The following day, after their enemy had made their move, things didn't improve. And whoever it was they were hunting knew how to add insult to injury. The same as yesterday, the mysterious mist gathered around them and made progress slow. But when one of their Navigators stepped and fell through a pile of leaves that turned out to be a pitfall with sharpened stones at the bottom, the journey to the center of the woods became even slower. Every man tread carefully wherever he went, even if he saw that same spot walked over a dozen times. An hour later while the men were searching the ground for traps a Colonel fell from his land dragon with a bleeding head before hearing an echoing crack with no clear point of origin. The unsuspecting Colonel was dead before he touched the ground. The men were looking in every direction for the shooter but they couldn't see or hear a thing. Whoever it was, was far enough that the beastmen couldn't smell them either. That awful feeling from before they entered Nocturne Forest was beginning to feel increasingly justified.
After that, the Captain had to step in personally. The Navigators were to be accompanied by a Shield Bearer at all times, but that only made things worse at night. Using their magic to shield their guides exhausted the Bearers and only made night sentry duty harder to get through. Their enemy seemed to sense this and only got bolder and cut down a few other officers but mostly focused on the beastmen among them. With the company losing their proverbial eyes and ears, anxiety filled everyone. It had been less than a week of making their way to the center of the forest, and of the two hundred men in their company, forty seven had died so far, most of them officers and scouts. Despite most of their force being intact, the randomness of it all had every man jumping at shadows.
While they were marching, Higgins was guarding his Navigator. Going with only a few hours of sleep over the span of a week and a half was taking its toll. The poor soldier could barely keep his eyes open, let alone maintain his barrier properly. As he was stumbling along, he saw the first signs of discord, desertion. He heard running feet behind him, and when Higgins turned, he saw one of the soldiers trying to break from the formation. Two seconds later a shot rang out as the Captain drew his pistol and shot the deserter in the thigh.
"Bind that man! He will face court martial once we are out of these damn woods", the Captain ordered, "And that was only a warning shot. If any other man decides to abandon his duty, he will be executed without mercy. Is that understood?" A tired and scared chorus of 'Yessirs' sounded off.
No sooner were the words out of the Captain's mouth before his face contorted in pain. He appeared to be trying to scream but no sound was coming. It was like he was being strangled.
(Back in the Judge's office)
"So your Captain just began choking", another Captain asked in a tone that implied they thought the soldier was lying.
"I don't know", Higgins shouted, "That's just it. Like I said, one moment he was fine, the next it was like he was being strangled."
"Could it have been some kind of poison or maybe some kind of hypnotic magic making him believe he couldn't breathe?"
Rubbing his forehead, Higgins mumbled, "I don't know. It was most likely magic, but we didn't see or hear anything. When the Aesculapian healers took a look, it spread through the camp that there was no poison or even any sign that he was killed by an invisible enemy."
"So, your Captain shot the deserter and then was killed by something that strangled him. Is that correct, Mr. Higgins", the Police Captain more ordered than asked.
With a heavy sigh, "Oddly enough, no."
(Back in the forest)
Most of the men watched in horror as something slowly killed their increasingly panicked Captain. His second in command ran up to try and do anything. But before that, the desperate leader slipped from his land dragon's saddle. With his neck making a sickening crunch and the lack of any movement, the company realized they were now without their Captain.
But then on the tenth day of exploration was when disaster truly struck. It was when the men were making camp for the night. Higgins was falling asleep sitting up as he sat against a tree. They had given up trying to light fires two nights ago, since the light only extended so far and blinded them to actually seeing things in the night. The lack of sleep and the fear was demoralizing the men fiercely.
"Do you hear that", a beastman named Thrawn asked.
"Do I hear what", mumbled Higgins.
Thrawn's ears were twitching, "I don't know. Some kind of hissing sound. Like a kid trying to whistle but not getting it."
Rubbing his aching forehead, "I don't know, whatever it is, maybe if we don't bother it, it'll leave us be."
Thrawn sniffed the air and stood up, "Something isn't right."
Tired as he was, Higgins stood, trying to muster what little magic he had "Can you smell someone?"
Taking another whiff of the air, "No, it's not human or any other race here."
"Some kind of monster?"
Flattening his ears against his head, "No, it's not any kind of living creature. I've never smelled anything like this. It smells… wrong."
"Walk with me."
Higgins and Thrawn slowly walked through the camp. It wasn't until the pair could see to the edge of camp that they came to a horrifying conclusion together. They saw that mist that had been slowing their camp, the same as it had been for the past ten days. The only thing different about it was that three sentries on duty were currently writhing on the ground, clutching their throats.Their bloodshot eyes, wide in terror as their throat could only produce strangled chokes.
"Everyone get away from the fog!", Higgins screamed
The Shield Bearer had no idea what was happening, but the singular thought of getting everyone away from whatever was approaching their camp consumed him. Running at speeds he never thought possible and yelling at headache inducing volumes without losing his voice, he drew the camp out of a restless sleep. The other men were struggling blearily to their feet, ready but incredibly ill prepared to meet this fresh hell. When the hastily promoted new leader, the Lieutenant, saw what was happening, he quickly ordered the men to form a tight circle with the shield bearers to keep the mist away from them at whatever cost. Emergency magic replenishing potions were guzzled to give each remaining Shield Bearer one last desperate hurdle.
The mist was rapidly approaching the mustered soldiers with still more desperately trying to escape. The Captain tightly grasping his sword shouted, "Shield Bearers, on my mark, erect a dome barrier and do not let it down for anything! And I do mean anything."
A sickening knot tightened in the barrier men's guts at the implication of that order. That horror was only becoming more of a reality at what they saw. Most of the men were within the boundary, but there were a few others. The fog was closing in and try as they might, not every man was safe. It could've been due to exhaustion, slipping and falling, or any other reason, but the mist was approaching faster than those poor souls. Among the fleeing men, Higgins could see two men carrying one of the injured on a stretcher. Tears pricked at his eyes as he desperately prayed to each of the gods of the Pantheon that he wouldn't hear those words.
The Lieutenant, being a minor practitioner of wind magic, unlike his former commanding officer who was more experienced, tried blasting gusts of wind at the mist. With each swipe of his sword, he pushed back a swath of the mist, but it only approached from whatever direction more. He didn't become an officer without having a respectable control over his power, but the exhaustion was taking its toll.
"Erect the barrier", the Lieutenant ordered in a voice so resolute yet so defeated.