Grey slate roof tiles chattered underfoot as the group crept their way to the roof's peak. The all-consuming fog that had enveloped the town was no thinner on the rooftops than it was on ground level, though now the adventurers ran a lower risk of encountering the residents of this forsaken place. The silhouettes of large slow-moving creatures, taller than the town's buildings, could be seen through the fog, awkwardly hobbling through the streets as though on a mindless patrol.
"I've never seen anything like those before! Fell, do you happen to know what they are?"
"They are beings, brought into this world from another. Beings that have no business in this world. Their presence here explains the fog and why the town has been hidden from Mythus' view. Whoever brought these creatures into this world is dabbling in very powerful dark magic. Magic that I thought had long since been erased from this world."
"Who could possibly have the power needed to pull off such a feat? They have somehow managed to hide an entire town from the world and a God as well, and they have also conjured these colossal monstrosities into this world. It sounds to me like this is the work of a God. I mean, what mortal being could possibly hope to cast magic on this scale?"
"You're wrong about one detail Calvin. These beings were not merely conjured into this world, they were swapped into it!"
"I don't understand, what do you mean by 'swapped'?"
"Think back to when we were on the road to Cruwshant. How many people would you say passed us on the road that day?"
"Several hundred at least, maybe close to a thousand, why does that matter now? Wait… you're not trying to say that…"
"Look at the size of this town, Calvin. It's capable of housing tens of thousands of people. Where do you suppose the rest of the people went?"
"You don't think they were 'swapped' for these creatures, do you?"
"Sacrifices had to have been made for these creatures to be brought here. I'd say twenty or thirty lives had to have been traded for each one of those!"
"I count at least ten of them out there in the fog, so that accounts for around three hundred people. What happened to the rest?"
"Have you not figured it out yet Calvin?" asked Riegert, with regret and sorrow in his voice.
"Figured what out?"
"Those things that attacked us in the tavern, Calvin. They are what remains of this town's people!" answered Jackson reluctantly.
"What?!"
"Jackson's right. What you saw in that tavern is the ramifications of dealing with dark magic. Whatever is making this fog was brought here at the cost of the lives of all of those people. Their souls will be forever trapped in those deformed bodies, tormented by their regrets and hatred until they are finally killed and sent back to the river of life, where they will be cleansed and sent back into this world for reincarnation."
"I still don't understand, what could possibly have had enough power to do all of this?"
"You were right the first time Calvin. Some fool must have made a pact with a very powerful dark being, perhaps an evil deity of some kind."
"Wha… what do you mean by an evil deity? Do you mean to say that there are Gods out there who mean this world harm? I thought that Mythus and the Gods of the other races were the only Gods that existed?"
"There are others. Some have been forgotten, but others were not intended to be created but rather came into being by a world that sought balance."
"I can understand that there may be Gods that have been forgotten, but how are there Gods that were unintentionally created?"
"It's far too much for us to discuss in detail right now. Suffice it to say, the foe that we face in this place might be more than your average dark magic user, they might be aligned with powers that could bring ruin to this world."
"Which means that this is not a foe that we should be facing alone. We should find our way out of this town and head to Cruwshant so we can make a report to The Guild there and request to have a more experienced party deal with this."
"I'm sorry Riegert but I don't think that that is an option at this point. I doubt that the barrier around this place will allow us to leave. Not until we have dealt with the one who cast it that is."
"Are you sure? Is there no way for us to slip out of here undetected? We're not up for this fight Fell! If this person is as powerful as you say they are, then we're surely going to need support for this battle!"
"Unfortunately, I am certain that there is no way for us to leave this place. The person that we need to face is right there in that church!" said Fellaroth, pointing toward a large cathedral that stood taller than any other building in the town. The elegant bell tower that stood tall from the centre of the enormous rectangular building had fog flowing from its open archways like a diseased river flowing from the mouth of a poisoned lake.
"That's a long way from where we are now, and I don't see any building close enough to it for us to reach it without leaving the rooftops." Said Jackson, upon seeing the church that Fellaroth had pointed out.
"Indeed, we're going to have to complete the last leg on the ground, and I don't think we will be able to simply walk into the church unopposed either."
"I take it you have a plan then?" asked Calvin hopefully.
"I don't. Not yet anyway. We're going to have to get a closer look before we can properly assess the situation and come up with a clear plan of action."
"Well then, there's nothing for it, we're just going to have to keep low and get as close to that church as we can!" said Jackson, prompting the others to fall in step behind Fellaroth, who had started making his way toward the edge of the roof.
"Do you think you can jump this gap?" asked Fellaroth, upon reaching the edge of the roof.
"With ease!" answered Jackson, taking a few steps back before running at full speed across the rooftop and vaulting the narrow street before landing on the roof of the opposite building. After sliding to a stop on the slate roof tiles, Jackson turned back to see the others attempt the same jump, only to see Fellaroth frantically waving and motioning for him to get down. Scanning his surroundings, Jackson soon noticed a gigantic being lumbering toward them. The creature seemed somewhat human in appearance, aside from its elongated features which included drooping eyes that were incapable of blinking, a gaping hole where its nose should have been, a crooked mouth that hung open to one side and showed the dull misshapen teeth that filled its mouth. It had long arms that dragged along the ground behind it as it limped on and an enormous gut that wobbled with every step. The skin that covered its enormous naked body looked as though it had been melted in a fire and never allowed to properly heal, while the woeful moans it let out periodically gave the impression of a being that was in constant pain.
