Story A
Mists and Lies
Captain Stegerios paused his horse on a rocky ridge and looked back over the columns of mounted soldiers, trying to quell his doubt and uncertainty. Just two weeks ago he had been simply Josef, a regular soldier in the Royal Army, and then suddenly a hero who had captured an orc fortress when the battle had seemed lost. Receiving promotion the next day, he'd been swiftly sent on a new mission: recapture the forsaken Orsair Fortress in the Silent Lands.
It was the kind of "honor" no other officer had seemed to want, and he had seen it in his thier eyes, they already considered him doomed. Since the fogs consumed the valley, the first expedition to reclaim in ten years ago had ended with the men twisted by magic into abominations that slew nearly all of the second expedition, while the third and fourth had vanished without a trace.
"Fifth time's the charm," he'd heard his own men joke nervously to each other.
It was a fear they all felt, but as captain he had to keep it in check again and again and project confidence. But now that the valley lay before them, he felt absolutely none, his mind turning constantly to the unknown creatures and forbidden magic that lurked hidden in its depths.
Josef called for the soldiers to make camp. "We'll enter the valley early and travel swiftly so we can reach the fortress before nightfall."
He went about sending out patrols and assigning guards, all the usual things, trying to distract himself with a sensible routine. All around the men went about their work, not talking or laughing as they usually did, and when they spoke at all it was in hushed whispers.
Finally he could take it no longer. "Say something!" he rasped, "We're not in the Silent Lands yet! Let's have some games, some music!"
Tomas, his nephew, whose job it was to feed the horses, took out his flute and begin to play a tune that got them all thinking of home. A few singers joined in, the men struggling to put aside their own fears. Tomas had been one of those captured by the orcs: that was what had driven Josef's bravery and enabled him to successfully assault the fortress when all seemed lost, the many innocents he knew would face a terrible fate unless something were done.
Had his courage embarrassed those who had written them all off as lost? He suddenly wondered. Could that be the real reason he'd been chosen for this "honor", to dispose of an inconvenient reminder of their own cowardice? He looked out over all the others, some he'd known for years, now possibly chosen to die for this callous reason.
Years ago when the fog had first rolled into the valley, the first thing it did was rob the voices of those who breathed it in. Those who remained there too long devolved into beasts. The Silent Lands it was called now. The former commander of the troops at the fortress, a man named Caldoch, reported that the fog had been caused by a wizard in the Royal Army, who had betrayed them and cast a forbidden spell.
That commander was now Grand General Caldoch Orsair, leader of the entire Royal Army. His family had built that fortress long ago, it guarded the way to the mountains and the path to the kingdom's further expansion. For years now the King had tried and failed to take it back.
"Captain?"
He turned to see the leader of one of the scout patrols he'd sent out, and nodded to him. "Yes? Anything to report?" The man looked a little disturbed.
"No signs of any danger close by. We found a boulder that the leaders of the previous missions carved their names on though, and some...strange skeletons."
"Strange how?"
"It's like they were human once, and then...changed."
Josef thanked him for the report, and retired to his tent to spend a fitful night, dreaming of dim, twisted shapes in the fog. He tried to run, and when he did found his limbs were heavy and wooden, jerked along on strings like a puppet.
Waking suddenly, he found the early morning sunlight peeking in, and heard the others outside preparing themselves to move out.
Josef mounted his horse and led them down the broken old road into the valley. Not far ahead they found the boulder the scouts had spoken of, and he solemnly carved his name and the date next to '5th Expedition'. Whether they all survived or not past today or met the fate of the others he knew could be up to him.
The fog soon was swirling over their heads in oppressive clouds blocking out the sky, the only light that filtered in having an eerie purple tint. Josef like most of the men wore cloth tied over his face, to try and keep from breathing it in, though it felt like a useless attempt at protection. Everyone knew if any of the men suddenly lost their voices though, it was time to make a hasty retreat.
There was more visibility than he expected, though the constant shifting of misty veils over the landscape kept him on edge. Every now and then they passed a crumbling cottage, or a strange, twisted skeleton lying in a ditch.
Soon he heard shouts from some of the men, and his fears were confirmed. Dim, grotesque shapes could be seen loping through the fog, more and more soon becoming visible. They kept their distance, too far for an attack, almost herding him and the men towards their destination.
The black towers of the old fort were soon visible looming from the mist ahead. Captain Stegerios held up a hand to halt the men, and peered ahead. There, standing in the gate, he made out a lone, hooded figure.
