“What is it?” Karlona said, breaking the embrace to gaze into Jak’s eyes. “You seem troubled.”
“I have to leave for a while,” Jak said. “I won’t be gone long, but I wanted to make sure someone knew.”
“Where are you going?” Karlona asked. Thankfully she did not ask why, because Jak wasn’t even exactly sure she could answer that question.
“Riverbrook,” she said softly. A sorrowful expression touched Karlona’s glowing green eyes. Yes, she understood as much as she needed to.
“Okay,” her mother said. “I’ll make sure the others know. Do you know when you will be back?”
“I don’t.” Jak confessed. “But it won’t be long. I know people here need me.”
“Jak?” Karlona placed both arms on Jak’s shoulders. “I think he would be proud of you, of everything you’ve become. I know I am.”
“Thank you, mother,” she said, though she wasn't sure she believed it. Would her father be so proud of his little girl becoming a conqueror? Was that truly the role she was destined for? Or was there another way?
She grabbed a spear on her way out, found a shallow portion of the river, away from the Water Fae, and waded across. She wasn’t sure she would find answers where she was going. But something waited for her out there.
12
Thatched roofs and stone structures became visible ahead of her as she grew closer to the town she had called home. She didn’t go to her old farm. Not yet. It would take additional courage before she could confront the memories that she held there.
Though that was not to say this place did not terrify her. Though she hadn’t known it at the time, the last time she entered the town of Riverbrook would turn out to be the most significant day of her life. First she had received her Gifter brand. That had seemed all important to her back then. If she could have only known that no less than an hour later, she would have lost her father, perhaps she would have picked a different brand of some kind, or at least fled with her father. Perhaps they could have gone off and found her mother together, or lived in Skyecliff.
She stopped walking as she approached the main street that led through what was left of the town. Stones had crumbled and the thatched roofs were patchy and burned in places. Many houses had no roofs at all. Could there really be this much damage and decay after just over a year?
Steeling herself, she took one step forward, then another. She proceeded down the muddy and overgrown street until she came to the market square. It too was covered in weeds and brambles, nature coming to claim the forgotten town.
Perhaps in the future, Jak could come back to this place, build it up as a home again. They had camped across the river instead of using these old structures mostly because of the proximity to the mountain pass. But once things were safer in the kingdom, perhaps people could live here again.
She spotted something in the center of the square, a dark patch that hadn’t been overrun by weeds. That had been…
No! She could not deal with that memory just yet.
She continued down the street. There, at the corner of the market square, she spied the old shop that used to belong to Marek’s parents. The roof had a gaping hole in it, and several beams of timber had collapsed in.
Oh the memories she had of that place. One of her earliest was playing Watchers and Demons with Marek on the deck outside the store. His mother had berated them for playing such an awful game, and that it was insensitive to the real people that died fighting demons. In the end, she had been right, though at the time Jak had no idea just how scary demons could be. They didn’t congregate in any large numbers back then. In fact, most demons were killed on the spot when created, and the Watcher’s job was more to do with arresting the Gifter who did it. How had so much changed since that time?
Now Marek was dead, killed by a horde of demons along the walls of Foothold. Jak could only hope that when he had fallen from the battlements, he had died from the fall. Better that than what would have happened next. They never found a clearly identifiable body. Though they found many body parts, from multiple warriors that day.
Jak did her best to shake off that image, and moved on. This place was not helping her feel any sort of peace. If anything she felt more troubled, with thoughts of demons and lost friends.
The sun was already low in the sky. She would have to hurry if she wanted to get back before dark. Though she wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted.
Continuing on, she passed by the first place where she’d met Naem, just outside of the Lord Mayor’s house, which stood on a slight incline. This had been another important place for her. Gabriel had given her the Gifter brand here. Both her relationships with Gabriel and Naem had gone on to affect her deeply. Even after betraying Jak, she could not argue that Naem had taught her a lot, almost more than Gabriel. No, she could not think about Naem right now. She’d come here to get away from all that. This was not the place.
She moved on, circling back this time and proceeding down a side street that ran parallel to the main street. Parts of this street were completely covered in tall grasses and weeds. Nature was taking over.
Resistance built up in Jak’s legs. She knew where her feet were taking her, but she did not want to go. The market square was a block away to her right now. She glanced over and could barely see that dark patch she had spied earlier. That had been where her father died. The darkness had to be the blood of the demons that he killed. And his own blood.
And just ahead of her was the grave she had dug with her own hands. The mound was clearly visible. Grass and lavender flowers had grown on its surface.
She raised a hand to her face, wiping the tears that suddenly formed there, and knelt next to the final resting place of her father, Rael. She couldn’t hold it back any longer.
All the pain of the last year came flooding out of her. The pain of losing her father, her friend, of being driven from her home, of battling Kuldain and later Cain, of being persecuted by the queen and forced to become the Fae’s champion, of being betrayed by Naem.
