The piercing screech, a specter's mournful cry, reverberated through the icy night, sending shivers down the most stoic of spines. "iIIIAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!," it wailed, a sound so eerie it would cause the stoutest of hearts to tremble in fear!
"Lad!" The imperative tone of the elder's voice pierced the shadowy abyss behind him.
"...I am cognizant of it, Elder..." The youth's response quivered with the weight of fate's grim amusement.
"Let us proceed without delay!"
Yet, young Arteus could not indulge in introspection, for the once tranquil hamlet of Barley bore the ghastly marks of an unspeakable horror! Survivors there were, and it was his solemn duty to seek them out, willing or otherwise!
-Later-
Their breaths, a symphony of weariness, accompanied them on their perilous journey. "Haa... Haa..."
"Could there be survivors?" He whispered the question, as though the mere sound might shatter the frail hope that clung to them like cobwebs to a long-abandoned manor.
"Indeed," Lilly replied, her voice carrying a solemn certainty that seemed incongruous with her youthful innocence.
The path that stretched before them was rife with peril and despair. Above, the heavens were shrouded in a mantle of brooding darkness, whispering the desperate pleas of the afflicted!
---IIIIAHHHH HELP!!!! HELP!!!!---
The frenzied cries of distress pierced the silence like the sharpest of knives, a haunting echo of the horrors that lurked unseen!
"Curses be!" The oath escaped his lips, a testament to the gravity of the situation.
"Could we have evaded this grim destiny?" His question was laden with doubt, a burden upon his soul.
Their journey to this juncture had been fraught with the unexpected, yet an inexplicable presentiment whispered that fate had orchestrated their every step!
The lad's resolve remained steadfast, unyielding as the ice that enshrouded the earth around them.
Their progress had been hindered by the frailties of age and youthfulness, yet the urgency of the moment demanded haste!
The cries grew more insistent, emanating from a distant crossroads, where the shadows cavorted like the flickering flames of hell's torches!
With the burden of decision weighing heavily upon him, Arteus felt the irrevocable call to action!
To abandon the old woman and the lasses to fate's capricious whims, or to venture forth alone?
The bond of trust between Arteus and Lilly was as steadfast as the steel of his sword now, yet the notion of leaving them in the clutches of the unknown...
"...Tch!"
With sudden decisiveness that belied his earlier hesitation, Arteus issued his command!
"I shall proceed alone! Protect them with the very essence of your being, Lilly!"
Their gazes met, a silent pact of faith and protection forged in the depths of their souls!
And with a swiftness that seemed almost supernatural, Arteus descended the snowy slope!
-Elsewhere-
Upon the desolate pinnacle of Mount Kendo, where the cold kissed the very stars themselves, a figure shrouded in shadows deliberated on her next move.
"Hast thou uncovered the mortal that Barthy seeks?" Her question was as frigid as the breath that carried it forth.
"Nay, my lady," her servant replied, his eyes reflecting the moonlit snowscape.
"The intelligence appears to have been a ruse to mislead us from our true purpose."
Her visage remained impassive, yet within her, a tempest of emotion raged.
"Thou hast perceived something of significance, Sebastian?" Her voice held the promise of more than mere curiosity.
"Indeed, my lady," he spoke with a reverence that suggested a profound connection. "A young man named Arteus..."
Her thoughts raced like the winds that howled across the tundra, pondering the enigmatic tapestry of fate that seemed to weave their destinies together.
"If he plays a part in the unfolding of events, our paths are fated to cross once more!"
"For now, Sebastian, return unto Sovereign!"
Her hand gesture, elegant and menacing, sent the shadow beneath her servant's robe swirling and growing. It transformed into a steed of the night, born of darkness and malice!
-Barley Village-
The cacophony of battle resounded through the night like the thunderous roar of an enraged tempest! An arctic wolf, fierce and unbridled, was sent soaring through the inky sky by an unseen force!
*SPLAT*
The creature's lifeblood painted the pristine snow with crimson, as though a macabre artist had claimed the scene as their canvas!
"They become more predictable with each encounter," Arteus murmured, his gaze lingering on his hand, which bore mute witness to the arcane power that surged within him.
"Or perhaps, it is I who am evolving, growing more powerful as the shadows gather around me!"
And with this revelation, a figure emerged from the frozen earth, a man whose very presence bore the mark of the grave!
One of the survivors, a burly man named Martin Brunt Wyatt, staggered forth, his voice trembling with a tumult of emotions—relief and fear!
"May the heavens bless thee for thy timely aid!" He exclaimed, his voice quivering with gratitude.
But as he beheld Arteus, the very lad who had come to their salvation, the man fell silent.
For here stood the youth whom the villagers had condemned as 'accursed', cast out from the very soil that bore witness to his birth!
The tension grew as thick as the mist that enshrouded the cobblestone streets, as Millie and her kin approached, their expressions a tumult of emotions!
"What calamity has visited this place, Mr. Wyatt?" The old woman's inquiry was a demand for truth, unadorned and stark!
"Ah, about that..." The man's voice faltered, his eyes darting like a cornered creature.
"There is something of gravity thou must be apprised of..."
"...?"
"It concerns thy son, Castrol..."
The words descended upon the village elder with the weight of a tolling funeral bell, and the night grew yet more frigid.
-To Be Continued-