Chapter 14

Michael and James both flung around to see a black figure jump from the fire into the sky, out of sight. The flames that followed it left nothing but smoldering ashes and darkness behind. When the high-pitched noise finally echoed away into the night nothing was left but the groaning of broken bodies lying scattered around the camp. Shernine sighed before dropping to his feet and pointing to the fire to reignite it. As light returned to the site he could see men strewn about all over the camp attempting to get on their feet. Bart stood up off of the man he was holding down and walked over to old man whom he had speared with the dagger. “Is he gunna make it?” He calmly asked while they both looked down upon the helpless fool, bleeding out before them.

“Not really my specialty. Drule, is this guy living?” There was no immediate answer. “Drule?” They turned to see Drule sitting down on the ground where he had been holding a horse’s head in his lap. The horse whined and hoofed as it tried to get back to its feet, but Drule had his arm around the creature’s neck preventing it from standing. Tears were rolling down Drule’s hardened face. Realizing what had happened, Shernine raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to…” before he could finish Drule grabbed the horse’s head with his other hand and broke its neck with an appalling crack.  The head rolled out from Drule’s handle as Drule lay back against the tree behind him while burying his face in his hands.

The horse had been injured severely enough in the scuffle that it wouldn’t make the journey to the next town. Drule’s body shook as he wept for the beast at its side. Shernine and Alchem were both somewhat detached from humanity and animal life, especially compared to Drule, who was quite fond of most living beings. Alchem was a man of chemistry and Shernine loved to dabble with physics, astronomy and engineering. Drule lived quietly on the surface and underneath the earth with all living inhabitants. Drule did not often engage with humans due to his very noticeable size but found comfort in the friendship of animals, especially horses. Even the wildest of animals would calmly wonder up to Drule to receive food and company from him. The animals could sense his presence and would often come running to him should he near their habitat. It was almost as if the animals gained a greater sense of understanding in his presence, they were more than animals to him and so they became more than animals when they were around him.

Before the Dark Age that shrouded almost the entire Mainland for two hundred years, it was decided between Shernine and the Sun that neither of them, nor Drule or Alchem, were to meddle in the affairs of humans or their struggles. This vastly differed from the time when Shernine could speak to the voices beyond the stars, but as times were changing and their memories were failing it become evident that any direct intervention on their part would be directly an outcome of each’s personal opinion as opposed to a correspondence with a higher order. Shernine blamed himself for no longer hearing the voices but the Sun presented the idea as if there was no longer any reason for the voices to communicate through him. The Sun was positive that if the voices were no longer present than humans did not require any further instruction or motivation on their part.

The Sun rarely walked on the earth so it became Shernine’s responsibility to explain to Alchem and Drule that human contact was to be limited starting in the early era of the Dark Age. Alchem was allowed to continue work with humans as long as he didn’t use any form of magic or use any extra-terrestrial knowledge to influence the lives of people he came into contact with. This was not a large constraint to Alchem. When Shernine broke the news to Drule it was in a forest far away from human hands. Drule listened intently as Shernine explained the decision to him. Without a word, Drule nodded before wondering into the darkness of the woods. For a very long time this was the last of Drule that any of them saw for over a hundred years.

When Shernine talked to Drule again it was with regards to Alchem. Drule was sitting atop a large rock with his legs folded underneath him. He put forward one hand as a small bird flew towards him and perched itself on his finger. The bird stuck it’s beak under its wing and danced around for a minute before chirping something and flying back off into the woods. Drule sighed and looked up into the branches above him. “Come down here and talk to me if you have something to say.” Shernine dropped down from above landed lightly on the tip of his staff with one foot so as to keep himself level with Drule up on the rock where he was standing. Drule glared directly at him unamused. Shernine kept only one foot underneath him with the other resting on his knee. His green robes waved in the gentle wind of fall.

