Eloy's Legacy

by Kara Timmins

  “Do you even have any more room in that bag of yours?” Malatic asked. “I figured that thing was full of spider gunk and leaves by now.”

  “Who said any of the food was going in my bag?” Neasa said. “I’m spending the rest of tomorrow weaving you all new bags out of palm leaves so you can carry everything we need.”

  “For you,” Malatic said, “I would carry the world.”

  20

  They gave themselves seven days to prepare and gather supplies for their next trip into the forest. Neasa wove new bags for everyone. Eloy hung his new satchel made of waxy palm leaves on the hip opposite of where he wore the one Midash had made him so long ago, the fur worn away or roughened through the years.

  The five started out early in the morning—to the disapproval of Oisin and Niall—on the eighth day.

  The cool breeze of early morning cut off as soon as they entered the path into the forest. Its sticky heat wrapped immediately around Eloy like an unwelcome embrace. At least he was moving forward again. He wanted their progress to feel as satisfying as it had the first time, but looking at the same trees with the same patches of moss was undeniably frustrating.

  He wasn’t the only one carrying irritation like a new bag. By midday Malatic had fallen behind a few strides from the group. Eloy slowed his steps and dropped back.

  “Everything okay?” Eloy asked.

  “It’s all right,” Malatic said.

  “You don’t look it.” Eloy followed Malatic’s gaze to the back of Niall’s head.

  Oisin and Niall were walking on either side of her, scanning their surroundings and looking at whatever Neasa pointed out.

  Enough time passed that Eloy wasn’t sure if Malatic was going to say anything else. And if Malatic wasn’t going to say it, Eloy wasn’t going to push it.

  “Listen,” Malatic said, “I’m glad they stayed back. We’d be in a pretty bad situation if they hadn’t. But I don’t have to remind you that I know the kind of person who doesn’t feel loyalty. I know what it looks like from their perspective.”

  “Right, but you didn’t have any loyalty to us when we met, either. Probably less than you had for either Nicanor or Anso.”

  “This is different. But maybe you’re right. I’m just saying that I know their kind.”

  “I know,” Eloy sighed. “For what it’s worth, I agree with you. I don’t trust them. Not like I trust you and Neasa. But what choice do we have?”

  “You’re going to have to tell them what we’re looking for eventually.”

  “I’ll tell them when we get close. Or when they ask.”

  “Right. And wouldn’t you ask? If you were them?” Malatic said, still staring at the back of Niall’s head.

  21

  They reached the canyon at the beginning of the second day. The gnats were still there, weaving their seemingly random pattern.

  Oisin swiped in front of his face and spit. “I feel like they’re getting in my mouth.”

  “You’re fine,” Neasa said. “They’re smart enough to stay out of your mouth.”

  “These are the things you were talking about?” Niall asked. “They don’t look like much.”

  “What’s the plan now?” Malatic asked, his toes a few steps away from the edge of the canyon.

  The dark cloud Neasa and Eloy had seen from the treetop was barely visible over the green of the trees slightly to their left and across the canyon. There was still a long way to go; Eloy knew from what he had seen from the treetop that the towering stone nestled under the storm cloud wasn’t small, and if he could barely see the cloud, that meant they would be walking for a while. That wasn’t what Malatic was looking at. His sight was set on the present challenge: the canyon.

  “Go around it?” Malatic went on. “Or go through it?”

  Eloy looked down the length of the canyon and couldn’t see an end. “There’s no telling how far going around would take us. Or where it would lead us.” He looked down into the canyon. The drop was steep, and they would have to be strategic about their descent. “Then again, if one of us falls on the way down or the climb back up, that’s it.”

  Oisin walked to the edge of the canyon and looked down. “It’s not that far down. Not far enough that it’s worth going out of the way.”

  “If there’s a safe way to get to the bottom and up the other side,” Neasa said, “I say we go through the canyon.”

  If Oisin and Neasa were saying to go through the canyon, Eloy knew which choice Niall and Malatic would make. The decision had been made.

  “You guys happen to have any rope?” Niall asked.

  “The vines in the forest are thick and strong,” Neasa said.

  “How strong?” Niall asked.

  “Strong enough that it takes more than a few whacks with the sword to cut,” Neasa said. “If I weave them together, they’ll be tough enough.”

  “We’ll all go to get some,” Eloy said. “Keep an eye out.”

  Neasa led the way back into the forest with Eloy, Malatic, Oisin, and Niall scanning their surroundings. Oisin and Niall had sickled short blades, darkened with dried fish blood, held out and ready.

  Neasa passed by many different types of vines, some she barely even looked at. She needed the right ones. The leaves of the vines she chose were the same green as the moss that covered almost everything in the forest, but the vine itself was the color of ripe plum skin.

  Neasa grabbed one of the vines and tugged against the tendrils wrapped around the trunk of the tree. A beetle, black as obsidian, ran out from under the bundle of vines, disturbed from its hiding place. The bug was as big as a fist, its pincers thicker than fingers.

  Niall buried his curved blade into the body of the bug with a crack and a crunch.

  Neasa looked at the now dead creature and followed the arm holding the blade up to look Niall in the face, her glare getting more potent as she moved.

