by Wolfe Locke
“Oh, sure,” she said, cutting her eyes away from him with a smile. “That sounds like a good plan.”
“Rocktooth,” Zander said to the golem. “Can you patrol? I think we’ll be safe from Draugr here, but just in case.”
Patrol. Yeah sure. Not a problem. I see what’s going on here. Big set of googly eyes verse your trusted guardian from the Nether. Obvious choice.
Rocktooth stomped off in an exaggerated fit. Zander and Celeste sat in silence for a moment, listening to the sound of the golem’s footsteps as it circled the parking lot with those heavy, thudding footsteps, over and over again. Zander sighed and quickly summoned a Nether Owl to fly overhead and keep watch, seeing the command, help Rocktooth keep an eye out, but if you see anything, wake me up. I don’t want Rocktooth wandering off and getting into trouble just because he’s being jealous.
The owl flew off and circled overhead for a moment before finding a perch. Celeste smiled at the owl. “That’s amazing. You can literally summon life with your magic.”
“So Rocktooth is a golem, right? And what exactly is a golem? You told me earlier it was an extension of your power, but I don’t really understand any of that.” Celeste asked. "Let's see some of that Elven bread you were talking about. Tell me everything."
Zander yawned and folded his hands over his chest. “That’s a conversation for another day. It’s too complicated for right now. For us demi humans, it’s like we can see magic. It communicates with us and grows with us. Get some sleep.”
Chapter Seven: The World Before
When they woke up the next morning, the Netherworld owl was gone, returned to the other side after the summoning magic had expired.
“They do that,” Zander said when Celeste asked, concerned for the owl's safety . “They tend to leave without saying goodbye. Don’t take it personally. It’s the ways of summons. When they disappear, it’s never forever. It takes something truly horrible to destroy a summon forever.”
Celeste nodded “I wasn’t going to be offended, I was just worried for it. Where I come from, birds can’t talk at all. So it wouldn’t occur to me to expect one to say goodbye.”
“Oh,” Zander frowned. “Okay, that sounds so… human. So, disconnected.”
Rocktooth grumbled at them as the golem came into view and saw the two of them up and moving.
Finally awake? I’ve been up all-night standing guard. Nothing to report. Draugr presence in the area is low. Some howls during the night and sounded like something had them riled up in another neighborhood, but nothing for us to worry about right now. You’re welcome by the way.
“You don’t need to sleep, Rocktooth,” Zander pointed out. “So it’s not a huge sacrifice for you. But thank you anyways.”
Still. Don’t forget who's been in your corner this whole time. Like when you fell down that well, I eventually got you a rope, right?
With the new morning and the sun shining on the horizon, Celeste looked around, eyes wide, taking in the ruined city around her. She looked a little shell-shocked. Zander felt bad. It must be crazy, waking up to find that your whole world and everything you knew is gone and everyone you ever cared about is dead. Except you, lost on the river of time. At least for him things had always been this way.
“How did this happen?” she said quietly, more to herself than to him. The words hung and were followed by a silence.
I should say something. “How did this happen you mean?” Zander replied, pointing out towards the ruins of the city.
She nodded. “Yes, all of it. The magic. The talking to birds. The elves. Summoning magic. The crazy monsters.”
He sighed. “It’s a long story. I told you.”
“Are we in a rush?” She countered, pointing up at the golden arch overhead. “You did say this was a safe place.”
“No,” Zander said. “We’ve got time now. Alright.”
He sat down and stoked the embers of the fire with a stick. Rocktooth had buried the coals overnight so they’d have something to start from in the morning. Celeste was looking at him expectantly, and he devoted his full attention to fire-building, avoiding her gaze. Finally, he put the stick down. He hadn’t really wanted to be the one to tell her this piece of ancient history—didn’t really even know where to start—but it seemed like the job had fallen to him.
“I told you a bit about the Draugr earlier,” he said. “And I guess you had your own run-ins with them before the Harrowing when they were, whatever they were before. So we can skip that part.”
“Yeah, I think zombies was the closest word to it.” she said. “I want to know more about magic. And more about you. You don’t seem human.”
That was easy for Zander. “We call ourselves post humans, but I think I told you this already. I’m an elf.”
“Like, a Lord of the Rings elf? Pointy ears, loves the forest, that kind of thing?” Celeste responded with a half laugh.
It’s not too late to leave her behind Zander. You can always get new minions. Zander shook his head, his eyes darting at the golem.
“I don’t know what that is. But I do love the forest,” Zander said earnestly. “That’s where I live. Surrounded by trees.”
“Ah. Okay. That sounds nice. And your people were, what, created after the Harrowing?”
“Not at all,” he said. “We may call ourselves post humans, but we’ve always been around. We were just hiding before.”