His mouth felt dry, but riding forward several feet ahead of the others, he finally found his voice and said with a tone of confidence he didn't feel, "We are here to take this fortress back for the kingdom, stand in our way at your own peril!"
The figure only laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "So it seems Caldoch sent another bunch of pawns. It isn't worth it, boy, turn back. He's already caused enough death in this place, the prideful fool!"
"What are you talking about?" Josef demanded. "How do you know the Grand General Orsair?"
The figure came forward a few steps, lowering his hood to revealed a scarred face, mottled by old burns, eyebrows and patches of hair singed away. As he moved closer, Josef recognized the cloak he wore, the style of cloak the Royal Wizards had, enchanted to protect from rain and cold and fire.
"It's you!" he gasped, dropping a hand to the hilt of his sword. "You were the traitor wizard the Grand General reported!"
The man only laughed again. "The Grand General," he said in a mocking tone, "Yes, I knew him, when he was not so grand. And I'm a traitor? He forced me to cast that spell. You've been lied to, boy."
Josef felt his mind whirling as he struggled to make sense of this. "What? No, that can't be right. Orsair would never betray the kingdom, you're the one lying!" he protested harshly.
"Listen here, I'm telling you the truth. The orcs had us surrounded--he had burned their villages, they had nothing left to lose. Caldoch took an ancient book from the family tomb, and I warned him of the dangers, but he insisted I cast the spell. Neither of us knew what it would do until it was too late of course. But afterwards he tried to burn the book, destroy the evidence. I went to stop him, I told him we must both confess what happened and face justice."
Josef could only stare in disbelief as the man continued. "Caldoch, he pushed me in the fire and fled. Only my enchanted cloak saved me, and most of the book. Though we were both a little singed as you can see. You've barely been able to look away from these scars since you arrived, admit it."
Josef tore his gaze away, having not even realized he was staring. He swallowed hard and tried to think of a course of action. "If you have accusations to make against the general, you should've taken it to the royal court! But you've fought the King's army here haven't you? It's you who destroyed the previous expeditions?"
"I've learned a few things from what was left of the book," the man admitted. "And my family was well off, they had me trained in magic from a young age. And there are of course, my friends..." He gestured all around, and the captain didn't even have to look to know he meant the creatures who followed you through the fog.
"Don't get me wrong, we wish no harm on anyone. But this fortress guards the pass, beyond it the survivors. Not all of them were as twisted by the fog as these. They live their lives there in peace with the orcs who didn't go to war afterwards. I have fully admitted to my part in things, and been chosen to remain here, defending the pass against invaders. And so if you give us no choice, we will destroy you."
The silence stretched between the two men, having nothing to do with the fog.
"Or," the man suggested, "You can turn around and leave."
Josef turned and looked at the creatures on both sides shuffling closer in the fog, and at his frightened soldiers. Men he'd known for years, and many of them he'd risked his life to protect. He had risked himself to save those he cared about, and could he do any differently now?
"And how will I make anyone believe this story?"
The man just shook his head with a little chuckle. "You won't tell them the truth, it doesn't matter."
Josef's eyes narrowed. "Do you think I'm some liar?"
"If you leave, it means you're someone smart, someone who cares about your men and that you're good at surviving. There were witnesses to what happened before, and I've told this story to others. They all keep it to themselves in the end...or else someone powerful shuts them up."
The man turned then with a shrug and walked back toward the gate as if the conversation had ended, and he didn't have a care in the world.
"They'll send others," Josef called after him. "Even if we go back, they'll send more until someone succeeds. This fortress and this valley belong to the kingdom."
The man paused then and turned. "Have I told you my name?"
"No."
"It's Hochal...Hochal Orsair. Caldoch was my little brother. This fortress was our family castle before the kingdom even existed, and I am the rightful heir. Myself and these others, we've suffered enough. We have no king but we're our own people, we're eked out a living here through the darkest times when the fog was thickest and everyone was afraid, with no help from the rest of the kingdom or the so called Grand General. We'll fight to the end to defend our lands and our homes."
When they returned, Josef tried to tell the truth, he really did. But the captains, the generals, the royal advisors, they set a document in front of him repeating his statements as a confession of having been swayed by the evil wizard's spell of madness, and looking at each of them in turn he knew what would happen if he refused to sign it.
He was afterwards labeled of "unfit mental state", and assigned to a useless post in a far corner of the kingdom. He lay awake the night after that, knowing he had been silenced after all, and it had nothing to do with the fog.
