Zealot

by Joshua David Smith

  After securing the rope, Eleven waited patiently until Tiberius, Gretel, and finally Kanii arrived.

  “Aw, you guys all waiting on me? How thoughtful,” said Kanii in a playfully sarcastic tone as she sauntered up to the rest of the group.

  “As if we had a choice,” muttered Eleven quietly.

  “Fashionably late as usual, but always on time to lighten the mood,” said Tiberius in reference to Kanii with a nearly unnoticeable smile before he continued, “Alright, let us be on our way.”

  “Where's Zackarius?” asked Kanii with a tinge of concern.

  Gretel replied as she threw her leg over the ledge while clasping the rope, “He will meet us at the bottom.”

  Due to the following inquisitive look which Kanii gave in reply, Gretel went on, “I'll explain later.”

  At that, Gretel went over the ledge, followed by Kanii, then Tiberius, and finally Eleven, who held up the rear.

  Some time passed before Eleven, feet and hands supporting him as he descended, felt something strange while clinging to the rope still nearly twenty five feet from the bottom. Then, suddenly, as Kanii reached the bottom, with Tiberius still maybe ten feet away, the rope snapped. Eleven fell through the air, about fifteen feet behind Tiberius who rolled along the ground safely, moving out of the way of Eleven while simultaneously absorbing the impact. Eleven was not so fortunate.

  Pop! Was the sound that Eleven's left knee made as it snapped out of place, followed by darkness...

  “I think he blacked out,” uttered Gretel.

  “I never thought I'd live to see the day that Eleven lost consciousness,” said Kanii as she carefully examined the break.

  “Looks like he hit his head on that rock; doesn't look too serious though, he should awaken in a few minutes,” replied Gretel in response to Kanii's comment as she peered over her shoulder.

  Tiberius looked incredulously up toward were the rope had somehow severed under the stress of their weight. As he stood more than a few feet behind the two women and the now incapacitated Eleven, Tiberius grimly marveled at this new unprecedented misfortune.

  A few moments passed before Gretel and Kanii moved to join Tiberius.

  “What do we do?” asked Kanii.

  “The only thing that we can do now,” responded Tiberius before going on with the obvious, “is wait.”

  Gretel then spoke up after looking around, holding the lantern which she had brought down with her, up, in effort to light the dense jungle which surrounded them, “Where is Zackarius?”

  The other two, having forgotten about the boy due to recent calamity, suddenly all bore faces of remembrance and equal puzzlement. Kanii was the first to speak after she too looked about almost as if she expected to find something which had been overlooked by Gretel, something which she immediately realized was not there to be seen, “Could he have gotten lost somehow?”

  “I doubt it, all he would need to do is trace the wall south,” stated Tiberius with an inquisitive expression.

  Kanii turned to face Gretel asking in a slightly more worried and apprehensive manor, “How long has it been since you saw him?"

  “Long enough; I don't understand, he should be here by now,” she replied.

  Kanii then looked toward Tiberius in all seriousness, “Should we look for him?”

  As soon as Kanii finished, Tiberius turned abruptly due to a rustling he heard coming from behind in the thick green foliage. The lantern light was not bright enough to see very far into the jungle so Tiberius strained his one good eye to, as futile as the action was, hopefully see an inch or two further into the night. He then called out, “Zackarius?”

  There was no response. Kanii then did the same, “Zackarius?”

  Still there was no reply, leaving Tiberius to nearly dismiss it as just a small land animal moving through the surrounding greenery, or perhaps a large bird flitting from tree to tree. But then it came again, this time louder, thrashing, seemingly coming from all around. No, not thrashing; a charge!

  Tiberius quickly reached for his sword, but it was too late. It... no, they, emerged from the bushes at breakneck speed, charging more quickly than anything else he had ever seen from a creature which ran on two legs. Then, blackness...

  Eleven could not believe what he saw as he groggily regained consciousness. The lantern which Gretel had carried was now destroyed, and lay on the ground shattered where she had just been standing. Having closed his human eyes he could now see a sight which only he was capable of seeing.

  They communicated in a language which was immensely unfamiliar to Eleven, appearing to be, in every way, human, except one; all five men stood, about what appeared to be, an incredulous eight feet in height. The tall muscular men which stood before him, carrying off all three of his captured and unconscious companions, could only be of one race. It was safe to say that, as Eleven watched them depart, disappearing through the tall trees into the night after a quick and short conversation, he had indeed encountered the mythical giants of old; he had just seen with his own sight what could only be, the Golgaleth.

  He was alone now, in silence, alone in an unfamiliar jungle with a useless leg; fortunate to have remained unnoticed by the giants who had emerged from the jungle, but unfortunate to be left as stranded and helpless in this moment as he truly was.

  The moments passed, and as Eleven lay in the grass, on his back in stillness, trying to figure out what to do next, he laughed a laugh which most would believe was deeply and profoundly insidious. The truth, was that in his frustration and misfortune, instead of finding pain he found laughter, a laughter which had been learned through many years, and many tortures in the dungeons beneath Dak'engül. He laughed because his left leg had been broken instead of his right, he laughed at the humor, the irony of it.

