Green Canopy Death

"Where are they coming from!?"

"Behind you—GAAAH"

"My arm! My ARM!"

The panicked shouts of men flow through the lines of trees ahead. Thorsten is no longer visible as Hessa and I forge onwards through the path opened by the knights.

"We have already lost control!"

She doesn't care at all about the branches snagging her robes nor the thorns scratching at her skin. All I can see on her face is stress as we grow closer to the ruckus.

"At least your pawns are serving their purpose."

"That might be so, but the losses are far too high!"

The path through the forest depths is littered with casualties.

Several holes in the dirt are filled with metal and flesh, long spikes of sculpted bones piercing through the unfortunate victims. In the surrounding foliage, there are individual soldiers that have found themselves with lethal cuts and lay painting the soil red. The trees overlooking this mass death are covered in claw markings.

"Forty-three dead humans, not a single beast."

My assessment only accounts for those visible in this area. There very well may be more that strayed from the pack or are further ahead. For Hessa, this number alone is enough to make her pale.

"This truly is a death trap…"

"That may be the case, but the worst has come to pass."

Peeking through the leaves are structures of wood and mud that are not too unsimilar from old human housing. Considering the current state of this world, this village could easily be mistaken for human.

"It appears that the tables have turned."

To say that the knights of Melior are doing well would be an overstatement, but the situation is no longer as dire.

"The beasts have been forced into proper combat. Our forces are struggling, but now our numbers should serve us well."

"We may still have a chance!"

The concern in Hessa's voice is still present, but the look in her eyes has changed. Now she has the look of a general prepared to take hold of a close victory.

"Blessed Knight Clement, I'm afraid that our fate lies in your hands. I must support our forces and buy you enough time to locate the beastfolk monarch."

The court mage reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small stone. It would look like any other stone if not for its blue-green colour.

"Should you locate the monarch, inform me through the Message Stone. I will come to assist you with utmost haste to end this slaughter. Glory to Melior!"

"Glory to Melior."

I take the magic stone and place it safely in the pocket of my trousers. Hessa performs the same salute as her armoured subordinates before jogging to join the lines of knights. Shouts of pain are constantly polluting the forest atmosphere, but those all soon disappear. All that remains is a grid of white.

"Let us begin…"

From this point on, I'm moving solo. My mission is clear, but I'm not ready to perform my manhunt just yet. It would be a shame for all of these brave knights to perish, but I must ensure my own survival first. In this world, much of my vision is obscured by red figures.

I kick off the ground and dash through the messy array of houses. Fighting can be heard all around as I move from blindspot to blindspot, but I don't concern myself with the faceless lives lost on either side. All that matters is that I navigate this sea of hostile entities.

I locate an empty building and throw myself into an opening where humans would usually place glass. My entrance wasn't subtle, but there are too few individuals around to have noticed.

"So that's a beastfolk…"

I keep myself out of sight as I observe a knight clashing with one of the creatures in the distance. As far as I can tell, they're mostly human. They walk, they use weapons, they scream in pain. I fail to understand the sounds leaving their mouths, but it wouldn't be strange to assume that their language is unique.

The primary visual differences come from their ears and the existence of a tail. Instead of the hairless cartilage that humans have, beastfolk have ears atop their heads resembling animals that I'm familiar with. The ears also come with a matching tail that sways back and forth while they fight. However, it's not just their appearance that seems to differ.

"ARGH! Just die you beast!"

"GRRRR!"

No matter how hard he pushes, the knight is unable to sink his blade into the wolf-eared body. The beastfolk man holds the blade with his bare hands and slowly overpowers his attacker.

"What are you—AHH!"

The beast throws the sword aside and digs his claws into the steel breastplate. The metal bends and caves into itself, stabbing the human it was designed to protect. The beast kicks the dying human to the ground and leaps into the trees, likely looking for his next prey.

"A direct confrontation is too dangerous…"

I duck back into the safety of the house and take in my immediate surroundings. For beasts, they have some sense of decoration. A table and chairs of roughly carved wood are placed at the centre of the room. On one end of the room are three beds of straw pressed down from countless nights. On the other end are long stone slabs across wooden supports, each with carved plates and cooking utensils.

"Nothing useful here…except…"

Atop the stone is a metal pot, likely stolen from human travelers or merchants. Just beneath it is a red crystal that flickers with magic power. I make little noise as I sneak across the dirt floor, but I'm stopped when the building suddenly shakes.

"A beast…"

Even my breathing seems to quiet down as I listen to subtle tapping above. It seems to stalk across one side of the ceiling before making its way to the perimeter. The first victim hasn't even finished bleeding out and the creature is already preparing for the next fight.

After a minute of circling around, the weight seems to converge directly over my head. Bits of the laid thatch slowly begin falling to the ground. One long piece floats through the air, growing ever closer to the tip of my nose. A sudden shift in the air moves the yellow strand forward ever so slightly to land in front of my foot. My heart is beating in anticipation, counting down to the moment where the dry grass touches the floor.

My eyes follow it, all the way until it finally makes contact. I throw my body forward and just barely manage to avoid the beast man crashing down from above.