Chapter 11: Rattling Over the Bog

As Peter retraced his steps, the greenery and firm ground under him became damp and malleable as his boots muddied. While he knew the way, he much preferred taking on his squirrel form under the trance of night to guide him. As a human, the added humidity alone caused his undershirt to grow as damp as the ground below him, with the added weight of his gambeson trapping in the summer heat that sweltered from within.

He still felt the eyes of Luka and his men piercing the back of his head as he trudged onwards, with Tinnie and Jakov by his side. While Tinnie spent the majority of his time on their trudge discussing the merits of cultivating saffron and paprika when making brudet, at least until Luka allowed one of his henchmen to strike the creature across his back into submission, Jakov stared down at the marsh land in front of him, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze as they marched onwards. Peter knew he owed much to the young squire, his survival would’ve been all but damned without him, he just hoped he’d have some sort of opportunity to return the favor. At the rate things were going, however, both would be lucky enough to keep their heads by nightfall.

As the trees thinned, Peter swore he could feel the guards radiating their dread as thickly as the fog that swallowed the land around them. One of the guards looked back at Luka. “Sir, this land is forbidden, perhaps we-”

“And where else did you expect those creatures to be, frolicking in an enchanted meadow, waiting for us to butcher them in their sleep?”

“No, but you’ve seen what they can-”

Luka pointed down to the trophy mounted on his horse's saddle. A beheaded striga rattled on a hook, its unnaturally long tongue swayed limply from its two rows of teeth. “They bleed just like anything else.” The guard nodded in agreement, his fidgeting eyes unable to avoid the blank stare of the monstrosity pinned to it.

Peter navigated the path that led him deeper into the bog, just as he had in his previous form. Even without the smoke from the fire to guide him, he could feel some sort of dark presence guiding him deeper into the campgrounds. Peter motioned towards the lone dead tree, where all of the tents still remained mounted, yet unattended. In fact, not a soul appeared to be anywhere near the encampment, at least one that Peter could notice.

One of the guards pointed to the campgrounds, now unobscured by the fog around them. “Some scout he is, not a soul around…”

Luka slapped the guard on the backside of his neck. “Beasts need the shadows to strike down their prey.” The other guard did not respond. He looked around and motioned for all of them to duck down while prowling over the eerie campground remains. Luka motioned towards a cauldron placed at the center of the encampment. While no active fire boiled the contents inside, the twinge of red and orange embers still fizzled back into blackened nothingness. Luka snapped to his squire. “Boy, time to prove you still have your honor intact. Go out there and find where that monstrosity is hiding.”

“Sir Branković, wouldn’t it be wiser-”

“-You’re lucky I don’t strike you down where you stand for treason, that’s an order.”

Jakov lowered his head and nodded in obedience. Luke lasered in on his squire while he shuffled his feet to the opening of each tent, making sure to give several second’s worth of attention to the vagabond items within. With his hand kept at the hilt of his sword, he poked around each corner, darting his head in each direction in search of whoever lit that fire. Tent by tent he moved, but to no avail. He looked back to his knight, but he still stood frozen in place, holding his ground. Jackov put his head down once more and walked past one of the rundown wagons in the campground, only this time, a lanky figure crawled out from underneath it, carrying a dagger. She ran forward and winded her arm back to plant it into the neck of the young squire.

Before she could pierce her target, a swath of color sprinted on all fours, with a long piece of rope dangling from his mouth. Tinnie tackled the young woman to the ground, as she growled and howled while the creature grabbed a hold of her arms and attempted to hold her in place. The squire turned around, unable to speak at the rolling mess in front of him. From the burn marks across her arm, Peter could recognize her all too well. She continued to hiss in a feral state while the rest of the men dashed towards the young woman. The soldiers looked to Luka while the young woman continued to kick and roll as Tinnie rigged her arms in place with it.

“Sir, what should we do with her?”

“What the imp is.”

“But, sir-”

“I don’t care what she looks like, tie her to that tree, she’s speaking one way or another.”

Peter could only stare in horror as the men took other pieces of rope holding the tents around them in place and rigged her body to the dead tree where he once stared down at her. She screamed and attempted to bite her captors, but they already overpowered her. As she writhed in place while her torso squeezed against the tree stump, Luka carried a burning branch. He stood in front of her with a cold stare on his face while she continued to squirm, looking for any sort of weakness in the rope.

“They say striga die twice, but the only way to get rid of one for good is to burn them at the stake. Suppose this is close enough.”

The woman spat down at the ground. “Kill me if you’d like, you’d be doing me a favor. The ones you want are far gone.”

“And where would they be heading.”

The woman laughed. “You already know. If you get back there in time, you might save your city. Yesterday was just a scouting trip. They’re coming for the rest of you.”

Luka held the fire closer to the woman. While she continued to hold a strong face, Peter could see her eyes trembling as the flame came closer. “If you’re going to do it, just get it over with.”

Luka held the flame towards her face, until they reflected back into her eyes. It wasn’t until she closed them and looked away in defeat that he pulled them away from her face and stomped out the flame. He looked to Peter with a gaze that seemed to go past him. “If you’re what they want, then we’re going to hand you to them on a silver platter, you and that monstrosity." He motioned for his men to take the remaining rope. They bound Peter’s hands behind his back, and repeated the process for Tinnie. Neither fought back with the veracity of the woman.

They threw them on the rear of the horses and bound them into place. Luka looked down at his squire while mounted on his horse. “This woman is in your custody. If I find that you’ve released her when I return, I’ll have you hanged for treason, understood?”

Jakov stared at his knight, before nodding in agreement. Luka whistled to his horses and they galloped in a frenzy. Peter grew dizzy as he watched the lone tree bounce every which way while his neck whiplashed in place, back the way they came and towards Zemliharos once more.