Chapter Text
The soft patter of rain around him slowly lures Jia Xu to his senses, his eyes blurry and his head throbbing painfully as he tries to sit up, stunned by the dull thudding of his temples. The first question that comes to his mind is “what happened” but his memory quickly responds.
He was leading a small ambush troop to surprise a group of Wu soldiers hiding out in a base in the center of the battlefield set-up on an elevated plateau, the perfect strategic point that may decide the battle. They were able to sneak a ladder to an idle area near the base and climb over the wall, only to have an ambush waiting for them lead by Taishi Ci. The strategist ended up going blade to rod with the man and nearly had him beat but was caught off guard by another soldier smashing him in the shoulder, throwing his attack off and leaving him open to the Wu general. He only recalled Taishi Ci swinging at him before his vision became dark.
What this place is, Jia Xu is not sure but he needs to find out before the pain in his head cripples him any more than it already has. He pushes himself to his feet, taking the time to look around as his body attempts to regain feeling in its limbs. He is in an unfamiliar forest, the pine trees looming feet above him with the night sky stretching above, the dull glow of the full moon through the clouds only renders them shadows but makes their points more than obvious. Ahead of him seems to be an opening in the trees, a path of sorts that leads deeper into the forest. To where exactly? The strategist’s best guess would have been a drop of rain compared to the ocean of possibilities. Speaking of rain, Jia Xu notices the light patter of warm drops coming from above as they lightly echo through the forest, so soft that you would only realize it was raining in complete silence. He strains his eyes to try and see what is further ahead of him but can only see darkness. He sighs quietly, looking towards the sky as thunder dully rumbles in the distance behind him.
“Well, I can’t stay out here in the rain all night.” He murmurs to himself as he returns his gaze to the shady path before him. “I might as well press forward.”
He carefully shuffles forward, feeling the tall grass grab at his pants as he moves, soon feeling the tips of pine bristles graze his head wrap as he finds a clear path through the trees in the dim moonlight. He follows the path and soon finds himself at the side of a large pond being fed by a small waterfall nearby. The mist rolling off from the waterfall lingers over the waters, making it difficult to see across but Jia Xu manages to make out the shore on the other side and a stack of some large objects sitting on the shore. He carefully wades through the water, a shiver shooting up his spine from the sudden warmth now engulfing him from the waist down then from the nip of chilly air as he emerges from the water. He examines the pile to his left and notices them to be a couple of strange, metal barrels, one of them at the bottom leaking some strange black goo that seeps into the waters. He kneels down and carefully brushes up a small bit of the goo with his finger, feeling a strange warmth tingle from his fingertips. The substance feels oily between his fingers but faintly mimics the sticky property of honey as he pulls his fingers apart and finds the substances bridging the gap between his finger and thumb.
“This certainly isn’t natural.” He notes to himself before washing the substance off in the water to his side, watching the remnants swirl in the water before dissolving. “And by the looks of how it reacts and the profuse leak of the containers into the water, this stuff isn’t very healthy.” He grunts as he pushes himself to his feet, looking over the surface of the water. “I sure hope nobody has taken a drink from this water.”
The strategist continues along the path, soon coming to a grassy path that leads him in two different directions. Catching a strong odor in the air, he follows it to his right along the small path through the trees. Turning a corner, the source of the smell becomes obvious in the dark, the scent now overwhelming him as he looks over what he only fathomed to be the remains of someone. Torn limbs in a pile with a decent amount of decay to them said these parts have been here for a while, which was not good for Xu’s chances of getting out of this forest. Among the bloody grass blades, he spies a note with bloodstains. It obvious had been here before the obviously horrendous events. He plucks the note up and can barely makes out the words hastily scribbled, as if its writer was in a frenzy to get his message out. And judging by the weight of the words, it was certainly crucial:
I’ve tried to run but the wound is wide open and the pain is killing me. I am taking the easy way out. Whoever reads this, do not go to the castle.
Though the empty warning stirs a hesitant energy in the strategist, something in his mind told him to find this castle. It would at least give him shelter from the coming storm and possibly a place to find help. Anyone else could stumble upon the castle and take him to safety...or he hoped so. Then again, whatever had this man fleeing for his life only for it to end so brutally, not by his own hand obviously, would it not be waiting for him there? He could not remain outside with the encroaching storm and risking catching his death. What would it hurt to try and at least find it?
“If this is where this poor man perished and the note is accurate in that his wound was great, that castle he mentioned can’t be too far from here.” He murmurs, tossing the page next to the body parts then turning to quickly make his way back to the crossroads he came from. “I’ll try the left path and see if that leads me anywhere.”
After making his way back and taking the path across the way, Jia Xu finds his way to a large castle that looms well above the tree line. The courtyard before it is stone with grand eagle statues guarding either side of the massive staircases leading up to the front doors, which is lit by torches in various spots. After a moment of hesitation, Jia Xu climbs over the stone fence and carefully makes his way across the courtyard, observing the architecture of the castle with much wonder and appreciation.
“Well, this castle isn’t very big but its artistic value puts He Fei to shame to say the least.” The strategist comments as he climbs up one of the staircases to the front door, admiring the large glass windows that glow a bright blue from the light inside.
The front doors are easily twice his height, possibly three times, with strange symbols carved into each door so they create a seal of sorts that looks to spread across both doors. He tries to open the doors but finds them to be stuck even when he tries wrenching the door open with as much force and strength as he can manage. His efforts are thrown by the sound of metal scraping across stone, like a violent yank of a bow across the strings of an erhu, followed by the sound of a screaming foreign woman.
“Bon sang!”
The doors rattle as someone on the other side struggles to open them, the scraping becoming louder as the yanks on the door grow frantic, accompanied by the grunts and growls on some inhuman creature.
“Arrêter! S'il vous plaît! Non!”
The sickening sound of metal to flesh brings silence, only to be interrupted again by the familiar, sharp scrapping of metal across stone as it fades further into the castle. Jia Xu can only stand there, stunned as his mind tries to piece together what he has just heard: Someone was just slaughtered at the front doors of this place that he had been warned to stay away from and whatever had killed the woman was still inside, roaming about in search of its next victim. The appeal of catching a cold in the rain sounds more pleasant now than going into a castle of murder and death. Jia Xu turns to flee but stops mid-step when he hears something beyond the door: a faint, pained moan. He slowly approaches the door again, kneeling down and putting his ear against it as the moan echoes again. It sounds to be the female still but she is weak. Whatever attacked her has left her just barely alive.
“Miss, are you alright?”
A weak, startled gasp is followed by a painful groan and the sliding of a body. She must be badly hurt if she has to drag herself.
“Q-qui est là?”
She sounds weak, very weak but still alive. She still has a chance, a chance that would not be lost because of his own cowardice.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to find a way in. Hold on.”
“N-non…”
Jia Xu stands and quickly hurries back down the steps, looking around for any other way into the castle. A clearing in the trees on the other side of the castle invites investigation. Jia Xu springs over the stone railing and looks around, spotting a lit window above one of the smaller trees beside the house. He looks around and finds a good-sized rock at his feet, plucking it up then looking back at the window. He takes a few steps back.
“Been a while since I’ve thrown any stone so far up but perhaps I still have a bit of skill for such a primitive, childish action.”
He chunks the piece of stone, jeering as the shatter of glass rings out over the trees. The tree just below the window is sturdy enough for the lithe man to climb up and into the window, clearing out some of the glass with a loose branch he yanks off the tree top before he climbs in.