The storm calmed down and rays of sunshine finally reached the land. As before with the incubus, the foul dark sky vanished with the vanishing of the two demons. Rex barely stood up; he was the least affected by his wounds. He picks up his sword from the ground and uses it as a walking cane to reach his fallen comrade. Dorian was broken, in every sense of the word. Bloodied face and fingers, broken ribs and bones. His iron will, for the first time, shattered. He senses his partner standing there next to him.
"Rex", he said with a broken voice barely holding to life.
"Now's not the time to talk brother", Rex reaches for his partner and lifts him up, putting more pressure into his already injured body.
Dorian wanted to show an objection, wanted to say something, but he passed out. His body finally broke down. Rex carries his friend through the battlefield heading towards the troubled Forgehorn. The outskirts of the city, that were once a green plain field with trees scattered through it are now a grey and black mess, of ash and cinders. Rex entered the destroyed northside and laid eyes on the aftermath. Destroyed buildings turned to dust, women and children crying and wailing as their loved ones disintegrated to ash beneath all the rubble. The people of the city, under the supervision of Father Sorloth, are helping as many survivors as they can, and putting away the hellfire that's still soaring between the dusted streets. Father Sorloth, amidst all the chaos and ruins, spotted the two men, who he fiercely insisted on sheltering when the storm reached its peak.
"Oh god, these two fools are still alive…Barely"
He raises his hands and shouts, calling for Rex, who has almost reached his limits, upon carrying his fallen comrade for a good distance. This time Relief flooded Rex's face at the sight of the priest. He staggered forward, but his strength gave out, and he collapsed at Sorloth's feet.
The Father calls his men and carries the two purgers to the sanitary block of the church. It was crowded, buzzling with injured civilians and nurses. Father Sorloth insisted on giving the two purgers immediate intensive care. They ventured alone in the storm, and looking from their current state, they fought whatever caused all of this ruckus. He wanted answers to his many questions. The garrison, stationed at the southern district of Forgehorn, finally paid a visit to the destruction site. Captain Gladius could not believe the destruction the city underwent. He never saw such a gruesome aftermath, even after serving over ten years with the Murdokian army. He ought to report this to the constable, though he already knows by now. The captain quickly scattered his armed men to help with aiding the survivors then went inside the sanitary block looking for the priest. He finds him, and besides him finds the collapsing purgers receiving medical care. He recognised them. His comrade Corvo, the late captain of Little Lady's garrison, has informed him about the incubus problem, and the unorthodox solution he had dared to attempt. The priest notices the captain entering.
"Father Sorloth, a word, if you would", said the captain.
The priest called for his deacon and instructed him to take charge of the chaos while he attended to the captain's request.
"What can I do for you, Captain Gladius?"
"You can start by telling me what the hells happened here. And why are those two lying in your church half-dead."
"We've no clear idea, Captain. It all started when that cursed storm hit again. Then, before dawn, we woke to hell on earth. The flames, the screaming. These storms, they're not natural. I can feel it…like they're... ungodly."
The captain couldn't help but agree with the priest. First the incubus of Little Lady, and then whatever happened here.
"Tell me about it. Last time the storm hit, Corvo vanished. An incubus had gotten to him. Not long after, the governor gave the order to level the whole damn Little Lady village and wiped it clean off the map. These storms… they're cursed, no doubt about it". He took a good look at the two collapsed men behind them "And these two purgers, they seem to be the common factor".
The priest gasps, he had no idea he willingly welcomed two purgers inside his premise, that totally explains their odd presence at the city's gate at night. He turns back, looking at the nurses cleaning off their worn bodies and massaging them.
"Purgers you say. We must immediately report this to the governor"
"Oh yes we will"
Far from Forgehorn, in the proud and mighty kingdom of Murdok, within the towering walls of the Bastion of Might, sat King Godfrey upon his immense throne, his gaze fixed in heavy contemplation. He was a tall man, freakishly so, with battle scars dispersed all over his body. He wore little armor, only a regal golden coat crowned with the mounted head of a beast, draped like a mantle of conquest. His golden beard was thick and reached all the way down to his neck. Next to him lay two giant golden hammers with the words " Unio Hominum" carved into them. The hall rooms suddenly open and a group of three arch mages enter and present themselves in a line, before Godfrey. It seems they carry important news. The arch mage of light, Nathaniel, marches forward then kneels.
"Your grace, our realm has not witnessed such peculiar days in ages. According to our reports, two rough thunderstorms have hit Ellonia, precisely the Bloomheaven province, and we could not foretell them like we effortlessly do. They are not of ordinary nature. The last one happened yesterday"
The arch mage of darkness, Gwynevere, steps forward, "Your grace, after the apparition of the aforementioned storms, beasts seemed to have appeared and wrecked havoc. Marlon of Bloomheaven reported that he saw one of the beasts"
"A higher incubus, your grace", added Nathaniel, "The description he gave us was that of a higher incubus, a hellish beast. We are yet to see the carcass for ourselves and prove the truth of his words"
The third arch mage, mage of the elements, Bohemius, stepped forward as well, "We are yet to receive the aftermath of the second storm that hit yesterday… Most likely, other beasts have been unleashed your grace"
"Who disposed of the incubus", said Godfrey with a chilling domineering voice.
"Marlon said it was two…purgers, according to the deacon of the village in which the beast appeared, your grace", replied Nathaniel.
"Everyone, except Nathaniel, you're dismissed"
The arch mages get up, bow once again then leave. Godfrey stares at Nathaniel who stayed behind on his orders. He then stands up and slowly walks down, parading his throne room. It was vast and decorated with golden ornaments. Portraits of Godfrey and his conquests painted the walls. In the middle, a big fountain laid there as a fine decoration, with a porcelain lion spilling water from its jaw.
"You see all of this Nathaniel? This throne room, this castle, even this whole kingdom, I built it after years and years through blood and steel", he pauses, then slowly marches towards the arch mage. "With my strength, military prowess and my armies I overthrew the royal family and took the throne for myself. But before that, I had to overcome the land and its beasts. For that purpose I relied on them, the purgers. Ruthless, methodological slayers of monsters". He stands in front of Nathaniel then continues "You see, the royal family was weak, it let the beasts roam its lands and terrorise its people with no effective intervention. For the people to accept me as their new ruler, I had to first lay a foundation: Get rid of all the damn beasts, or at least, cut their numbers down, which I did with the purgers by my side. I was never afraid of any beast, on the contrary I welcomed the fight and its challenge. But my men, my armies, they showed weakness, fear and terror towards the monsters. The purgers did not. After I was done with my conquest and got the throne for myself, the beasts' numbers were culled, and the purgers had collected enough coin to disappear from the face of the earth. Some crawled back to their hidden base, the Mother Serpent, others simply quit"
Godfrey leans into Nathaniel and looks him directly in the eyes, with a fierce look. "Now, ten years passed, you're telling me those fearsome and legendary monster slayers have appeared again, on my conquered lands? Dealing with ungodly storms and hellish beasts?"
"Your grace, that is what Marlon reported", replied the arch mage with subtle fear in his voice.
"Summon Marlon", said the king, getting up and sitting back on his throne. "You may leave"
The arch mage gets up, bows as hard as he could, then leaves the throne room. Godfrey looks silently at the portraits painted in the walls. The purgers would not make an appearance out of naught as they keep the balance between Man and monster. Lots of thoughts and questions raced inside the king's head. Are the storms that even his arch mages could not foretell linked to them? And what kind of beasts have these purgers been called to deal with?