by Janice Jackson

Morning at the Black Dragon Inn was always hectic and this morning was no different. The laundry maids were scurrying around gathering up all the laundry the guests had used the night before; the laundry room was fragrant with the soaps the mineral crofter league made for the inn's uses; the hall ways were heady with the scents of cannula oil and bee's wax the inside maids were using on the hard woods that comprised the interior of the Black Dragon Inn. Outside, the men and boys, charged with the care of the grounds and livestock, were just as busy. Barns were cleaned daily, cattle and sheep turned out into the fields for grazing; cows were milked and the hot milk processed in the dairy, then they joined the other animals in the pastures; all the poultry was cared for by the youngest members of the inn. The sight of the children running after hens and ducks brought a chuckle to any observers who watched them. No one who worked at the inn was idle, they took pride in their work. The praise given by Karl Strange meant something to the employees and the pay was very good.

Dora Fallforth, head cook, currently in charge of all the Black Dragon Inn's staff, stopped rolling out the pasta dough for the night's meal, stretched her aching back muscles and looked out toward the stable yard in time to see Bobby Cobb, one of the younger trainees for stableman, dismount his foam-lathered pony, and run toward the barn, shouting for help from those within.

Bobby turned his head toward the open door of the kitchen and shouted, "Sound the alarm! Dora, you must call Master Karl to come quickly. Tell him to follow me-it's horrible!"

Dora, hearing the anguish in Bobby's voice, wasted no time in notifying Karl Strange of an emergency. "Bobby has sounded the alarm."

"Damn." Karl mumbled to himself in frustration. He had barely poured himself a hot cup of coffee and dipped the edge of a cinnamon cookie into it when the commotion began. He shoved a handful of the crisp cookies into his coat pocket and headed out to the stables at a half-run.

"Bobby Cobb, wait up! What has happened to make you so upset?" Karl shouted to the slender lad now mounted on another Highland pony while holding the reins of Karl's black warhorse, Striker. The Karl mounted his horse carefully as the horse was pawing the ground anxiously.

Karl tried to ignore the small crowd of staff and guests that had heard the noise that Bobby had raised as he notified Dora of what he had seen, all were curious but he had no time to answer their questions at that moment.

"Follow me, sir! It's horrible!" Bobby panted, his breath now coming in short gasps, as he wheeled his horse and pointed to the sky at a flock of circling vultures. "Towards Langford's Gully, Master Karl," the stable boy exclaimed, as he spurred his pony onward, not waiting for Karl to catch up to him.
Karl's eyes looked at the large flock of vultures in the sky overhead and gave Striker the command to follow Bobby's Highland pony. Bobby was riding hard down the narrow trail away from the inn; Karl could see the half-crazed look that glazed Bobby's eyes. His pony was already lathered with thick white foam from the frantic pace the lad had set for him.

Karl had an idea what Bobby was talking about as Striker quickly caught up to the near panicked pony.

"Slow down, boy you'll ruin that horse galloping at so fast a pace on this trail."
Bobby nodded his head and pulled up on his pony's reins. They rode for another half hour, while Karl allowed Bobby time to steady himself.

When Bobby looked calmer, Karl addressed the lad in a quiet voice. "Now can you tell me what it was you saw out there?"

"It was horrible, Captain Strange. You'll see. You'll see." Bobby whispered.

Suddenly the familiar scent of offal and fresh blood filled Karl's nostrils. He rounded one more bend in the trail leading to the Langford Glen, Karl's heart sank as his eyes beheld the first signs of a massacre, a pair of watch dogs, their stomachs torn out, heads nearly severed from their large bodies lay across some bushes crossing the trail. The smell continued to grow as he moved his horse forward; Striker never faltered a step in the wash of death that now filled the once clean glen.

Karl pulled his horse to a halt when he saw Bobby Cobb lean forward in his saddle and vomit, the boy's face reddening from the effort.

