Rise of the Horde

To the south of Ereia, at one of the gates inside the kingdom from the south, in a manor which is clearly owned by some noble house basing on its luxurious appearance and the banners that are being flown on its towers. Inside the manor's largest room, the sound of someone moaning in pain could clearly be heard as the stone walls of the manor easily echoed out the sound as it spread it through its halls.

On the bed that practically screamed of luxury, its posts made from the rare and expensive Drakwood, the ropes that interwove from one side to the other to form as its spring was from that of Seifan Threads which were scarce in the market or at times non-existent. The mattress made from the finest and softest silk which was stuffed with feathers. The bed also has a canopy with gold and jewels embedded onto it and beddings made from fine cloth that was as expensive as the finest silk.

If there is something that nobles were really good at, it was flaunting their wealth to others and the large room was designed as such. Almost each corner of the room was specifically intended to do just that. The appearance of the room was very majestic but the one occupying the place was the complete opposite as he looks like more of a beggar than a rich man.

His entire body covered in bandages with darkened blood and pus seeping out from the confines of the dressings and the sound of suffering that he keeps on making, it was a dark contrast to the grand appearance of the room. Baron Masud lay in his bed, groaning in pain as his entire body aches from his head to toe. There was not a single part of his body that isn't throbbing in agony both inside and out.

He knew that he was suffering from some kind of unknown disease but he doesn't know where he got it from and what cause it. The only thing that he could remember was that after he escaped the warmongering creatures and their allies, he arrived at a town, a town with no living creature in it, be it animals or humans.

He spent some time roaming around the empty town and according the clues that he could find, the town was abandoned just recently but what he can't figure out was that why was it deserted since the place had no signs of struggle, not a single one. His soldiers wouldn't have been quicker than him since almost all of them were on foot and the riders who fled first before him now lay dead somewhere among the grains of sand with their bodies now cold after he was done with them. And the warehouses were still filled to the brim with food and other necessary supplies.

Since the place was empty, he decided to just burn it down to the ground to deny the enemies from easily obtaining the valuable supplies and a denying them of a great camp. He grabbed whatever he can that he could that can fit onto the steeds that he has with him then set the town ablaze. Baron Masud had a smirked on his face after journeying a safe distance way from the blazing inferno that he had created. With enough supplies in his possession, he made a beeline towards his dominion but made a stop at Alsenna to warn them of the incoming assault.

He could still clearly remember the mocking gaze that he received from Earl Baksha when he informed them of his defeat. The Earl didn't just stop with the mocking gaze but also spouted some infuriating words that made him seethe in anger specially the part where the worthiness of his family's noble status was doubted. After he did what he had to do, he stormed out of the Earl's residence and exited the city within the same day that he entered.

The thoughts of the baron were soon disturbed by the knocking sounds that came from the door.

"Come in!..." he uttered as loud as he could before breaking into a fit of coughs and just like before, he could taste the metallic and salty taste of his own blood that made its way towards his mouth. The nauseous feeling came to strike once again as beads of cold sweat formed up on his forehead after some suppressed gagging, the contents of his stomach came flooding out, mostly fluids that had an undesirable taste. He had turned weak after continuously throwing out the food that he consumes almost immediately and the pain that was assaulting his senses did no better to make him relax.

The door slowed opened and to enter was a staff, the staff was plain as it could get, just made of some ragged looking wood. Moving his gaze up, the poor lord soon met the gaze of the staff's owner who was an old man with wrinkled skin and a head full of white hair. Baron Masud was skeptical about the capabilities of the newcomer since even his own personal doctor wasn't able to find out what illness he was suffering from but the eyes of the old man remained calm even after seeing the state that he was in.

Without a word, the old man made his way towards the bed of the baron, escorted by the guards to protect their lord. Lord Masud struggled to sit up but he did manage to do it nonetheless despite how feeble he was. He reeks of vomit and something awful like that of a rotting corpse but the old man seemed to have not noticed the scent as he still continued on his way.

Wordlessly, the old hermit unwrapped the bandage on one of the baron's hands which exposed what was lying beneath it. The hand was filled with tiny but noticeable holes, closely packed together like that of a sponge with a viscus fluid oozing out from those tiny pits which was causing the awful stench, aside from the odor of vomit in the room.

"How is it? Do you know what illness is this and more importantly are you able to cure me?" the baron struggled to finish his questions as he tried his best to prevent himself from throwing up at the old man.

The old man stood up and stared seriously at the baron.

"You are both dead and alive."

The words of the old man brought nothing but confusion to the baron.

"What do you mean by that?" Lord Masud question as he broke into a fit of cough once again.

"I regret to inform you that this disease has no known cure that I know of. The only thing that I can do for you is to ease the pain that you are constantly subjected to and stop you from vomiting the food that you consume." The elderly didn't want to give the lord false hope as he really didn't know any cure that could make some recover from the 'Corpse Disease' which was suspected as a curse instead of a disease because of its nature.

Lord Masud helplessly laid back down on his bed with helplessness as his hopes of being cured was snuffed out by the elder quickly. His wife was beginning to tear up as she watched how much pain he was suffering. The baron was never a good noble as he was totally strict and cruel when it comes to others but he was a great father to his daughter and a fine husband to his wife despite his infidelity.

His wife was about to embraced him once again but the old man was quick to prevent her from doing so.

"I advise you not to do that, the disease is can easily spread through contact with the pus that oozes out from the body of the one suffering from the illness. The servants who had come in contact with the fluid should remain with the lord and serve him, don't send anyone else." The wife of the baron was frightened by the words that was uttered by the elder as she flinched and created a distance between her and his husband. Baron Masud sighed in helplessness as he could understand the fear of his wife.

"I… I am sorry dear…" his wife apologized and slowly approached him once again.

"It's fine, I can understand. There's no need for you to come visit me in the future since my illness might also infect you and that would not be good for our daughter. Just take good care of her and don't worry about me." Lord Masud uttered with helplessness. The thing that worries him the most was the well-being of his daughter; he could endure himself suffering but would definitely not endure knowing that his beloved daughter is suffering.

"I'll come back tonight with the medicine and heed my warning if you want those who you care about to be safe from what you are suffering." The old man said before turning around and headed towards the door, the guards still with him.

Baron Masud helplessly sighed as he tried to divert his attention from the pain that he was experiencing as he reminisces about the moments that he had spent with his daughter.