Chapter Nine

## **From Russet with Love**

**Bathjertdag 16th Biriskjur 1770 to Zanakuradag 17th Biriskjur 1770**

The snow turned to sludge beneath a procession of survivors’ boots, as they trudged their way along the narrow road from Russet to Rime. The crowd moved slowly, bogged down beneath the weight of their carried goods, the wounded, and the frail, young and old alike.

The four-day journey had been delayed for an early morning supply run, but the refugees soon found themselves underway, escorted by the five heroes who had saved so many the night before. As they walked, they occasionally extended their thanks to the men, via a subtle nod, a handshake or a heart-felt outpour of emotions. The heroes, in turn, mingled with the crowd, engaging them in gentle conversation and helping wherever they could.

The early portion of the journey went smoothly, with only a small interruption as a man caused panic amongst the throng with claims that he had seen the Dragon. Discerning this man to be suffering from hysteria, Ryan "Fitz" Fitzpatrick stepped up on a nearby wagon and addressed the crowd, calming the tensions with just a few choice words.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully until, just as they planned to make camp, Plymouth Argyle heard hushed voices emanating from the forest’s edge. The teacher called for his student, Booker Longsparkle, to accompany him and together they set out into the forest to discover the source of the whispers.

They discovered a band of twelve people, who claimed they had become separated from the other survivors the night before, and had succumbed to injury and lack of supplies. Booker and Plymouth provided them with food and water, and escorted an injured man amongst their ranks to Brandyr Greybeard for medical attention.

Nixe Airendil, untrusting in nature and extra cautious since his recent experiences with Changelings, began to probe the man's wife for information. He learnt that they were called Clive and Dora Allardyce and had moved to Russet three months prior to live with Clive's sister, Gertrude, after he had contracted whooping cough. That night, Brandyr approached his friend, Gart Steakhammer, the town bureaucrat, looking for information that would corroborate the survivors' story and Gart confirmed that it lined up with his records.

The following day went smoothly. The refugees had begun to work well together and were driving away the monotony with songs and recitations of the legend of Gregor Tubb, an expert rendition of which had been performed the previous night by Plymouth Argyle, providing a much needed boost to morale.

However, just as they were considering setting up camp for the evening, they saw something approaching along the road to the west. As it got closer, they began to make out details; a jaunty black box atop mismatched-wheels, a hulking driver shrouded in thick robes and two giant goats. It was the unmistakable sight of Easy Delg’s Taxi Wagon.

Pulling up short of the procession, Delg asked to speak with Gart in private and Gart, in turn, asked the five adventurers to accompany him. They were informed by Delg that, whilst Rime had taken the wounded, sent a messenger to the capital about the attack, and had given them food and supplies for the journey, they were refusing entry, citing neither the room or provisions to take in so many people at once.

Seeing no other viable option, the group decided that they would press on to Rime regardless and try their luck with the mayor, who they had met on their first visit to the town.

As they began setting up camp for the night within the overhang of a ravine, each of the five companions noticed that Mark Ungart, the former owner of Russet’s general store, appeared to be sneaking away from the camp, back the way they had came. The group followed him briskly and caught up to him near the mouth of the ravine.

Mark was surprised by the their brazen approach, his eyes darting from the treeline to the cloud covered sky overhead. As the sun set and the clouds parted to reveal a full moon, the unassuming shopkeeper began to transform before their eyes. His mousy hair spread from his head to cover his entire body. His hands warped and stretched into huge paws. His mouth and nose formed a snout and his ears rounded atop his head, until before them stood a hybrid Werebear where Mark Ungart once stood.

Realising that he had been attempting to hide his curse from the townsfolk and that he was still in control of his faculties, the party let Mark flee into the woods for the night. They retrieved some spare clothes from among his belongings, placed them in a bag and hid them where he would find them in the morning. They then return to camp for some much needed rest, but rest would not come easily that night.

In the late hours of the night, after most had turned in, Nixe heard a horrible scream echo out across the encampment. Racing the the scene of the cries, he found a woman stood staring, horrified by what she saw. On the floor was a man, palid and drained of blood by a large, flesh-coloured bat with its long, needle-like proboscis firmly embedded into the mans bare chest. Nixe drew his shortsword and, in a flash, had vanquished the creature, which burst in a torrent of the dead-man's blood.

As Nixe examined the remains he came to realise that the creature was the same as those he had witnessed flying above the ravine just moments before, and he knew with a certainty that this blood-sucker was not alone.

Next: Chapter Ten. A Scourge of Stirge