Horseshoe's Tall Tale

"New Threat from an Old Enemy"

Chapter five: New Threat from an Old Enemy.

  The mire alpha-male came to suddenly, as if waking up from some out of body nightmare. The pain of it’s dying moments all came back, and it screamed out in agony. The burning pain in it’s eye from where Ursula had impaled his own double edged staff through it, once again reduced the beast to a shivering hulk. It tried to bring it’s hands up to cover the bleeding wound, but the beasts massive hands were chained to the floor by two heavy wrist cuffs. Through the intense pain that seemed to radiate all through it‘s body, the alpha-male looked around with it’s good eye at it’s surroundings. It appeared to be a prison cell of some kind, with a wall of rusted bars directly in front the beast. The walls of this cell were covered in filth, and the strange bones of odd creatures lay scattered around on the floor. Outside the bars, the beast saw a burning lake of lava. Across this lake, it could make out other cells like his, with prisoners in it. Their screams echoed through the large room and across the burning pit of molten fire. The beast tried to suppress it’s pain to be able to think logically.
“What is this place?” It said aloud. Just then, something began to climb out of the lava. It slowly rose from the lake, standing an impressive twelve feet tall when it finally stood all the way up. The mire king stared in shock at this tremendous creature. It’s skin was red and scaly, almost like a lizard of some kind. It’s feet were hooves, double jointed like that of a horse. The terrifying being strode over to the beast’s cell, It’s eyes glowed with an eerie gaze that seemed to look right into the mire king’s mind. The beast found itself cowering in fear, just by looking at it.
“Well, well, well… what have we here?” It spoke in a deep and foreboding voice. “If it isn’t the all mighty king of the bear men, Mane. How wonderful it is to see you, I hope you are doing well.” The figure laughed loudly.
“Only a few beings know that name.” The mire king said, it’s voice trembling. It’s eye grew wide as it realized in horror the identity of it’s captor.
“Yes, you know who I am don’t you.” The figure said. “I’m glad to see you haven’t totally forgotten.” The once proud and strong alpha-male was reduced to a quivering fearful rodent in the presence of this powerful demon. It knew why it was here, it was all painfully clear now.
“So did you enjoy your gift? The one I bestowed upon you out of the kindness of my heart.” the demon erupted in more laughter as it said this.
“You were nothing before you came to me. Just an animal wandering alone having been discarded by it’s pack. All you wanted was the power to kill the pack leader and replace it as the king of those pitiful creatures. And I gave it to you, but I gave you much more than that. I gave you intelligence. I gave you the power of logical thought. And I gave you and your followers evolved physical attributes. You wanted to be able to conquer new territories and expand your empire, I gave you the strength to do so.” The mighty figure stared angrily at the beast it called Mane. “And what did you do with that power? You humiliate yourself and me in turn by falling to some nothing child. All because you could not control your power.” The demon raised it’s fist, and through some demonic force, Mane felt it’s throat tighten as if being strangled. “Now with your death, my part of the contract is fulfilled. It’s time for you to pay your debt.” The demon raised it’s fist up, and Mane’s neck stretched likewise. “I should let you rot here in my prison for eternity. Every day filled with unrelenting pain. But, that would do me no good, save for the minimal entertainment value it would provide me.” The demon opened it’s fist, releasing Mane from it’s telekinetic grip. It fell back to the ground, gasping for air. “So here is how you will repay your debt to me.” With a snap of it’s scaly fingers, the bars of Mane’s cell disappeared and so did the chains locking it’s hands down. The mire king brought it’s claws up and rubbed it’s wrists were the cuffs had been cutting into it’s flesh.
“Come with me.” The demon said, motioning with it’s finger for Mane to follow. The beast followed it’s master up a staircase that twisted around the walls of this fiery domain. This chamber rose from the lake of burning magma up in a cylinder shape. The air was unbearably hot, so much that one felt they would burst into flames just by breathing it in. The rotating staircase ascended up the chamber walls, circling up as far as Mane could see. And all along the walls there were more cells, housing unfortunate souls trapped in this hellish nightmare. After some time of climbing, a bright light could be seen above. It was a glittering surface resembling water. The staircase continued up through this barrier, but nothing could be seen past it. The demon stopped short of this shimmering wall, then turned to face Mane.