"Bobby, are you alright, lad?" Karl called out from a discreet distance. Bobby could not speak but pointed ahead of him. Karl's eyes following Bobby's shaking fingers to a point across the glen. Karl felt his own body give a quick lurch as he viewed the scene that had caused the lad to vomit a few minutes before. On the far side of the glen lay a twisted wagon, two horses torn to ribbons lying across broken wheels. Then he saw the human remains scattered across shredded belongings. He could make out the parts of a man and woman and what looked like rag dolls lying beside the woman.

Karl's eyes glazed with hatred as Bobby told him of the discovery. Karl remembered another time he, himself had suffered the viewing of such a tragedy.

Karl would never tell anyone that Bobby had reacted in such a way, as vomiting at the sight of so much death. Karl knew the youngsters prided themselves on their personal bravery. It was a badge of honor to all of them to have faced evil and lived to tell the tale. Karl had heard of some of the tales and the tales they told and they grew bigger with each telling. Bobby's tales were going to be very big indeed. Karl would make certain that Bobby's courage and bravery were impressive indeed. Karl had also heard of the problems the slim lad had with the older boys, though Bobby had never complained to anyone, not even Dora. This also was a sign of courage among the lads. Karl was always kept informed by the other male adults as to what happened among the staff. They were all handsomely rewarded for having sharp eyes and ears. Karl could not be everywhere and know everything that happened at the inn.

"Bobby, lad. I need you to pull yourself together. Get some water from the clear part of the stream and clean up. Be very alert. Draw you bow, I need you to cover my back." Karl spoke to the lad as he would any of his warrior comrades. The smiled at the lad's now ramrod straight back and confident stride as he went to the stream to clean off his face.

"Captain Karl wants me to watch his back! Wow!" Bobby Cobb sighed. Bobby carefully followed Karl's instructions and was quickly back at Karl's side, his short bow cocked and loaded with a metal tri-star tipped hunting arrow, eyes alert to any moving shadow.

"The killings had to have taken place last night, because the inn's children went fishing here yesterday and reported nothing out of place down here," Karl whispered to Bobby, his eyes taking in the remains of a camp fire, cooking pots broken or bent scattered around the site, and half eaten foods littering the ground. Karl bent over one of the bodies, the one that still had a recognizable head and face, a young boy, to see if he could identify him, he could not. He had just stood up again from his grisly task when he heard a whimper from somewhere under the broken ruins of their wagon. Bobby's weapon never wavered as Karl drew his short sword from its scabbard at his left hip, for this enemy knew how to imitate human sounds. He approached the whimpering cautiously. Karl used the tip of his sword to move a clutter of objects from under the wagon and discovered a small, wet trunk hidden under piles of clothing, a large crushed water barrel laying broken over it. Karl touched the soaked trunk and a small whimper came out of it in response. He knelt down and carefully open the leather latches on it's side, especially careful to avoid a pair of small honey bees that kept darting at his hands and face as he looked deeply into the wet chest. Karl then reached inside and yelled at Bobby, "Go fetch Dora! Bobby run your pony as fast as his legs will carry him!" Karl then reached for the remains of a damp blanket and pulled something from the trunk. Karl's head kept bobbing away from the darting bees.

"Well, what do we have here?" Karl spoke in a soft, gentle voice. He held the bundle close to his warm jacket, trying to wipe something down as he held it tight. It was a baby, cold, wet and naked and hungry, from the sounds that were now coming from it. Karl turned the infant over and realized that the baby was a girl. She looked up at him with deep brown eyes, sweat soaked black ringlets clinging to her heart-shaped face and then she began screaming for food. Karl had no bottle for her but pulled a hard cinnamon sugar cookie from his pocket. He broke it in three pieces and began feeding the baby bits of the cookie. She had one tooth, but she gummed the pieces cookie with hungry relish. Karl talked to the child for quite sometime while he checked her over for any wounds that might become infected, harming her even more. Karl swiped at the darting bees and got a nasty sting for his efforts. "Ouch! You damn fools. I am not after your honey, now get away."

The bees seemed to retreat but only out of the reach of his long arms. This puzzled Karl, but the sound of approaching mules and Dora's less than tender voice reached his ears before his mind could work out the mystery. Karl's military mind was already working on the gathering of a hunting party to hunt down Karnak and his creatures. The Talos Valley was a dangerous place to live, as it were, but with the Night Stalkers roaming the lands, no one was safe camping outside, not even here so close to the Black Dragon Inn, here in this small glen where children came to swim and fish and play.

