Shadows of evil- Prologue

Four adventurers trudged on silently in the gloom of the dark, moonless night. Through quiet marshes, mysterious forests brimming with unseen danger, and around dead lakes, the rivers feeding them long since dried up.

The group had been in the wilderness for a month now, a long, miserable month full of suffering and hopelessness. Far longer then expected.
Hungry, tired, weak, and bad-tempered, all four of them were covered in wounds from recent battles.

One of the warriors, a small but muscled human figure, limping from a bloody gash in his leg, muttered under his breath “God, when will we get out of this accursed place?”
The other- a dwarven axe man- wheeled around to face him, and thundered “Shut up Thodarek, we never will make it out of here with your continuous whining!”
Meeliae, a tall and slender elven mage, was tempted to drop a fireball on the pair, but managed to resist the urge.
Sollvelis, skilled elven bowman, marched on ignoring the two fighters.

They walked for another two hours, through the ink like blackness of the night. The earth was covered in a thin layer of snow, and the air was icy, chilling the adventurers to the bone.

A few cruel hours before the sun rose and warmed the land, Sollvelis heard a snap in nearby woods, followed by the scarcely discernible sound of creeping footsteps.
He signaled his party to draw their weapons, and himself notched an arrow to his bow- but just as the last sword was unsheathed, and the last shield raised, the twang of a bowstring was heard, and an arrow came soaring through the night air, impaling Thoderek in the back.

As if this were a signal, a volley of arrows, javelins, darts, and spears was launched at the adventurers, a few finding their way through tough armor.
Sollvelis fired an arrow into the woods, and a single pained yelp was heard. But one couldn’t make much of a difference.

A few moments later, shrill battle cries were heard, and a horde of dark, humanoid creatures revealed themselves from many hiding places surrounding the adventurers.

They attacked.

The battle was short lived.

Meeliae managed to wipe out a few before being overwhelmed, Sollvelis had dropped his bow and drawn his scimitar, and was slashing and stabbing every which way, but soon fell to the frosty ground bleeding profusely.

Thoderek was already dead, for arrows covered his body, and Thedaeus, the other warrior was killed swiftly as well, despite his heavy armor.

All was lost.

To be continued.

Chapter one at: http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1314667