Adventure (part 6)

*****

(Information not put into the story)

The ‘Endurance’ made a stop and Exter and Felgar said their goodbyes.

Soon after, the ship was attacked. They managed to repel the attackers, but the ship sustained damage that needed attention.

It took them a couple of days, but they made it to a lone farm of an old friend of Sun and the gnomes. A veteran soldier, who was raising his granddaughter on his own, after his son and daughter- in- law died.

On their way there, Seiji took Siri to a special room under the deck. He had made an exquisite two handed sword (something similar to a Japanese Odachi) and after the battle they had, when the ‘Endurance’ was attacked, he told Siri the sword vibrated, as if demanding to be brought to her.

Seiji presents Siri with ‘Oru’, the sword. Siri is beyond grateful and promises to use it well and take care of it.

When holding it for the first time, she feels something passing between her and the sword. A bond is formed.

*****

The sun was just rising in the horizon when Seiji brought the ‘Endurance’ to a halt over a barren field, close to a small farm, which included a house, a barn and a building supposedly used to keep crops.

Keilen felt a pang of sadness as he looked down from the deck. He craved to be back home, but there was no home to go back to.

As they came out of the ‘Endurance’, an elderly man came out of the house. The years have weathered him, but his build made it clear that he was once a fighter.

“Isaac! It’s been a while!” Sun greeted him warmly.

“Indeed it has! Good to see you!” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, which looked as if they lacked sleep.

Sun must have tuned in on that because she reacted immediately. “What’s wrong, Isaac?”

“It’s Maggie. She’s gone. She disappeared. Since yesterday afternoon.” The man looked almost broken.

“What happened?!”

Isaac took a deep breath. “I was out in the field yesterday morning when I saw a wagon stop by the house. A tall man, with a top hat, came out and spoke with Maggie. I made my way back, but by the time I reached the farm house, the wagon continued on its way. Maggie said it was a puppeteer who asked about the direction and distance to the next town. She held a scarecrow doll and when I asked her about it, she said the man gave it to her as a present.” Keilen felt a chill run through him. Exter’s story, just a couple of evenings before, held a similarity that was too close for comfort.

Isaac looked far over the field and continued. “If you asked me, it was a hideous thing, and Maggie knows better than to accept gifts from strangers, but she seemed so happy with it, and the wagon was gone, that I decided to leave it be.”

He shook his head and rubbed his unshaven cheeks. “In the afternoon, Maggie was playing in the field, up that small hill, next to our scarecrow. I was working in the yard and heard her singing and playing her imaginary games. Suddenly, I noticed it was quiet and when I looked, she was gone. I looked for her and called out to her until late at night, when it was too dark to see. I have no idea where she is. It’s not like her to just disappear like this!” His voice broke with despair and Sun put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Isaac, let us help you look for her. Seiji and Gnimbalish need to repair the ship, so we are grounded anyway.”

Isaac only nodded.

“You say the last place you saw her was near that scarecrow?” Sun pointed to the top of a small hill.

Isaac nodded again.

“Maybe I can find her footprints.” Keilen said quietly. “I used to track while hunting.” His eyes already acknowledging Isaac’s boot prints for later assessment.

“We’ll go have a look. Meanwhile, I’ll have Simon keep you company.” Sun tried to reassure the old soldier.

Sun, Siri and Keilen took their gear and went up the hill.

Now, when they were away from the others, Keilen thought it would be wise to share some information and thoughts.

“Sun, Siri- apparently Exter knows me from my childhood years. The evening before he departed, he told me how we met. Actually, how he probably saved my life. I can’t recall anything from his story, but I believe him, even if his story sounds crazy, because I remember what happened afterwards.” Keilen frowned for a moment. “What worries me is the similarities between his story and what your friend, Isaac, just told us.”

“What do you mean?” Sun looked up at Keilen, unaccustomed to him suddenly talking so much.

“The tall, strange puppeteer, with the top hat, the scarecrow doll…” Keilen looked at the scarecrow at the top of the hill and then at Sun. “Too many things that seem to be the same.”

“We’ll be cautious.” Sun offered.

They reached the hilltop and immediately Keilen started searching the ground. He could easily make out smaller footprints of a child that had walked and danced around in play. They were partially obscured by larger prints made by Isaac when he had come searching for Maggie. Keilen started looking in a wider area, hoping to find clues. Siri and Sun stood still so as not to interfere.

As Keilen was searching an area going downhill towards a grove of tall trees, he froze.

A pair of child footprints walked downhill next to a pair of adult prints. They were not Isaac’s.

“Sun, Siri. I think I know where she was headed. And she wasn’t alone.”

Sun’s jaw tightened. “Let’s go, then.”

As they started making their way towards the grove, Keilen thought he heard something and looked back. He had the unnerving feeling that the scarecrow on the hilltop had turned its head and was looking at them. Keilen quickly turned back. He had work to do. They had a girl to find.

