by Zax Vagen
“What if I gave them some of the tea, then they would control their dreams?”
“No they won’t, it’s not the tea.” Ray paused, “It’s the spoon.”
Thist looked confused. “Is there anything special about the tea?”
“No, it’s all in the spoon.”
“What makes the spoon so special?”
“It’s imbued.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s uniquely magical. There can never be another like it.”
“What does it do?”
“It imbues magic into what you use it for.”
“What kind of magic?” Thist was intrigued and knew the dream would not last. He may never meet the same lost soul in his dreams again and he wanted to know all that this man could teach him before he disappeared.
“You have a gift Thist, a gift that is born into one man every one thousand years. The spoon found you and chose you. It needs for you to make it count.”
“Tell me more about the spoon before you go!”
“I cannot, I have had only one message for you. I bid you farewell and I hope your journey is long and full.”
Ray faded. His light dissipated to the edges of Thist’s vision.
“Wake up!” shouted Kelvin
Thist came to. “What?” he stammered. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“No.” said Jem “its early evening, Thist. “We got caught in a hailstorm from hell remember?”
Thist staggered to his feet, stiff from the cold, his clothes still wet. He started to take his clothes off.
“Leave your pants on.” said Kelvin. “We cannot stay here, we need to press on.”
“This forest is not for me.” said Jem.
An eerie sound of hooting owls had filled the night. “There must be a lot of mice in this forest.” mumbled Thist, still disorientated.
The rain storm had cleared up as fast as it had started. The moon was out just on the horizon, giving a lowly night light to everything.
The boys walked through the night forest trying to gauge their way in the poor light. Their feet itched and ached from being wet and muddy in the forest undergrowth. It was easier to navigate on a moonlit night in the forest than in the day, as long as you knew your stars. All you needed was some moonlight, then you could see the silhouette of the mountain tops on the background of a starry sky.
Jem was lost in thought as he trudged through the forest, pace after pace, following the lead of Kelvin and Thist. He was too tired to care, his legs burned and his eyes stung. He missed home, his mother and her sweet reprimand. How different his perspective was now, when he longed for her the most. She only cared like a mother and every reprimand that he had suffered under her was always for his best interest. It was ironic, he thought, how it felt to him that the further away he was from his mother, the closer he felt to her. If only she knew that he was well and alive and at least where he was. “No” thought Jem. “If she knew where I was now, she would scold me.”
The night waned on, the shadows changing as they walked. The cold of their wet clothes added to the bone tiredness of travelling day and night in a wild forest. A bitter tasted filled Jem’s mouth, he couldn’t remember being this tired in his life before. “I have to stop” said Jem.
“No, no.” said Kelvin and Thist in unison,
“If you stop,” said Thist. “Then the…” his voice trailed off.
“Then the what?” said Jem.
Thist turned and walked on, “Just keep going.”
“The what?” insisted Jem.
“Calm down.” said Kelvin, “he is just trying to make your heart race a little…is it working?”
Jem shrugged, “Sure, a little, maybe.”
“We cannot stop now, it’s not safe at night on the ground in the forest, let’s just press on and get to the tavern as soon as we can.”
“Is there place to sleep at the tavern?” asked Jem.
“Yes.” said Kelvin. “It’s a general stop for weary travellers.”
“It sounds great.” said Jem. “Delicious food, strong drink, warm and comfortable beds.”
“And pretty young ladies.” reminded Thist.
“How can you think of tupping tavern girls when we are this tired and worn out?” asked Jem.
“Sometimes it’s all I can see.” said Thist “as if it’s a colour on its own.”
Kelvin cleared his throat, twice, then tried to speak, then cleared his throat again.
Being cold and wet had taken hold of his health in a short time. He knew they couldn’t stop now but that they were overdue for proper rest.
“Oh well.” whispered Kelvin. “Trudge on.”
