((Nightmare prompt: Shadows))
In this nightmare Ri Young-hyun hadbeen put in charge of forming relations with a small settlement inthe wastelands. It was in an out of the way place and was consideredby many of the factions of the wastelands to be of little worth.Though it did have one advantage and that it had been a coal miningtown in it’s heyday before the great war. Even some other partyofficials had told her that they believed that the mine containeduranium that had was unmined due to the deposit not being found untiljust before the warheads were launched. So in all this presented arare opportunity that could not be missed. Of course the majority ofthe produce would go to the town but this could a chance to introducea form of socialist state that could be self sufficient, the tradethat could be brought was an added bonus. There was concerns that thenearby Cathedral might have some manner of tombs that might bedisturbed by the mining process as this was to be undertaken by thepeople of the village for their own benefit then they should know howto handle it. Most of this came from pre-war spy reports that hadmade their way by various means to Korea.
Ri Young-hyun arrived at the town wereshe had a meeting with some of the towns leaders. Though as soon asshe entered the town it became clear that she was not welcome thelocals gave her dirty looks and when she tried to speak to any ofthem she did not get much response. The meeting with the heads of thesettlement went even worse. In the meeting they told her thatsettlement mines were not to be disturbed the reason they did notexplain only that she would not understand. Young-hyun found herselfwondering around town in the hopes of getting some insight into thepeople here. She ended up in the bar where she was only reluctantlygiven a drink. Here she spoke of the small mindedness of the leadersand the possibilities that relations could offer. They sneer at heroffers and talk some even behaved aggressively.
This all seemedpointless and as she was about to live to maybe it was necessary toprocure some kind of gift of friendship from her home to bring themon to their side. Before she was able to go any further she wasapproached by a man who told her that he needed to speak with her atonce and it concerned the state of the settlement. She was hesitantto trust this man but decided that it was her one shot of finding outmore. It became clear that this was a legion man she would say maybeFrumentarii, he spoke of how he had been sent to this town onCaesar’s orders andhas been watching the town with interest. Though he fears that he hadbeen found out at this. Of all of this Young-hyun was sceptical if hewas one of the Legion why would he speak to her and a Frumentariiwould surely be able to slip out unnoticed. More became apparent whenhe spoke of the inhabitants who seem to be watch who enter closelythen of their profligate degeneracy and dark rituals. The last parthe would not expand on, only that it would be wise not go out atnight.
Young-hyun could not decide if this had any truth of this wasa Legion tactic to stop the settlement making relations with outsidepowers whether this was because they sort to plunder this town orabsorb it but on the other hand the idea of rituals so dark that eventhe Legion who are know for their brutality would shudder it wasgrizzly thought. She made her scepticism clear saying that it soundedlike her was creating a form of exaggerated tale to ward off anydiplomats from the town that the Legion seem to have claimed. Hebrushed off the claim telling her that she didn’t believe thesituation she was free to investigate it herself and see the truth ofthe matter. He then added that he heard reports of her efforts inother settlements and how ineffective they had been. Korea he saidwas wasting it’s efforts here as no settlement would side with them.Though he did add that if she found a way for them to both leaveunharmed he could bring good word of the Koreans in his report. Aworking relationship between Korean and the Legion would be far morepractical than between profligate states that had the baggage frombefore Mars cleansed the world whereas the Legion had no such ties.
Young-hyun gave this seriousconsideration but decided to investigate the town from a distance shefound a disused doctors office on a hill overlooking the town andspent the night there. When night struck the air was filled withstrange noses and the sounds of seagulls. Then as she looked out fromone of the windows she could see torches moving along the seafront.She brought out a pair of binoculars and looked closer there shecould see crowds of villages with torches. As she looked closer shecould see they were taking a sacrifice with them who they left tiedto a rock. As they left she saw something move from the Cathedral atfirst it she didn’t think much of it and kept her eyes on the victimbut it became clear that there was a great deal of movement comingfrom the grounds of the Cathedral. So she looked and saw mass groupsof shadows moving from the old grounds. Then she saw they were notsimply moving or floating they riding these shadowy figures wereriding black stallions and riding towards the victim. The more shelooked at them the more she observed, they seemed to be the shadowyfigures of knights but these were the most ghastly knights ever seenand they way the moved it was almost like they were in slow motionbut at the same time covered the same ground that riders would atfull speed. She had enough at this point and closed the blinds beforethe deed could be done.
The next morning soon came in the dreamand she had made up her mind to leave right at this instance. Shespent the early morning scouting out a escape route and this came inthe form of one of the reports which mentioned an old forest trackthat could be used to bring supplies from this town to some of theneighbouring settlements if there was ever a guerrilla resistancemovement in the US. That mourning she and the Frumentarii leftthrough via this track and walk for what seemed like miles. There wasno way she fort that the town inhabitants or the phantom Knightscould have know where they are or even catch up with them if theydid. They had walked a long and had reached a small settlement but itwas soon becoming night time and there was no one else about. Therewas noting to do but to stay the night in one of the ruined housesand then go their separate ways.
Then as the night came Young-hyunheard the sound of horses and moaning but it couldn’t be could it?Had they really followed them here. She cautiously got up and herfears were confirmed the dark horses and their hellish riders werecircling the house. She began to attempt to barricade the windows andto door with what ever she could find and the Frumentarii was doingthe same. Though it did not help they found a way in and were now onfoot. She saw the legionary being cut down by the dark knights whothen surrounded her. There she could see clearly that beneath theirshadowy robes lay the faces of long dead men rotted and skeletal.Then they plunged at her and as this happened she awoke stifling ascream, which she had to hold in again as across from her bed wasmural of several knights. The visages had been damaged by age andfire giving the shadowy images that must of given her the dream. Shedidn’t wait around this house much longer and packed early to returnto the wastelands.
