Watchers in the Forest

Red liquid oozed out of the tree. Not orange. Red. Malek wiped the liquid with his finger and tasted it. Blood. Blood? Out of a tree?! Malek took a closer look. The blood was coming out of a stab wound in the side of the tree. Bastard Corruption. Malek made his way back to the Old Road. Light was fading fast. The forest would soon be rife with Corruption, too many now for just two Watcher’s to handle.

“Come, Malek. We must hurry. The closest Tower Tree is a mile from here. We’ll be lucky if there is enough light left to reach it safely,” said Salin. Tall, wise, and athletic, Salin was a Master Watcher and Malek’s mentor. “Remain aware at all times. Even with the little light we have, the forest is barely safe.”

Readying their longbows, the pair began moving swiftly through the undergrowth. This was tough going. There was barely enough light to walk along the Old Road, let alone through the thick, jungle-like undergrowth that covered the lower levels of the forest. Unsheathing his sword, Malek began hacking through the branches and roots.

“Quiet,” hissed Salin. Without uttering another word, he pointed through a small gap in the trees. Corruption, seven feet tall, armoured to the hilt and wielding cruel blades, were marching North along the Old Road.

“The Corruption are heading to the border. What can this mean?” whispered Malek.

“I know not. Their camp is up ahead but I cannot see how many remain. We must split up, approach from different sides and take them by surprise,” replied Salin.

Silently, Malek snuck off to the right side of the camp, climbing up into the trees for a better vantage point. Swinging through the trees, Malek could hear the Corruption plaguing the wind with their harsh voices. Suddenly, Malek could only hear the creaking of the branch he was hanging onto. The camp was silent. The air had become thick and oppressive. Something had happened. Malek climbed higher, straining his eyes towards the camp, trying to see what had introduced the unease into the equation. He swung closer and closer to the camp until he was as close as he dared. Then he saw it. A shadow every so often would glide around the edge of campfire. The Corruption were as still as statues. Only the shadow moved. Malek reached for an arrow in his quiver and aimed for the biggest, ugliest bastard he could see.

All of a sudden, Salin emerged with his blades unsheathed, rapidly slashing and chopping, sending heads, arms, and legs everywhere, showering the camp in a fountain of black blood. Malek, shooting arrows as fast as Salin was loosening limbs from bodies, tried to stem the wave of Corruption flooding Salin but it was too much. They came out of the darkness and swamped Salin. Malek let out a cry as he saw the first blade plunge into Salin’s torso. Dropping down from the tree, Malek crept around the side of the camp. Something ice-cold rested on his neck sending shivers down his spine.

“I’d stay still if I were you,” spoke a voice Malek had been dreading to hear, a Corruption, “Boys, we got a live one!”

“Bring ‘im froo den!”, shouted the leader, the largest and ugliest of them all, with one of Malek’s arrows sticking out of his neck, “Ah, you a young’n, jus’ ripe for the change. Your Master woulda been perfect, it’s jus’ a shame we cut off ‘is head!”

The whole camp roared with laughter as the leader kicked Salin’s head over to Malek. The head rolled right under Malek’s head and stared deep into his eyes with a sorrowful expression. Tears began streaming down his face.

“You upset?” queried the leader, feigning sympathy, “We put you out of your misery.”

“You’ll let me go?” asked Malek.

“Somethin’ like dat,” replied the leader, smirking at the other Corruption.

In complete disbelief at his luck, Malek got up and began walking out of the camp, not allowing himself to look back. Just as he reached the edge of the camp, he let out a loud cry in agony. Something warm began gushing down his leg. Looking down, he saw an arrow had pierced through his leg.

“You didn’t fink we’d let you get away dat easily did you?” called the leader, unable to stop himself from roaring with harsh, metallic laughter. “We like to play with our prey before we finish it.”

Malek felt the earth shake as his doom approached. The sound of the sword being unsheathed echoed as a deathly silence filled the air. Warm tears continued to pour from Malek’s eyes as he awaited his end. The leader grabbed his hair and roughly pulled it back. The sword felt like ice on Malek’s neck as time seemed to slow around him. Looking up at his executioner, the leader grinned back as he began to open a gaping wound in Malek’s neck. Malek gagged as blood flowed down his chest before falling back and seeing the evil look in his captor’s eyes as life left him.