She wept in great heaving sobs, not bothering to cover them up. The sounds echoed against the empty houses, with no response. The structures were monuments to her pain, to her losses. No, she didn’t think she could ever live here again. Not with this.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” she choked through her tears. “If only I was better prepared.”
She knew that the person she was now could have easily defended her father from those demons. She was the match of a hundred demons, perhaps far more, thanks to Naem’s training and her extra brands. The thought pierced her heart.
A rumble came from not far away, over and around a large tree that overlooked the makeshift gravesite. Jak’s head shot up, her tears still staining her face. That hadn’t sounded like a human, nor the sound of approaching hooves. Was it a demon or a stray animal?
Carefully, she tiptoed towards the large tree, readying her spear as she did so.
The rumble came again, though this time it sounded more like two rocks sliding against each other. Once Jak rounded the tree she got her first good look.
Standing about fifty paces away was one of the new type of Fae, the ‘trolls’ as Girwirt had named them. This one was enormous, at least three feet higher than the others they had fought. He must have stood at least twelve feet high.
Jak stilled her breath. All she had was a spear and her own branded abilities, all of which would be useless against one of these things. Perhaps she should think of giving herself a Thunder brand later. She should have thought of that before leaving, as it would really come in handy right now.
Slowly, she began taking several steps back, never taking her eye away from the lumbering beast, who was pawing at the ground as if searching for something. It hadn’t seen her yet.
Her foot stepped on a twig, and it snapped with a sound that seemed to echo around her. She froze in place.
The troll paused, and suddenly its electrifying eyes swung up to stare
directly at Jak. But it did not attack, not immediately. Perhaps if she could show it that she wasn’t a threat…
She set the spear down. It wouldn’t be much use against this thing anyway. With both hands raised in a gesture of nonviolence, she took another step backward, and then another.
“HMMM” the beast grunted and it came, its footsteps shaking the ground around Jak.
She stumbled backward in her attempt to run, but somehow her feet became entangled and she tripped. With the troll about to barrell into her, she raised both hands high above her head and screamed. “Please, I just want to talk!”
The troll stopped short.
Jak’s breathing came in huge, frequent gulps, her chest heaving with adrenaline. But the air was still, and the beast considered her with those strange purple eyes.
“Can...can you understand me?” she asked tentatively, still not bothering to move an inch.
It said nothing, but cocked its head slightly. Maybe it was trying to make sense of the words.
Moving as slowly as she dared, she raised herself up on her elbows and began crawling forward onto her knees.
The beast opened what appeared to be a mouth, which was more of a gap between two rocky protrusions. It rumbled something loud and took one aggressive step forward.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Jak thrust both hands out again. “I’m not going to hurt you.” If only she could convince this thing that she couldn’t hurt it even if she tried.
Placing one hand on her chest, she said, “My name is Jak. Do you have a name?”
Once again the troll’s head tilted as she spoke. Odd that a species of Fae seemed so primal in their intelligence. In the past, all of the Fae retained everything that made them who they were before they changed. But with these creatures, there didn’t seem to be much left of the original person. Jak wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Was becoming a Fae truly as harmless as she wanted everyone to believe?
“Can you talk?” she pointed at her mouth. “Talk?”
“HMMM,” it rumbled. It proceeded to make a number of odd sounds.
“Are you trying to say something?”
“MMMEH HARRGH!” it stamped on the ground, throwing both arms into the air as if in frustration. A thought occurred to Jak.
“Are you trying to speak but can’t do so?”
The troll considered her, then gave the barest hint of a nod.
Jak let out a whoop, and the troll shrank away from her slightly, studying her with its eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just glad you understand me.”
“HARAGMMM” it tried to speak once more, but nothing intelligible came out. Once again it stamped its feet on the ground in frustration.
“If you can’t speak, could you maybe write it down?” Jak bent low and ran a finger through the dirt next to the tree.
The troll paused long enough for Jak to wonder if it had heard her correctly. Even if it could understand her, its mind was definitely different than whoever he had been before. There was a definite primitive quality to the enormous Fae.
Then, with an impact that shook the tree Jak stood by, it fell to its knees. Reaching with one finger, it began carving huge letters into the ground with its rocky fingers.
Jak took the opportunity to try and move closer. The beast didn’t seem to mind this time. All of its attention was focused on the word it was trying to write. When it finished, it turned to Jak expectantly.
On the ground lay a single word. The handwriting was sloppy, but Jak could just make it out.
“Lost?” she faced the giant. “You’re saying you’re lost?”
It did not nod like before. Instead it stared blankly, as if trying to decipher what Jak was saying.
Jak pointed at the word. “Are you lost?”
Slowly, it shook its head.
“What does it mean?” she asked, pointing at the word and keeping her voice calm. She couldn’t afford to lose patience with a being like this.
