Hellhounds of Providence

Hell Mired by Those on High

"This way, stay close together!" the lead Hellhound knight called as he led the forty knights through the thick forest. This was supposed to be a stealth mission so only half the Hellhound knights were being sent on this mission and no one was allowed to light a torch or lantern. Everyone was packed close together to not get lost since all they had to help them was Sailest's soft light peeking through the trees. Mountains towered to their northeast which was their only landmark in the otherwise featureless forest of crimson. The lead knight took out his map and stopped in a spot where Sailest's light could let him roughly see and said, "We should be twenty minutes out, so in about ten minutes we'll start spreading out into our groups."

"Are you sure we're close?" Peter asked as his group was closest to the front.

"That's what the map says," the lead knight replied while waving the map in the air. "Though, I'm only guessing since this damned forest makes it near impossible to know for sure." The red leaves rustled above them as a gust of wind swooped through the forest and sent a chill down the Hellhound knight's spines.

"Still..." Peter felt uneasy, for some reason. His gut was telling him to be careful and that something didn't feel right despite the forest being peaceful.

"Tell you what," the lead Hellhound said and halted the knights. "Leon, climb that tree to the top and see if you can spot the glow of the fort's torches; we'll know we're on the right track and adjust for that since it's on a hill." The wind stopped blowing and the rustling trees fell silent.

"On it," Leon replied and started climbing.

"Kid's like a monkey," another Hellhound commented which caused a few of the other knights to laugh. Their laughter echoed through the forest and a patch of snow fell off a tree branch. It didn't hit the ground.

"..." Peter tried scanning the forest but a cloud moved in front of Sailest and blocked the light. "Carl, wake up the kid."

"Aren't we still a few minutes out?" Carl wanted to give Lucina more time. "Shouldn't she get some mor-"

"Wake her up!" Peter hissed through his teeth. His eyes never left the dark forest that surrounded them.

"Lucina~?"

"...I'm already up," Lucina said from her place on Carl's back.

"Did I jostle you too much?" Carl asked as he let her down and she got off his back. Lucina's boots crunched into the snow as she got her bearings and stretched to wake up.

"No," she replied with a lie, "I just felt like I should wake up." Lucina also scanned the forest for any signs of the voice despite knowing it was pointless.

"Hey, Captain?" Leon finally reached the top of the tree and called down to the gathered knights.

"What do you see?" the captain called back.

"I don't see anything!"

"What?" The trees around them rustled without wind.

"...Call him down," Peter said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"There's nothing!" Leon called again. "I'm looking in every direction, but I don't see the glow of torchlight from the fort. I can't even tell where the fort is it's so dark. Did we go in the wrong direction?"

"Captain, call hi-" Peter's words caught in his throat as the cloud that blocked Sailest's light moved on and the forest was illuminated once more. Down the forest, in the direction of the fort, were footprints in the snow on ground they hadn't walked yet. "Leon, come down!"

"Wha-" Leon's words were cut short as something zipped through the air. The tree's branches shook and one cracked as Leon's body tumbled and fell to the ground where it crunched into the snow with an arrow pierced through his left eye. The massacre began.