Blood on the Trail

Roe walked and thought hard, but he did not remember how far he had walked.One moment, he was standing outside HearthGate staring at the door he had just closed.Next, he was halfway across the district.The city kept moving as if nothing had happened.Merchants shouted prices across the street. Wagons rattled over cobblestones. Somewhere, a baker laughed while pulling fresh bread from a brick oven.Normal.Ordinary.Like the world had not just decided he was a mistake.Roe’s jaw tightened.He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.He kicked a loose stone across the road.It clattered loudly against a gutter.A pair of workers struggled nearby with a produce cart, one wheel twisted to the side.“Hold it steady,” one of them said.“I am trying.”Roe stepped over without thinking.He lifted the back of the cart while the other man forced the wheel back into place.“There,” Roe said.The man nodded gratefully.“Appreciate it.”“No problem.”They rolled the cart away.Roe stood there watching them disappear down the street.Helping people.Cooking for people.Protecting people.Apparently, that made him a disgrace.Roe exhaled slowly.“Raatid.”He turned down a narrow alley.The noise of the market faded behind him.Something smelled wrong.Faint.Sweet.Rot.Roe stopped.He looked down.The moss between the cobblestones had turned dark.A patch of red fungus pushed through the cracks like something forcing its way out of the earth.Roe crouched.“…that should not be here.”He brushed the fungus with his fingers.The bloom burst open.Red spores drifted into the air.Rotbuck.Roe stood slowly.“So that is the kind of day we are having.”A scraping sound echoed deeper in the alley.Branches dragged across brick.Something stepped into the light.Tall.Antlers brushing the walls.The creature emerged from the shadows.A stag.Or what used to be one.Its ribs pressed against barklike skin. Pale fungus crawled along its antlers and spine, shedding drifting spores with every step.The air around it felt colder.Still.“…Hollowhart,” Roe muttered.The creature’s empty eyes settled on him.People screamed somewhere beyond the alley entrance.Roe flexed his fingers.Flames flickered across his knuckles.Good.Something to hit.He stepped forward.“Come on then.”The Hollowhart lowered its head.Roe moved first.Fire burst across his fist as he drove forward.His punch slammed into the creature’s shoulder.Flames exploded outward.The impact cracked the bark and sent spores scattering through the alley.The Hollowhart staggered.Roe followed immediately.Another strike.Then another.Each blow landed harder than the last.Fire roared across the creature’s ribs as Roe drove it backward into the alley wall.Brick shattered behind it.Roe grabbed one antler and slammed the creature sideways.“Yeah.”His elbow crashed into its jaw.The Hollowhart’s head snapped aside.Roe spun and drove a kick into its front leg.The creature stumbled.Roe grinned.“Yeah!”He flipped over its back and slammed a burning fist into its spine.Flames burst upward.The Hollowhart crashed through a stack of wooden crates.For a moment, the alley was quiet.Roe rolled his shoulders.“See?”He stepped forward again.“Not so scary now.”The Hollowhart stood.The cracks in its bark skin opened wider.Inside, there was no flesh.Only rot.Fungus pulsed slowly within its ribs.The creature inhaled.Then, it slammed one hoof into the ground.The alley answered.Rotbuck blooms erupted across the cobblestones.Red fungus burst upward in violent blossoms.Spores filled the air.Roe jumped back.“Oh, you have friends.”The blooms split open.Something crawled out.The first creature dragged itself from the fungus like a nightmare, forcing its way into the world.It looked like a wolf made from rot and bone.Antler fragments twisted from its skull.Fungus crawled along its spine like diseased fur.Another bloom cracked open.Then another.More of the creatures pulled themselves free.One.Two.Six.Eight.They stepped slowly into the alley.Their hollow eyes fixed on Roe.The Hollowhart stood behind them.Watching.Roe exhaled slowly.“…well.”“That is new.”The creatures spread outward.Not randomly.They circled him.Slow.Measured.Like hunting dogs closing around wounded prey.Roe raised his hands.Flames flickered weakly around his fingers.“Alright.”One creature lunged.Roe reacted instantly.His fist exploded into flame and smashed the creature out of the air.It burst apart into ash and spores.Another rushed in.Roe spun and kicked it across the alley.A third leapt for his shoulder.Roe caught it midair and slammed it into the wall.“Stay down.”Its skull cracked.The body collapsed.Roe breathed heavily.Then the ash moved.The broken creatures began pulling themselves back together.Rotbuck spores stitched their bodies back into shape.One by one, they stood again.Roe stared.“…that is cheating.”The pack tightened.One snapped at his leg.Another slashed across his arm.Roe blasted one apart with a burst of fire.Two more replaced it immediately.Claws tore across his back.Antlers slammed into his ribs.Roe staggered backward until his shoulders hit the cold brick wall behind him.The pack stopped.They circled him slowly.Waiting.The Hollowhart stepped forward behind them.Roe tried to steady his breathing.His chest burned.Blood dripped from his fingers onto the cobblestones.You are no warriorRoe closed his eyes for a moment.“…shut up.”He opened them again.The pack had closed the circle.There was nowhere left to move.The Hollowhart lowered its head.The alley felt colder now.His breath fogged in the air.For the first time since the fight began, something colder than anger settled into Roe’s chest.Fear.Real fear.He swallowed slowly.“…this is bad.”The pack crouched low.The Hollowhart stepped forward.And Roe stood there in the center of the circle.Bleeding.Cold.And completely alone.