by Kimbro West
***
A massive pressure surge ripped through Isaac, sending him to the ground in agony. A drop of sweat formed at his brow from an exhausting battle. Blood dripped from his nose and trickled from his ears. He knelt despairingly in the mud. With his head drooping, he saw his reflection in a small mud puddle, revealing a tired, pale-faced boy. A sword lay half-covered in mud a couple feet from him. He leaned forward to reach for it. Before he could grasp the hilt, he noticed his reflection had dissipated and was replaced by a small object shining in the puddle. Isaac reached down to pick it up. As he did, smoke plumed and swelled around him, forming a face whose jaws stretched open, enveloping him.
Ethan bolted upright, covered in sweat. He was becoming more familiar with the dreams now and knew he would not get back to sleep. But this time, he did not have to. The sun was peeking through his window, letting him know it was morning. This dream made it further than the others. Ethan wondered if it meant anything. Maybe it meant he was supposed to do something, or maybe it meant absolutely nothing. He could never grasp why this dream in particular jogged through his mind so much. He had often wondered if it were real. One thing he did know is that the dream, whether it was good or bad, gave him a glimpse of his brother, which brought him comfort. That would have to be good enough for now.
Ethan jumped out of bed with a much more focused outlook on the day. He got dressed, stuffed the map in his pocket and went to the study expecting to see Odin, who was not there.
“Odin!” yelled Ethan, but no answer came. He went into the kitchen and started making tea. He preferred licorice tea which reminded him of his brother. When they had gone exploring, they would often chew on licorice root, as he and Auren did now. He finished making the tea and went to the study. He noticed a note on the desk before he sat down.
“Ethan, went to run errands — will return tomorrow — Odin.”
Since Ethan had not checked the desk last night, he was now wondering if Odin left yesterday or earlier this morning. Ethan decided he would just wait for Odin. Since he was expecting Wegnel to show up with his cat, maybe he could get some answers from both of them regarding Tirguard. Ethan started to get restless as the day wore on. He sat on the front porch to enjoy some of the day. He pulled the map out and started to study it again. Soon, he noticed Wegnel walking down the path toward his house. He shoved the map in his pocket and stood up to greet the alchemist. He saw a chubby feline trailing behind Wegnel; the cat was grunting and snorting as usual. Her belly waddled back and forth as she made her way. Wegnel was carrying Loki in a small partially-open satchel.
“Hello there, Ethan!” greeted Wegnel with a smile. “Wonderful day, simply magnificent I say and I should know how well the day has been going because I have been enjoying it since I woke up this morning.”
“Hey Wegnel, nice to see you,” replied Ethan.
“Here is a special young patient I have for you,” said Wegnel. “He is doing fine fine, he is already trying to walk, and a strong one he is. I have to say, I am rather impressed by this one.”
Loki looked tired, but was content to be with his owner again. Ethan took Loki from the satchel and held him in his lap. The wound looked much better now that it was clean. Wegnel’s green mystery goop was pasted about the area. Loki rested his head on Ethan’s lap and closed his eyes.
“He is very tired, but he’ll be fine, fine I say, he is very strong indeed,” said Wegnel.
“Thank you for taking care of him,” said Ethan with a smile. “He helped save me in the forest … you helped save me in the forest … thank you … Wegnel.”
For once Wegnel didn’t speak. He blushed a bit and flapped his hand, as if to say it was no big deal.
“Do you want some tea?” asked Ethan.
“Oh yes, don’t mind if I do. Thank you very much,” replied Wegnel gratefully.
Ethan brought Loki inside and put him down on a blanket in the study. Loki nodded his head, tucked it back down, and went to sleep. Ethan brought two mugs of tea outside for Wegnel and himself. Wegnel took the mug and held it under his nose.
“Ah, this smells familiar it does, licorice is it? Yes I recognize this from many years ago. Good stuff this is.”
Wegnel breathed in the aroma from the mug and took a sip. Ethan was trying to work up courage to ask Wegnel some questions about what he had seen the night before.