The footprints were quite easy to follow and they soon entered the grove. In the beginning, Keilen saw a small round hole from time to time on the side of the larger footprints and didn’t give it much thought, but as it appeared again and again, he began to think. “He might have a walking stick with him. But he’s not actually using it for support, he isn’t putting much weight on it.”

Suddenly, Keilen’s shoulder blade started throbbing. It was a burning feeling, and he groaned softly.

Sun looked at him. “Is everything alright?”

Keilen only nodded, not wishing to share this piece of information, afraid that if Sun or Siri would ask to see the mark, he would have to expose his whole back to them. He was not yet willing to do that.

Leaves were already turning yellow and the ground was coated by a light layer of them. It only slightly hindered their progress and a short while later they stood before three large stones, just as Exter had told him. As they carefully came closer, Keilen noticed a rune on the middle stone. It was the same mark he had seen on Exter’s forearm and his own shoulder blade. His was burning quite badly now, and he bit his lower lip.

Sun chanted something and he looked her way. When she finished, her face seemed pale.

“Exter said he passed through the stone, the middle one. That it felt like falling, and then he found himself in a forest, but not the one he entered from. He said the magic felt different, wrong.” Keilen was trying to put into his own words what Exter had told him.

“This is something I have not come across in all my years.” Sun whispered, as if afraid to say so loudly. “And I can’t say I like it. It IS wrong…”

Keilen continued, “Exter said everything felt wrong on the other side. Things didn’t make sense. He followed a trail that led to a run- down hut. In it sat the man, probably the same one, both Isaac and Exter described. Exter said he was no match for him, and I believe he was already an experienced fighter back then.” Keilen remembered watching Exter’s and Felgar’s fight in the arena.

“If we meet him, I think we shouldn’t try to fight him. If Maggie is there, we should just try to grab her and get out as fast as possible. She might not be conscious of what is happening around her.”

“Sounds a good plan as any to me.” Siri shrugged with a half smile. “Grab the girl and run.”

“I’ll go first.” Keilen offered.

He stepped forward, afraid to just bump into solid stone, but instead, he felt like he was falling. It lasted only for a moment and then he was standing on a forest trail, the large stones behind him. Sun and Siri arrived soon after.

The forest did feel wrong. It was quiet. Too quiet. Most of the trees and undergrowth looked sickly or dead. It had been morning before they passed, but it was darker here, as if just after sunset. There was also no smell. None at all, not of vegetation or anything else.

“I’ll lead.” Keilen took out a short sword in his left hand, leaving his right hand free for any need. Sun followed and Siri, at the back, held ‘Oru’, her new sword. They tried to keep a steady pace.

They started noticing the details from Exter’s story. Water droplets slowly floated upwards around them. As they passed a small stream, they could see the water flowing upwards over the stones.

Keilen had a strange feeling. He wasn’t sure if his body and mind were slowly remembering actually being here, or in a place like this, or if it was Exter’s story taking shape around him.

Then, a wooden hut came into view. It looked old, the wood rotten, with some planks broken or missing. Orange light was shining out from the window and open door, but it didn’t have an inviting feel to it. On the contrary- the whole thing made Keilen wish to turn away and leave.

For a moment, Keilen saw the hut as if he was standing right in front of it, like a flashback. He could also picture a face. A long thin face, with a strange top hat and round glasses. A well kept, long moustache and beard grown mostly from the chin that seemed to move when the face smiled. It wasn’t exactly a smile. It was a grin. And there was nothing warm or welcoming about it.

Keilen felt a jab at his right shoulder blade that almost made him stumble forward.

Sun looked at him, but said nothing.

‘Grab the girl and run.’ Keilen told himself, trying to ready himself to whatever lay within.

They quickly stepped onto the porch and through the door.

In front of them they saw two figures. A young girl holding a horrible looking scarecrow doll, her eyes glazed yet watching a dancing clown marionette. The marionette was operated by a slim, tall man, dressed in a tailcoat, top hat and glasses.

As he turned towards them, his moustache and beard spread to reveal a toothy grin. Keilen saw in front of him what his mind had shown him just a few moments earlier, outside. It was a manifestation of Exter’s story, only now Keilen was in exchange of roles.

His gaze bore into Keilen. He spoke then, his words full of spite, with a pronunciation that cut like a sword- slash, “Keilen! How are DA-nya and WIL-low?!”

<<>>

It broke him...

That man- was he even a man?!- had no right! No right to drag Danya and Willow into this!

Keilen didn’t care about himself. He had endured so much in these last four moons, that others did not deal with in a lifetime. In multiple lifetimes...

After what Exter had told him, it felt like he was re-living that part of his childhood for, actually, the first time. His memory- whether on purpose or by unnatural means- had allowed him a blissful amnesia. But now he was paying tenfold...

He could withstand the pain, the burn, the understanding that he had been hopeless. That- if not for Exter- there’s no telling what his fate would have been.

But that... THING!!! had no right to touch Danya’s and Willow’s memory!

That was sacred. That was his. It was personal. It was painful. So very painful…

All plans just dissolved into thin air at that moment. No ‘grab the girl and run’. This became personal.