"Damn you, Karnak!" Karl hissed, spittle flying from his clenched teeth. These beasts had attacked just after sunset, before the cover of fog, not even shunning fire as they had when he first encountered them more than 200 hundred years before. Something had changed, something very bad for all humans in the Talos Valley.

"Get moving you lazy fools!" Dora shouted at the mules. She really hated to use these two, but her other mules were currently being used by some of the farmers to bring in the spring crops.

The heavy sounds of the mules' hooves as they struck the packed ground, broke into the monologue Karl had been using talking to the little child. Dora had come a lot faster than Karl would have credited her. He did not know that she had her mules harnessed right after Karl and Bobby had left the grounds of the inn. And if the two mules had been less trouble to her, she would have arrived on their heels.

"You can't be more than a year old, little one." Karl kept his voice non-threatening as he kept the child comforted. He stood when he heard Dora's voice coming from her cart, "Bobutt and Mical, you both are the most ridiculous assess in this world! If I did not need you to haul this wagon of mine, I would have you made into dog food!!" The mules just looked at her and blew frothy foam in her direction, ignorant, blank eyed expressions in their eyes. Dora finally could only shake her head in disgust. She would have reconsidered her discussion to let them live if she could have seen their ears flatten and their lips curl exposing sharp teeth behind her back.

Karl heard Dora panting as she jumped down from the cart that had brought her and Bobby to the killing ground.

Karl put a quieting finger up to his lips and forced his voice to remain calm so as not to frighten the child any more than necessary as he carried the baby toward Dora.

"Karl Strange, you'll be the death of me yet! What's so all fired important-"
Karl put a quieting finger to his lips and forced his voice to remain calm, so as not to awaken the now sleeping child in his arms.

"We have a new guest, Dora. This little lady is the only survivor of her family. Her parents and sibling are scattered around here. I believe that a warm bath and warm milk would be just the ticket for this young lady."

The baby let loose a loud scream of anger at that moment to remind Karl that she was very uncomfortable and unhappy, the bees were back and darting fiercely about Dora's head as she held the baby. The bees quieted down when the large woman did not threaten them.

Dora reached for the infant and pulled her close to her ample chest. "Now my wee bairn, lets get you back to the inn and get you all cleaned up and fed with decent food, not cookies!" Dora gave Karl a wink and a mock scowl as she turned from the scene of horror that lay about the clearing. She held the infant close to her chest to block the baby from seeing what was left of her family and put another hard cookie into the hungry mouth. Dora felt that the only one to do the spoiling should be her, not anyone else. It was one of the few ways she had to control her own emotions in such ugly situations. Holding the baby close to her she grabbed a warm blanket and exchanged the torn one and added dry clothes she used as diapers.

Before Dora returned to the inn, Karl called Bobby to his side and asked, "How did you discover the tragedy out here, Bobby?" Bobby was untying his pony from the back of Dora's cart.

"Well sir, I had finished my morning chores and wanted to try out my new fishing pole and lures. Bessie Jane and the others had told me of how great the fishing was yesterday and I wanted to see if I could catch some for my mom for supper. Now I know you prefer we all go with each other, not alone. But I had only this morning off as there is a coach coming in today and I must help Pytre with the stock. I was sweating hard by the time I got here, and then I noticed there was not a sound to be had in the area. This is mighty strange this close to the river, there should have been birds and ground squirrels, but there was dead silence. That's when I also noticed the stench of bodies going bad, so I thought maybe a bear had made a kill by the water. Perhaps that bear had killed a moose or something that big from the odor. I came through the last of the brush and there this family was. All dead, sir." Bobby now had tears in his eyes. "I rode fast to find you. I did right didn't I, sir? "

"You did just right, lad " Karl shook the lad's hand. "Now let's get you and Dora back to the inn-"

