"Lord the Stench!" Dareth yelled as he tried to keep from vomiting. As the Army came to the gates of Silver Falls, they were greeted by the first of Tyler's tactics. The whole of Silver Falls reeked of death and decay. Tyler had his troops cover the buildings with sewage and excrement of all varieties.
Thomas held a cloth to his face," Is there anything alive here?" he asked before he too felt the urge to vomit.
"Don't you dare! You start then the rest of us will!" Dareth said.
When the army came to a stop, it was divided into two sections. Dareth and Thomas were in the section that would accompany Rhaine into town. The others would stay ready to charge at a moment's notice.
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As the smaller group moved deeper into the town, an eerie stillness hung in the air. There were no people in sight.
“It’s like a nightmare,” Dareth muttered.
Blood stained the cobblestone streets. The remains of animals.. flesh torn, bones snapped—were strewn across the path. Flies buzzed in thick clouds, and maggots writhed in the filth.
Thomas couldn’t hold it in any longer. He turned and vomited.
Dareth’s stomach churned, but he managed to hold steady. Without a word, he grabbed Thomas by the collar and gave him a look… do that again, and I’ll end you myself.
Thomas nodded quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He pressed his hand over his face and forced himself forward.
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At the front of the group, Rhaine and Alex moved through the decay, the stench choking the air.
“Are you sure continuing is the best idea?” Alex asked, covering his mouth. “By the Creator, nothing could be alive in this town anymore.”
But Rhaine’s resolve didn’t falter. She had been ordered to kill the Harbinger—and that, she would do.
“We continue! Move forward!” she shouted.
The church loomed ahead, its silhouette framed by ash-gray skies. The soldiers exchanged wary glances. Every instinct screamed to turn back, but they obeyed their commander.
“There!” Rhaine pointed. “Someone’s at the church!”
A lone figure stood in the distance. As they approached, the figure slipped inside and slammed the doors shut.
It was the signal. Tyler’s trap had been sprung.
“We need to get out of here, Rhaine! Burn the place and be done with it!” Alex snapped, eyes scanning the buildings. “I’ve seen enough traps to know bait when I see it.”
Rhaine turned on him, furious. “I did not give that order!”
Before Alex could reply, one of the nearby houses ignited. Flames roared to life.
“Who started without the signal?!” Rhaine shouted, spinning around.
Another house went up. Then another.
Within moments, the inferno had cut them off from the main force. They were surrounded.
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Thomas clutched his journal tightly to his chest. Smoke choked the air, thick and suffocating. Oxygen was running low. The soldiers closest to the flames had already fallen, and now a panicked surge of survivors pushed through the chaos, desperate to escape.
“Move!” Dareth barked, shoving Thomas forward. “They’ll trample us!”
A figure engulfed in flames burst through the smoke, sprinting straight at them. Soldiers screamed and stumbled, some falling over one another in terror.
Lady Rhaine stepped forward, blade flashing. She struck down the burning attacker in one clean motion. “Regroup! There’s a way out!” she called, spotting the dry lakebed beyond the waterfall cliffs. Without hesitation, she led the remaining troops toward the clearing.
“We’re cut off from the others… but this place is clear?” Thomas asked, his voice hoarse. The group had dwindled to a few hundred. All eyes turned to Rhaine.
She was already searching for an escape, scanning the terrain—when a voice echoed down from above.
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"Here, let me put it out!" Tyler shouted, yanking bodies and logs from the dam with gleeful chaos.
"Move!" Rhaine and Alex yelled in unison, already backing away from the cliffs. But it was too late, Tyler pulled the final log, and the dam gave way.
A roaring wall of water burst free, crashing over the edge and thundering down onto Rhaine and her troops. Soldiers and horses were swept away alike, the torrent surging past the fires and barreling into the main encampment below. Chaos swallowed everything.
From the woods behind the town came more screams… this time from the corrupted citizens of Silver Falls. They surged forward, attacking with frenzied madness.
Caught between flood and ambush, the army fell into complete disarray.
"Thomas!" Dareth shouted, voice barely rising over the crashing water and cries of panic. "Where are you?!"
They had been together when the dam broke but now, Thomas was gone.
Dareth pushed his way through the crowd. “Thomas!” he shouted, shoving aside panicked soldiers.
He found Thomas on the ground, half-submerged in water. Dareth rolled him over, dragging him clear of the current. Thomas coughed up a mouthful of water, gasping for breath.
“My… book…” he said weakly, struggling to his feet. “I lost my book.”
“We’ll be lucky if that’s all we lose,” Dareth muttered, steadying him.
Nearby, Rhaine helped Alex to his feet. Her face was grim, eyes scanning the bodies strewn across the flooded ground.
“I led us straight into a trap,” she said quietly. “I should’ve listened to you, Alex… I’m sorry.”
Alex shook his head. “There’s still a lot of fighting left before we start handing out apologies.”
He turned toward the front lines. “Let’s regroup. Find a way out of this.”
Rhaine hesitated only a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. The day’s not lost. There’s still more to do.”
She took the lead once more, determination reigniting in her eyes.
As they made their way to the front line, behind them came yelling, The remaining town people came rushing in. Behind them walked Tyler, his pace was of a leisurely stroll. "You think you would be grateful for putting the fire out. I can see why the Creator doesn't care, you all are ungrateful." Tyler said as he lifted up a book, "Who among you is Thomas Leflore?" he asked as he read the inside over. "I would like to talk to you about writing my side of the story about all this."
