Multiple Settings The End came on Wings of Gold Chapter one; Regret

[Sye]

The wind blew colder than usual for the month of March. The winter still clung to the land, even though the trees had once again become green there was still snow on the ground. The mountains cast a grey silhouette against the pale blue sky. Not a cloud was in the sky to block the distant sun. In the south end of what used to be the North West Territories, a town had been built on Vale Island, on the south end of what used to be called Great Slave Lake. For years this town had been quiet, farming and fishing peacefully. Though one day, an uproar in the center of town brought everyone out of their homes. A local man, Henrik Dupont, had declared that he had gotten the old train working after years of toil. And work it did. Neighboring villages were called upon to set out, and finally make a real attempt at settling further south, where the old cities lay silent, and dead. Farmers and their families, and even a couple local Demons packed up their lives, and boarded the train, headed for a new beginning.

And were never heard from again.
~~~

Vale Island town hall.
A large bearded man was addressing a gathering of elders. His name was Hitch, a woodsman of 30 years.

"We can't just pretend they never existed! There were families on that train!"

"We're all aware of that fact, but you must face reality. There is no way to reach them, and if we did, what then? What if there's nothing left to find?"

The man who spoke in response, a grizzled old man with white hair and a cane was the Village leader, Christopher. Several other voices rose together.

'They're probably all dead.'
'Demons probably did it.'
'Less mouths to feed...'

Christopher raised a hand for silence.

"We don't have enough people to send a search party. You know better than anyone the dire wolves have been getting more aggressive towards settlements since the winter ended. Food is scarce everywhere since the wildlife is moving further south."

"That's even more of a reason to go search for them! They were our best chance at establishing settlements in the southern Provinces!"

The mob began to speak again.

'We need to focus on restocking our homes first!'
'The south is bandit territory anyways.'
'Who cares? I want to go back home and take a nap.'

Christopher sighed heavily, ignoring the chatter. People began to rise and file out, disinterested in the the presumed outcome of the meeting. Hitch sat, putting his face in his hands and rubbing his temples.

"I know she was with them. But we can't afford the people to search for the train."

"What if... What if we put out a notice? Couriers will be through town soon, and we can send a message to the main towns. Maybe someone will..."

"Hitch-"

He stood, saying nothing he walked out of the room. Hitch walked into the snow into the dark outside the town hall.

~~

November 2499, Providence (Previously Fort Providence).

Alexi sat in front of a crackling fire, watching clouds roll by as the snow fell. The snow hadn't stopped in the spring this year, and had continued all the way through the summer. He looked upon a dark town, abandoned some months past by its denizens. What lived there now was a Drake. It made its home into what used to be the town hall, hunting the local populace of dire wolves, bears, deer.. and people foolish enough to try and make the town their den. Bandits and the like. He watched for days, waiting for the drake to move, intent on searching the place for valuables of no concern to a drake, but something maybe useful to him. He took a bite of dried fish and stared on. He saw movement in the village. A great lumbering form walked out from the main building, wandering off towards the woods. Alexi jumped up immediately, throwing aside his jacket and stomping out his fire. He moved quickly and quietly into the village with his gear.

After about an hour Alexi hadn't turned up very much things of value. Some old jewelry, deprecated weapons and armor, ruined cookware that could be used for scrap. He had everything bundled in a light metal cage slung across his back with several thin chains. The whole apparatus was covered in caked on soot and had obviously been almost melted several times. He started making his way out of the village towards his small camp when he heard the thudding of something large running towards him. He turned to see the drake charging directly at him.

"OH SHIT!"

"THIEF!"

The drake bellowed after him.

"YOU CAN'T EVEN USE ANY OF THIS!"

"COME HERE AND DIE THIEF!"

Alexi continued to run. The drake was gaining too fast. Alexi threw aside the cage full of loot and ran towards the woods. He was nearly there when a massive clawed hand slammed into his side, sending him careening back towards the village. He stood quickly, wincing from the pain.

'Damn- a broken rib is really not what I needed right now...'

The drake sauntered towards him, smoke gathering in its maw.

"Pathetic thieves always invading my home!"

"Listen maybe we can talk this ou-"

The drake spewed fire from its maw, engulfing Alexi and setting the ground around him boiling from the melting snow and fire. After a moment it stopped, licking its teeth and watching the smoke clear contentedly. Until it was gone, and there stood a naked Alexi, clothes burnt away. His whole body glowed orange, smoke billowing from his mouth and nose.

"What? "

The drake moved forwards for a swipe, but was taken aback by the extreme heat. Something it had never felt before, as drakes and the like are extremely resistant to burning. The ground began to ignite in the area as Alexi walked forwards. The drake backed up a step, before turning around and running, steaming, into the town. Alexi ran to the nearest non-melted snowbank and threw himself in, making a great cloud of steam rise up.
~~~

