The squad of three individuals dashed through the forest, trees blurring past them on either side. The one to the right moved with a fluid grace as she expertly danced around any obstacle, her body seemingly to flow in one continuous movement. In contrast, the one on the left bounded forward with powerful leaps, every lunging step barreling him through branches and bushes. The final member, located between the two and in the lead, moved with the grace and ferocity of a predator on the hunt. His movements were powerful but calculated as he bounded from ground to tree making the act look effortless.

  After an unknown time as they traveled, the man at the lead came to a sudden stop, the other coming up beside him. All three were outfitted in a mixture of thick leather armor with thicker plates of metal covering their vital areas. The majority of the armor was colored a pale gray with blue and white highlights. On each of their shoulders was a metallic V curved to give it the appearance of a claw. The one on the shoulder of the man in the lead was gold in color with a nine pointed star in between the two curved bars. The other two possessed silver V’s that held a five pointed star.

  "Sir, the movements of the unknown force were last tracked to be in this area." The woman said, holding up a rolled up map, examining it.

  "Where did these bastards even come from?" The larger man asked while scanning the area with a scowl, "Those Lystarian scum claim they are just as much as victims, yet these bastards came from their city."

  "Enough Lenny," the one the woman referred to as sir said, his expression hidden underneath the hood of his cloak. The well made garment appeared to have been fashioned from the hide of a massive feline colored in black and white stripes, with the hood formed mostly from the hide of its skull. His voice was calm as he spoke, but carried a weight of authority and danger.

  "Sorry sir." Lenny said with a shake of his head.

  The man in the cloak slowly and carefully scanned the area around them, his blue feline-like eyes giving off a misty glow.

  "They are close." Whispered his companion from within his mind as he felt his attention being pulled towards the right a bit.

  "We are close." The man said out loud to his two companions before taking off in the direction.

  The two followed without question, trusting in his judgment. They moved for a short period before they came to another stop, and for the first time there was something other than just forest to look at. They arrived in an area that easily looked as if a major battle had taken place. The ground was torn up in every direction, trees lay in splinters and scattered in chunks.

  "By the spirits." The woman breathed as the other feature to the scene made itself known in the form of the bodies.

  "Are those?" Lenny began to ask, looking more confused than alarmed.

  "It's them." The woman answered before turning to face the man in charge, "What do we do sir? I know we were tasked with tracking and possibly capturing one of them alive if possible, but according to the numbers we were given this looks like most of them."

  The man eyed the area, his gaze scanning each body and making mental notes about their appearance and what seemed to kill them. Half elven male, roughly middle aged, pierced through the chest by a shafted weapon. Human male, younger to middle aged. Blunt force trauma to the skull, more than likely from a tree trunk. Elven female, past middle age. The chest was both caved in and torn open, possibly by a large creature with talons or longer claws.

  Body by body, he carefully moved through the area making mental notes as he worked on figuring out what happened here. His initial hypothesis had him believing the unknown force had been traveling through the forest with a purpose, probably tracking something of their own. Their movements were too focused, as if they knew exactly where they needed to go. Yet, something had ambushed them along the way, possibly a pack of creatures or maybe even full on monsters and they met their end in the ensuing fight.

  As he looked however, he changed his mind of the source of their death as it didn't add up. There were no signs of there having been other bodies, or even signs of blood other than the people who lay dead. Now he had a strong feeling it was only a single creature that had killed them all, and even that notion shifted until he was certain what killed them was a single individual. A powerful individual who was skilled in the arts of combat and more than likely used either a large spear or even a halberd, but he was leaning more towards spear.

  "Over here sir" the woman, Belna, called out from the outside edge of the battle zone.

  He looked over and a moment later he could see what she was pointing out. The ground was torn up and the trees damaged just like everywhere around them, but it was done differently. He approached and examined the area closer, trying to see the picture before him, to let the battle tell him its story.

  "They ran through here, in a hurry." His companion whispered to him, and he frowned at seeing it was right. But that didn't make sense as upon closer examination it was clear that whoever ran from the battle field had done so after everyone else was already dead.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Belna, search the bodies for information, Lenny, come with me." He instructed and set off in the direction of the trail.

  The two did as they were told with no hesitation, Lenny right behind him as Belna moved to the closest body. The two made their way for a short while, this time they moved carefully and slowly not willing to miss anything due to haste. Soon they came to a similar scene of utter destruction but on a smaller scale.

  Instantly the man picked out a key difference as the other area had been destroyed through a continuous battle. This spot looked like a dry river bed had been the focus of a powerful explosion. Trees close to the bank were completely uprooted and destroyed while the ones behind them had been snapped and toppled. A large crater was at the bottom of the shallow dry bed and more bodies of the unknown force were scattered around, some in shattered pieces.

