When they all finally made it out of their sleeping
positions they sat around the ashes of the late night fire inspecting their own
wounds. Shernine hadn’t been touched over the course of the fight. James
suffered the least of the boys with a few cuts and bruises. Michael had a gash
out of his left shoulder which he had wrapped the night before but was started
to bleed again as he moved his arm in it’s socket. Bart was trying to ignore a
stab wound in his right leg that made it difficult to even stand. “Drule, come
fix these… oh, yeah.” Shernine had forgotten that Drule had left before dawn to
go find Alchem.
“We need to keep moving.” Bart coughed as he attempted to
ignore the pain of his injury. Shernine leapt several graceful feet over to
where he was standing and lifted up his pant leg.
“No point in us hurting ourselves right now; Drule hasn’t
found Alchem yet and exacerbating these injuries while chasing him down isn’t
going to help anything. Let’s patch ourselves up before we head out.” For a
couple hours the grouped wrapped each other’s wounds and ate while they rested.
Shernine spent a long time cleaning and sealing together Bart’s cut as Bart
winced but refused to scream during the tortuous minutes it took to completely
cover the wound. Michael’s injury was not as severe but due to it’s being in
his shoulder it limited his movement. He had to be helped onto his horse by
James to prevent his skin from tearing further. Shernine was the last to mount
his horse. He looked around at the camp as the others made their way onto the
path set in front of them. The site was empty yet still held a thick breathe of
evil; it was difficult for him to focus on anything in the hazy distortion of
the light. Many sinister forces had swept through the air in the clearing they
set aside as a simple camp. As he looked into the opening, Shernine began to
question his own motives, concerned that he may have placed the boys in a
situation beyond their strengths.
Drule had left their party to find Alchem. Alchem was the
only one between himself, Drule and the Sun that understood cruses to such a
depth. Shernine had not dealt with a curse in such a long time he had forgotten
the destructive force that they carried with them. He remembered far back
before any decision was made by himself and the Sun to avoid contact with
humans that Alchem warned against leaving curses to roam freely among the
people of the Mainland. None of the others listened to him fearing that his
amnesia and stubbornness was clouding his decision. Perhaps Alchem was right.
Evil in the form of curses were running rampant now in many places outside of
the Mainland and in. Alchem had foreseen this but was very subtle in trying to
convince the others. He refused to speak unless he was sure his words would be
heard, and what he had to say was rarely taken into account when the Sun was
making a formal decision.
A rumbling of thunder brought out groans from the rest of
the party. Michael flipped his hood up over himself while Bart and James
grabbed cloaks out of their saddle bags and flung them on. Shernine simply
looked up towards the sky with a squint. “What do the clouds look like?”
Michael turned to him, confused.
“Dark. Very, very dark. Can you not tell?” Still looking up
at them, Shernine shook his head.
“I still see the stars.” He murmured. “It will rain all day
today; he’s not happy.” Bart looked at James and shrugged. Michael continued to
pander him.
“How can you see the stars through those clouds?” Shernine
turned to him and smiled. “I’ve never been able to see them; my eyes don’t work
the same as yours. Whether it be day or night I see the same sky; stars in the
black blanket of space.” Michael looked up confused. He tried as hard as he
could to see a star through the rolling clouds. He winced and gave up as rain
began to fall into his eyes. As he rubbed them with his wet sleeve he pressed
the question.
“I don’t understand how that’s even possible. Is this one of
your magic tricks?” Shernine chuckled a bit.
“If there’s a trick being played, it’s being played on me.”
Of course, Shernine was still capable of distinguishing day and night based on
the position of the sun and the amount of light reflecting off the surface of
the earth. Daytime did not appear any darker to him, his vision simply chose to
ignore the weather above.
“Who’s not happy?” James piped up as the rain began to pick
up. It was now getting loud to the point of James having to speak up. Shernine
pointed up to the sun, without realizing James and the others had no way of
knowing where it was in the sky.