  His left leg had been broken first many years ago as a child, then his right, then after it healed, his left again. They had been broken a total of ten times beneath Dak'engül; now his left was broken. Eleven, then let out a sinister chuckle before uttering through his mask, “It all begins and ends with eleven. The first to be broken, is the last to be broken.”

  Suddenly, through the sound which he had spoken, he saw something different approach from behind as the sound which had exited his lips worked to provide him with sight. He saw it approaching, oddly... noiselessly, as most which he had encountered made at least small echos of noise as they moved or walked, illuminating whatever the sound seemed to touch in usually a beautiful flowing, luminescent blue. But this creature didn't, and as Eleven looked he identified it as a creature even more unfamiliar, or, then again, perhaps less unfamiliar than those which he had previously seen. It knew he was there...

  Eleven would rescue Tiberius. Was it because of loyalty; because Eleven liked him? No, it was because, more than a few years ago, Eleven gave his word, made an oath.

  A faceless never breaks that solemn rule, it is their only rule. Time slowed as he recalled reciting that oath which could not physically be broken once one was bound to the Essence by it, my word is my life, to break my word is to die by my own hand.

  This rule is unbreakable and Eleven had never broken it... could not break it. Then, with oath in memory, Eleven reached for his sword...

  Chapter 18

  393 days before day 1

  The day was growing long, with the sun beginning to fall gracefully toward the horizon, casting long shadows through the tall pines. The air, already with a chill, began to turn cold even as the gentle flowing breeze remained constant.

  Strangely it was still eerily quiet, as it had been since Salius had entered the forest earlier this morning, just after sunrise. Beside the mild wind currents that swept through, there had been no noise, something which was unusual even in the fields where he had grown up, as occasionally there would be a squirrel which would run through the brush, or a bird that would sing its song; but here in this place there was no sign of any such thing. In fact the only living things which seemed to exist in this place were
the vast greenery that surrounded him. And beautiful though the many tall trees and various lively species of plants were, as it was the first time Salius had seen a place like this, he couldn't help but feel as if there was an unspoken warning which lingered in the air, something which told him not to stay, not to rest, something which told him to leave. Yes, there was a darkness here in the forest, a darkness which hid behind the beauty of this amazing place that lay at the footsteps of the mountain; Salius could sense it.

  Two days previously, after traveling hundreds of miles, Salius had finally reached the quaint little village of Lituss, a journey which would have taken the ordinary traveler well over a month. Upon his arrival Salius had bought a wool coat from the small general store to make the nights spent traveling easier. He had hoped to by some nicer more gentlemanly clothes but due to the only shop's nonexistent selection, Salius had decided to wait a bit longer, spending his coin for now on only the necessities. After a hot meal and reserving a room at the local inn, Salius began to ask around about the forest which stood off in the distance, marking the edge of Librium's flowing fields and the beginning of things truly unfamiliar to Salius. He was immediately confronted with obstacle as no one had been willing to engage even remotely in any intelligible discourse regarding said forest. That is, except for one man, a man who afterward had referred Salius to none other than the town drunk for more information. Upon locating the apparent undesirable, Salius began his inquest as the man had agreed to tell all over a few drinks in the tavern, at Salius' expense of course. With a definable drunk slur the man had claimed many things, a list which included having survived the forest himself. However all the while the man remained adamant about one thing in particular; one who traverses the forest must never touch the ground after sun fall, because him who comes out at night can only kill that which touches the ground.

  After their meeting, Salius decided, after giving it thought, that he would get some sleep and head out in the morning, as there was no point in wasting anymore time or coin here. It was obvious that the only way he would discover what was truly in the forest was to just go, a prospect which he admitted was not at all appealing. But if he did not find this someone, whom the stranger known to him as Claudius had claimed supposedly lived there, than he could not continue his journey. So, despite his qualms Salius would go out of apparent, but not so appealing, necessity, hoping that following the seemingly foolish notion of spending the night in the trees, would be enough to protect him from him who had simply been referred to, by those willing to speak of him, as Him.

  Salius pulled his new, long wool coat tighter around his body due to the not dramatic but still surprising drop in temperature as he kept moving forward, heading further and further into the continuously disconcerting forest with each step. He had thought about using his dagger to cover more ground more quickly, but decided against it as his purpose for being here was not to pass through, but to find someone, and Salius felt that that purpose would be better served the old fashioned way, by walking. Besides, despite the obvious concern which this place brought, walking gave him a chance to fully take in this new and unfamiliar, but surprisingly beautiful environment.

  Aside from the very apparent lack of wildlife, the forest was very much alive due to the vast tree and plant life which littered his surroundings. Truly, while he had read about forests in many books, Salius had never imagined being able to see so many trees in one place. While he saw a tree here and there which was familiar to him, most were different, tall, some even seemed as tall as mountains, reaching up even past the height of the canopy. Oh what future wonders will I behold upon my journeys?

  But Silius' amazement at the world around him turned quickly to sudden mild distress as he felt a new type of cold, one not brought by weather but by the approach of something else, something which had been sleeping beneath the earth, something which was about to awaken. He felt it in his bones as a new type of fear which he had never experienced before came over him quickly as the last moments of direct sunlight began to give way to the beginnings of twilight.

