Chapter 1: Homecoming

 Her blood-curdling scream was stilled by the silence of death.
 
 Josephina’s eyes shot open and she sprung to her feet. Had that just been a dream? She could not take that chance. Her two long swords were soon in her hands as if on instinct. She could still hear commotion beyond her door. The sound of battle.

 She ran out into the corridor and saw Isabelle’s door had been knocked off of it’s hinges. The wooden door laid splintered on the floor. Josephina looked in to see Isabelle’s body laying in a puddle of fresh blood just in front of her bookcase with a spear in her back. How could this have happened?

 Another scream came from down the hall.
 Josephina did not waste a moment, but ran quickly down the hall and to the main room of the cabin. Mary’s bloody body fell at her feet. Josephina’s blade was quickly trusted into a nearby werewolf, but with little effect. Had her blade been pure silver rather than steel, this would have been the end of the monster. A steel blade took a little more effort to use against such a beast. Although injured, the monster was not stopped, but only grew angry.

 He quickly backhanded her with his massive claw. Josephina stumbled back a step and her blade was drawn back from the lycanthropes body. Her eyes narrowed with anger. Her left cheek began to bleed a bit where the claw had struck her.
She swung her blade, striking the beast on his left side. He growled and started forward to attack when a blade made contact with his back. The horrid animal fell to the ground.
Aaron drew his blade out of the body and turned to defend the ship against the other two werewolves that had made their way into the cabin.

 Damn wolves, Josephina thought as she hurried to Aaron’s side to offer her assistance. Where was Philip and Alex? Even Kilgean was missing. Two members of the crew were already slain.

 Aaron attacked the werewolf first. He swung his blade and made contact with the beast’s right shoulder. It clawed at him, but it’s claws could not penetrate the guard’s armor. Another blow from Aaron’s blade brought the beast to its knees. Josephina made the final blow. A quick downward strike sent the wolf’s head to the floor.

 “Gear up, Ms. Flynn,” Aaron said and began to engage the final werewolf, “It looks as if this may just be the beginning.”

 Josephina only now realized that she was dressed in nothing more but her nightgown. Still, she could not let Aaron take all of the glory. If blood was going to spill, her blade would not be clean. “I think you know me better than that, Aaron.”

 Aaron swung his blade but missed the wolf. “Indeed, I do,” he said with a bit of a laugh. Josephina took the same beast from a different angle. Her blade found its way into the beast’s left side. Aaron to another swing and made contact with its right side. The beast struggled a bit, and then lunged toward Josephina. She drove a blade through its heart.

 “What of Philip and the boy?” she asked, calmly.

 “Philip was taken to the temple by Kilgean. He had suffered some injury during the attack. I’m not sure what happened to young Alex. I did not see where he might have went. My apologizes, Ms. Flynn.”

 “Speak nothing of it, Aaron.” Josephina then withdrew her blade from the corpse and it hit the floor. “Where did these werewolves come from?”

 “I do not know. They attacked us as soon as we had docked,” Aaron began. He may have had more to say, but Josephina did not let him.

 “The Northern Hills,” she mumbled, answering her own question, “But Isabelle was not killed by a wolf.” She spoke this last part as either a question or a statement, no one could be sure.

 “I did not see anything else, my lady,” shaking his head, slightly disappointed in himself.

 Josephina took a quick look around at the carnage that had taken place. Mary, two of the ships crew, and a servant girl laid in a puddle of their own blood. Aaron even had a few minor injuries. Josephina touched her left cheek that was still bleeding.

 Something’s not right, she thought, They were a decoy.
Josephina then headed to the cargo area. She knew it was already time for battle. As she open the door, one of the servant girls let out a fearful shriek. Josephina caught a glimpse of her as she hid behind a large crate. “It’s just me,” she said, seeming a bit annoyed.

 “Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were…” she began with a trembling voice.

 “It’s only me,” Josephina answered again, more annoyed.

 “I hid here with the boy. I thought…”

 “Well, wasn’t that brave of you,” Josephina responded sarcastically and with a bit of anger. She opened one of the crates and began pulling out a large variety of melee weapons. She then glanced over to see young Alex being held back by the servant girl.