Keilen’s face distorted in pure rage. His mind could no longer focus on the girl. His whole vision was directed at that mad, maniacal smile with eyes that looked hollow and yet bored into his very soul.

His sword slashed out wildly, missing its target. Siri was right next to him then, ‘Oru’ slashing right through him. Slashing something. Parting him like a heavy mist. And suddenly he was five feet away. Whole. As if nothing happened.

Keilen had no time to ponder, for just then, the distorted scarecrow doll, Maggie had been holding, started growing. And by its side, the clown puppet grew too.

Keilen attacked, slashing well into the scarecrow. It flung its arms and as its hand touched Keilen’s arm, a stinging, freezing feeling engulfed his arm. As if his life’s warmth was being sucked through the touch. Keilen withdrew his arm and hit again. A wet, sloshing sound came from the direction of the clown, as Siri’s sword cut deep. A dark, foul smelling liquid started oozing from the cut. More pronounced for there was no other smells at all.

The clown turned its blank- eyed face to Siri with what looked like an offended expression.

A feeling of dismay fell on Keilen. Why was he even here? Why was he fighting these things? He couldn’t move his muscles. His sword fell from his hand and his body stopped reacting to his commands.

He heard Sun chanting something in a melodic voice, but his concentration broke as rope- like strings shot out of the scarecrow’s hands, entangling him and then, for all his height and size- flinging him at the far end wall. The fight continued around him, but still he could not move. Siri and Sun continued the battle until the scarecrow was destroyed. Suddenly, Keilen felt as if he was handed back control over his own body. The sword had fallen earlier, so he knocked an arrow in his bow, now aiming at the ‘Madman’. His first arrow hit, causing a surprised reaction for only a split second before his grin only widened.

Dust from the floor suddenly rose in the air, causing Sun and Keilen to cough and gag. They both missed their next attacks.

With an amazing swing, Siri cut the head off of the clown. Just then, Keilen managed to release and hit with another arrow.

“It was good to see you. We will meet again.” The man said, still grinning and Keilen did not know if it was out loud or in his head. Then, he disappeared into thin air.

Keilen looked around, baffled.

‘No! Come back! Coward!’ Keilen stood there, wide- eyed and bewildered.

“AHHHHHH!!!” He roared out in frustration.

“Keilen! Let’s go!” Siri called, shaking him out of it, as she grabbed the unresponsive child and with fast strides went out the door.

They were almost at a run, Keilen in the rear, the path clear enough to make it back.

“One more gift...” Keilen heard inside his head just as they saw the stones before them.

Something slithered near his feet and Keilen jumped. He managed to avoid the strange branches and roots, but Sun and Siri were not as lucky. They were grappled and pulled, falling down.

Keilen released two arrows into the evil looking tree that just moments before looked like a dead, old trunk.

Siri managed to put Maggie down and untangle herself as another arrow flew and missed. Her new sword soon embedded itself in the tree as if cutting butter.

“When I say ‘run’- you head straight to the rocks!” Sun shouted and started chanting.

Keilen released another arrow just before the order was given and they all dashed to the mysterious rocks as lightning crackled behind them.

The first thing they noticed on the other side was the non- absence of sound. A soft breeze through the leaves, a tweet of a bird- suddenly sounded accentuated.

The second thing was the symbol on the strange rocks. It was now glowing.

They all looked at each other. They were battered, but stood on their own feet.

“Look at her eyes!” Siri said, looking at Maggie.

Keilen’s head snapped in her direction, only to be met with eyes the color of his. His heart sank. ‘No...’ he swallowed.

“Sun...” he came up to the elven woman, his face laced with worry. “Please check if there is any kind of tattoo like mark on the girl. Like the one that appeared on the rocks.”

Sun looked at his face, understanding it was not the time for questions, and only nodded.

Siri put Maggie down. The girl stood on her feet, but seemed dazed and distant.

“Hey Maggie, it’s me, Sun. Remember? I’m a friend of your grandfather’s.” Sun was trying to coax a reaction from the girl.

Maggie just stared.

Sun gently raised the child’s left hand, pulling the sleeve up. Nothing.

Then, she did the same with the right hand and froze.

Sun looked at Keilen, who immediately understood.

On Maggie’s right forearm was the same mark, just like where Exter’s was.

Sun opened her mouth to speak, but Keilen turned away. He couldn’t explain. He didn’t know how to explain. It was almost as new to him as well.

Sun closed her mouth, adjusting the girl’s sleeve back.

They walked in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts. Maggie was quiet and looked dazed. She let Siri carry her without complaint. As they passed over the ridge of the hill, they saw the ‘Endurance’ floating, now leveled.

A figure seemed to notice them and hurriedly started limping in their direction. Isaac.

As they all met at the base of the hill, Isaac seemed relieved. “I didn’t know what to think. I was beginning to fear the worst.”

The party looked at each other in question. “Why is that?” Sun finally asked.

Then it dawned on Keilen, but before he could say anything, Isaac looked at Sun, surprised. “It’s been 7 days since you left. What was I supposed to think?!”