by Allan Joyal
Many of the others were holding similar poses. Worried, I looked for Natalie. To my surprise, she was smiling as she knelt in front of Esme and massaged her calves.
"You aren't hurting?" I asked Natalie.
Natalie laughed. "I like to pretend I'm not," she said. "This pace is brutal, and my leg is definitely hurting, but it's been hurting since that thing clawed me. I'm just hoping we slow down a bit."
"I'm sorry," I replied. "It seems everyone wants us to get to the Wizard's Academy faster. I think the frost this morning spooked everyone."
"It did," Heather said as she sat back up. "I think we all realized that Lakverd wasn't going to welcome us for the winter, so we need to get to the Wizard's Academy before the snow prevents travel."
"We'll never make it," Eddie moaned. "We'll wind up like the Donner Party or something."
"And Captain Useless opens his beak to speak," Lydia said with a snort. "Don't worry Eddie, you'd be far too tough for any of us to stomach."
The coeds all laughed grimly at Lydia's pert comment. Feeling had started to return to my legs, so I got up and limped over to Kariy. "How about I pass around the canteens this time," I suggested, holding my hand out to the young lady.
Kariy blushed, but passed the canteens to me. With them in hand I went around, offering everyone a drink. Martha and Lisa both grimaced at the sour taste of the warm ale. The drinks did rejuvenate everyone, and by the time I was helping Kariy secure the canteens to her pack, the group was standing around ready to resume the march.
With the break complete, we headed into the swamp. The road followed a ridge of raised land that meandered its way through waters that slowly grew black with slime and mud. Rickety rope structures bridged occasional cuts in the road.
Overhead, twisted branches of the swamp's trees began to block out the sun. We had been travelling for more than an hour when I realized that everything was in shadow, and only a faint glow was filtering in through the leaves above. Eddie wanted to turn back, but the others reminded him that we did not have any real alternative to following the road.
The darkness grew, and finally Hencktor found a small deadfall and snapped off three branches. Gathering some of the moss that hung from the canopy above, he twisted it around one end and then set them on the ground.
We stopped and watched as he pulled out flint and steel. I expected the moss to refuse to light in the swamp air, but after a couple of sharp strikes, tongues of flame appeared on one of the branches. Hencktor expertly transferred flames to the other two branches and then held them up.
"I'd hold them away from your body, but these will provide light for a while," he said needlessly.
"Heather, Victoria, take a torch. Heather, you can walk with me, Victoria will be in the middle, and Hencktor can join Steve as rearguard. Let's keep closer together while we navigate the darkness," I said.
"Why them and not me?" Eddie complained as Heather and Victoria dashed over to Hencktor and accepted torches.
I ignored Eddie. Instead, I turned to continue down the road. "Henck, where did you learn that? And how did you know the moss would burn?"
"We use torches in the mines. And they are often wrapped with a dried moss. As a child I once unwound one. My father beat me so hard I couldn't sit for days. But I remembered that the moss looked the same. I just hoped it wasn't too wet to burn," the man responded.
"Well, we have light for now," I said. "Let's try to get out of the worst of this before the torches need to be replaced."
I continued marching down the road. Heather walked to my right, her left hand on my arm and her right holding the torch in front of us. On my other side, Kariy gripped my left arm tightly and huddled against my shoulder. She jumped at every sound, often pushing me to the side when a particularly loud sound frightened her.
The others kept close to the torches as well as we continued through the darkness. No one spoke. Except for the scrape of our boots on the dirt, silence permeated the area.
"Strange that we still have a road," Heather observed. "I can understand no plants growing, but I still see the ruts from wagon wheels."
I glanced down. The ruts Heather talked about were clearly visible in the flickering light of the torches. It was impossible to tell how old the ruts were, and I was not going to stop to check. Instead, I watched the ground, looking for any other signs that people travelled this road.
"A light! I see a light ahead," Kariy cried, squeezing my arm so hard I gasped in surprise. I looked up to see a faint white light in the distance.
