A History Through Blood

It has only been two nights since that forsaken caravan left our small town, and yet I am still haunted by my memories of that night. Joseph was right to caution against any rash action, my zealous demand to send William alone into the woods might not only have cost his life, but the lives of the townsfolk. Though I am loathed to say it, siding with that sinful vampire was ultimately a good decision. I do not regret my feelings of elation when I saw William return with the battered body of that monster in his arms. But after seeing what they had achieved within the deepest parts of woodland, my heart developed shameful feelings of gratitude toward her that cannot seem to be shaken. I only hope that the daemonic creature is worthy of it.

At the time my protests to kill the wounded vampire were ignored by the assembled crew of workmen, I was sure that they were still under the effect of whatever enchanting magic she cast. Despite the misgivings I had about the hired help, William had accepted the recommendation of the vampire’s selfish lackey. Regardless of whatever assurances he gave that the gathered men could hold their tongue, I am sure they will surely slip in coming years. We left Joseph, the injured vampire and several merchant women behind to create a bonfire intended to destroy whatever remained of the foul corpses, hopefully preventing any ambitious blasphemer’s attempts to use them as fuel for some unknown archaic ritual.

William led our party of assorted merchants through the shadowy woods, dragging behind us several large wagons procured from the village. Each step we took into that accursed wood eroded my confidence, despite assurances from our leader that we were safe. Our encounter with the first two corpses sent waves of shock throughout our group, leaving us only capable of staring at the two hulking feral forms that lay silently on the forest floor. They were larger than any man I had ever seen, entirely covered in thick grey fur with glazed over eyes staring into the darkness. Despite their lack of life, the anger that remained on their wolfen face was just as vivid as it would have been in life.

Our combined shock was broken only when William kicked over the larger of the two bodies before us, the puncture wound on its muscled chest easily noticeable under the torchlight. Despite the beast dying over an hour prior, the foul blood still found a way to trickle from the fatal wound. The laborers mustered their courage and began to load the corpses onto the wagons. William unfortunately could not answer their questions on the small peculiarities they noticed on the pair’s bodies, such as burn-like marks on one’s face or the blood marks on the other’s hand. He could only defer their questions to the broken vampire as she was the one who defeated them.

Only once the two werewolves were secure on their wagons, did William reveal that there were more than two bodies to collect. The extent of the wolfen infestation was only apparent once our group entered the clearing. Before the now sombre crew lay: six more bodies of werewolves, most of them sporting the deep wounds given to them by William’s holy sword. The largest member of the pack lay propped up against a fallen tree, the glint of one of the vampire’s daggers in its back and a large puncture wound on its chest.

Our collective shock was broken only by William, warning us to watch our footing as the traitorous vampire had scattered sharp caltrops across the forest floor. We split into groups of three to maneuver the twisted corpses onto our wagons while William and that vampire’s lackey opted to move the big one by themselves, retrieving her dagger in the process. More than one of us gave the corpses a cautious kick before approaching them in earnest. The vampire’s tricks that had done wonders for defeating the werewolves, occasionally hampered our progress. The little trickster had apparently burned some pixie dust, the lingering smoke continuously burning our nostrils as we worked. The lingering effects were still felt hours later as several men had to take breaks away from the glade or stop to massage their foot as a spike had managed to puncture their boots.

It took an hour or so to load all the corpses into the wagons. While some took to securing the corpses on the wagon, several men began to search around the area incase they had overlooked any remains belonging to either the werewolves or their victims. Their efforts yielded horrifying results upon the discovery of a pagan shrine, carved out under the roots of an old tree. On top of a make-shift altar, lay a carved wooden wolf’s skull, surrounded by the bones of unknown victims. The werewolves apparently had been granted their gifts from some wild demigod, offering their various kills as a tribute. We gathered all the various offerings and idols to dispose of in the bonfire with the rest of the corpses, however the shrine would need immediate purification. No matter how much I chanted or how much holy water was poured over the site, only God himself could convince me that the cursed stone was completely cleansed.

