by Robe
Ziem frowned and walked to the edge. He focused for a moment and then put his hand forward. Everything except a bolt of lightning leaving Ziem’s palm plunged to darkness for the fraction of a second the streak was in flight. It struck the ground with a crack, sending dirt and smoke into the air. Once again, the Raugen turned and fled, wild-eyed, into the forest.
Reon walked up beside Ziem and slapped him on the back. “Wow! That did the trick!”
“Nice work, Ziem,” Auric said, and Ziem couldn’t help but smile at his own accomplishment.
“We need to go, now,” Veese said, picking up one of the packed satchels containing food, cloaks and weapons. “We slept away most of the morning. The Evil God may have gotten very far by now.”
Veese climbed to the ground, and upon his confirming the Raugen had indeed fled, the others joined him. The group set off. A warm breeze passed through the trees, and the sun was shining brightly through the canopy, ensuring a clear day for travel.
“I left my horse tied up just outside the forest,” Dalk said. “I’ll need to stop by there to collect her before we head into the open.”
“Are you fit to walk on that foot?” Auric asked Veese.
He limped slightly as he moved. “I will have to be.”
“How about you?” Joan asked Ziem, but he dismissed her with a shrug. His side had stopped bleeding by morning and only caused him pain when he twisted.
The day remained warm throughout, and when they reached the area where Dalk had left his horse, the group was relieved to find his white mare healthy and waiting for him.
“I insist you ride, Veese,” Dalk said after feeding and watering the animal. “Your limp has only worsened since the day has grown later.”
“Thank you, Dalk,” Veese said, “but my limp only appears worse because I am inconsistent at disguising it.”
Dalk laughed. “Be that as it may, you were injured trying to save us, and I won’t have you hurting yourself further by walking when you can ride.”
Veese agreed and climbed onto the horse. “She’s beautiful,” Veese commented as he stroked her neck.
“Her name is Sunbloom,” Dalk said.
Evening had set in by the time the party found the commonly traveled road, and it wasn’t long until darkness fell upon the land. They continued to travel by starlight, agreeing that if they progressed a few more hours before rest, they would arrive at Rode early next morning. Only the sounds of Sunbloom’s hooves on the dirt road and the occasional gusts of wind blowing through nearby trees were audible.
“Well, I think it’s time for a break!” Reon spoke, shattering the silence that had engulfed the group for most of the journey. He dropped his supplies on the road and dashed into the sidelong woods.
“Should we stop for the night?” Veese asked, dismounting Sunbloom.
“Another hour and we’ll be able to reach Rode before the morning hits one-quarter sun tomorrow,” Joan replied.
Auric began walking back down the trail, looking up at the stars, and Dalk rushed to catch up with him.
“So, what do you think?” Dalk asked as he walked alongside Auric.
“About the stars? Or about Ziem throwing lightning bolts?” Auric said.
“The story Veese told, although I wouldn’t mind hearing your opinion on the latter,” Dalk replied, chuckling.
“I wouldn’t have believed it two days ago, I can tell you that,” Auric said.
“I wanted to stay and investigate further,” Dalk said, “but the presence of the Raugen made that impossible."
Auric turned to look at Dalk. “I am truly sorry about your friend,” he spoke. “I know how it feels to lose someone close.”
Dalk nodded. “I didn’t know him very well, but his father thought the world of him. He was a hard worker. Never left his duties undone.”
“It was very out of character for him to run off?”
“Not necessarily. When one is made to perform the most rudimentary tasks day after day into near adulthood, you can only expect him to break away eventually.”
“What exactly was this place at which he worked?”
“The College in Lanair. It has the most advanced ideology and history records of any one facility in Lon Gairdas. He was, essentially, the page of the entire establishment.”
Auric cringed. “I couldn’t imagine life that way.”
“Where do you come from?” Dalk asked.
“Me?” Auric asked, surprised by the question. “I’ve been all over the place.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Dalk said, and then a moment later, he added, “I wouldn’t push you if I didn’t think you wanted to be pushed.”
