by Jamie Murray
"You've grown up."
"So have you."
"Any sign of Baloric?" Louisa asked.
"Not yet," Cyrus answered. "It's likely he will stay behind to protect the princess."
"It's likely not," Louisa said, rolling her eyes at Jameson. "It's not in his nature to wait around for anything."
Jameson couldn't help but get the feeling that it really was in Baloric's nature to wait around for things to happen, but he quickly reminded himself that ten years had passed, and everyone was different.
Instead of responding, he looked to Louisa to begin her explanation of the state of the Forest. She gave a heavy sigh and took Jameson's arm, leading him away from his own home and towards the path which led to the next home, with Cyrus following only a few strides behind them.
"After you disappeared, a lot happened," Louisa began. "I guess you've heard the short story of it."
"That guy Devin took over, and somehow he controls the Forces."
"Right," Louisa said with a nod. "In so few words, that's exactly what happened. But there's a reason why all that happened, though, admittedly, we're not really sure about the reason for why the reason—that happened…"
Louisa trailed off and seemed confused. "You're still not good at explaining things," Jameson said.
"Shut up," she said, lightly hitting his shoulder. "Felix? You explain it. In the end, he's right."
Jameson stopped walking and faced the man behind him. It was strange to see the little stable boy all grown up, tall and armed, constantly prepared. It was a far cry from the child who stumbled around clumsily, trying only to please others, though Jameson had the inkling at least that aspect of him was perhaps still true.
"The stones disappeared along with you," Cyrus said. "We came back to your village—here—to tell them you had been lost. There was a strange barrier around the Shrine not far from here and we could not get past it. For some reason, Forces could pass through, so they kept pouring out of the Shrine and into the Forest. There was little that could be done to stop them."
"Felix and Tina were still little children at the time, too, so they did more hurt than help," Louisa added.
Cyrus looked ashamed of his past youngness. "Most people in the villages made it out safely. We helped evacuate them to Market City, though we quickly learned that this same thing had been happening across all the nations. All the Shrines are enclosed in a barrier and Forces keep emerging. There's little anyone can do to oppose them."
"So all my neighbors, and the people in my village…?" Jameson led.
"Most likely evacuated to Market City," Louisa assured him.
"According to Baloric, there are pockets of the Forest which have a similar barrier, except it works in reverse," Cyrus said. "People can pass through it, but Forces cannot. Those pockets aren't very big, though, so I can't imagine many people still live in them."
Jameson touched the necklace with the stones. "Do you think these barriers are forming because the stones are still here?" he questioned.
"The Prophecy said that the stones were supposed to crumble," Louisa said. "They didn't. They're still here. It might be part of the problem."
"So the Rain Shrine made the Forest off limits," Jameson determined. "What about everywhere else?"
"They say that's why the Ivilian Lake dried up, because of the barrier around the Life Shrine," Louisa said.
"Devin sits on the throne in front of the Light Shrine in Ailyth," said Cyrus. "He controls them as soon as they pass through the door."
"What about the Sky Shrine in Miner Town?" Jameson tried. "People still live there."
"The Shrine is deep in the mountains and, for the most part, the monsters seem content just living up there," said Louisa. "People can't go into the mines anymore, which has seriously handicapped trade and weapon making abilities…but it's better than being killed."
"The Soul and Shadow Shrines are too deep in their regions and far away from people to really concern anyone, I guess," Jameson assumed.
"I guess," Louisa said. "I haven't been to Gislan ever since that time we left it."
"I understand why," Jameson said. He looked at Cyrus who strategically avoided eye contact at the mention of the Shadow Shrine. Jameson was about to call him out on it, but then he realized it might be better to pull him aside and ask him about it privately much later, like when Louisa was not standing there.
"Is that all of them?" Louisa asked.
"Yeah," said Jameson. "But…really… what I actually meant to ask about didn't have anything to do with the Shrines or the barriers or the Forces. I just want to know…" He paused and tried to think of a delicate way to say it. "Where's Luke?"
"Luke?" Louisa and Cyrus both repeated.
"My friend," Jameson said. "He was my best friend before I met you, Louisa. He's still my best friend. I want to know where he is." He put a hand on his face. "Don't tell me he's dead. I can't hear that right now."
"To be honest, Jameson, it's been a very long time since I've seen him," Louisa admitted. "We helped evacuate the village to Market City, and I did see him a few times. I told him you were dead."
"Oh…you did?"
"That's what we thought happened to you," Louisa said.
"What did he say?"
Louisa seemed surprised at the question. "You want to know what he said?" she asked.
Jameson thought about that for a moment. Finally, he very quietly said, "Yes."
"He didn't say anything," Louisa said.
"But—"
"He cried," Louisa said firmly. "Just…cried."
