Cordell stood deep in conversation with Steen. The young man showed remarkable apitude when it came to deciphering the cause of a problem. And at that point they were having problems with the ground that part of the foundation would lie on, so Cordell could use all the apitude he could get.

Cordell had been assigned to oversee the building of the the new church. It had been decided that the ruined church at the foot of the mountains was too dangerous to use as a foundation, and a more accessible position had been chosen, close to the beginnings of the castle.

“Perhaps Sir, all that we might need do is dam up that part of the creek that runs past this here church ground. Cause I think the ground is waterlogged cause of the direction, so if we change it’s course she’ll dry up in no time I’m sure”.

The young man turned his head to look back towards the coast, “Well if it ain’t two messengers from God come to tell us the next course of action then”.

Cordell turned to look and saw Father Harndall and Sister Mella coming up the hill. Sister Mella had not said another word since her outburst during the service, and had seemingly returned to her normal placid self. Of course she was with Harndall, it seemed he could not go anywhere without her trailing him, a silent ghost, watching his every move.

“Hello my good men. Hard at work I see”, the priest winked and chuckled at his own joke. Cordell liked the man, he was honest, genuine and a good father to his people. And also his sermons were not boring, which meant Cordell liked him all the more. Bad enough that he was forced to sit in the same room as Lisbet for two hours, but having to put up with a long-winded priest would have been the last straw.

“But Father, can you not see, we are hard at work solving the problem of a river that runs in the wrong place. Surely you may have some advice for us? Can you not ask your Lord if he could slightly change the course of this creek. It is for a good cause after all”, Cordell winked back at the priest who was still chuckling.

“Do not forget Sir Arwaduhn, that he is your Lord as well, and I think he is perhaps a little busy with the concerns of the world to help us with our watery problem. Can I perhaps be of some assistance in his stead?”

Mella had gone off to stand in front of one of the foundation walls, gazing unnervingly towards the mountains in the distance.

The men were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice her, and also that the sun was sinking fast towards the horizon. Soon it was quite dark and they realised it was beyond the time when they should head back to the ships.

Cordell went back to pick up some items he had left beside the foundation wall.

As he was organising himself, he felt a sudden chill, and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He had the distinct feeling he was being watched. His gaze raked over the bushes around him and fell upon a pair of red glowing eyes staring out at him from the darkness.

He heard a low threatening growl and suddenly the bushes erupted in a large mass of black fur and sharp white fangs.

A big black dog was running full pelt at the foundation wall, all ropy muscles coiled in preparation to leap over it.

The creature cleared the wall with no apparent effort and before Cordell had even had the time to react it was standing before him, with its teeth bared, saliva dripping from the razor sharp rows.

Cordell was a brave man, he had received adulations for his courage in the battles leading up to the invasion. But at this moment the icy hand of fear was clutched around his heart, the pounding of which seemed to be the only sound he was capable of hearing. The stench coming off the thing was revolting, the smell of something long dead and festering.

The animal growled again, a deep guttural sound roiling up out of its throat and leapt at Cordell knocking him to the ground.

Then it was upon him tearing at his face and neck as he desperately tried to fight it off. He was a strong man but it was nothing compared to the stark power of the black beast pinning him to the ground.

He felt it trying to gets its teeth around his neck and knew he did not have more than a few moments left. Strangely all he could think of as his hands clawed at the foul creature was Lisbet’s face, peaceful as it appeared when she was sleeping.

Suddenly the hound’s weight was shifting above him and then he was freed from it.

He raised himself up on his elbows to a half sitting position and readied himself for another attack but it did not come. To his astonishment instead, he saw the Nun her hands caressing the creature, as she made soft contented noises. The beast began to whimper its tail wagging, its red eyes rolling in ecstasy, as it sought out her hand.

Cordell struggled to his feet and away from them in horror, a warning to the nun dying on his lips as he saw her disturbing reaction to the ungodly creature.

Then, without warning it ran back into the forest from whence it came, Mella watching intently as it disappeared.

Cordell stumbled away from them, clutching at his stomach as he violently retched, the pain from the wounds on his arms and face dizzingly intense.

He carefully stood up again, noticing Harndall and Steen had rushed back to the constructions. He felt around his neck. It was painful but there only seemed to be a few small bite marks on it, he had managed to protect himself from the worst of the attack.

Steen rushed up to him, “Sir, I saw what happened with that there dog, are you all right Sir, you are wounded. Can I help you?”

For some reason a wave of annoyance washed over Cordell. He tried to contain it as best as he could, but he felt like the world was muffled from the pain and he could not exactly control himself, “No… no I am fine… I do not need your help. Just leave me alone.”

They all walked silently back towards the ships, Harndall staring intently at Mella, who walked as though in a trance, Steen watching Cordell to make sure he did not actually need the help he had rudely refused and Cordell, stumbling along, attuned only to the searing pain that was rampaging through his body.

Arwaduhn, Cade, The Church