“I can not pass through this portal, but you can. It will return you to the living realm, where you will be reborn once again. But you will remain under my control. My power still reaches out beyond that barrier even if I physically can not. You will return to the living realm and find a way to shatter this wall that keeps me from returning to life. It was placed here to imprison me, by an angel that still lives on this planet. However, this revolting angel is now disguised as a mere mortal. You must find this angel and destroy her, with her death the power of this shield will fail and I will once again be free to reign over this puny world.” The demon snapped it’s fingers and two impish devils formed out of nothing. “These creatures will assist you and will obey your commands. But be warned, if you should stray from your mission they will remind you quite painfully of your debt to me.” The demon pointed its finger up to the portal. “Now go, and do not fail me. For if you die, you will return here and I will not be in a good mood.” The mire king observed it’s companions. The two imp devils smiled at him with such strange looks, that it made the beast uneasy to have them around. Despite it’s reluctance to continue on, Mane knew that whatever was waiting for it on the other side of that portal, had to be better than an eternity in this hell. It swallowed it’s fear and proceeded up the staircase, followed by the two devils laughing as they went along. The three of them passed through the glittering portal and disappeared.
  The early afternoon air in the frozen forest blew through the tall pine trees, covered in a fresh layer of snow that fell the previous night. The ground glistened wherever the sun’s rays made it through unhindered by the pine’s shadows. The sounds of the forest were all around, orchestrating natures own symphony of wildlife. A little over a month had passed since the terrible raid on the human colony of Ironwill, which had left it in ruins. But since then, the forest has been a peaceful place, almost as if a shadow had been lifted off of it. The mire beast attacks were now history, thanks to Ursula Wellington’s brave and courageous attack on the mire beast camp. The survivors of Ironwill, were once again set to show the reason for their village’s name. Over the past month, the village had been returned to it’s former glory, with the villagers working day and night to rebuild their homes. And though they could not bring back their loved ones that had been brutally murdered by the vicious mire beasts, they knew that those that had passed would want nothing more than to see the survivors rebuild their lives and push on. Lieutenant Williamson, one of the soldiers that had been sent by the king to help fight the mire beasts, stayed on to help in the rebuilding process. And though he and the rest of the villagers minds were primarily focused on returning their lives to normal, their thoughts would occasionally shift to their heroine, the three and a half foot tall Ursula, who had stayed with the mire beasts to guide them towards a peaceful existence. The tiny warrior, nicknamed Ursa by her friends, had proven to them how much one little girl could do, if she was determined enough to do it. Lieutenant Williamson had returned to the village, with stories about how Ursula had fought so valiantly and skillfully against the mire beasts, and their enormous alpha-male king, she had dubbed Black-Eye. The children of the village continued to pass these stories on to each other, and the legend of Ursula’s battle grew to grand proportions. Ace Talon, the leader of the Blue Blade Militia that acted as defenders for the village, became agitated by the girls ever increasing status in the village. After all, it should have been him that had defeated the mire beast king, and returned peace to the forest, he felt. He was a skilled champion of the Blue Blade Academy, an old and ancient fighting school that only a select few members in it’s history had been able to graduate from. He had trained all his life to be a feared warrior, and here a little girl had done in a few months, what he had strived forty years to achieve. The more he pondered on it, the more it angered him. He vowed, that if he ever saw Ursula again, he would challenge her to a fight to prove once and for all that he was the superior warrior. Lieutenant Williamson also hoped to one day see the brave young girl again, but for him it was because he had grown quite fond of her and wished to see his friend one more time before leaving back for his home in First Dawn. On this bright, beautiful sunny afternoon in the frozen forest, both of them would get their wishes granted. Lieutenant Williamson was overseeing the reconstruction of the grand meeting hall, which had been burned down to a pile of bricks and mortar in the mire beast’s attack. The hall had all but been rebuilt, now bigger and more impressive than it was before.