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Thomas and Dareth fought side by side against the oncoming townspeople.
“Hey, look!” Dareth said as he drove his blade through an attacker. “Copper Thomas has a fan!”
“Just great, and he's a psychopath,” Thomas grumbled, cutting down another crazed citizen.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Tyler weaved through the chaos.
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"Excuse me," Tyler said politely as he interrupted two soldiers mid-fight. "Are either of you Thomas Leflore?"
Before either man could answer, they were overwhelmed and cut down by the townsfolk.
"Goodness, I hope not," Tyler muttered, then hurried along, calling out in a sing-song voice, "Excuse me, good sir!"
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Dareth blocked a strike with his sword, then smashed the attacker across the face with the hilt.
"You know, Copper," Dareth said between breaths, "you really ought to write a book about me."
"You too?" Thomas growled, slashing another attacker down. "Sure, when this is over…" He hacked down another, blood spraying his armor. "I’ll open a bookstore, and you two can be the first exhibits!"
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At the entrance to the town, Rhaine and Alex found themselves receiving aid from an unexpected source.
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Winterfawn, leading the rear assault against the corrupted citizens, rallied her forces. "My friends! Do not let any who carry that stench live!" she commanded.
The wildlife of the forest responded in kind. Vines slithered through the underbrush, coiling around the legs of the corrupted and flinging their bodies aside. As they landed, Rei and her wolves descended, tearing into the fallen with brutal efficiency. Barkscratch slammed his mighty claws into any unfortunate enough to bear the mark of Tyler’s corruption.
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With the enemy reeling, Rhaine, Alex, and the remnants of the army began to gain ground.
"Push forward!" Rhaine shouted, her sword flashing as more of the corrupted fell.
Together, she and Alex cut a path through the attackers. At last, they broke through the enemy lines… a hard-won, if minor, victory.
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But as they caught their breath, Tyler, grinning ear to ear had finally found the one he had been searching for.
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Tyler held Thomas by the throat, pinning him against the wall.
"I don't understand why you don't want to write about me," Tyler said, his grin wide and manic. "I'm interesting, funny, witty, and…" — he glanced around at the bodies littering the ground — "a bit of a master strategist!"
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Thomas struggled against Tyler’s iron grip. "Sounds like you should write your own," he gasped, his hands clawing at Tyler’s wrist.
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Tyler tossed him aside with casual strength. "It's better when someone else sings your praises," he said, stooping to pick up a fallen sword. "If you do it yourself, no one listens!"
Before Tyler could advance on Thomas again, he was slammed into from the side.
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"Run, Copper Thomas!" Dareth bellowed as he crashed into Tyler, forcing him back.
Dareth swung his sword in a wide arc. Tyler barely managed to block the blow at the last moment, stumbling from the force of the strike.
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Dareth kicked Tyler hard in the stomach, sending him stumbling back again. Without wasting a second, Dareth summoned all his strength and struck once more. Tyler barely managed to raise his blade in time to block the blow.
Meanwhile, Thomas scrambled to his feet. He heeded Dareth’s advice, but not before snatching up his journal, which Tyler had dropped during the scuffle.
On one knee, Tyler started to laugh.
"You actually thought you were winning," he said, his voice thick with amusement.
Dareth roared and swung again, but Tyler moved faster. He reached up, grabbed Dareth’s wrist, and twisted it brutally snapping the bone in one fluid motion.
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Dareth cried out in pain. "Run, Copper!" he bellowed, trying to strike Tyler with his other hand.
Tyler struck Dareth hard in the throat, cutting off any further cries.
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"Don't go too far, Copper!" Tyler shouted after Thomas, his voice ringing out over the chaos. He spun Dareth around so he could watch Thomas flee into the distance. Tyler brought the sword around and sliced Dareth's throat. Blood flowed freely onto the ground, Dareth dropped to the ground dead. "Now where did he run off to.." Tyler said as he scanned the battle field.
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At the front of the army, the last remnants of the corrupted townspeople were finally slain.
"Humans!" Winterfawn called out, her voice urgent. "You must leave here quickly!"
Rhaine, still wary, stepped forward. "Who are you? Why are you helping us?"
Winterfawn shook her head sharply. "There is no time for questions. The forests and mountains have spoken—River Hallow is in grave danger." She motioned to the deer, elk, and moose that had gathered nearby, offering their backs for the wounded and weary soldiers. "Make haste before it is too late!"
Alex glanced at the bizarre scene, then shrugged at Rhaine. "I got nothing," he said.
If the situation hadn't been so dire, Rhaine might have actually enjoyed seeing Alex speechless for once.
With no better options, Rhaine was forced to place her trust in their unexpected savior.
What had once been an army of over a thousand was now reduced to a few dozen battered survivors.
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Thomas mounted one of the elk. Before leaving, he glanced back at Dareth’s body.
In that moment, Thomas understood the true weight of a story..how it could grant someone immortality beyond death. He silently vowed to make sure Dareth lived on in the pages he would one day write.
"Hey, Thomas!" a voice called out.
Tyler.
"Don’t forget about me!" Tyler shouted, laughing as he spelled out his name, "T...Y...L...E...R!"
There was no time to respond.
Thomas turned away and rode off with the others, heading toward River Hallow.
Unseen by the fleeing survivors, Tyler shifted his form, disguising himself as one of the fallen soldiers.
Keeping his distance, he followed, the hunt far from over.
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