“Wegnel, have you ever been to Tirguard?” asked Ethan.
“Oh yes yes yes … technically … I’m there right now … aren’t I? I mean … I think I am … or maybe not so much … hmm …” said Wegnel, with his nose still buried in the mug. He looked up at Ethan. “Well then, out with it, why do you ask? Maybe you are just curious or maybe you ask for another reason?”
“Well, it’s just that … I met a guard that mistook me for someone else — someone very close to me … my brother, Isaac.”
“Your twin brother if I’m not mistaken, am I? Yes yes,” said Wegnel. “Do you know why the guard mistook you for your brother?”
Before Ethan could speak, Wegnel provided the answer. “Because … your brother was in Tirguard, and he became rather important. Your brother was very important indeed. He had many adventures and saved the city more than once you know. And I say this because I was there, and sent myself word on it often,” said Wegnel.
Ethan looked up at Wegnel. “Do you know if he’s still there? I mean, can I go and see him?”
“You will see him again indeed,” said Wegnel, looking up from his mug.
Ethan looked at him in disbelief. He had asked many people in Strahlung if they knew the whereabouts of his twin brother, and all this time he just had to ask the alchemist. He wondered how the alchemist knew Ethan would see Isaac again.
Suddenly a wagon approached. Ethan and Wegnel stood up to get a better look. The wagon was slowly being pulled by a massive dark brown horse. There were two men walking next to the horse, guiding it up toward the house.
“He was hurt I’m afraid,” yelled the first man, as they approached.
“WHAT?” bellowed Ethan.
“Odin … your master, he was hurt a bit — he’ll be fine though,” said the man.
The second man helped Odin out of the wagon. It seemed Odin could walk just fine under his own power.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” groused Odin. “I don’t need anyone making any fuss over me — I can handle myself just fine.”
“He’s very stubborn,” said the second man as he got the wagon turned around.
Odin was wearing a cloak with the hood pulled up. The caretaker climbed the staircase, giving Ethan a good look at his injury. Odin had a gash that ran down the length of his face. The gash seemed to have been made by a large claw, with a second gouge down his ear and jaw that was meager in comparison. Dried blood was smeared down the side of his face from someone’s attempt to clean the wound.
Odin smiled at Ethan. “Oh I have had much worse than this I assure you. I will be quite alright.”
Ethan looked at him. “How did this happen?”
“Let me get some herbs on that wound and we can go over the details we can, this will be no problem indeed, I can have you patched up in a minute,” said Wegnel as he reached inside his satchel.
Odin smiled as Ethan helped him up the stairs into the chair on the front porch.
“Thank you, my friends.”
Wegnel spent the next few moments mixing his ingredients and applying the resulting green goop to Odin’s face.
“It seems a giant werewolf was loose, roaming about. My curiosity must have gotten the best of me,” said Odin.
“We ran into a lycanthrope last night …” said Wegnel. “Or at least a very large stone with a severe lycanthropic condition.”
“Indeed, I saw the poison spikes in its foot. If it weren’t for that, and of course that it seemed half blind, I’m afraid it would have been difficult for me to escape … mostly intact …” replied Odin.
Odin looked at Ethan with a concerned expressi
on. “You were very lucky to have survived such an encounter.”
“As are you, Odin.”
“Rest rest, Odin needs to rest now, and I need to be on my way.” Wegnel gathered his remaining supplies and set the small jar of green mystery paste on the table. “Put some more of this on both Odin and Loki tonight and make sure they get plenty of rest — that’s a good lad, bring them by tomorrow for a checkup,” he added.
Ethan nodded. He wanted to ask more questions of the alchemist, but decided he had enough to worry about, what with taking care of his cat and Odin.