“The Sun and I have been watching Alchem.”  Drule averted his eyes deep into the woods with a huff. “We think he might be uh… done soon.” Drule continued to stare off into the distance. “Done as in, like… dead.” Drule took a deep breath. He looked at Shernine who was still hovering on his staff looking genuinely concerned about the revelation. Shernine was always keeping tabs on the lot of them worrying himself about every time one of them disappeared for an extended period of time, as they tended to do quite often. Seeing as the surface of the sun was massive the Sun could easily disappear into its fiery surface. Drule would occasionally move underground to avoid Shernine having any visions of him and could pop out again in a completely different territory if he wished. Alchem was never purposely hiding but his movements tended to be so sporadic if Shernine wasn’t keeping an eye on him at all times he could easily lose his whereabouts.

The four of them were completely unsure as to how many others like them could exist, if any did. The Sun had no interest in finding out if there were; neither did Drule, in a sense. Alchem, when he was more active and was able to make contact regularly with humans, was very excited at the prospect of locating other powerful creatures. For a long time Alchem thought he was the only one until he was contacted by the rest of the group, purely by accident. Alchem previous to their encounter had a lot of contact with humans, some good and some bad. He mostly hid the powers he had from humans unless the situation deemed it either necessary or occasionally hilarious. One reason that they all were at least curious as to the possibility of more of them existing was that since they all had amnesia it was possible that another of them might have a stronger understanding of their origins. Alchem’s memory loss was more substantial than any of the others and he was desperate to find some background about himself, at least in his youth.

“Next time you come here to bring something to my attention, be sure it is of some significance to me.” Shernine was unhappy with the lackluster attitude Drule was displaying over the situation, although Shernine wasn’t expecting much more from Drule.

“Drule, if Alchem can die so can we. He’s losing his energy faster than anticipated. I know neither you, nor I, nor the Sun are near this point, but if Alchem has mortality then we may as well.”

“If you are to come down here to interrupt me from my work, only do so if it is of more value than your suspicions of death. We all will die; it is the only sure aspect of life.” Shernine huffed. There wasn’t ever a guarantee that any of them would die, he believed. Alchem showed the first signs of mortality as his energy began to fade towards human levels. The Sun had the strongest presence of energy based on his location in the sun. Drule had a nominal level that he could enhance by drawing energy from other living beings, although he scarcely monopolized this power. Shernine’s own energy was very subdued due to his own doing. None of the others were very sure as to how much he could actually do by his own means if he allowed himself to fully unleashed his strongest abilities. Shernine never felt it was necessary to retain his powers as they were no longer benefited humans in any way. For this reason he kept his own talents hidden from the rest, almost as if he was ashamed of his own strengths. No matter how mighty he became he could not remember what had come before the Dark Age with any detail and was unable to use them effectively to steer the events of time.

“But we can influence life! We can void the death of a person. If that is possible you know we may have some influence over the length of a life, human or otherwise.”

“We can prolong the inevitable, nothing more.” Drule stood up and reminded Shernine that he was the much larger figure. In some ways this made him feel as if he was more powerful. In truth, neither of them was sure who had the most extensive capabilities. Shernine had not taken advantage of his full strength since the decision not to interfere with humans. His amnesia was strong enough he was not familiar with his own abilities. While Drule was unsure as to whether or not he was stronger, he definitely felt more strongly about the situation.  Drule kept his own personal opinions to himself, but if challenged, he would stand his ground regardless of who may challenge him. Shernine leapt very lightly from atop his staff and landed quietly on the floor of the forest below. He gripped his weapon tightly in his right hand and gazed up toward Drule. He was upset at the reaction but did not feel any need to further argue on the point.

He forced himself to take a deep breathe. He remembered the angrier he became the foggier his memories grew. He took another slow breathe in an attempt to calm himself down. Drule stood tall on the rock underneath his feet, staring down, quietly at Shernine. Shernine realized how his grip on what was once a powerful group in Mainland affairs was falling apart. Drule hadn’t spoken to any of them in many years. The Sun isolated himself and refused to partake in any conversation except with an occasional update from Shernine. Alchem had begun living his own life outside of the clan but at the cost of his own health. When Shernine had talked to him previously Alchem seemed content to die slowly in his human form. The death may still be many years away but this entailed years of a slow and sure decent into frailty. Shernine was not sure if he was concerned for Alchem’s safety or for his own mortality. He lived far away from humanity and was not entirely comfortable with the idea of death. Alchem lived almost totally as a human after they agreed not to interfere with human ongoing.