A week later.


A few miles west of Providence, a small hamlet of about 90 people called Dempsey. Alexi slept in a stable with a few horses, refused entry to the local inn due to being a Demon. For what seemed like the twentieth time that night, he was woken by the sound of a horse snorting at him. He stood, brushing hay off himself and walked outside. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a case of tobacco and papers. He rolled one, placed his finger against the tip and used his curse to light it. The dull glow from the cigarette illuminated a tattered poster on the post he leaned against.
'Families disappeared'
'please help'

'Hitch'

He pushed down the curled up bottom of the poster.

'Large reward'
'Come to Vale island'

He rolled out a small leather bound map. Vale Island was only a few kilometers away... He gathered his things from the stable, and set out immediately. Never one to pass up an adventure, and this one had a potentially big reward. Though for Alexi, a meal not composed of direwolf would be a big enough reward. He walked past the majestic row of horses and stopped at a scruffy little donkey.

"Wakey wakey Dahlia..."

The donkey nickered lightly as it stirred. Alexi saddled it and led it out to the road. Off they set towards Vale Island, plodding side by side through the knee high snow. After some time, Alexi spotted a bridge made among the ruins of an old highway that had long since fallen into the waters below. Across he went into the town of Vale. The bridge went on for what seemed like a mile. As he walked he noticed what appeared to be old metal lines on the ground, running in a pair. Curious. He finally reached the gates of a town, as the sun began to rise over the far mountains. He rose his hand to pound on the great gate, but it began to open before he could hit it. It stopped opening with enough space for a horse to fit through comfortably, though most of the space was taken up by a great burly man with a big bushy beard.