  “It was fine,” she said. “It was moving in fear.”

  “Things that move in fear are the ones you gotta look out for,” Niall said, meeting Neasa’s stare.

  “It was fine,” she said, her voice getting colder.

  “Fine.” Niall flicked the bug off of the end of his blade. “Just trying to help.”

  Malatic leaned close to Eloy. “Helping a woman who fought Vaylars to kill a bug,” he huffed, and went to help Neasa cut the vines.

  Eloy kept his eyes roving, watching to see if anything moved. He didn’t see anything, but every once in a while a stench of fetid algae-laden water would hit his nose. Maybe there was something else to the aroma, a reeking perfume of layered rotting teeth, meat caught in the crevices. The smell would pass, but the uneasy sense would linger.

  “Okay,” Neasa said. “That should do it.”

  The weak rays of sun that found their way through the forest canopy were turning gold. It had taken her and Malatic the rest of the day to cut through the vines.

  “Let’s go,” Eloy said. “Now.” Being in the area felt like taunting their good fortune that they’d survived one attack. He didn’t want to push it any more than they had to.

  When they found their way back to the canyon, Eloy realized his urgency had another face—he wanted to see the lights again.

  22

  Eloy slept soundly under the lights of the gnats. The five waited and watched to see if there would be any images, but they were infrequent and fleeting, creatures of the forest flying or swinging in the trees. Niall and Oisin seemed disappointed and then bored, but Eloy found the gnats’ presence deeply relaxing, a ribbon of comfort in a strange and dangerous place.

  Eloy woke early the next morning to the sight of Neasa sitting in a mess of braided vines.

  “Did you sleep?” Eloy asked.

  “A little,” she said, her eyelids heavy.

  “You should have woken me. I could have helpe
d.”

  “Malatic was up for a while helping. It’s fine. I got lost in it. Just started thinking and moving my hands and before I knew it they’re done and it’s morning.”

  “What were you thinking about?”

  “A lot of things. This place. How I can’t believe I’m here seeing all of this. You know, it still feels strange that I made it out of Valia at all. We’ve only seen a small piece of what this world has to offer. Who knows how big it is? It’s exciting.”

  “It’s dangerous too,” Eloy said.

  She nodded down at the knot she was pulling at. “That too. There won’t be an easy retreat once we get over the canyon.”

  “No, I guess not. But it seems unlikely the creatures that attacked us will be on the other side. So at least there’s that.”

  Malatic groaned and rolled over to face them. “Unless Neasa smuggles one over. She has a whole new bag’s worth of extra space.”

  “He wakes up with jokes,” Neasa said. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” Malatic blinked the sleep out of his eyes and smiled as he looked at Neasa. “Speaking of those fancy bags you made, got any food in one for me?”

  Neasa tossed her bag at Malatic, who rummaged around in it until he found a strip of dry fish meat. “When are we moving on?” He chewed a chunk and winced.

  “As soon as we can.” Neasa said. “Everything okay? What was that face?”

  “Nothing,” Malatic said. “Must have bit on a bone or something.”

  “Let’s get ready to go now,” Eloy said. “That’ll give us more time to get to the other side.”

  “Do you want to wake them up?” Neasa motioned to Oisin and Niall, who were sleeping on their backs, mouths open to the sky. “Or do you want me to?”

  “I’ll do it,” Malatic said, getting up. “Guess Oisin isn’t worried about the gnats getting in his mouth anymore, huh? Maybe we should let them sleep a little longer.”

  The five were ready to begin their descent when the sun was still new to the sky.

  “Here’s what you gotta do.” Niall looped the braided vines around his upper thighs and waist. “And then tie it off here. That way we’ll lower down backward. Just like doing work on the stern. And this will help.” He snapped and pointed at his bag—a worn and crudely stitched swatch of tarp.

  Oisin retrieved the bag and handed it to his brother, who took it and removed two iron rings.

  “Aren’t those for the ship?” Neasa asked.

  “I may have hung onto them.” Niall smiled large enough that his teeth were visible through his bushy beard. “I can make a ship out of wood from anywhere, but iron is harder. Loop the vine through like this”—Niall wove the vine through the ring—“and then lower yourself back.”

  “One more thing,” Oisin said.

  “Yeah, one more thing. Keep this in your hand.” Niall held up a waxy leaf. “Or you’ll rub a hole in your palm.”

  “Two people down at a time, then,” Eloy said.

  “Two at a time,” Niall agreed. “We’ll tie the ends to those trees back there and get on down. Mal and Neas can go first. Then Eloy and Oisin. I’ll meet you at the bottom.”

  Eloy caught the glare Malatic meant to show his displeasure at Niall’s command and show of familiarity. Eloy shook his head. He hoped the gesture conveyed what he meant: it’s not a big deal.

  Niall undid the vines around his thighs and waist and handed them to Neasa, who grabbed Niall by the wrist as he moved to help her wrap the vines around her body. “I got it.”

  “Just trying to help,” Niall said, holding up his hands.

  “Let’s make a deal,” Neasa said. “You help when I ask for it or if something is actively trying to eat me. Sound good?”