They reached the plateau as the sun started to rise in the distance. The wisps of clouds were skimming the tops of their heads and the hues of orange and red were different and surprising in a way. The air was fresher than ever and in the distance a ground shaking rumble whispered itself through the rocks to their feet.
“The raging river.” whispered Kelvin. “Can you hear the rumble?”
Thist and Jem’s faces hung heavy with bags under their eyes as they scrutinized Kelvin. He had motivated them and encouraged them through the night of difficulty and now it seemed that he had lost his voice.
In the distance they could see a large estate on the far edge of the plateau just before the rocky highland split into a deep gouge. The local people had called it ‘Everdrop’ as it had been given the name in a legend. In the legend the cliffs were so high that if you had to fall to your death from the top then you would die of starvation before hitting bottom.
Kelvin looked to the distance and shook his head, “Everdrop.” he whispered.
They made their way through a veritable forest of stone formations, each one carved into a unique and disturbed looking figure by eons of wind. A light breeze gave the fresh, mild air a chilly bite. Jem wrapped his cloak a little tighter around him. Everything was damp and slippery. The tavern was not two hours walk from where they could see it but the exhausted traveller could care less. Jem stopped without notice and went down on his knees. His head hung forward and he fell asleep. Thist and Kelvin stared at him in delirium for a few moments, allowing him but scant seconds of rest, then Thist reached out his hand to wake him but Kelvin stopped him. “Wait.” He whispered. “He is too tired to be woken just yet. Count to twenty and then wake him.”
Kelvin’s words rang dull in Thist’s ears, he staggered back one step and then started counting. As he reached twenty he put a firm hand on Jem’s shoulder and said in a stern voice “Jem, you must wake now your life is in danger.”
Jem opened his bloodshot eyes and looked up at Thist. His eyes were vacant for a second and then his pupils focused. Energy surged through his eyes and then his body. He stood up looking refreshed and rested. “Wow, how long did I sleep?” he inquired.
“Twenty five seconds.” whispered Kelvin. “Get up or else you will freeze, it’s just a short walk still.”
“How do I feel so refreshed?” asked Jem.
“It’s an illusion” whispered Kelvin, “it’s called a power nap and will not last long.”
“That is amazing! How does it work?” asked Jem.
Kelvin was in no mood to talk. “Only your mind rested, your body did not. If you do it too much then you will become paralyzed. Let’s go.”
Jem took note of how his body felt and was immediately sorry for doing so. His body felt beaten up, his back felt broken, he was cold and wet. His feet burned and all his muscles ached but his mind felt fresh, for now. His mind started racing, ‘How do the others feel? What do we have to do next?’
Jem looked at the other two boys. They were like the undead, just plodding one foot in front of the next. Kelvin looked like he had switched off but he had not. Thist was following behind Kelvin with his head hung low almost touching Kelvin’s pack.
Jem knew that he had to take the lead. He rushed ahead of the group trying to find a higher outcrop that he
could scale just to check their bearings amongst the statues of wind carved stone.
He looked up towards the distant tavern building. It looked more weathered as they closed in on it and there didn’t seem to be smoke from any chimney.
Jem called at the others, “Come on we are nearly there, I can smell fresh hot meals and cold ciders already.” He lied.
Kelvin smiled. “And a warm bed, and dry clothes?”
Thist lifted his head and looked to the tavern not an hour’s trudge away, “How does one hut seem so near but so far?”
Jem clapped his hands in encouragement. “Come on let’s hurry it up a bit, then we can lay down for rest in a shorter time.”
The boys picked up the pace trying to increase the rhythmic plod of their weary feet.
Jem gritted his teeth as they approached the building. It was derelict and abandoned. The other two were almost sleepwalking and didn’t notice as soon as Jem did.
“Guys!” called Jem. “Approach slowly, something seems wrong.”
Kelvin looked at the building and blinked several times. “It’s dead, there is nobody here.”
Thist was shattered. He rolled his eyes and head up to the sky and flopped over backward, rolling over onto his side with his pack still on his back.