Our journey back was a sombre one. The members of the caravan had slowly regained their confidence and began asking questions about how the hunt transpired. Try as I might, I could barely focus on anything apart from carrying the cursed items that were retrieved from the altar. The small fragments of the conversation I could hear only deepened my desire to forget about the entire ordeal. Somehow the subdued retelling of the events made me more fearful of the vampire than the demonic werewolves, even with the ghastly corpses directly in front of me. She had apparently defeated three of the beasts despite being both physically out matched and without directly using any super natural power. I can only pray that a being with her potential is stuck down before any innocent lives are destroyed.

Much to my horror, we arrived back at the church to see that Joseph and the abomination were working together to their assigned task. While many of the caravan’s women were finishing stacking wood around a pre-dug hole, the vampire’s minion was helping Joseph prepare various powders to cleanse the retrieved corpses. The vampire herself was resting with some crippled girl, her seemingly broken arm now securely bound. Despite obvious pain and fatigue, the daemon was staying conscious seemingly out of sheer force of will. At least she had compassion enough to acquire alcohol for her compatriots to help forget about what they found in the woods.

As the corpse were loaded into the pyre, William violently severed the large canine teeth from each carcass and secured them with the bestial idol in a box made of wood taken from the Holly tree. Most of the help retreated to the embrace of alcohol as soon as the bodies were added to the fire, those who tried to speak with the injured vampire were shooed away by her similarly disabled guardian. Only when William had checked in with his captive did she allow herself to rest, falling asleep against the young girl who tended her.

Once the bodies began to burn, William gathered both Joseph and me to review the offerings left to the werewolves’ benefactor. Unfortunately, Leo was also summoned to our makeshift council to act as both a proxy for the caravan and his vampiric master. William carefully arranged all the offerings William had collected onto a nearby crate to be reviewed by the assembled panel of partial experts. While some of the gathered offerings were heretical herbs, assorted bones or various magical items, the rest comprised of human-made valuables with no visible traces of magic.

Neither Joseph nor I had ever encountered so much wealth before in our collective lives. The werewolves probably had gained their bounty when they had encountered an unfortunate noble or had disposed of some rather successful miscreants. Regardless of the offerings' origin, their value given to us by Leo was far higher than any of us could imagine. After adding the more dangerous items onto the pyre, William had Leo distribute the remaining valuables into three equal piles which Joseph would then assign to three parties.

Both William and Victoria got a share as they were the ones who managed to successfully kill the damned beasts, the third was then to be split among the civilian members who assisted with the clean up. William also contributed to the church’s assigned payment for services rendered, giving a sizable portion of his own share to the local church and keeping the rest for his expenses. I was sent to secure the valuables in a safe location before rejoining Joseph, listening to the subdued celebration from the merchants as I went. By the time I returned, William already had retreated to his temporary accommodation, carrying his injured prisoner gently in his arms. We each took turns offering silent prayer over the bonfire until the fire died down into embers. The only traces that remained of the werewolves were ash, charcoal and the lingering memories in our minds.

-

It had been a week since William left our quiet town, yet I still could not shake the fearful imagery of that night. No matter how many blankets I wore, I still lay awake at night shivering until my body finally succumbed to my growing exhaustion. Each sound, no matter how innocent, was enough to jerk me awake. Whether it be the echoing hoot of an owl or the gentle scratching of the church mice, each brought up the same fear I felt while walking in the forest. I now knew how weak I am, how weak humans could be. I can only pray for the courage that I so desperately needed.

Then I heard that sound, piercing the night’s calm atmosphere. I do not know what creature uttered the wolf’s howl, nor can my soul bear the weight of that knowledge. All I could manage to do was cower in our private chambers. I turned to Joseph who also sat frozen, blood drained from his face. The second howl that shortly followed sent us both into fits of fervent chanting. I don’t remember when we stopped. Hunger, thirst, fatigue and pain were not enough to stop our manic cries for protection and salvation. Only when someone from the village checked up on us did we break from our crazed state, terrified of what lurked in the woods.