“The Sun. He gets upset when we don’t stick to a plan.”
“And what plan might that be? Seems like we’ve been
wondering around without a plan since we left Vorren”
“I’m not sure we ever really had much of a plan either.”
The rain continued to poor throughout the day. They
neglected to stop to eat. They wouldn’t be able to cook anything anyway. Bart
tossed a few apples around from his bag; it would have to do. Rather than pull
his canteen out, Shernine leaned his head back as he pulled the tip of his hat
forward to pour the rain that fad collected in the rim into his mouth, much to
the amusement of the others.
The path they traveled grew rockier and narrower as they
continued to push forward. They would frequently work their way around rivers
of mud pouring down the hills as they continued to ascend. They had abandoned
the main trail as it had become far too muddy for the horses. Their pace was
slow. Each step from the horse required thought and effort to avoid slipping on
a rock or twisting an ankle. Thunder continued to crack around them to the
point of deafening the travelers. Tree limbs and leaves shook in the cold wind
that swept around them. They were all very frustrated and tired, especially
since no one had a chance to sleep for very long during the night. For the most
part they kept their heads down attempting to prevent rain from reaching inside
of the cloaks, mostly to no avail. As darkness fell they finally resigned and
took shelter in a cave that Michael miraculously spotted.
Water poured over the cave entrance making it difficult to
bring the horses in. Luckily the cave was large enough to hold all of them for
the night. The cave was part of a large
mountain on which they had found themselves. There was a less convoluted path
to reach the next town but due to the horrible visibility they found themselves
on an alternate route through a treacherous range of cliffs and boulders. The
environment was very unforgiving. Many times throughout the day they were
forced to backtrack to find a more amenable path for themselves and the horses.
Occasionally they were forced to dismount and walk them through a hazardous
zone. Sharp rocks stuck out from the much underneath mud which were difficult
to see due to the masses of wet leaves falling from above. It was not made
easier by the fact that they had suffered various injuries. Bart’s dressings
were doing little to protect his wound from the rain. His pant leg was stained
with blood that had escaped through the wet padding around the cut. Michael’s
shoulder still ached any time he lifted his elbow. They all sat on the
uncomfortable floor of the cave exhausted from an unproductive day. Surely it
had slowed down their arrival by many hours.
“No fire, unless you’ve got some magic trick to dry wood in
that cape.” Michael bemoaned.
“Actually, I do have this.” Shernine pulled a candle out
from behind his back and set it in front of them. It wouldn’t provide any
additional warmth, but at least they had some light in the cave. He lit it with
his finger and the light began to flicker creating warped shadows on the cave
walls.
“I don’t suppose you’ve got a roasted turkey leg behind you
as well?” Bart laughed. They all changed into the driest clothes they could
find in their bags and laid out the soaking wet gear over the cave floor.
Shernine assured them if it wasn’t dry by the morning he could work something
up to make it so. In this case the Sun wouldn’t be able to know since they
could hide from his vision in the cave. He also assured them that even though
the rain had pounded them throughout the day the Sun’s temper was severe, but
short lived. By morning the rain was sure to stop and the sun would be shining
again. So they sat in a circle watching the small candle slowly melt under the
dancing flame. James was essentially sitting in a ball to keep warm. Bart and
Michael were lucky enough to have capes stored away, dry enough to act as
blankets.
“If I get this curse taken care of it will be the last time
I ever roll a pair of dice.” Bart rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Every time you get too drunk you say it was your last drink
the next morning.”
“Yeah, well… I hangover has never dragged me weeks away from
home.” James’ eyes sank down to the candle and his smile faded. He had almost
blocked it out of his mind that he was so far away from the only place that had
ever mattered to him. He never wanted to stay in Vorren for his whole life, but
now that he was gone he realized how strange it was being away from anything
familiar for so long. He hadn’t seen a place he’d recognized in over a week. It
was beginning to occur to him that the world was a lot larger than he had
realized. Across from him, Michael was rubbing the black spot on his palm with
his thumb. “What’s the deal with this anyway? I don’t really need a constant
reminding that there’s some demon thing following me around everywhere.”
