by Simon Archer
“We have this,” Bernsten said through a mouthful of stina root, holding up a wedge of it.
“Suit yourselves,” I said, rolling my eyes.
I sat down and played the spritely spell, though it didn’t exactly suit the scene’s mood. Golden light wrapped around the horses, but myself as well. It was kind of weird. I couldn’t see anything inside of it, but I could breathe just fine. It didn’t feel restrictive, and it actually felt pretty good. The light was cool to the touch and silky in texture. When it fell away, I felt physically much better, like I had just slept for an entire day and was waking up all on my own to start the next.
“Awesome,” I grinned, raising my arms and turning around, relishing the newfound energy. “You guys are missing out.”
“No, you are, my friend,” Bernsten said through another mouthful of stina root. I rolled my eyes again. I heard a low moan and looked down to see one of the corpses rolling over.
“Okay, out, now, now, now,” I yelled, running over to the now-standing horses and mounting Bill. I pulled up Freyja alongside me as the rest of my companions rushed to do the same. Once they were all in their positions, I pulled on Bill’s reins sharply and ushered for him to hurry. He did so, traveling so quickly that bits of mud flew through the air from the impact of his hooves against the ground. The rest of the horses followed suit, and we rushed away from the corpses as fast as we could. We didn’t speak for some time, opting instead to travel in silence, thinking about what had just occurred. Finally, when we had scaled the mountain and were traversing down the other side, Marinka spoke.
“He must know we are here,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
“Yeah, he definitely does,” I sighed. “I think he has for a while.”
“Since the first ghost town,” Freyja said from behind me.
“Yeah,” I said. Then, turning to Marinka, “We think maybe that sculpture’s creepy eyes weren’t just a trick of the light.”
“Truly?” Marinka asked, raising her eyebrows. “That is a terrifying thought.”
“I always knew that thing was disturbed,” Bernsten growled, rubbing his undoubtedly upset stomach.
“But how would he have achieved that?” Nadeine asked, ignoring her brother’s comment. “And how would he have known to look for us?”
“Maybe it’s not about knowing,” I said. “Maybe he has eyes in lots of different places, and we just happened to pass one of them.”
“Indeed, this perhaps makes more sense,” Marinka said, nodding slowly. “We inadvertently alerted him to our presence when we passed the face etched in the mountainside.”
“But then what explains how we were attacked the first night if he did not know of our presence then?” Nadeine asked.
“We were talking about that earlier,” I said, gesturing back at Freyja. “I think maybe we were right the first time when we thought that he had left the specters in that first cave for Viktor or someone else. That’s why we weren’t attacked after that until we got to the first ghost town. Then, he saw us there somehow through that sculpture and has been sending stuff after us ever since. The specters are tied to the places the mountain elves lived in. Maybe they are even mountain elf ghosts, but these zombie things…”
“Then he did not do a good job of it,” Godfried said. “After the first time, we defeated, or at least evaded, the specters with ease. Even then, we would have the first time as well had I not made a grave error.” He waved away the beginnings of my assurances that he was fine, and it hadn’t been that bad before I even got a chance to speak. “No, I own my error and am glad that I have yet to repeat it.”
“Well, that’s probably why he sent those things next,” I said. “He realized we were getting past the specters easily.” My words hung in the air. We had yet to discuss the forest elf corpses.
“Do you believe that they were… real?” Marinka finally asked.
“How couldn’t they be?” I asked. “We knew some of them.”
“We did?” Bernsten asked, and it occurred to me that the kingdom elves hadn’t seen Misho and Marius before my spell was done with them.
“Yeah,” I said, my shoulders slumping as I relayed the information. “Remember the forest elves that helped us on our way to the center of the forest on our last quest? Two of them, Misho and Marius, attacked us today. Or at least what was left of them did.”
“The real Misho and Marius would have never done that,” Ishida said, and she was almost whimpering.
“Of course they would not,” Marinka said kindly, giving her a warm smile.
“So… how did this happen?” Nadeine asked after a brief period of silence.
“Well, I was thinking about that,” I said slowly, trying to find the words to explain my theory. “The scrolls we found in our enemy’s cave confirmed the theory that he’s taking the forest’s energy. Maybe part of that energy is the forest elves’ life force or something. And he was able to reanimate them using that somehow and send them after us.”
“This is an interesting theory,” Marinka said, nodding slowly, deep in thought. “I believe it makes great sense, Leo. And if it is accurate, we could be in great danger. Many forest elves, not to mention dangerous wild animals, died along with the forest from starvation and dehydration. If our enemy is able to wield all of that power, it is a great advantage for him, indeed.”
“Not very many of the dead forest elves came after us, though,” I reasoned. “If that were true, he would have sent more. Maybe, once he reanimates them, he can’t use that energy again for whatever he’s planning, so he couldn’t send very many.”
“This is true,” Marinka said, brightening up a bit. “And it is certainly possible, Leo. Though, of course, we cannot know for certain.”
“Yeah, but I think it makes more sense than anything else,” I said. “I don’t think we’re going to have the entire reanimated forest striking against us anytime soon, though a number of them may catch up with us again. There’s no way he had them travel all the way from the forest to our campsite, so he must be able to make them appear wherever he wants.”
