Hunting a Strix

Enid walked into the courtyard, looking every bit the nobleman’s daughter she was pretending to be, save her boots, they were still the same sensible riding boots they had always been. She went to the stable and found that her horse was saddled well, and ready to be ridden. She placed her hand on his cheek and whispered to him.

“Don’t know your name, but I’m going to call you Noctis.”

She bit her wrist and held it to Noctis’s mouth, and he eagerly lapped up the blood. She pulled her wrist away and he neighed stomping is front hoof and she shook her head and willed the wrist closed.

“Not too much, it will make you sick Noctis. Now let’s go find the strix.”

Enid mounted Noctis and urged him onwards with her knees. He obliged and surged forward. His coat was shinier his muscles more defined now that he’d fed on true Imperial blood.

He looks good, he’ll make a fine friend for the road.

She rode through Narfordshire, looking over every inch of the town. Her ride was slow and methodical. She stopped by the church; The fire had gone out leaving a burnt-out stone shell surrounded by various marked and unmarked graves many fresh. The space set aside within the low stone wall was far larger than the church had been. She frowned.

The fresh graves are likely the work of the strix terrible way to die.

She pressed her knees the left harder than the right and Noctis moved forward pulling away from the stone wall. She closed her eyes and urged her blood to make them more attuned to the dark. Now it looked like it was a cast over day to her and she looked for any tracks or traces. She saw some near the tanners house, she pulled back gently on the reigns and hopped off Noctis, harder then it seems in a noblewoman’s dress and crouched down.

Small feet, small hands, almost claw-like. Smells like Pugmentia and blood. Strix, but how old?

She scanned the area and saw the tanner come out carrying a pitchfork.

“Where are you, you blasted fox! I hear you rummaging.”

He stopped in his tracks pitchfork still pointed out front of him defensively when he looked upon Enid.

“Milady, what are you doing out so late? It’s not safe, there’s a beast roaming around, rabid fox it’s attacking folks in their sleep, tearing their throat’s out things a monster.”

Got that right.

“I know good tanner, I am an experienced fox hunter, I wish I had my father’s hounds, but alas he would not part with them. Nor did I think I needed them.”

“Your father lets you go on fox hunts?”

“Yes, he lets me get away with murder.”

Enid gave a soft giggle as she’d witnessed so many idiot mortal women do in courts.

If I was still an eater of mortal food I’d vomit right now.

“My Uncle, Lord Odocar he recently died, and I arrived to look over his estate for my father, I heard about the terrible deeds this fox was doing and I said I simply must help obviously my uncle and his men were lax in their duties to help, they abandoned him to rot in his house, terrible business, but as his niece and a noblewoman I take it upon myself to protect the people of this land.”

I hate mortals.

“I respect your concern milady, but this is man’s work, perhaps your men-at-arms could be doing this, you should go home and be safe, nights no place for a girl.”

“I cannot, my men-at-arms were killed by bandits! There was an attack on the templar garrison near here and they rushed to help, and they never returned I rode out there this morning and everyone was dead and the keep a burned-out husk. As is the church. And my uncle’s house was stripped bare of valuables. Who knows maybe it was his men that went on a rampage last night, or could have ended him!”

“That’s terrible tidings milady, but still you are not safe and should be inside till morning, I’m sure the king’s men will be along soon to investigate, or more templars, or the church, then can deal with the fox I just wanted to keep it away from my animals.”

“Oh, good tanner, you are such a good soul, but don’t worry about me, I know what I’m doing, I wish my riding clothes hadn’t suffered so or I’d better dressed. But I can still shoot a bow, though it will be terrible to destroy this dress, but there is more silk where this came from and lives can’t be replaced. I will slay this fox and burn it before it can spread its disease further. You have my word on it.”

Or I’ll cut my own head of so I can stop talking like this.

“Alright Milady if you can’t be dissuaded at least let me come with you.”

Enid turned her head to the side when she heard russeting in the high grass by the church graveyard, it was several feet away.

“Get inside, now!”

“No, Milady I’ll not leave you alone out here with that monster about!”

For the love the gods.

She saw movement out of the corner of her right eye and the strix was on top of her before she could draw her sword. She fell to the ground and barely stopped it from tearing into her neck. The child was covered in dried blood and filth and her eyes were set deeply in her head. Flesh hung from her teeth and her breath was fetid.

That smell!

She struggled to gain some form of control over the fight but the strix with a blur of teeth and clawed boney hands. It was all Enid could do to minimize the wounds. They’d take forever to heal.

“What in the name of god is that! That’s no fox”

The tanner struck the strix with his pitch fork the distraction he caused was enough for Enid to get some control and shoved the strix off of her. Noctis kicked the strix with his rear hooves sending it flying into the tanners fence which shattered from the impact. Enid used her blood to alter time around her, in a fluid motions she drew Bloodseeker, tearing her dress in the process and shoved the Farmer behind her, leaving him stuck between her and Noctis.

“Stay behind me if you want to live Tanner.”

Enid looked into the pile of wood and tall grass by the Tanners fence and could see a shadow fliting back and forth. Even with time slowed around her she could barely make it out.