“Good work people, we can all be proud of the labor put into this great building. The pinnacle of Ironwill, will be it’s most inspiring monument to the village’s determination and willpower.” He proclaimed. As he spoke, he heard a trumpet blare in the distance. It had come from the defender at the gate, something was wrong. He motioned for two of the soldiers working, to follow him. They all rushed towards the gate to investigate. When they arrived there, the gate defender high up atop the village walls called out to them.
“Lieutenant, there are two mire beasts outside the gate. We have to mobilize the militia to repel this assault!” The lieutenant turned to the two soldiers and told them to inform Ace and the rest of the defenders to suit up for battle. Williamson ascended the stairs to the top of the wall to witness these attackers. From atop the wall he could see the two mire beasts waiting along the path to the village. Both of them were mounted atop huge mountain bears which they had rode atop to this point. The two beasts just waited and stared up at the soldiers, making no provocative motions to show their intensions. Suddenly they saw someone else come riding up out of the forest. To Williamson’s relief, it was Ursula herself, riding atop the deceased Commander White’s horse. His face lit up with joy to see the little warrior once again return home.
“Hail, Ursa!” Williamson shouted. Ursula rode up to where the other two mire beasts were waiting, and saluted up to the lieutenant. Williamson ordered the gate defender to open the gate, and he rushed down to greet his friend. The large village gate slowly swung open to allow the girl and her companions to enter. Lieutenant Williamson appeared at the entrance to welcome her back.
“Hello lieutenant. I am here on a very important matter.” She said with a stern look.
“It‘s good to see you again Ursa, but as far as your friends here, I can‘t say the same.” Williamson replied. Ursula nodded her head before motioning towards the large mire beast on her right.
“Lieutenant, I’d like for you to meet my commanding officer, Amber.” As she said this, the beast saluted the lieutenant , to his surprise. He looked over the impressive creature. It towered above him atop it’s bear mount, with a beautiful coat of light brownish red fur. Like all other mire beasts, it sported an intimidating row of viciously sharp teeth along the sides of it’s long snout.
“And to my left is my chief lieutenant, Razorjaw.” Ursula moved her hand to address the mire beast on her left side. This one was smaller in size compared to Amber, but it too came complete with a similar set of ferocious jaws. It had black fur spotted with white patches over it’s body. Razorjaw acknowledged the lieutenant with a sturdy salute like it’s fellow beast had done.
“We come to represent the honorable race of the Wolvren, to propose a peace treaty with the humans of this village. It is with this treaty that I hope to create a unified alliance between our races that I believe will result in great prosperity for both.” Ursula said with an intensely serious look about her face. After a moment, a smile appeared on her face.
“And it’s good to see you too, lieutenant.” A loud ruckus was then heard coming from inside the village. Williamson turned to see Ace Talon leading the rest of the militia towards the gate in full battle gear.
“Here now! What is the meaning of this?” Ace bellowed. “The heroine of Ironwill comes back, only to turn against her own and attempt to tear down what we’ve worked so hard to rebuild?!” Ace pointed his sword towards Ursula. “You will not succeed in this treachery.”
“At ease soldier.” Lieutenant Williamson ordered. “This is no assault. Ursa is here on a mission of peace.” Lieutenant laughed to himself, the thought of Ace and the defenders attempting to fight Ursula was quite amusing to him, they would have been destroyed where they stood.
“How am I to believe this, how can you be sure of her word? She has been gone so long, perhaps she has been brainwashed by these filthy beasts to become one of them.” Ursula sneered at Ace.
“It’s good to see you too Ace, I’m glad to see your still as pig-headed and loud mouthed as I remember.” Ace’s face grew twisted in anger towards the girl. “But if you wish for proof of our honorable intensions, I will give it to you.” Ursula spoke in a series of grunts to her officers. Both of which removed their weapons and tossed them to the ground. Ursula pulled her sword from her belt, and handed it to Lieutenant Williamson, who accepted it.