Auric laughed. “My life has been unrestrained for awhile now. I started off across the border, west of Lon Gairdas.”
“You were born in the Rathelstat?”
Auric nodded. “Homeland of the industrious, the rich.”
“Why did you leave?” Dalk asked, but when Auric’s face screwed up, Dalk recanted his query. “You don’t have to answer that.”
“I’m glad,” Auric said. It was quiet for a moment. Crickets could be heard chirping in the trees.
Dalk looked back at the group. Reon had returned, and Joan was disappearing into the woods. Veese was testing his ankle, pacing back and forth while Ziem watched.
“How about Veese?” Dalk asked. “He’s a strange one, isn’t he?”
“He risked his life to save ours. That’s all I know,” Auric replied.
“It’s weird, a hermit living in a forest. His only friends are bloodthirsty beasts, and he’s lived his whole life protecting a crypt. Now he’s hunting down an almighty god of evil that may or may not exist. Why are we traveling with this man?”
“He didn’t hesitate to protect those who needed his help. He could easily have just left us. You saw how he can move in those trees.”
“Thank you,” Dalk said.
“Thank me for what?” Auric asked.
“I was just making sure I haven’t lost my sense. I feel the same way you do.”
A cry split the night’s quiet, making Auric and Dalk look about wildly for who or what had made the noise. Less than a moment later, Auric was slammed to the ground when something dove at him from behind. Sharp teeth ripped at his cloak, and he ducked his head behind his shoulders, grasping for the blade Veese had leant him. Dalk didn’t hesitate to rip his sword from its sheath and plunge it into the side of the Raugen on top of Auric.
Kicking the dying creature off of Auric, Dalk barely had time to pull his companion to his feet before two more of the beasts appeared. Auric swung his sword to protect himself, and one beast took the blow in its face. The second Raugen jumped at Dalk and bit into his shoulder. He cried out and fell to his knees. Lacking the speed to swing his sword again, Auric reached out with his left hand and grabbed the Raugen by the scruff of its neck. He pulled its jaws away from Dalk, only to have them refocused on him. Its bloody maw snapped down toward Auric’s wrist, but his sword was already in the air, sliding into the back of the Raugen’s head. The beast died instantly, and he rolled it from his injured ally.
Auric sank to the ground beside Dalk and pushed on his shoulder, trying to stop the flow of blood. Before he could do anything about his companion’s wound, the second Raugen attacked again, slamming Auric to the ground and trapping him beneath its weight. Not quite dead yet, the Raugen was blinded by blood, and its mouth frothed as it snarled and snapped. Auric pushed it away from him, but his strength was giving out. Grabbing its face with his left hand, he tried to force its jaws to the side, but the beast had him completely pinned. He closed his eyes as its blood splashed in his face, and he could feel its hot breath getting closer and closer to him before it suddenly stopped, and instead of something warm and soft, his left hand was touching something smooth, hard, and cold. When Auric opened his eyes, he exclaimed; Dalk had reached out to help him, his hand on the beast, but where the Raugen had been, now only a perfect ice sculpture of the
creature remained.
A familiar scent was carried by a gust as it pushed through the trees, and Veese jerked his head upright to glare into the forest. The next moment, there was a shriek, and then Auric and Dalk were in combat with one of the Raugen. Reon reached to pull the knife he had packed from his pocket as he ran toward the action, but he was cut off by another Raugen creeping from the blackness of the trees. It hissed and lurked toward him, forcing him back. He bumped into someone and jumped before realizing it was Veese, with Ziem retreating into them as well. Looking about, Reon saw that three other Raugen had also emerged from the woods, surrounding the three companions. Sunbloom’s eyes grew wild, and she bolted between two Raugen, but they ignored her, having eyes only for the men. Veese had his sword drawn before him, and Ziem held a hand outstretched, ready to release his lightning, but Reon remembered that they were both wounded.
