Chapter 10
As the travelers entered the massive swamp before them, Rose turned up her nose at the stench it was giving off. “What is that terrible stink?”
Jirah chuckled and answered, “Just the smell of stagnant water dear. All swamps smell this way.”
Rose groaned, “It smells like the sewer I used to hide in when I was little. The sisters in my orphanage always could tell where I had been by the stink.”
“You may as well get used to it Rose.” Joshua said. “We have to move through the fens carefully on this narrow road so it will take us most of the day and into the night even.”
Jirah lead them along the narrow path slow and steady and before too long a thick fog crept in all around them. Not being able to see around her made Rose quite nervous so she asked, “Are there any strange creatures in here that I should be worried about?” She had been glancing all around herself nervously for a while already.
“You would think that there would be some kind of monsters in a place like this, but the fact of the matter is that it’s just too dead.” Jirah said. “Nothing could live here, other than bugs.”
As if to drive the point home, Joshua swatted a massive mosquito on his neck. “With all this fog around us we should keep our talking to a minimum. We still may have someone following us and I want to hear them if they are out there.”
With that, the three of them continued on in quiet. The only sound heard other than the soft hoof beats was the occasional swatting of a pesky bug. This monotonous pace seemed to go on forever and Rose was beginning to get very bored. She thought once again about the value of this whole quest. She enjoyed being treated like someone who was special; like she really mattered. Barnas and his sweet wife sure thought that she was important and that boosted her spirits quite a bit, but there was still this deep, nagging doubt in her soul that made her feel worthless all over again. If all these good people knew her thoughts and what she was really like, they would not treat her so special. She still had doubts about Joshua’s intentions too. Did he really care for her, or was she just pawn in his crazy mission. In the midst of all these doubts and fears, Rose did something that she had never done before. She prayed. Not knowing how to do it, she simply directed her thoughts to this Ya that Joshua always spoke of.
“Ya, I am not even sure if I believe that you exist at all, but I am grasping at straws here. If you can really hear me, then I have a few things I need to know. If I am such an important person to you, then why did you let me live a messed up life? Where were you when I was all alone? Where were you when I was being used? I’m not saying that any of this is your fault; I just think that maybe you could have talked to me sooner than now. To tell you the truth, I really do not know what to think. If you can hear any of this then I want to know it. Give me some kind of sign that you can hear me.”
She spoke these things in her mind like a challenge. Clearing her mind and thoughts, she hoped for a voice to speak in her mind, but none came. She sighed quietly and looked up to focus again on her surroundings. It was still so foggy that she could barely see Jirah on the horse in front of her. Then to her amazement, a bright light seemed to burst in the sky above. Jirah suddenly stopped in front as a great gust of wind blew around them. In a mighty swirl that lasted only for a few seconds the fog around them cleared and lifted up to the sky above. The blazing sun shone down on Rose with all its warmth and tears began to form in her bright green eyes.
“Thank you” she whispered quietly to the eternal god that had just answered her prayer with great clarity.
Joshua and Jirah looked at Rose with puzzled expressions.
“You are crying Rose.” The Cleric said. “Is everything ok?”
Rose just nodded. She was not ready to share this moment with the others. Ya had just revealed himself to her in such a powerful way that she needed to think about it before telling anyone.
Joshua shrugged and said, “Very well, let me know if you need to talk. We’ll continue on then.”
“We must be near to the end of the fen passage soon.” Jirah responded. “I am sure glad to be able to see around me now. That fog was getting annoying.”
After another few hours of slow and careful plodding, the sun began to drop down behind them. Through the haze of dusk they finally began to see the end of the depressing swamp in front of them. Just as their spirits were starting to lift however, a dark figure in a black robe appeared, standing on the far bank blocking their way. Joshua quickly moved up to the front of the group and called out, “Who is there?”
An ominous hissing voice came from the haze, “Well Cleric. It would seem that you have come to the end of your stupid quest. You may have avoided the death squad that I sent to kill you, but now you will face the mighty power of my master.”
Joshua quickly got off his horse and yelled out, “You are under a delusion as always Bane. Let us pass for I do not fear the power of Belail.”
“I’m afraid that we will have to face off another time Gaost. My master has forbid me to face you directly at this time, but that is not to say that you will get by that easily.” The ominous shadow of Bane clenched his fists above his head and began to chant in a low guttural voice.
“Come to me quickly ladies!” Joshua yelled. Rose and Jirah came to him fast and Jirah had her bow at the ready in a second, firing arrows. Rose was stunned to see that the arrows went right thought the shadowy figure that was blocking their way. She glanced over at the Cleric to see the power building in his glowing white eyes. All around them creeping figures of undead spirits began to rise up out of the murky waters. Rose screamed and dropped to her knees in fright. Jirah was again firing off arrows but now all around them.
“Save your arrows sister. They will do nothing to harm to these spirits.” Joshua spoke in a calm voice. Jirah sunk down into the ground and clung to Rose in fright. The two of them were shaking in terror as the white light shot out from the mighty Cleric’s outstretched hands. Blast after blast came from Joshua but the evil minions kept on coming. They were starting to get closer to the huddled group and Rose found herself praying again, but this time in desperation, and out loud.
“Ya save us!” she cried. She looked up to Joshua and could see that he was getting weary. Jirah was still shaking in terror, never having faced this type of enemy before. She pulled out her dagger from her belt and held it out in front of her. Surge after surge of white light blasted from the holy man’s fingers but there seemed to be no end to the countless spirits that were overtaking them. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost and they would be overwhelmed, a gentle voice spoke into the mind of Rose.
“Rose, give your strength to my servant. Be his support.” Too terrified to question what this meant, Rose stood up quickly behind Joshua and clasped around his waist tightly, helping him to stand up straight. From the very depths of her soul she focused on giving the weary Cleric all of her energy and love. It was then she realized that she truly did love this strange man. This was not the love between a man and a woman; it was a deep abiding love that could only come from the eternal god that had just spoken into her thoughts.
With a mighty surge, a blinding white light burst from both Joshua and Rose, and they both let out a loud cry. Having no more strength in their bodies, both of them collapsed to the ground in a heap and passed out.
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The Staff of Ramah Page 13