Rannie placed her hands on her dagger and the new blade gifted to her from Cynraede. She glanced at the twenty men with her. All of them looked to be seasoned warriors or at least they seemed to know more about what they were doing than she did. Which is why she found it so odd that they were all looking to her like she had the answers. What did Cynraede tell these people about her? She looked back out at the dead land sprawled out before them. It was all grey and grim and well to simply put dead.
She shifted her weight from one side to the other when she suddenly catches sight of the easterner and his army. If seeing over five times there number following him wasn’t bad enough there was at least double that number of dead following them. She had heard tales since she could remember about the dead walking, even Bree Land had the Barrow Downs where it said was home to wights and other such creatures but Rannie never really thought there was actually any truth to them.
After her brush with death the suspicion that her time in this world was at its end, plagued Rannie but seeing the easterner’s army nearly had her convinced, this was her last day among the living. She tried to moisten her dry mouth while keeping a confident smirk on her face and her chin up. As the easterner approached her friend and the five that stood with him Rannie gripped her blades a little tighter. It was time to see if luck had really abandoned her as she suspect it did.
She saw the same cruelness in this man’s eyes as she had seen in the man who tried to drown her but unlike the weasel this man seemed colder, more calculating in his gestures as he spoke with Cynraede. Even when the hunter dropped two of his men easily the easterner only showed a hint of annoyance, much like an annoying insect that is buzzing around one’s face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t say the same for her friend.
The Easterner taunted him with Fairlain’s treatment in his captivity and she could see the hunter’s face darken as he took off his tunic, the markings on his skin marring his skin but at the same appearing to be just another part of him and his fury as he spoke to the man. It was clear the talking wasn’t going to last much longer, so she nodded to the men around her.
“Surround em, keep em safe as long as ya can. The best chance of ya families have at not being one of them” she says pointing to the dead, seeing women and children among them. “Is ta keep the tainted one safe and alive as long as we can,” she finished, unsheathing her blades and they spread out making a closed circle around Cynraede and the easterner. Not a moment too soon either as they had gotten into position the easterner had called for his men to attack.
Rannie watched as the two sides clashed around Cynraede and the easterner fought but only for a moment as some of the easterner’s men outside the circle charged them. The hill men quickly jumped to meet these coming men, fighting them off with a desperate fervor. Being probably the only non-warrior there she hung back defensively. It wasn’t long before the circle became broken and the chaos of the situation swallowed her.
She saw more unfriendly faces than friendly and the most disturbing was the growing number of pale and slightly corroded faces of the undead that fought for the easterner. Reminding herself of what Cynraede had taught her so far, Rannie targeted the undead, finding it oddly easier to strike at them than the living. They were also more of her match she quickly found out as most held no weapons and those that did, their movements were stiff and slow.
Rannie swung her blade and watched another of the undead return to it’s natural state when she turned coming face to face with one of the easterner’s living men. They both seemed a bit stunned by the sudden face to face and stood there for a moment but only a moment. He quickly raised his large sword and swung downward at her, shouting something at her that Rannie couldn’t even begin to understand. She lifted her sword grunting, falling to her knees as his blade crashed against her own, the hit echoing up through her arms and into her whole body.
He pushed his sword down against her, proving he was much stronger than her. Seeing, she wouldn’t gain any ground pitting strength so she let her sword drop back then rolled to the side quickly. She smirked as the man stumbled forward and she swung at his leg before standing up quickly. He yelped as her blade sliced into his leg, causing her to smirk slightly but with a bitter taste in her mouth. She stood and he charged her once more.
They danced around each other for some time, Rannie too quick for him but not skilled enough to be able to strike him when suddenly she felt a chill over take her. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine and she noticed that her opponent felt the same. He faltered in his next attack and stepped away from her. Rannie glanced up into the sky, seeing something that looked like it came from a nightmare. “What is that thing?” she spoke more to herself than to anyone.
She glanced around and took notice that whatever the creature or whoever it’s rider was, their effect was felt by all. Nearly all the fighting had ceased the moment they arrived. Rannie felt her body go cold and darkness fill her spirit. It was like when she had been locked away in that prison, unable to see the sun or feel the wind. The closer it came to them the more the fear and darkness grew, causing her to stumble back.
Several of the men around fell to their knees, pleading in their native tongues. Sweat starts to bead over her forehead and her heart raced, her feet glued to where they stood. Suddenly the rider spoke in a wretched voice. The words were lost to her as just the sound sent a wave of dejection over her causing her to tremble from head to toe. If death could be personified Rannie was convinced the rider was him and her luck had indeed left her.
Her head sunk to her chest with the finality of it all, the game was over and her time was up. Part of her wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all but determination filled her. If it was over then she was at least going to make it a good end. She lifted her chin and towards Cynraede and the fell beast with it’s rider. The hunter held the head of the easterner, showing it to all before falling once more to his knees.
The creature lowered to the ground, taking the body of the easterner before taking flight once more, knocking Rannie onto her back side. She scrambled up to her feet, gripping her blade tight as they flew off to wear they came, the darkness leaving with them. With the death of the easterner, everyone glanced around at each other clearly thinking the same as Rannie. What now? She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed the fact that she was still standing.