Jameson froze, thinking about his best friend, Luke, having to sit down and here the noise coming from Louisa's mouth, harshly saying something like, "Your friend is dead. That's all." And then moving onto the next person. He imagined what Luke did afterwards. He imagined what Luke wanted to do or what he felt. He wondered if Luke hated him for some time, or if he still hated him.
"I have to go to the Shrine," he decided.
"Why?" Louisa practically demanded.
Jameson looked down at the stones on the necklace, hoping at least one of them would shine. They all looked just as dull as when anyone else held them. "I have to see what this barrier is all about," he answered. "I can't just walk away at this point."
"There's nothing you can do," Louisa said firmly.
"You don't know that," Jameson said. "If there's a way I can somehow bring people back to the Forest, then I'm going to try it. If I have your support, then I'd really appreciate it. But I'm going anyway. You, Cyrus?"
Cyrus seemed rather taken aback that anyone was asking his opinion. After getting over his initial shock, he briefly glanced at Louisa to see what her reaction would be, but she wasn't about to offer him any guidance. Finally, he looked back at Jameson and said, "It couldn't hurt."
"Yes," Louisa interrupted. "It could hurt. You want to go to the place where all the Forces are coming out. Don't you think we're close enough as it is? You could be killed! And what then? I mean, you've only just come back!"
"Louisa, this place is my home," Jameson said. "It's abandoned by everyone I ever knew. Do you expect me to abandon it too?"
"What's so special about this place?" Louisa demanded. "There's nothing here anymore. There's nothing worth saving. All the people have left."
"It's not about the people," Jameson tried to explain rationally. "I lived here all my life. How could I just leave?"
"I'm asking you too," Louisa said, sounding a little whiny. "Let's go back to Miner Town. We'll talk about it then."
"There's nothing to talk about," Jameson said with a shrug. "I have to see it for myself."
He began to walk by her and go back to his house. Cyrus waited as Louisa groaned and called after Jameson, "Where are you going?"
"I've got some things to pack," Jameson said. "I'll be right back."
16. Looking For You
Chapter 16
Jameson rifled through his father's old trunk and pulled out the sh
irt on top of the pile. He could remember trying that particular shirt on before he left with Louisa, vainly hoping it might fit him when he was still a child. Now, as he held it out in front of himself, he assessed it would be a perfect fit. He gazed briefly at the trunk where he kept all his own clothes and quickly realized it would be senseless to even bother opening up anything from his childhood.
He pulled a bag out from under his old bed and began to stuff some more clothing into it. There wasn't really anything else around the room he found particular interest in keeping; it all seemed so meaningless and somehow related to gardening. Unfortunately, he didn't foresee anything as simple as gardening in his immediate future.
When he looked up at the doorway, Cyrus was standing and waiting. "Where's Louisa?" Jameson asked.
"Outside," Cyrus said. "I think it'll take some convincing for her."
"I hope she comes along," Jameson said.
"What's your larger plan, Jameson?" Cyrus asked. "You don't even have a weapon."
Jameson slung the backpack over his shoulder. "I'm just looking," Jameson pointed out.
"You've been gone a long time," Cyrus reminded him. "You don't know the dangers in this world. Things have changed. The Forces are everywhere."
"Forces have always been everywhere," Jameson said.
"More so now," Cyrus said. "Louisa is able to use her power to shield your presence from the weaker Forces, but they're seeking you out already."
"Louisa has the power to shield my presence from the Forces?" Jameson said, looking impressed.
"It comes with the power of the Rescuer," Cyrus said.
Staring at Cyrus just then, something clicked in Jameson's mind. "Where's Walden?" he said suddenly.
Cyrus faltered and nearly stuttered, "What?"
"Walden," Jameson repeated. "Where is he?"
"You were there—you saw it…"
Cyrus didn't have the words to finish his explanation.
"Saw what?" Jameson said, sensing something was amiss. When Cyrus did not immediately respond, Jameson put his hands over his eyes and took a deep breath. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, telling him he was afraid of where this conversation was headed.
"Jameson?"
"Let me think, please," Jameson said, trying not to sound rude, but also too overly focused to put too much thought in the sound of his response.
"Of course."
He heard Cyrus meander out, slowly stepping backwards as he went. Jameson imagined that this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach was what his mind was trying to avoid, which might have been an explanation for why that memory hadn't returned to him as the rest of it had.
Louisa touched her orb. Baloric touched his orb. Then—for some reason, Jameson couldn't recall Walden doing the same thing.
It's not working.
At first, he opened his eyes, but then promptly closed them again. He saw Walden reaching out to touch the orb, and then withdrawing his hand after making contact, confusedly staring at it and then around at the others. Jameson remembered standing in the middle of the three pillars, waiting for Walden to complete the final step.
