Crusade Gone Awry Ch. 04

"A corporal went missing last night." he snapped.

Renard paused, blinking a little dumbly. "Should we start putting bells on you people?"

Lionheart's eye twitched. "She just disappeared! No one saw or heard anything!"

"I wasn't here, what do you want me do? Our path is free of hassles, by the way. You're welcome."

"You said this place was safe!"

"No, I said that it was free of alarunes and pigmen. I told you guys not to touch anything."

"We didn't!" Eliza cried. Renard's tired eyes turned to her.

"What do you mean "we?"" he asked. Eliza flinched. Now everyone turned to her. She began to sweat.

"It wasn't...it wasn't anything dangerous!" she cried.

"What wasn't?" Renard asked. "I told you not to touch anything! It was an order! What did you do?" He put his hands on his waist. Talia began to sweat as well. Renard's sword was at his waist.

"There were just...some desert lagomorphs!"

"And?"

"And...that's it."

Now Renard furrowed his brow. "Desert lagomorphs are harmless. It must have been something else."

"There wasn't anything else! The three of them came out of the bushes-"

"Desert lagomorphs don't travel in groups." Renard interrupted.

"But...there were three of them! They were carrying fruit, and they were really friendly! They had white fur so I thought they were a subspecies-"

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! STOP!" Renard shouted. Everyone in the room jumped. "White fur? They had white fur!?"

"Y-Yeah..." Eliza said, shrinking down a little.

"Those aren't desert lagomorphs! They are LUNAR lagomorphs!"

"What's the difference?"

"THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!" Renard suddenly bellowed. Eliza shrunk down a little, abruptly feeling incredibly guilty. Dinah had trusted her at the oasis, and she had fed them incorrect information.

"Enough!" Colonel Lionheart shouted. "What's the difference?"

Renard off-set his jaw, showing his clear displeasure. "I told all of you to touch nothing! How hard is that to do? Desert lagmorphs are harmless. They live alone. They avoid any other living creature. Lunar lagomorphs are the exact opposite! The males live in large groups. It's mating season and they have VERY specific mating practices! They offer a female a piece of fruit and if they accept, they rub their scent all over them. Then later, a large group of them come and take the female to their den. They then spend the whole mating season with them. When they can't find a female lunar lagomorph, they will choose a human woman. They're smart enough to know they have to kidnap them to make them go with them."

Eliza began to go pale. She could feel her guts tie into knots. Renard gave her an angry stare.

"Did this corporal take the fruit?" he growled.

"Y-yes..." Eliza said weakly.

"And did the lagomorph rub all over her?"

"Yes..." The first lieutenant shrunk down so low that she actually look a foot shorter. This was all her fault. She had handed this woman over to some monsters.

Renard rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. "Touch nothing! And what did you guys do? You pet the rabbits that find people by scent! You wanna blame me for all of these mistakes? You guys are...!"

"Okay! Okay!" Talia shouted. "We get it! We messed up!"

Renard shut his trap, but still glared at Eliza. Colonel Lionheart watched the scene carefully. He didn't know who he wanted to yell at more, Renard for not warning them, or Eliza for not following orders. Before he could blow up, another soldier entered the tent and went around Renard.

"Pardon me for interrupting!" he declared. He was carrying a breastplate, the symbol of a burning phoenix on it. "We found this, along with a whole suit of armor at the edge of the camp." Lionheart's eyes gazed over the breastplate, as if it were an insult.

"What does this mean?" Lionheart asked, his eyes going back to Renard.

"She's lighter without her armor." the fox-man replied simply.

The colonel growled a little under his breath. His eyes shot to Eliza, whose face was completely white. "Lieutenant Bevens. Organize a search. We've lost enough troops to incompetence, I'm not willing to lose another. If they're small, they couldn't have gone far."

Renard let out a grunting laugh. Every eye turned back to him again.

"Have something to add?" Lionheart demanded.

"Lunar lagomorphs are incredibly smart." he replied as he turned to the soldier who brought the breastplate. "Did you see any tracks around the armor?"

"No." he replied.

"That's because they covered them, and considering there are twenty to thirty per den, I'd estimate they can move pretty fast with a human body."

Lionheart narrowed his eyes, feeling his guts boil. Everyday he lost someone else. The monsters were picking them off, and there was a monster right in front of them.

"Eliza, organize the search." Lionheart ordered. "You better find her."

