The Village That Burnt

Burgh de Rott, Morning:

The village sat in a pile of rubble, with ash scattered across the ground. Bodies lied within the mounds of rubble, all drained of blood and a distinctly pale colour. The village had been attacked two days ago by Vyrewatch, sent by Drakan himself. Burgh de Rott had been engulfed in flames, and many had been slain. In amongst the rubble there was movement, and a hand broke through the heaps of rock surrounding it.

"I'm alive!" Dirth exclaimed as he managed to pull himself up to his stomach out of the ruins. The shock of where he was and what had happened suddenly dawned on him, and then he frantically had gotten himself free from the pile and had gone in search of others. "Anyone there?" Dirth asked as he removed bricks and mounds of ash from the ruins, looking for anyone else. A face became visible, and the eyes flung open; the Wanderer was alive.

"I've been sitting in here for a whole day," the Wanderer said as Dirth helped him free. "There's no sign of Vampyres then?"

"Oh Saradomin! I had not thought of checking," Dirth said as he ran to the edge of the village and looked into the woods. Nothing. Dirth felt blood on him, and looked at his leg, it was badly injured with a huge gash that was bleeding.

"You're bleeding," the Wanderer said pointing at the gash.

"Yes, I am well aware of this injury," Dirth said, daring to touch it.

"Well there's certainly no Vampyres in the village, but I recommend we keep well away from those woods from now on," the Wanderer said pulling Dirth away from the gloom of the forest.

"We must look for more survivors, if there are any," the Wanderer said removing a large slab of rock from a pile of rubble.

"Do not speak like that, I am positive there are more," Dirth said. Dirth was not actually so positive, as deep inside he believed there was very little help in finding others. Among the pile Dirth was clearing out he glimpsed a foot. "Hello, are you alive in there?"

"Just about," whimpered a familiar voice. Dirth frantically pulled the rock and other materials that had survived the fire away, and pulled Edward up on his feet. Dirth pulled Edward into a tight hug.

"I was so frightened, I feared for your life after the Vyrewatch saw you!" Dirth exclaimed.

"You know me Dirth, I'm a survivor," Edward said with a reassuring smile.

"Are you able to walk about?" Dirth asked.

"Yes, but my foot is slightly injured so I will not be able to move too swiftly," Edward said.

"Accompany us in removing rubble, there could very well be more survivors," Dirth noted as he moved to a new pile to clear away. Edward entered the ruins of a hut and moved a piece of rubble to see the face of Luna. Edward leaned forward and touched her incredibly pale face, he feared for her life. Suddenly her eyes opened and she managed to break through the pile with her right hand which grabbed Edward's other hand. She breathed in and out rapidly, with her eyes darting about across what was once a room.

"Where am I?" Luna demanded, obviously confused of what had happened.

"Welcome to Burgh de Rott," Edward said. "You're alive."

"Vampyres! There were Vampyres! Are they here? Edward are they here?" Luna asked frantically.

"They've gone. The village burnt to the ground, it's all in ruins now," Edward said, pulling Luna out of the rubble.

"The Vampyres! Their eyes were blood red and their touch was colder than death itself," Luna said.

"Did the Vampyre attack you?" Edward asked worried.

"It slashed my arm," Luna said, revealing a long claw mark. Despite its length, it was a deep wound.

"Any other injuries?" Edward asked.

"I've got a vibrant headache and I have a lust for food, I think I'm free of any extreme injuries," Luna said.

The Wanderer rounded the corner of a ruin and saw a corpse lying face down on the scorched earth. He turned it over to see the eyes of Ernest staring at him. He had a void expression on his face, as though he had died mid sentence. The Wanderer turned his neck to the side to see a bite mark; he was drained of blood.

"I'm so sorry," the Wanderer said closing Ernest's eyes. Dirth rounded the corner with Tamron, whose face was covered in ash.

"Who is it?" Dirth asked, referring to the corpse.

"Ernest. He's been drained of blood," the Wanderer said, turning to face the Dirth and Tamron.

"Poor Ernest," Tamron said, putting his masculine hand on Ernest's shoulder. "I'm sorry this happened my friend."

"Tamron, go look for any survivors in that hut over there, me and the Wanderer need to remove Ernest's corpse, we do not want everyone to see it," Dirth said.