It's not working, this time the voice was Walden's, echoing in the memory as Walden retracted his hand. What's that sound?—a new voice filtered in, and Jameson saw Cyrus as a little boy, running down the tunnel, pointing backwards, shouting something about Forces. Baloric's voice came from somewhere: We have to get out of here!
What happened next? Jameson found himself not wanting to remember. After all, Walden was not in the present, so something must have happened in the past, and Jameson knew it happened on that day. He saw Walden's eyes widen, his body go rigid, and then haphazardly look down at his chest to see a blade straight through the middle.
Finally, Jameson opened his eyes for good. He didn't want to close them again. He didn't want to see what came next. He only stood there, dumbstruck, wishing there was an alternate conclusion to the logical one.
"Jameson!" Louisa's voice came from reality as she appeared in the doorway. Jameson's eyes focused and he saw her as she followed up with, "Are you okay? I heard you asked about—"
"Let's get to the Shrine," Jameson said.
Louisa paused in awe, then asked, "What?"
"Let's go," Jameson repeated. "Now."
He walked by her and out into the front yard where Cyrus was standing, looking back at him with a concerned expression. Jameson wanted to think of something else, something concrete, and something that could distract him for a long time. He wanted to talk about anything except Walden.
He felt Louisa hug him from behind. At first, he wanted to push her away from him, but he instead stopped walking and allowed her to hold him.
"What are you doing, Louisa?" he said, finally stepping away from her and smiling as he took her by the shoulders. It seemed strange to look down at her from this new angle since she had always been taller than him.
"Jameson…" she started.
"Come on, we're going to run out of daylight," Jameson said, trying to maintain his smile as he gestured towards the very few beams of sunlight coming through the trees. "There's no point in hanging around here. Like you said, it's abandoned."
Louisa looked past Jameson and at Cyrus.
"Both of you, cut it out," Jameson commanded. "We've got a lot to do and we're wasting time."
"All right, Jameson," Louisa said after waiting a moment. "We'll talk about it later."
"Sure, whatever," Jameson said in a much labored attempt to remain ignorant. "Let's get to the Shrine. I want to see this barrier."
Jameson began to lead the way, walking several steps in front of Louisa and Cyrus who eventually caught up with him and seemed to be satisfied with continuing the façade, though Louisa appeared less interested in keeping quiet. After all, silence had always eaten away at her and, now that there was an obvious thing they were not allowed to talk about, she had to strive with every inch of her being to talk about something else.
Somehow, Jameson was able to sympathize with her so, in an attempt to put her at ease, he began to question her on the new abilities given to her by the Ultimate.
"It's nothing special," Louisa said passively. "At first, we weren't so sure we changed at all. I can still snap my fingers to make those energy attacks. I can also make a shield now. Kind of like a barrier."
"Like a barrier," Jameson said with a nod. "Anything like the ones around the Shrines?"
"If you're insinuating that I have gone ten years without considering that…" She shook her finger at him. "I don't have to finish that threat, do I?"
"No, I guess not," Jameson said. "Cyrus also mentioned something about hiding presence from the Forces?"
"Yes," Louisa said, looking a little puzzled. "I'm still not sure how it works. I'm not sure if I actively do it, or if it just happens automatically. It doesn't work on the strong ones, though. It's been helpful throughout the years."
"I can imagine," Jameson noted.
"But I've already noticed there have been more recently," Louisa continued. "More Forces, I mean. And by recently, I mean ever since you've come back."
"I've noticed that as well," Cyrus added. "I think they're all looking for you, Jameson."
"That doesn't surprise me," Louisa said.
"Really?" Jameson said. "You sure they're looking for me and not for this?" He pulled the necklace of stones out from under his shirt.
"Maybe both," Louisa said. "But those stones are…not working. They don't glow anymore, do they, Jameson?"
Jameson looked down, disappointed. "No," he said. "Nothing happens, not even when I think about it. They used to just glow whenever I touched them. Now… nothing."
"Maybe the barriers around the Shrines and the stones are connected after all," Cyrus tried. "We might actually gain something from going to the Rain Shrine."
"Maybe," Louisa said, still looking reluctant.
Jameson pushed through the leaves of a tree that led to the path near the R
ain Shrine. He tried to ignore the nervous feeling inside him that only continued to grow.
17. Was Almost Killed
Chapter 17
"So you've confirmed it then?" Jameson questioned as he emerged from a rather familiar patch of trees to where Louisa and Cyrus were standing.
"Yes, we've definitely been going in circles," Cyrus announced as he withdrew a small dagger from a tree. After suspecting they had been in that area previously, they had decided to experiment by placing the dagger in a tree to see if they came across it again.