"Yes sir." Eliza said quietly. She turned and dashed out of the tent, eager to be away from this.

"All officers dismissed." the colonel said. The rest of the officers filed out of the room. Talia felt incredibly afraid to leave. Renard's lack of sleep had made him a supremely unpleasant person, and the colonel looked ready to pop. She was actually terrified they would come to sword blows. She lingered a little longer than the others, but ended up leaving just the same. The only people in the tent were Colonel Lionheart, Renard, and his incredibly terrified assistant Catarina.

"Lunar lagomorphs." the colonel began. "You knew about these things and didn't tell us."

"Oh come the fuck on!" Renard said, rolling his eyes. "I told them to touch nothing! Had they ignored those things they would still be here, safe and sound!"

The colonel's eyes lit up with angry fire. He had enough of Renard's disrespect. He drew his sword completely, holding it in front of him.

"How dare you speak of my soldiers like that?" Lionheart demanded.

"They acted stupid, and disobeyed orders that you gave them! How are you angry with me?"

"You are supposed to guide us through this desert!"

"I can't stop stupidity!"

Lionheart came around his desk, marching hard towards Renard. Likely risking her life, Catarina jumped in front of him, for the second time in two days.

"Colonel! Colonel! Please! Don't!" she shouted.

"Out of my way!" Lionheart shouted at her. "I'm sick of this ugly monstrosity disrespecting me, my soldiers, and this campaign!"

"Did you call me "ugly?"" Renard demanded.

"Sir, if he's gone, then how can we find the next oasis?" she asked. "We'll be stuck in the middle of the desert! The Demon King will find us eventually, and we'll be lost! Sir, please, I'm begging you, for the sake of my sister, don't do this!"

Lionheart didn't move for several moments. His furious eyes were glued to Renard. The fox-man had his hand on his own sword, apparently ready to fight. The colonel wanted nothing more than to cut this monster-man down...but he had to keep perspective. This was about more. It was about Marisa, who was still missing, it was about defeating the Demon King, and ridding the world of evil. He was given this task personally...and without completing it he couldn't be forgiven for his past sins.

"I want him out of my sight." Lionheart said.

"I'll remove him!" Catarina replied. She turned to Renard and walked over to him. "Please leave. This situation won't get better."

"That's for sure." Renard barked. Catarina grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out. He went along willingly. The moment they were out of the tent, she turned toward Renard.

"I'm sorry about the colonel." she whispered. "He's lost without my sister. You haven't slept in days. Please. Go get some rest."

Renard stared at her for a moment, as if surprised by her politeness. Then he scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I want sleep anyway." he replied. Then he began marching away. Catarina put her hand to her chest and heaved a sigh. She felt a heavy weight come off her shoulders. Her sister had always spoke incredibly highly of Lionheart, but all Catarina had done since becoming his assistant was put out the fires he started. He was short-tempered, hostile, and unable to put up with mistakes. This wasn't the man Marisa had raved about. All the same, it wasn't like Catarina could quit. She was the only thing keeping Lionheart from killing their only guide. The private steeled her will, turned around, and marched back into the tent. She had work to do.

A good ways from the tent, Eliza stood by herself. She was taking deep breaths, trying to calm the anxiety inside of her. The other disappearances had nothing to do with her. They were either soldiers who were alone, ambushed, or in Oren's case, likely stupid. Lionheart had let the others go, but not this one. His pride couldn't take another loss...and it was Eliza's fault. If she had followed orders, Dinah would still be with them. Eliza tried to keep her tears down as she gazed at the horizon.

Then she stopped. Out in the desert in the setting sun, on top of a dune, was some sort of the creature. The heat haze made it difficult to see, but it was large, and appeared to be on four legs. Something began tickling in Eliza's memory. For a moment, she forgot about all of her pain and humiliation. It couldn't be...it couldn't be! Right at the moment, Renard stomped by her, heading for his tent. Seemingly forgetting their animosity, she ran over to him and grabbed his arm. The fox-man spun around, his teeth bared.

"WHAT?" he shouted.

Eliza ignored his snarling and pointed at the dune in the distance. "That. What's that?" Renard turned his head. He blinked a few times, and then squinted. Even his desert-attuned eyes were having trouble seeing.

"It appears to be...a large dog." he said.

"Dog?" Eliza asked, her eyes sparkling again. "Maybe...a hound?"