“There, me and my soldiers are unarmed. If we are to live in peace, we have to establish trust. I will be the initiator of this trust. Now Ace, it is to you to decide if you wish to meet us halfway.” Ursula said. the lieutenant looked back at Ace, who stood in his gear ready for battle. The proud fighter paused for a time to contemplate the situation. He rose his sword back up towards Ursula, but instead of ordering his fighters to attack, he let go of his sword and it fell to the ground. Ace reluctantly turned back towards his men and nodded his head. With that, the other defenders dropped their weapons to the ground as well. Ave looked back towards Ursula.
“Let it not be said that I stood in the way of peace, but I warn you that my eye will be on you and your furball officers. Fall back men.” Ace ordered to his militia. The defenders moved to open a path into the village for Ursula and her officers to enter.
“Well, now that all that foolishness is out of the way, I think it’s time for celebration.” Williamson said. “The great Ursa has returned home finally.” He cheered. Ursula smiled back at the lieutenant as she led her soldiers past the village gate.
“First things first Lieutenant, I wish to meet with Leonard Andrews and the rest of the village officials. We will create and sign a peace treaty to establish our alliance. Then and only then will it be time for celebration.”
“Very well, Ursa.” The lieutenant replied. “I see no greater way to inaugurate the reconstructed grand hall, then to make it the place for such a historic event.” Lieutenant escorted Ursula and her followers down the center of the village towards the towering meeting hall. Groups of villagers had assembled to see this incredible march. The sight of the heroine of Ironwill returning with two seemingly friendly mire beasts, now called wolvren, with the village militia leading them through the streets on their way to the grand meeting hall, led to mixed emotions from the residents. Most vowed that they would never trust their former enemies enough to become friends with them.
  That evening, the villagers once again filled the seats of the meeting hall, this time for the peace treaty signing ceremony of the humans and wolvren races. The mood in the building was one of apprehension from the people, could they truly be able to accept these beasts as allies they all wondered. The large stone table at the back of the hall seated the new panel of village officials, with Leonard Andrews now seated as the new village elder. To his left sat the village scriber and the three newly appointed councilmen. Beside these men sat Ace Talon and Lieutenant Williamson who sat in as an honorary official. To Leonard’s right sat Ursula and her two wolvren officials. Just the sight of two mire beasts sitting at the same table as their officials was enough to generate anxiety in the crowd as they gathered. Once the hall was full, the defenders closed the doors, and the meeting was set to come to order. Leonard pounded his gavel on the table to signal the start of the ceremony.
“Welcome everyone, I’m honored to see this turnout for the opening of our newly rebuilt grand hall. Tonight we are gathered for an historic occasion. The signing of a treaty to establish an alliance with our neighbors, the wolvren. I know that most of you have a great deal of apprehension towards our visitors, but you must believe me that I have reviewed their proposal, and I have witnessed their honorable intensions. And I honestly believe that their desire for peace is genuine. With that said, I wish to turn the hall over to Ursula, the representative of the wolvren race.” Leonard opened his hand out to Ursula, who stood up in her chair in order to be seen better. A round of applause came from the crowd for their brave champion. Ursula acknowledged this applause with a bow.