“Hiding from what?” Celeste replied
“From humans mostly. I don’t know if you’re noticed, but you’re a pretty destructive species. We’ve all studied the history. How you all waged war against each other constantly. How you used up all your natural resources to the point of catastrophe. How you made life miserable for demi-humans like me, back in your own time.” Zander replied.
“Demi-humans? I never met anymore before you.” she said, looking puzzled.
“You probably did and just never knew. My people could blend in better with your kind then most. But yeah, an elf is a demi-human. Same as minotaurs, satyrs, centaurs—that kind of thing.” Zander explained, an edge of irritability creeping into his voice.
“But those are all just myths. They don’t actually exist.” Celeste responded?
“You’re going to doubt me? Really? Demi-humans exist, they do, I’m proof of that. That golem walking around who thinks we should leave you here is proof of that.” Zander said. “And we always existed. We were all just underground. We fled to remote areas or tried to blend in with local human communities. It was easy for elves. We look pretty human anyway. My group hid for years along what used to be called the ‘Appalachian Trail’. In the ancient land of North Georgia—not too far from here.”
“Wait, really?” Celeste said. “That’s a busy trail, though. And the southern end is usually packed with hikers—or I guess it used to be. How did a group of elves manage to live there without being detected?”
Zander shrugged. “It was centuries ago, and I wasn’t alive yet. So I only know what I’ve been told. Apparently, they were able to blend in with the through-hikers. If anyone asked an elf what they were up to or got suspicious, they’d tell people they were going all the way to the end of the trail and that they’d hiked it six times before or something like that. That usually got people off their backs.”
“That makes sense,” Celeste said. “Those guys who walked the trail tended to get pretty weird.”
“The village I live in now is actually an offshoot of the original one. We can go and see the foundations of the old town when we get there, if you’re interested.”
“Might be cool.” Celeste nodded, “I’ll consider it. But wait—back to the story. Demi-humans always existed, yeah? So what finally made them come out of hiding?”
“Well, for one, humans were gone,” Zander sighed and continued. “But even then it’s complicated. You’ve seen by now that magic has been unleashed on the earth—and you’re an ice spirit, so you’ve felt it yourself as well. That magic was always there, even in
your time. It was just sealed off so no one could access it. We’re not sure why, and we’re not sure who did that, if anyone. We’re also not sure why it suddenly became unsealed again. We just know that it happened.”
“Wow,” Celeste said. “So I may always have had the abilities I have now? They were just sealed off to me before so I couldn’t use them?”
“I mean maybe? I’m not an expert and nobody knows” Zander said, poking the fire again. “I’m not fully sure how it works. We can ask the Elders back at the village. They may know more. All I know is that once magic was let loose again, we were all able to come out of hiding. We’d had limited access to our own powers with the way things were. That’s part of why we didn’t want anyone to know about us. We weren’t able to fully defend ourselves without magic. But when we got those abilities back, it was a big moment. Apparently, for some people, it was like reclaiming our ancient heritage.”
“Wow,” Celeste replied with a bit of sarcasm that Zander didn’t pick up on. “That’s I mean good for you guys right? Fall of humanity and then poof, you get your powers back.”
“You should hear the Elders tell it,” Zander said quickly. “They do a much better job. It’s a really emotional story.”
“I’m sure it is,” she said, shooting him an encouraging smile. “I can’t fault you guys. Sorry.”
“But it wasn’t all good. When magic returned, a lot of bad things happened too. You’ve seen some of them. The Draugr. The ruined cities. I’m sure it was magic that made humans start turning into monsters. Not just Draugr, either.” Zander continued.
“Wait,” she said, looking horrified. “You mean, like the slime monster from the mall? That was a human?”
He sighed. “Yeah probably at one time. Unfortunately. There seems to be a pattern to it, too. They become something connected with the part of the world they’re in, or the kind of person they are. Not all humans become monsters, too. Only the bad ones who’ve let bitterness and anger corrupt them. That’s what the Elders say, anyways.”
“Am I—” she swallowed. “Am I a monster? An ice monster? Or will I become one?”
Zander shook his head vehemently. “No. You’re an ice spirit. Totally different thing.”
“Well, that’s a relief!” She replied.
Rocktooth stomped up to them, ground shaking as he approached. They both looked up at him expectantly. “Include her too Rocktooth”
Found you something. It might be good.
The golem dropped a frozen pack of bacon on the ground in front of the fire. Celeste made a face.
“Bacon?” she said. “How old is that? Where’d you get it? That can’t be safe.”
Tell her it came from a freezer. It’s perfectly safe. She doesn’t need to know the freezer was a mimic I just smashed, and this was the loot inside.
But she shook her head when he told her. “It’s been frozen for centuries, then! That’s like eating a mammoth from the permafrost. No way. I’ll eat something else.”
Tell her there isn’t anything else. She can eat the bacon I’ve provided for its sustenance, or she can eat nothing. I won’t be fetching more.