“Alchem has lived among humans for far too long. His death could be detrimental, especially if his death ends the lives that depend on his strength. That Malcolm fellow should have died more than a few years ago. If Alchem dies, Malcolm may perish with him.”

Drule looked away from Shernine and into the woods. The birds chirped happily, completely unaware of tense argument taking place in the woods beneath them. Deer skipped over fallen branches as they quickly moved about in search of a meal. Every leaf that broke from the trees above could be sensed by Drule. He knew where every creature of the forest was and what they were feeling. The forest was a complicated yet simple system. He knew the creatures of the Mainland better than any human ever could. He could sense them no matter how small; even insects flocked to his side as he welcomed them to the warmth of his skin. Drule had found peace in the forest; he had a better sense of belonging than Shernine or the Sun. He figured that by fleeing their true home they had distanced themselves from their own destiny, but he refused to interfere with their decisions, even on their behalf.

“We agreed not to interfere with the lives of humans. If Malcolm dies it is for the best of them. We do not intercede.” Shernine was angry. He knew Drule continued to harbor hostility towards the Sun for his choices and his decision to avoid contact with humans. Despite his lackluster attitude, Drule was worried for Alchem’s safety and the humans who had come to depend on him. At this point his rage shined through in its own subtle way. He had felt betrayed for so long by Shernine and the Sun that he refused to assist the only other person he had sympathy for.

“I knew it was garbage when I told you.” Shernine pointed to Drule. “You knew that I knew it. The Sun doesn’t control us as he would like to believe.” Drule huffed angrily and leaped down from his rock. He landed hard on the ground with a resounding thud.  He stood there towering above Shernine while his eyes glowed through the shade of the trees.

“If the Sun did not control us you never would have come to me before.” Shernine took a step back. This was the most blatant resistance he had ever received from Drule. “Don’t have me abandon our treaty now because you need something from me. Your own decisions will bring about the downfall of Alchem without my assistance.” Shernine took another step back. Drule was leaning in and pushing his forehead against Shernine’s. Drule always followed the orders of the Sun and Shernine. He refused to disobey them based on their positions in the hierarchy of their group. Regardless of this he was not afraid to share his opinion on a matter. The Sun and Shernine had betrayed Drule in allowing their own fears to overcome their desire to help the Mainland. Shernine was afraid of affecting people due to his inability to gather information from the voices beyond the stars. The Sun never wished to interfere with humans and as a result easily convinced Shernine to have Alchem and Drule back away from human relations.

Drule was unhappy with the decision and completely understood why it was made but refused to fight it on the grounds that he was not nearly as strong as the Sun or Shernine, despite his own impressive abilities. He also had Amnesia almost comparable to Alchem. One of the very few concepts that remained implanted in his mind was that they had some purpose in developing the growing culture in the Mainland, but Drule was very loyal and did not disobey any orders decreed by the Sun and Shernine. Shernine looked calmly back at Drule who was standing over him. He looked down at the sandals on his feet balanced delicately on the leaves beneath him. A small bug crawled over his toes. He took a breath and looked back up and Drule, who had backed off by a single step. “Please don’t let Alchem suffer because of my decisions.” Drule averted his gaze and looked to his left into the forest. He hadn’t spoken to Alchem in years, but Drule had a very good idea of what might be happening to him

“Alchem is stronger than you give him credit for. In time we may find he will carry us when we fall.” Shernine may not always have taken Drule’s side on issues, but he never doubted the truthfulness of what he believed. He felt slightly reassured by Drule’s persistence. “While the sun still hangs in the sky you may wish to shift your attention South of these woods. There’s a darkness growing in the pines. It has become more powerful than any foe the desert has faced since these Dark Ages.”

“A curse?” Shernine was taken aback by this statement. Ancient dark magics such as curses hadn’t been seen in the Mainland in many years. During the Dark Age most people began keeping to themselves and shunning any sort of supernatural power that remained present until it was all but eradicated. As the generations passed the younger population had very little recollection of any sort of magic, good or evil. Occasional small curses may have arisen from time to time as it was much easier to conjure the dark side of the power, but most of the cases sorted themselves out or grew far too week to maintain any sort of hold on a person.