“Oh, that is a frightening thought, Leo Hayden,” Bernsten said, looking slightly green again. “Must you give voice to it?”
“I think it’s important to know what’s coming,” I shrugged.
“Oh, I agree,” Bernsten sighed. “But I do not have to like it.”
“That’s true,” I chuckled, shaking my head at him and smiling. Bernsten never failed to bring some humor to even the most dire situations.
We continued to travel until we reached a small town towards the bottom of the other side of the mountain. I maintained my elevated energy levels throughout the day, which was nice. Sometimes, my nighttime sleep schedule got messed up when I would drift off out of boredom during the day while we traveled.
“Maybe we should stop here,” I said when we had looked through the small town. Its buildings were made of wood, unlike many of the other towns we’d seen that had buildings made of stone. It was incredibly small, basically just one street with a few old houses and shops in it.
“Sleep here?” Bernsten asked, his voice breaking a bit. “Is that wise?”
“Why not?” I asked, shrugging. “He already knows we’re here, so it doesn’t really matter. And if anything, he probably won’t expect us to stay here, so it might be safer. Plus, there're no sculptures or anything like that other one around. This town is smaller and doesn’t have any creepy alchemy buildings or anything like some of the others have. And if there are more specters, well, we’ve got dealing with them down pat.”
“These things make sense, Leo Hayden, but I remain uncomfortable,” Bernsten said, shaking his head.
“You’re uncomfortable anywhere here,” I reminded him.
“This is true,” he relented, raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders.
“In truth, this town does not give me the same eerie feeling that the others did,” Nadeine said. “Except for the general eeriness that
follows me everywhere here.”
“Same,” I said. “It’ll be nice to sleep indoors for once, too.”
“You wish to stay inside one of these buildings?” Bernsten asked, his eyes wide with incredulity.
“Why not?” I asked again.
“Very well, Leo Hayden,” Bernsten sighed. “But you have been warned.”
“I think those corpses were a better warning than that,” I laughed. “We can leave the horses outside and sleep in that first house.” I gestured towards the nearest building, which we had looked in briefly.
“Very well,” Bernsten said again, sighing. I walked into the structure, and my companions followed close behind. The house was small and cozy, just a few rooms. There were two stories, a ground floor with a small living room and kitchen, and an upper floor with two bedrooms.
“See?” I said, holding my arms out when we were all inside. “It’s just a house. Not so scary.”
“I do not find it frightening at all,” Marinka said, looking around the small house in fascination.
“To be fair, Princess, you find little here frightening, only fascinating,” Bernsten said.
“This is true,” Marinka shrugged. “But I do not understand how you all do not share my fascination. We know so little about their society. This is a wealth of information.”
“I find it interesting, but I think you have to be a special kind of person to find it as fascinating as you do,” I laughed.
“Why, thank you, Leo,” she said, shooting me a smile.
“Alright, let’s eat,” I said, plopping down in a tall chair at the marble island in the kitchen. My feet dangled high above the floor. “Man, these people must be tall.”
“Indeed they were,” Marinka said, taking a seat across from me. “It will certainly be imposing to meet one.”
“Do not speak of it,” Bernsten cried, covering his ears. Marinka and I looked at each other, and then we both burst into laughter.
“Pull out the food,” I instructed him, still laughing.
He gave me an exaggerated dirty look but pulled out several steaks that he proceeded to use his magic to heat up as the rest of our companions gathered around the table.
“How is your leg?” Nadeine asked Ishida as they sat down.
“As good as new,” she said brightly. “Leo Hayden’s magic really is flawless.”
“Thanks,” I said, running a hand through my hair awkwardly. Bernsten finished heating up the food and began to pass it out. It smelled great, covered in delicious seasoning from the kingdom. “Hey, so what happened with your magic today, Bernsten? I didn’t see you fighting until you’d transitioned back to your sword.”
“Ah,” he said curtly, his shoulders slumping as he reached for the canteens. “I do not know, Leo Hayden, truly. I attempted to use it, but it faltered. My magical weapons were too frail to strike against our enemies effectively. I am sorry for disappointing you, truly.”
“Disappointing me? Are you kidding?” I asked incredulously. “You were awesome with your sword, as always. Your contributions still matter, even without magic. And you’ll get there. Next time, I bet you’re fine.”
“Part of me hopes that is true, my friend, but another part of me hopes there is no next time,” Bernsten said, passing me my canteen.
“Well, yeah, there’s that,” I laughed. “But you know what I mean.”
“Of course, thank you for your words of encouragement, my friend,” he said, bowing his head to me.
“No problem,” I said. Then, turning to Godfried and Nadeine on either side of me, “And you guys were great, huh? You destroyed those things.” I nudged them both playfully.
“Thank you, Leo,” Nadeine said, beaming. “I am really enjoying using my magic, I must say. It is very efficient for dealing with enemies in battle.”
“Indeed,” Godfried agreed. “It was difficult for me to make the transition at first, I must admit. But under your mentorship, Leo Hayden, I truly feel as if I have come into my own with these newfound abilities. I thank you for that.”
