Six hours later, we were deep into the Worldwound, deeper than I’d ever gone before. We’d set up a camp - if it could be called that. It was really just all of us laying on rocks in our armor; no bedrolls, no tents, no fire. Had to be ready for battle at any moment.
I lay close to Leo, with Harriett about a meter away on my other side. We were all too nervous to even doze off; the three of us were talking in hushed tones.
“Hey… can I ask something?” Began Harriett. Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Are you two really…”.
But Leo cut her off. “I do believe that’s none of your business,” he whispered sharply.
“Sorry,” she muttered to herself. We were silent from then on. She seemed a bit dejected.
“Hey, it’s alright,” I whispered to her. “Just focus on the mission though, okay? We’ll talk later.”
Just then, Leo sat up abruptly. “Everyone get up,” he said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “We’ve got trouble.”
We all got up as quickly as we could while remaining quiet, and fetched our weapons from where they were lying. “Zinon, go see what’s up,” said Leo. Zinon the gnome was a stealth and scouting specialist. He silently crept off in the direction Leo pointed, where he heard something.
A few tense minutes passed; we all glanced nervously around at each other, not sure what to expect. Then we heard a noise from above - a shrill noise that started out softly but kept getting louder. Suddenly, we realized what the noise was, as Zinon plummeted from the sky and splattered on the ground in the center of our camp, and four shadow demons appeared around us.
They started talking to each other as they stood around us; fortunately, Abyssal is a standard part of our training, and we were able to understand them. “We’ll finish off these ones our spy said were the most important,” said one, “then we’ll go back to their camp and help our allies slaughter the rest!” We were all shocked - a spy in our camp - but we had to forget about it as the invidiaks attacked and we had to defend ourselves.
My nonmagical axe was no use against their misty forms, so I had to resort to what basic magic I had learned, slinging small orbs of light; my main use was standing between them and Harriett, protecting her as she used her holy powers on them to some decent effect. Leo was by far the most effective, cleaving through them with his enchanted cold iron greatsword as if they were mere imps. They were still too powerful for most of us, however, and by the time Leo finished off the last one, Lyric and Nazzareno had fallen; only Leo, Harriett and I remained.
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“We need to get back!” I shouted. “They said - “
“I know what they said!” responded Leo. “Let’s hurry; we can come back and bury our allies later.” We hustled as fast as we could back to the camp, but it was several hours to get there even at a quickened pace, and we were simply too late. We saw the flames rising from our war camp.
The ground of the camp was littered with the bodies of the crusaders, as well as the corpses of the demons that attacked them. They had to have been summoned there to get past the Wardstones. I knelt down by Reem’s body and said a prayer for her. It seemed the battle was over, with not a living soul in sight, until we heard a noise like soft chanting coming from a tent - the tent that belonged to me, Harriet, and Ramazi!
We rushed in and were confronted with the sight of Ramazi standing in the center of a fiendish symbol drawn on the ground in blood, chanting from a scroll he held. Leo drew his sword and rushed forward to slay the traitor, but he was too late; a burst of light and force came from Ramazi’s body as the wizard screamed in agony. His scream blended directly into a demonic howl, and as the light cleared we saw his body replaced with that of a demonic Marilith.
“You two run, get to safety and find help!” shouted Leo as he squared off with the powerful demon. “I’ll hold it off.” The Marilith hissed at him and drew its six swords.
“Come on, Casimir! We’ll be killed if we stay!” said Harriett.
“No, I won’t leave him!” I said defiantly. I drew my axe and tried to rush around to a flanking position, knowing that nothing else I could do could help Leo against this monster. I saw Harriett run out the tent, and I prayed to Iomedae that she got to safety.
Leo dueled the Marilith with his sword and paladin abilities. It was the first time I’d seen him really exert himself in battle, and I have to say, it was incredible to watch. He was truly one of the most skilled warriors of his generation, ducking and weaving through the storm of blades to launch impossibly fast attacks with his huge sword. Sadly, though, the Marilith was simply too much for him; though he had wounded it grievously, it skewered him with three swords through his chest, and he went down.
