by Simon Archer
“A forest elf saved us over and over again last time,” I said, growing angry. “We never would have made it through without her.”
“The forest elves are our friends, Godfried,” Marinka scolded, though she was kinder than I had been. “They sacrificed a great deal for us on our last quest, and they are the only reason we are here today.”
“I am sorry, cousin, but I feel an obligation to voice my concerns,” Godfried said, his resolve unbroken. “Some forest elves may have helped you on your last journey, but many others attempted to kill you. How do we know for certain that that is no longer the case?”
“The same way we know none of us will betray us,” I said, still angry.
“I suppose we do not know for certain,” Marinka said carefully, holding out a hand to me to signal that she would take care of it, “but the only reason those forest elves attacked us was that Viktor made it impossible for them to feed their families otherwise. That is no longer the case, as Viktor is now dead. Additionally, our allies among the forest elves, the ones who did sacrifice so much for us, believe they have reason to trust their people. And that is enough for me.”
“Our new enemy could be attempting something similar,” Godfried began, but Marinka cut him off.
“Just as important as knowing when to be skeptical is knowing when to trust,” she explained. “This, perhaps more than anything else, is the hallmark of a great leader. Without the forest elves, our quest will be far more difficult. And even if some do attack us, we will prevail over them with our newfound abilities. And I have no doubt that we can trust the forest elves we trusted before.” There was a finality in her tone now, and Godfried dropped the subject, though he continued to look sullen for the remainder of our day’s journey.
We stayed one night in a small inn that night before reaching the forest, and I relished my last night in an actual bed. Who knew how long it would be until I could sleep in one again?
The thin outline of the forest had been visible to us since we left the kingdom, but the following morning, it became far more clear.
It didn’t look like we remembered it.
“What… is that?” Bernsten asked hesitantly as we approached the edge of the forest.
“It looks… black,” Nadeine observed.
“It looks dead,” I said, my mouth hanging open slightly as I stared at the forest. The place I had fallen so much in love with on our last quest had all but vanished. My shoulders slumped and my stomach dropped down to the ground, and I immediately thought of Freyja and my other forest elf friends, and wondered where they were and what they were doing given the state of the forest.
Sure enough, the closer we got to the forest, the deader it looked. All the trees were withered and black, and there were no leaves in sight. The bark on the trees was all curled up as if it had been burned to a crisp, and the ground was covered in ash as if from the same fire. A smoky smell hung in the air, paired with a kind of dank mustiness I could only associate with death.
When we were a few yards away from entering the forest, Bill stopped dead in his tracks, refusing to continue on with our journey. The other horses followed suit, halting in their tracks.
“Come on, boy,” I said, pulling on his reins. “I know it looks bad, but we have to keep going.”
He held up his head in defiance and let out a dissatisfied huff to let me know exactly what he thought of that plan. I looked around at my companions and found that none of their efforts to budge their horses were successful either.
“What do we do now?” Nadeine asked, throwing up her hands in defeat after her horse shook its head so hard that Nadeine lost hold of the reins.
“When did this happen?” Marinka asked, staring at the forest in disbelief.
“It must have been recent,” I said. “Like ‘after we left the kingdom’ recent. Otherwise, we would have heard something from the forest elves or the council. Or some of the forest elves would have fled the forest and we would have run into them on the road.”
“They could not have fled if they are dead,” Bernsten said, wincing as he said it, not wanting it to be true.
“They cannot all be gone,” Marinka said, incredulous.
“Well, we won’t know unless we go in there,” I said.
“Do we really wish to venture into the forest while it is in this state?” Godfried asked, speaking for the first time. He watched the forest in front of us carefully, his lip curled upwards in disgust.
“Do we have another choice?” I asked, throwing my own arms up now.
“We could return to the kingdom and alert the council to this development,” Godfried suggested. “Then wait for further instructions.”
“The forest elves may not have that kind of time,” I said, growing angry with him again. Godfried opened his mouth to respond, but Nadeine interjected before a full on argument could start.
“Leo is right,” she said firmly. “We were sent here because it was clear our enemy was planning something. Clearly, this plan has been set in motion. We will only lose more time turning back now. We must press forward.”
“Animals are instinctive creatures,” Godfried countered as he gestured to his own horse who had dug its hooves stubbornly into the dirt path. There was a hint of panic in his voice now. “If they do not wish to proceed, I believe we ought to follow their lead.”
“You are free to turn back if you so desire,” Nadeine snapped, “but we will press on without you.”
Godfried shifted uncomfortably, and we sat in silence for some time. I remembered Noham, Godfried’s father, and how much pressure he had placed on his son to go on this quest despite his age. That sparked a pang of sympathy for the kid in my heart.
“Look, Godfried, no one will blame you if you decide to go back,” I said, making an effort to sound kind. “You have so much pressure on you already--”
But Godfried cut me off forcefully. “No!” He sat up straighter, puffing out his chest as he took a fierce hold of his horse’s reins. “You are correct, Mage. I will come. I am an asset to this quest.”
Looked as if my words had the opposite effect than I intended.