Kelvin put up his hand for Jem to stop and wait. Then after a pause and a think Kelvin said, “Let’s go in and check if we can make good shelter, check for some supplies, and if there are any predators sheltering here already.” He slung his pack to the ground and readied his bow in his left hand. Kelvin’s nerves were fried, Jem was looking even more exhausted than before and his face drooped.
“Let’s just do this.” said Jem. “Just do what comes next.”
It was an old teaching, he remembered from childhood, whenever you are in a hopeless situation, ‘Just do what comes next.’
“Take that large board.” said Kelvin. “Use it like a sword to parry and thrust and cover my back.” He drew his bow, his back to the door jamb. Kelvin gestured for Jem to open the door.
Jem grabbed the handle, turned it and shoved hard. It opened an inch and then struck an obstruction on the inside and ricocheted back and hit Jem in the face. A flock of carrion birds squawked and fluttered out of the far window making a terrible noise.
Kelvin startled and swung his drawn bow in every direction of noise waiting to impale any would-be adversary.
Jem held his face for a second then took a step back, swung the plank above his head and ripped into the door of the tavern with all his anger. The door splintered off its hinges sending dust and shards of wood flying in all directions. The noise startled more carrion birds from the tavern and also woke Thist. He tried to get up but he was disorientated and unbalanced from the pack over his shoulders. He righted himself and freed himself from his burden. He stood up, scanned the scene ahead of him and then called. “What in the world?” with his hands raised, palms open to the sky.
“Abandoned.” mouthed Kelvin without sound and gestured a finger over his lips for Jem and Thist to keep quiet. “What’s next?” he whispered.
Jem was in no mood for playful banter and Kelvin understood that they didn’t have any backup plans for food or shelter. There was nothing this far up the mountains and the tavern was a make or break stopover.
Jem held his plank in front of his face as he entered the tavern ruin. Kelvin followed Jem with his bow drawn.
Jem stopped a few paces from the door and scanned the scenery. The dust had settled on everything and was thick enough to indicate that the place had been abandoned for more than some years. Thist tiptoed in behind them, making the floor boards creak. “What now geniuses?” he asked with a solemn face.
“Secure the house.” whispered Kelvin. “And then…”
Jem reached to the floor and picked up a sturdy part from the broken door and put it in Thist’s hand. He made a gesture for him to move to the right. They scouted the building in a tight group.
As they came around the bar where the barmaids used to serve the travellers, they noticed one complete and dusty skeleton of a slight figure. The bones were white and were covered in cobwebs. The clothes were ripped by claw marks. Thist shook his head, his adrenalin soaring. Jem looked away and gagged. Kelvin reached past the skeleton into a shelf and pulled out an unopened bottle and put it on the counter. He brushed the bottle down for dust and pursed his lips, “Good stuff this.” He whispered.
Jem gestured with his hands to wait and attend to the first item on the agenda. He pointed towards the upper floor area and they moved to the stairs. Jem went first, placing one foot on a step to test it, halting when it creaked. “Just space out more.” he instructed. The stair boards creaked, echoing through the building. He reached the top and found nests and bird rubbish and small piles of shiny trinkets in every nest; spoons, forks, coins, sewing needles, a thimble, a metal arrow head, a golden button, and broken chain mail rings.
“That’s odd” said Jem, “look at the broken chain mail rings in this nest.”
Kelvin pointed to the door on Jem’s left and drew his bow afresh as he pointed it to the door. Thist came to the side of the door and raised his plank. Jem opened the door to reveal a pristine bedroom, covered in a layer of fine dust. Nothing had been disturbed for a long time. “Dibbs!” shouted Jem, claiming the room.
“Wait, let’s check the other rooms first.” said Thist, “We might still all bunk with you.”
