Captain of Duke Fireborn guards was a position held by the greatest warrior in the guards and the whole province. The current captain was nicknamed the 'Bloody Knight', born from the colour of his armour after a corrupted beast attack. Klaus Stoneheart was his true name and he was proud of the name. Each time he spoke he'd puff his chest out and hold his head high. The Stonehearts were a branch of the Fireborn family, given the title Lords of Blackwood. And they've held this title for 100 years since the last blood moon and they defended the lands from evil. Klaus was trained from a young lad in ways of war. Honing in on the art of combat refining his skills till he was 21 years of age and joined the guardsman. It took him ten years to reach the rank of Captain, now five years since his promotion he is a muscular man with stern dagger-like features. His brown hair short and tidy and a stubbly beard gave him a rough but tidy look. His eyes were grey and green like mossy stone, and like most of his relatives, the Stonehearts are strong and sharp.
When he was told by the Duke that his second daughter had not reached the capital he suggested a search party to be assembled and search for the second daughter. Klaus had been in service to the Duke long enough to understand just how much his daughters meant to him. It was his duty to ensure the young lady was safe from any harm, the worst-case scenario was the guards entrusted with her safety were bought off. There are many people in the kingdom that want to bring down the nobility, especially the Duke. The group calling themselves Reapers wish to overthrow nobility. In Klaus' eyes, these were the most likely to attempt a kidnapping. The one thought in the back of his mind kept making him double think his assumption. The blood moon is near.
It took Klaus three hours to assemble a party of 6 Well trained men to accompany him on his search for Amiesia. He made sure that the men were all trusted to avoid anyone betrayals. They were each dressed in standard guard uniforms of the Fireborns: a red chest plate with the Fireborn insignia place at the heart underneath was black chainmail for added protection. Everything including had to be either red or black. The Fireborn insignia was golden phoenix surrounded by three smaller flames.
When they left the Dukes Manor they travelled for two hours stopping and investigating, at multiple towns and villages on the road to the royal capital, the trail they were following led them to the Dark Forest. The trees before them were tall thick and evergreen, the leaves swayed with the cold northern wind as of they were worshipping the south. "Right men, before we enter this forest prepare yourselves for possible ambushes" his voice was quiet but all were able to hear it "remember what we are doing here, do not let your guard down" as he finished his sentence he turned towards the forest and stepped in.
The tall dark trees disoriented most, any ordinary folk who entered would be lost within a matter of seconds. Klaus kept his sword drawn, along beautifully crafted weapon, with runic engravings on the blade itself. It looked expensive but the true expense was the material, steal-heart. The strongest metal is known to man. It could cut through all armour with ease. The sword was an honour to be given only passed down to the captain guard of the Duke Fireborn. Not long after they entered the forest Klaus stumbled across the rotting corpse of a gigantic beast. A huge corrupted boar with a missing throat the bushes it layed in were tiny in comparison, and the horns on it were thick as a tree and covered in blood "What in the world did that? "
"Another corrupted beast?" Klaus' men asked these questions until each one felt chills run down their spine, something from the forest was watching them.
As they felt this immense fear ran through the "we need to leave, right now sir"
"no not till we find the young lady" to Klaus the mission was more important than his life, if his men were in danger he'd stay behind and buy them time. It was then the smell of burnt wood enveloped them and they followed into the clearing ahead, there they found the corpses of five dead guards, each of their faces frozen in fear and trunk sized holes in their chests.
Everyone was stunned at what they saw "these were some of my best men, some should have been able to stay alive" Klaus was mournful as he spoke as he is proud of the men he commands and does everything he can to ensure they live. He turned to the corpse of the corrupted monster and spat on it. " wait, how the hell did they do this monster, its missing its bloody throat, no sword could do this." he was investigating the situation and developing multiple situations before turning to his men " search for the young lady she must be around here somewhere " they began searching the area checking under the wreckage, the surrounding woods yet found nothing. There was no trace of the young lady anywhere and no trace of what killed the boar. Only the stench of blood and burnt wood, Klaus' men gave up and took off their helmets and sat on the charred earth. "Where do you think she went kid?" one of the older guards turned his battle-weary body to the younger man in the group "probably fled somewhere deeper in the forest and I'm not a kid old man I'm 32 and what, your like 50." the two men were joking with each other to lighten the mood but they could not help but feel uneasy. There was something in the woods stalking them staying out of sight, they felt like prey about to get ripped to shreds by its predator. And then a familiar voice called out to them. "Is that you Klaus?" every one of the men turned to the direction of the voice and saw a young pretty girl with fiery red hair and a calming blue eyes. "Lady Amiesia, are you hurt?" Klaus had a relieved look on his face, after years of service to Duke Klaus had become attached to the Duke's children and felt it was his duty to guard them." No I'm, not Klaus don't worry, but that monster there killed these poor men" she was about to begin crying when she thought back on the previous night and how she almost died. "We will have to bring back these men along with us... It's important we give them a funeral." his face saddened when looking at his fallen comrades before turning to two of his men, "You two, search for something to bring these men back on" they responded without hesitation "yes sir".