The infant hearing Karl's voice had wiggled herself up to Dora's plump shoulder and was staring at her rescuer. Suddenly the infant began to scream in terror. Karl barely had time to draw his weapon when something knocked him onto the ground, savaging at his heavy leather jacket. Karl felt razor-sharp talons tearing at the leather armor beneath his winter jacket as he rolled to the left, throwing the hairy thing off him. Karl rolled then to the right, struggling to get to his feet, weapon drawn. His eyes saw the beast bracing itself to leap at his jugular-a cracking sound filled the air-there stood Dora, atop the wagon, the child held tight to her left breast as she cracked here twenty-foot, metal tipped mule-skinner's whip at the creature's head. The creature howled in anger, a dark red gash appearing on its hyena-like face, as it turned to charge Dora.

Karl leaped onto this feet, drawing his boot knife, throwing it blindly at the charging creature, hitting it in the side near it's hindquarters.

Karl shouted, "No, Bobby!" Just as a thick tree branch crashed into the creature's charging head. The impact made a crunching sound but the creature turned and now charged the fleeing boy. The beast made a leap at Bobby, pulling him to the ground with a savage bite to his hamstring. "Karl", Bobby screamed aloud-the last words he would ever utter before the beast tore out his jugular.

Karl hacked away at the creature, his sword rising and falling in what seemed to be a never-ending moment of flying blood and screams of pain. The air about Karl suddenly filled with the angry sounds of a swarm of wild bees that were attacking the thing that had attacked him and Bobby only seconds before. It grunted in pain and then was silent. Karl not wanting Dora to ask too many questions yet, put her and the baby on the cart and swatted the mules rear ends sending them trotting at a clip back to the inn. He had deliberately stood in from of the dead creature so as not to frighten the child or Dora. Then he smiled when he realized the child had warned him about the creature. He made a mental note to get something for the child. Perhaps she would be an asset to the inn staff when she got older, if she proved to truly be an orphan.

Just as he thought the morning's trouble was behind them, something broke free of the gathering shadows and moved toward Dora's wagon. Karl grabbed Bobby's short bow and still notched arrow from the ground and shot blindly at the new creature running after Dora's wagon. She did not see it as it as it ran from the shadows into the light. The hyena-like face was scared; it's teeth still bloody from a recent attack as it turned toward Dora's cart. Her eyes were filled with tears a she cried out in pain, "No, Bobby. Not you too."

"Dora, quickly get back to the inn; I shall finish the work here. Use your whip! Get to safety!" Karl slapped the mules harder on their rear ends forcing them to lurch ahead.

Karl waited until Dora and the infant were beyond the bracken, before he glanced down at the creatures that had attacked him and Bobby. One resembled a hyena with a baboon's body. Even in death, its teeth were fully bared, ready for attack. Despite having hacked the creature to pieces, it was twice the size of a huge guard dog. Its eyes were blood red; it's pupils black and elongated as all night hunters bore. "A yearling, "thought Karl, "separated from the pack, possibly wounded. Yet it had attacked in full sunlight, neither under the cover of darkness nor fog. It was dangerously different.

The second creature was more human than animal, it had claws on the ends of it's fingered hands and feet. Its also had eyes were also blood-red, it's pupils too were elongated and black. It had attacked in full sunlight, not even in shadow, as he would have expected. This creature also was covered in dead bees. Karl was becoming very curious about these honey bees. Both creatures stank of dark evil; Karl knew these were Karnak's creations.

"Karnak!" Karl hissed the name once more. Then he noticed that the weather had turned and the sky had become leaden with rain filled clouds and Karl allowed the falling rain to cleanse his body.

Karl shuddered, then thrust his thoughts aside and began the job of gathering up body parts and finding whatever information he could find out about this family. He carefully wrapped all papers and books in oilskins and put them on Striker's saddlebags. He finished gathering all the body parts and piled branches onto a funeral pyre, poured a special oil over everything and folded his hands in prayer right after he had throw a burning brand onto the center of the pyre. "With these words, and by my hands, I bring the cleansing flames. May your journey be made easier, know that your daughter and sister will live as one of my own family, this I vow. I shall hunt down your killers and do what I may. Amen."