 Alex was about six years old now. His blonde hair grew wild and was seldom kept. Still, there was something adorable about that. His blue eyes shined like crystals, but today they held fear behind them mixed with tears. He clung to this servant girl as she clung to him. The initial fighting was over, but the fear and confusion remained.

 “I had to protect the boy,” the servant girl protested in defense of her actions. Josephina glared at her, but said not a word. The servant lowered her eyes. She was a bit bold for a servant, but she knew better than to speak that way to Ms. Flynn.

 This servant may have been beautiful at one time. Now and her late teenage years, she appeared to be in her thirties. Work and abuse had not been kind to her body. She was slender and adorned in a dress that was beyond her means. Possible a gift. Blonde hair fall to her shoulder and over her face. If she ever would make eye contact with you, which she had been taught not to do, you would find two blue orbs of pain and heartache. No one ever seemed to notice this however. No, to most, she was a servant and nothing more. To the males, she was a servant in many ways.

 Josephina took some black armor from another crate and began to ready herself. Each blade found its home as naturally as the rising sun. A quiver full of bolts was flung over her shoulder and a crossbow at her side. A bag full of potions and a few scrolls hung by her side. She considered a helmet for a moment, but put it back into the crate. She found it more of a hindrance than a help. She then grabbed a black hooded cloak which she stuffed in the bag of potions.

 Josephina was in her early twenties. Her skin had been slightly tanned for she was not a stranger to hard labor. Her calloused hands also showed proof to this fact. Her hair style had undergone many changes by this point in her life, but today her brown hair, highlighted by a bit of a red tint, hung freely to the base of her neck. Her slender body was very athletic, strong, and flexible. She lived somewhere between arrogant and confident. Somewhere between famous and mysterious was her home. She was not evil, but she was far from pure. She was Josephina Flynn.

 There was a thud on deck.
 Josephina rushed out of the cargo hold and up the wooden steps to the deck. One last werewolf to take care of. One of the guards from Ellot had already engaged the enemy, firing bolts from a crossbow as he stood his ground on the land. Josephina had the perfect opportunity to flank the beast from the right side and drove a blade into its ribcage. The monster gasped for breath as another bolt struck him in the chest. He went down to one knee, and Josephina brought down her blade, separating his head from his body.

 Josephina sheathed her blade and stepped off the ship. The guard greeted her with a slight bow, “Welcome home, Ms. Flynn.”

 “I could have done without your welcoming party.” She spoke this in such a way that one might not know how to take it. Was she joking? Was she mad?

 “I do apologize. Activity in the Northern Hills has been…” The guard already felt as if he had failed in protecting the dock, but Josephina had a way of adding to his pain.

 “Nothing ever changes,” she said and shoved a purse of coins into the guard’s chest. He knew it was payment to take care of this ship. He went about his business without another word.

 Josephina looked toward the Northern Hills and beyond them to Mount Keon. Both of which were veiled by the fog coming off of the Polaris Sea. The snow was now falling softy around her as gust of wind carried additional powder of snow across her feet. She then looked south, across the frozen land before her.

 Farms and houses scattered throughout the landscape. Most residents stayed in their houses during this season. They gathered as large families and warmed themselves by the fire. They ate all that they had stored up from the previous seasons. They had worked hard the rest of the year. They had toiled in the heat of the sun. They had harvested all they could before the frost hit. Now, it was time for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It was the life that many had come to know. It was all they had.

 Josephina began her journey south, past all of this frozen farmland. The light and laughter from within the houses were inviting, but not all that familiar to her. The snow crunched under her boots. She could hear the wolves, even now, howling in the distance. A lone cow stood within the confines of a wooden fence and looked for something to eat. The wind blew against her, making it difficult to walk. Even the road had been covered by snow drifts and was hard to see. Wagons and horses had not traveled it recently.

 Josephina looked ahead, down the road. Through the fog, she could see the torches around the city gate of Ellot.


Chapter 2: Entering Ellot
Josephina Flynn(Table of Contents)