Chapter 9
A Trip Through Time
The day’s affairs came to order quickly the next morning. Odin, ignoring his get-rest orders from Wegnel, was up very early. He was drinking tea and making a bustling racket which woke Ethan up. Grappling with the idea of getting out of bed, Ethan pushed the sheets off his face. He was rather glad to see the six-toed cat was again at the foot of his bed, looking as if he were ready to go back to his day-to-day routine. Ethan gave him some attention and then proceeded into the study to look for Odin. He found his caretaker going through shelves that had lacked the organizational aspect of any well-respected mapmaker. He had stirred up quite a bit of dust and was mumbling about the map he had discovered the other day.
“Ah….” Odin looked up at Ethan while holding up a backpack. “Here it has been all along; it is always in the last place you look, but also the last place you expect to find it,” he said with a hint of excitement.
It was raining lightly that morning and thunder was rolling in the distance. It did not seem that the rain would let up any time soon and Ethan was starting to wonder if the weather was affecting Odin’s mind.
“Shouldn’t you be resting?” asked Ethan.
“Nonsense my boy, now get your things packed up, we must get going before the storm gets worse,” replied Odin.
Ethan looked surprised, “Odin, what do you mean — Wegnel’s already? What are you up to?”
“Always up to no good I’m afraid,” Odin said with a wink of his eye. “We are going to Ghislain’s.”
“Auren’s father — but … what for?” said Ethan, now wondering if he was to be punished for some additional crime that he was unaware of.
“We have business,” stated Odin. He had already filled his pack with several items — he looked as if he were ready to be gone for a week.
Ethan shrugged his shoulders, downed a mug of tea that Odin had made, and then grabbed his map and the miracle torch that he had received from Wegnel. He stuffed the items in his pockets and walked into the study.
“I’m ready, Odin.”
“Good,” smiled Odin, flinging the pack over his shoulder.
They made their way out the front door and down the trail. They walked briskly to avoid getting soaked. A quickened pace did not seem to help them, for the rain started coming down heavily and they found themselves drenched.
“Well this is mighty fine,” muttered Ethan.
“No matter now, we are almost there!”
They passed Vincent’s store and pushed further down the trail until they arrived at Auren’s house. It was a sturdy-looking stone house built into the side of a very tall hill. It had a very comfortable appearance to it and smoke was billowing from the chimney. They rapped on the door and were greeted immediately by Ghislain. Auren was standing behind his father with a welcoming look on his face.
“Odin!” exclaimed Ghislain with a welcoming smile on his face. This surprised Ethan because in his previous encounters with Ghislain, Auren’s father had never looked particularly approachable. “Come inside out of the rain — got a fire going — come in and dry off a bit,” said Ghislain in his deep, raspy voice. Ghislain was a large and sturdy man. If Auren was the strongest twelve-year-old that Ethan had ever seen, Ghislain was his adult equivalent, being one of the strongest men Ethan had ever met.
Ethan was shivering from the brisk morning and was glad to be out of the rain. The fireplace was a sight to be seen, with stone that reached from floor to ceiling. It almost took up the entire wall, and had a distinctly large opening. The fire crackled with charred logs that had broken in half and nestled in the warm glow from hours of burning. It instantly warmed Ethan as he held his hands toward the fire.
Ghislain’s wife, Isabel, was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the boys. She was very strict with Auren. Before Isaac went missing, he and Ethan would frequently get scolded for their pranks by Auren’s mother. Even Ghislain, with his enormous build, would tremble at the slightest hint of Isabel’s wrath. But since the disappearance of Isaac, Isabel was much more compassionate with Ethan. She always welcomed him with home-cooked meals and ensured he was keeping up with his studies.
Isabel brought out food and set it on the table in the great room. Fried eggs, tomatoes, sausage, biscuits, and a pudding were served, as well as a large pot of hot honeyed tea. Ethan especially enjoyed Mrs. Faryndon’s food. A full meal was rare for him, growing up without a woman in the house.
“Thanks, Mrs. Faryndon, it’s great,” said Ethan through a mouth stuffed full of food.
“Yes, my dear Isabel, thank you. It’s wonderful,” added Odin, not daring to speak with a full mouth in fear of getting scolded.