One Raugen lunged forward, and Ziem sent a blast of electricity at it. A second Raugen attacked Reon, but he dodged the blow and swung his knife at the beast. The right sleeve of his cloak burst into flame. Not again, he thought, but the Raugen was startled and retreating. Getting an idea, Reon dashed forward at the Raugen. He felt no pain from the fire so near to his body. The Raugen scurried back into the trees, but its eyes leered out from the darkness.
Reon looked back to see Veese sparring with two Raugen, and with one last glare at his retreated opposer, he rushed to help his companion. The creatures were staggering their attacks at Veese, and he was wearing down from defending himself. Reon tried to put himself between Veese and the next attack, but the Raugen again seemed to focus on only one target. It pushed past Reon and went directly for Veese. The second Raugen leapt forward as well, and Veese could not defend himself from both targets. Reon watched helplessly as the beasts dragged Veese to the ground.
Feeling more than thinking, Reon dropped his weapon and outstretched his arm, the sleeve of his cloak still burning. He felt warm, and then a blazing stream of fire burst from his hand, scorching the two animals. Once they were fleeing, Reon halted the flames and closed his hand.
Veese looked up at Reon from where he lay, his eyes wide in surprise, and then he pointed to Ziem who was being attacked by the Raugen Reon had chased into the woods.
“Didn’t get enough the first time, did you!” Reon shouted, and he sent a wave of fire at the Raugen. The creature cried out as the flames reached it, and it ran, orange tongues of fire leaping off of it as it evacuated the battle.
Shocked by Reon’s sudden fiery attack, Ziem stood with his mouth gaping, and Reon grinned at him. Distant snarls and growls reminded him that Auric and Dalk had also been attacked. He looked to see Auric pinned to the ground by one of the monsters, and he and Ziem ran toward the fighting. Reon was about to dive on the creature to pull it from Auric, but before he could reach them, the Raugen quite literally froze.
Surprise from the supernatural occurrences was starting to run out, and the pair helped Auric out from under the turned-ice Raugen.
“Dalk…” Auric said, and he placed his hands over a wound on Dalk’s shoulder.
“I’m alright,” Dalk said.
“Get me something with which to bind his wound,” Auric commanded, and Reon and Ziem began ripping their cloaks off. Auric took Reon’s singed cloak and tried to tear it apart without success. “Somebody put pressure on the wound!” he cried. Ziem leaned down and put his hands where Auric’s had been on Dalk’s shoulder. Reon pulled his own knife from his back pocket and helped Auric cut the cloth into strips.
“I’m alright,” Dalk repeated.
“Help me get his shirt off. He is not alright,” Auric commanded, and carefully, the three sliced away Dalk’s tunic. “Get a fire going.”
Reon dashed away to get sticks from the woods. Once he’d found enough to make a passable campfire, he arranged them into a pile and outstretched his right hand to release a flame onto the wood. It didn’t catch, so he tried again, increasing the power of the fire as it wafted from his hands in waves. The sticks caught flame and crackled before him. Reon stepped back to examine his work and spotted Joan standing at the edge of the woods staring at him, her mouth agape.
5
The group sat around Reon’s fire, Ziem no longer the only one playing with his newfound powers. Reon was on his rear in the grass, looking at another small flame resting in his palm with perfect contentment.
“Will he be alright?” Veese asked, looking at the unconscious form of Dalk.
“The wound didn’t look good to me,” Auric said.
“We don’t have far to go before we reach Rode,” Joan said. “Maybe we should move now, try to get there by morning. We could get him into good hands sooner, and we won’t be so vulnerable in case those things come back again.”
“I don’t think we should,” Auric said. “Everyone is exhausted, and moving him now might just worsen his condition.”
“If the Raugen return for more trouble, they’ll get it,” Reon said.
Joan looked over at Dalk as he rested unconscious beside her. “He froze that Raugen solid,” she said quietly. “I wonder if we’ve all been given gifts.”
As the night passed by eventlessly, Ziem fell asleep, then Joan. Reon was still watching the small flame in his hand dance while the larger fire before the group crackled and kept them warm.
