by Adam Witcher
“The fallen spirits of this forest. I don’t like to awaken them for violence, but I had no choice. Like me, they wish to defend their sacred home.”
“So, do you have any idea what’s going on up north?” I tried to focus on the situation at hand. “These crazy goblins must be related to that tower. I can feel it.”
She sighed and glanced around at her forest, then she turned her gaze back to me.
“There is a great evil spreading from the north. I do not know the exact nature of it, but I can feel the ripples of it even from here. I can feel the land itself becoming weaker. My energy is fading, like something is happening to the life force here. The old creatures of the forest can feel it too. They worry for their ancestors still living all over the lands of Iggoroth.”
“Then we have to figure out what’s happening and put a stop to it.” I suddenly remembered the sack on my waist, so I pulled it out. “I think it may have something to do with this stuff. Do you know what it is?”
I held the sack out to her, and she took it with her delicate fingers. She lifted the sack to her nose and sniffed. Her face contorted in disgust.
“By the goddesses, no…”
“What is it?”
“It’s something terrible,” she said. “I suspected that a dark magic was happening up there, but I had no idea. This is called krokum, a rare kind of drug that stimulates and enrages the user. Highly addictive. But there is only one way to make it.”
“That is?”
“It must be made from pure life essence. Taken from living things, organic beings. Then it can be converted into this stuff.”
“Why would somebody make something like that?” I asked, horrified.
“I cannot know what drives the evil heart of someone like that. But they must be stopped.”
“Well let’s go!” I spun around with my bow drawn back, imagining targets. “You, me, and all these zombie animals. We can take anyone!”
“Alas,” she said, looking at the ground. “I cannot leave this forest. I am its spirit, and away from it, I am nothing.”
I felt my heart sink.
“But there is one way.” She said slowly.
“I’m listening.”
“It is possible for me to imbue a mortal with my abilities. I have heard stories of it before. Perhaps it could work.”
“You mean I could raise those creatures?” My mouth hung open.
She didn’t answer. Instead she knelt before me and held her staff out. She began muttering some language that I couldn’t understand under her breath. The staff began to glow again. A blue gas surrounded the orb.
“Oh, wait, are you doing it right now?” I stepped back in surprise. She didn’t respond. The orb grew brighter.
“Wait, maybe we should talk about this…” I was cut off by a blinding flash of light.
Instantly, a new sense of power surged through me. It began in my head and spread all the way through my limbs and to the ends of my fingers and toes. I felt that my spirit, my essence, was connected to the trees and animals around me. I could sense the spirits of the dead under the earth, even the fallen fruits and withered grasses. All the life that surrounded us, those that watched curiously from the limbs of the trees and the forest floor, was suddenly more vibrant. It was exhilarating.
“I am sorry to beset you with such a responsibility,” the forest nymph spoke. “But these are dire times. I have given you the powers to connect with the spirits of the land’s flora and fauna. You can resurrect them, and they will help you reap vengeance upon those that destroy our land. You must practice your abilities until you are powerful enough to save us from whatever this force is that seeks our destruction.”
She handed me a pendant. It had a design on it that looked like a three-pronged infinity symbol surrounded by a spiral. Not knowing what to say, I took it.
“This is a piece of my orb, and a source of the power I have bestowed you with. Keep it with you always. I will communicate with you through it when the time is right.”
“But, I…” There were so many questions to ask. My mind was racing and yet I was speechless.
“I’m afraid that giving you my power has made me weak. We will speak again soon.” She stumbled backward. “I must rest now. But go forth and save the land, young necrodruid! It is your destiny!”
Just like that she was gone. I stood there alone in my torn clothes, holding the glowing pendant and wondering just what the hell I’d gotten myself into.
Chapter Two
I walked out of the forest in a daze, trying to process whatever the hell it was that just happened and half wondering if I’d hallucinated the whole thing. There were stories of forest nymphs, and I suppose that I had believed in them, but it was hard to believe that one lived in the forest that I grew up next to. To think that such a beauty had been living there all my life, and probably long before it too.
I tried to stop thinking about her as I pocketed her pendant. There’d be time to think later, but the town might still be in danger. I rushed toward it, down the hill and across the pathway that led back to the main square. By the time I got there, the last of the fires were being put out. The place was in an awful state. The goblins left nothing untouched. So many fruits and vegetables had been tossed around and broken that they all smeared together in the dirt. Shards of charred wood were strewn about. Even the fronts of the buildings themselves were mostly brought down and exposed to the elements. Through some of the exposed walls, I saw families gathered together.
I ran toward my grandparent’s house. As I passed by each of the burned buildings, I got glimpses into some sorry states. The fires hadn’t spared any of them totally, and many were reduced to ashes. A few of the families were crying over bodies. I tried not to look at whose as I passed through town.
There were a few dead goblins strewn about the fields. Crossbow bolts were wedged in their skulls. There was no sign of my grandparents outside. When I reached my front door, I was almost afraid to enter. I listened for a moment until I could hear their voices.
