Chapter 4 - continued

The party did not have the luxurious benefit of a full Ifriit seed for this side mission. Ifriit, in addition to being rare, were not handed out liberally to groups assigned simple guard duty. However, they did have the standard pouches of dried Ifriit essence carried by every Protectorate member.

Once harvested, an Ifriit seed could be kept fresh and potent for a maximum of fourteen days. After that time, the seed would begin to wilt and decay losing its magical properties. Properly dried however, and a less potent sand-like powder could be crafted from expired seeds. Not strong enough to cause physical harm to Pontian beasts, it was instead used to destroy the carcasses of the defeated monsters.

As they began their march towards the farmhouse, Marissa pulled from her satchel a small object about the size of a pea. She broke it open with her fingers, and what looked like fine powder glistened in her hand. She rubbed this newly freed magical dust between her thumb and forefinger. She spread the powder onto her cheeks just below her eyes. The dust glittered in the afternoon sunlight like specks of silver. Donovan had never seen this before. With the dust sparkling upon her face, she almost looked angelic. She squinted, looked into the distant farmhouse more than a league away, and then began to speak.

"The Pontia appears to have already had its way with the woman's husband. It is feeding from his remains near the home as we speak. It is a medium sized beast, unlike any I have ever personally encountered. It looks as though it walks upon all fours.

"We should use caution. We do not know how this beast will react to our presence. Follow my lead, and we will find the best manner of defeating it. Do not attack unless attacked."

The farmhouse was a small structure, with a separate larger barn a small distance away. A fenced in area made from thin wooden stakes, meant to contain cattle, was attached to the home. The wooden walls of the rustic house looked very aged, and a dry thatched roof could be seen resting on top of them. Two open-air windows could be seen cut into the wooden wall planks. A stone fireplace made from large river rock reached towards the sky from the center of the structure. Smoke from a lit fire rose from the top of the chimney. Upon the southern wall, a beastly mass could be seen moving.

As they got closer to the building, Donovan could begin to see the beast for himself. Almost catlike in form, even in its hunched over state it could easily be as tall as a small mule. It stood over a body eating, its skin a slimy transparent black with its musculature visible in the sun. The spine of the beast consisted of flat bladelike vertebrae that stretched through its skin in spots like spines. The ribcage was quite large and breathing heavily; its undercarriage tapered into a very small waist and hindquarters. Its four limbs looked overextended, thin with large forearm muscles. Its four paws were huge and displayed long claws similar to sharp knives. The Pontia had its back turned towards the group, so they could not yet get a good view of the head. The beast continued to tear and gorge itself from its prey upon the ground.

As they approached, without much forethought the veteran guard member of the group made for a full run at the beast. His large blade at the ready, the hilt at his shoulder, the tip facing towards the beast: he charged.

The beast lifted, and turned to see the warrior on his approach. Thick drool dyed with the color of flesh dripped in large blobs from its gaping maw. It had soulless white grey eyes. Its jaw had two large incisors that stuck out past its quivering lips. Its nose, appearing caved it, took in a few quick audible breaths.

The guard took a full swing at the monster. The beast, now engaging its adversary took a step back.

The blade missed the midsection of the Pontia, and the guard spun to his left due to the force of his attack. With a quick pounce, the beast rammed its head and clamped jaw into the back of the guard. An echo of metal being crumpled mixed with the sound of bones being crushed could be heard. The guard flew forward down upon the sandy ground. He lay there, silently screaming, his eyes frantically looking back in forth in an attempt to move his body.

Marissa made a slight sigh of disgust at the guard's stupidity and engaged the Pontia. Making quick hand motions in the air she produced a cloud of dirt and rock that quickly jetted towards the beast. The monster hopped to the right, dodging the magical blow. It then charged forward in a direct path for the wizard.

When the beast was upon her she leaned, arching her back, and kicked the beast hard with her right boot. The Pontia reeled back; blackish blood leapt into the air. Continuing with the blow, she flipped backwards upon the ground just as a limber circus performer would perform an acrobatic roll.

While the beast was still dazed from the kick, she knelt then rose for an attack. With her right arm extended, fist clenched, and wrist bent back she forcefully planted the palm of her hand directly underneath the creature's skull. The maneuver cracked the jaw of beast and more blood splattered into the air. The attack caused the beast to fall back into the wooden walls of the farmhouse.

The Pontia momentarily propped itself against the wall, beaten but not dead. Donovan raised his long sword and leapt forward. With a quick swing of his blade, Donovan lopped off its lower right leg right above a joint. A horrible bloodcurdling howl could be heard, and the beast fell onto its front legs, its chest crushing into the dirt. Donovan stepped back, readying his sword for another attack.