“No problem boys, just be sure you finish everything I put out here for ya. You’ll be needin’ your energy,” she said politely.
She was setting out more biscuits and Ethan noticed something he had not seen until now. Isabel had a funny-looking scar on her wrist. Ethan thought it looked similar to a spider’s web, except with a larger pattern. Isabel noticed Ethan looking at her arm and pushed her sleeves down as she headed for the kitchen. Ethan turned and stared at the fire in hopes that he had not offended her in any way.
“So Ethan, Auren tells me that you two encountered a werewolf last night?” asked Ghislain.
“Uh, yeah,” stuttered Ethan
“Boy that must have been exciting, I haven’t seen one of them in almost twenty years! Yes, that must have been exiting indeed,” said Ghislain, chuckling.
“So you didn’t see the werewolf?” asked Ethan.
Ghislain looked a bit surprised. “Well I can say most definitely not, I woulda known if I ran into a beast like that.”
“Well how did Odin…” But Ethan was quickly cut off.
“He may not look it, but I suppose Odin has been known to handle himself quite well in a given situation,” he said in his deep voice as he smiled at Odin.
“I barely made it out with my skin attached,” laughed Odin. “Like the time you got stuck to the Lake Hunter’s tongue — or when you found the magic healing herbs!” Odin and Ghislain laughed loudly.
“Oh, I almost forgot about those! I got so sick — bet I turned three shades of green!” Ghislain was laughing so hard that his eyes were tearing up a bit.
Ethan was starting to realize that these two had quite a history together. They were like two old chums that had been parted for a while. Auren, bored, was now slumped over with his chin resting on his hand. Ethan thought the old stories were fascinating, as he had never heard of this side of his old caretaker.
“Well then,” said Odin. “Down to business, how would you two like to run an errand for Ghislain and me?”
Auren’s head perked up and he sat at attention.
“What sort of errand?” asked Ethan, curious.
Odin reached into his pack, pulled out a large metal shackle and placed it on the table with a clank. It had two spikes that protruded from the inside of the ring and a locking mechanism on the outside. It was made of iron and showed signs of rust, or possibly blood that had dried and crusted along the inner edge.
“What is it?” asked Auren.
“It is a means of control for an uncontrollable beast,” said Ghislain.
“You mean the werewolf?” asked Ethan.
“Actually, Wegnel said it’s a Stonewolf,” replied Auren smugly.
“Correct… “ answered Odin, “…on both a
ccounts. The creature is known as the Stonewolf for obvious alterations made to its skin. And this device, which was until recently attached, is called a pinch-shackle. They have been around for years and years — very old alchemy associated with devices such as these.”
Ethan sat forward in his chair. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean to say is someone, or something, was attempting to control this creature. What I don’t know is who, or what.” Odin grabbed a small pair of glasses from his pack and held them out in front of his face to further examine the device. “I have never seen one quite this size before — notice the markings where the shackle pinches shut — some type of pattern there.”
Ghislain leaned in. “Looks like a large chain connects to it … yet — there doesn’t appear to be any real damage to the contraption.”
“Exactly,” murmured Odin. “Which can only mean one thing.”
“Yep,” chuckled Ghislain.
“Well … what?” exclaimed Auren.
“The creature didn’t escape … it was set loose,” answered Ethan, looking both disturbed and excited he had come to the proper conclusion.
“Correct,” said Odin.
The boys looked at each other and then back at Odin, who was still examining the device through his glasses.
“How exactly did you say you got this off the Stonewolf?” asked Ghislain.
“I didn’t say,” quipped Odin, lifting his chin to remind Ghislain of the giant gashes the Stonewolf had left on his face. “Let’s just say it was at my own personal expense….”
Ghislain nodded.
“When you said alchemy was a part of this, what exactly did you mean?” asked Ethan.
“What I mean is, certain metal objects can have alchemical properties associated with them. This particular object, made of iron, has elements of manipulation outside the standard forging process,” explained Odin.
“You sounded like Wegnel for a second there,” chuckled Auren.