In a deep valley on the banks of a dried up river was a squat settlement surrounded by undulating wooden walls that looked to be haphazardly put together in haste; parts of it were missing, large gaps that opened into the surrounding wilderness, and other parts fallen as if from disrepair. A heat wave shrouded the city with black tendrils of smoke rising into the night sky. And upon a hill overlooking the settlement, a heavily armed and armoured rider underneath a heavy fur-tipped cloak was mounted on a black courser watching in silence as a dread wind ran across the settlment. Several minutes passed, then six riders appeared from behind the hill three on either side of him, stopping their horses just an inch behind his, arraying themselves in an arrow formation.

Festren bared his filed teeth and let out a low growl.

"Aye," said Miranda and spat into the dead ground.

A moment of silence passed between them and the armoured rider kicked his horse into motion, riding down towards the settlement at an easy pace.

The smell of death and burned flesh was thick in the air, and making it worse was the oppressive heat coming from within the settlement as the last of the fires burned itself out. The rider stopped at the wide entrance and dismounted, spiked greaves kicking up dust and ash as they hit the floor, his cloak swinging down behind him unsettling it even more. Hondem grabbed his sheath and pulled his sword out, the sound of metal scraping on leather unsettlingly loud as it seemed to echo around him, then strapped on his rhomboid shield. The others, his companions also drew out their weapons: polearms, maces, greatswords, and a bow. From beyond the entrance he could hear moans and wails of agony.

The earth rumbled beneath them as a building collapsed shooting up a cloud of dust and ash into the air followed by more screams that were abruptly cut short.

"Herald's breath," Jayden swore. "What happened to this place?"

"I intend to find out," Hondem said and walked into the desecrated settlement; billows of smoke obscured most of his vision, with gaps between the tendrils showing him bodies splayed out around them, soot covered and some charred beyond recognition. Blood flowed underneath them like a small steam, and the deeper they walked into the settlement the more bodies they saw until they arrived at the centre where a massive grave was dug filled with the bodies of the dead.

"Help me!"

They all turned at the source of the sound where they saw a woman crawling towards them with her hands. "Herald bless you, Seeker," she croaked. "Help me!"

Hondem sheathed his sword and crouched before her, taking one of her hands into his. "What happened here?" He asked her, his eyes holding hers as Festren moved himself to stand behind her.

She shook her head, her grip was hard in desperation on his gauntlented hand. "All dead," she said, her voice cracking. "My children, my family. Please."

"Peace," Hondem said, giving her hand a light squeeze. "I'll be right here for you, I'm not going anywhere." He looked up and nodded at Festren, then returned his gaze back to her and started whispering soothing things to calm her down, then Festren's spear plunged into the base of her skull.

"Did we have to do that?" Jeanne asked him as he stood. "We could have helped her, Hondem."

He was about to respond when he heard a dark, sordid laugh came from somewhere behind him. They all turned to see an old toothless man pushing a wheelbarrow of bodies. "I told them," the man said in a wet slurred speech. "I told them what would happen if they didn't listen to me."

Hondem stepped up to the man. "[i]What[/i] happened?"

"Riders. Said these people were agents of the Adversary, enemies to the Herald. Razed them to the ground, cut them down like reeds."

Hondem looked back to this companions for a moment then turned back to the man. "Why? Why did they attack?"

"I told them what would happen," the man said and laughed again, walking away with the wheelbarrow towards the grave. "I told them, I told them. But they wouldn't listen, oh no. Oh no." He continued laughing as he picked up bodies one-by-one and tossed them into the grave.

"I doubt we're getting anything more out of him," Miranda said as she spat. "We should leave this dread place, the smoke will surely draw something unwanted towards us."

Festren grinned. 

"Aye," Cristobal said.

A man appeared out of a collapsed building billowing smoke, wearing grey and off-black clothes that seemed to make him blend in a little too well with the environment. Hondem pulled out his sword and heard Jeanne draw back her bow string. "Easy," Hondem warned to the man as the others spread out to surround him.

"Herald's breath was he standing there this entire time?" Jayden whispered harshly.

"Better to reign in hell," said the man.

Hondem stared at him for a moment then stood straight and sheathed his sword. "Than to serve in heaven," Hondem returned. "So you're the one that's going to take us to the monastery, are you?" He asked, and without waiting for an answer said, "we better leave then, something's bound to get curious about all this smoke."