"Let's not run," I suggested. "We don't know what's ahead of us."
Eddie ignored me and dashed ahead. He left the circle of light the torches cast. A moment later there was a tremendous splash ahead of us.
"Shit!" I swore. "Heather, let's go find him. Kariy, you might want to stay with the others."
Kariy and Heather released my arms. Heather immediately started jogging forward. I raced along at her side.
Behind me I heard someone huffing with effort. I risked a quick glance and found Steve and Kariy keeping up with us. My feet kicked a rock while I was looking back, and I stumbled, nearly crashing into Heather before I regained my balance.
After the near mishap, I concentrated on the ground ahead of us. We could now hear someone thrashing around in water somewhere ahead of us.
"Fuck! Get me out of this place!" Eddie's curses rang out in the darkness. "I hate this fucking nightmare. Where's the beer? Where's the whiskey? Heck I don't even get the cute girls. And now that fuckhead Ron is in charge and telling me what to do! Who is he? I thought his parents were elementary school teachers? What could he know?"
Our group of joggers came to a halt as the road made a sharp left turn. We walked to the edge of the road and Heather extended her arm, allowing the torchlight to spread over the water. Eddie could be seen standing in waist deep water, his face covered in black algae.
"Well, I know that running out of the circle of light we have is pretty dumb," I said as I looked down at Eddie.
"Ha, ha," he commented sarcastically. "Go ahead and tell me all you know, it won't take very long."
I sighed as Steve set his pack down and started searching it. "Rope," he whispered to me as I continued to stare at Eddie.
"How about I tell everything we both know," I replied. "It won't take any longer."
"Fucker!" Eddie shouted, smacking his hand against the water. The splash threw more algae in his face, and he fell back into the water. He struggled to get back on his feet, throwing waves out into the swamp.
As he did, I noticed faint splashes off in the distance. Steve had just pulled some rope from his pack and was standing up. From the worried look on his face, he had also heard the splashes.
"Eddie, shut up," Steve called out. "There's something in the water with you."
"What! Then get me out of here!" Eddie cried as he frantically started trying to wade to the shore. He actually seemed to shrink as he fought towards the shore.
Heather cursed. "The mud is sucking him down. He's going to get stuck."
"Not if I can help it," Steve cried as he threw one end of the rope out into the swamp. It landed next to Eddie with a splash.
Eddie grabbed the rope and pulled on it, dragging several feet of it into the water. I dove at the end to grab it before it was pulled into the swamp.
"Not yet you fool," Steve shouted. "We need to have a grip on our end. And you shouldn't be pulling. We pull; you use it to help drag your feet out of the mud."
I spun my body around and drove my feet into the ground. Behind me, I could feel Steve leaning back and pulling on the rope. Below us, Eddie was struggling to pull his left foot from the mud.
We appeared locked in an interesting game of tug-of-war. Steve and I pulled with all our might, trying to drag Eddie out of the mud that trapped him. Eddie was flopping around like a landed fish, wriggling against the weight of the mud.
After an eternity, I felt the rope jerk backward. Glancing back, I
found that Lydia was holding the third torch as Al and Hencktor joined in attempting to pull Eddie from the mud.
The mud fought against us. Eddie would rise up by inches only to slide back down every time we tried to move our hands on the rope. His own struggles further hindered the efforts as the rope jumped in our hands every time he leaned back. Finally, with a sickening slurp Eddie's left leg rose out of the mud.
The four of us pulling the rope staggered back as Eddie's body lurched forward. My arms were aching, but Jennifer screamed. "What's that?"
I was too tired to jump up, but I turned my head to see her pointing out into the swamp. Victoria was glancing that way and gasped.
"Is that a wake in the water?" she hissed.
My hands slammed the ground as I rose up to my knees to look into the darkness. Out at the edge of the torchlight I could see waves moving in the water. It appeared that Eddie's struggles had attracted one of the swamp's creatures.