Zander decided to try a gentler approach than the one Rocktooth was suggesting. “This is a rare delicacy among my people. It’s one of the few human foods we like to eat. Try it. You might like it. Maybe being frozen for a long time gives it some kind of special flavor.”
She grimaced at the meat as Zander pried it out of the package and set it on an iron skillet over the fire. “Cured bacon at least?”
“I doubt it’s cured, or spoiled.” Zander responded. “Like Rocktooth said. It was frozen. And with things being different now, I’m sure its safe to ok.”
Her skepticism quickly vanished, after they put it out on some rocks near the fire to cook. When she took a bite, her face lit up with a smile, “Okay, this is actually pretty good. Tastes just like normal bacon. Not as good as a cheeseburger, but this is still really good.”
“Ancient elf magic,” Zander said with a wink. “We probably won’t get so lucky in the future. We’ll have to hunt for our food once we get into the woods. Hope you’re good with a bow and arrow. Because I’m not.”
“I’m not either,” she laughed. “But I suppose I’ll have to learn.”
Chapter Eight: The Ancient Outpost
They set off again just after breakfast, with Rocktooth taking lead. Despite the golem’s complaints, he didn't have an issue with being their front guard. Celeste kept gaping at the abandoned city, her eyes wide with shock. Zander felt a little sorry for her. Even though the morning had gone much better, she still had a faraway look on her face as she processed more about this ruined world she had awakened to.
They passed several shuffling Draugr as they pushed deeper into downtown Atlanta, but none of them caused any trouble. Rocktooth kept a careful eye on them, just in case. The presence of Draugr always left the possibility of other Monsters of the Dark.
We should change course, the golem said as they passed a small group of the snarling undead grouped around an old Greyhound bus stop. These ones are not so docile. Something has riled them up. There are more Draugr here than there should be. Likely a nest is nearby. It would behoove us all to be cautious and slip past them.
Zander stopped and pulled a rough hand-drawn map out of his pack and waved Celeste over. “Alright, Rocktooth is saying we need to change routes. But where do we go? I’m not seeing any outposts around here.”
Celeste took the map from him and examined it. Looking for familiar paths and routes.
“Follow me guys'" she said with more energy than she had shown all day since waking up. “I have an idea.”
Celeste strode off confidently away from the two of them, holding the map out in front of her as she gazed at old street signs and tall towers. Zander and Rocktooth looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
“Should we go with her?” Zander said. “I can stop her, if you think she’s in danger. She’s bound to me for life.”
Let’s go, she grew up here remember? At least she has an idea of where to go. I do not like this place. There is a fel energy, here. If she has an idea of where to go, I am willing to follow.
You’ve got a point Rocktooth. Zander followed Celeste with his eyes, making sure she was ok. She stopped and turned around, noticing they weren’t following her. She stood at the end of the street, scowling, map raised in one hand.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked, trying to keep her voice down. Zander winced, hoping it didn’t carry “We’re going to Peachtree Center!”
“Peach tree?” Zander said. “We’re not looking for fruit. There’s plenty of that back at the village. We’ve got orchards.”
Zander was proud of the orchards and the efforts of the other elves to keep the village fed.
“No, no, no. It’s not a real tree.” She explained. “That’s just what it’s called. It’s a shopping center downtown, from my time. It should have plenty of what we need, if it’s not all picked over already. I know I’d wanted to try City Market, but you guys got all weirded out and wanted to take off.”
Something that had us out leveled was there, but if we’ve got another chance at loot. We should take it. Zander grinned. “Not many scavengers come this far into the city. It’s too dangerous for anyone not a summoner like me unless they’ve got a big team. I bet we’ll find some good stuff. A ‘shopping center’, you say?”
“Yeah. It’s a cluster of stores of various types. Kind of like the strip mall from earlier —except hopefully with fewer slime monsters.”
“Can’t count on that,” Zander said. “Monsters are converted humans, so they’re drawn to places humans once frequented. Stores. Theatres. Parks. Anywhere that feels familiar to them.”
“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” she sighed. “Hopefully if anything comes after us it won’t be too bad, especially not with my ice powers, Rocktooth’s strength. And your, you know, your stuff. The spooky master of d
eath stuff with the insects."
"Yes. That stuff." Zander sighed and followed along. When they reached Peachtree Corners, Zander almost jumped up and down with glee.
“Oh wow. Great find!” he said. “And almost pristine, too. We’re going to get some rare artifacts here. I can feel it.”
Notification: Now Entering “The Ancient Ruins –Peachtree Corners”
Details: This was once a place where humans congregated, for shopping, entertainment, and business. It was considered part of the heart of the former city of Atlanta.
The shopping center was large and sprawling, with multiple floors of retail on the lower levels of ruined skyscrapers. It was also almost untouched. There were a few broken windows, and Draugr were milling around outside some of the larger stores, but it seemed like the shelves inside were still full. As far as the ruins went, this one appeared to be largely untouched.