“Of course you are,” Marinka said gently. “But it is true that you are young, you cannot deny this. This is the most dangerous quest in our realm’s history, and it just grew even more dangerous.” She gestured to the forest in front of us. “You appear very uncomfortable, cousin, and have since we left the kingdom. We will not blame you should you choose to turn back. There would be no shame in it.”
Godfried grew angry now.
“No,” he snapped. “If you press on, so do I. Come on, horse, let us go.” He pulled harshly on his horse’s reins, causing it to squeal in pain. Instead of moving, it held fast and tried to shake him off its back. He managed to hold on tightly and did not fall off.
“Careful, cousin, careful,” Marinka called out as she held out a hand to steady Godfried’s horse.
“With the fact that we are continuing in mind, what are we to do with these horses?” Bernsten asked, slumping his shoulders as he gave up trying to get his own steed to move.
“Let’s just try to walk them,” I suggested. Putting words into action, I climbed down off Bill and took his reins to try to lead him forward.
“Very well,” Nadeine said, following my lead, then Marinka, Bernsten, and Godfried dismounted their own horses, all of us attempting to coax our steeds forward on foot.
At first, the horses only dug in their hooves and did everything they could to avoid moving, staring at the forest warily. But eventually, Bill realized I had made up my mind, and he begrudgingly accepted it, trotting forward with great hesitancy. Once the herd’s fearless leader had given up the fight, the other horses followed suit. Still, I couldn’t help but notice that their eyes grew wider the closer we got to the edge of the forest.
When we walked in the forest and the rolling fields disappeared behind us, the entire world went dark. The horses all freaked out, neighing nervously as they beat
their hooves into the ground, and I couldn’t blame them. There was almost no light inside, and I couldn’t see my hand if I held it up to my face.
Still, I didn’t panic. Instead, I hummed the tune for a light spell, and particles of golden light appeared to illuminate the path before us.
“Oh my lords!” Bernsten exclaimed when we could see the surrounding forest.
We all turned around in circles, taking in the incredible scene.
The forest was, in fact, dead. There wasn’t a green leaf in sight, and the trunks of the trees were charred and blackened. The smell of old, stale smoke filled the air around us. I couldn’t hear any birds singing or cicadas chirping. There were no animals rustling in the bushes. Even the beaten path on which we hoped to travel was covered in ash.
“It is as if there was a terrible fire,” Nadeine said, turning around and looking at the tangled web of dead branches above us, “but with no flames.”
“Indeed.” Marinka followed her gaze. “No natural force caused this.”
“Everything’s dead,” I said in disbelief as I looked closely into the bushes, trying desperately to find any hint of life.
“What do we do then?” Bernsten asked. He glanced at Godfried nervously. The young elf had crossed his arms and scrunched his shoulders as if he were freezing up, then he turned around and looked at all of the decay.
“Ought we turn back now?” Marinka asked, uncertainty in her tone.
“No,” I said, an edge in my voice. “I don’t think so. This is our quest. We can’t abandon the forest elves.” There was no way I was leaving, not before I knew what had happened to Freyja and the others.
“Are there any forest elves left?” Bernsten asked.
“We’ll just have to find out, I guess,” I said. “We’ll head for the center, just like we planned.”
“How can you tell which way is the center?” Godfried asked, fear in his voice.
I looked around at the forest hesitantly. It was a good question. Everything looked the same now, a seemingly endless field of devastation and death. It looked nothing like what it had when we traveled to the center the last time.
“I have a spell,” I said, more confidently than I actually felt. “It’ll be fine. We’ll find the way. Let’s just keep going. We can follow the beaten path this time since we’re not hiding from anyone. That’ll make it easier.”
I remounted a still terrified Bill and signaled to my companions that they should do the same. Light from my last spell still illuminated the path before us. Since I was an ultimate mage, I could keep some common spells going indefinitely just with a small piece of my concentration, and this was one of those spells. What that did mean, though, is that I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all while we traveled on horseback through the forest, at least if we wanted to see anything.
Hesitantly, my companions followed my lead. If there was any hope, it was that only the edge of the forest that was affected by whatever this was.
That hope was destroyed by that evening, when we had traveled miles deep into the forest and the scenery was unchanged.
“There is no wildlife,” Marinka remarked sadly that evening after we’d traveled in stunned silence for some time. “None.”
“I know,” I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling. I had been watching and listening intently for any sign of life, but there was nothing to be seen or heard. My thoughts lingered once more on Freyja, her lopsided smile, her strong demeanor. “It’s all gone.”
“All the forest elves cannot be dead,” Nadeine said, shaking her head in disbelief. “There are so many of them…” Her voice trailed off as she squinted into the trees, as if expecting a group of forest elves to materialize out of the darkness, assuaging her concerns for them.
“Everything else is dead,” Bernsten said.
“We’ll just have to see,” I said, shaking my head to clear it. “There’s no use speculating. We just have to wait and see what we find.”
“And if we find nothing?” Godfried asked.
