Deathless Reign
Chapter 11
By Noobwriter96
*-*-*(Author's Note to Readers): Sorry for the long delay, I have taken a bit of break from writing as of late. I started out this project to write a chapter a day since I've had trouble finishing any of my projects due to my nitpickings. Instead of just pushing through, and not write and edit at the same time. Well, this chapter is probably my longest one to date due to my nitpickings. I'd start working on this chapter, only to stop and get bogged down and be frustrated. The cycle repeated itself for several weeks. With that said, thank you to those who kept on reading to this point. I feel refreshed and ready to restart my work, once more. I'll try to stick to a schedule as best I could to finish this project. *-*-*
"What should we tell the village?" asked one of Blanche's hunters, worry lacing her voice.
"Nothing, yet. Until we can be certain," Four limp bodies of hare hang from Blanche's belt while another hunter carried a pair of pheasants. The meat would go well with the boiled tubers and they would go to sleep with such a hearty meal. In years past, these could only feed a family of four, not an entire village. Small game had become so scarce that this meager haul would have been cause for celebration amongst them. They had scoured the better part of a day of the nearby forest hunting these and Blanche had decided to go further deep than the rest, having spot a pheasant. She caught the pheasant but had also caught sight of something more troubling that now gnawed at her insides.
As they rounded the last hill and into the last leg of their journey return, Blanche turned to her hunters and said, "Not a word you hear?" bearing down her eyes into and each person's soul.
A murmur of agreement spread among them as each went on their way. When Blanche came back from the hunt, much of the village was in a commotion but it was filled with oohs and giggles, one of exult and laughter. It seemed the girls had come back bringing a great haul of mushrooms from the general murmur of the crowd.
"What happened here?" Blanche asked. A gathered crowd like this would have been cause for concern these days but from the general mood of laughter, instead of a widespread panic, it somewhat calmed her nerves and eased her worries. At the very least it made her breathe much easier.
"It seems they were attacked," answered Thora from the back. Blanche's neck snapped into place, heart ready to burst out of her chest, "Attacked?"
Thora gave a noncommittal shrug, "The guardian protected them, slayed a giant and all that," as if it was of no consequence.
"What?" no small amount of incredulity in Blanche's voice.
A giant
?
"From what they say, it seems a Deadwood giant had found its way in the grove last winter and they woke it when they foraged for mushrooms there. The entire village is in a fuss, the undead took the thing head on," the usually nonchalant Thora actually sounded quite impressed with a slight lilt in her tone that could have been easily missed by anyone who was a stranger.
The familiar form of the acolyte came into view, fair haired and with her usual fur cloak. Ayleth had become more reasonable and reliable these days, snapped out of her religious fervor, Blanche went to her for confirmation on what happened on their escapade despite the wear and tear on her spirits, "Ayleth, is this true?"
"It is. No one got hurt aside from a smear of dirt here and there," she reassured Blanche. Blanche noticed she seemed flustered. Cheeks slightly red, as was the top of her ears, almost as if she was having a fever. But she seemed upright and standing steadily, so Blanche shook it off as having an excitable day.
"That's....that's good," Blanche cast around, everyone seemed to be in even better spirits. Mushrooms and meat to go with the stale tubers that they have been eating for months on end. She scratched her head, perhaps she needs to be more grateful, as the sight of the wall surrounding almost half of the village. was near its completion with the rate it was going. It was an impressive construction, that made Blanche sleep easier at night.
Blanche hadn't felt this good in a long while, to be at ease and not be drowned in endless woes that seemed crushing from the mere weight of it. She was, by no means the official leader of the village. None of them were, they just try live and get over one problem at a time. But most often than not, Blanche found herself at the helm somehow, steering the course of their lives away from disaster.
The undead who called himself Reign, Blanche had her doubts about the man and tried her best to not have any sort of dealings with him face to face. Now, with the number of deeds he had done that made her life easier, she was feeling quite a bit shameful. He had proven himself quite to be an indispensable asset and it was high time Blanche must give her thanks to him. She has a feeling she was going to need him with another upcoming problem that had just started gnawing at her insides.
"Where is he by the way?" Blanche asked the acolyte, as the villagers prepared for that night's supper with great anticipation and jubilation.
"Hmph?" Ayleth looked back towards the outer fields, looking to and fro, "He came in just after us, I'm certain of it. Maybe he went to find some materials for the wall? He said something about making a gate of some sorts to replace that boulder he put."
"Ah, right. That," That completely slipped Blanche's mind, eyeing the massive rock that was put in place where the main path of the village goes through the wall, "I'll have a word with him about that."
At least it won't be awkward.
Blanche and Reign shared something in that regard, and that was their distaste for large gathering of any social occurrence. She sighed and started down the path to the outer fields. As Blanche walked farther and farther, the drone of the women began to be more subdued as she neared the desolated outskirts of the village, the winter winds blew past the empty husks of wooden frame, making them creak and groan. The sight of the bare empty fields dominated her view for at least five hundred yards in any direction and not farther from them was the wall Reign erected.
As she surveyed the great empty land where nothing grew, she felt an immense weariness in her bones. The feeling of emptiness and loneliness as she bore the great weight of much of the village's woes. She never wanted this role, she could have simply kept quiet and let others take her place. But one way or another she found herself at the reigns, worrying and toiling to prevent any disaster.