Renard cocked his eye and turned to her. "A hellhound? Those have been extinct for centuries. It's probably just a desert wolf."

"That thing looks seven feet tall!" Eliza retorted. "It has to be-" She turned back to the dune. It was gone. "...where did it go?"

"What did I tell you?" Renard asked. "It was just a normal wolf. Leave it alone." The fox-man continued his march. Eliza continued staring at the dune, hoping it would come back.

A hellhound, legends of it had reached the lands across the sea. It was intelligent, incredibly powerful, and capable of fighting up to ten men at a time. It was used in heraldry, flags of armies, and coat of arms. Many children had toys of them, pretending they were fighting alongside them. A hellhound was the first animal Eliza Bevens wanted to chronicle and draw. Renard said that they were gone, but maybe...just maybe...he was wrong. The first lieutenant licked her lips excitedly. She now knew where she wanted to begin her search.

Talia didn't feel good about just leaving Renard in that deadly situation. All the same, she couldn't defy orders and refuse to leave the tent. In the end, she went to Renard's tent, not even bothering to stop and get her armor, hoping he would show up in one piece. Thinking he would be gone a long time, she sat down in the middle of the temporary structure. She was already fearing the worst, that soldiers would come by dragging Renard's body, and the last thing she said to him was something awful.

Much to her surprise, Renard entered the tent a short time later. Talia flinched and gazed up with wide eyes.

"Oh!" she shouted. "Y...You're back!"

"Yeah." Renard grunted. Talia could see that his eyes were even more glassy. He looked as if he were completely out of it. He had likely burned his last bit of energy.

"Well...you should get some rest...and I should go..." The captain stopped talking. Without a word, Renard sat beside her. Then he practically fell over, his head landing in her soft lap. Talia jumped, and she darted her face back and forth, terribly confused. "Wha...wha...what are you doing!?"

"Make sure Colonel Blowhard doesn't kill me in my sleep." Renard muttered.

"O...Okay..." Talia replied weakly.

"It's nice to have a friend that isn't a weird doll-man." Renard muttered even quieter. He was going to sleep rather quickly. Talia didn't move for several moments. The fox-man was just exhausted, that's why he was acting weird. More than that, she was pretty sure he had called her his friend. She wasn't a doll-man, or whatever he said. Talia slowly lowered her hands, and a smile came over her face. Renard actually looked pretty cute while he was sleeping.

"Yeah, it's good to have friends." Talia said. Renard didn't reply. She raised her hand up and began stroking his head repeatedly.

"I'm not a pet dog." Renard said.

"Sorry!" Talia cried, raising her hands again. Renard didn't say anything the rest of the night, he only quietly snored.

*

Eliza organized a few search teams. She sent them out in every direction, telling them to stay together and look for signs of rabbit-men. Eliza, however, took her group to the dune where she had seen that giant creature. As she went over the top of the dune, she had hoped to find signs of her mythical creature. She was disappointed however. There was a light breeze going through the desert, and by the time she got to the dune, the tracks were gone. As the other crusaders in her group were searching the ground for lagomorph tracks, Eliza was scanning the horizon. There had to be some sign of it somewhere. Even if it were a giant wolf, it couldn't disappear that easily. As the lieutenant craned her neck, she spotted an outcropping of rocks, some distance away. If the hellhound was coming for water, it was probably scared away by the army. It could be hiding nearby, waiting for them to leave...

"Hey!" Eliza shouted to the other soldiers. "Let's split up and go in different directions. I'll head over to that outcropping! You guys heard that way, that way, and that way."

"But you said we shouldn't split up..." one of the soldiers began.

"I changed my mind!" Eliza cried abruptly. "Meet back here in twenty minutes! Go!" The lieutenant turned and ran, bolting as fast as she could toward the rocky outcropping. The other soldiers watched her go for a few moments. Then one of them grunted and rolled his eyes.

"Crazy bitch."

When Eliza reached the outcropping, she was sweaty and out of breath. All the same, she was too excited to stop. She began searching around the large rocks, trying to find signs of any canine activity. There weren't that many rocks to begin with, and she quickly discovered that there was nothing there. Eliza suddenly felt a great weight on her shoulders. The pain of losing Dinah was hitting her again. If she could obsess about hellhounds, she didn't have to think about it. Suddenly feeling bad that she wasn't looking for her subordinate, Eliza sighed and sat on a rock. She put her hands on her chin, and prepared to mope. She casually turned her head to the side.