“It’s not so much for you as it is for the curse.” Shernine
stretched his back out and took a deep breathe. “Curses are some of the weakest
demons. They don’t have the power to exist in this realm on their own. A curse
has to be drawn into this world as part of an agreement between a human and a
more powerful demon. Once they are here they have to remain bound to the
agreement less they be pulled back into their own realm.”
“Why is it bound to me? I didn’t make any agreement.”
“Not directly. More than likely the curse has extended
beyond the life whoever originally placed the curse. It’s possible to move a
curse to an object or even another person, but it’s wildly dangerous. Somehow
this curse got itself placed in the dice. Whoever you won them from must have
been bearing the curse. When you agreed to take the bet and won the dice, the
curse shifted to you.
The unfortunate thing for us is that curses are a lot easier
to control when they are bound to an object. The darkness in your veins
continued to seep up your arms as the demon forced its way into you, from the
dice. With the dice destroyed there isn’t a need for the curse to control you.
It has much more mobility now.”
“My dad always said he didn’t trust boats that came in from
Shiden. He said they still have a lot of dark magic there; lots of problems
come into the bay with those ships. I’d bet my horse that your curse came from
Shiden.”
“It doesn’t really matter where it came from at this point.
All courses draw from the same pool of power. In the Mainland they were more
common before the Dark Age. That’s not a coincidence. “
“If there are demons that are strong enough to exist on
their own here, why don’t we ever see them?” James asked him.
“You probably have, but to be effective here they also have
to be tricky. You’ll see right past them if you aren’t looking carefully.”
“How does Alchem know so much about curses?” Michael asked.
“Alchem used to be an instrumental part of the King’s Army
acting as the top advisor and exerciser for the supernatural division.”
“The army has a supernatural division?” Bart asked.
“Not anymore. Not since the war that brought the Mainland
into the Dark Age. That’s not a coincidence either. Almost two hundred years
ago when the King’s Army was still stationed past the Ghaboro desert they used
magic both for offensive and defensive purposes. In the northwest many of the
clans that were sweeping through the territories in the region used curses
extensively as a means of weakening their opponents. Alchem was stationed with
the front battalion fighting off the curses that afflicted the men during and
after battles. Believe it or not he was actually on good terms with the King at
the time.
The army was getting close to stabilizing the region. Canons
were just being introduced and the soldiers had access to mines just south of
the Ghaboro desert that allowed them to produce the explosive powders at a high
rate. Alchem was even involved in perfecting the formula. The goal at that time
was to build strongholds around the region that were sufficiently defensible to
create a maintainable border. The king wanted to be able to station as few
troops as possible in the region without losing control to the barbarian tribes.”
He leaned back again and supported himself with his palms behind him on the
cold floor.
“Unfortunately a certain tribe managed to get an old demon
from deep within their region to fight on their behalf. No one ever could
figure out how it happened. Alchem attempted to banish the demon but it had
been living in this world so long it proved to be too difficult. Somehow it
managed to drain substantial amounts of energy from Alchem and grew even
stronger. From that point on it was complete chaos. Alchem advised the king to
give up the region because the defenses were still being completed but the king
refused. He pulled forces from east of the desert for addition support but by
the time the made it to the site most of the army had already been destroyed. They
held out for another several months but it was fruitless. After the army was
weakened so greatly the entire area north of the desert was overrun. Most of the
eastern territories were taken over as well.
The disaster also had long term effects on the economy and
caused the depression that regressed the technology available back so many
years. The area in and around the capitol is finally getting back on track but
obviously it hasn’t extended down south of this forest. The king blamed the
demons ability to draw power from Alchem’s magic for most of the mess, as
opposed to his own stubbornness in maintaining regions past the desert. That’s
why you rarely hear about any magic in the Mainland anymore. It’s a lost art
around here.”
