Chapter 28: Fiends of the darkness
For years, he had lived in peace in Frostvale, allowing himself to forget the horrors of what he had lived through in the past. The thought of such creatures coming to the village never crossed his mind.
But now, faced with the reality of evil incarnate, his mind went blank.
It was Lady Valara who broke the spell of terror that had gripped them all.
"Women and men of Frostvale!" she roared, her voice carrying across the center with the authority of noble blood and battlefield experience. "Grab whatever weapons ye can and fight! We’ll not go gentle into the darkness!"
Her words struck the villagers like a physical blow, snapping many of them out of their paralysis. She raised her hands, and the origin power flowed out like a torrent of fire. She aimed at the fiend, which was running towards her.
But even as the villagers began to respond to her rallying cry, grabbing fire pokers, kitchen knives, and broken chair legs, the situation grew far worse.
More shadows began to pour into the village. Each one took on the same hideous form as the first, until a small army of the fiends stood arrayed against the wedding guests.
The creatures moved with predatory motion, their multiple arms weaving hypnotic patterns in the air as they advanced. Their iron-gray skin seemed to absorb the light from the torches, making them appear as walking voids in the shape of monsters.
Gareth the Blacksmith, his massive forge hammer in his hands, stepped forward to stand beside Lady Valara. "Aye, m’lady," he rumbled, his voice steady despite the terror in his eyes.
"We’ll give these hell-spawn a fight they’ll remember."