All the breath left her body. Somehow, it was only ten feet from her. Standing in the desert sand, staring right at her, was a huge dog monster. It was indeed seven feet tall. It was completely black, down to it's eyes. It's mouth was open, panting in the heat. It's eyes were glaring right into hers. It was intelligent, so very, very intelligent. It was like she was staring into the eyes of a human. It had muscular shoulders, and huge front paws. According to legend, those paws were prehensile and they could use them to grab as well as fight enemies.

"Oh...my...god..." Eliza said weakly. They stared at each other for a few more moments. Eliza suddenly couldn't feel her legs, and she was very dizzy. She might even pass out.

Then the hellhound made a grunting noise at her. Casually, it turned and began walking away, as if it didn't have a care in the world. Eliza watched it trot away, still completely numb. When her senses returned, she hopped off the rock. She glanced between the hellhound and where the army was camped several times. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This could be the last hellhound! Eliza gulped, wiped the sweat from her brow, and began running after the huge dog.

*

Dinah slowly opened her eyes. There was something cold on the back of her skull, and her head was throbbing. Slowly, the crusader began to regain senses. At first, her entire vision was filled with black dots. When those faded, it was fuzzy for several moments before her sight returned to normal. She was staring at a stone ceiling. Dangling from that stone ceiling were several crystals that were glowing. That was weird. Wasn't she supposed to be in her tent?

She slowly lifted her head up, groaning as she did so. The cold left the back of her head. She turned to see what it was. It appeared to be a bag...filled with ice. Ice? In the desert? How!? Dinah blinked and looked around. Then she immediately became uncomfortable.

She was surrounded by those lagomorphs. There were dozens of them, and they were slowly noticing she was awake. They were surrounding her, giving off their high-pitch noises. Dinah gulped, lifted her hand up, and rubbed the back of her head. There was a knot there. That was right! Someone hit her there! Someone...or something.

A streak of fear went through the crusader. She was petting one of these rabbit-men, and then they hit her over the head. Why? Why would that do that? The dozens of lagomorphs were shuffling forward, step by step. Dinah quickly gazed at her surroundings. She was in a cave, and the only light was from the crystals above her head. She was either deep in the cave, or they had blocked the entrance, as everything else around was dark. The cave also had to be pretty deep, considering these rabbit-men had access to ice. Dinah attempted to curl up a little, so the lagomorphs wouldn't touch her. That was when she realized something even more worrying, she was naked.

"Uh..." Dinah began. "Uh...good rabbit...things. Niiiiiice rabbit things. Um...how about you just let me go, huh?" That was a long shot, but she had to try. There was an abrupt, loud squeaking noise. The dozens parted. A single lagomorph hopped through. This one was taller than all the others who were two feet tall. This one was three feet. It hopped right up to Dinah and began bobbing it's head back and forth. It then hopped over to her head. Dinah cringed, but the lagomorph's hand gently began running over the knot on her head. The crusader flinched in pain, but was surprised by the rabbit-man's gentleness. Was it...checking on her?

"It's...it's fine." Dinah said nervously. "It's just a little sore." The large lagomorph's blue eyes met hers. He let out a squeak and twitched his nose. It understood her, she could tell. "Okay, I'm fine. Now if you guys could just let me go..."

Then they all leapt at her. Dinah let out a shriek, but she was instantly overwhelmed. She tried to flail her arms, but in a matter of moments, they had seized her and held her down. They were small, but they were strong. She was suddenly pinned against the ground.

"Hey! Let me go! Let me..." Dinah got a rude surprise. One of the lagomorphs leaned over her face and mashed it's lips against hers. The crusader was so surprised, she didn't even fight it. The creature's tongue instantly began flicking inside of her mouth. It was such a human action, that she was briefly confused. For several moments, it continued the deep kiss before pulling it's mouth away, a strand of saliva following after it. It was the big one. He licked his lips and wiped his mouth. Dinah appeared more confused than ever. Then the big one turned it's head and let out a squeak.

Dinah yipped as all the other lagomorphs moved. One of them hopped over to her face and mashed her into another kiss. Two went for her breasts, wrapping their mouths around the mounds. Two others went for her lower body. Much to her shock, all the lagomorphs moved in unison, lifting her legs and waist off the ground. Dinah could feel something fuzzy shove it's way into her folds. Something else furry spread her ass cheeks apart. In a matter of moments, she was completely covered in tongues.