Faster than I expected, little shit. Need her to make a predictable attack she’s too fast otherwise. How though. She’s animalistic, maybe quick movements might make her strike.

She could see it, flitting about, hesitant to strike. Enid willed blood to her muscles, enhancing her reflexes and strength further. Then a thought occurred to her.

Well, he’s mortal, he’s expendable.

“Noctis protect him like you would me.”

Noctis neighed in response and started pushing tugging the tanner away, the movement triggered an attack from the strix. It lunged across the ten foot distance so fast it was a blur to the poor tanner. When the wound appeared on his arm he cried out. Enid was moving in a blur too, and while she wasn’t fast enough to cleave head from neck, she managed to sever one of the strix’s legs which twitched on the ground. The strix landed at the tanner’s feet, he screamed, Noctis stomped the clawed hand that had wounded the tanner. The strix’s howl of pain was unholy and it hissed and growled clawing towards the Enid who stomped on its back and with a swift stroke of Bloodseeker severed it’s head. The sword screamed in Enid’s head the cursed things blood was so fowl it was disgusted and a gout of it sprayed onto the ground. Enid rubbed her temple. And looked down at her shredded dress and arms checking for wounds. There were none, her armor had done its job once again. The tanner on the other hand was another story his arm was already festering with red and black veins running from the wound. He was blathering incoherently at the sight before him. Then collapsed. Noctis still following his mistress’s last command grabbed his tunic in his teeth and dragged him away from the remains.

Enid looked at the ground where the battle had taken place. The strix’s blood was killing the grass around it and her body was still clawing its way towards Enid. The head’s eyes stared at her hungrily its jaws chomping.

Disgusting.

Enid kicked the head, and leg by the corpse and threw oil over it and then smashed the Tanner’s lamp on it causing it to burst into blue-green flames that left a foil odor in the air. Where droplets of the strix’s blood had fallen the ground turned black and grass wilted. Enid used the sword on Noctis’s saddle to push it into the fire, each one caused it to flare up. Then the flame when out and the night was quiet again only scorched earth remaining where the strix had died.

She looked at the tanner on the ground his wound wasn’t a bad one as such things go, but it was already festering.

Gods know what leaving that would end up causing. I could just kill him.

“We’ll have to kill him and burn the corpse, can’t let that keep going whatever it is.”

She looked at Noctis. He neighed and shook his head slamming his nose in her chest.

“Two nights you’ve known me and you’re giving me orders now? Whose the master here?”

He neighed again.

“Fine you stubborn animal, and even in horse that was rude. So glad father taught me how to understand animals, what a useful tool can be, cursed at by every one of god’s creatures.”

Maybe it might make up for last night.

She pulled her pack out of the saddlebag she’d placed it in and slung it over her shoulder and scooped the tanner up.

“No good is going to come of this Noctis.”

She nuzzled his head with hers and carried the tanner inside. She laid him on the ground then tipped his supper table spilling the contents on the ground.

Well he’s not poor.

Enid lifted him up and put him on the table. And started to rip the sleeve of his tunic at the shoulder then pulled it free, she heard movement and drew Bloodseeker spinning to confront what she assumed was the Strix somehow reborn from the charred ashes, but was faced with a girl of thirteen or fourteen she held a wooden pitcher in her hands defensively. The girl screamed when faced with what looked like a sword wielding mad noblewoman’s ghost.

“Calm down. Your…. Father? Has been hurt.”

Enid sheathed Bloodseeker and turned back to the tanner. The girl lunged at her smashing the pitcher over the back of Enid’s head the wood shattered. Enid spun around hand raised to slap the girl but then stopped short. And held up what looked to be soot covered silver cross rescued from the churches remains pressing it against Enid’s cheek.

“Get out witch get out!”

Enid casually reached up grabbed the girl’s wrist and pulled it away then grabbed the silver cross with her other hand and tossed it out the door. She could feel the girl trembling beneath her fingers. She held her firmly but lightly enough not to hurt the kid.

“Like I was saying, your father has been bitten by the rabid fox that has been killing people, though it was more like a dog, and he’s going to get very, very sick and he’s going to die unless I help him. So you can either be a good kid, boil some water on the fire, or go get your cross and try to scare me away again, though if you pick the latter, I’m just going to kill your father so he can’t spread the disease and be on my way, your choice.”

She released the girl’s wrist and turned back to her pack. The girl stood their trembling for a few minutes.

“Look kid, help me or don’t but either way get the fuck out. Now!”

Enid yelled the last part and the girl disappeared into another room. Enid glanced behind around and then pulled out a glowing slate of glass with a black steel frame. On it scrolled blue text and she held it over the wound. The text changed

I hate this stupid thing, what did father call it? A tablet? Dead language of dead languages why he couldn’t just set it up in Latin.

Enid squinted at the rapidly changing writing and sighed. She heard the girl returning and quickly shoved the tablet in her pack. Then pulled out various pouches of herbs and remedies. The girl held the boiling pot with rags and placed it on the stone close to the fireplace.

Glad I spent all that time with mother studying her healing arts, even with blood magic I can’t heal this wound.