I screamed in anguish watching my friend fall. The Marilith turned to me, grinned, then turned away and went out the front of the tent. I realized it was going after Harriett and that I had to do something. I was almost out the door when I heard Leo’s weak voice.
“Casimir… wait…”
I knelt by his side. “Just hold on! I’ll get you a healer!”
“It’s… too late… for me. Listen… you need to… save Harriett. It’s almost… dead. You can do it… but you have to... take my sword.”
I picked up his precious greatsword, the cold iron glittering orange in the firelight. “I can’t lose you,” I said softly, tears in my eyes.
“You won’t,” he said. “As long as you… have that sword… I’ll be with you.” He smiled, clenched my hand in his, and closed his eyes.
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I stood up, my head still bowed, and offered a prayer to Iomedae for his soul. Then, knowing I had to save Harriett, I rushed out the tent with his sword in my hands.
The Marilith had cornered Harriett against a tree. The brave little halfling, bless her soul, held her mace and holy symbol in front of her as if she could do anything, and her expression was fierce rather than terrified. The Marilith knocked her mace out of her hand and laughed.
“Stop!” I screamed. “Turn and face me, demon!”
The Marilith turned around and eyed me. “Who are you calling demon, little one? You should know your own kin when you see them!”
Harriett seized the opportunity to hit the Marilith in the back with a ray of searing light. It winced in pain, then slithered to a position where it could see both of us. “You two have got some fight in you. I’m impressed! Fortunately for you, though, it was never the plan to kill everyone. We have to leave someone alive to spread the tale, after all. So I only have to kill one of you.” It eyed us both. “I’ll choose… you!” it shouted, as it lunged towards Harriett.
I tried to jump in the way, but I was too far, and I watched in horror as all six of its blades pierced her tiny body. She didn’t have time to scream as she fell. The Marilith laughed, looked at me, and said “Hope I see you again, demon boy!” Then it vanished, and I was left alone.
I rushed towards Harriett. To my shock and relief, she was still alive, if just barely, and I grabbed a potion from my pack to pour down her throat. It wasn’t enough to get her conscious, but it kept her breathing.
I don’t know how long I sat there, cradling her in my arms. It could have been ten minutes or ten hours. Eventually, I heard marching in the distance; as it came closer, I saw it was a patrol from Mendev’s army come to investigate the fight at the war camp. Thais was at the front of the line; when she saw me, she shouted my name and ran towards me with an embrace. It was then that I realized the nightmare was over.
The next few days were a blur of explanation. Harriett and I weren’t there for the battle at the war camp, so we weren’t much help there, but we were able to inform them about Ramazi’s treachery and Leo’s bravery. I told them of Leo’s last words, and I was allowed to keep his sword in his honor. They asked me to say a few words at his funeral, but I couldn’t; I wanted to, but the words just wouldn’t come.
It was a few months before either I or Harriett were back in the field. Neither of us were the same as we had been before that night, but our shared experience blossomed into something wonderful. We shared six years together before we were both killed by a Glabrezu out on a mission together. I was resurrected; her soul had found peace and didn’t want to return. Of course, I’ll never forget the time I spent with her - or my time with Leo, as short as it was. Both of them helped mold me into the person I am today. Along with Leo’s sword, I carry Harriett’s holy symbol as a keepsake.
I guess that’s how things tend to go in the crusade, though; it’s important to remember that none of us live forever.
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After I’d finished, Arueshalae was speechless for a moment, and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “That was incredible. I’m so sorry for you - to lose so many people you loved like that…”
“Like I said, that’s how it goes around here. Everyone I’ve ever loved has been killed by demons; most of the other crusaders have similar stories to what I just told you. That’s really why I hate the damn things so much.” I wasn’t sure, but I thought for a second Arueshalae looked uncomfortable. Probably my imagination. “I hope you never have to go through anything like that with Galfrey… but it’s important to be prepared for it. I don’t know how I’ve even made it this long.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re still here,” Arueshalae said. She hugged me tightly, then stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go cuddle my girlfriend and think about what you said.”
“Of course,” I replied. She hugged me again, then went back inside. I sat in the courtyard by myself for a while, thinking about lost loves of the past and present.