"Are you here about the posters?"
~~~

Alexi settled into a well worn couch in the corner of a large room, in the center of which a wood stove was lit, casting a gentle glow around the room of the cabin. It appeared to be an inn of sorts, perhaps more of a hostel. Beds and couches were littered in a half-organized fashion around the room, and two large tables took up the middle on either side of the stove. The man, Hitch, told him the situation in brief. It was his hope that more people, and maybe even Demons, could come to his aid, to help the lost souls of Vale. The man in question had taken up residence in the guard tower, making it his duty to see all that came through were tended in the manner that Alexi was, regardless of what they were. He turned his attention back to the small wooden figure he was carving, currently it roughly resembled a wolf. He continued to whittle, as the door began to sway open once again, announcing the arrival of another...

 

[Resting Witch Face]

The haggard form of a man stumbled in through the tavern-like building, seemingly drunk or inebriated in some way. Likewise to the previous visitor, he introduced himself to the innkeeper and found a place to rest next to a whittling scavenger. Before attempting to communicate with either, however, he set his head down on the table. The season was harsh, and although he barely felt the stinging chill of winter anymore it still tore the energy from his body all the same. Falling into a light slumber, he began to retrace his steps that led him to this very bar.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Caleb!" The familiar voice called to him through the dense fog surrounding his field of vision. Although he could clearly hear a voice over the dull roar of the howling wind, he could see nothing but grey in all directions. He had begun to lose hope of ever making it out, and began contemplating all the horrible things that would happen to him in the fog. He'd be killed and left to rot, no one would find his body in this mist.

"CALEB!"

And suddenly he was back, the mist fading into obscurity as if it had been just a bad dream. Though the hopeless feeling of being lost simply would not relinquish it's hold on him. He found himself in the middle of a vast field, surrounding at all angles by a blue horizon and a featureless ground. He walked for days, months, years even, and yet the land changed not. In the distance he could make out moving shapes, but as much as he screamed and ran he could not catch up to them. He was forever alone in this unending desert.

"Caleb?"

He had forgotten where he was going a long time ago, dragged along only by his lack of personal needs and his nomadic spirit. Mountain ranges and thick forests stood no chance in the wake of his pilgrimage, and he would cross them all the same. It was unending, so much like himself, that he found it fitting. He needed no purpose anymore, all he needed was to keep moving.

Eventually, he found himself walking past a ruined village, scorched and sullied to oblivion. Whatever had terrorized this town had long since moved on however, as even the ashes refused to puff smoke anymore. He stayed in the village for quite some time, enjoying the scents of embers and ash. However, the wind called unto him once more, and he was off. Not before plucking a disintegrating poster off of the town's bounty board, however.

It was then that he woke up in front of an immense gate, not remembering how he had carried himself this far or what the scenery was leading up to it. As he looked down at the last scraps of paper he still clutched in his sullen fists, he confirmed that this was the place it spoke of, the one who had lost it's townsfolk.

Despite the wind calling his name once more, Caleb decided to stick around this place for some time. For the first time since he had started walking, he felt a warmth like no other embrace him. He wished with all his heart to hold onto that warmth.

"Caleb, was it?"
Awoken with a start, he looked around the room to find it had not changed in scenery. The gruff innkeeper called to him from his daze once more, and Caleb managed to pry away the fog long enough to listen to what he had to say.
"My apologies for waking you, it seemed a rationality at the time. I'm only here to clarify your help."
"With?" He managed to say, the grogginess of his nap stealing away his usual relaxed demeanor.
"You've come to help search for the missing folk, right? I see you found one of the posters."
"...right. I'll help you search, what a terrible time to be lost."
"Rather..." the man said before walking off to tend to the latest patron, leaving Caleb with his own thoughts.​

 

[MidsummerNightmare]

REGINA ZEIGLER
in some run-down inn
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
​

The door flew open with a staggering thud, disturbing the otherwise peaceful mood of the tavern. A cold gust suddenly swept inside, along with the glare of the winter sunlight, veiling the silhouette of a person wrapped in layers of what seemed to be fur. The silhouette stepped through, revealing his makeshift leather coat of fox fur and moose hide. His hood masking the rest of his face bestows upon the hunter a sense of mystery; is he friend or is he foe? White skin, a pointed nose, and hints of blond hair can be distinguished beneath the hood. With only these features to work with, you can never be certain if the hunter in fox fur was even a he, much more if he was a human or a demon without checking for stumps.

The hunter littered the wooden floor with flakes of snow left from his boots as he walked towards the middle of the room. As he inched closer, frozen traces of blood were noticeably smeared onto the hunter's leather, his metal axe hanging on his waist covered in the same blood. The hunter slumped against his seat with a fatigued sigh, setting his weapon close beside him.

"I'll have a glass of...whatever you have."

Out from the leather hood spoke a feminine voice, pulled back by the hunter to reveal a curly flow of dirty blond hair, which curved back into the hunter's coat. The woman would've been strikingly beautiful, if not for an ugly scar which ran across from cheek to nose. She sighed heavily, as her arms found their rest on the counter table. "Tough season, nothing but dire wolf and some moose meat to deliver."

