“There it is.” Cecilia announced cheerfully as the trio crested a particularly large hill on the road.

Devin lifted his hand up to his brow to block the low morning sun as he scanned the now visible horizon. Sure enough the small border town of Brynville sat in the distance. The group had been able to see the chimney smoke for a while, but this was the first time the town itself was visible from the road. Devin looked at his two traveling companions on top of their horses beside him. Like himself, both of the young women with him were wearing simple traveling clothes provided by the king. Kaitlyn was the only one currently wearing her armor and the sweat beading on her forehead told Devin that she was overheating already this early in the day.

“I’m surprised they have so many fires going today.” Devin said as he fanned his collar to air out some of the warmth trapped within. “It’s already hot.”

The princess shrugged. “I’ve never been… well anywhere so I can’t explain their reasoning. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to ask questions. After all, this will be our base of operations for the foreseeable future.”

The border towns were a current hot spot for monster and demon activity. While that was nothing new to this human frontier the reports coming into the capitol from their defensive forces and local adventuring parties told a grim tale of growing dangers. The number of attacks mixed with the prophecy held within the royal castle lead to Devin’s summoning.

A hero, most handsome and lean,

Will be summoned  to face dangers unseen.

The edges will shrink, dominion fade,

The hero must be married to a super hot babe.

Sandy blonde hair, and wonderful green eyes,

In darkness and cold the light of life dies.

Foes from without, now enter in,

I wish that I could feel his new skin.

Devin recounted the initial two verses of the prophecy and shook his head. He had requested to read it before he left and it felt… off. Like there were two wildly different people holding the pen. One author was writing out a serious warning while the other was obsessively putting down every physical detail of the summoned hero. The rest of the prophecy was just as unpredictable as the first two verses, though the demon queen was specifically mentioned in the last two verses as being responsible for the Kingdom’s greatest perils.

A fallen queen, wise and fair,

Brought the world down with one single care.

Failure brought time, a ruinous cost.

The kingdom lay desecrated, its people all lost.

A demon she be, one without heart.

The hero must come and never depart.

…

Please…

Devin shifted in his saddle. The prophecy didn’t fill him with great confidence. In fact, other than calling him handsome and lean it didn’t do much to promise his success on his mission. Yet here he was, approaching a border town to begin training and growing his experience in real life combat. Cecilia seemed alerted to his unease.

“Don’t worry Devin.” She said cheerfully. “I’m just as nervous as you are being here. As long as we watch each other’s backs and stay close to Kaitlyn I’m sure we’ll be-”

“That’s not all chimney smoke.” Kaitlyn announced suddenly as she leaned her head towards Brynville.

Her hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“What?” Cecilia shot her a worried look.

Kaitlyn pointed to a particularly black and clustered patch of smoke near the center of town. “That’s a full fire.”

“We should go help.” Cecilia spurred her horse onwards but Kaitlyn stopped her short with her own mount.

“I don’t like this.” Kaitlyn glanced at Devin to gauge his reaction.

Devin nodded. “I agree things feel a bit strange, but either way there could be people in the town that need help. I say we go have a look. Besides…”

Devin reached back and pulled out the shield and sheathed short sword from his pack. “We’ve got to start being heroes at some point right?”

Kaitlyn sighed but moved her horse out of the princess’ way. “Fine. Armor up first. Then we go in.”

********************************

It was hot. The studded leather armor and helmet did little to protect Devin from the sun’s rays on this clear summer morning. He took a hasty swig from his waterskin before allowing it to drop back down to his waist. Devin’s mount tossed its head as the unmistakable smell of smoke washed over them.

“Steady Dirt. Steady.” Devin patted his mount’s neck in an effort to comfort him as they drew closer to the border town.

The closer the trio galloped to Brynville the larger the sinking feeling in Devin’s gut grew. The sturdy log wall around the town showed no signs of senties, town guards, or people in general. Judging from the grim look on Kaitlyn’s face this probably wasn’t a good sign.

“How many people live here?” Devin called out to Cecilia.

The princess remained fixated on the column of smoke that had grown in size since they first saw it. It took her a few moments to realize that Devin had asked her a question.

“Sorry, what did you say?” She said with an embarrassed flush.

The princess had donned a set of incredibly thin yet sturdy looking chainmail. Judging from her lack of sweat compared to either Kaitlyn or Devin himself, he had to guess it was far more breathable than his own armor.

“How many people live here?” Devin asked again.

“Four to five hundred people.” Cecilia responded with a frown. “Why?’

Devin shook his head. “We should have seen someone by now.”