“Not a curse; a true demon. It would not be wise to venture into that area, surely a creature such as this would latch on to you the moment it sensed your presence. I have done what I can to clear the area of wildlife. If you truly wish to ignore the orders of yourself and the Sun, I would watch over the people in the town north of Borhevan of the great evil.” Shernine looked down the path to his left which led south to Borhevan. He felt a responsibility to them just knowing what harm could befall them should they find themselves involved with a demon of such pure origin. When he turned back to Drule he had already disappeared into the woods.

So many years later Drule found himself in the same woods where he had befriended so many creatures, this time he was bringing one to its death. Men were still rolling around on the floor of the forest groaning and attempting to get to their feet. For the most part the party ignored them. The man who had been holding a knife to the horses sat up grinning with his bloody teeth shining in the light of the fire. He was a bald man with a sagging face and a devilish smile. Bart wondered over silently and punched him directly between his eyes knocking him out cold. He then turned to a couple men attempting to escape. “Hey, you’re gunna have to drag this one.” The man was promptly pulled away as the men tried to keep their distance from Bart. James was still holding his sword tightly in his hands reminding all of the men that they’d better keep moving or he’d give them a good poke. Michael limped over and stood with the rest of the group as the retied the horses and calmed them down.

When Michael pulled his metal gloves off he noticed all of the blackness in his veins had subsided to two small points on each of his palms. He stared at them quietly before turning to Shernine. “What was that thing.” Shernine sat cross-legged on the ground near Drule and put a hand on his shoulder.

“The black spots on your hands remain because the curse is still tied to you. It will roam freely in its own form, but it still lives off of your spirit. The farther it leaves you the weaker it will become.”

“That’s good then. It will be weaker now, yeah?” Shernine shook his head.

“He’s no longer restricted to living within you. It will draw its power from any place it can find and attempt to use it against you. We need to find Alchem, and quickly.”

James watched the last of their attackers fade into the darkness. The old man was spouting nonsense as they attempted to get him away from the others. James wasn’t really concerned as to whether or not he was going to live. Bart didn’t want to know; he’d never killed anyone before. By remaining ignorant he could assume that the man would live. Even if he did he may not recover fully from the injury. More than likely an infection as a result of the wound would kill him unless they managed to get him back to Borhevan very quickly.

“Who’s gunna be walking?” James asked as he walked over to the rest of his company standing around Drule holding the dead horse.

“I can walk, or I could ride with somebody; I don’t actually weigh anything.” Shernine reassured them. His hand was still resting on Drule’s shoulder as he felt him begin to stand. The head of the horse rolled off of Drule’s lap as he made it to his feet.

“I will walk.” Drule announced to them from his lofty height. “We’re short on time now, and I’m the fastest. I will go ahead to Ytterghile and find Alchem.”

“It’s not safe for us to split up with the curse loose. The Sun won’t be…”

“A human will die this night. Are hands have broken the rules already.” Drule interrupted Shernine with a strong and authoritative tone. “We have to find Alchem before this curse causes any more damage.” Shernine sighed as he wiped his hands down his face. He looked towards the lifeless horse they had circled around.

“The Sun won’t be happy, but I’d guess he’s probably fuming right now anyway.”

“I will keep my aura subdued. When I find Alchem I’ll signal you.”

“Be ready. It’ll break loose as soon as it picks up on you.”

“We’ll be ready.” Drule slowly walked over the horse’s corpse and into the darkness. Michael stuffed the old man’s gun in his belt and waited for him to disappear.

“Am I wrong? Or did we just send the slowest person in the group ahead of us.” James opened his mouth to tell Michael he was wrong, but when he thought about it he realized Michael might be right. He turned to Shernine and raised an eyebrow with his mouth still slightly ajar.

“He can be pretty quick when he needs to be, especially through the forest.” He looked at the gun hanging in Michael’s belt. “Is there any ammunition left for that thing? I have no idea where that old guy got a hold of one of those.”

“No. He must still have the gunpowder with him. Looks like its military; it’s got some kind of marking on it.”