  He could see that one of them had failed to die from the explosion, but looked to have been killed not longer after. A quick examination of that body made it clear the man had been strangled to death, probably by someone wearing plate armor.

  "Absolutely vile methods." His companion practically snarled, and at first he assumed he meant the strangulation method. Part of him was inclined to agree while also recognizing that sometimes one just had to do what they needed to. However that changed when he felt his companion focus his attention down towards the dead man's hand.

  Resting in the dead man's limbs grasp, as well as around it, were the pieces of a broken crystal. He failed to recognize what they had originally been, but his companion filled him in with a brief explanation. After he found that he completely agreed with the idea of referring to it as a vile method. However it also confirmed his theory that what this unknown force had been after was probably what killed them all. Unfortunately, with his new knowledge of the item he had a feeling that whoever it was hadn't made it far .

  "Sir." Lenny spoke up then pointed down to the ground from where he stood towards the top of the other side of the crater.

  He left the dead man's side and moved over to look at what Lenny was pointing at. His fears seemed more true by the second as he could make out the distinct signs of a person crawling away. If he were to guess, this was the man who strangled the other only to suffer the effects of the crystal and attempt to crawl away. He let out a small sigh, already expecting to find a lifeless body at the end of the trail.

  Just as he expected, at the end of the rather short trail they discovered an unmoving body dressed in a dark blue long coat. His arms were outstretched as if he were still struggling to crawl forward when he succumbed. The two men knelt down next to the body and closely examined it, noting a few oddities. At first glance, the man appeared to be wearing metal armor underneath his coat, something Lenny couldn't help but comment as looking funny, but then looked closer.

  "It's not armor Sir, it's his hand!" Lenny exclaimed with some shock as he gently lifted some leaves that had partially covered the limp right hand.

  His actions revealed a human looking hand that was mostly metal with just under half of it still flesh.

  Before they could continue their examination, his companion whispered into his mind, surprise clear in their tone. "They still live."

  "He's alive?!" He said out loud, part statement and part question.

  Lenny gave him a shocked look as the two gave each other a look, an unspoken understanding crossing between them. They both gazed back down at the body, both of their eyes erupting with silvery blue mist.

  "God's above, he is alive!" Lenny exclaimed after a moment, then looked back up.

  "Yes," the man agreed with a frown, his head tilting in confusion, "But there is something wrong with his soul. Look closer."

  Lenny frowned as well but did as he was instructed and focused his gaze back down at the man, the unique skill they shared peering deep past the body to look directly upon the soul. After a moment his frown deepened, turned to confusion, then twisted into shock.

  "His soul is broken, or it was?" He half asked and the man motioned for him to continue. "His soul looks as if it had been severely torn and not quite all there. Yet, it is all there and the torn pieces have been reattached. How is he alive?" Lenny eventually asked, looking up.

  The man kept his gaze down on the man for a moment longer before answering.

  "I believe by using methods similar to our own. I am unsure as to how exactly, as the only method I know of to produce similar results is not commonly known or even approved of." He stared down at the body for another moment before looking up at Lenny. "Grab him, we are bringing him back."

  Lenny hesitated for only a brief moment before reaching down and hoisting the man up. They were soon back to where Belna stood waiting, a look of disappointment on her face.

  "They had nothing but basic travel supplies and these weird crystals that give me a weird feeling. Who's that?" She asked, eyeing the form Lenny carried over his shoulder.

  "Heavier than what he looks." Lenny grunted while shifting the body.

  "Our only witness who has something strange going on with his soul." The leader said, "Leave the crystals here Belna. They are best if forgotten"

  She shrugged before setting a small pouch back down on the ground and asking, "What's the plan sir?"

  "We are heading back, now. Belna, you have speed as your focus so I want you to travel ahead. When you get back, head to the Emerald Scales and inform them that their best affliction healer needs to meet us at the base."

  Belna looked surprised at the order, and for the first time did not instantly move to obey.

  "But sir, a request like that is something not even nobles can just demand. The Emerald Scales are the premier healers within the walls of Turan." She replied, sounding honestly nervous and uncertain.

  "They will listen," he said with a shake of his head before slipping a ring from one of his pouches and handing it over to her. "If they try to refuse, show them this and tell them the Vidloren commander, Torolis Whitemore, is calling in a favor."

  She looked shocked by the words, but refocused and gave him a nod. "I shall do my best Sir Whitemore." With that she spun in place and took off in a full sprint, the wind whipping around from her sudden acceleration.

  "Let's go Lenny." Torolis instructed before taking off himself, Lenny right behind him with the unconscious man draped over his shoulder.