The troll raised both massive hands and pointed at itself.
“You? I don’t understand, you just said you’re not lost.”
The troll jabbed its fingers at itself again, as if trying to make a point that she was not getting. She stared sightlessly. “HRM!” it growled and pointed a finger at the word, then at its chest.
“I don’t understand,” said Jak. “You’re not lost but you are?”
It then thrust out another finger pointing directly at Jak, then at the word, then back at its chest. Okay, this made no sense at all.
“Can you write something else to clarify what you’re trying to say?” she offered.
The troll growled and threw its hands in the air. It did not sound happy. Once again it pointed at himself, then at Jak, then at the word.
“I’m not lost. Is that what you’re asking?”
This was clearly not the right answer, for the troll bellowed and smashed a boulder of a hand into the large tree, causing splinters to fly.
“It’s okay!” Jak said, taking a single step back. “I believe you’re trying to tell me something. Let’s just figure it out together.”
It didn’t make a sound for several seconds after that, looking from her to the word. Then it stared away to the south, like a dog hearing some kind of sound that Jak could not discern.
Then with great, rumbling footsteps, it began to walk away.
“Wait. We can figure it out, you don't have to leave.” said Jak.
It did not appear to hear her, but kept walking to the south, towards the edge of the abandoned town. But after several paces it stopped and turned to look at her, expectantly. Then it resumed its walk for several more paces before turning once again to meet her eyes. Did it want her to follow?
Well, she couldn’t see why she shouldn’t. This was, after all, the only progress they’d seen from these trolls. Perhaps if Jak could get through to one of them, they might all refrain from attacking their camp. It was worth a shot. And it was headed in the general direction of her old farm. Maybe she would get a chance to revisit those old memories as well, if she could find a way to deal with the pain they would bring.
Jak fell into step behind the massive, rocky Fae.
13
The troll continued its gait with slow steps that nevertheless covered so much distance that Jak occasionally had to jog to keep up. It did not grunt or make any other sound as they traveled. And it didn’t pause to look at Jak once she started following. Its eyes were fixed straight ahead.
Jak’s old farm stood a little over two miles to the south of Riverbrook, so it took some time to get there. Jak tried once or twice to engage with the troll in conversation, but it did nothing to acknowledge that she was there.
Eventually, Jak stopped trying, choosing instead to fix her gaze on the familiar path ahead of them. She had come this way so many times in her youth. Had it only been a little over a year since she left? It felt like so long ago.
She swallowed as two large structures grew in her vision. The first and largest was the old barn, which like everything in the town of Riverbrook, had been overrun by nature, parts of it fallen into disrepair. The second building was her old home, not a large building, but one in which she had never lacked for anything.
Jak took a deep breath, feeling a rush of emotions crowd her mind. It had been so long.
But the troll did not seem to be walking to the old farm. They grew closer only for the giant Fae to walk right on by, hardly noticing that there was anything there at all. Though shortly after passing, he turned off the road and began walking into one of the grazing fields that Jak had spent her childhood in, making sure that all of the sheep remained safe from predators or from becoming lost. The grass had grown here too, though only in patches. It was still easy to navigate as she followed the troll.
All of a sudden, the giant beast stopped short, and Jak walked up beside him. He was staring into the distance, towards the edge of the field and the mountain’s foothills beyond.
Then it bent down and carved a word into the ground. Jak drew closer to see.
“Lost?” she said. “Why is that so important to you?”
It raised a big hand and pointed at something Jak could not see, somewhere off towards the foothills.
Hesitantly, she took a step forward. “Is there something out there you want me to see?”
The beast inclined its head.
“Can you show me where?”
It shook its head.
“You want me to go alone?”
Once again, it nodded. Jak took a deep breath. Well, at least she was making progress with this thing. Hopefully it wasn’t leading her into a den of wolves or something.
“Okay, I’ll go in that direction. If I can’t find anything, I’ll come back, understand? Please don’t leave.”
It said nothing but stood like a statue as she headed off in the direction it had pointed.
Jak travelled about a hundred yards ahead of them, two hundred. When she had gone over three hundred yards she turned to see the troll was still standing where she had left him. What was it he wanted her to find out here? There was nothing but grass and…
A sound caused her head to whip around.
Something rustled in the tall grass ahead of her, and Jak thought she could barely make out something that didn’t quite blend in with the rest of its backdrop. Carefully, she crouched low and got her spear ready.
As she took two steps forward, whatever it was lurched into motion. Jak braced herself, but it wasn’t coming at her. It was running away. Jak caught a good look at the creature just as it reached a patch of bare ground.
She stood straight and laughed. It was a sheep, and it was covered from head to toe in the thickest coat of wool she had ever seen. Once a safe distance away it trotted to a stop. Could this be one of her father’s old sheep? How had it survived all this time without getting eaten by wolves?
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