Chapter 11: Teaser

G'day reader(s?). I'm finally back to work on spectral knight, by popular demand. Well, a demand anyways. And to prove it, here's the start of chapter 11, just to keep both my readers interested.

Aegon looked out into the night, the darkness all but absolute, with the moon being but a sliver. The firelight barely seemed to do anything about the omnipresent darkness. The sense of unease was almost palpable. As the others slept, Aegon and Bjorn scanned the shadows for any hint of the banshee that had been terrorising the group lately. The night dragged on.

Dawn approached. The birdsong broke out suddenly across the forest in a sudden cacophony. Aegon relaxed a moment, the dawn was almost here. Just as he began to rouse his companions a shrill cry cut through the birdsong. Suddenly silence reigned. The group were on their feet. The banshee appeared before them on the path, screaming again, and then fled, moaning a dirge as it ran. Bjorn and Aegon lead the chase, with the group not too far behind.

They were being lead down the main trail, where they intended to go anyway, so no-one questioned chasing the banshee. Suddenly however the banshee screamed again and darted down a side track. Almost unused, it was a scrub-path, cleared by wild animals. However it looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, even by the animals. The group stopped at the side path, panting for breath. Even as they began trying to decide whether to follow it, an agonising series of screams echoed out from the forest as the banshee turned, stopping its retreat to lash out at its perusers.

Bjorn and Aegon dashed into the forest after the banshee and Jarrod, Iryl and Marie followed resignedly, keeping their distance. The banshee fled again from the pursuit, emitting a slow mournful dirge as it ran. Aegon began to catch up to the spectral woman, slowly but surely closing the gap between them. Suddenly the banshee disappeared, fading into nothing as the forest became eerily silent devoid of the banshees dirge. Aegon looked about on the spectral plane and saw the banshee disappearing into the forest. Not wanting to lose himself in the claustrophobic forest Aegon pulled up. Calling to everyone else, he pointed out a clearing ahead and cautiously advanced down the path. Pulling mana to himself, he noted that the surrounding mana was largely death magic. Now that he had slowed down, he also noticed that the trees were less healthy, and coming up to the clearing many were dead, and the remainder were very sickly. The rotting leaves and moss of the forest floor gave way to the dead earth of the clearing. A wooden cabin sits in the centre of the clearing, although sturdily built, the patchwork repairs aren’t of great quality.


Like it/hate it? Comment below, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. And if you want to read from the start, chapter 1 is here.