Just as the setting sun painted the sky red, the mixture of flames and blood stained the earth in a vivid crimson colour. A raid. Not even a night raid, as it was still too bright for the element of surprise to fully take effect. Nonetheless, the travelers had already begun setting up for the night, raising camp and securing their wagons. Only the dying scream of the first guard was heard by the time their attackers had already entered their midst.

  “Maya… Maya!” -a man screamed, walking amidst the battle wearing some old pieces of armour, a wound on his head bleeding onto his face- “MAYA!”

  “By the Six, could you shut up?” -a tanned woman answered, deep into combat with one of their assailants, their swords locked in a test of strength- “Can’t you see I’m a little busy at the moment?”

  Pushing her enemy back and causing him to lose his balance, a single strike with all her might left an open gash, blood pouring out as the bandit fell on the ground, choking on his own blood. With no hesitation Maya rushed closer, dealing the final blow as she stepped on the man’s neck until a loud cracking sound could be heard.

  “Were the fuck did these bastards came from Solo?” -regaining her footing and removing the dark brown hair glued to the sweat on her face, Maya turned her back to the man, her weapon ready as she searched for the next opponent- “Your group should have secured the camping area long ago!”

  Grasping his great hammer with both hands, Solo pressed his back against hers, both warriors ready to fight knowing they had each other covered.

  “These bastards must have been hidden deep inside those woods,” - the man motioned towards the nearby forest with his head, the dense treeline barely visible in the now fading sunlight - “where’s the rest of your group?”

  Before Maya had a chance to answer, a bone chilling scream echoed through the sounds of the battle, coming from the burning wagons not too far from their current location. With no hesitation, she started running towards the direction of the sound, her speed incredible for someone so muscular. Almost instantly, as if they had planned beforehand, Solo went after the woman, his heavy weapon making him considerably slower.

  Just a few meters from where they previously stood, Maya suddenly stood still almost causing Solo to collide with her, both shocked at the scene in front of their eyes.

  “What the…” - was all the man managed to say in a whisper, before a gentle hand forced him to stay quiet.

  Forming a circle as a way to increase their defenses, multiple wagons had been stopped and a crude fireplace built at the center, probably to prepare their food and to provide warmth and light during the long night. Instead, there was no warmth to be felt, and the flickering light of the flame only brought from the darkness a scene grotesque enough to make one sick.

  Across the circle, in an almost calculated manner, piles of corpses had been placed. Forming something similar to a spiral, they started at the entrance to that camping site, and circled the area until it finally reached the already dying fire. In the beginning, the corpses were bloodied but with few wounds. A stab to the chest, a slit throat. Almost as if the killer had decided to show mercy for its victims.

  As the carnage advanced further into the spiral, the bodies became more mauled. Severed limbs, guts spilling out. It looked as if somewhere along the course of the battle their enemy had changed from a merciful knight into a wild enraged monster.

  “Keep your guard up,” - Maya whispered, her voice shaking with anger- “I got a bad feeling about this…”

  “If everyone’s dead, who screamed?” -the man replied as his eyes examined the battlefield, searching for answers.

  After a moment of silence that felt like an eternity, a muffled cry started to become louder. Turning her attention back towards the center of the camp, Maya noticed something moving in what she had previously assumed to be nothing more than a pile of shredded flesh. As the cries started to become louder, a small body covered in blood could be seen, rocking back and forth while holding tight to something on the floor.

  “A child…” - the woman started speaking, but before she could even voice her orders Solo rushed past her in his full speed, skillfully avoiding the corpses in his path before sliding beside the  crying survivor - “What are you…”

  “Protective Sphere” - Solo shouted while planting the handle of his weapon on the ground beside him, a small sphere forming around him and the child as he cast the spell - “Maya, it’s a revenant!”

  Revenants. A type of undead monster similar to a zumbi, rather commonly seen on large battlefields where the grudges of the living are stronger. Once a dead person returns as a revenant, it has a limited time frame to kill all those responsible for its death in order to complete the transformation.

  “Fuck me…” - walking carefully towards her companion, watching the surroundings with every step, she started to feel it, the rotten stench of the undead - “How’s the child?”

  “A young girl, unharmed but feverish”

  “So it’s the last survivor, lucky girl…” - Using the smell as a guide, Maya began moving closer to the edge of the camp, around the area where the corpses started becoming more wildly damaged - “Mother Koynasi, guide my blade”

  As if her prayer to the goddess of battle had been answered, the very tip of her sword started to glow bright red, as if left by the fire for a very long time. Giving a silent praise, Maya pointed the sword towards the nearby corpses, waiting for a reaction.

  In the now growing darkness, the burning metal left an after image as the blade moved from one body to the next, with no change at first. As she started moving further outside the spiral, the red glow began spreading down the edge of the blade. By the time it had already reached the middle of the weapon, only one corpse pile was left in front of her, where a darker piece of clothing could be seen that matched no other she had seen before.

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  “If you still have anything left inside of you, get up and face me like a person would!”

  Making no sound, as if provoked by Maya’s taunt, a man raised from the pile, wearing the same kind of dark light clothes as the attackers they had killed before. His face, once partially covered by the same fabric, was now exposed. His lifeless eyes were open, but didn’t seem to look directly at the woman. On his chest, a simple dagger was still buried deep into his heart, the blow that finished his mortal life and set him into vengeance.

  The transformation couldn’t have happened long ago. His skin was still beginning to turn grey, and the wounds on his arms and chest kept on bleeding even now. On his hand, the remains of a broken sword. Whether it had broken before or after his death was something to be discussed after they had dealt with it.