“Let me see it.” Michael tossed it to him. Shernine took a minute to look at the different pieces. It was a single shot muzzle loading hand gun. It was horribly inaccurate. The markings on the side looked like an assignment based on battalion. The series of letters and numbers appeared to assign it to a specific unit but Shernine wasn’t sure how to read it. He sniffed the end of the barrel. The scent was foul. He pulled back the hammer and pulled the trigger to a click and a spark but no fire.

“Do you think you could make more of the shots for it?” Bart asked from his sitting position on the ground. Shernine shook his head.

“The mechanics are simple, I could easily produce replacements, but the composition of the firing powder is another story. I’d need Alchem for something like that.” Shernine tossed the gun back to Michael, who stuffed it back into his belt.  “We should get some sleep.”

Bart had terrible nightmares that night. He rewatched himself throw that knife into the man’s back over and over. He knew the man would die. He’d never killed anyone before. His stomach hurt just thinking about it. He reacted quickly because he believed Shernine’s life was in danger, but Shernine wasn’t an ordinary person and there wasn’t any way for him to know for sure. Was there any possibility that someone as strong and mysterious as Shernine had the power to avoid causality by such a weapon as a gun? Shernine was full of tricks; he pulled a long sword out of a cape only two thirds the size of the weapon. His abilities were clearly remarkable. Bart wished he could have known truthfully whether or not Shernine could have survived the attack. If the old man failed to kill Shernine they could have incapacitated him easily before he managed to reload the weapon.

Bart knew there was no way of truly knowing in that short span if anyone’s life was at risk. He acted instinctively in order to save his friend. This knowledge didn’t provide any comfort to him as he thrashed about in his sleep. He rolled to his side and watched the last ember of the fire fade into darkness. He closed his eyes and saw the face of a monster. The skull of a goat floated above a black body of complete darkness. The eyes of the beast stared directly into him as it smiled. It felt the uneasiness inside of him and preyed his fears, growing stronger as he questioned himself. Fire dripped from the creature’s mouth as it uttered horrible words, as if whispered in his ear. “You can only comprehend your act in the darkest of places.” It spat as it laughed with a bellowing sound from deep within its body.

Bart opened his eyes to the stars floating above him. They glistened slightly and came in and out of sight as the leaves above brushed in the wind. He sat up and realized the fire was blazing in front of him. Michael was still fully clothed and poking at the flames with a stick. He looked at Bart with open eyes that conveyed a feeling of genuine concern. Bart rubbed his own eyes and sat forward with a yawn. “I can’t help but feel as if this is my own doing.” Bart didn’t answer, letting the silence echo the thought. He peered around the camp to see everyone else was quietly sleeping. Shernine was leaning against a tree and James was in a slump under a blanket. The horses were all in a deep slumber as well. The dead horse had been dragged into the forest before they had gone to rest. “No matter what it tries to tell you Bart, you’ve got to remember it’s all a trick.” Bart hesitated for a moment. Michael had more experience dealing with these inner struggles than he had, but he questioned his wisdom on the matter.

“What kind of trick?”

“It finds your weakness and latches on to it. You’ll end up torturing yourself over something you have no control over. Every night I remember the first time I picked up the dice. I never thought anything of it; I won them fairly.” Bart sighed again. He ran a hand through his hair and wondered what Michael was going on about. Michael liked to gamble, he liked to drink and he had a habit of making poor decisions. Going to Vordenport was clearly a mistake. It led to more trouble than any of them could have imagined. “How was I supposed to know they were cursed?”

“Why’d you bet for them in the first place?”

“I didn’t. I bet for a simple few coins. When he couldn’t pay he offered the dice instead. I’ve come to realize it was all for his own purpose.” He stretched his fingers and watched as the black circle wrinkled in his palm.

“He knew what he was doing?”

“As soon as they were in my hand I could tell he knew what he’d done. That’s why I kept them. It was my own fault, but I wasn’t about to pass it on to some other unsuspecting person. I almost wish I had now. It’s free and it can do much more damage than I had ever intended. I’d hoped to take responsibility for my mistake. For once I was ready to bear the burden of my on faults.” Bart looked at Michael. Michael had come to terms with his mistake, in doing so he began to realize that very little of the consequences had anything to do with his betting. He was in many ways a victim of circumstance. He committed an error that ended in a serious sentence, but he refused to push it off on someone else. He continued to bear the pain of carrying the curse on his own as a means of redemption. What he never expected was for the curse to grow strong enough to harm anyone other than himself, nor for it to escape the dice.