Her eyes were found scanning the rest of the customers accompanying her inside the inn. One took her interest, a man, maybe in his early 20's, white hair and eyes of amber, as frail as a grizzly at the end of winter. He took no effort hiding his dark horns, unlike most demons that roam around human territory. What bothered Regina, however, was not the way he looks, but the way he smelled. Ash, like a fresh pile of ember. He didn't seem like a blacksmith, or anything of the like. Whether he fancies fire a bit more than he should, or he is cursed with it, the thought of a demon who could burn down the only decent inn in town with a flick of his hand is not taken kindly by Regina.

There was another in the room with her, a man with the horrendous smell of a corpse, and strangely enough, hints of incense. Regina was certain the smell came from one at first, until she spotted what seemed to be a beggar, with rags for clothes, and the stench of death swarming around him. He looked like he could pass at any moment, even on the chair he sat on. Regina made a mental note to never use that chair the next time she visits town. She tries to mask the foul smell by hiding her nose inside the rim of her glass of beer. The whiff of freshly poured alcohol was enough to keep her unfazed for the rest of her time in the inn.

"I've talked to Hitch. Seems like that passengers of that train needs some saving from whichever part of the woods they wound up in." She tries to strike a conversation with no one in particular, but anyone who was willing to mind her.

 

[Sye]

Moosemeat isn't so bad.. Thought Alexi to himself.

"Yeah. Never been too far south myself."

Alexi put away the carving he was working on, whittled away from the appearance of a wolf, it now looked like a bear. Hitch had handed him a hand drawn map of moderate quality. It was marked with the destination and route of the train, and a few other important details. Hitch was presently sitting at a stool near the bar, carefully drafting another copy. Others had arrived, about 8 in total now. Alexi didn't know if he was the only demon among them, but surely they all knew he was one, judging by a few tempered stares shot towards him. The tall woman who entered earlier had been shooting daggers from her eyes at him earlier. He couldn't say much for the man, Caleb; he had overheard Hitch say. He looked like he really needed a glass of water. Or 10.

Alexi stood and stretched briefly, dragging a table between himself and the other few others who had gathered. So far being himself, the drab looking Caleb, the tall woman, and a few experienced looking hunters.
He spread the map out to be visible to all present.

Spoiler: Map

He studied it for a few moments, tracing his finger in a few different routes.

"It doesn't look like a direct path would be the quickest way.. We'd have to pass through multiple forests, mountain terrain, and a lake... But following the tracks is... maybe 300 or more kilometers? I'm not sure.. What do you all think?"

He pushed the map over a touch. Some of the others began to talk quietly among themselves. Suggestions for passing through old war ruins, over mountains, through secret cave systems, were all passed around. Alexi pulled out a pouch of tobacco, and a torn out page from an ancient book, and rolled himself a cigarette. He heated the tip of a finger, lighting the smoke with it. One of the hunters glared at him from under their hood.
"Don't you try anything funny there hot-hands."
Alexi just winked, smiled, and touched his finger to his tongue; making a pretend sizzling noise, seeing as his body couldn't react normally to extreme heat.

"Don't worry, we're on the same side for this one."

The muttering hadn't begun to die down among the hunters, but Alexi had come up with a potential route. He walked over to the table, putting the cigarette in between his lips loosely enough to speak without it falling out, and jabbed a finger onto the map, dragging it in a serpentine line.

Spoiler: Alexi's suggestion

"This seems like it would be quickest, while avoiding most of the forest and bad terrain."

A resounding grumble from the group. The same hunter that accosted Alexi before spoke up again.

"Don't remember asking for your input anyways, Demon."

He spat the word out spitefully. Alexi rolled his eyes and stepped back, pulling from his cigarette. It was going to be a fun trip apparently.

"Well at least I had some."

He spoke quietly to himself. Of the group he found he was only taken by the two that had been here initially with him, before the other hunters gathered. They definitely seemed more interesting.

"Any ideas?"

His gaze panned between the woman and the man, smoke billowing up in front of his face as he finally exhaled fully, eyes glowing intently behind the smog.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

There was a commotion stirring in the room, a gathering of sorts. The people began talking and crowding a paper map set on the table, discussing routes and pathways to take in the rough landscape. Slowly, Caleb made his way to the congregation. As he walked within earshot, he caught a very distasteful use of the word demon, and tried in vain to hold his tongue. Such people who were bold enough to discriminate were usually not worth the hassle, and often brought many friends. Instead of confronting and scolding the rude man, he instead sought to reinforce whatever the other man said.

"I see nor hear any further input from your group" He stated, staring at the mass of hunters.
"The journey will be treacherous irregardless of which direction you pick, so I say we hurry up and choose before people die."

Caleb began studying the map after reading through the rough additions, nodding absently and memorizing it's route. Although he would likely not remember it, he had a way of retaining that knowledge anyway. He finally looked up at Alexi, and then back to the hunters.

"The way is sound. Little to no resistance on the way, and adaptable terrain. It'll be arduous, but feasible."

He half smirked, cocking an eyebrow. As he walked to the door, he raised he voice.

"If anyone in this room can come up with a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it."​