“What would make the king bring Alchem back to the army?”
James asked.
“Good question. I assume they need to relearn his powder
recipe. Based on the shot that gun in your pocket fired off,” Shernine answered
as he pointed to the gun in Michael’s belt “I don’t think they have it down
yet.”
“Why now? Is the army planning to advance past the desert
again? We haven’t held those territories since before the Dark Age.” When Bart
said this James wondered if there was any possibility Alchem would be put into
battle again. There was no way he could fight; he was too old. But if he were
really being contracted again he was sure Alchem would be too stubborn to
refuse even on his own behalf.
“I sure hope not; didn’t seem to work well last time.”
The next morning James woke immediately when he heard a
thump from up above him. He rolled onto his back and slowly opened his eyes to
the light pouring in from outside the cave. His cheek was cold from resting on
the rocks beneath him. He let out a breath and realized his mouth was extremely
dry. Eventually he managed to make it to his feet to stumble over the entrance
of the cave where a small amount of water had pooled. He bent down and filled
his hands with the cool rain before lifting them to his mouth and sipping it. He
stood up straight and peered into the cave. Everyone was still asleep, except
Michael, who wasn’t there. James ran his hands through his hair with a yawn.
Outside the cave he could see that most of the dead leaves had been washed off
of the trees. The ground was a large muddy mess from the mass amounts of rain
that had poured down on them the day before. James turned his head over his
should and looked back into the cave. The horses were all there as well as all
of Michael’s things. He sniffed and wondered if Michael was looking for firewood.
It was going to be difficult to find anything dry enough to burn. If Shernine
was feeling up to using some magic it wouldn’t matter anyway.
The candle from the night before had melted into a mess all
over the cave floor. James stretched his back out and realized how sore he
felt. A pain shot down his spine as he leaned backwards. He shoulders were
stiff. He looked left and right around the surrounding area. It looked a lot
different during the day with sunshine pushing through the trees. It felt much
calmer out without rain and all the noise all around. With that thought he
realized how quiet it really was. There wasn’t a bird or cricket to be heard
anywhere. The only sound James could hear was his own breathing. He turned
around and looked up at the edge of the cave. His eyes widened as he realized
there was a single drop of water hovering inches above his head. The drop was
hanging in the air as if stopped from its motion by some force. He hesitantly
reached out and pushed it with his finger. The water clung to him and then
slowly rolled down into his palm. As he let his hand fall to his side he
realized Shernine was now standing in the cave and staring at him. He was only
a few feet in front of him. The sudden sight of having Shernine so close gave him
a slight shock, but he kept his composure. Shernine lifted his finger to his
lips to encourage James to remain silent. With the same finger he pointed above
him and walked outside the cave.
James tiptoed behind him as they both tried to see above the
cave without stepping off of the rocks that quieted their footsteps. Standing
on his toes James could make out the top of a very dark figure, like the demon
that had escaped from the dice. He gestured to Shernine who pushed himself up
on his walking stick to get a better view. Shernine looked back down to James
with wide open eyes. He looked left and right and in the cave, trying to think
up some plan on how to deal with the beast above. Realizing they had limited
options Shernine pointed to James’ sword inside the cave. James walked over and
carefully picked it up being sure not to make any sound as it came off of the
rocks it was resting on. He stood next to Shernine with it placed in both
hands, ready to strike and awaited a response. Shernine pointed to him and then
made a throwing gesture with his arm. James moved his head back in hesitation.
Shernine just smiled. He couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.
“Just be ready to strike.” James’ jaw dropped as Shernine
grabbed him and flung him effortlessly on to the roof of the cave. With very
little time to react he swung his sword towards the demon. The dark mass
managed to grab one of his arms before it fell and prevent the sword from
striking. James was shocked at the pure speed the creature could move. He could
see Michael was lying near the demon with his eyes rolled back into his head.
