The Paladin Order Reformed - Chapter 40

Jake and I packed enough food and supplies for the entire trip, I was even able to restock and repair my equipment. A welcome opportunity, my armor is holding up well, but after fighting for so long you tend to collect holes. The quartermaster was even able to supply me with more bolts for my wrist-bow.

I was still gathering supplies when Lili approached me. She asked from behind.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I’m capable, there’s no reason I shouldn’t accompany you. I’ve fought hundreds of battles before, I don’t know why you’re so worried about me going with you on a little expedition to Whitehall.” She echos, similar to the conversation we had the night before when I told her my decision to just take Jake.

I continued to check the saddlebags of my horse, making sure everything was accounted for, then looked back at her and said.

“Trust me, I think every moment not spent with you is wasted time, but this is what needs to be done. It might be dangerous, but you’ve seen me get out of sticky situations before, haven’t you? Just think of it as Jake and I going on a trip to catch up. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

I let go of the flap of a leather bag, then walked to Lili, and held her hands. They were so small in mine, but they radiated a warmth that coursed through my entire body, it was comforting.

“I will come back, I’m not going to leave you, not now, not ever. Anyway, despite everything that’s happened I still believe god is watching over me. He hasn’t forsaken me, heck, he’s allowed me to meet you after all.” I look at her trying to seem adamant.

She smiles warmly, flashing those stark white canines of hers. She pulled her hands from mine and wrapped her arms around me in a fierce hug as if she was holding on to me in the fear I would disappear right before her eyes.

“I know, I know, maybe there’s some merit to this god of yours after all. Just be warry, there are many people out for your head. Don’t take chances and don’t do anything needlessly.” She squeezed my waist a little tighter as she said.

“Please return Christian. I don’t want to live without you, I doubt I can.”

I smiled and ruffled her hair, fondling her soft ears. Her snow-white tail wagged slightly at my caress, she put her hand on my cheek and brought my face to hers. The softness of her lips always surprises me, the way their delicate nature pokes and prods innocently as if she’s discovering the same sensations I am. In a way, I suppose we’re both discovering new experiences.

She pulls me even closer, with an almost hungering desire. Her lips consumed my own, groaning softly, a rumble came from her throat. A carnal snarl escaped her mouth before a cough from behind interrupted us.

We separated quickly, both reddening with embarrassment. Jake said while chuckling.

“Was I interrupting something?” He approached after asking.

Embarrassed, I mumbled. “Uh..ye..a… yeah..n.no..”

He patted my back and said. “I’m just messing man, should I leave you alone for a few more minutes?”

I stole a glance at Lili and she shook her head, with her cheeks still pink. She said, starting to recover.

“I was just giving him a goodbye gift before he left. He’s all yours.” She left swiftly, but looked back and smiled at me before running off. I stood swaying lightly, still dumbstruck. Jake watched me until I finally came around. He didn’t say anything, only grinned.

“Ok, lets saddle up. We got a ways to go, so let’s get going.” I said

He agreed as I climbed the saddle saying. “Yeah, we should get going, shouldn’t we?”

He just shook his head hiding a grin. “But, are you sure you don’t want to stay a little longer? You won’t have a chance like that again for a while.”

I flicked the reigns and trotted towards the north gate while glaring at him as I passed. He shrugged before mounting to follow me, then we started the long journey to Whitehall.

The trip was more eventful, unlike the trip from the south of Valdora to Hampton. There were several times where I had to cloak and mask Jake and our horses from demon patrols. They littered the main roads, we had to hide from more than a dozen patrols.

There weren’t just patrols spanning the route, no there were battalions of demons marching on the roads, It was surreal. Not just months before, they were confined to the southern tip of Lord’s Union territory, on the brink of retreat.

Now demons and bands of outlaws, bandits, and any other scum you could imagine were out taking advantage of the chaos. I don’t want to think about how the other kingdoms are faring. I took the opportunity to scout the known Paladin Order strongholds, just to have an idea of the Order’s state.

Surely not all of the Paladin Knights have converted, after hundreds of years of building strongholds and fortifications, surely there’s a large remnant that’s been able to remain independent. That’s what I assumed but after finding every castle we came across ransacked, I started to lose hope.

We approached a small town I remembered holding a Paladin Stronghold, the smell was the first thing we noticed. It was a telltale, just like every other town we visited prior. We entered the town and it was even more disgusting than I thought it would be, bloated corpses carelessly littered the ground as the scorching sun relentlessly baked them. Hundreds of buildings were reduced to ash and soldiers and civilians were dead alike, it mattered little if they were men, women, or children. Dead lined the ground indiscriminately. At witnessing the ghoulish scene, Jake couldn’t take it anymore.

