Scouring Majula

by Matthew Satterlee

  But Tear wasn't so hesitant. "There might be something up there," she agreed, "but you're taller and stronger than us. Why don't you go?"

  Sycamore smiled and shook his head. "I've had a lot of bad experiences with heights... and mineshafts and rivers and castles and just about every other dangerous place you can think of. I'm sure even this quiet little forest will have a go at me if we stay here long enough. Besides, if you slip and fall I'm strong enough to catch you. I don't think you're going to like it if I come crashing down on you."

  "I'll try," Tear said, "but I've never climbed a tree before. I don't know if I can do it. Can you hold this for me?"

  Ellen accepted Tear's bow, then followed her to the far side of the crater. The trees near the edge were some of the tallest in the forest. Most reached as high as the watchtower, if not higher.

  "Are you sure this is safe?" she asked. None of the trees were in good shape. Most of their branches had been blown off, and the few that remained looked like they might snap off any moment now.

  "It probably isn't," Tear said, smiling, "but these trees can't be any more dangerous than that old castle I used to live in."

  The castle couldn't snap in half and send her plunging twenty or thirty feet to the ground, but Ellen dropped the issue. Tear was light and agile, and Sycamore was there to catch her should she slip.

  Tear called out "Here I go!" then took off running towards one of the taller trees. She lunged at the side and started climbing. With a few swift motions she made it ten feet off the ground.

  But that was as far as she made it before she started sliding downwards towards the ground. She gripped the tree tight, which did little to stop her descent. "There's nothing to grab onto," she cried. "H-help!"

  "You're not even at the first branch," Sycamore said with a sigh. "If this is the best you can do we might as well forget the whole thing."

  "I can do it," Tear insisted. "J-just give me a push!"

  He should let her slide down, Ellen wanted to say, there was no way the shredded clothing caught in the tree held anything of value, but Sycamore was already hurrying over to help Tear. With him pushing her from behind, Tear managed to reach the first branch with ease. A second, third, and fourth branch were all within her reach, and in less than a minute she was well over thirty feet off the ground.

  Ellen's heart sped up. She clasped her hands over it, until she noticed Sycamore smirking at her, then jerked them away. "Why did you send her up there?" she complained. "She's not going to find anything."

  "You never know," Sycamore said. "I've found stranger clues in-"

  "Are you watching me?" Tear called out. "If I fall from here and you're not ready... Make sure you're paying attention!"

  "Nothing's going to happen," Sycamore promised.

  He made his way to the ground below where Tear was positioned, then followed beneath her as she crawled out onto a long branch. A thick collection of shredded clothing was caught on the end.

  Ellen watched Tear intently. The branch was thick, but if she did fall, it was a very long ways to the ground. If Sycamore became distracted again, or if he wasn't as strong as he'd claimed...

  Tear reached the collection of torn up clothes. "I'm going to throw everything down to you," she called out.

  "That's fine," Sycamore said. "Just, you know, aim away from the other branches. I'd hate to have to send you up there a second time."

  Tear wrapped her legs tight around the branch and started pulling clothes free.

  "I hope nobody was wearing that stuff when that explosion happened," Sycamore mumbled. "I'd hate for her to find a chunk of meat or-" He shuddered. "That's a sick thought. Forget I said anything."

  Ellen was too focused on Tear to respond. She'd already been up for there for what felt like hours. How much longer did she plan to stay?

  Tear soon had the branch stripped free of all its ragged clothing, but she still didn't come down. "That branch over there has even more stuff on it. I think I see a backpack. Do you think I should pull that down?"

  "If you feel safe going higher then go right ahead," Sycamore said.

  Higher was the last place Ellen wanted to see Tear go, but nothing had gone wrong so far and a few more minutes probably would not change that.

  But her heart remained as anxious as ever. There was still plenty of time for something to go wrong.

  Tear made her way back to the tree's trunk, then headed up to the next highest branch, which held even more ragged bits of clothing.