The old man who tried to steal the dice was standing not too far away. This was
not the same curse James had seen before. This thing was much bulkier and
shorter. It had the skull of a boar and the legs of a goat but the body of a
strong man. The beast’s mouth opened and James could see blackness dripping
from its jaw. It cackled at him while slowly lowering him to the ground by the
large hand around his wrist.
“Sleep, James... Sleep.” The voice rolled out softly from
the mouth of the beast as James’ vision blurred and his head fell backwards
with his eyes closed. When he became conscious again Shernine and Bart were
both leaning over him. Bart appeared worried while Shernine seemed simply
intrigued. He tried to take a breath but found it difficult to get air into his
lungs.
“Good. You’re okay.” Bart sighed.
“Have any dreams?” Shernine pressed while maintaining a
slight grin. There was a hint of concern in his voice. James took a moment
before he felt strong enough to respond.
“No… I don’t remember.” Shernine nodded in response.
“What happened to Michael?”
“Good question, that thing got us too.” Shernine answered as
he pointed to himself and Bart. Bart seemed unhappy that he was susceptible to
the attack; he was frustrated by his inability to ward off the intense fatigue
that befell them. With the help of Bart, James made it to his feet. He rolled
his right shoulder; it still felt sore.
“You have any idea where he is?”
“Bart, hand me that seeing stone I gave you.”
“They must be too far off for any noticeable change; it’s
totally dark.”
“Not totally, remember, my eyes do not see as your eyes do.”
Shernine grabbed the stone from Bart and carefully peered into its dark colors.
He turned his head to his right, south, and huffed. “It’s taking him south,
maybe back to the pines.” James suddenly remembered he had seen the old man
from the fight the previous night on top of the cave with them. He was simply
standing there, as if waiting with the monster.
“The old man… he was here before I fell asleep.”
“Borhevan.” Bart said as he looked to the ground.
“That’s good. Better than the pines at least. I don’t know
what that old man has been up to, but at least we know where they’re going.”
“What is he planning to do with Michael?” James asked; he
was worried they may not make it to him in time.
“I assume he wants that curse broken free. Killing Michael
won’t do it, so don’t worry. But we should get there quick, I have no idea what
he has planned.”
“How did I get incapacitated?”
“I, as well.” Bart added.
“I’m not sure. We all lost consciousness. I assume its ability
is unique to that demon. It can also effect time, so we need to be alert from
this point on.” Bart shook his head and sighed. He knew it was faster than they
were. Not only that, it had a serious head start. Michael could be dead by the
time they even arrived. Shernine could sense he was feeling uneasy.
“Let’s get moving; if we can catch them in time there should
be no problem. Now that I’ve had some experience with him I think I can keep
the demon at bay, at least long enough to save Michael, but we must hurry.”
Shernine leapt down and ran into the cave. Bart and James climbed down the
rocks around them to avoid injuring themselves from the seleven foot drop. They
quickly packed up their things and mounted the horses. Michaels horse ran along
with them as them pushed as quickly as possible through the woods. It was still
muddy from the rain but their movement was significantly swifter than the
previous day. Lunch was skipped again much to the dismay of James and Bart but
they realized that it was necessary.
------------
None of the areas they passed seemed familiar as the
landscape had been changed dramatically by the rain. Many branches lined the
paths and patches of sky could be seen through the trees. They pushed the
horses as hard as they could. The trees whirled by them as they briskly swept
through the forest. James felt very weak as his head bobbed up and down with
the spine of the horse. He was still struggling from the effects of the
previous night. James feared for Michael’s safety; whatever this monster was it
had powers well beyond the curse that had enveloped him with the dice. As they
neared Borhevan clouds began to form in the sky again and the air grew humid.