“They’re not evil, George, they’ve gone insane or something,” my grandma said inside.
“Evil or not, they killed our people and they were going to kill us. We had to do it,” my grandpa said.
I walked in and their heads turned. They dropped their conversations and ran to me.
“Oh Rahm, you’re alright!” My grandma was tearing up. “I was afraid those goblins had gotten you.”
“Not quite,” I said, hugging them. “They’re all gone now.”
I took a deep breath and told them what I could remember. An army of undead animals, a beautiful forest nymph, and necrodruid powers. I thought I must have sounded insane, but if they thought I was crazy, they were hiding it well. I finished my tale and waited for them to respond. It took them a long moment.
“Izmira, you really saw her…” My grandpa trailed off. I couldn’t tell if it was a question or not.
“Rahm, don’t you remember how the story of our forest nymph goes?” My grandma asked.
I tried to remember. “No.” It sounded familiar, but distantly so.
“She’s the defender of nature and all that live in it. If anyone tries to bring harm to the forest, she fights for life. The last time she appeared to anyone was almost seven hundred years ago. When a dark lord brought ice and destruction to the lands. The world nearly ended. This must mean things are worse than we thought.”
“But why did she choose me?” I wondered aloud. “And what does she expect me to do now? She didn’t exactly offer up any clues before she disappeared. I can’t just march up to that giant tower and demand they stop whatever they’re doing.”
“Perhaps you should start at home,” my grandpa said. “Your village is hurt.”
He was right. Now that I knew they were okay, it was time to assess the town’s damage. As I walked along the streets, I saw many families wandering the wreckage of their homes, not knowing how to begin to fix everything. I wasn’t a bu
ilder, so I couldn’t help them. Feeling useless, I decided to go check on Brick, my closest friend and drinking buddy that I’d frequently spent time with at the archery stacks, as well as Grey Oak’s Tavern. He was good, and I had no doubt that he’d bested any goblins that had come his way, but he lived with his wife and two young kids. They’d been on my mind for a little while.
I found his house mostly intact, with only a few charred rafters and a cracked window. His shop seemed alright too. Brick was a fletcher and a blacksmith, and damned good. Every goblin who I’d killed that day died by his hand as well as my own. I knocked and he answered with his youngest child, Tawny, in his arms, diligently sucking away on a pacifier. His wife, Martha, was inside shouting something at Tawny’s older brother.
Brick lived up to his nickname easily. I wasn’t a small guy myself, but Brick had about six inches on me in both height and width. He had a massive red beard that almost tickled Tawny’s bald head.
“Rahm!” He said “I knew you’d be alright. I must have killed six or seven of those godforsaken things. Where were you?”
I was preparing to tell my story when I heard Martha.
“Brick, what in the world are you doing?” She yelled. “Your son is screaming his head off and I’m standing here with a dirty diaper in one hand and a frying pan in the other!”
“Just a minute, sweetie!” He called back, trying to keep the daughter in his hand calm with some soft pats. “Rahm is here, and he has something really important to tell me!”
He turned to me and winked. “You have something really important to tell me, right? Something that requires my immediate attention outside the house.”
“Actually, yes,” I said.
“More important than your own wife and children?!” she shrieked.
“Just a moment, please,” he said to me calmly.
He shut the door and I heard yelling back and forth inside. After a moment, he stepped out alone.
“What do you say we head out to the shop for a minute, Rahm?”
We walked over to Brick’s workshop and went inside. There was a pile of Goblin corpses against one wall. All of them had holes perfectly centered on their foreheads. His aim was better than mine, and that was saying something. We idled about for a minute, handling some of Brick’s bows and arrows, and I let him enjoy a moment of silence.
Once I couldn’t stand it anymore, I told him everything that had happened to me that day.
“No shit, huh?” He laughed. “A necrodruid. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“I have to admit, I don’t hate the sound of it.”
“As badass as that is, I guess that means Iggoroth is worse off than we thought,” he said. “And look at you, Mr. Hero. Sure wish I could join you on your quest, but…. you know.” He nodded back toward his house. “I’m a little tied up.”
“I wish you could join me too, friend,” I said. “Our bows together with my new powers… Nobody could take us.”
“Even if the family could get along without me, there’s no way I could go. If something happened to me... Well, I couldn’t let my kids grow up without a father. You’ll do great, though, Rahm.”
“To be honest, I don’t really know where to start. I haven’t even had a chance to try out my new powers yet.”
“Well, that should be first on your agenda, obviously.” He put a beefy arm around my shoulder. “The goblins seem to be all gone from here, though, especially if your story is true. But I’m sure there are more out there. And if that—what’d you call it, krokum?—is as bad as you say, I bet those things only get more dangerous. Maybe you could get a lead back in the square. Apparently, Greebman’s got the hurt gathered there. Anyone who got up close and personal with those wretched things may have seen something useful.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll head that way.” I gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Goodbye, friend.”