I waited for Jake as he relinquished his stomach’s contents, he was dry heaving after dispatching his breakfast, while I choked down the bile rising in my own throat. If I hadn’t been through these kinds of grizzly scenes before I might have joined Jake, but it’s not something hadn’t seen before. I don’t think you can ever truly be used to the smell of rotting corpses, you can only tolerate it. The rancid fumes burn your throat with its stench as you breathe, causing your eyes to water.

Maybe it’s not the stench itself that causes this, but it the fact that you’re alive to be smelling their putrid stench. Women and children lay crumpled in unnatural positions bathed in crimson, their blood baked under the sun adding to the corrupt concoctions of charred corpses and woodsmoke, along with the rotten stench of festering bodies ripped to shreds by foul gorging themselves. Being alive amongst a field of corpses almost feels like a crime.

We approached the mangled gate of the Paladin Order stronghold, I was studying the state of the gate and walls before a thud sounded beside me. I looked down to see the bloodstained fletching of an arrow sticking in the ground next to me.

I look up to see several men at arms leveling both crossbows and bows at my and Jake’s chest, a voice sounds from the wall yelling in a gruff, exasperated voice.

“William! I swear if you have another neglect discharge, then I’m going to shove that arrow so far up your..” The voice faded for a moment before I heard it again. “Then while you’re kestering that arrow I’m going to have to dig graves until you get a rash from said arrow, only then will I have the priest rip it your sorry defecator. You got that William! You will have one bloody rash if you “accidentally” release another godforsaken arrow from your damn booger hooks.”

I look at Jake with confusion, he returns the same expression before the man behind the voice shows himself over the wall. He bellows at us with a scowl.

“What do you undeveloped blollox want? I’m not buying your damn sugar buns and sweet rolls, so run off before your too banjaxed to suckle on your mother’s tite when you crawl back to her after I’m done beating you.” He annunciated before freezing, he took a closer look at us, me more specifically. Before saying.

“Are you the eejits they sent as reinforcements, I’ve been pesteren them with runners for weeks and all they send are you two gobsh..”

I intervened before he could say anymore. “You are the first ones from the Paladin Order we’ve found alive. Every other town leading up to here has been sacked.”

The man looks at us with disbelief before muttering. “Feck, all that for noth’n huh. I was hoping it to be some advanced raiding party taken out unsuspecten towns. I was never expected it to be somethin like this, feck!” He slammed his fist down on the top of the wall.

“I’m sorry for ma’h harsh words it’s been noth’n but trouble for quite some time, dander tru the gate and c’mere to me.” I looked again at Jake with confusion before asking.

“I’m sorry, what?” He rolled his eyes and replied with an aggravated tone. “Get up here and talk to me, what is it that you south-easterners can’t understand. I’m speak’n the same language as ye arn’t I?”

I start to disagree, but he doesn’t give me time to respond. The men at arms raise the bashed gate, it’s so mangled that it’s only able to rise a couple of feet before it couldn’t rise any further. We left the horses outside before hunching under the gate to get inside. We walked through the courtyard, it was brimming with wounded. There were soldiers still wearing bloodied mail and gambisons alongside women and children, all harboring various injuries.

The only thing that they had in common was their empty stares, devoid of all hope or even emotion. We climbed the stairs onto the wall until we were faced with the man. He just leaned on the wall, surveying the town before speaking.

“This used to be a bustl’n place that housed that would house caravans on their way to bigger cities, we were break’n 2,500 people. We had a militia of over 500 strong, look around ya sone. There’s not half that anymore, feck there’s not even a ter’d left.” He looked at me sadly before saying.

“You know how many died duri’n the initial attack? Well, look down there.” He pointed to the courtyard. “I guarantee there’s not more than a thousand left, if even that. We were supposed to protect them, but the only ones we could protect were the ones that made it to the gate in time.”

He didn’t speak for a few moments, we stood and waited until he finally continued.

“They wouldn’t stop till they broke that damn gate, I lost almost all of em just to hold that kip’n gate, but when they had us in a death hold, they just up’n left. Darnd’st ting it was, I’d almost rather’ed em finish the job.”

He looks at us before asking. “If there are no reinforcements, then where ere ya head’n anyway?”

“We’re going to the capital,” I answer vaguely, not wanting to give too much information up.

He nods before saying. “You can rest up’n the barracks for the night, if ya’d like. We ain’t much to offer ye, but you risked yer neck tell’n me what ya have, I thank you for that. When you wake up’n the morning come talk to me, I got a few more tings to ask ya.”

As we turned to leave he asked us. “Before I ferget, my names McClellan. Knight McClellan, whats yers?”

I smiled earnestly and said. “My name’s Christian, and this is Jake. Nice to meet you, Knight McClellan.” He smiled at this, for the first time since our arrival.

Jake and went to get some sleep in preparation for the journey ahead, although It was hard to find sleep. It always is after seeing the atrocities of war.