finished his speech, his eyes already dried up. His bow gripped tightly within his slick, cold hands.
The distant tree line shook.
Then it shook some more as the first silhouettes appeared.
The horizon seemed like a hazy mirage, covered in demons. It seemed like the coward didn't lie at all.
"HEAR ME. Guards of the Ashford Village. Our captain is gone. But our duty is not. Raise your blades, Prepare for war!" Shouted the young Valen. His voice cracking slightly ,strained by the volume he produced. He hoped the villagers below the wall would hear him and help. He knew they had no chance with the 2 dozen guards left on the wall.
"Draw!"
He nocked his first arrow .
"Aim!"
Then he aimed it high above the approaching beasts heads. His forearm trembling wildly.
"Fire!"
His fingers slipped off the bow, as the blue feathered arrow was let loose.
He watched the arrow fly, accompanied by many others, they struck true.
It was hard not to with such mindless targets.
They rushed headfirst into a wall of archers, barely meters apart. Missing would be an accomplishment even for the unskilled here.
"Again!" Valen barked. He knew this was his job. That was what it meant to be the chiefs son. That did not, however, make him anymore brave. His back was cold, his vision was becoming more blurred each second. His grip weaker. His stance slowly shrinking.
Another arrow flew, striking one of the abominations squarely in the knee. Valen watched as it tumbled, unable to stop its own momentum. It's flailing body causing a cascade of mayhem.
"Fire at their knees" Valen ordered. Having realized it was much more effective.
Despite it all, the hellish beasts approached faster than they could cull them. There was only so many they could kill.
Soon, they reached the thick wooden walls of Ashford. It's mossy wood quickly losing its green coating as the beasts mindlessly smashed their small horns against it.
The walls were not the tallest, and so with a well placed spear, the guards were able to stab the raging tide square in the foreheads. And so they did.
"Switch to spears!" Valen grabbed the spear off his back. It was ornate, being a birthday gift from a stranger who had visited long ago. "Don't let them grab you!"
Valen suddenly felt like the wall that had protected him his whole life had become small. It's walkway narrow, it's ridge a meter too short.
Shaking his doubts away, Valen plunged his spear into a dull eye. His eyes grew hopeful as he saw the end of the tide.
One eye. Two eyes. A skull. Slowly but surely the wave of beasts was culled.
Crack!
Valen's head spun immediately to the rusty gate. Long overdue maintenance, and the weakest part of the wall , the gate stood gingerly on the brink of collapse.
A particularly large beast stood in front of it , the horn in its ghastly hand was also noticeably larger. It was pointing straight at him.
It slowly grinned, rows of sharp teeth glistening in the sunlight. Then, it slammed his horn into the gates hinge.
Crack!
"Guards, Man the gate." Valen was truly rethinking his choice to stay now.
Just as he turned to become the living wall to protect the village, Old Brenn stormed out of his forge.
In his large , burly arms were countless swords. Then he waddled back on his one leg, and this time came back with countless spears.
The nun grabbed a spear, his uncle grabbed a spear too. And so did everyone else. Having lived so long on the borders , none was a stranger to violence. A few of the elders climbed the stairs carrying heavy pots. Then emptied then off the wall.
A deafening screech followed right after. The sight of the harmless elders grinning to themselves at the sound was strangely comforting.
"Make a pike line with your spears!" Valen was betting on the mindless beasts to charge headfirst after they breached the gate.
There was only one who showed any signs of intelligence, so far.
And charge headfirst they did. The gate slammed the ground , raising a cloud of thick dust. And through the dust , the demons charged.
Squelch.
Valen didn't know if it was the sound of human or demon being pierced , but his lunch had already reached his throat.
"Use your swords!" An older guard shouted from within the dust.
"Don't let them past us, brothers!" Shouted another.
The villagers had already begun stabbing down from the walls, and the elders never stopped unloading their pots.
A low growl reached Valen's ears. Making his chest vibrate softly. And then, the dust slowly cleared. And within it...a grinning beast awaited him.