“Safe travels.” He nodded, then started to walk back to his house. I started to walk away as well.
“Wait a minute,” he said, turning around. “I do have something that I could give you. It wouldn’t be right to not help out somehow.”
He ran off into the corner of his barn, past a pile of loose lumber and sawdust. He had a big wooden chest there that I’d never seen open before. He lifted its heavy lid easily and pulled something out.
“I’ve seen you practice with that dagger of yours, the one that sticks into your bow. You’re getting good. I bet it came in handy today. Brutal little thing. It got me thinking.”
He held a small, wide dagger in his palm. He gave it a quick swing in the air.
“I’m mostly a fletcher, of course, but I dabble in other weapons sometimes. I thought maybe you could fit something a bit longer in there, if only it could fold in on itself.”
With that, he pulled on the end of the blade and it jutted out another few inches. He pulled it again, and it was nearly as long as a full sword. The sides were jagged at the spots along it where it collapsed into itself. I was in awe. He handed it to me, and I practiced with it for a moment.
“See if it fits in your bow.”
It fit perfectly. “Incredible,” I said, smiling.
“Oh, and one more thing,” he said. “That quiver of yours has got to go. If it ran out that fast during just one battle, just imagine when you’re fighting something that doesn’t die in one hit. And you won’t have me around to make you more arrows.”
He walked back to the chest and pulled out a wider, deeper quiver. It was stuffed to the brim with arrows. Compared to this new one, mine looked like it was made for a child. He handed it to me.
“This thing should hold twice as many,” he said. “Maybe more.”
“Amazing,” I said. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“How about I thank you when you’re back from saving the world, huh?”
He grinned and covered my shoulder with his hand. I leaned in and he engulfed me with a bear hug.
“Watch your ass out there, man.”
Chapter Three
I made my way to the town square and tried to find the building that Brick told me about. I searched through many ruins, but plenty more of the structures were still standing, and it made sense for the cleric to set up shop in a place that still had four walls. Finally, I heard a few cries of pain coming from the red barn that served as a berry market during the summer months. Inside, there were maybe thirty people laying on makeshift cots. Our local cleric, Jeb Greebman, had already donned his robes and was beginning his work. I approached him cautiously.
“Jeb, you need anything?” I felt a little silly asking, but what else could I do? He looked up at me gravely.
“Sadly, no. Unless you’ve been taking secret alchemy lessons, I don’t think there’s anything you can do here.”
I was about to run off when I saw two young girls waving at me from across the room. It took me a moment to recognize them from earlier. They grinned widely at my recognition, then seemed to suddenly remember something important.
“Mister, mister!” One of them cried, “We need your help again!”
I walked over to see that they were standing over the body of a middle-aged woman. She seemed vaguely familiar, but she was covered with a bloody shawl and breathing very slowly. When she saw my face, she raised a feeble arm toward me.
“Please,” she said. “Come closer.”
I leaned over her until I could understand her faint whispers.
“I came here… earlier today… seeking shelter. My vineyard was attacked by those goblins. I didn’t… I didn’t know they’d come here too.” She coughed intensely into her arm, and when she rested back there were specks of blood on her lips. I realized suddenly that I recognized her. Her face was painted on the wine barrels from Wolfgang Winery. Her family made damn good stuff. I’ve been known to throw back a bottle or two at Grey Oak’s Tavern now and then.
“My husband, Nicolas, and my daughter, Lily, are still there. I came for
help. Please, I saw you fighting earlier. I know you can save them.”
The two girls looked up at me, their eyes wide and shining.
“Can you save her family, mister?” one of them pleaded, “can you?”
“Where’s the farm?” I asked the woman. How could I say no?
She told me she lived a few miles outside the village. I knew the area. She must have been running for a while. Imagine her surprise to find out how things were going here.
I told her I would help, then turned around and headed back for home. Along the way, I did my best to ignore the devastation. If that woman’s family was still alive, they’d need my help. Soon. But who knew how many more of those crazed goblins could be swarming the place? On the bright side, this could be my ticket to a lifetime of free wine. There was a lot to consider.
I carried these thoughts with me back into my grandparent’s house, where I found them sitting at the kitchen table and having a cup of tea. They looked surprised to see me back so soon. I dashed back to my bedroom and began throwing a pack together.
“Rahm,” I heard my grandma say at the door. “Surely you aren’t leaving town already?”
“Trouble is out there, grandma. Wolfgang Winery was attacked. There’s a man and a girl there, they need my help.”
I thought about it again for a moment, the idea of all of this. Just hours ago, I was a farmer, and now I was off to vanquish evil. It sounded insane.
“You know, Rahm, we love you and we support you,” she said, “but don’t you think you are rushing into this a little too quickly? You haven’t even had a chance to practice using your powers.”
“That family may not be alive for much longer!” I said. “I have to go today. The life force of this land is dwindling.”
She turned to my grandpa. “Oh, he sounds so much like David.”
“We just want you to be safe,” he said to me. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you too.”