Seeing this creature approach, Jackson lay flat on his stomach and hoped that the fog would allow him to go unnoticed by the creature, while Fellaroth and the others had retreated several paces from the edge of the roof and had done the same. Several tense moments passed in silence as the group watched the enormous being slowly make its way down the street, completely oblivious to the presence of the people who were scarcely one-tenth of its own size. Breathing a sigh of relief and without so much as a word spoken between them, Calvin, Riegert, and Fellaroth checked to see that no other monstrous beings were approaching before taking it in turns to jump over to the other roof, where Jackson was waiting. With the group back together, they moved on as quickly as their reduced visibility would allow, the group quickly leapt from one roof to another, getting as far away from the giant as they possibly could, before finding themselves hiding yet again from another mammoth patrolman.
The church steeple was growing larger with every passing minute, getting more and more imposing and threatening as the number of giants walking the streets began to increase, making it more and more difficult for them to cover the distance to their objective. The chattering screeches and calls of the smaller creatures began to fill the air, causing Riegert to approach the roof's edge and peer over. There in the streets below, he saw hundreds of humanoids aimlessly roam around and screeching mindlessly when they bumped into each other.
As Riegert studied the humanoid creatures below, he noticed that two of the larger creatures were about to cross paths. Before he was able to turn his attention back to the creatures below, the two behemoths started to bellow murderously upon seeing each other. In an instant the giant that had passed the group earlier swung its long arms around in a wide ark, causing them to impact the head of its opponent with such force that it was sent crashing through the building it had been standing next to. Without delay the long-armed giant set upon its foe, using its long arms to keep its distance while unleashing a barrage of attacks that left its enemy unable to get back up and retaliate.
With the battle all but concluded, Riegert noticed that the other giant appeared to be getting back to its feet, while holding its shorter, stronger arms above its head to take the brunt of the attack. Down on its haunches, with its head tucked safely beneath its overly muscular arms, the second giant appeared to be patiently waiting for something to happen, then like a snake striking out at its prey, the second giant deflected the incoming attack, leapt into the air and with a single powerful punch was able to separate its opponent's head from its body, sending it flying through the air.
Seeing the enormous head coming in their direction, the adventurers scattered, with Calvin dropping to the roof tiles, Jackson running toward and underneath its trajectory, and Riegert losing his footing and slipping from the rooftop, managing to grip the edge of the roof before he fell too far, while Fellaroth simply stood still and watched as the head careened straight for him. Pulling himself up to the point that his head was just above the edge of the roof, Riegert watched as Fellaroth stood unflinchingly while the severed head appeared to be on a collision course for him. The head passed by Fellaroth within inches, as he turned and looked the giant in the eyes before it impacted the roof just a few meters behind him. As the dust began to clear, Riegert had managed to pull himself back onto the roof and watched on in horror as the eyes of the severed head turned to look at Fellaroth before glazing over as the life finally left it.
A stunned silence gripped the group as they turned to look at the victorious giant, who had by this time simply returned to its pointless roaming as though nothing had happened, leaving its dead counterpart's body to be set upon by the smaller humanoid creatures. Ferociously tearing into the gargantuan deformed body, the smaller creatures screeched in delight as they fought over the meal that had been dropped at their feet, drawing the attention of more of their kind that had been in the surrounding buildings. Before long the streets below were a thronging, chaotic mass of violent altercations that grew louder with every passing second, serving only to draw the attention of yet more creatures.
Turning his attention from the spectacle that was unfolding before him, Riegert saw that the street below that led directly to the church, was now completely clear of any obstacles, apart from a few stragglers that didn't seem particularly interested in what was happening around them. Seeing their opportunity to reach their objective, Riegert turned to the others to inform them of what he had seen, only to meet the gaze of a creature that struck fear in his heart. There in the sky behind them and approaching at speed was a sight that would have made even the bravest of adventurers second guess their choice of occupation. Unable to speak, Riegert mustered all of his courage to simply raise his arm and point a single finger in the direction of the approaching danger.
Following the path of his finger, the others came to see a sight that struck the same fear into each of them that had frozen Riegert, there in the sky was a creature with enormous, tattered bat-like wings and a withered, naked human-like body. A large flat disk formed the back of its head and protruded to one and a half times the size of its head. The creature's skin clung loosely to its skull, creating a long leathery curtain that flowed from its cheekbones, parting at its mouth it hung down below the creature's knees, covering only its long bony arms. At the end of each arm was a claw with three long fingers, each having long jagged nails that extended their reach. From each shoulder protruded a broken horn that curved up to perfectly match the side of the disk in its head. Its body was lean and muscular with long legs that reached feet with claws that matched its hands, while from behind came a long slender tail that was as long as its body was tall. Flying alongside the strange, horrifying creature was a long spear with a crescent blade mounted on each side of its spearhead, and a second spike at the base of the spear's pole.
Without slowing down, the creature flexed a single finger on its bony hand, causing its halberd to propel itself through the air so fast that before any of them was able to react, Fellaroth had been impaled through his left shoulder and was sent plummeting to the ground below, with the winged creature paying the others no mind and following after its weapon.