“Thank you Mr. Andrews, officials of Ironwill. Thank you, honorable people of this great village. The last time I saw my home, it was burning down to rumble. We had just been attacked viciously by the creatures we called mire beasts. They had come to our village, and spread panic and death wherever they went. I, like all of you in this hall, deemed that it was now war and the beasts had to be destroyed for what they had done. I went to their home, and dispensed the justice I knew had to be served. But, I learned something that day. I learned that just as war is often necessary when it is justified. The only way war can be successful is if it leads to peace. On that day I learned to show mercy to my enemies. After I had killed their leader, their society was left in shambles. That’s where I stepped in too lead and teach them to live in peace. I had to build trust in them as they did with me. Until they no longer followed me out of fear as they did their previous leader, they followed me out of respect. So, I come here today to ask you people of Ironwill to accept them as the new beings they are now. No longer the war bringing monsters we believed them to be, but instead a peaceful, honorable race that wishes to come to you and ask forgiveness. It is time for a lasting peace between us and the wolvren. It is time for us to join together and become stronger with our trust in each other. Let us put down our differences, and create an alliance that will greatly benefit both of our races.” Ursula finished her speech and turned to Leonard Andrews. “I now yield the hall back to the village elder.” With that, she sat back down in her seat. Leonard nodded his head.
“Thank you Ursula, your words strike a powerful chord.” Leonard then turned to face his minister of defense, Ace Talon, on the other side of the table. “I turn the hall over to Ace Talon. What are your thoughts on this matter?” Ace took a long chug from his ale mug, before placing it back on the table. He paused for a moment as if lost in thought. He had just sat and listened to Ursula’s long and elaborate plea for peace. And though it sounded convincing enough, Ace could not bring himself to trust those filthy animal men. He refused to believe the beasts he had seen attacking himself and his men, could change so much in only a months time. More over, Ace still had doubts over Ursula’s intensions. He wondered if after he and the lieutenant left the camp a month ago, the mire beasts had found some way of brainwashing the young warrior into joining their fight. And now, under the guise of a peace treaty, they were planning on gaining the village’s trust to take it over from the inside. But underlining all the other reasons for him not trusting Ursula, was the simple fact that Ace still hated her for outdoing himself and becoming the village’s champion. Deep down he wondered if this young girl only seventeen years of age, could actually have surpassed him in warrior skills. It sickened him to even have to ponder such a thing. Ace looked at Leonard and began to speak.
“I cannot disagree with the idea that a pledged peace between us and the beasts of the forest would benefit Ironwill quite profoundly. But, the fact still remains that we simply cannot trust these monsters to actually want this peace.” Ace stood up and pointed over at the wolvren sitting at the opposite side of the table. “Only one month prior, these beasts were killing our scouts and hunters in cold blood. Then, in the dead of night, they came to our village and burned it down! How in good conscience can we say that after just a months time they are now trustworthy? They come asking for peace, but I say it’s merely a ruse to lower our defenses in order to do what they could not do with brute force alone. And what better way to earn our trust, then to have one of our own kind make their plea for them.” Across the table, Ursula stared at Ace. She had thought for some time now that Ace was full of it, but now even she could not believe his audacity. He was going as far as to call her a traitor to her own people. She could only hope that the rest of the officers and villagers did not have such short memories about her loyalty to her home. Ace continued with his speech.
“I say that we cannot afford to trust these beasts, or the intensions of their self proclaimed leader. We can maintain peace with these creatures by simply showing them that if they ever try and attack our village again, we will not stop at just killing a few of them. We will eliminate all of them from the face of the forest for good.” Ursula could not stand to hear anymore of Ace’s ranting. She stood up on her seat and pounded her fist of the table.
“That’s exactly the kind of backwards thinking that caused the fighting in the first place! They didn’t trust us so they felt the only way to live free of the danger that we posed to them was to destroy us. Don’t you understand that peace by means of fear only serves to increase the tension and hatred between our races, that ultimately leads to the same outcome that we are trying to prevent. You cannot maintain peace by way of the sword alone. There comes a time when all those involved have to make a stand and declare that enough blood has been spilled over petty egos and unresolved resentment.” Leonard pounded his gavel at Ursula’s outburst. Ace was quick to respond.
“Preposterous, those filthy animals are lucky to still be alive after what they did to us. They are the ones that wish for death and destruction, not us. We have only fought to protect our people from their bloodthirsty attacks. They are unmoral, heartless monsters and cannot be trusted to honor any civilized peace agreement.” He yelled back. “And you must choose where your loyalties lie little girl.”