  The backpack was near the middle. The branch wobbled up and down as she worked it free, then settled again after she tossed it to the ground.

  "I don't feel safe up here anymore," Tear said afterwards. "I-I think I'm going to come down now."

  "That's fine," Sycamore said. "You stayed up there longer than I would have. Just don't look down. You're not going to like what you see."

  Tear immediately looked down, then gasped in fear. "I-I made it up here on my own. I'm sure I can make it down."

  Ellen relaxed. Tear would be on the ground soon, and she had a feeling Tear would not be eager to climb to such heights again anytime soon.

  The branch Tear was seated upon cracked, and Ellen's fear returned stronger than ever. "Get down here!" she cried, the words racing out of her mouth without ever having crossed her mind.

  "I'd hurry if I was you," Sycamore added anxiously.

  There was no time. The branch beneath Tear cracked apart at its base then started sinking. It drooped lower and lower and soon hung down at such a steep angle that Tear could not maintain her grip.

  Tear slid backwards down the branch, clawing desperately at the torn-up clothes along the way, but none were strong enough to support her.

  "You have to catch her," Ellen ordered Sycamore. Her heart beat so fast it felt like it might burst out of her chest. "You have to!"

  "Don't worry," Sycamore said. "She's not that high up. This will be easy!"

  His voice was too anxious to inspire any confidence, but Ellen had no choice but to believe in him.

  Tear continued sliding down the branch until she reached the tip, which had a very thick red scarf wrapped around it. She latched onto it tight with both hands, and while it was able to bear her weight without ripping, the branch was thrashing up and down too hard for her to stay seated.

  She slipped off the branch, but she did not fall far before the scarf caught her. It wrapped around her neck, leaving Tear hanging in midair.

  Chapter 5

  Ellen hated that scarf. All the other clothing strewn across the tree's branches were little more than rags that would rip in a second if any weight was put on them, yet the scarf had no problem supporting Tear's full weight as it strangled the life out of her.

  She'd have time to be upset with it later. "Get ready to catch her," she shouted at Sycamore, who stood on the ground below Tear mumbling to himself his usual frightened incantations.

  Her shouting seemed to bring him back to reality. He glanced at her, still looking terrified, then nodded.

  Ellen tossed Tear's bow aside then bolted towards the tree. She'd never climbed a tree before, but that didn't matter. She flew up it so fast it felt as if she had wings lifting her. She managed to reach the third branch in what could not have been more than a few seconds.

  Tear hung just a few feet away. Her eyes were dripping wet and her face had already turned blue.

  "I'm here," Ellen called out. "Take my hand!"

  She reached out to Tear, hoping she'd take her hand, but it did no good. Tear was too busy clawing at the scarf to notice her.

  Ellen grabbed onto a chunk of bark with her left hand, then with her right she reached out and grabbed Tear's arm and tried pulling her towards the branch.

  That did even less good. Tear was too short to reach the branch, and pulling her caused the scarf to tighten its hold.

  "S-Stop," Tear choked out. "It hurts. M-Make it stop!"

  Ellen released her, and Tear went swinging back and forth thro
ugh the air.

  Watching her best friend thrash around helplessly made Ellen's heart sink. Tear wasn't going to last much longer. She had to do something and she had to it fast.

  All she had with her was her knife. Could it reach the scarf from here? If it couldn't, then she was out of options.

  Ellen tore her knife from its sheath, waited for Tear to swing towards her then swiped at the scarf.

  She missed. Watching the blade pass by the scarf without cutting a single strand of its fabric made her want to curse the whole world, but instead of complaining she grit her teeth and waited.

  Tear swung back her way a moment later. She leaned forward and swiped again.

  She managed to cut a portion of the scarf, but it was not enough to set Tear free. "Just tear already!" she begged.

  The next time Tear swung towards her, Ellen leaned so far forward the piece of bark she was gripping started to crack and groan, then swiped a third time.

  It worked. She managed to cut the scarf and set Tear free.

