Sins of the Mother

by Chelis

First Date

The sounds of footsteps in front of her tent woke Starburst that morning. She gave off a slight groan and got up, reached for her robe in the process. She knew it was Leo. She covered her naked body and waited for the man to barge his way in. Sure enough, he did.

"Morning!" He said.

"Shouldn't you knock before entering?" Star asked.

"Knock on fabric? Don't think it works like that." He replied.

"Whatever," Star huffed.

Leo smiled and continued, running his fingers through his hair in nervousness. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come ride with me to the countryside, maybe catch up?" He asked.

"Nah."

"Trust me, it'll be worth your while," He suggested with a devilish grin.

Star sighed, "Alright. Who are they?"

Leo’s eyes sparked at Star’s defeat. "Changeling Warband. Small, but it looks like they are just moving a high ranker in their organization. Usually, the type of changeling they are escorting can speak our language, so we can try to pry information from them."

"I'll admit, you know what I like." Star Beamed.

***

They rode for hours together... surrounded by fifty of the king's best dragoons across the valley, looking for their target. As they were planning to head back, they spotted a dust cloud heading down a mountain pass and into the massive valley.

"That's our boys!" Leo shouted as he gave chase. The rest of the group followed suit. They rode to their target in an unorganized ramble trying to intercept them and begin the delicate process of separating the changeling hunter by itself. As soon as they were a mile out, the changelings were easier to spot as individuals instead of a running black and green blob. The group split into two groups. Leo and Star were with one group while another group rode beside it. The third group was smaller, and unlike the other two groups, they were not armed with muskets, only spears.

The two musket groups went behind the changeling horde and closed in, and began shooting into the running horde. Each shot was followed by the snapping of a changeling exoskeleton. The creature would collapse from the group, and if any manage to get up, they would be speared by a passing dragoon lancer.

The process continued. The outer riders would fire the musket while the inner groups did the dirty job of reloading the muskets for the riders on the outside. Each minute saw the hordes number dwindle down, but the humans did not relent in their assault. Breaking off and fighting them while they were on horseback was suicide and left their commander vulnerable, so their only way to beat the humans was either to outlast their horses stamina or reach the other side of the valley, where the woodlands would prove difficult to maneuver.

As a last ditch effort, the changelings ran through an abandoned village that lined one of the main roads, and Leo still couldn't do wrong.

"Split up! We will keep shooting once we pass the town!" He barked.

His units obeyed, and went around the town on their sides, the lancers kept their chase through town.

Once the riders passed the village, they continued their shooting, down to the changeling hunter itself.

"Don't shoot! I want him for myself!" Leo commanded with glee. He picked up his musket and aimed for what felt like forever. He took his shot, and the snapping of the exoskeleton could be heard, which made the changeling collapse where it ran. All three units converged on the changeling, spears and muskets aimed right at the thing as it tried to get up but couldn't.

"Nice shot, but you didn't kill it." Star commented.

"Killing it wasn't the plan," Leo said as he got off his horse and walked to the changeling. A few of the lancers went with him, using forked spears to pin the creature[s arms and legs down. It struggled, but couldn't break free.

"Where is the white changeling!? What are you planning!" Leo demanded, his flintlock pistol aimed right at the head of the creature. It gave off a number of untranslatable clicks.

"Sounds like it’s trying to tell you," Star observed.

"It knows our language. Talk you changeling! Talk! What are you planning?!"

The creature continued to talk in clicks and purrs.

"M’lord," One of the paladins said.

"Right," Leo answered. He fired another shot into the creature, causing it to writhe in pain. "What are you guys planning?!"

The creature continued to wiggle in pain.

King Leon shook his head as he reloaded his pistol.

"Dammit," He said as he executed the changeling, shooting the pinned creature in its head.

"So, Star, we have our horses... Want to continue our lovely stroll through the countryside?"

Comments

[Nikkori]

They rode for hours together... surrounded by fifty of the king's best dragoons across the valley, looking for their target.

Might want to fix that

[Profesionalac]

7271621
Dragoon’s are a type of Calvary, using muskets instead of lances or heavy sabers