“Aren’t you going to sleep, Veese?” Auric asked the man sitting across from him.
“I was going to stay awake tonight and keep watch,” Veese replied.
“That was my intention as well,” Auric said.
“You may rest,” Veese said. “I rode the mare while we traveled. I am in less need of rest than you are.”
“Alright,” Auric said, “but you must wake me up halfway to daybreak. I’ll take over from there.”
“A third of the way through,” Reon spoke, looking up from his hand-held fire. “Then Auric can wake me up when his third is done.”
Auric nodded in agreement.
“Very well,” Veese said.
Auric and Reon lay down in the grass and drifted off to sleep. Veese stood and walked away from the camp. The stars were incredibly radiant, and Veese silently wished peace to the three Raugen that had perished earlier that night. He strode down the path, considering how he felt about acting solitarily.
-
An hour after sunrise, Reon had awoken his companions to continue their journey. What remained of the fire was stamped out, and everyone gathered his or her belongings.
“Are you well enough to stand?” Auric asked Dalk as the man sat cross-legged, sipping water from a flask. He looked better in the light of day.
“Certainly,” Dalk said, and with Auric’s help, he got to his feet. “It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be.”
“I just want to make sure we can reach Rode to have that properly looked at,” Auric said.
The group set off, each of them keeping a close eye on Dalk. At the slightest stumble, five pairs of hands rushed to help him. Their progress was slow, but undeniable, and by mid-day, the village of Rode was in sight.
“We made it!” Joan exclaimed, and then she sighed in relief. The idea of home and a bed that was hers was welcoming after such a trying couple of nights.
The group made their way down the final stretch of the path to Rode. Upon entering the village, Joan led them to the healer’s house. As they went, Veese looked about curiously. Having never been in a civilization before, everything seemed strange to him. In addition to wood and stone, the buildings were made of clay and straw, materials he’d never seen used in such ways. The only real structure he’d ever seen before was the decrepit temple he’d guarded all his life.
What looked like meat pies were sitting atop a cart being pushed by an older gentlemen. While he’d seen the occasional traveling merchant, they were few and far between, and when a second cart came along, this one overflowing with the roots and greens of vegetables, Veese was surprised. There was a lot of chatter coming from somewhe
re, a sound that was strange to the forester. Joan guided the five men down a dirt road with houses on one side and a fenced-in pen for cows on the other, and between the little homes, Veese got a glimpse of a bustling market. The noise was a large group of people. He’d never see anything like this at all, and he stopped for a moment to stare down the alleyway at the citizens of Rode as they hurried along their business before hurrying to catch up with his companions.
“Welcome,” the healer said as she appeared at the door. “I am Iris. Please, come in.” She beckoned them through the threshold and into a parlor. “Sit. I will see your wounded.” After establishing that Dalk was in the most urgent need of care, she led him into the next room where she could examine his wounds in privacy.
“She’ll take care of him, right?” Auric asked.
“She’s the best in Lon Gairdas, except for the physicians at Grenduke where they practice anatomy and healing as a science,” Joan said. “She’ll fix him up.”
“How will we pay her?” Reon asked. “I would, but I haven’t anything on me.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Joan replied.
“How are you two feeling?” Auric asked Ziem and Veese, who were sitting across from him.
“I am fine,” Veese said, while Ziem just shrugged.
“Have you ever been to a civilized place like this before, Veese?” Auric asked.
“No. This is very new to me,” Veese replied.
“Never?” Reon repeated. “That’s incredible! How did you get all those supplies and weapons you leant us for the journey here?”
“Traders,” Veese said. “I made most of it myself.”
“I couldn’t even thread a needle,” Reon said. “How did you learn?”
“Knowledge was passed down from my ancestors,” Veese said. “In times of need, you learn to perform tasks that are of necessity.”
“So you weren’t always alone out there?” Joan asked.
Veese shook his head. “I had a family. They died defending the temple when I was young.”
“Oh, Veese,” Joan murmured, her face screwing up as if she were in pain. “I’m sorry.”