  Ellen watched her fall. Getting her free from the scarf was only one part of the struggle, she only then remembered. Sycamore still had to catch her.

  At least Sycamore hadn't given in to his fear as he often did in the past. He stood with eyes locked on Tear and his arms open and ready.

  Ellen's heart pounded so hard her head hurt. There was still so much that could go wrong. Did having the scarf squeeze her neck for so long cause Tear any lasting harm? Was Sycamore really strong enough to catch her, or would their collision leave them both broken and mangled?

  The final moment soon came. Tear fell into Sycamore's arms, hitting so hard Sycamore immediately collapsed to the ground. A cloud of dirt erupted around him, enveloping both him and Tear.

  While she waited anxiously for the cloud to settle, the piece of bark Ellen was gripping broke off, and she fell.

  Even though her mind was elsewhere, her was body was still on high alert. The second she realized she was falling, her hands shot towards the branch and grabbed on tight. Her legs followed suit. She ended up latched on to the side of the branch, overlooking a twenty something foot drop to the ground. It was a position she did not care for in the least.

  "We're alright," Sycamore sputtered from below. "That might've cost me a lung, and I think I felt something pop... but we're alive."

  "Can you hear me, Ellen?" Tear asked, her voice not much more than a whisper. "Thank you for saving me. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

  She didn't need to repay her. If anything, she still owed Tear for everything she'd done for her back in Amadeo's castle.

  Ellen couldn't bring herself to speak. The ground was a dizzying distance below her. Just glancing at it made her stomach churn.

  She pulled herself up onto the topside of the branch then latched on tight to the trunk. She gripped it so hard she ended up with bits of bark beneath her nails. She'd dropped her knife during her brief fall, but that was the least of her worries right now.

  "You can come down now," Sycamore said. "I'm sure it's safe up there, but neither of us are in good shape. If a monster shows up-"

  Climbing down was easier said than done. The tree she'd flown up a few minutes ago was now startlingly high. How she'd ever made this far was a complete mystery to her.

  Slowly but surely, she made her way back down to the ground. The sturdy, solid, unbreakable ground. Once again having a solid foundation beneath her feet was one of the most pleasant feelings she'd experienced in weeks.

  Tear embraced her from behind. "Did I ever tell you you're my best friend in the whole world?"

  "Are you hurt?" Ellen asked.

  "My neck is really sore, but I'll be alright." She released Ellen. "What about you? You climbed up there so fast I'm surprised you didn't hurt yourself."

  Her body was sore all over, Ellen only now noticed, especially around her fingernails, which still had bits of wood lodged under them. "I'm alright. But my knife-"

  She didn't need to say anything else. Tear was already on the run. "I think I know where it fell. I'll find it for you!"

  Ellen scooped Tear's bow up off the ground and followed after her. Despite her knife's absence, she felt an odd sense of peace. Was it because there were no monsters nearby? Or maybe it was because Tear was safe now.

  Sycamore rose back to his feet, grunting and clenching his ribs the whole way, then smirked at her. "I'm surprised. When I first met you, you looked like you'd stick your knife into anyone who got too close to you, but now you have no problem doing really stupid, dangerous things to help others."

  He was right about her past self, but those days were over now and she didn't miss them one bit. "Everything's different now," Ellen said. "And Tear is my-"

  "She's your what?" Sycamore said with a snicker.

  Ellen ignored him and continued after Tear. Sycamore probably had ideas about the two of them, all of which were either exaggerated or downright wrong.

  She found Tear a short ways away. She was on her hands and knees, searching through a thick patch of strange, pink grass.

  "You forgot your bow," Ellen reminded her.

  "Oh, I know," Tear said. "This place has been safe so far. I didn't think I'd need it." She stood up with a smile on her face and her hands hidden behind her back. "Guess what I found."

  She waited only a second before she revealed her findings: Ellen's knife.

  "I bet you were worried you'd never see it again."