The funeral pyre smoldered then burst into a white-hot all-consuming flame. Karl knelt by the fire and continued his prayers, as the magical fire he had called upon consumed the bodies until there was nothing left but a mound of gray-white ash. Karl prodded the ashes looking for the gemstones of life and death. He found none. The other Night Stalkers had savaged them and brought them to their master, Karnak, as tribute.

The dark wizard had returned from whatever hell he had holed up in for the last fifty years. Karl had banished him once and it looked like he would have to do it again -- perhaps this time permanently - unless Karnak should destroy him first.

Upon returning to the inn, Karl was met by guards and some of the male guests, who had heard rumors about why Karl had been gone for so long. They were anxious to learn if they would be safe staying here any longer. Karl looked at them and silently removed Bobby Cobb's body from his warhorse's saddle. He never spoke a word until after he had handed the lad's remains over to his male kin and told them of the boy's bravery and courage. Bobby Cobb would be forever remembered after this day. Those who had tormented the lad before would ever after claim to have been his friend. Legends were made of such deeds.

"Please!" Karl held up his left hand and motioned for all those outside to return inside the inn. He asked the men to send for their wives before he talked to them, he also asked that any children be left in their rooms, a maid would be provided if necessary. The men followed his orders and they gathered yet again in the great dinning room. Karl motioned for the men and women to set at the tables nearest the long bar and had the maids pour flagons of ale and bring the large tankards to the tables, he had glasses of red wine for the women. Karl waited silently while the men and women had at least two drinks before he spoke to them again. When he saw that all had relaxed he sighed. Karl was tired, but he knew that his inn and his reputations were at stake right now.

" Ladies and gentlemen, this day I have taken care of the final remains of an unfortunate couple and their children. Only one child survived this attack, a little girl. We lost one of our own today also to a group of beasts known as the Night Stalkers." Karl found it difficult to talk to the angry faces before him. He wanted to slap them for their attitudes when a young child had lost everything in her life today, but he had been around too long to give in to these feelings. The inn had lost a special young man too, no one asked about him.

"How come a mere child survived an attack and the rest of her family did not? What in creation attacked them? We had not been told of any dangers lurking in this area." A dark haired man spoke with a voice laced with ale and anger, his eyes filled with fear, only the liquor giving him the courage to speak so boldly.

"This year old child survived because someone locked her inside a trunk so that the attackers would not see her. As to what attacked them, we call them the Night Stalkers."

"I, for one, will not stay around here, I will take my leave"

"This Inn is safe. Talos Valley is not" Karl replied. "Don't be a fool."

"How safe are we here? When will our children be attacked?" A woman at the back of the crowd stepped forward terror written in her eyes.

"The Black Dragon Inn has been fortified against these beasts. They will not cross the boundaries of the Inn." Karl smiled briefly before adding, "As long as you stay inside from sunset to sunrise, you and yours are safe.

Angry eyes stared hard in Karl's direction as they all waited for an answer to the woman's question. Karl held back his personal response, ignoring the woman's rudeness and simply nodded at them.

Before he could answer their questions, a loud voice called out from the rear of the crowd of guests.

"I want my bill made up! I am taking my family out of here today." A blond haired man shouted as he took yet another swig of the ale.

"Not today, if you want to live to see another day" Karl leaned forward and glared at the loud man. Karl privately wanted to shove the man outside for the others to watch as this loud mouthed fool was torn apart by the Night Stalkers. Karl managed to restrain himself, barely.

