Vol. 2 Prologue[2]

Joseph slowly walked down the rubble-strewn path, his boots crunching over debris and worse. All around him lay bloodied corpses locked in frozen death throes, the street painted a slick crimson with occasional spatters of sickly green ichor from fallen monsters. Such grisly scenes of violence had become commonplace for joseph in his work as a cleaner for the Association, but never before on such a devastating scale.

Usually the aftermath left for him and his team numbered in the tens, perhaps the hundreds if a particularly vicious beast had rampaged through the villages. But this...the slain before him surely numbered in the thousands. Entire village had been reduced to slaughter yards, the stench of death laying heavy upon the ghostly quiet avenue.

"joseph! Did you find the scroll yet? It has to be hidden around here somewhere if the reports were accurate," rang out a feminine voice from behind. joseph turned to see his partner, Alys moved with elegance through the grisly scene, nimble as a dancer in avoiding the bloodied obstacles scattered throughout the streets. She wore form-fitting azure and silver robes. The tailored magical fabric hugged the gentle curves of her slender 5'6 frame.

Shoulder-length locks the color of a raven's wings were tucked neatly behind delicately pointed ears hinting at elven lineage a generation or two back. Her fine-featured face was beautiful yet stern in its concentration as piercing sapphire eyes scanned for any sign. Though appearing quite youthful, only the faintest laugh lines at the corner of her eyes gave away Alys' true age of 127 years. As a half-elf, she aged more slowly, retaining a look of vibrance.

Her brow creased with worry upon seeing joseph's negative head shake. "Keep searching," joseph replied tiredly, wiping flecks of blood from his leather armor. "It's got to turn up somewhere among all this." He gazed around the death-filled streets, the scope of their grisly work ahead weighing upon his shoulders.

After nearly an hour of searching the corpse-littered streets without success, joseph stumbled upon the body of a young man still clutching a dagger tightly even in death. At first he dismissed it as yet another fallen soldier among the countless dead.

But then a device on joseph's belt suddenly emitted a faint beeping sound. He looked down in surprise at the magical sensor designed to detect teleportation magic in close proximity - one of the marvelous creations of the magical device branch of the' Association. While its limited 1-foot-radius range meant it was far from a perfect discovery tool out here, joseph still gave thanks for the ingenious enchanters who devised it as he knelt swiftly beside the dead man who had triggered the sensor.

Gingerly turning over the contorted figure's pockets, joseph exhaled in profound relief as he withdrew a tightly-rolled scroll case bearing ornate runes. A glance was all he needed to confirm this was the teleportation scroll he and Alys desperately sought. He waved over his companion who had moved further down the street. Her eyes lit up as she saw joseph unfurling the elaborately decorated parchment unearthed by mere chance thanks to their sensor's magic attuned to detecting teleportation spells.

Alys deftly snatched the scroll from joseph's hands, her sharp eyes scanning over the arcane runes inscribed upon the ancient parchment. "We must activate the scroll quickly before the Enforcers arrive and discover us."

joseph shot her a bewildered look as she began invoking the ritual's magic, pale light shimmering around the intricate scrollwork. "Why go through this charade at all? Wouldn't it have been easier to just ignite the entire city with a fire storm or other attack spell, if we merely sought to sow chaos and destruction?" 

He gestured around at the gruesome carnage surrounding them on all sides. "What was the purpose of making it seem like monsters did all this, when a straightforward magical cataclysm could have achieved the same devastation?"

A sly smile played about Alys' lips as the glow intensified, reality beginning to warp and bend. "Ah, but this sends a much stronger message, my impatient friend. Monster attacks inspire a far deeper, more primal terror in the common folk. Just lingering demonic energy..."

Her sharp laugh echoed eerily through the void flickering to life around their forms. "They will scour their precious registries trying in vain to determine which careless unit let an monster capable of anti-teleportation spell to escape confinement. The irony!"

Her smile turned cold and pitiless. "Let the cobblestone streets flow red with blood while the Council chase their own tails. Our group's power grows as their prestige plummets. Now quickly, take my hand! The scroll culminates!"

In the space between seconds, the blood-soaked avenue stretched into eternity. Then with a silent thunderclap, both winked out of existence.

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Mere moments after joseph and Alys warped away, four tall figures abruptly blinked into existence amidst the blood-drenched streets. They were garbed entirely in fitted black uniforms that obscured their forms, faces concealed behind expressionless silver masks. An insignia of a watchful raven clutching an hourglass over crossed swords adorned their breasts - the mark of the temporal Enforcers.

The lead Enforcer slowly surveyed the abattoir surrounding them, taking in the heaping mounds of mutilated corpses with a measured gaze. To an outside observer, the nightmarish vista would seem to give even these hardened elites pause. But the lead enforcer's mechanical voice was calm and impersonal as he addressed his team, he toed a severed hand, bone peeking through shredded skin.