“Light some candles. And get me as many basins as you have, and draw clean water from the well, and hurry up, its getting worse fast.”

Enid waited, pacing a bit, then stopped herself.

Pacing and fidgeting is for mortals.

Enid straightened up and sat at the bench beside the table, and was motionless. She turned and started to blink again when the girl returned with a bucket of fresh water and then three basins.

“It’s all we have milady.”

“It will do.”

Enid carefully mixed boiled water and fresh well water to make two hot but not scalding bowls, she washed her hands in one with a substance her mother had taught her to make, she said it would stop wounds from getting worse. It smelled terrible and medicinal, but Enid had added roses to it.

“I’m Lady Sarah of Savia, my uncle was lord here before he died, I was out for a ride and noticed your father being attacked by the rabid dog that has been killing people. I helped him but he was bitten. Wash your hands well, use this.”

Enid offered up the soap to the girl. She washed her own hands.

“No, you need to scrub, get rid of all the dirt.”

The girl’s eyes went wide suddenly. Tears started to drop down her cheeks. She began to scrub her hands harder.

“There’s nothing we can do for him if he’s been bit by something rabid, he’s going to foam at the mouth and become a wild man.”

“Calm yourself, what’s your name?”

“Rosealyn”

“Rosealyn, its not that kind of rabid, my mother was a renowned healer before she died, I can stop this but it’s going to be painful and its going to get a lot more messy before we’re through. We need to clean the wound, remove the dead flesh and apply the right herbs. I will need your help for all of it, we can save him and he will be able to use his arm, but we need to stop it from spreading. I give you my word I can save him if we get start now. Are you with me?”

Enid resisted the urge to hug the girl. Then screamed at herself inside her head.

What is wrong with me, saving a kid, taking a newling in, this. I need to get far away from humans for a while.

“Yes, milady.”

“Good, now that your hands are clean, take this knife and hold it in the fire with tongs, then dip it in the clean water. Hurry now.”

Enid willed her blood to enhance her senses again both to see in the dark and pick up finer detail. She could smell the rot setting in and as soon as the blade was cooled she being shaving off the dead flesh around the wound. The girl started dry heaving. Enid ignored her and continued her work. Once she had removed the necrotized flesh, she tossed it in the fire and there was a flare of blue green fire and it vanished.

She washed her hands again and silently hoped that Odocar had burned the vampire bodies.

Going to have to dig up the dead humans and burn them.

“Rosealyn wash your hands again and help me prepare the herbs to apply and the bandages.”

While Rosealyn washed her hands Enid began mixing herbs putting water in to turn it into a paste. She motioned for Rosealyn to do the same with another set of herbs. She’d premeasured.

“Now we apply this paste first, and then clean it off, it will remove the last of whatever it was that dog had, and then we apply that to speed healing. God willing he will recover quickly and be back to work but I will have to change the herbs and bandages often.”

The rest of the process was silent as they worked. Rosealyn watched Enid carefully, once she got over the shock she seemed to be a curious girl. Enid finished applying the last of the bandage, he’d lost a lot of skin. She washed her hands one last time and motioned for Rosealyn to do the same.

“Come here Rosealyn.”

Rosealyn moved closer, her fear of Enid having evaporated after helping her save her father. The whole process had taken a couple of hours. Enid put her hand on the girl’s cheek. She was almost taller than Enid.

These mortals keep getting taller.

Enid looked into her eyes, willing her words to weave their way into the girl’s thoughts.

“Rosealyn you will forget seeing my sword, you dropped the pitcher in shock at seeing your father injured. You saw Lady Sarah, her dress torn. She told you how she fought off the dog cutting it deeply and it fled into the forest and that she found your father bitten by it. She, I, helped you clean and tend to his wound. Once we cleaned it up, we realized it looked much worse than it was and hadn’t gone foul. I will return tomorrow evening to check on it. You will forget what happens from now until I snap my fingers and then you will change and go to bed and when you wake up you’ll realize you feel weak because it was such a long night and you were panicking. You will remember I told you I’d get your nightdress cleaned, and helped you to bed and tucked you in, and you will feel safe there, and your dreams will be about wonderful things.”

Enid removed her hand from Rosealyn’s cheek and placed her hands on the tanner’s arm she drew on the power of her blood as her mother had taught her to pull the injury into herself and she winced as the flesh on her arm melted away revealing muscle. She then closed her eyes and willed the arm to repair itself. She left had taken the wound into herself save for a gash that would heal quickly but wouldn’t look unnaturally so. She turned to Rosealyn and bent her neck down and bit into it. She drank a bit more deeply then she would have liked then sealed the wound using a little of the blood she’d taken and then healed the transferred wound on herself. Enid snapped her fingers.

Rosealyn turned and walked to her room pulled off her nightdress and pulled on another. Enid followed after she’d finished changing and tucked her in. Touching her forehead gently.

“Sleep well.”

Keep seeing my daughter’s face when I help these mortals.

She carried the tanner to his bed and changed his fowled tunic and burned it. After collecting her belongings, she went out to find Noctis munching on grass.

“Let’s go home, such that it is.”

She hopped onto Noctis and rode to Lord Odocar’s keep.