  It was time, and as such Salius reached for his dagger. Then pulling the now familiar trigger he leapt into a nearby tree, one with surprisingly thick branches.

  Being now near fourteen feet off of the ground, he leaning back against the tree's trunk, peering down at the ground below, watching intently, waiting for something, anything to make its presence known. But still, Salius heard no sound, nor did he see anything move from below, and the absence of seeing or hearing what he knew was there, caused fear to seat itself, growing ever more present in his mind as time slowly crept forward.

  Some time had passed since Salius had found his moderately comfortable perch among the trees, watching below for any movement like a bird in search of prey. But unlike a bird in search of prey, Salius was not looking for a passing meal, he was seeking revelation, revelation as to what specifically had caused this place to be surrounded in so much fear and mystery for so many generations. Also, as he waited the thought had crossed his mind many times; was he actually safe in the trees. Salius couldn't stand the thought that he was taking advice from a known drunk with his life potentially at risk. But, then again, what choice did he have, and self admittedly it was better than nothing. So with that he continued to wait, watching, right hand grasping the handle of his short but elegant weapon.

  More time had passed as Salius sat ever watchful. It had been hours now since the sun had fallen and the night's bright moon shone brilliantly from above, illuminating the ground below. Feeling a bit more at ease due to the absence of anything noteworthy, Salius looked up at the sky to find the stars shining as a faithful companion to the moon. He began to search out the constellations, a few of which he could see through open spaces in the tree canopy above where he sat. The ones which he recognized brought him a small measure of comfort, as Salius had grown familiar with a certain degree of what travelers who had known a home called "home sickness". It had been a powerful feeling at first, but as the days went on the burden had begun to grow somewhat tolerable, and Salius hoped that given more time it would fade more and more until it became unnoticeable.

  Suddenly as Salius looked above he saw movement. It appeared to be a large bird, maybe an eagle, flying in the direction of the mountain holding a serpent in its talons. But just as the large bird flew past, while Salius still pondered the magnificent predator's reasons for flying over the deserted forest at night, the creature dropped the snake, no doubt due to the feisty serpents size and will to live. Immediately the snake, a vicious predator in its own right, fell through the trees, down to the forest floor nearby. Salius could still barely make out the serpent as it slowly began to move having survived its encounter with the fearsome flying beast who had thought it to be prey. But as he watched the creature come to, it immediately darted for a nearby tree quicker than Salius had ever known a serpent of its size was capable. A subtle thought then passed through Salius's mind as he watched, before it was nearly instantly rejected as lunacy caused by baseless paranoia; it's almost as if he is running from something. Like he sees something that I don't.

  Not two moments after dismissing his previous thought, he saw it go by in a flash, coming out of nowhere, slicing the serpent in half with a five foot long hilt-less sword. Then as the seven foot tall being hovered a near foot off of the ground near the now decapitated serpent, enveloped in a white hooded cloak, it turned its head slowly until the creature eerily paused, looking straight at Salius. His face, maybe like that of a man's, although difficult to make out due to both the night and also it's eyes which exuded brilliant blue light, unnerved Salius as he met the creature's gaze. But as Salius did this, staring straight into the being's unnatural eyes, two blue lights in the dark, suddenly the creature flew in the opposite direction just as quickly as it had arrived, and like that, it was gone.

  Salius more than a few moments later, still not able to fully process what he had seen, but fairly confident he would not be decapitat
ed in the night as long as he didn't touch the forest floor, reached into his satchel to pull out a piece of tan rope which he had bought in Lituss. Then carefully turning so as not to fall, he wrapped the rope around the tree trunk before using it to fasten himself in place. It would continue to be a long night, but Salius hoped to catch at least a minute measure of sleep before first light.

  Then before he could close his eyes, Salius saw something move, off in the far distance; something, or perhaps someone, in a tree. It was definitely not the same thing which he had seen earlier, however, something was there. But, then again, perhaps not, perhaps his eyes were just playing tricks on him, like when seeing an unwelcome insect in bed; after its removal he still got that crawling sensation from time to time even though he knew his mind was administering the tickle he felt. And with that conclusion, Salius suddenly felt sleep easier to obtain.

  After finally closing his eyes, a moment or two passed before Salius eventually drifted off to the world of unconsciously conceived images, images which had neither the ability to kill, nor to harm.

  Chapter 19

  392 days before day 1

  Consciousness beckoned Salius to an awakened state, and as he looked around groggily, Salius discovered that he had slept well past first light. In fact, it appeared to be noon, and upon looking up at the sky, Salius determined that it was likely to rain this evening, as the now partly cloudy sky revealed its intentions clearly.

  It was a colder day than the previous, and after remembering last night's disturbing events as he came to full alertness, Salius decided that he needed to get moving as quickly as possible due to the fact that Salius did not want to be here any longer than he had to be. So, after untying himself from the tree, he used his dagger to leap down to the forest floor below before setting out to continue his search for the man whom he was supposed to meet.