TVC II Supplemental Chapter 0: The Northern Emissary

[Count michael]

I would think that this would take part before the events of chapter 1 as I come up with a believble reason of how Mikhail ended up in Slyvania in the first place

Somewhere South of Kislev in the forests surrounding Bechafen


A piercing wail swept through the frost encrusted trees like a tormented banshee sending a flurry of snow scattering in all directions, a lone figure trudged through the snow. Clad in only leggings and a white fur cloak with a sword and axe strapped his back, the stranger seemed unfazed by the freezing cold casually making his way through the winter clad forest loudly humming in a northern dialect. Suddenly a bestial roar split through the forest carried upon the wind which was then answered by many lesser roars, the stranger turned towards the sound drawing his blades wild shoulder length hair whipped around his fine features his face split with a grin of wild exultation. Bursting through the dark woods in a thunder of hooves horde the hunters charged through the clearing. Mighty beast's standing taller than the average man, rammed headed monsters that showed a bestial intelligence in their dark eyes clad in a patched assortment of scavenged armour festooned with trophies of the slain, seeing the stranger alone spurred them onwards with a sense of unmatched confidence as they were keen to taste the flesh of manflesh confident in their roles as hunters and their target the prey

The first massive gor realised it's mistake too late as the lone warrior turned his gaze upon the beast, his piercing icy blue eyes seemly stopping the Gor in it's tracks before loping off it's horned head in a shower of blood and gore. The second died just as quick, swinging madly with a gore frozen cub it's bestial eyes widened in shock as the human ducked under the force of it's blow before swinging upwards cleaving through the Gor's midsection exposing glistening entrails and bone causing it to cry out like as it toppled to the ground dying. Four more of the beasts fell to the warriors deadly blades before the dozen remaining Gors slowly backed away to regard the warrior with baffled confusion, before their rage returned readying themselves for their next charge. With a hiss of the wind a storm of arrows shot through from behind the warrior striking down half the beasts, their bestial courage failing them in the face of the unexpected foe the remainder turned tail and tried fleeing only to be cut down by fur clad hunters who ambushed the beasts slaying the surprised beasts like lambs to the slaughter.

Seeing the appearance of the the hunters caused the lone warrior to start laughing his booming laughter echoing around the trees before being cuffed around the head by one of the hunters

"Foolish idiot, why did you wander off" the hunter cursed in a Kislevite accent "You will bring every beastmen within this cursed forest down upon our head Mikhail"


The Hunter Oleg looked at Mikhail a angry look upon his face before laughing along with the other hunters "Look here comrades, behold Mikhail Bjornson, greatest warrior in service to the Tzarina as well as the most stubborn fool you will look your eyes upon, come on" gesturing to Mikhail "We have been entrusted to lead you to your destination, quit getting lost and follow our lead you fool"


With a curse in harsh Kislevite which caused the hunters to laugh again Mikhail trudged forward following Oleg and his hunters through the snow making their way deeper through the forest.

 

[Count michael]

Nightfall

Under the menacing shadow of a desolate tower gathered around low flickering fires there was a sense of resentment and hostility between the hunters. Sitting at the edge of the camp, Mikhail was unconcerned by the hatred that he sensed was directed at him since he was a half breed, fools he thought as he gazed into the dark forest canopy almost daring the twisted denizens that he knew were lurking deep within to show themselves.

"It is a grim place isn't it, its as if the whole forest is against us" Oleg said as he sat by Mikhail pulling out a flask and draining it's contents.

"Don't mind the lads" he said "they may not trust you, but they respect you for battles against the hordes of chaos"

"I don't care what they do , I have a mission and I will complete it alone if needs be" Mikhail somewhat angrily before deciding to change the subject "So what did you say they called this god forsaken forest?"

Oleg laughed heartily before replying "Didn't you listen to anything as we let Kislev, the Empire calls this place the forest of shadows the cursed haunt of beastmen, goblins as well as the undead" gazing off into the forest depths "just think possibly hundreds of horrors and beast are lurking out there waiting to kill us when we least expect it, makes you miss the lovely oblast, it may be an cold unforgiving wilderness but at least you can see the foe" drinking from his flask again

"It is not like I care" Mikhail cured "I will kill anything that gets in my way...... besides not all of us are old men who feel the cold" starting to laugh causing Oleg to join n

....................................................................................................................................................................

Meanwhile in the centre of the camp

"Listen you fools, we have to act soon. The Boyar is paying us good money to ensure that cursed half breed never returns to Kislev alive" one of the hunters whispered fearfully to the others gathered around the fire casting looks over at Mikhail to see if he could hear them

"What are you talking about Vadim? we can't kill him now did you see what he did to those beasts?" another whispered fearfully

"Exactly" Vadim continued "He's not human, he must be some sort of mutant you know, he does have Norscan blood they are always tainted daemon lovers. If we kill him when he least expects it, then we can say he fell fighting the beasts it's perfect we get paid plus we eliminate a threat to Kislev as well."

"But he is the favoured of the Tzarina we can't kill him, if she finds out we are doomed I-" the other hunter nervously whispered

"I don't care what you think Ivan or what you thought" Vadim cursed interrupting Ivan "They are lies, as if some chaos born half breed could ever gain the favour of our beloved Tzarina, the boyar is right he must die now go take over sentry duty"

"We will have to kill that fool as well you know" another hunter whispered another hunter as Ivan walked off

"Yeah I know" said Vadim "Him that fool Oleg and that cursed half breed, now get the others ready we will act soon then we would of done our duty to our homeland as well as be richly rewarded by that Boyar"

 

[TMS]

Unknown to the men in the camp, they were being watched. High above them in the crowns of the leafless trees a raven darted between the branches, crowing noisily. It settled in a tree on the outside of the camp, right nearby where Mikhail and Oleg had distanced themselves from others. The bird observed them intently, its golden yellow eyes glinting in the dark of the night. Suddenly it cawed again, the sound blending into that of a woman's voice. It spoke to Mikhail with unnerving clarity despite the howling icy wind.

