Chapter 7: Aetherwind

-11 MONTHS REMAIN-

The night was quiet and calm. The kind of night where parents would scare their children with tall tales of that which goes bump in the dark. The kind of night where only fools would disturb the eerie stillness. Only the chirps of distant crickets could, and were allowed to, pierce that tender veil of silence. Ulric's halberd loudly dug into the soft soil. Aurora jumped back, keeping a dagger up to guard her general body. Ulric dislodged the blade and swung at Aurora again. She ducked and parried the attack. Ulric regained control of his weapon and pointed it back at Aurora, who struggled to stand. She huffed and puffed. Her legs shook. Her arms burned. 

"Hey..." She panted. "Can we... give it a rest? We've been at it since sunset..." 

"You were the one who insisted we expedite your training." Ulric reminded. "Besides, we're almost at Aetherwind. We can rest there." 

"You said that a week ago!" Aurora whined. 

"I mean it this time!" Ulric fired back, sounding more like Aurora's sibling with each word. "Come on! Half hour more of training!" Aurora groaned, half to voice her frustrations, half to hype herself up. She smacked her cheeks and raised her dagger once again. But this time, her arm felt extremely weak. She trembled and struggled to maintain proper grip or form. Her legs began to buckle. Her body went cold but her face went hot. Her skin flushed and pale. Exhaustion spread throughout her core, followed swiftly by aching, agonizing pain. Her lungs seized into a coughing fit. Aurora keeled over, vomiting onto the unkempt path. What was before just stomach contents and bile, is now blood.  Aurora desperately tried to catch her breath. "Never mind." Ulric said, helping Aurora up to her feet. "Let's just... focus on getting to Aetherwind." Aurora nodded, opening and taking a sip from a health potion bottle. The two continued their pace. Ulric supported Aurora until she regained the strength to walk on her own. As they walked the path beneath them became more paved. Dirt and soil with rough rocks signifying the vague idea of a road soon turned to the cobbled mark of civilization. The road wasn't nice by any means, haphazardly assembled with prayers instead of coin. But that's on brand for Aetherwind. The town slowly entered their view. Tall, wooden walls surrounded it, unlike the thick, stone walls that encircled Solstya. They were enough to protect them from most invaders but were utterly useless against the King. Closer and closer they drew, their pace quickening when they noticed something billowing over the walls.

"Smoke!" Aurora gasped. Pouring into the sky were thick black clouds. The smell of ash singed their noses. A faint crackling turned to a roar as Aurora and Ulric reached the town gate. The guards were gone, and the doors were sealed shut. They could hear bitter murmurs coming from inside.  "Do you think it's a siege?" Aurora worried.

"If it was, we would've seen someone outside. It looks like they walled themselves in." Ulric tried to pull on the doors. They budged ever so slightly, but not enough to squeeze through. "Besides, I don't know who would attack a small town like this." Aurora tried to assist Ulric. As she pulled on the door, she noted two things. A strange mold growth on parts of the walls, and what appeared to be a green flicker coming from Ulric every time he pulled. Eventually, Ulric wedged his halberd into the gap of the doors and used the leverage to force them open. Just enough for the two of them to sneak through. Aetherwind was in total disarray. Mobs of people surrounded the central church. They all spoke at once, chanting and demanding while waving torches around. Several piles of things Aurora dared not to look at burned in the streets. As she averted her eyes she noticed more mold, forming a loose trail up to the church's side. It didn't take long for the mob to spot Ulric and Aurora. Their attention shifted. They sprinted over to the two of them, practically throwing themselves onto Ulric.

"Our radiance has been rewarded! A soldier of Solstya! Come to aid us in our time of need!"

"Back up. What's going on?"

"The Goddess has forsaken us and the anointed ones give no answer!" They huddled closer. Ulric tried to step back.

"Back up! Forsaken you how?" 

"She allows for the lich to block our trusted sun!" So they received the message too, or the word has just spread that quick. The people huddled even closer. Ulric shuffled back. They didn't look like typical Lusola worshipers. Dark robes, etched out symbols. "She tests our faith! She requires sacrifice to prove our devotion!" Definitely not typical Lusola worshipers. They began pawing at Ulric's armor, grabbing him, pulling him. "Icarus abandons us! Oh please great soldier! Show us your radiance! Bring us Icarus so we may show the Goddess we burn brighter than him! Show that we are still deserving of her warm embrace!" 

"I said back up!!" Ulric drew his halberd. He pushed the crowd back and swung the blade at anyone that got too close. "What are you people talking about!? You aren't making any sense!" 

"Ulric." Aurora whispered. "Something weird is going on here." 

"Wow, really?" Ulric whispered back.

"Beyond these guys. There's mold across the ground."

"So?"

"Mold similar to that corpse guy from before. I think we should cut our losses and get out of here. We can find another cleric somewhere else. This place is clearly too dangerous to stick around."

"All the more reason to stay. These people are out of their minds, what if Hawthorn is somehow behind this?"

"What? Ugh, you're hopeless. Fine. We can help these people and that Icarus guy." 

"Oh. Him too I guess..." Before Aurora could process and respond Ulric spoke up.

"Fine. You will gently lead us to the church, and we will peacefully resolve this!" Ulric told the mob. They immediately burst into manic tears. Some tried to approach Ulric, but he forced them away. The two were led to the church. They were brought to the front door which was bloodstained and locked. Aurora and Ulric tried to deliberate while the mob rambled on about radiance, devotion, and forgiveness. They split up, Aurora went around to the side while Ulric tried to break through the front. As Aurora wrapped around the church, the mold became thicker. She trudged through sludged rot, watching the church walls turn from a nice, polished stone to the same gunk that she unfortunately found herself ankle deep in. Ulric began banging on the door. "Hello? May the sun shine upon you! I'm from the Solstya army! Is anyone there?" He paused, waiting for an answer. The hot temper of his blood ran cold when he heard the faint cries of a child coming from inside. He couldn't make out what they were saying. It didn't matter. Ulric started to ram his shoulder into the door. What's going on? What have these people done? This doesn't sound like Icarus so who is it? He rammed and rammed and rammed. The door slowly splintered open. Ram, ram, ram. Squish, squish, squish. Aurora's feet squished in the goop. But she quickly stopped. Something hung from the center of the wall. A body. Eyes piercing into Aurora's soul. Rotted, yellowed flesh. Exposed bone. Greasy hair. Rodent teeth. 

"The alchemist returns. Two sacrificial lambs?" Rattus wheezed.