Nugatory Vigil

"Dismas,i'd appreciate it,if you were a little quieter"-Reynald groaned,his head felt as if a red-hot blade was stuck in it's center-"I swear,this is the worst headache of my life."

"Don't jinx it,Reynald."-he heard Para deadpan."We still have to get out of this hellhole in one piece"-she said,giving him a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.Reynald only realised how hungry he was when he absent-mindedly started chewing the bread,at which point he downed the gruel in one go.

"Whoa there big guy don't drown yourself"-Dismas chimed in,sitting close to his companion."We decided to rest untile you woke up,and then head for the exit."

"We took turns guarding our camp,so i scouted a bit."-he explained."The path is mostly clear,but i heard bones rattle 3 rooms away from here."

"We should avoid battles if possible,we don't know what happened in the Hamlet after we killed that thing.For all we know it could be crawling with all kinds of abominations"-Reynald voiced his opinion.

"Or it could be a sprawling little town."-everyone turned their heads to address Junia and her out-of-place optimism.

"What?It can't be all doom and gloom,we killed that blasphemous thing,the town is probably throwing a feast right now!"-she exclaimed,sending a streak of pain through the crusader's head.

"I say we make our way back,before the feast is finished and drink for the rest of the week!"-Dismas interjected.

"And if we're lucky,the brothel will have some free personell,right Junia?"-Para teased the Vestal,whose face turned bright red.

"Y-yeah,that would be nice..."-she said coyly,before turning her attention to the holy man and hastily changing the subject.

"When are we leaving?Every second we wait is the second we are presumed dead.I don't know for how long we were out,but i'm sure the Heir is freaking out right now!"-her ubridled optimism seemed to seep into the air,cheering everyone up.

"Alright pack things up,we're leaving."-Reynald commanded,getting up from the floor.

"We're ready to go.We didn't have many supplies left before our little stop,so we're basically empty now."-The Plague Doctor summed up their situation.The group got to teir feet and with a command from the crusader they formed up.Reynald wanted to lead the way,but he was suddenly stopped by Dismas's hand.

"No way you're leading the way,Reynald.You're still too weak,i'll go first."-Dismas said standing in front of the crusader."We can't afford to lose you again."

"But i'm fine!"-Reynald protested-"I am in perfect health!"

"No offence, but i've dissected corpses that look better than you."-Para commented.

"Yeah Reynald, you look paler than sheets at the sanitarium"-Junia said,concerned.

"Fine,lead the way Dismas."-the holy man replied,begrudgingly.

And so Dismas lead the way,following him were Reynald and Paracelsus,with Junia closing their formation.The trek was mostly uneventful,barring a higher-than usual amounts of gold,and strange busts and paintings,depicting wierd-looking horses in lavish outfits.

"This is the wierdest thing i've seen today.Never took the Ancestor as a fan of small horses."-Dismas remarked.

"They're ponies."-he heard a gruff voice behind him.

"Sometimes we had a shortage of horsepower during the crusades"-Reynald explained-"we used everything:from donkeys to,well,ponies."

The party stopped in front of a door,leading to another room."That's the room with the skeletons,i'm sure of it."-Dismas stated confidently.The group braced themself and entered the room,ready for combat.What they saw was so absurd they had to make a double-take.

Four skeletal remains of what could only be a pony stood before them.The first two held swords in their mouths,the second one having a pair of bony feathers protruding from it's back.Both of them wore rags,unlike the two corpses behind them.The two skeletons in the back wore expensive-looking coats,fur adorning their hemline and collar.Their chest was stained with red substance of dubious origin.Unlike the first two corpses these had horns adorning their heads,that glowed with a black aura.They each were sipping their drinks from goblets,that were floating beside them, engulfed in the same black aura.

Not giving monster the chance to attack,Reynald struck the first skeleton,hacking it's head off.The body hit the floor just as everyone else snapped out of their stupor.The second monster,seeing it's bretherin fall to the unfamiliar creature charged the attackers.He managed to slash Dismas's chest,before his head exploded in a mess of gunpowder and bones.The two remaining nobles managed to douse Dismas with the foul liquid,before being shattered by the Light from above,or being melted by the corrosive substance from the bombs.
He was repulsed by the liquid,he felt it seep into his clothes,and burn his skin.Burn his mind.At this very moment he heard a yelp from the Vestal,and the room was plunged into darkness.

He couldn't see anything.

He couldn't think.

He couldn't breathe.