"194, proceed to check for survivors and 200 find out why emergency teleports failed." The lead Enforcer's masked gaze took in the ruined landscape. "157, scan the entire area then report back what sort of creature could have perpetrated this. Track any residual magical traces."

A trio of "Yes sir!" rang out before the three subordinates blurred into enhanced speed, scattering to fulfill their orders.

Now alone, the lead Enforcer slowly walked toward what remained of the village's town hall - originally a modest two-story mayor's office, it now stood half-collapsed into splintered wreckage after whatever catastrophe had struck. One side of the building miraculously still stood, as if held up by Providence's own hand.

The Enforcer commander stepped through the shattered doorway, glass and wood fragments crackling underfoot. His mask's illuminated gaze pierced the gloom within. Scanning the demolished office revealed overturned furniture, scattered parchment, the broken remnants of someone's life.

Pausing, the lead Enforcer tapped another hidden rune to activate long-range magical communication back to headquarters. "Site Alpha secure, initial temporal scan complete. No discernible monster signatures thus far."

A burst of static, then a clipped official voice. "Your mandate holds, Commander. Uncover the truth by any means, then remove the infection. Cleanup crews are standing by."

"Understood, Overwatch," replied the Enforcer before terminating the link.

Seated alone amidst the demolished interior, the lead Enforcer sunk into a meditative trance. An eerie violet luminance began manifesting, motes of light coalescing around his motionless form. Soon the entire room throbbed with resonating purple radiance.

Long moments passed before the Enforcer finally rose from his sealed introspection. With a simple gesture, the vibrant glow burst outward, saturating the whole village in its vivid hue. The loose particles swiftly descended upon every bloodied corpse and severed limb.

Where the violet illumination touched, bodies simply ceased to exist - disintegrating to dust as though never there. Another sharp motion from the dark spell-weaver, and all evidence of the slaughter vanished along with the victims.

Now only congealing bloodstains, damaged buildings, and lingering traces of death occupied the town proper. Every survivor and casualty had been wiped temporarily out of the timestream.

Footsteps echoed behind the Enforcer Commander as his returning team entered the town hall vestibule. He turned to the one designated 157. "Report. What did your analysis uncover?"

The 157 stepped forward, conjuring a glowing magical diagram showing a detailed topographical map of the surrounding region. "According to my analysis, the residual demonic energy trail terminates approximately 20 kilometers south of here."

With a gesture, the map shifted to highlight a winding river cutting through the forest. "Just beyond the Longstone River lie the Argent Mountains. I believe forces involved in this attack crossed the water boundary into the Argent mountains."

Zooming the display, 157 indicated a segment of shoreline churned with thousands of odd prints and trails. "Based on the markings, we are likely dealing with a horde consisting of over 40,000 strong, mostly orc and goblin footsoldiers, along with various ghouls and ogres."

The map flickered as she tapped another set of tracks leading back inland. "However,there are later traces of multiple creatures I can only classify as manitcores and at least one confirmed basilisk."

The lead Enforcer remained silent, processing the new information and steaming possibilities. Soon 200 and 194, arrived to give their reports. "Report. What did you discover?" the lead enforcer asked.

194 stepped forward first, "Sir, there are no survivors to be found. The confirmed death count so far is 1,986." He hesitated before continuing, "That includes 1,478 local villagers. Additionally, 496 adventurers, likely here questing. And...12 visitors, merchants and travelers passing through. According to the numbers, no one made it out alive when the monster hordes attacked. Their onslaught was swift and thorough."

With a nod, he turned his attention to 200, "And what of the portals? Any thing there?"

"The portals themselves are intact with no visible tampering. However..." He hesitated. "The log indicates all three portals went offline right as the attack started. They remained inactive throughout the duration of the slaughter."

Going offline simultaneously could only mean one thing. "Anti-teleportation spells then. Powerful magic prevented anyone from fleeing through the portals once the invasion was underway." 200 nodded solemnly in agreement before stepping back in line beside his fellow teammates. 

The lead enforcer, tapped at the glowing hidden rune embedded in his gauntlet, activating the communication magic to headquarters. "We counted nearly two thousand civilians and adventures slain, sir," hereported. "No survivors that we could find. The only clue we discovered was that anti-teleportation spells blocked the village's portals, cutting off any escape once the monsters invaded."

The commander on the other end was silent for a heavy moment. "We will look into the teleportation aspect," he finally said. "In the meantime, I need your team to take command of Border Camp 19 to organize a counterattack. Your orders are to mobilize every available soldier and eliminate every last monster responsible for this attack."

"With pleasure, sir," he responded. "You heard the orders. We ride for Border Camp 19 immediately and begin preparations to eliminate this monsters."

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