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[font=edwardian script itc][size=10][color=black]The “Foreign” Sky and New Continents –Tales of Mille Porte – Part II
[small]By: M.B. Poitou-Somerset[/small]
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Time flown by; the ‘warm’ Winter was slowly blown away by the breeze of Spring. While the Winter almost did not leave much to melt by the Spring, the latter had found another way to inform the denizens of Glyphrock, both to those within and beyond the Walls, of its arrival.
 Mille Porte, where thousands of opportunity exists, was no exception. Instead, their second Spring in Glyphrock Continent might be the one they would never forget, for better or worse.
 It was all begin when an invitation letter arrived in the hands of several adventurers; an invitation to partake in a caravan escort mission. Several adventurers interested with the offer, each with their own reasons. However, there were at least four adventurers who might had the caravan destination as their reason to partake in the escort mission, which was none other than Mille Porte.
 Those adventurers were a warrior who was unparalleled with her strength; a woman who knew no mercy to her foes; an archer who never let any foes escape from being her prey; and a lady who drove others with her words, yet had the most difficult standard to reach within the adventurers group. They went toward the meeting place, which coincidentally the inn where they met Cayne for the first time. There, the four of them met with other adventurers who would accompany them in another story in Mille Porte.
 The initial given task was actually rather simple: escorting a group of caravan to Mille Porte, where some of the adventurers did not meet any significant threat during their previous journey to the very same destination. However, the situation changed when a teamster spotted a lying body, might be a human corpse, not far from the caravan route. Upon hearing it, the adventurers immediately disembarked from the wagon and approached the said body. And as they feared, it was a human corpse.
 Worse, it was a human corpse, carrying a letter from Hevella of Mille Porte, directed to the adventurers…
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The adventurers finally arrived at Mille Porte, far before the caravan did, as the teamster sent them ahead, fearing that something awful happened on the caravan’s destination. And it did not take long for the adventurers to realize the dire condition of the settlement.
 Unnatural darkness stood out under the Daylight, shrouding an area where Mille Porte was supposed to be at. Corpses of Orcs, Goblinoids, as well as Dragons decorated their way toward the settlement’s direction. As the adventurers approached the darkness, commotions and sounds of metals clashing echoed within it. The adventurers rushed to the scene, and found the Guards of Mille Porte were fighting hordes of Undead inside the settlement. Without delay, the adventurers helped the Guards to fend off the Undead within their sight. With help from the adventurers, it did not take long for them to secure the immediate area and perimeter for regrouping and reorganizing themselves. 
 Fortunate enough for the citizen of Mille Porte, the Guards were already well-trained, enabling them to hold their ground long enough without their captain. Despite not showing the efficiency and effectiveness they had during the raid in Black Keep, the Guards managed to handle themselves. Nonetheless, it was only a matter of time for the Guards to finally succumb under the endless wave of Undead, if the situation was not mended immediately.
 As the Guards were set to secure the perimeter, Hevella finally shown up and met the adventurers. She briefly explained the situation to the adventurers, while showing an expression of relieve, as if she had longed to see the familiar faces amongst the adventurers like forever.
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Apparently, shortly after the raid of Black Keep was occurred, the situation in Mille Porte had slowly went downhill with the sudden increasing activities of Destroyers around the area surrounding the settlement, followed by the sudden phenomenon where Daylight was no longer able to illuminate Mille Porte, dubbed ‘Eternal Night’ by Hevella. As uneasiness spread within the settlement, Cayne decided to scout the source of all this phenomenon, which was the Black Keep itself. Alas, she never returned since the day she revisited the Keep.
 Not long after Cayne’s disappearance, the Guards of Mille Porte began to face difficulties and often outnumbered against the Destroyers. Fortunate for them, there were infighting within the Destroyers themselves, thus enabling the people of Mille Porte to survive the seemingly hopeless situation, albeit the infighting still damaged the settlement.
 After their objective was clear, the adventurers headed toward the Black Keep to seek the source of all this calamity, as well as looking for Cayne, while Hevella and the Guards of Mille Porte would try to hold their ground as long as possible. They realized that only miracle that would enable them to find Cayne alive. At best, they were expecting to find at least her body, while hoping the worst case, yet one of the most likely scenario, did not happen, where Cayne might had turned to an Undead herself.