“Why you stubborn, narrow-minded fool!” Ursula shouted. By now the village elder was pounding his gavel non-stop to try and retain order.
“Quiet, both of you!” He ordered. “There will be no more shouting or disparaging remarks towards others. With will discuss our differences in a dignified and honorable manner.” Both Ursula and Ace sat back in their seats still fuming over the others words. Lieutenant Williamson spoke up in this moment of extreme agitation.
“Village elder, may I say a word to try and bring this meeting back to it’s senses?” He asked. Leonard Andrews nodded his head clearly not happy with this public showing of disorder in the hall. Williamson stood to his feet and addressed the audience. “I think the main point of this meeting is whether or not the people of this village believe the risk of trusting the wolvren outweigh the risk of continuing on as their enemies. Either way there is the possibility of danger to the village. But in this instance I believe that the greater risk is in making the same mistakes of the past all over again. I understand Ace’s desire for caution, there should be no blind giving of trust. Rather, this trust must be earned over time on both sides. I would say that you should at least give these peace seekers the chance to prove themselves to you, before you decide their intensions on your own. A signing of a peace treaty is the first step towards allowing them to do this. Feelings of bitterness and mistrust will not go away over time, but the seeds of a peace must be planted first before they will grow to full bloom.”  Williamson nodded to Leonard. “thank you sir.”
“Well said Lieutenant.” Mr. Andrews said. “This matter is obviously one of widely varied opinions. I can’t say for certain that I trust these wolvren, but I am willing to at least meet them halfway. But because of the great importance of this decision, I am going to put it to a vote. I wish for a showing of hands of those that believe the peace treaty should be signed. Leonard himself rose his hand, along with two of the three councilmen and Lieutenant Williamson. In the audience it seemed a majority of the people were in agreement with their leader.
“Defenders, what is the count of hands?” Leonard asked to the two soldiers standing on either side of the audience. They both counted hands, then consulted to compare their counts.
“The count is forty three in favor sir.” One of the defenders announced. The village scribe wrote these numbers down as he had been writing the transcripts for the entire meeting.
“Very Well, can we see a showing of hands against the signing of this treaty?” Leonard asked. Once again hands rose in the audience. The officials that sided likewise at the table were Ace Talon and the remaining councilman. The defenders came together to compare their counts as they did before. The defenders themselves did not vote since they were collectively put under the minister of defenses single vote.
“Fifteen against is the count sir.” The defender spoke.
“Then it is decided, the signing of this peace treaty will proceed.” Leonard declared.

**Author’s note: It is here that I feel obligated to apologize to the readers for making this segment of the story sound like something off of Court TV. I assure you that if I had not felt this part necessary in furthering the adversarial atmosphere between the key characters over this sensitive issue of war over peace, I would not have included such a long period of non fantasy/action oriented material.  Fear not, the action will continue shortly, I promise.**

The two sides then retired to an adjoining room where they discussed the key stipulations of the peace treaty. After some time of discussing the disagreements, and where they could fine common ground in their concessions, they returned to the meeting hall and had the official signing of the completed treaty. The signatures of all the village officials and Ursula’s as the representative to the wolvren were placed at the bottom to make it final. Cheers echoed through the hall over such a monumental event. Even those that disagreed with the treaty could admit to it’s fundamental influence on the new future of Ironwill. That night there came a celebration in the village Inn, to begin the new era of peace that this treaty was hoped to bring. As the villagers inside drank and made merry of the evening, Ursula stood outside in quiet contemplation. The night sky was clear save for a few stray clouds scattered about like the many thoughts bouncing around in her mind. A bright full moon hung in the heavens, it’s large scale made her ponder the miniscule nature of her life in comparison to the great size and scope of the universe beyond her. The things that she fought so hard for now, were only like a flea on the back of an enormous bear. It was this humbleness that began to change the young girl from a single minded, self absorbed individual, to the mature, steady thinking adult she would one day become. Lieutenant Williamson took his leave from the parting inside the inn, to seek the relative peaceful surroundings of the night sky. He saw Ursula standing alone, and walked up to her.