They could hear thunder clashing in the distance. Bart turned to Shernine.
“Rain again?” Shernine shook his head.
“Not this time. That demon is trying to cloak itself from
us, but it may play to our advantage. Try to relax and we may be able to cloak
ourselves” Bart nodded at the reply and continued to push his horse forward.
Warm winds wept around them the closer they made it to Borhevan. James wondered
how he was supposed to remain calm given the circumstances. His heart was
pounding just thinking of seeing the demon again. But without the constant rain
and flooding they were making much better time. Most of the return journey had
been downhill. The distance they managed to travel the previous day was made up
in only a few hours. Shernine continued to push forward: however, determined to
reach the city before the monster.
Shernine stopped his horse in a clearing just above the
suburb north of Borhevan. It was getting late enough the gate of the city had
closed. Lights were shining from the windows below, though some were already
closing their shutters. Shernine pulled the stone from his pocket and looked
into its darkness. A faint yellow glow echoed from deep within the rock. They
were inside Borhevan already, but Shernine was glad they hadn’t gone in the
pine forest. As Shernine could see only into space, he noticed the sun had
focused on the forest, unable to locate the curse. He looked behind himself.
Bart’s and James’ horses were now coming out of the woods. He wasn’t sure how
much longer the horses were going to make it. Bart looked at him sternly and
nodded.
The three of them charged down the hill. To their right they
noticed a tornado strike down into the pine woods. The Sun had the wrong
target, but at least he was preventing any other beasts from crawling out of
that place. They managed to make it to the town in a matter of minutes. The
horses cantered along the path trying to catch a breath as they road south
towards the city. Doors and windows were shut on either side of them as people
prepared for the oncoming storm. Shernine’s heart sank realizing what might
happen if something went wrong and the demon escaped. Its presence was noticeably
disturbing the villagers; he could sense their fear.
Approaching the gate, Shernine dismounted his horse and
knocked loudly on the small door left of the gate. A guard opened a small,
eyelevel window and cocked his head as he looked down at Shernine’s clothes. An
eyebrow rose when he saw Shernine hadn’t even been wearing proper shoes in the
cold. The guard assumed he was on drugs.
“State your business.” He managed to utter, his voice
reflected his confusion.
“Travelers.”
“Hah, I’ve never seen a traveler from a northern territory
dressed like that. Be honest or you’re not getting in here.” Shernine rolled
his eyes and pointed to the hinges on the door. The nails fell from the wood in
succession clanging against the stones below. The door seen feel forward with a
thud before Shernine slowly walked over it into the doorway. The soldier,
shocked, drew his sword and hesitantly pointed it at him. Shernine reached out
and touched the sword gently. The weight seemed to increase in the guard’s grip
until he finally released it sending it bouncing off the floor. He raised his
hands and stepped back against the wall behind him.
“Okay…” he stuttered. “Come on in, just don’t kill me if
that’s okay.” Shernine chuckled as he lifted up the man’s sword and tapped him underneath
his chin with the broad side. Avoiding the blade the soldier lifted his gaze
towards him.
“I need you to tell me something.”
“Sure.” He rolled as
he pressed the back of his head against the wall. “Not sure if I know anything
worth knowing.” He added.
“Did you happen to let an old man through these gates,
presumably a couple of hours ago? He would have had a younger man with him,
asleep.” Shernine spoke quickly.
“My station started only a few minutes ago.”
“Lying is bad.” He pressed the blade forward, barely poking
his neck as he pressed his head back against the wall.
“Hang on!” Another voice called out from the room. There was
another guard standing in the corner looking shocked. He raised a shaking hand
as if to be called on by Shernine. Shernine turned to him without letting the sword
go.
“I saw an old man. He had a boy on a horse, but he appeared
to be sick or unconscious.” Bart stomped over to where the guard was standing.
He leaned his head toward his him as the guard shrank backward.
“What did they say to you?”