"Why? Are we now prisoners?" The man spit foam from his mouth as he spoke. His words failed to incite the others into hasty decisions. The drunken guest suddenly tipped forward, head hitting the floor with a solid thunk; the others thought he had passed out from all his drinking and were grateful he was finally silent. A thick shadow moved away from the group; the soft sound of a voice barely heard by anyone else but Karl, muttered,"Damn fool! He would sacrifice his family in his drunken state! Now he will have a wee bit of a headache in the morning and be alive to suffer the pain!" A faint snort faded quickly in the deepening shadows of the inn's interior. A pair of strong men came forward and carried the 'sleeping' guest up to his room. Dora stepped lightly into her kitchen and unwound the kitchen towel from around her marble rolling pin. She put the pin back upon a rack in the kitchen and then prepared herself a dram of strong whiskey and another for the man who would soon be joining her in the kitchen for a nightcap. She had no pity for fools but their families were precious to her, having lost hers to these very same creatures. Dora drew in a deep breath and poured yet another for herself. The Night Stalkers made her blood run cold at the very thought that they were preying on humans again in the valley; not many things frightened Dora, but these did. This time they had taken her Bobby. Dora swore revenge for the lad. She had nursed Bobby back from the fever that had taken his family's lives. Three tiny bees hovered above Dora's head, humming softly to bring calm to woman who cared for the baby.

Dora moved the old wooden cradle closer to her chair and used a foot to make the cradle rock softly. "I ought to call you the "Peacemaker!" Dora chuckled, patting the rolling pin. She went to a cupboard and removed a tall bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Dora poured herself a healthy dram of the liquor and downed it with a quick flick of her wrist. Inside the rocking cradle more bees hummed to the sleeping infant. Dora had no pity for the drunken man, but his wife and child were another matter. Dora had lost her own family to these same creatures. Dora drew a deep breath and poured herself another dram of the liquor, feeling its warmth course through her body. The Night Stalkers had returned to the Talos Valley. No one was safe.

Back at the other end of the inn Karl was continuing his conversations with the remaining guests.

"You are free to go anytime you desire. But I would advise you to look outside at the road that runs in front of this building." Karl motioned the other men and women forward and they all followed him to the front door. Karl opened the heavy doors and stepped outside and pointed to the fingers of fog and tendrils of fine mist were drifting along the ground toward the inn. The tall dark green fir trees gently swaying in the late afternoon breezes and the gentle sounds from a nearby waterfall as it cascaded into a pool belied the deadly danger of the world outside the doors to the inn.

"When the fog thickens, the creatures will come. They have a reluctance to hunt in daylight. I do not know the mechanics of the creatures, just that they hunt under the fog and kill cruelly. I have never looked at a living one so I cannot tell you more than that. If you choose to leave now, I will not stop you, but know this, the creatures will hunt you down, and you cannot outrun them. Stay and protect your families, we will play loud music, eat good food and drown out the noises that may come from outside. I pray that you never have to endure the sight of these beasts, but the choice is yours." Karl nodded to the men and women, then left them to make their own plans. He would have the staff lay in a large amount of strong drink and food enough to sate their fears. He shook his head at the foolishness of these men if they chose to leave so late in the afternoon.

Karl joined Dora for a drink in the kitchen, they both cried for the loss of Bobby. They discussed the new baby girl and then he retired to his office once again. Neither of these adults noticed a hive of bees forming in the dark rafters high above them.

Karl closed the door to his office and went to the sideboard and poured himself another whiskey. He would not tell any of the others of his own fears of the new deadly terror hunting across his lands. Karl sat down in his overstuffed chair in front of the fireplace to finish his drink.

The comforting heat from the roaring fire caused his exhausted body to slump into sleepiness. He closed his eyes and began to dream of a young man with dark hair calling his name. A dream from long ago, one he had many times.

"Karl Strange, my blood brother of ancient times. I come back to the Talos Valley. You shall know me by the stone that you wear around your neck."

Karl's hand drew a leather cord from his shirt, a cord that had an oval shaped black stone attached to it. His fingers stroked the stone as he slept. He did not see the stone glow a pale silver shade where he touched it. All Karl could remember was that it had been given to him, in a cave - but so long ago, he could not remember when. He had slept then, too. The shard belonged to a friend, someone who had entrusted to him its safe-keeping.

Karl's mind was also filled with the vision of his daughter, Moira, dancing along the yellow pine floors of the inn, a silly song coming from her bow-shaped lips. His last conscious thought was of blood washing across the pristine echoes of the past. A single tear slowly creeping downs his cheek. In the dream he heard his daughter tell him to call the new baby, Moira. "She is special, Papa." A new name also came to him, Bee Charmer.

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