by Cadman, Dean
Neala noticed Skelly watching her intently, and tried to counter any of his suspicions. “What?... You don't expect me to drink out of it without washing it first, do you? You've just been throwing your guts up before drinking from it,” she said, feigning revulsion. Neala continued to refill the waterskin as if nothing was wrong, but her heart was thundering in her chest. She knew Skelly was extremely smart, he had to be, to have survived in his position for so long, any hint that she may have been responsible for his current situation, and it would not end well for her.
Once the waterskin was finally full to the top, she poured a generous amount into her mouth to quench her own thirst, before re-topping it back up, and handing it to Skelly. He still had a look of uncertainty on his face as he accepted the waterskin, but never voiced any thoughts on the matter, much to Neala's relief. He refastened her hands behind her back, and retrieved something from his saddlebag, what it was she couldn't tell, as he placed it out of sight in his belt pouch before she could see clearly. She thought about asking him, but she had no inclination to start up any kind of conversation just then, in case he started asking questions about his sudden illness.
It didn't take long for Skelly to start feeling the effects of his second, much larger dose of poison, and spent the rest of the day either retching, or lying half-curled in a ball, clutching at his stomach and groaning through the pain. Several times Neala actually felt sorry for him, until she reminded herself of her own situation, as his prisoner.
Two hours later she was almost sure Skelly had passed out, and started working towards freeing her hands. If she could escape her bonds, she could take both horses and leave Skelly stranded here. It would take him days to reach Stelgad, or even return to Helveel, and that was after he had recovered enough to even consider travelling so far on foot. She worked on the ropes binding her hands, backwards and forwards she rubbed them, over the edge of a stone she had found protruding from the ground behind her. She couldn't see her progress, and knew she had rubbed the skin off her hands and fingers in several places, by the stinging sensation of the fresh grazes when they got dirt in them. Several times Skelly seemed to stir, each time she immediately stopped what she was doing, and listened carefully for his steady breathing to resume, before continuing her efforts. She had been working on the ropes for about an hour, and could feel the various strands already cut loose, tickling her wrists with each pass, so she knew she must be almost completely through the rope by now. Just as she started to actually believe her plan might work, her hopes were dashed, when she noticed Skelly's eyes open, watching her attempts at escape. He didn't move a muscle, and for the briefest moment she actually thought he may have died, but her hopes were once again dashed as he slowly sat upright, never taking his cold steely blue eyes off her.
“I was just....,” she started to say, when Skelly suddenly struck at her. At first she thought he had plunged his knife into her leg, as the pain exploded in her left thigh, but when he removed his hand, instead of a knife, what she saw instead, was a small group of poisoned darts sticking out from her leg, the same type he had used on her in Helveel.
“Oh!... So that's what you got out from your bag.....” she started to say, but never got chance to finish her sentence, as she saw Skelly collapse onto the floor next to her, only moments before she too was plunged into complete darkness, as the poison took effect on her.
***
Chapter Twelve
Renn couldn't believe the devastation caused by the exploding creature. No matter which direction he looked, all he could see were destroyed trees and vegetation, most still smouldering from the immense power of the explosion. He had no doubts whatsoever, that neither of them would have survived without the protection of Lusam's magical shield. He had checked on Lusam immediately after the explosion, and was very relieved to find him still breathing, even though he didn't show any signs of consciousness.
Several trees had been felled by the explosion, luckily none of which landed on them after Lusam's magical shield had failed. There were only minutes left until full darkness, and already Renn's sword glowed with the proximity of the creatures nearby, drawn by the huge magical explosion, and waiting just under the earth’s surface until the sunlight finally disappeared, when they could freely surface and hunt their prey.
He found a spot where two large tree trunks had fallen across one another forming a natural vee-shape, they offered protection on two sides, with only the front area exposed, and so he dragged Lusam's unconscious body into the limited protection they provided. He quickly recovered his glowing sword, thanking Aysha that it had survived the explosion intact, but seeing his shield destroyed, and devoid of magic filled him with great sorrow, and a sense of loss beyond words. It was cracked from one edge to the centre, and when he looked at it closely, he could no longer detect any signs of magic contained within it. The Vesdari had completely consumed its power before it had exploded, destroying the incredibly rare shield in the process.
Even though the shield would no longer protect him against magical attacks, or possibly even bladed attacks, he still couldn't bare to leave it behind. It had saved his life many times, and he felt a strange connection to it, almost as if it were an old friend. Renn quickly returned to where he had left Lusam, and began to make preparations the best he could for the coming darkness, and whatever horrors it may bring.
He thrust his glowing sword into the earth just outside their camp, trying to give them as much protected space as possible, and keeping their camp well within the radius of Aysha's light. The further away he could keep any Netherworld creatures, the more chance they would both have of not freezing to death, during what he expected to be a very long, and uncomfortable night. Kneeling in front of his sword, he prayed to Aysha, for her to grant his weapon her light once more, so they may both survive the darkness to come.