Silence fell between the group as they covered the distance between themselves and Brynville’s easternmost entrance. The heavy oaken gates sat partially open, though no gatekeeper or guard could be seen.

“I’m not crazy right?” Devin licked his dry lips and hissed up to Kaitlyn. “There should be someone here.”

Kaitlyn gestured for the group to slow down. Devin pulled Dirt back gently and let the brown horse slow to a walking pace. Kaitlyn rode her own horse right up to the gate and scanned the entryway carefully. Devin and Cecilia stopped a short distance away and waited for the bodyguard to return.

“The hinges are all bent up.” Kaitlyn announced quietly once she returned. “I don’t know what happened but we won’t be able to ride into town. If we want to get in we’ll have to dismount.”

“Then let's go.” Cecilia swiftly pushed herself off of her horse.

“I’m not so sure we should.” Kaitlyn turned her eyes warily towards the silent town. “Something bad happened here.”

“Where else can we go?” Devin asked.

“Fort Steel.” Kaitlyn jerked her head northwards. “There’s a garrison of troops a half day’s ride from here.”

“Yes, but wouldn’t it be far more valuable to tell the garrison something of value?” Cecilia asked as she tied her horse off around a tree. “We don’t know anything about what’s happening in there. We should investigate first and if there’s trouble we run back out and ride to the garrison.”

Kaitlyn bit the inside of her cheek and both girls turned to Devin for input.

“I think my vote is with the princess.” Devin dismounted and began to tie his horse off as well. “Someone is going to have to go in and investigate. It would take us half a day to get to the garrison and then a response force a half day to get back. They’ll be far better equipped for the trip if we can tell them for sure what’s happening.”

“Very well.” Kaitlyn sighed and dismounted.

Once the horses were secured the trio approached the gate and peered inside of the town. Devin cursed under his breath as he saw the streets within were just as vacant and lifeless as the gate itself. This time, however, various clothing, glass, wood splinters, and blood littered the ground. As grave as the sight was, however, there were no bodies to be seen.

“Some kind of fight happened here.” Kaitlyn announced quietly. “We go in quietly. Stay close.”

Kaitlyn held her open hand back towards Cecilia’s own and the princess took it gently. The princess waited, expecting the bodyguard to lead them through the gate, but Kaitlyn remained in place holding Cecilia’s hand.

“I thought… I assumed you were offering me your hand because there were things you were going to step over and wanted me to help you keep balance.” Cecilia whispered as blood rushed to her face.

Yet even now I notice you haven’t pulled your hand away… Devin chuckled internally as the pair stood awkwardly in place holding each other’s hands.

“Hey. Kaitlyn.” Devin hissed at the grinning and blushing bodyguard. “We need to keep going.”

“He he… so soft.”

A bit of drool formed on the edge of Kaitlyn’s mouth as she blocked out Devin’s quiet plea. A loud shattering sound in the distance caused all three of them to jump in place. The sound came from the center of town, somewhere still out of sight. Kaitlyn snapped out of her stupor. 

“Let’s go.” She whispered as she carefully pushed through the gate and entered the town.

Devin shot Cecilia a sheepish grin before he followed the red haired girl in. Devin put each of his steps down carefully to ensure he didn’t step on any broken glass. Now that they were fully within the town the damage became more clear. Each house had its front door either kicked in or splintered across the road. Windows lay shattered across the cobblestone street while any cart or carriage had been ripped apart. Devin expected the homes to be dark and empty, yet each home he peered into had every candle, lamp, and torch lit. Even though it was broad daylight, each home was illuminated from within.

“These are all freshly lit.” Cecilia noted when she realized what Devin was seeing as well. “Why would someone light all of their lanterns during the day?”

As they drew further into town, the source of the smoke became clear. A large central structure sat engulfed in flames. Another crash sounded, much closer this time. Kaitlyn unsheathed her blade. Devin did the same and double checked the straps on his shield as Cecilia held her magical staff close to her chest. Kaitlyn’s eyes snapped to a house on the right side of the street. Devin followed her gaze and could see something flash past the broken doorway.

“We need to leave.” Kaitlyn said firmly while continuing to face the entryway.

Before either Devin or Cecilia could respond a small horn sounded from within the house. It was a harsh frantic sound that echoed around the street. As the horn faded the silence was swiftly replaced by distant shrieks and shouts in a language Devin couldn’t comprehend. Small forms began to pour out of the houses further into the town.

“Run!”

JTNestman

A bit later than usual but still made it within the release window I set for myself. As always thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed and I welcome you back later for more.