  Revenant’s were somewhat easier to deal with than other undead, as they simply turned into ash when their revenge was incomplete. Judging as this one was still in the middle of it’s transformation, even after killing all those people around, it was safe to assume its mission was not done as long as the child was still alive.

  “Guess we’re dealing with it the hard way!” - Maya shouted back at Solo, as the revenant assumed what looked like a battle stance - “Keep the child safe”

  “Hurry up will you?” - Solo retorted snarky, noticing the faint golden glow of the sphere becoming weaker- “I’m rather bad at these, and I don’t have all night!”

  “Cheeky bastard…” - the woman laughed, before taking a deep breath. If not for the stench of the undead and the smell of blood, It would have been a nice summer night. Calming herself, she fixed her grasp on the sword, before speaking in less than a whisper - “Iskandra’s Touch”

  Surging from the palms of her hands, a wave of magical energy poured into her weapon. As the bluish energy reached the already glowing metal, the enchantments mixed as the entire blade turned purple for less than a second, before becoming entirely crimson red and bursting into flames.

  “Let’s do this, you rotten sack of meat!”

  With a sound resembling a growl, the Revenant charged at Maya at an incredible speed, sparks flying at her face as she barely was able to block the broken sword aimed directly at her neck. Despite being undead, Revenants often possessed more power than they did while alive, and apparently this one in particular was quite skilled with a blade.

  As the two exchanged a fury of increasingly faster blows, more and more small patches of grass began to catch on fire, with the sparks generated by the exchange attacks flying further away with each stronger clash. Maya could feel the sword becoming heavier to wield, as her physical strength began to fail, and her mana was being drained by the mixture of spells.

  Gathering what was left of her strength, the woman decided to take a gamble. Gaining some space after another exchange of blows, Maya sprinted towards Solo, who seemed confused and surprised by the sudden approach of his companion. With no hesitation, the Revenant began chasing after his enemy, charging with all his might after her. As the two approached, Solo cancelled his protective spell as he grabbed the little girl with one arm, his great hammer with the other.

  It was all over in a moment. Maya was only a few meters from Solo when he canceled his spell, and immediately turned back to face the Revenant. The creature, still charging after her, faltered for a moment. In that brief window, using whatever power she could still muster from her muscles, Maya bolted out towards the revenant, her body close to the ground. Before the creature could react or try to defend itself, she dealt a single upward blow, carving a deep cut from the belly to the creature’s face.

  Maya fell sitting back on the ground, her muscles aching as her body was completely devoid of any kind of energy. The sword had no more flames, the spell canceled as it left the caster’s hand, but it still retained the original red glow while safely stuck on the Revenant’s face. As the wound burned, unable to be healed by the still incomplete revenant’s power, its body began to dry and crumble, leaving nothing more than a burned sword and a pile of dust and clothes.

  ***

  “Using the child as bait? Are you out of your mind?” - Solo’s voice was barely a whisper, only loud enough for Maya to hear, as she grabbed onto his right shoulder for support.

  After making sure the revenant was finished, and the sounds of battle around the camp seemed to have come to an end, the two of them started the journey back to the rest of the group, with Solo carrying both weapons and the still unconscious little girl.

  “If you knew of any other way to put that thing down, I’m all ears…” - Maya carefully moved the child’s hair that was blocking her face, even while sleeping tears still formed around her eyes, although her expression was peaceful - “Poor thing, she’s all alone now…”

  “Won’t any of the other families take her in? Or maybe one of the Elders?” - As they got closer to the main camp, the hurried sounds of people calling for hot water or healers began to be heard, the ground around littered with both the corpses of the attackers, as well as their own.

  “Maybe if her family was an old one. Most people on that camp were transient, only sticking to a caravan for a short time.” - Maya could feel some of her strength returning, taking a few unsure steps before deciding she didn’t need help to walk anymore - “After an attack this big, no one will have time to take on extra burden.”

  “Hey, two more survivors over here!” - A short chubby man ran towards the two, huffing and puffing as he finished the short distance - “Oh by the gods, I thought you two were gone…”

  “Keep hoping Malore,” - Solo smiled at the man, as he handed him Maya’s weapon, gently adjusting his hold of the child - “how bad was it?”

  “Pretty bad…” - Malore answered, his voice puzzled as he looked towards the two warriors, and towards the girl, his eyebrows frowning - “Most of the goods are intact, but we lost half a dozen guards and at least 15 people.”

  “You can make that 35, the south camp is gone.” - In a quick motion, Maya grabbed her sword back from the man, the metal now slightly warped by the fire. - “Only the little one here survived.”

  “Ah, I was wondering if by chance you two lovebirds were hiding a secret child from me.”

  “We’re not a couple, dumbass. How many times do we have to tell you that?” - Ever since Solo and her had started working together, mostly due to their compatible skills and personalities, many people on the caravan had tried to act as matchmakers for the duo. - “We need to see the Elders, find someone who can take care of her…”

  “Why don’t you two do it?”

  “Do what, moron?”

  “Why don’t you raise her? You saved her right?” - The man began nervously tugging at the cloth of his shirt, a well trained trick to appear harmless when offering a bad deal to a customer - “Doesn’t it make her your responsibility?”

  Maya turned to look at Solo, who was rocking the little girl in his arms with a silly smile as he looked at her. Turning to Maya, he simply shrugged with a defeated expression on his face, while his eyes had a different shine in them.

  “Fuck me…”