"Shit! Jen, take the torch," Lydia said, thrusting the torch towards her and dropping the crossbow to the ground.
I grabbed the rope as Eddie squirmed around to see what everyone was staring at. "What?" he cried. "What do you see? Oh god! I'm going to be eaten! Help!"
Grunting with the effort, I grabbed the rope and thrust my body away from the water. Eddie's bulk slid across the surface of the mud. The wave was coming closer and in the faint light I could see some creature's body break the surface of the water.
"Stand up you idiot!" Victoria shouted. "You're up against the shore. Stand on the firm ground and run!"
Eddie grabbed the rope and yanked on it as he struggled to his feet. The approaching creature reached the edge of the mud and burst from the water, sinuously sliding over the mud as it charged.
The explosion in the water was followed by a panicked scream from Eddie as he dashed up the bank and across the road. I dropped the rope as the creature snapped at his retreating feet. It missed and slid back down the bank.
Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. I looked closer at the creature. It looked surprisingly similar to an alligator with the long body and snout. Its head weaved back and forth as it looked up the bank at our group.
"Eddie's fine," Victoria said from behind me.
"No I'm not!" the man cried. "I'm cold, I'm wet and I'm covered in mud! I hate this fucking world!"
I was about to reply when the creature turned and with a powerful thrust from its hind legs lunged up the bank. Its front legs landed on the road. Instinctively I dove for the spear I had dropped at my feet during the rescue of Eddie.
The creature was clawing the ground as I picked the spear back up. From the thrashing of its tail, it was clear that its hind legs were not contacting the ground due to the difference in angle from the bank to the road. It inched forward as I rose to a crouch. Then before I could stand up, it finally was able to get one of its hind legs to touch the lip of the road.
With a roar, the creature charged at me. I heard the crossbow thrum to my right. An arrow shot past me, but bounced off the forehead of the creature.
"Shit! That was a perfect shot," Al hissed.
Grimly I held the spear in front of me. The creature had its mouth open and ready to snap at me. My hands were shaking in fear as it approached, causing the tip of the spear to bob.
The monster was only four feet away when its open mouth came into contact with the spear. The powerful jaws snapped down. I expected the spear to break, but a dull metallic ping revealed that the bite had come down on the blade.
The monster stopped its charge. With an almost casual strength it thrust its head to my right. The closed jaws of its mouth pulled the spear, nearly ripping it from my hands. I stumbled as it was pulled away from my body, only for the creature to swing its head back the other direction.
This time the spear slammed into my stomach, throwing me to the ground and driving the air out of my lungs in an explosive gasp. I heard several screams as the still moving spear dragged me along the ground. The knuckles of my hands were white with the effort to hold onto the spear.
The movement of the spear stopped. As I tried to sit up I saw Hencktor dash in and swing his axe and the head of the monster. Once again, the weapon glanced off the scales of the beast.
The creature ignored the blow. Instead it planted its hind feet in the ground and lunged forward, jaws agape and ready to rend my flesh. I closed my eyes and held the spear, awaiting the feel of its teeth ripping at my body. I felt a pressure on the spear, and then the motion stopped. For a moment, there was an eerie silence.
Cautiously I opened my eyes to find that the spear must have been inside the creature's mouth when it resumed its charge. There was now a visible peak on the inside of the creature's skull. I could see blood oozing from the creature's closed mouth, its teeth wrapped around the spear.
"What is the meaning of this?" a feminine voice I did not recognize rang out. "Who are you?"
I tried to get to my feet, but my battered body refused to move. The others were all standing, mouths agape as they looked towards the speaker. In the corner of my eye, I could see Eddie staring at someone behind me. "Why the fuck do you care?" he spat. "We were just travelling on this road, and that monster attacked."
"Really?" the voice replied slowly. I continued to struggle to my feet. My battered muscles and bruised ribs sent waves of pain to my brain as I rolled to my right. I put my knees on the ground and turned to look at the speaker.
Immediately I had to fight my own urge to stare. The most beautiful woman I had seen on Jord was standing just ten feet away. She was slender and tall, with smooth skin the color of iced coffee. Massive waves of black hair fell to her waist. Her attire was almost embarrassingly revealing. The crimson skirt slit on both sides until there was barely an inch of intact material circling her waist and a matching halter covering her impressive cleavage.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie step forward. He had a glazed expression on his face, and I could see a faint trail of drool sliding down his chin. "What a body!" he gasped.
The woman raised her right hand, and an impossibly bright burst of light flashed through the darkness. Eddie screamed in surprise. He covered his eyes with his hands and dropped to his knees.
"And stay there," the woman said. She looked at the rest of us. I was blinking away the afterimages from the flash, but did not seem as affected as Eddie. The woman had a patient look on her face.
No one in the group appeared ready to move. I tried to rise, but could only get one foot on the ground before the pain from my ribs forced me to pause. I wanted to breathe deep, but could only take short gasps against the pain of my injuries.
"How about we start with an easier question," the woman said. "Who owns the spear?"
"That would be my spear," I said with a groan.
"Ron!" Heather said. She dropped the torch and ran over to me. "How bad are you hurt? Esme, can you check him?"
I raised one hand as Heather dropped to her knees beside me. "I'll live," I said softly. "I am bruised all over, and don't exactly want to move too much, but I'll survive."
The woman stepped closer. As she did, the area brightened as if she was holding a lantern. I could hear some of the others gasp, but she ignored this to stand in front of me.
"Why?"
I was going to say something, but only a groan of pain came out. Steve dashed to my side. "It's not Ron's fault. Eddie over there fell into the water. We fished him out, but that monster came after him. When we pulled Eddie back onto the road, it tried to follow. Ron was just protecting all of us."
"I gather his name is Ron," the woman said. I could see her turn to face Steve. "I can accept your defense. Now why are you here?"
Steve put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll handle this Ron. Let Esme check you out, you're hurt."
The lady stood motionless as Esme knelt down. She tugged at my shirt, poking my side. I hissed in agony as she explored the extent of the bruises. Meanwhile, Steve stepped in front of me.
/>
"My lady," he began. "It is truly a long and tangled tale of magic and mystery that brings this humble group of travelers to yon dark swamp. A wizard, young and full of himself cast a spell to free a small mountain village from a plague of mosquitoes. Alas, his spell was ill conceived. The mosquitoes were banished, but the villagers became ill, and their livestock sickened. In protest for his lack of care, the villagers refused to pay his fee."
"What are you talking about?" Eddie groaned. "She's only one dame. Just hit her over the head, and let's get out of this swamp." His comments halted with a loud grunt.
"Keep the editorial commentary to yourself," Lydia hissed.
Steve ignored the interruption. "This young wizard, in his wounded pride, decided to curse the village. He travelled into the mountains and prepared a terrible spell. However, his conjuring was interrupted. He had gathered the magic and prepared the framework for his great curse when a dragon flew down and ended his life."
"We don't know that," Eddie hissed before grunting again.
"Shut up," Lydia said. "It's probably what really happened."
There was another flash of light from the right hand of the woman. "You shall remain silent," she commanded Eddie.
I raised my head enough to look at Eddie. His mouth was moving, but no sound came out. He started frantically moving his mouth, appearing to shout something silently. I smiled to myself as Steve continued.
"He is right. We cannot be sure what happened. We do know that the spell went wrong. We come from far away and were in a room back in our homeland. Somehow the room was pulled to a clearing up in the mountains. We left the room expecting to be in one place, and found ourselves in a land we know nothing about. At first, we just tried to survive, but we stumbled on the village that the wizard had visited. In talking to them, they told us of a Wizard's Academy. Now we journey there, in the hope they can send us back to our home. We did not know we were trespassing on your swamp. We were told in Lakverd that it was the fastest route to the Academy."