"As you wish Dirth," Tamron said as he walked towards it.

"What shall we do with Ernest's corpse?" The Wanderer asked.

"Cremate it. Saradomin knows what evils lie within this dark kingdom and the tedious spirits that hide in the shadows may wish to bring our friend Ernest back as undead," Dirth said.

"You will have to find a suitable location, I take it you do not want the villagers to watch the cremation," the Wanderer said.

"Behind my hut, on the waterfront," Dirth said. "Go fetch a pile of logs, but stay away from the woods."

"I am not that ignorant Dirth, it was me who spoke of avoiding those damned woods in the first place. Just remember the last fire we had here happened to burn the village into nothing more than ruins," the Wanderer snapped as he headed off to collect logs.

Within the hut, Tamron saw Elle who was sat upwards in rubble which piled up to her stomach. Tamron pulled her free, but she did not move.

"A stranger, she must be of the Myreque. Can you hear me?" Tamron asked. Elle coughed as her eyes snapped open.

"I thought I was dead!" Elle exclaimed through a rasping voice. "I consumed a lot of ash, which is no good for the lungs."

"I shall take you to the well to drink, if it remains," Tamron said, helping her on to her feet.

"Thank you," Elle said. Upon reaching the well, Tamron noticed the bucket was gone, the well was damaged and the water had become mixed with the ash.

"We'll have to go to the waterfront, this water is pure filth," Tamron said.

"May I try and stand on my own?" Elle asked.

"Of course, but I shall accompany you to the waterfront should you have an accident, you're legs will still be slightly weak after being trapped under all that rubble," Tamron said.

"And you were not?" Elle asked.

"I had a large rock hit me on the head, I was unconscious until Dirth awoke me from my deep sleep I had entered. I am strong though, I am masculine, whereas you are-" Tamron did not get to finish his sentence.

"A woman? Why us women are not as weak as most of you men think," Elle said.

"You try explaining that to Luna, she appreciates my protection of her," Tamron said.

"Then you have obviously controlled her too much. Let her deal with life alone, she needs to be told her true potential. You barbaric men do not help, overshadowing women," Elle said as she stopped at the waterfront. She cupped her hands and lowered them into the water. She then consumed the water in her hands. "This water is refreshing. Meiyerditch's water is stagnant, and some of us believe it to be tainted with blood." To her right, Elle glimpsed Dirth and the Wanderer carrying Ernest's corpse to a makeshift pyre. The Wanderer carried a battered tinderbox and set the pyre on fire.

"I still say there are not enough logs here," Dirth said.

"We need to keep this fire subtle, not attracting attention to it all," the Wanderer said.

"You two!" Elle exclaimed as she got to her feet and ran up to Dirth and the Wanderer.

"Why Eleanor, you survived," Dirth said.

"What of Harry and Alice? Did you find them?" Elle asked.

"No, not yet. There is plenty more area to cover though," Dirth said.

"Who has died?" Elle asked.

"One of my villagers," Dirth said sadly as he looked into the flames.

"Were you close?" Elle asked.

"Not really, but it is still a sad occasion," Dirth said.

"Of course it is," Elle said with a reassuring smile.

Four hours later:

All the rubble had been cleared away and put into a large pile to the west of the village. All around the ruins, people were tending to friends and loved ones who were recovering from injuries and illness. Dirth, Edward, Tamron and the Wanderer sat in a circle in the middle of the village, near the destroyed well.

"What now?" Tamron asked. No reply came for a few moments.

"Rebuild," Dirth announced, breaking the silence.

"Using what? We are hardly rich in terms of material," the Wanderer questioned.

"We have plenty of logs and wood from the swamps and near the forest," Dirth answered.

"We are not to go in that forest!" The Wanderer snapped.

"As you wish. We can also obtain rocks and stone from the land to the west," Edward suggested.

"There is Vampyre activity near there," Tamron said.

"They are weak ones which dwell there, but still, we should be careful of going near them," the Wanderer said.

"I will begin to fetch some logs from the swamp, Edward, you are to come with me," Dirth said.

"Of course," Edward replied.

"Me and the Wanderer shall fetch stone and rock from the far south of the swamp," Tamron said.

"Well Tamron, we are not to go anywhere near the Vampyres. As soon as you see one you keep well away from where you saw it," the Wanderer said.