“Nice evening isn’t it?” He said to her. Ursula turned in surprise to see Williamson standing beside her. She then returned her gaze back to the sky as she replied.
“Yes it is, I was just admiring it myself.” Williamson placed his hand on Ursula’s shoulder.
“Ursa I can’t say how truly proud I am of all that you’ve done. Because of you, the beginnings of a peaceful existence have been set in motion. You are an amazing young woman you know that.” Ursula lowered her head and kicked her feet at the snow covered ground.
“I’ve only tried to do what I felt was the right thing. I know there are still people here that believe the wolvren can’t be trusted. But I know them, and I know why they acted like they did in the past. I also know that they are not the terrible monsters we once thought they were. They desire the same things we desire, peace and the chance to live without fear of attacks on their home and life’s.” She said. Ursula looked back up at the lieutenant with a smile. “I used to dream about fighting and killing my enemies in honorable combat, but after so much death and destruction I find myself wishing for a chance to drop my sword for a while. A chance to not have to see the ground covered in blood and crushed life” Williamson smiled back at her.
“Your growing up awfully fast there Ursa, be careful not to grow to fast or you’ll be an old retired warrior before you know it.” He laughed.
“If you ever want to see how old and slow I’ve gotten, I’d be glad show you with a nice friendly butt kicking lieutenant.” Ursula responded with laughter of her own. It seemed like a time of peace was truly going to come about for the village of Ironwill. And for the first time in a while, Ursula found herself free to lower her warrior defenses and attempt to enjoy the experiences of being a young girl growing up. But, this brief period of relaxation was about to be disrupted by a sudden new threat that would take to form of an old enemy. As the night wound down, and the villagers began to empty out of the tavern to go back to their homes, a heavy wind set in across the village. This wind was so sudden and increased to violent speeds so quickly, that many of the villagers were knocked off their feet. Ursula braced herself against this powerful force and held her ground. Behind her Lieutenant Williamson did the same. A drunken Ace Talon stumbled against the extreme wind but was eventually tossed onto his bottom.
“I’ve never felt anything like this lieutenant.” Ursula yelled to Williamson through the whipping squall. “There is something terribly wrong here.” Suddenly, only a few yards in front of Ursula, there came a tall figure. It appeared as though walking out of a some invisible doorway from another phase of existence. The powerful winds then ceased just as quickly as they had begun. Ursula’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the intruder standing before her.
“It can’t be…” She uttered out loud. It was the mire alpha-male looming like a horrifying ghost in the night. It stood ominously in front of the shocked villagers with it’s arms spread and fists clenched. It let out a mighty roar that echoed throughout the village streets.
“Such power!” It yelled. “I had no idea that not only would I be reborn, but that I would receive such… incredible… power!” It’s voice pulsed outward like shock waves, sending shivers of fear through the on looking villagers. Ursula stood speechless at this incredible sight. The monster she had killed with her own hands, now stood once again alive and more powerful then ever.
“I knew I shouldn’t have had those three last pints.” Ace muttered to himself while he lay on the ground watching this unbelievable display. The beast then turned it’s glowing eye towards the little warrior with messy green hair that it remembered only too well.
“You!” It roared. “I am going to kill you and eat the flesh from your puny bones!” Ursula let out gasp, for a brief moment she felt her body freeze with fear. But she soon collected herself enough to pull her sword from her belt and raise it against her foe.
“Go ahead and try. I don’t know how you managed to dig your way out of the grave I put you in Black-Eye. But rest assured I will dig the hole far deeper after I finish you off again.” Ursula shouted back. The mighty beast once again let out a bellowing laugh. It raised it’s giant arm in the air towards Ursula. Then with a yanking motion back towards itself, Ursula’s body lifted in the air and was violently hurtled onto her face in front of the alpha-male. She groaned in pain on the ground as she attempted to get up.
