[i]Graf Todbringer, I regret to say that it might be some time before this correspondence reaches you. I retrieved Lady Eleanor, but we had some trouble on the road. Brass Keep had emptied, and a host of beastmen and northmen, hundreds of thousands strong marched on Middenland to slaughter and rape what they may. The lady and I saw the great army on a hill near Grimmenhagen, and fled south on our horses with all speed. We have arrived in Untergard, and make for Talabheim. Cousin Nadine and her husband have a townhouse there, one we could use even if they are not in the city. Ulric guide you, father. I shall write again when I can.[/i] 

-[i]Kasimir Reinhardt of Middenheim[/i] 
[hr]
Emmaline moaned in despair when thunder rolled in the distance, and Kasimir sighed, more at her mewling than the thought of being caught in the rain. 

It had not been an easy week. A day's ride to Middenheim, only to be blocked by the legions of hell and its mortal followers, casting a shadow over the province the likes that had not been seen since Ludenval Todbringer, followed by a three days hard and very lean ride south until they managed to reach Grimmenhagen. Halberdiers and crossbowmen had been on high alert, and the two of them had nearly been pierced by quarrels, but it was clear the walled town was fully expecting to be hit within the week, and so the two of them had stooped to paying double price for some food for the road, and then promptly rode south another two days. They had talked very little, save a few short conversations on where they had been and what they had learned in their schooling. Kasimir and Emmaline had even shared a laugh at the expense of a few particularly loathesome professors. 

It was to Kasimir's great dismay that he grew to realize they actually had quite a bit in common. Both had more schooling than necessary, both had felt the sting of being used by their parents, and both of them had a particular distaste for authority. She even explained a bit of her magic, and the two of them had discussed what had happened to them since Emmaline's escape from the capital. However, any other attempt to build bridges between them had taken a backseat from the travel, the danger, and the need for quiet when bedding down for the night. That, and Emmaline's complaints day in and day out. The two of them might share some core opinions and experiences, but if Kasimir was a hawk, Emmaline was a plump goose. 

Now the two of them plopped along on a wooded path, mere hours away from Untergard, a riverside town where Kasimir planned on taking a ferry to Taalagad, and there they could barter for a ticket into Talabehim. Once they arrived, then Kasimir and Emmaline could decide what exactly they were to do with one another. 

"Ranald's cock, are we almost there?" Emmaline asked, dejected. She had taken to riding Kasimir's smaller horse while the bastard had taken the Destrier, and Kasimir saw his stallion eyeing him every now and then as if to ask whether this was a permanent arrangement. "My butt cannot take more of this."

"Just another hour, m'lady. Then you and your sore ass can get a rest." Kasimir remarked, glancing at her. "You know, we could have taken a wagon if you hadn't egged the peddler on." 

"It's not my fault his wife got jealous," The blonde assured assured him, but Kasimir was not too certain. True, Emmaline had not tried to seduce the man, but he had seen her use similar tactics to get a free ride from the man, before his wife took out her switch and Kasimir had to save her from receiving multiple welts.

"But it is your fault your ass hurts," Kasimir quipped. 

"Takes an ass to know an ass," Emmaline responded, but when she glanced at Kasimir to gauge his reaction, he wasn't looking at her. He was glancing left and right, head tilted to hear better. Before she could ask what was the matter, he held a hand out for her to stop her horse, and she did so, albeit clumsily. They waited there in silence for a few moments, the only sound accompanying them was further thunder from beyond the treeline. It sounded far too close to a monstrous growl. Emmaline cleared her throat quietly. "What is it?" 

Her words were interrupted by a whistling, and two barbed arrows pierced the tree just past Kasimir. The destrier whinnied and Kasimir's steed screamed, but the two of them were well trained beasts. Figures burst from the undergrowth, some as tall as a man, while others were no larger than a child of ten. Emmaline screamed at their grotesque features, and even Kasimir's blood ran cold when he saw them. They were mutants; loathesome things that had taken refuge in the woods and congregated together to stay alive. No description could do them justice, and none were the same. Some were covered in scales of chromatic colors as others were covered in rank fur, and a few had pallid, pig-like skin almost like a man. Too-long tongues lolled out of their mouths, and the wide array of teeth covered the entirety of the animal kingdom. One had a cavity at the center of its bare chest that opened and closed like puckered lips. 

"Fuck this!" Emmaline cried. 

"Ride!" Kasimir ordered her, or more accurately, his horse that she was straddling. Both steeds kicked up and charged forward, but not before a few of the monstrosities had leaped at them. The destrier was trained in war, and even as Kasimir's sword impaled a flying, frog-like humanoid, viscous green fluid running down the blade, the destrier kicked the head off of a reptilian mutant wielding a butcher's cleaver, and they were off. Screamed and cries rose up behind them, and a throwing axe flew past Emmaline's head, disappearing into the trees. 

"Did the horde catch up to us!?" Emmaline called to him as they sped up the path, glancing back, clearly referring to the monstrous army dozens of miles to the north. 

Kasimir shook his head. "No, they're just a local pain in the ass." 

"Oh ha-ha!"