”Your companions were right before,” it said in a condescending tone. It broke Mikhail's laughter short. ”This forest is home to many tribes of beastmen. They have picked up the trail you left from your combat before. It is only a matter of time before they descend upon you and rip you all to pieces.”

The raven cawed again, this time sounding like giggling laughter.

”You stand no chance against them! I could, however, guide you to a place not very far from here where they would not dare to follow you...” it said, drawing out the last tones.

”...for only a small price.”

 

[Count michael]

Mikhail caught off guard fell backwards drawing his axe and pointing it at the trees from which the voice came from, at first he looked upon the raven with puzzlement that it could talk before getting angry at it's words

"Stupid bird!" throwing a nearby stone at the creature which completely missed it causing him to curse. "Like I care if they find me, I'll slaughter every last beast of this accursed forest if needs be I won't be mocked birds"

I must be going crazy he thought birds can't talk can they? he thought to himself grabbing another stone ready to throw it "What do you mean by small price bird?" Glaring at the raven

 

[TMS]

The raven again made a giggling laugh at Mikhail.

”Your arrogance will be the death of you all, mortal!” it said mockingly. ”You may be strong but all men have their limits.”

The chilling wind continued to blow around the camp, carrying faint noises of grunts and howls.

”They are not far from you now. They have even brought the sacred guardians of the herdstones with them.” the raven spoke ominously and, as if on command, immediately afterwards a distant guttural baying could be heard.

”Think of me as a helpful spirit who would like to see no harm befall you at the hands of the loathsome beasts.” it continued. That was not exactly true; the raven was in fact a vampire in disguise. It was Helena von Carstein, a self-exiled vampire from Sylvania who had made the dark forest of shadows into her dwelling centuries ago. Now she spent much of her time keeping an eye on things transpiring inside these unruly woods. A band of lone men had been a rare sight for a very long time, which is what made this group so interesting. That aside, this was not necessary for the mortal to know. All that was important was that the hateful beastmen could be robbed of their prey, or at least of some valuable items.

”What I ask of you is but a small price. Something of value to you that could convince me to guide you to safety. Deny me this and I will leave you to face your doom.”

 

[Count michael]

"And what is this so called small price" Mikhail demanded "besides I would never agree to anything some bird wanted" brandishing his weapons at the rather annoying bird unleashing a string of foul verbal insults at this poor bird in a variety in both the harsh Kislev and Norse dialect.

Meanwhile his companions watched on in bitter amusement and disgust as they believed Mikhail to be talking to himself as they were unable to see the strange raven

"Come on" hissed the hunter Vadim to the others "The chaos filth has lost his mind, we must act now before he notices" emboldened by this the others silently grabbed their weapons and prepared to kill Mikhail who still was unaware to what was happening. However so intent on their betrayal the hunters no longer were on guard against the dark forest around them that had gone silent rather suspiciously.

 

[TMS]

Helena found the foul-mouthed man's bravado amusing. He would soon get to see the consequences for scorning her aid.

"The price is for you to decide" she cawed to Mikhail. "but beware; offer me something of little worth and I might not see reason to help you."

Helena then noticed the other humans drawing closer to Mikhail, moving as silently as they could and with their weapons drawn. He was about to be stabbed in the back! She let out another laugh and looked back down to Mikhail. "Now it is too late. The enemy is upon you." she said ominously. "However, you appear strong. If I find you alive once more I might be willing to aid you, and you might be willing to listen."

The raven's eyes glinted like gold in the darkness as it flapped its wings, preparing them for takeoff. As Helena lifted from the branch she had been perched on she left Mikhail one final note.

"They are closer than you think."

 

[Count michael]

Mikhail was extremely confused by the raven's words though he had finally tired of the birds words so turned around to sleep. "Stupid bird" he muttered " How dar..........." suddenly being interrupted by a sharp pain in his chest gazing down he noticed an arrow shaft sticking out of his chest with his comrades rushing towards him weapons drawn. In shock Mikhail
's mind reeled from the sudden events...... they were under attack....... where were his attackers..... before noticing one of his comrades in front of him "Vadim what's happening" he gurgled confused before he was stabbed by his comrade

"It is time for you to die chaos filth before you cause any more harm to Kislev" Vadim spat twisting the knife "Boyer Dmitri sends his regards now die mutant"

Consumed by hatred at his comrade for betraying him, Mikhail cursed every god he could think of howling his rage towards the heavens, his rage filled cries echoing though the forest "Fine you stupid raven, I shall give you every last traitor and cursed beatmen corpse in this damn forest. I'll kill anything for you just help me you damn bird"

 

[TMS]

Helena hadn't gotten far before Mikhail's pained cry drew her back to the scene. She perched herself up in a tree in which direction there was a trail to follow. She spoke to him again, her voice enhanced to reach him with perfect clarity.

"My, you did not last long at all!" she mocked him, laughing. As he had not given her any payment yet, or seemed willing to even consider it, she would be quite content to let him perish. However, there was something about him that made her think twice, something unseen. She decided that he would immediately be given a chance to reconsider.

"But I will not intervene. Fight off your attackers and follow the trail that runs beneath me. When you have reached the fork in the road I will speak to you again."