 Sadly, the reality was indeed cruel, as the first thing the adventurers encountered shattered their hope…
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The adventurers’ path to the Black Keep was yet again decorated by remains of Destroyers, as well as handful of Undead. As they rushed to the Black Keep as quickly as they could, in no time, the adventurers finally arrived at the gate of Keep.
 Much to their surprise, the adventurers were welcomed by the familiar faces. The archer was the one who was mostly shaken, as she knew very well that those figures were the Guards of Mille Porte who were disabled by the Fiend in the raid back then. She could clearly remember how she tried to treat their gravely wounded body back then, as well as how they finally laughed off and accepted their condition. Let alone showing up on the gate of Keep, they should not be able to stand gallantly as she could see now.
 Those Guards tried to welcome the adventurers warmly. However, as she already identified those former Guards as Undead and determined them as lost causes, the lady prompted others to immediately attack them, before they could deceive and confuse the adventurers more with their words. And shortly after, it was clear that those former Guards already turned into vampire spawns, and being unprepared to face such kind of Undead, it took quite a while before the adventurers managed to exterminate them.
 And shortly after they defeated the spawns, the already unsealed door of Black Keep opened, and from behind the door, the figure whom the adventurers might or might not hope to see, walked toward the Keep’s lawn. A figure with silver hair and her trademark red clothing. She was Cayne, captain of the watch, defender of Mille Porte, and a dear friend of Hevella.
 Or perhaps, those were how she was formerly known as.
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Expression of disbelief and words of disappointment were clearly shown and uttered from the adventurers, especially those who already knew her before. Despite they realized this was one of the most possible scenarios, but they did not expect that Cayne willingly embraced the power of Black Keep.  Her fear and resolve to not let anyone else died had made her fell to the temptation given by the Keep. She was turned into a Destroyer herself, in exchange of an army of Undead, as well as the power of a vampire, which she deemed necessary to destroy other Destroyers, and ultimately protecting Mille Porte.
 The adventurers and Cayne were exchanging words for a while. More words of disappointment and disapproval came out from the mouth of adventurers, while Cayne tried to persuade the adventurers to agree with her method, as well as joining her Undead ranks. However, the spark of resolve and determination was no longer seen in her eyes. Only a stare as cold as ice could be seen. Obviously, neither sides conceded with the words of their opposition. Knowing that they would go nowhere with the conversation, finally the adventurers and Cayne agreed to do what they have to do, and settle it by force.
 Or so the adventurers think.
 The fight against Cayne was turned out to be unusual one for the adventurers. Cayne did not directly putting a fight with the adventurers. With her new ability, she swiftly walked pass through behind the defenses of adventurers, as if mocking them for their inability to response her swift movements. She walked and greeted the adventurers she knew, up close and personal. To make the situation worse, she even managed to sway one of other adventurer who accompanied the aforementioned four with her ability, making him uttered nonsense while hindering the effort to defeat Cayne.
 However, thanks to the capability of another companion which rendered Cayne’s ability useless, finally Cayne lost her patience and began to directly strike the adventurers. With a direct fight, finally the adventurers managed to defeat Cayne.
 At least for some time being.
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Unfortunately, Cayne transformed to butterflies and managed to escape from the adventurers grasp. As they were preparing themselves to chase the defeated vampire, a signal appeared from direction of Mille Porte; indicating that Hevella and the Guards needed the adventurers’ aid. While eliminating the source of all Undead in the Black Keep would help the Mille Porte for longer period, but the adventurers would not know how long they would need in order to do that. Losing the survivors of Mille Porte would make all of their efforts ended in vain.
 Thus, the adventurers decided to return to Mille Porte and aiding the survivors to evacuate from the settlement. They went toward Glyphrock, along with the caravan which forced to turned to the direction where they came from, as their destination, the once deemed as most prospective settlement on Glyphrock Continent, had turned into a lost cause.
 Hevella and the people of Mille Porte were currently sheltered within a settlement near Glyphrock, which gladly accepted them. And finally, the citizen of Mille Porte and Hevella able to rest in ease after everything they had experienced since the end of Winter until the adventurers’ second arrival in Mille Porte.
 But deep down, Hevella and the adventurers knew there was still an unfinished business in Mille Porte, as the Black Keep still stood firmly, not far from the settlement.
 And the adventurers knew that they would cross path again with Cayne, sooner or later.
 [right][small]To be continued in Next Issue…[/small][/right][/color][/size][/font]