HE COULDN'T BREATHE!

The walls were choking him,he saw things move in the darkness,things that couldn't exist!No,shouldn't exist!

"The walls close in, the shadows whisper of conspiracy!"-he heard a faint whisper,as the room was filled with light.

"Sorry everyone,i tripped and dropped my torch!"-Junia began apologising profusely.

"It's nothing,"-Paracelsus answered-"Are you okay,Dismas?"-The Plague Doctor inquired,and was surprised by the mix of terror and suspicion in the Highwayman's gaze.

"I hear more behind us! Hurry!"-he yelled,running towards the exit.

"After him!Catch him before he gets lost!"-Reynald yelled,sprinting after the man.

Dismas was running from the ambush,he sure it was one.How come,out of the four of them he was the only one to get hit?

How come the holy woman 'tripped' in such a way she fell and extinguished the flame keeping them all alive?

He stopped when he heard a low growl.In his maddened run he didn't notice when he left the dungeon.

He didn't notice when he ran so far away from the others.

Before he was able to react, a beast tackeled him to the ground,and began to maul him.He felt pain surge throug him,as the creature bit his arm.

It looked as a wild wolf,if it was made of sticks,twigs and leaves.It's eyes burned a bright green.That thing was going to kill him.

The wolf was about to bite into his jugular,when a sword split its head in half.

Reynald was running right after his friend.He recognized the look in the other man's eyes,it was a look of pure paranoia.He was jumping at every shadow,running thoughtlessly from what he surely thoughed was a trap.

His heart fell when he heard a familiar shriek,and saw Dismas getting mauled by a wild beast.Without a second thought,he ran up to the man,and split the wold's head in half.

He kneeled to look at the injuries.Surprisingly,the creature didn't pierce Dismas's chestplate,leaving a few scratches instead.

Reynald pick Dismas up and sat him on top of the nearest treestump."Stay still"-he said-"The others will come here soon and patch you up.Here,drink this"-he gave the shocked Highwayman a bottle filled with a clear liquid-"It'll sooth the mind."

Dismas wanted to object,hell he almost did!

But he stopped when he saw Reynald's eyes.

His green eyes exuded a peceful aura,calming Dismas enough to trust the man.

He was still on the fence about drinking the liquid,but the hand that lowered onto Dismas's shoulder sealed the deal.

He opened opened the small bottle and downed it in one go.It tasted bitter,not at all pleasent,but left a sweet aftertaste.

When he was calm enogh to speak he asked-"What was in that bottle?"

"Hell if i know"-Reynald replied-"Para has been supplying me with these since our encounter with the Shambler"-both shuddered at the mention of the creature-"It helps me soothe the mind."-he concluded.

That was when the two women emerged from the trees,stopping in front of the Highwayman.

"What on EARTH were you doing?!You could've been killed in these woods!"-Junia scolded him after whispering a prayer or two to help with any injuries.

"I'm sorry,arlight!"-Dismas retorted-"I got scared,and i panicked,and i'm sorry,alright?Let's get moving,before more of these wolfs come here."

"I swear,you're such an idiot sometimes"-Para sighed,before asking-"Where's the wolf?I thought Reynald would've surely killed him!"

Both of the men looked in the direction of the corpse,but saw only a pile of twigs and branches where the body was.

"I swear it was there!"-Reynald pointed at the pile-"It was made of wood!"

"Yeah,fine,wierd things happen around the weald,i can believe that."-Para said nochalantly.

"Remember,we have to keep moving.Let's go!"-she exlaimed as the group moved closer to the road.

They noticed a quaint little cottage near the edge of the forest,and were about to knock on it's door,when Dismas yelped and commanded them to hide in the nearby bushes.

What he saw was quite perplexing.A small,yellow-coated pony with a pink mane,and what appeared to be a tattoo of three butterflies on her flank strode along the road.It seemed she was heading for the cottage."Why on earth did you do that?"-Paracelsus protested.

"Are you blind?She's one of those things that attacked us back in the dungeon!"-he retorted.

"And if you'd stop freaking out,you'd notice that those were skeletons.As far as i remember,the skeletons back home weren't exactly friendly either."-she argued.

"Wherever we are right now,i think it's quite far away from the Hamlet.I'd say we ask for directions."-Reynald proposed.

"Fine,whatever.After all she's alone,she couldn't do much against the four of us.But I'm not going there."-Dismas stated adamantly.