Without even taking a heartbeat to rest, the beast had dug its front paws into the soft ground and threw itself forward towards Marissa. Before the stampeding beast could again engage the female mage, Sidney came charging into the beast.

With his full weight he slammed his armored shoulder into the broad side of the advancing Pontia. It flew into the air and crashed through the home's southern wall. Broken boards were flung inside of the home, and the creature's flight ended when it hit the center stone chimney with a thud. A light cry of pain and helplessness came from within its badly trampled body.

Entering the house through the newly created door, Donovan attacked again. With another strike from his sword, Donovan had successfully removed the Pontia's head from its torso.

The remainder of its headless body writhed and twitched upon the ground. Donovan removed some dried Ifriit sand from his purse, and tossed it upon the beast's body. A quick green flame appeared to consume the skin and flesh of the monster. After a few seconds, all that remained of the evil beast were some splatters of blood that drenched the hay covered floor.

Donovan then went about looking for whatever was left of the woman's husband in the field. Very little other than his clothes remained. Satisfied that nothing was left to attract other Pontia, he returned back to the house.

His party was congregating around the veteran laying in the dirt. A large dent could be seen in the backside of his armor, and a small amount of blood had puddled around the wound. His eyes darted back and fort inside of his motionless skull, still wide and dilated from the pain. He was unable to make a sound, and unable to move even the slightest finger. Soon, he would be unable to breathe due to the paralysis and his heart would finally fail.

To help soothe his eventual suffocation, Marissa lifted his arm and placed a kiss on upon the back of his right hand. The veteran's eyes lost the will to move, and his eyelids slowly shut. Sleep fell over the warrior.

Several minutes passed and the soldier's body shuttered for a few moments. Following the spasms, the distinct sound of his lungs fully emptying could be heard. All three bowed their heads and said a few murmured words.

The policy of the Church, and the current state of the world, was to leave no dead. Pontian creatures were strongly attracted to the bodies of those whom no longer existed on this plane. Even those dead for centuries within a grave could possibly be sought out by Pontia.

Many of those belonging to the Pontian race consisted of the undead; and undead monstrosities were the most fearsome of enemies. Fighting corrupted versions of your ancestors could lead to disastrous events on the battlefield. For this reason, long ago all cemeteries and tombs had been emptied of their ancient occupants. Thousands of bodies were burned in great fires; burned until no traces of the corpses ever existed.

This same fate was due for the fallen warrior. Marissa removed the staff strapped to her back, and held it perpendicular to the soldier's body with both of her hands.

She passed the staff across the length of the body upon the ground. Sparks could be seen flickering inside of his armor. Quickly afterwards the dead warrior was engulfed in full flame. With remorse in their eyes, they left the farmhouse and headed back towards the road. Smoke created by the burning body wafted through the air.

They met back up with the caravan and the old woman. Having done their duty, they prepared to continue on their journey with the caravan.

With them not being able to further assist the farmer's wife, the party said their condolences to the newly created widow and pressed on towards Solitude. As they left, the devastated woman continued to weep in the middle of the road.

Seconds after they had left, a light thump was heard. The woman had curled up into a fetal position upon the dusty path and continued to moan in pain. When the caravan had passed a nearby hill, her cries of agony still echoed through the plains.

Once near the outskirts of Solitude, Marissa spoke to the two teenage church soldiers about their competency during the battle against the Pontia. She praised them for their intelligent tactics and skillful attacks.

Neither was ready or willing to accept the praise.

Yes, a creature of evil had been rid from this world. Yes, the farmhouse and cattle were now temporarily safe. And yes, the woman could continue with her life.

But when one has lost the love of their entire life, how does one keep living? Is it even worth continuing when your very home is stained with death? Death would hang over that farm for many generations.

Furthermore, they had lost a man of the Cloth during the skirmish. Had the Church really won? Evil had been reduced that day, but so had the forces of good. Was it really worth the consequences and the cost?

When they successfully entered the gates of Solitude, neither Sidney nor Donovan were interested in exploring the great city. Neither had interest in the wonders of the grand town and its many exotic experiences. They instead went directly to the local chapterhouse with the rest of the party. They slowly awaited the arrival of the following morning so that they may return to Gestalt.

It would be a long evening filled with pain and regret. Donovan, although victorious for the day, was unsure of his chosen path. He tossed and turned as he slept, wondering if he had made the right decision by joining the Church. Was the Holy Protectorate really his calling?

Continue to Chapter 5