Returning to a still unconscious Lusam, he placed his broken shield over his body, then started to cover him with as much foliage as he could find. It would be no substitute for a roaring fire, but it may help retain some of his body heat during the assault Renn expected to come very soon. Sure enough, as the sun disappeared over the hidden horizon, and the forest slipped into darkness, a multitude of other-worldly shrieks and screams rang out in the stillness of The Black Forest, raising the tiny hairs on Renn's neck, and filling him with primal fear, as well as an almost irresistible urge to flee for his life. Fortunately for Renn, his many years of training at the High Temple had prepared him well for such creatures, his complete faith in Aysha and her light to protect them both, served as the bedrock on which he now formed his mental defences against what was to come.
Renn moved to the back of the vee and sat down next to Lusam, resting his back up against the fallen tree, and watched the blue glow of his sword grow ever brighter. He couldn't see them yet, but he knew they were there in the darkness, just out of sight, searching the area for him and Lusam, so they could feed on their very life force. It didn't take long for the first vile creature to wander into the area just outside their camp, only to be turned away by Aysha's light. One after another they came, and each was turned away by the light. They all seemed to instinctively know that Renn and Lusam were near, and they kept circling back to try and find their scent again, and again.
As one creature entered the light and was turned away by it, its wailing sounds of frustration only seemed to attract more of them, and as the vicious circle continued, the temperature within their camp became colder and colder. Frost started to form on the fallen leaves and branches, subtly at first, then it became ever thicker, until it even coated Renn's clothing and skin. Shivering almost uncontrollably, Renn carefully and quietly started to bury himself under the same foliage that he had covered Lusam with. He knew that sharing their body heat was the only way they might both survive the night without freezing to death. It was difficult for Renn to remain silent as he moved the now frozen foliage, but once he was covered and close to Lusam's body heat, he began to fee
l a little warmer almost immediately.
Several hours passed, and the creatures showed no sign of leaving the area around their camp; in fact Renn was sure many more had joined them. The entire area now looked like it was covered with a fresh blanket of snow, and Renn could no longer feel his extremities. He had been constantly praying to Aysha for the past few hours, asking for the strength to endure the night, and that Lusam may also survive the brutal cold.
He found himself mindlessly staring at his glowing sword, now so bright, that it blinded him to everything outside their camp, in the utter darkness of the forest beyond. His thought processes were beginning to slow down with the freezing temperatures he was constantly being exposed to, it was like thinking through thick molasses. He barely noticed the moving object within the protection of their camp, silhouetted against the bright light of his sword, pacing backwards and forwards. Suddenly it stopped, and turned in his direction, locking eyes with him, bright yellow eyes. Eyes that seemed to hide an intelligence he could not describe.
Renn tried to reach for his knife, but he was so cold that his muscles would no longer obey his command. Helplessly he lay there watching the silhouette gradually approach them both, strangely not afraid of his imminent death. He closed his eyes, and said one last prayer to Aysha, before opening them for what he was sure would be the last time in this life. What he saw before him, his cold addled mind found hard to comprehend. He found himself face to face with a huge grey dire wolf, its muzzle only inches from his face, and its bright yellow eyes staring straight into his own. The dire wolf turned its head to look at the dozens of Netherworld creatures fighting to pass the protection of his sword, then turned back to stare once again into Renn's eyes. It raised its head to the sky, and gave an ear piercing howl of defiance to the night sky, then it turned and ran straight past the creatures and into the forest beyond. The wolf yelped once as it made contact with one of the vile creatures, but continued running deep into the forest, with many of them giving chase.
With most of the creatures now gone the air temperature rapidly warmed up, and it wasn't long before the few remaining creatures lost interest altogether, and followed the distant wailing of their kin. Once Renn was warm enough again to move, he checked to see if Lusam was still alive, and was relieved to see he had survived the freezing conditions seemingly unscathed. Renn took a few minutes to try and comprehend what had just happened in their camp. Why had the dire wolf entered their camp? and why had it not attacked him? He could only conclude the wolf had been chased into their camp by one of the creatures, and maybe it felt the same irresistible urge to flee, the same way any human did when an Netherworld creature was near. Whatever the reason was, he was grateful for its sudden arrival, and even more grateful when it departed taking most of the creatures with it, and probably saving both their lives in the process. Renn gave thanks to Aysha one last time, then quickly fell into a deep sleep, thoroughly exhausted from the day's events.
Renn woke at first light, glad to hear the bird songs coming from the branches above him. It seemed to be raining, but very little of it made it through the thick canopy above them to the ground below. He checked Lusam again, but he still hadn't regained consciousness from the day before, so he retrieved his sword and went to look for breakfast. He had no idea how long Lusam would be out of action, although his training at the High Temple had covered the basics of magic, he himself was no mage, so he had no first-hand experience of how being drained the way Lusam had would affect him. All he knew for sure was he should recover given enough time, because, if he had expended all of his magic reserves he would have been dead already, so he just had to wait until Lusam regained consciousness, and hopefully that would be soon.