"I'll go!I'm good with with animals,and seeing as she is one,hopefully we'll find some common ground!"-Junia chimed in,enthusiastically.

"I don't want to interrupt your discussion,i really dont"-Paracelsus intruded-"but i thinks she's noticed us."

Everyone immediately turned their heads to see the aforementioned pegasus standing a few meters from the bush they were hiding in,staring at them with wild eyes.
Junia sighed as she stood up to approach the pony.

"Uhhh,hi there!My name is Junia,what's your name?"

"F-flutteshy..."-the pony answered,clearly terrified of the creature towering above her.

"That's a pretty name you got,Fluttershy!"-the Vestal noticed how terrified the pegasus was,and decided to clear some things out.

"Don't worry,me and my friends don't mean any harm!We just wanted to ask for directions to the nearest town,we're a bit stranded..."

"O-oh,Ponyville is that way."-she said,pointing a hoof in the town's direction.

"That's great,Fluttershy!Thanks a bunch,but can you tell me,does this Ponyville have a tavern?We could really use one right now."

"Y-yes,the town h-has Cafe Hay."-the pony said,looking over the three figure getting out of the bush.

"Uh-huh,and one more thing,does it have a hospital?"-she inquired,before Fluttershy fainted before her.

"Wha-What happened?"-Junia said before turning and seeing her friend approach.

"Oh come on,it was going so smoothly!You guys scared her!"-she complained.

"Whatever,you got the info we needed?'-Dismas waived his hand at the lying pony dismissevly.

"I did,but we can't leave her like that!I assume the cottage is her home,the least we can do is leave here there."-she proposed.

Reynald lifted the pegasus in his hands,and went to the cottage muttering-"She's lighter than i thought."
When he entered the building he was met with a barrage of concerned chirps and other animal sounds.He placed the pony hastily on the nearby couch and returned to his compatriots.

"Ponyville?That's the wierdest town name i probably ever heard."-Paracelsus said."As long as it has a tavern i'm fine with it."-Dismas voice his opinin.

"By the looks of this it's getting late,let's get to the town while the tavern is still operational."

"I'm with Reynald on this one.I don't care who these ponies are or where they come from,as long as i can get a drink or two."-Paracelsus agreed.

"Agreed"-came a flurry of voices.

Their trip to the town was pretty uneventful.By the time they got to Ponyville it was getting dark outside and so they hoped the tavern was still open when they arrived.Despite the late hour the group got a few concerned looks from the ponies still roaming the town,but none of them quaked in fear,or fainted at the sight of the heroes.

"I guess that one was just very impressionable."-Paracelsus concluded.

They soon caught sight on the tavern.It was a quite large two-story building with white walls and green patterns adorning said walls.Everyone let out a sigh of relief,as they entered the tavern,thankful that it's still working.

They were met with an unusually quiet tavern.It was full of ponies of all kinds,and yet their language was quite subdued for a tavern folk.No one was yelling at a waiter,demanding another pint,no one was screaming bloody murder over a game of cards,and there certainly was a lack of commotion from upstairs,so it was safe to assume the place didn't have a brothel.
The group plopped down onto the nearest set of chairs,surrounding an empty table.A bemused waiter soon aproched their table.

"So,what can i get for you?"-he said politely.

"Beer,lot's and lot's of beer."-was the unanimous answer.Their faces went sour at the waiter's answer.

"I'm awfully sorry,but we don't sell beer here!May i interest you in any other beverage?"

"Anything with alcohol in it would do just fine."-Dismas answered the question.

"Then i would recommend our famous Apple cider,courtesy of Apple family Orchad.

"Sure,i doubt it will be as strong,but desperate times i guess..."-Dismas was cut short by Para's question.

"How much of this cider do you have here?"

"About two barrels,that usually enough for a month,why do you ask?"

"Simple,we need those two barrels for ourselfs."-she stated matter-of factly.

"But It'll cost you a fortune!"-the stallion warned-"Around a thousand bits or so."

"I don't remember asking for a price.I'll give you a thousand and a half bits if you get us something to eat,without asking any questions."

"We'd appreciate something with meat,i'm starving for a good steak."-Reynald specified.Only then they noticed a terrified look on the stallion's face.

"W-we don't sell meat here!"-he exclaimed.

"Oh for light's sake,then make an omelet or something!"-Dismas snapped

"And a salad please,for all of us."-Junia added.

After taking the order the waiter departed,letting the heroes chat with eachother.