The Queen of Spades

[Briarheart]

The world is dark and full of monsters.

Especially in the middle of night, deep in the tangled recesses of Concordia, where few have traversed and even fewer have survived long enough to return to civilization.

Monsters that can sniff you out from miles away, monsters that stalk you in silence, consumed by hunger and tempered by patience. Claws that will tear apart whatever paper you happen to be wearing for armor and spill your blood all over the moss and stones that make up your future unmarked grave.

Monsters that are the stuff of bedtime stories--the kind that would hide under your bed and snatch your soul in the middle of the night, dragging your flailing corpse into the darkness, and sell your spare parts to hags for use in their potions and poisons.

Sometimes, the monsters are just a couple of girls with shovels, a few vials full of parasites, some backup, and a need to provide some security for their little forest cottage.

I can't see worth shit in the dark, so Hyperion was at the head of our party. “At least it's not raining,” she whispered cheerfully.

“Fuck you, fuck this, fuck everything,” I spat as I peeled myself off the damp mossy floor of the forest for what had to be the ninth time tonight.

The briarbane clicked her serpentine tongue. “I did tell you there was a log there.”

“You didn't fucking tell me that it was slick!”

As the words left my mouth, another figure toppled ass over head, landing inches away from me with a sickening crunch.

“Terribly sorry, ma'am,” it apologized meekly, face half-buried in the earth. “I'm so clumsy--it won't happen again, I promise!”

Oh, by Hromagh's hairy balls--this son of a bitch has been nothing but a hassle since we returned to Concordia.

The piece of shit writhing on the ground next to me used to be one of the Corone Rangers. When Hype, Boris, and I finally made our way back to the old abandoned fort that we used to call our home before our last jaunt in Salvar, we were surprised to discover that someone else had taken up residence. Turns out that the Rangers happened upon it while we were gone, reclaimed it, cleared out most of my experiments and notes, and stationed several of their ranks there to start fixing the place back up where I couldn't be bothered to.

His name was Mathias, and he was a relatively fresh face within the organization. I didn't bother to remember his rank once he told me. He was one of their scouts, recruited in the later periods of the Corone Civil War. Stationed near Underwood. Very good at navigation and remaining undetected (current episode notwithstanding). Didn't stand a chance when cornered by a two thousand-pound undead Skavian bear.

I reanimated him with a bit of cordyceps, and began grilling him about who he was and who else was with him. They weren't any trouble either, when they returned. Those Rangers are currently keeping watch inside my home, ready to ambush anyone else who might get any bright ideas.

It was Mathias who told me that the Ixian Castle was a day and a half's hike from the fort, if you took a straight line through the forest. Which turns out may have been a bad idea. But hey, considering the circumstances and what I could gain from the trip? Totally worth it. Probably.

Maybe.