“My name is Nightmane, and you are but an insect compared to me, don’t you understand? You have no chance of fighting me with the power I now wield.” It shouted down to the struggling young warrior. Once again the beast clenched it’s fist, and Ursula was pulled off the ground and hung in mid-air before the alpha-male’s ferocious jaws. It sneered at the girl, that helplessly fought against the unseen force holding her by her neck.
“But, before I devour you, I will destroy your pathetic village and all of it’s residents right before your eyes.” The beast raised it’s other hand and prepared to make good on it’s threat. Lieutenant Williamson and the rest of the defenders could only stand and watch in utter horror over the events playing out in front of them. But before the beast could do anything, the two imp devils once again appeared at it’s feet.
“What are you doing?” One of them hissed.
“How does destroying this meaningless town help to complete our mission?” Said the second imp.
“This has nothing to do with any mission, this is strictly personal!” Nightmane roared to the devils.
“The master will not allow for such a pointless endeavor. You will stop now!” One of the imps demanded.
“You shall not use his power for personal gain or trivial revenge.” The other imp shouted. Nightmane ignored their words and continued to choke Ursula in his invisible grasp. Both of the imp’s eyes began to glow, and they raised their tiny claws towards the hulking beast. In a flash, Nightmane was immersed in a cloak of intense pain. His grip on Ursula was released, and the weakened girl fell with a thump on the ground. The powerful beast fell to it’s knees unable to even scream over the flood of agony washing all over it’s body.
“You have wasted enough time…” The first imp said.
“We must go to the human capital city and find the one that will help us in our mission!” The second imp finished the first’s sentence. Suddenly both the imp devils, and Nightmane disappeared through the same dark doorway they had arrived from. Lieutenant Williamson rushed up to Ursula, who still remained lying in the snow.
“Ursa! Are you okay?” He picked her off the ground and lifted her head up to look at him. Her eyes were clenched shut from the pain she was experiencing. After a moment, she slowly opened them and stared up at Williamson.
“Ursa speak to me please. Are you okay?” The lieutenant pleaded desperately to his dear friend. Ursula coughed and gagged for air, her neck ached from Nightmane’s strangling grip. She brought her hand up to massage her neck. Once enough air had returned to her lungs, Ursula found the strength to talk again.
“It was so strong…” She said with a weak voice. “I couldn’t fight against it.” Williamson held the injured young girl upright in his arms. With one hand he pushed aside the strands of green hair that were hanging down over her eyes.
“Your going to be okay, just try and get your strength back.” Williamson told her. He turned towards a village defender that stood near by.
“I need you to fetch my horse from the stable right away, and I will require a weeks worth of rations.”
Ace Talon managed to get to his feet, and with an uneasy stagger made his way towards the lieutenant and Ursula.
“What do you suppose that thing is up to lieutenant?” He stammered still somewhat drunk.
“I don’t know. But it’s two fiendish looking friends mentioned something about a mission and going to the human capital, First Dawn. I have to set out right away for home, and hope that I can warn the king before something terrible happens.” Williamson replied.
“Let me go with you lieutenant…” Ursula said, still coughing from the severe aching in her throat. Williamson looked back at Ursula.
“No, you have to stay here and protect your home Ursa. We don’t know what that monster is up too, and he might try to come back here and finish what he started.” Ursula closed her eyes and sighed. She obviously knew he was right. She wondered what good she would do against that monster if it did decide to come back. It was so powerful, it could have easily destroyed her and all she knew and she would have been powerless to stop it. She felt so incredibly helpless, not something she enjoyed feeling at all. Soon afterwards, Lieutenant Williamson rode out of the gates of Ironwill, on his way towards his home, First Dawn. The people were left to wonder if this mysterious creature calling itself Nightmane would reappear. This new threat seemed so powerful that even Ursula could not stand up to it, so how could they possibly defend themselves from it’s wrath. Extremely trying times were coming, and the impact would reach much farther than the remote village atop the Scared Mountains. Soon the whole world would be under the dark cloud of this evil new adversary.

End of Chapter five.