“It’s not your fault Michael.” Michael shook his head when he heard the words.

“It is. The old man will die tonight. That’s my fault as well. Don’t let the cruse find weakness in you. It will latch on to it and suck the life out of you. If the old man dies it is because I accepted the curse.” Michael poked the fire and watched sparks fly lightly into the air. Bart didn’t know how to respond. The curse was taking a larger toll on Michael than he had realized.

Earlier in the year he remembered Shernine coming to his door as a simple traveler seeking some information about the town. Bart invited him in and made a small cup of tea for the strange creature. He was so thin and light Bart assumed if he were really a bandit seeking to harm anyone he wouldn’t have chosen Bart as an opponent. Shernine tipped his hat as Bart set the tea in front of him.

“I’ve heard there’s been a bit of a rumble in Vordenport. Just east of here, right?” Bart chuckled and pulled up his sleeve revealing a large wound that was finally beginning to heal on his left arm.

“I got sideswiped by some shorty going for my skull. Tossed him in the river.” Shernine laughed at the reply. He took a sip of the tea and pulled a small book from his pocket. Bart cocked his head and watched as the unknown traveler flipped through the pages as if looking for the proper response to the situation. Shernine continued to read through pages completely ignoring Bart’s hospitality. After a few minutes Bart felt awkward enough to finally break the silence. His neither of his parents were home and he felt an obligation to represent his household as friendly to the passersby.

“What brings you to such a small town?” Shernine smiled and licked his thumb before flipping the page. He hesitated for a moment before finishing reading the paragraph on the page.

“Sometimes big things happen in a small town.” Bart didn’t have anything to say in reply. The traveler seemed completely uninterested in having a conversation with Bart. He flipped through page by page without ever glancing up to see his gracious host cleaning the kettle and dishes in the sink. After they were all hanging up to dry Bart made a point to loudly sit back down in the chair at the table across from Shernine. Shernine refused to move his head but glanced up from the pages of his text to stare back at Bart. “I gather you’re not the only one to walk away from the fight in Vordenport unscathed.” Bart huffed somewhat proudly.

“My friends with me also suffered various injuries, but we all walked back independently; we weren’t about to let a little scuff slow us down.” Shernine chuckled as his eyes returned to his book.

“You do seem like a determined bunch, I’ll give you that.” Bart wasn’t sure who else he was referring to. Had he been watching them since Vordenport? He didn’t seem hostile but the reply was strangely informed. “Thanks for the tea. Let me repay you by leaving you with something you may find quite useful.” Bart was ready to respond politely and refuse whatever gift Shernine offered. It wasn’t like him or his family to accept a present in return for some simple form of charity. Shernine moved a flat hand across the table seemingly carrying nothing with it. As soon as his hand withdrew Bart could see a black stone resting in the center of the furniture piece. He leaned over the table and gazed into the darkness within the stone. The rock reflected the light above the table very dimly. Looking into it was almost as if looking into a dark jagged portal. The reflection of light was slightly distorted in the crudely cut rock. When Bart broke his gaze to look back to Shernine he realized he was standing in the doorway. “It’ll light up in the face of darkness.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a special sort of stone. Tough to find on the surface of the earth, but it’ll point you to any nearby threat. Whether you follow it or run from it is up to you.” Bart looked back down at the strange rock. It was almost completely black at the moment. When he looked back up Shernine had already disappeared. He grabbed the stone lightly and inspected it in its entirety. He shrugged and placed it in his pocket, not realizing it would only become useful later, after a few more talks with the wondering stranger.

Bart pulled the stone from his pocket and pointed it towards Michael. It lightly glowed but nothing near how bright it shined when he was searching for him in Borhevan. The rock acted as a sort of compass for curses. He laid back down in his resting place and whispered to Michael. “Enjoy a night free from the curse; it’s passed us now.” Michael laid down as well and gaze up into the night light from the empty moon.

“For now.”