Renn managed to find several large wild mushrooms and quite a few nuts, as well as various fruits on the floor near their camp. It seemed that one advantage of the local devastation, was the abundance of edible foods dislodged from high up in the trees, now lying on the floor and easy to collect. He collected as much as he could carry and headed back to camp, happy in the knowledge that there would be plenty of food for the next few days at least. He collected some wood and started a camp-fire ready to cook the mushrooms and nuts he had just found, this was also much easier than usual, given the vast number of branches strewn all over the forest floor since the explosion.
Renn was beginning to think Lusam may not wake up at all that day, but thankfully he was proved wrong when he started to stir just before midday. It was about another twenty minutes before Lusam actually attempted to sit up, his head felt like it had been trampled by a dozen horses, and his stomach felt emptier than he could ever remember.
“Ouch! My head,” Lusam said quietly, holding it with both hands.
“Glad to see you awake lad,” Renn said.
“How long was I out for?” Lusam asked, hoping it wasn't days like the last time when he had healed Lucy.
“You haven't moved since the explosion last night, and it's almost midday now, so I guess about sixteen hours, give or take,” Renn replied, turning some mushrooms and nuts next to the fire. “Are you hungry? I have some food cooking, and we have a pile of fruit over there,” he said, nodding towards a large pile of what looked like wild apples and pears.
“You have no idea,” Lusam replied, already salivating at the mere thought of food.
It was a few moments until he noticed his body was half buried under the foliage Renn had covered him with. He kicked his legs free of the branches, then started to push the foliage off his body using both hands, only to reveal Renn's ruined shield underneath. It had been almost shattered by the magical explosion, with a huge crack running through it, as well as numerous dents and scorch marks on it too. He inspected it using his mage-sight, and was shocked to see it no longer contained even a trace of magic. It had once glowed to his mage-sight like a small sun, but now it was completely devoid of any power whatsoever. Renn had proudly told him about its origins, and that it was thought to be the only one of its kind still in existence, he knew Renn must be very upset by its loss.
“I'm sorry about your shield Renn,” Lusam said, still holding what remained of it.
“Yeah, me too, but at least it killed the Vesdari before it was destroyed. If I hadn't sacrificed the shield, nobody would have been around to use it anyway, but I will miss it, that's for sure,” he said, fondly looking at the battered shield, as if it were an old friend. Lusam placed the shield against the tree trunk, and slowly tried to stand up, his head spinning with the effort. Once he was standing, and could see over the top of the fallen logs, he was shocked at what he saw. “Whoa!... what happened after I blacked out?” he asked looking at the devastation all around him.
“Well, what you see around us is the result of the Vesdari exploding, because it consumed too much magic from my shield. If you hadn't kept us both safe behind your magical shield... well lets just say it wouldn't have ended well for us.”
“No kidding,” Lusam agreed, trying to comprehend the immense power of the explosion that had caused so much damage. “Is that the reason why I was covered in leaves and branches?”
“No, that's another story entirely,” Renn replied, then he began to recount the story of what had happened after Lusam had blacked out the night before. How the numerous creatures had almost frozen them both to death, before a stray dire wolf had blundered into their camp, and eventually led most of the creatures away into the forest as it fled. Lusam listened intently to his story as he ate his fill of cooked mushrooms and nuts, then helped himself to several pieces of fruit.
After Renn had finished recounting what had happened the night before, and answered the few questions Lusam had asked about the event, he remained silent for a long time afterwards, seemingly lost in thought, until eventually breaking the silence. “Something isn't right about you being attacked yesterday,” Renn said thoughtfully.
“What do you mean?” asked Lusam. Renn thought for a few moments longer about the attack, then said,
&n
bsp; “It wasn't fully dark when it attacked you, and it sure wasn't for however long it had been tracking you before that. A creature of the Netherworld would never surface until after the sun had fully set, that's why no other creatures attacked us at the same time, even though they could sense the battle they still remained under the surface until the sun had fully set. The light of the sun hurts and weakens them immensely, that’s why they always stay hidden until nightfall.
“Even stranger is the fact that it was a Vesdari that attacked you. Even if they still freely roamed our world, which they don't, it should have attacked me not you. They feed solely on magic, and my shield was by far the largest source of magic around, it should have been attracted to me like a magnet, but it attacked you instead. Were you using any magic when it attacked you, maybe a magical shield?”
“No, nothing. I did think about using my shield constantly after being attacked in Helveel, to avoid any further surprise attacks, but it uses up energy just like any other activity, so running all day while maintaining a shield isn't really feasible, or I would be completely exhausted before the end of each day,” Lusam replied. “That's what I thought, so there was no reason why it should have attacked you first like it did. Vesdari can not survive long in our world, they feed voraciously on magic, and even if it's not available in large amounts, they would still feed on the small amounts of magic within the trees and animals, even the soil under our feet contains life, and therefore magic. If somehow that Vesdari had been a remnant of the great war, it would have consumed enough magic to reach its capacity and exploded centuries ago.
“I've been thinking about this all morning, and there's only one explanation that makes any kind of sense whatsoever,” Renn said.