“You definitely have,” I assured him, clapping him on the shoulder. “And I’m glad to have you fighting by my side.” He smiled widely at that, enjoying the praise.
“How are you two doing?” Marinka asked the forest elves. “I know that must have been difficult to see.”
“Yeah, it was,” Freyja sighed. “But we just have to remind ourselves that those weren’t our friends. They weren’t our people. They were just shells.”
“That’s right,” Ishida said. “They weren’t our friends, just vessels. It was still difficult to see, though. But hopefully, now we’ll be prepared for it if it happens again.”
“Of course,” Marinka said, nodding. “Though no one blames you for your reaction.”
“Thank you,” Ishida said, and she seemed to mean it, relief crossing her otter-like features.
“Alright, enough talk of what has passed and what is to come,” Bernsten said, raising his canteen in a toast. “Let us drink to enjoying tonight for what it is.”
“Amen to that,” I said, raising my own canteen in turn to meet his.
True to his wish, we passed the rest of the evening joking and laughing and telling stories of the kingdom and the forest.
30
Over the next two days, the cylindrical light off in the distance that we theorized signified our enemy’s location grew closer and closer. The tension was starting to rise amongst the group. We laughed less, and when we did laugh, it didn’t last as long. More often, we ate in virtual silence, only speaking to discuss the task ahead.
“Remember,” Marinka would say. “Our mission is a fact-finding one. We only have to engage our enemy should a good opportunity to do so present itself. Otherwise, our mission is to determine what his plan is and report back to the council.”
“Even so,” Nadeine would say. “It seems a waste to come all this way and fail to engage him. I think it best to ensure that such an opportunity does arise.”
“I agree with Nadeine,” I would pipe in. “This was originally a fact-finding mission, sure, but circumstances have changed. The forest was alive and well when we left the royal castle. We had time to spare. We don’t anymore.”
“Yes, that is true,” Marinka would sigh. “And I agree that engaging him and stopping this spell would be ideal. But let us not do so at the expense of our original mission. It would be foolhardy to engage him without understanding what he is seeking to do.”
We went round and round like this at almost every meal, and sometimes as we traveled. I knew it comforted Bernsten and likely Godfried as well to know that a battle with the mountain elf was not unavoidable. But I couldn’t help but feel for my forest elf companions more. They had lost their home, and there may only be a small window left to bring it back. That seemed to me the most important task of this quest.
We passed several more ghost towns, including one that was quite large that Marinka delighted in exploring.
“This may have been the hub of their civilization,” she exclaimed as I took several pictures of the town with my phone. “It is almost more a city than a town. It covers nearly the whole mountain.” She was right. It was huge, the building reaching up higher than any of the others we had seen. We weren’t even able to explore as much as Marinka wanted to for fear of falling behind our enemy.
“We can come back when it’s safer,” I assured her. “You can explore as much as you want then.”
“Very well,” she sighed, looking around at the buildings wistfully. “You are right, of course, Leo. I just wish we had more time.”
“Me too,” I said, following her gaze. The buildings were mostly made of charcoal-colored rock, much like the first ghost town we had come across. It stretched for miles on end. “This place is pretty cool, though it is kind of freaky.” I felt a chill run up my spine and grew worried. We hadn’t been attacked again since the reanimated forest elf corpses, but something about this place gave me the creeps, though it was
true that it was an amazing place.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Freyja whispered in my ear from behind me on our horse. She seemed to have sensed my discomfort.
“Me too,” I whispered back, feeling yet another chill run up and down my spine. We were reaching what seemed like the edge of the city at that point, and Bernsten and Ishida were up ahead of us for once, eager to get away from any trace of the long-dead mountain elf society. Suddenly, I heard them both cry out in fear and alarm.
“What? What’s going on?” I yelled, pulling on Bill’s reins and ushering him quickly forward. Bernsten and Ishida had halted their horse in its tracks and were staring at the side of the mountain at the edge of the city. Freyja and I reached them before everyone else, and I followed their gaze to the mountainside.
“Oh no,” Freyja breathed. “Not again.”
“Dammit,” I whispered when I saw the long, thin face etched into the side of the mountain, much like the one we had seen in the first ghost town.
“It is possible that our theory about such sculptures is inaccurate,” Marinka, who was now next to Freyja and me, said uncertainly.
“It’s also possible that it’s right,” I said, giving her a pointed look. Nadeine and Godfried were with us now, too, staring up at the face in shock and horror.
“Let’s get out of here,” Freyja said. It wasn’t a suggestion.
“Right, yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s get out of here. Now.” I pulled on Bill’s reins and ushered him forwards, away from the face. He was happy to oblige, and I led my companions away from it. I braced myself for another set of specters, or worse, to appear and block our path, but they did not, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Something else did, though.
“Oh,” Marinka’s voice echoed out from behind me. “It is… I believe it is a mine.” I cocked my head and realized she was right. The mountain right next to the one we were currently on was basically a giant cave, hollowed out and black inside. It was so close to where we were that it would be easy to jump right over.