“Then we just head straight into the mountains,” I said firmly, sure it was the right course of action as soon as I said it. But as I spoke, I felt my stomach sink again. It couldn’t be true. We had to find them. I shook my head again to clear it, knowing I had to seem calm and definitive for my team, especially given Godfried’s nerves. “Whatever’s happened here, we know our enemy is planning something. And the sooner we get there to figure out what it is and stop it if we can, the better.”
“Very well,” Marinka said, nodding solemnly. “I cannot say I am entirely comfortable with this, but what you say makes much sense, Leo. We will do as you suggest.”
I nodded, as did the rest of my companions. A chill came over me, and all of a sudden this felt even more real. We had never considered that we may have to venture into the mountains without the forest elves’ help. Godfried was hugging himself again, no doubt feeling the same chill.
“It’s been a long day,” I sighed, glancing at our youngest team member with concern. “We should just find a place to set up camp.”
“How?” Bernsten asked, throwing his hands up in the air and chuckling with discomfort.
“I guess we just pick a place,” I said. “Come on.” I pulled on Bill’s reigns and led him off the beaten path and into the collection of dead plants that used to be the forest’s luscious underbrush. Bill resisted at first, but he seemed to have figured out by now that we were doing this thing whether he liked it or not, and relented without much of a fight. My poor horse had been very tense and on edge since we entered the forest against his will earlier that day. My companions and their horses followed close behind us, and we trotted through the underbrush until we found a small clearing of dead grass not far away.
“We are meant to sleep here?” Godfried asked, eyeing the blackened ground with distaste.
“We have tents,” Marinka reminded him. As if on cue, Bernsten pulled the tents out of the packs on his horse and set them on the ground along with some other supplies. I drew a circle in the ground to begin to set up camp using my magic, but Nadeine reached out and placed a hand on my arm to get my attention.
“We should not create a firepit this evening,” she said, gesturing around at the blackened scenery. “Fire would be unwise given the circumstances.”
“Good call,” I said, and Bernsten rushed to put the supplies for firemaking back in his packs. “Does anyone else want to try setting up camp?” I looked around at my companions, thinking it would be good for them to get the real-time practice.
“I will attempt it,” Nadeine said, stepping forward and taking my place in the mage’s circle I had created in the ash on the ground.
She closed her eyes, held out her arms, and began to hum the appropriate spell. The supplies on the ground in front of her in the mage’s circle rose and began to swirl in the air amidst the funnel of golden light Nadeine had created. The funnel widened, ultimately covering the entire clearing aside from where we were standing, and when it faded, we were left with a completed campsite. The tents were coated in some dust from the ash on the ground and the surrounding trees.
“Better than sleeping on the ash, is it not?” Bernsten asked, turning to Godfried.
“Indeed.” Godfried nodded and straightened up, dropping his arms to his sides in an effort to appear more composed. “We will be fine.”
“Let us eat, then,” Bernsten said, his booming voice the only sign of life in the area. He reached for yet another pack, now sitting on the ground with the others’ and the horses’ harnesses, and pulled out several smaller leather packs filled with well-preserved food.
“It is fortunate that we brought enough food to last us the duration of the journey,” Marinka remarked, sitting down on the tarp between the two tents and signaling for the rest of us to do the same.
“Indeed,” Bernsten said, nodding as he unwrapped fish fillets for each of us, as well as some seasoned red potatoes. “We are fortunate that Leo Hayden’s magic allows u
s to preserve food for longer periods of time, and that the council instructed the kitchens to prepare us enough for several months, just in case of a situation such as this.”
“Well, we’ll have to make sure to make it last that long,” I said, shaking my head and staring off into the underbrush, still hoping to catch sight of any animals. “Because we can’t count on hunting or gathering any food here.”
“Perhaps you could try one of your hunting or gathering spells that you created for the forest elves, Leo,” Marinka suggested. “Just in case it reveals anything.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. With everything that had happened since we entered the forest, I had forgotten all about my custom spells. “I’ll try that when we finish eating. I’ll head back out to the beaten path and give it a shot.”
“I will join you,” Nadeine said.
I nodded and smiled at her warmly. With how crazy things had gotten, I was thankful not just for the company but for someone to guard my back while I worked my magic.
“How are you doing, my young friend?” Bernsten asked Godfried, clapping the nervous younger elf between the shoulder blades.
“I am fine,” Godfried said unconvincingly.
“Every quest brings its surprises,” Bernsten assured him. Thank God for his ever optimistic outlook at a time like this. “This is but the first.”
“Thank you,” Godfried said dryly. “That is reassuring.”
“It is but a truth.” Bernsten shrugged.
“Leave him alone, Brother,” Nadeine chided as she rolled her eyes. “His anxiety is not unfounded.”
“Ah, but it is my job as an older and more experienced quester to cause our new companion grief.” Bernsten grinned and punched Godfried’s arm playfully. I had to stifle a laugh at the younger elf’s unamused expression. “Is it not, Godfried? Is it not?” Bernsten continued to hassle Godfried until the kid finally broke into a smile. “There we are. I knew it was possible.”