  “Sure,” Niall said. “Whatever you say.”

  Malatic and Neasa wrapped themselves up in the vines, just as Niall had shown. Neasa lifted up Malatic’s sleeve. “Is your shoulder okay for you to do this?”

  The stitched-up wound from the creature’s attack was already scabbed and healing.

  “It’s good.” Malatic smiled and walked backward toward the edge of the canyon. He leaned back, the vines creaked against his weight, and he started his descent.

  Neasa looked over her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have looked.”

  “Go as slow and careful as you can,” Eloy said. “Be safe.”

  “Keep an eye on things up there, huh?” Malatic said from below.

  Eloy looked at Niall and Oisin and then down at Malatic. “I’ve got you.”

  Neasa and Malatic got to the bottom faster than Eloy thought they would, or maybe wanted. It was his turn now.

  He didn’t look over his shoulder as Neasa had done. Instead, he focused on the layered rocks in front of him.

  “Take care now,” Niall called from above him.

  Eloy found a rhythm to the sound of the bumps in the vine plinking against the iron ring as he lowered himself back, step by step. Then the vine in his hand went slack. He grabbed out for the rocks in front of him, his hands reaching for anything that could stop the fall. The vine snapped tight again with a twang.

  “Woo!” Niall called from above. “Almost lost it there. Got you, though. You’re all right.”

  Eloy hit the side of the rock wall and started spinning, Niall’s small outline rotating above him.

  He went down the other half faster.

  “What happened?” Eloy asked as soon as Niall touched down to the canyon floor.

  “The first secure broke,” Niall said. “No big deal. That’s why I had a safety.”

  “No big deal,” Oisin said. “You’re fine, right?”

  Niall took the two iron rings and put them back in his bag. “Now we go up the other side.”

  “We’re going to take a rest first,” Eloy said.

  Niall was already walking toward the other side of the canyon, his back to the others. A twitch spasmed in his shoulder. “Yeah, sure thing.”

  Niall was smiling when he turned back around, but Eloy had a feeling he hadn’t been a moment ago.

  23

  It took them the rest of the day to climb up the other side; the layered stone provided enough lips and juts for them to find places to hold onto, even if only by their fingertips. Eloy was slick with sweat by the time they reached the top, and even the setting sun felt too hot. He looked to the other side. It looked so different—a brand new perspective. He felt a sense of advancement again, finally, looking at the place he had been, sitting somewhere new.

  Malatic built a fire and the five slumped around it, their fatigue meeting the evening with perfect timing.

  “These are the strangest-looking leaves,” Oisin said.

  “Yeah, strange,” Niall agreed. “They were all over the canyon. The leaves looked different, but the pattern was the same.”

  Neasa opened her half-closed eyes and leaned closer to the fern leaf. Her eyes widened further and then a smile as bright as a new moon spread over her face.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.” She pointed at the white spiral pattern against the green blade. “The pattern isn’t the leaf. They’re eggs.” She looked into the canyon at the little bugs that were starting their nightly glow.

  24

  Neasa led the way into the trees the next morning. “This is a very different forest.”

  “Doesn’t look so different to me,” Niall said.

  Eloy agreed, but he didn’t say it. The trees were just as dense, just as covered in thick moss, just as . . . well, thick. This forest was just as hot as the one across the canyon.

  “It’s as different as you are to Oisin,” Neasa said to Niall.

  “So it smells better, then,” Oisin said.

  Niall punched him in the arm.

  Neasa crouched next to a tree and plucked a pinch of moss off of its bark. She rubb
ed it between her fingers and brought it up to her nose. “It may look the same, but every part that makes the whole is different than the other. Just like a small step to the side gives a different perspective.”

  Niall and Oisin were looking at a red lizard as it crawled through the moss on another tree, their backs to her.

  “So it’s likely the things we fought on the other side won’t be here?” Eloy asked.

  “I think so. It didn’t look like there were a lot of tracks in the canyon. That’s not to say there isn’t something here that’s similar, though.”

  “A whole new bounty of threats, huh?” Malatic held out a hand to help Neasa stand.

  She put her hand in his and pulled herself up. “A whole new bounty of treasure for us all.”

  “I think I like Eloy’s idea of treasure more,” Malatic said.

  “What was that?” Oisin said.

  “Nothing,” Malatic said. “Just trying to prevent Neasa from putting half the forest in her bag.”

  “You might need something from this bag some day,” she said. “Don’t forget that.”

  25

  After the first day on the other side of the canyon, Eloy saw what Neasa meant. The forest was noticeably different now, even for him, changing the more the five moved forward. The ground was getting soggy, pulling at their feet. Tendrils of the forest draped from tree to tree. They tried to dodge around the barricades when they could, but before long all five were using their weapons to hack at the greenery. Oisin and Niall started falling back by midday. Their bulk was made for ships, not long walking journeys.

  By nightfall, Eloy wasn’t sure how much progress they had made, but he didn’t think they’d traveled far. He was tired, just as tired as he’d been walking more than three times the distance. They found a moss-covered mound of granite, ensured that the crevices were free of dwelling creatures, and huddled together in its notch, like finding a place of peace under the arm of a protector.