Crow and the Mouse: Chapter 2 – Deals with Devils and Men

Chapter 2 – Deals with Devils and Men

On the road, Harkan and Mouse come across a destroyed cart with a dead family and their possessions strewn about along with their dead horse not too far from them that has arrows in its head. From its appearance, the parents died protecting their children since their bodies are over them as they protected them from an attacker’s blade that struck them through their backs.

“I’m assuming this is where those people got their food. Am I right?” Harkan asks Mouse who responds with a head nod.

Mouse tries not to look at the gruesome sight while holding back her tears.

“I know it’s upsetting. I lost my family too thanks to some despicable people. I’m going to give them a proper burial so their bodies don’t rot here.”

Harkan buries the family and places their possessions near them. He even covers the horse in dirt to bury it as well. Not wanting the food that she got from them anymore, Mouse puts what she got from them with the rest of the family’s food.

“That was very nice of you, Mouse.”

Mouse’s stomach growls and she winces because of her hunger.

“We’ll find you something to eat soon. The family had to be bringing all this stuff from someplace.”

Mouse and Harkan follow the tracks of the cart until they come across a town with stone walls and few archer towers. Harkan’s armor and weapon draw the eyes of many in the town as some whisper about him.

“Excuse me,” Harkan says to a guard in the town, “Do you know where I might find an orphanage to bring this child to?”

“Ha, you’re a long way from them if you want to bring her to one,” the guard responds, “Don’t you know where you are?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“I won’t ask why since everyone has their own reasons. You’re in the Anathema regions, a place far away from the politics of the Pillars of Cognizance. I crave those days when the Pillars were just large cities and not entire kingdoms. It won’t be long until the Divine Flame fades again and man’s sense of good and evil along with it.”

“And this place will be one of the first to fall.”

“It comes with the cost of wanting to be outside of it all and wanting to do what we think is right and if you ask me, it’s worth it.”

“I don’t think it’s worth it at all, but let’s not argue about that now. Can you point us in the direction of Ecclesia or Genus?”

“I’ll do you a favor and point you in the direction of Genus since church politics in Ecclesia are somehow more of a headache than state politics in Gloria. Here’s a map to make things easier.”

The guard points out to Harkan what routes he should take and which he should avoid.

“Between the lands scorched by black flame, those frozen by the same flame, and wildlands where beasts and beastly men dwell, I’m not sure if traveling by foot is the best idea,” Harkan says.

“Let me give you another option then. There’s a group of black flame cultists that have been causing trouble around here. Even though they take care of the beasts and are eaten by the same beasts in turn, they take our livestock and our people. Get rid of them and I’ll let you have one of our steeds.”

“I have experience in dealing with cults and lawbreakers. You have a deal.”

“If you have experience in that, it’s no wonder why you’re here and don’t know why. I was a guard in the capital not too long ago, but that’s a story for another day. We’ll keep the girl safe for you while you dispose of the cult.”

“Thank you. Don’t get yourself into any trouble, Mouse. Mouse? Mouse!”

It seems like Mouse wandered into the town while Harkan was talking to the guard. She’s returned just in time as Harkan begins to worry about her.

“Where did you go, Mouse?”

Mouse shrugs in response.

“I’m going to run a quick errand so we can have a mount to travel faster to where we need to go. Try not to get in any trouble, okay?”

Mouse looks to the side for a second as if thinking about it before nodding. Harkan is then escorted by a horse drawn cart to his destination. He is dropped off near the ruins of a church that is surrounded by a small camp. His driver wishes him luck before heading off. Scouting the area, Harkan sees the cultists cooking livestock, beasts, and even people to use as food and offerings to fuel their black flames. They train new recruits while torturing and brainwashing others who they use as slaves and toys of their pleasure. A small crackle of dried leaves alerts Harkan to the presence of someone behind him and he is surprised to see Mouse behind him.

“Mouse? What are you doing here?” Harkan asks while moving away from his vantage point so that he can’t be seen at all.

Mouse points to Harkan.

“I’m glad that you feel safe in my presence, but you should’ve stayed in the town.”

Mouse points to the cultists and back towards the way Harkan came.

“Are the cultists behind us?”

Disagreeing, Mouse shakes her head and makes the same motions.

“What? Were there cultists in the town?”

Mouse nods.

“That makes sense since this is the Anathema region. I don’t blame you for leaving, but where should I leave you so that you’re safe from the cultists and the other dangers of this land?”

Mouse goes next to Harkan and looks up to him.

“Okay. Stay very close to me then.”

Harkan is about to approach the camp of cultists to enact his plan but is stopped by Mouse.

“Huh? What is it? Do you have a better plan than mine?”

Mouse nods and points in a direction for him to follow.

“Let’s see it then.”

With a hand on Harkan’s cloak, Mouse leads Harkan to a clearing with wild beasts. These beasts are a cross between a lion and a horse as most animals out here are seemingly unnatural combinations of creatures thanks to being so far from the Divine Flame of Cognizance. She then takes out a piece of meat that’s been wrapped with scent blocking herbs and throws it at them. Already knowing what the plan is, Harkan leads the beasts to the cultists' camp with the help of Mouse’s bait. The two hide while the beasts and cultists tear each other apart. Harkan then leaves Mouse in a safe place before finishing the stragglers. When all the cultists are down, Harkan thinks his job is done until some of the cultists come back to life as their bodies are reanimated by the black flame.

“Foolish mortal. You know not the power of the black flame-,” a cultist says before being crushed by Harkan’s mace.

The other cultists use their black flames to freeze Harkan, however, Harkan’s armor is able to endure the cold and his mace smashes through the black flame’s icy attacks as he puts down the resurrected cultists. Mouse runs up to Harkan and feels his cloak and sharp armor in an attempt to understand why it’s so special.

“That’s it for them. Do you like my armor? It’s been blessed by the archbishop and the Flame of Cognizance when I allied my kingdom to his. That’s why it’s resistant to the black flame even at its peak when it freezes,” Harkan explains before seeing the captives who the cultists kidnapped taking the cursed objects of the cultists and running away, “I guess there aren’t many innocent people here. Let’s get back to the town for our reward and something to eat.”

Harkan and Mouse travel to the place where they were dropped off at and wait for a bit for their driver to come back. After waiting for a while, they see that the driver is late so they try to meet him halfway and end up walking all the way back to town where they catch the town actively engaged in idolatry as they worship a perverted image of God who has a mixed body comprised of female and male genitals.

“Now I really don’t blame you for leaving. Do you have any more bait on you?” Harkan asks.

Mouse checks herself and takes only one more piece of bait out.

“We can make this work. It’ll be risky though. Are you ready?”

Mouse nods her head.

“I assumed you were since you seem used to it.”

Harkan and Mouse search for nearby beasts and find cheetahs that have the legs of grasshoppers.

Harkan sighs then says, “It just has to be the difficult ones.” Mouse’s face fills Harkan with the determination to see their plan through. “We have to do it though. Here, I’ll carry you so we can move faster.”

Harkan puts his mace on the straps behind his back and carries Mouse. They go a reasonable distance before throwing the bait that the cheetahs take a second to realize is there. Once the cheetahs see the bait, they eat it then catch sight of the two who start running from the cheetahs who leap into the sky and all around the dried forest. By dodging through the trees and warped landscape, Harkan is able to lead the beasts back to the town without being scratched or getting Mouse hurt. Now that the cultists of this town are distracted, Harkan and Mouse take a steed, a lion crossed with a horse, along with some food, and escapes the town as they travel to their next destination.