They went through to every room. There were ten rooms but they were only after three good ones. The second room was trashed by the carrion birds, as was the third room, but the fourth and fifth rooms were good. The last one was locked. “Great.” said Jem. “Let’s get some sleep and we can deal with the problem when we are rested.”
“Two hours.” said Kelvin.
“I’m sleeping till I wake up.” said Thist who was not in the mood for negotiating. He started to strip his cold damp clothes and hung them over a dusty hat stand by his room door.
Kelvin stood in the passage undecidedly with his bow still half drawn.
“It’s okay,” said Jem. “Let’s get some sleep. We can deal with this when we have rested.”
Kelvin shook his head. “We should post a guard, I don’t like this place.” He stepped into the room that Thist had chosen. Thist was fast asleep.
Kelvin was beaten. He thought that he had had the journey planned out only to find adversity and danger, followed by disappointment and anguish which was made worse by hunger, fatigue, cold and hopelessness. Kelvin’s resolve started to crumble. Something was wrong in this tavern and he could feel it coming closer. He lowered his bow and relaxed the string. He walked to Jem’s room to ask him one question only to find Jem fast asleep on a filthy mattress.
30
The Hagget was in the tavern.
Memories from long ago returned to it. But now it was just a pile of rubble standing in the shape of a building. It had been a traveller’s haven for centuries and it remembered snippets of a time long past. But there was something in the ruins that should not be there. It was a soul. The ghost of a person who had not crossed and was not trapped. It was a loose soul, like a wanderer in the wild. The Hagget was scared for a moment. Some ruin haunting souls were good and others were evil. It could not tell which this one was but it had to enter the tavern. It was weary from following the boys. It was leading them on an alternate path for its own purpose. They were unaware of this and that’s how it should remain. It could not allow its presence to be known and yet it was right there with them in a form indiscernible to them, for now. The Hagget was in the tavern, the boys were sleeping and it could roam, but it was transfixed. An apparition floated at the end of the passage. It was the soul of its long lost loved one from centuries before it had turned into a hideous abomination. The apparition approached it and looked at the hagget, scrutinizing it. “It’s me.” said the hagget as tears started to roll down its face. “You remember me.”
The apparition reached forward with a sm
oky wing and touched the hagget on the arm. “You must finish this.” It whispered. “No matter what happens to you, you must finish this.”
“It’s the hardest thing in the world to do.” said the hagget.
The apparition hovered backward and started to fade into the walls. As it disappeared the hagget glimpsed a tear in the ghost’s eyes. The hagget felt something that it hadn’t felt in centuries and it felt infused.
The hagget wept.
31
Kelvin wept.
Jem and Thist had become the closest friends he had ever had and he felt like he had led them into a death-trap filled with corpses and poison. He dropped his bow on the floor and slid his back down the side of the dirty wall. Sitting in a heap in the passage of the derelict tavern, he sobbed from the bottom of his weary soul. His voice was hoarse and he made little sound but he wept until the tears soaked his tunic.
Thist stood at the door to his room. “It’s okay buddy, it’s not your fault. Get up. Go to your bed and rest. Sleep as much as you need, everything will be okay.”
Kelvin looked up at Thist and then hoisted himself up, walked to his chosen room and crashed onto the bed.
Thist stood at the gorge, the white water lapping at his ankles, the deafening sound of the raging river seemed like festival music with bards humming in harmony. The water sparkled on the surface but you could still see the dark menace below of powerful, fast flowing torrents. He looked up to the distance and could barely make out the tavern building at the top of the high cliffs. He felt over his shoulders for his pack but there was nothing, “How did I get here?” he thought. He looked to the side and then to the other side. There was no path or bridge, or rope or ladder, or any way in or out.
Thist took a confident step into the raging white water, his feet balancing on the water’s surface. “Come to me,” said Thist. “I am listening. I know you will teach me something profound.”
A figure appeared deep in the water like a shimmering mermaid. Then her beautiful body emerged from the water. She was naked but her flowing long hair covered her body.