  Ellen thanked her then traded the bow for her knife. "There are monsters here," she said afterwards. "They're just... waiting." For what exactly she didn't know. They were probably biding their time, hoping to find an opportunity to attack her while she was alone, in the dark, with nowhere to hide. "I heard one of them stomping around last night."

  Tear looked surprised. "Are you sure? I know there's one following us, but I woke up a few times last night and I never heard anything. Maybe you were just dreaming."

  That was a nice thought, but Ellen remembered the commotion well and clear. There was no way it had all been a dream.

  She put her knife away in its sheath then walked with Tear back to the crater.

  When she returned, Sycamore was searching the clothes Tear had thrown down. "There's actually a lot of notes in these pockets," he said. "Too bad none of them are legible."

  "So I almost died for nothing?" Tear asked, a bitter tone in her voice.

  "So far, yeah, but I haven't touched the backpack yet. I'm saving it for last because I know for a fact there's something good in there. You two can help me search if you're bored."

  Tear went straight for what might've once been a pair of trousers and started searching the pockets, but Ellen stayed put. Even if she found a note, she'd only embarrass herself trying to read it.

  She eyed the forest. Brendon, L.L. and Alice had been gone for a while now. Had they found something, or had something found them? Brendon hadn't told her exactly where they were going, or how long they'd be gone for. What if they didn't come back?

  She shook her head. If Brendon and L.L. were ever backed into a corner, the carnage they'd unleash would rattle the whole forest.

  Unless something leapt out from underground and surprised them. It was a distinct possibility, especially since they were investigating underground passages.

  An hour passed, and nothing changed.

  Sycamore threw away the tunic he'd been searching and set his gaze on the backpack. "We've searched all the junk," he said eagerly, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Now let's check our real treasure!"

  "If it doesn't have something good inside it I'm going to throw it back up into that tree," Tear swore, her hands caressing the red marks on her neck.

  Curious, Ellen watched as Sycamore opened the backpack. They'd already spent over a day at this crater and they'd found absolutely zero information about what might've caused the strange explosion. There had to be a clue somewhere.

  After undoing two latches, Sycamore tore open the back
pack and jammed his hands inside. "It's a book!" he said. "A couple of them, actually."

  He pulled out a book with a red cover and handed it to Tear, then took one with a blue cover for himself. He tried offering a yellow one to Ellen, but she declined.

  "I'm going to keep an eye out for monsters," she lied.

  "That's a good call," Sycamore said. "I forgot it's just the three of us here."

  He sat down cross-legged in the dirt. Tear joined them. They cracked open their books together.

  Both fell into a trance. Ellen watched them, figuring they'd soon announce a discovery or share some new piece of information, but neither spoke a single word. After a long period of silence, she asked them: "Did you find anything?"

  "I'm... not sure what I'm looking at," Tear said.

  "Yeah, me neither," Sycamore said. "There are a lot of doodles in here, but I'm not sure what they're supposed to be. There's a decent chunk of writing too but I can't tell if it's another language or if it's just really smeared."

  Both fell back into their silent trances. Ellen let them be and took a walk around the crater.

  No matter where she looked, she couldn't find the others anywhere, nor did she see any other signs of life. It was hard to believe just how vacant this dimension was. Even the Brazen had a larger population, although most of its denizens probably never left.

  She stopped on the pristine road and looked around. There was nothing up ahead nor behind her. Wherever Alice's friend was, he was not close enough for the explosion to have caught his attention.

  Tear started waving to her. She hurried over and joined her.

  "Doesn't this look really familiar?" Tear asked, holding up her book for Ellen to see.

  The left page was full of hopelessly smeared scribbles, but the right contained a very elaborate drawing of an odd looking stone. It was several stories tall, if the small person drawn beside it were to be used as a scale, and it was perfectly smooth on all sides, much like the stone she'd touched at the bottom of the Brazen Dimension and the other she'd come across inside Amadeo's castle. Its creator had painted it a bright yellow color.