"Yes, yes, of course. Your moans and grumbles shall not delay my work," Tamron said.

"Grumbles? Grumbles! These are not mere grumbles! Those Vampyres happened to slaughter our villagers and destroy our homes!" The Wanderer snapped.

"I must agree with the Wanderer, Tamron, he has a point. Keep well away from the Vampyres," Dirth said.

"Fine, I shall not go near any undead beast I glimpse," Tamron said.

Mort Myre Swamp, Ten minutes later:

Dirth and Edward walked cautiously along the winding path through the swamp. They had just split up with Tamron and the Wanderer who had headed to the south. The tall reeds were draped on to the path, which Dirth had to push out the way constantly due to his height.

"Is this where James died?" Edward asked. Dirth stopped dead and turned to Edward.

"Do you still hate me?" Dirth asked.

"Who am I to judge you for your actions in the past? I too have felt jealousy and still do, so I am just as bad," Edward said.

"But you wouldn't kill, I would have," Dirth said.

"I guess not, but after all the lives you've saved, surely that makes up for that dark point in your past," Edward said.

"Thank you," Dirth said, feeling much more at peace with himself now. As they reached the end of the path they came to the damaged bridge across one of the many channels of water that flowed through the swamp. A figure materialized in front of them; it was the Swamp Spirit.

"Two of the villagers, you live!" The Spirit said.

"You saw the attack?" Dirth asked.

"Yes, from a distance. Tell me, does the wandering man live? He has not visited me for some time now," the Spirit said.

"He tends to avoid the swamps, he speaks of snapping beasts and dark shadows," Dirth said.

"The snapping - I hear it too!" The Spirit exclaimed.

"Have you ever seen the creature?" Edward asked.

"My young friend, I have not. If ever I hear it I sink into the darkness and hide," the Spirit said.

"I will tell the Wanderer of our encounter, but these are dark times, especially for him," Dirth said.

"What brings the two of you into the swamp?" The Spirit asked.

"We search for wood, to rebuild our village," Dirth said.

"It burned, didn't it? Burgh de Rott, the village that burnt," the Spirit said casting an eye to where Burgh de Rott lay, out of view. "I will not waste anymore of your time, darkness will be falling soon, and if you are trapped in the swamps at darkness you'll become like me," the Spirit said, fading out of view.

"Come on Edward, the Swamp Spirit is right, we need to hurry," Dirth said.

Southern Swampland:

The Wanderer and Tamron, both carrying piles of rocks, clambered over the rocky mounts of the far south of Mort Myre, all the time looking out for pools of concentrated swamp water and Vampyres. The Wanderer stopped dead as he saw a strange burrow, and turned back from it.

"What is it?" Tamron asked.

"Danger," the Wanderer said. The Wanderer and Tamron headed back towards Burgh de Rott, but the Wanderer stopped and looked back. A stinger whipped out of the burrow in the distance. "It's out here."

Burgh de Rott, One hour later:

Dirth and Edward returned to the village, each carrying their third load of logs. Edward examined his arm, a swamp snail had spat acid at his arm which was now stinging, even after it had been bathed in swamp water.

"That should be plenty now," Dirth said dropping the logs on to the pile that they had formed. Tamron and the Wanderer had a pile of rocks they had collected, and the Wanderer had also managed to retrieve some spare vials he had buried under his home and filled them with swamp mud which would be used to fix the materials together. Now they all had enough materials to begin rebuilding. "Everybody!" Dirth called out to the villagers who all assembled in front of Dirth. "Everyone grab a piece of wood and start rebuilding!" Everyone began to pick up wood and lay it down on the ground, then swamp mud was applied and then more wood was put down. Slowly but surely, Burgh de Rott was rebuilding...

Burgh de Rott, Three days later:

Burgh de Rott had been rebuilt after three days of constant labor, and now the buildings looked much stronger than they had in their original form, all of which had been rotting and falling apart. Dirth had just finished announcing to everyone about the completion of the village. The Wanderer had slipped away into the shadows and had clambered over a fence into the deadlands of the swamp. He looked across the large channel of water lying in front of him into the distance and glimpsed the stinger tail of a creature which whipped out of the ground an lashed out at the air around it.

"Deinoscorpio, I know you're out there, and I'm going to rid these swamps of you once and for all," the Wanderer said, turning back to the village.