Death Takes Wing

Posted on Fri Oct 11th, 2024 @ 11:04pm by Commander Kevin Lance

Mission: Deep freeze
Location: Matrix
Timeline: After The Time Has Come

on:
{Between the Dark Forest and Faereyjar}

There was a great gush of wind from the powerful sweep of wings as the oathman driving the cart was lifted from his seat. He let out blood cuddling scream as he desperately reached for his sword. The winged form pulled for the sky with its prey.

One of the oathmen took a wild shot with his crossbow but in the dark it was impossible to tell if it hit. The continued screams of the oathman convinced Kevin that the shot had missed.

Finally the oathman was quiet but Kevin sensed that the creature was still hunting his party. "Circle up and face outward," he ordered. The two horsemen complied and all three peered into the moonlit gloom.

The three men started at the slightest sound and the horses knickered nervously. Kevin estimated that they were three hours from daylight and was on the verge of ordering a resumption of their journey when the horses suddenly spooked.

"Hold your position," Kevin ordered as the fought to keep control of his horse. He sensed rather than saw movement and in an instinctive response, he wheel his horse to the right and pulled it up into a commanded rear. The creature, blocked from grabbing Kevin, instead sunk its talons into the neck and shoulder of the warhorse.

The horse's anguished cry pierced the night but the creature was unable to lift its prey from the ground. The combined weight of the horse and rider was too great but the creature stubbornly held on an flapped.

Kevin stabbed upward with his sword into the dark mass before him while the two oathmen turned to bring their own weapons to bear. Kevin continued thrusting as his horse's body went limp and he tried to avoid being trapped as it fell.

The creature, denied its easy prey and confronted by the stinging blows of the oathmen, finally released the dead horse an took to the sky. Kevin felt liquid spray across his face as it beat upward, letting out a unearthly chilling shriek.

Unhorsed and with the cart no where in sight, Kevin climb up behind the nearest oathman and shouted for the group to ride hard for the village. He didn't when the creature would return to try again and if it would bring aid but they needed to get to cover as quickly as possible.

The thought of the creature's mother catching them out in the open made his blood run like ice.

:off

Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris