But soon, exhaustion took over, and they found themselves in their sleeping bags. Lari was covered with a thick blanket, having drunk a variety of potions purchased in Zadastra. Alice and Ash remained awake, sitting by the fire.
“I thought we were going to die,” she said and shivered. She was wrapped in a cloak, even though she was being bathed by the warmth of the fairy lights dancing over the grass. “This was the first time I had to fight with Ternites. It was scary.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Ash said. “We’ve got Mary, Blackbeard, and Tul with us! There’s no one who can defeat them!”
Alice giggled against her will and glanced at the snoring heroes. She didn’t feel like sleeping at all.
“And yet… If it weren’t for you…”
“You would’ve thought of something.” Ash filled his pipe with tobacco and lit it with a practiced snap of his fingers. “I just got lucky. That lady got really confused when her robes fell off.”
Alice couldn’t help but smile again as the young mage’s eyebrows wiggled comically, turning the smoke into a naked, dancing lady. She leaned her shoulder against him and closed her eyes. She loved Lari with all her heart, but there was just something safe about Ash’s presence.
Ash smoked, looking up at the trees looming above them. After some time, he got fed up with looking at nothing and waved his hand. The branches crackled and the giant trees seemed to pull back, exposing the night sky. Myriads of stars spilled onto the velvet, turning it into the counter of some rich jeweler.
Alice didn’t comment. She liked to watch the dance of the twinkling lights around their queen, the beautiful Myristal. Oh, how many songs have been composed about the guiding star and how many more were yet to be written. But no word, be it magical or written, would be able to convey the beauty of the night’s queen.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course!” Ash exclaimed. “I’m as silent as a grave, if not even more silent… I mean, the dead can be reanimated and made to share their secrets, but not me!”
Alice smiled again and, pulling the edges of her cloak over her head, turned to one of the lights and began to pat it as if it were a kitten. To her surprise, it didn’t hurt or burn, on the contrary, it felt soft and warm
“You know,” she finally said, “I’m not stupid. I understand, but I can’t help it… I’m always afraid and I’m ashamed of it, but the guys…” she paused and looked down. Ash remained silent, not wishing to interrupt her. She had gathered the courage to open up to him, he didn’t want to make her feel as if she had done so in vain. “I just… I want to return home one day.” She sniffed and smiled as the light fluttered up her arm, perched itself on her shoulder, and began to rub against her cheek. “I was born in the outskirts of Kolem, in a small village. All I knew about the world was what I heard from the ballads… Did you ever think that you’d become a Ternite?”
“I had my suspicions,” Ash replied and shrugged.
“I could only dream of it…” She lifted the light from her shoulder and set it on the grass, playing with it by tossing it a stick. “My parents were always either in the field or at home. They even chose me a husband, it was going to be an arranged marriage… Someone who doesn’t drink too much and isn’t too stingy. So I went with the caravan to the city to meet him… We almost…” She bit her lip. “I ran away and got into a school. I remained there.”
Ash was silent. Ternites, Ernites… He didn’t see any difference between them.
“Sometimes I go west in the evening.” Alice sniffed. “I wonder where my parents are and how they’re doing, whether they have enough crops to feed themselves and my brother… He ought to be seven winters old by now.”
She played with the light for a while longer, then hugged her knees and looked up at the sky.
“I wanted to earn coin and leave with the first caravan. The funny thing is, I already have enough, just… Just…”
“You’re afraid.”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “What if it’s not nice there at all? What if they get scared of me? What if they hate me?”
“And what if it’s the opposite?” Ash said, putting down the pipe and rolling over on his back. “What if they are waiting for you? What if every evening they look to the east, waiting for their daughter to arrive with the merchants? What if they tell your brother just how strong his sister is? About how she helps people, fulfilling the will of the kings themselves!”
Alice looked at him and the faint but dreamy smile dancing on his lips.
“You never went back, did you?” She realized.
Ash nodded slowly.
“Is your home very far away?”
“You could say that,” he replied after a short pause.
Alice turned away and looked at the sleeping Stumps again.
“You’re probably right,” she said. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid… Is that why you applied for this job? To earn coin?”
“Nah.” Ash raised his hand as if to reach for the stars. “Not because of that. I, like you, would very much like to go back home, but, alas, I can’t. For me, that’ll always remain a dream.”
Alice looked back at him but said nothing. She didn’t want to pry or stick her nose where it didn’t belong. In her melancholy, she didn’t think about the fact that the others maybe weren’t as lucky as her.
“But you know,” Ash smiled and jumped to his feet, “no one in your homeland can do what you can.”
He raised his hands high, whispered something, and struck the ground with his staff. From under the roots, hidden deep under the ground and grass, emerged butterflies made of fire, similar to those that he had been chasing earlier that day.
They fluttered about, flapping their beautiful wings and chasing away the gloom with their mesmerizing shimmer. There were so many of them that the whole clearing was soon shining like Irmail had enveloped it with its warm, gentle light.
Alice got to her feet and laughed as she whirled around the dancing lights. Ash stared at her, feeling joyful for some reason. Perhaps because magic could not only erase entire cities from the face of the earth, but also because it could just as efficiently heal both the body and soul.
Whatever the reason was, the main thing was that Helmer seemed to have been wrong.
Or so Ash thought.
Chapter 39
“W hat kind of beast could have left such marks?”
Mary studied the long lines embedded deep into the thick trunk of the trees. Such marks couldn’t have been left by any monster known to her. And no one could accuse Mary of being unprepared for this journey and not knowing what she could encounter on the way to the Fire Mountains. She had carefully studied each of the Shadow Forest’s creatures, its features and marks.
“If you think that’s weird, come look at this.”
Mary looked around and noticed Tul standing frozen in front of a bush. He beckoned her over with a wave of his hand.
“What―” she asked, coming closer, and then stopped too, “―is it?”
Beyond the rotten, purple bushes, was the green vastness of the forest, bathed by the rays of Irmaril. Birds sang amongst the rustling leaves, hares ran through the grass, and the trees no longer seemed like demons frozen in agony.
“Are we out of the Forest then?”
“We still have two days to go, if not more.”
A few seconds later, Blackbeard pulled himself together. He, like the others, blinked in disbelief and tugged at his beard, trying to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming. Alice, helping the slightly limping Lari, almost swore, but was silenced in time with a bread bun and asked to keep quiet. Lari seemed indifferent to the sudden change of landscape.
“Where… are we?” Mary asked at last.
“Hell if I know.” Tul shrugged, looking at the map. “I don’t see it here, so we could be anywhere within a seventeen-mile radius of our previous campsite…”
“Oh, that’s just great!” Mary sighed in annoyance.
&n
bsp; “It seems to me that―”
“Ash,” she held up her hand, indicating that she wasn’t going to listen to any of his nonsense. “Please, be quiet for a moment.”
“But there―”
“I said, shut up!”
“I just―”
“Zip it!” she snapped.
The mage pouted and pointed west. Mary looked in the indicated direction and immediately drew her sword. The rest of the squad, noticing her reaction, also took up their fighting positions, pushing back Lari, who immediately rushed forward.
A few feet from them stood an ordinary man dressed in a simple shirt and patched-up trousers. His short hair and powerful hands, which were streaked with veins as thick as felt ropes, indicated that he knew a thing or two about military affairs. Mary, who had had one too many near-death experiences this week, narrowed her eyes and clutched the handle of her blade a little bit tighter. Right now, every random encounter was a potential threat.
“Who are you?” she asked, blade glowing a dangerous red.
“I―”
“Let me go!” Lari snapped and fell forward. He looked up, swallowed noisily, and smiled strangely.
“Greetings, sir Arlun. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The entire squad looked at the stranger in bewilderment. Even Ash had no clue who he was.
“What are you doing?” Lari said, turning to them. “This is sir Arlun of Trina himself! Two years ago, he won in the Arena and then disappeared! It’s said that he was to become the best swordsman on the continent, even enter the Order!”
“That’s an exaggeration.” Arlun waved his hand.
Mary looked at Arlun and then at Lari and sheathed her blade. As if on cue, the rest of the squad put down their weapons as well. Only Ash remained holding his staff.
“I apologize,” Mary sighed, bowing her head slightly in apology. “The past few days have worn us out. Don’t hold a grudge, honorable sir.”
It wasn’t for nothing that she and Lari were addressing Arlun with the utmost respect – the winners of the Arena were a step away from being granted the title of a knight. Many, if you believed the drunken ramblings in the port taverns, were far more eager to get a title than the monetary prize of ten thousand gold.
Arlun waved his hand again as if to say that everything was fine.
“These unfriendly woods don’t make for friendly encounters on roads. However, would you mind doing me a favor?”
“I’m listening.”
“You see, my wife made way too much onion soup this morning and I’m afraid that it’ll get spoiled by the next sunset. Would you be willing in helping me get rid of it?”
At first, there was heavy silence but soon the branches began to rustle, trembling with happy, carefree laughter. The tension eased, making everyone smile.
“Just one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s not be so uptight with one another.”
“With pleasure.” Mary smiled, glad that she wouldn’t have to watch her mouth around him.
***
The Stumps entered Arlun’s home and bowed slightly to the young woman who was whipping her calloused palms on an old apron made of multicolored cloth scraps. She had a kind but fair face, topped with a slightly big, but still lovely nose. A thick, black braid fell from her right shoulder, reaching almost to her rounded hip. Her soft, brown eyes welcomed the guests with warmth.
“Alun,” she smiled, deliberately swallowing the “R,” “I see you didn’t come back empty-handed today.”
“You offend me!” He laughed, wiping his boots on a rag laid out on the threshold. “I never come empty-handed.”
“Ah, I suppose that malnourished rabbits are a catch for you,” she replied with a soft smile and a twinkle in her eyes. “But guests are more to my liking.”
“Oh, angel of the Heavens,” Ash cried, dropping to one knee and pulling a bunch of wildflowers from under his cloak. “Have mercy on us who are despised. Don’t eat us, poor orphans and beggars, but take these flowers instead.”
Mary was ready to strangle him but the lady of the house laughed loudly, accepted the bouquet, and pecked the mage’s cheek. Mary had no doubt that Ash had made himself blush somehow.
“Wash your hands in the barrel,” the lady of the house said, “and join us at the table.”
Blackbeard exchanged glances with Ash and they rushed to the corner of the room where there was a small barrel with a ladle floating in it. They splashed their hands with rainwater and ran to the table at once.
Soon, the others joined them at the table, and though their elbows kept bumping into other people’s ribs, the cramped space didn’t bother the seasoned travelers. And when the lady of the house put on the table a huge pot of onion soup and several bowls with pickles and meat, they forgot how to breathe from excitement.
The couple watched with faint smiles as their guests dug into their food, looking like they hadn’t eaten food in years.
“May I ask you a question?” Lari inquired, pushing away Ash from his bowl and plate.
“Of course,” Arlun nodded.
“This may sound rude, but how come you disappeared immediately after the award ceremony? Why did you come here? This place is a little… strange.”
The two exchanged glances. Arlun’s wife nodded softly and smiled at her husband who turned to the guests.
“I knew that after winning, the Guilds would hunt me down, just like the other Masters who were eager to get their piece of glory at my expense. So, I decided to run away from that mess. I wanted some peace and quiet after eighteen years of traveling and fighting.”
“And what about… Erm, I’m sorry… I never asked for your name…”
“Elanor,” Arlun’s wife smiled.
“Oh!” Alice exclaimed. “Like the princess of the Middle Kingdom!”
Elanor smiled and Arlun continued his story.
“You see, the Ternites, at times, find loopholes in the laws… None of them exactly forbid, but only warn against relationships with Ernites.”
“So, that means…”
“Yes.” Elanor nodded.
The Stumps fell silent and even put down their spoons. Relationships between Ternites and Ernites weren’t uncommon, but they usually didn’t go beyond a couple of passionate nights or fleeting romances. But living together, especially as a married couple, was considered something unnatural, something mentioned only in sea shanties and vulgar ballads.
“As for our humble abode,” Arlun said, hastening to steer the conversation away from the controversial topic. “A couple of years ago, we were on our way to the plain, intending to join the traveling artists, when we came across this groove. After a little thought, we decided to stay here. I mean, what better place for two people who don’t want to be with anyone else except each other? The fact that the Forest of Shadows is so close is just a bonus.”
After that, the conversation turned into jokes and stories. Ash was mostly silent, listening to the Stumps talk about their adventures, which, to no one’s surprise, differed from the rumors and ballads told and sang about them. His favorite story was when the Stumps, at the request of the dwarven chief, searched all over the coast for a blue pearl.
Contrary to the rumors, they didn’t fight the sea king there, but spent several months shoveling the sand, only occasionally running into merfolk. These vile creatures, able to fight both in water and on land, resembled goblins, only hunched, with gills, and covered in scales.
By the evening, the girls were helping Elanor clean the table, while the boys had already gone to bed. Their hosts were nice enough to let them spend the night in the hayloft, for which the travelers were immensely grateful. Soon enough, Mary and Alice also went to bed, as did Elanor. At the table were only Lari, devouring every word spoken by his idol, and Ash, smoking and drinking mors[1] made of tart berries.
“Sir Arlun,” Lari said, looking away in embarrassment, “I know I’m overstepping, but… Would you show me a cou
ple of moves?”
He waited to be scolded because a warrior’s training procedure was a sacred and private matter as magic was to a mage. No one had the right to ask someone to demonstrate their skills.
“Of course!” Arlun replied as if he had been just waiting to be asked this question.
He grabbed the scabbard propped against the table leg and pointed it to the door. Lari, beaming with joy, immediately ran outside, followed by Ash, who didn’t want to miss seeing this.
Arlun stayed in the house for a bit longer. With a slightly sad smile, he looked toward the closed door where his lovely wife was sleeping. Running his hand over the logs he had cut to make this cabin for the two of them, he stepped outside. He seemed to be saying goodbye to the house even though he’d be out for only a couple of minutes.
Ash sat cross-legged on the grass and lit his pipe, habitually exhaling whitish smoke that flowed somewhere into the sky, covered with heavy, black clouds. It was going to rain soon. He had never liked rain, especially downpours. Water and fire were, after all, natural enemies.
The two swordsmen began their training. They warmed up by stretching and then stood still in identical poses for a couple of moments before they began the impromptu duel. They moved in an identical fashion, copying each other’s movements. The swords glinted in the light pouring from the windows. In Ash’s opinion, it was all rather boring so he soon began to doze off, automatically smacking his lips and exhaling fragrant smoke.
It wasn’t until the two began to talk that he finally woke up.
“Are you sure, sir?” Lari asked breathlessly, his eyes greedily devouring a pouch that clearly held a scroll.
“Of course I am, my friend,” Arlun replied. “I’m afraid that if I don’t, my skills will be forgotten. I wouldn’t want that to happen. But if you need a demonstration, I’ll be happy to oblige.”
Lari wanted to say something, but Arlun had already assumed a fighting stance. He put his feet further apart, bending them somewhat comically at the knees, as if he were sitting on a narrow bench or about to jump on a log. He then raised the light, elegant blade, extending it parallel to the ground. A fraction of a second passed in silence.
Ash. The Legends of the Nameless World. Progression Gamelit Story Page 23