The sound of birds floated all around Targ. Leaves and grass crunched beneath him as he recovered from his shock, and a small branch stabbed between his shoulder blades as he struggled up to a sitting position. He could hear Gailen and Alena off to his right, stirring as well. There seemed to be no signs of shadows or pixies, as Targ scanned the area quickly. In fact, the forest itself had changed around. Rather than the clearing they had been only seconds ago, he now sat in the thick of the forest.
"Where the hell are we?" Gailen mumbled.
As if on cue, Alena answered. "I'm...not sure."
"Did your Mahote do this?"
Alena paused a moment, giving Gailen a look of scathing disbelief. "Gailen, who else do you think did this? It seems quite obvious to me."
"I'm asking because I didn't hear you tell them to do it."
"I didn't." She responded absently. "Or, at least, I don't think I did."
"So guys..." Targ interrupted, "I take it we're not in the same place anymore?"
If the look Alena had given Gailen was unpleasant, the look she gave Targ was positively withering. She sighed after a moment. "No, Targ, look around you. Does it seem like the same place?"
"Well, after everything I've been through, I thought it safe to ask-just in case."
Alena rolled her eyes, and wondered aloud where her Mahote were.
"They're gone, Alena. Didn't your Sage teach you about that?"
"About what?" She asked.
"If you aren't awake to maintain them, they can't exist." He replied, "Without the storyteller, there is no story."
"I thought I had read something like that...are you sure, Gailen?"
Now it was Gailen's turn to give Alena an incredulous stare. She chose to ignore it, however, and turned to head toward Targ.
"Let me help you up." She said, offering him a hand. "Are you feeling better? Can you walk?"
"I think I can." Targ responded with a nod. "My legs feel stiff, though, hopefully they won't cramp."
"We can take it easy, Targ." She said, "I don't think they are anywhere around."
"What makes you say that?" interrupted Gailen. "Did your Mahote tell you that? Maybe they told you where to go next, as well?"
Alena turned back to Gailen, and placed her hands on her hips. "If they were nearby, I daresay we would be dead now." She said coldly. "As to where we should go, the Council seems like a good place, since our Sages were taking us there anyway."
Gailen took a step back as she advanced on him, and Targ couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. This proved to be a mistake, as it brought Alena's stare back at himself.
"Yeah, yeah, Council...sounds good to me." Targ quickly responded.
"Okay, the Council it is, then." Gailen said with a smile, before looking over to Alena expectantly. "Any ideas how to get there, Alena?"
"We're halfway there, we can just follow the Old Road the rest of the way."
Targ glanced at Gailen, and shared a shrug.
"Which way do we go, then?" Targ asked.
"The Council is at Baydeep, Targ, which is South and East. It's right on the coast." She answered, shading her eyes with her hand to get a better view through the forest canopy. After a moment, she pointed in a direction. "Based on where the sun is, I say we go that way."
"Alright, but I will lead the way in Feral." Gailen said.
"What do you mean, 'Feral'?" Targ asked.
Gailen answered only with a wolfish grin, and his brown eyes flickered suddenly to gold.
Alena recoiled in disgust. "I thought you knew Sages do not use stories on themselves! It's like a perversion."
"First, none of us are Sages, we're apprentices. Second, it's not a perversion. I've used this story since I was a child-its how the Sages discovered I had the talent in the first place." Gailen responded curtly. "Besides, with the Feral story, I will have better hearing, smell, and sight. It will be much harder to sneak up on us."
"Very well." She replied coolly, "But I want you to talk to a Sage about it when we get to the council."
0000000000000000
Hours passed, and the sun was setting as the trio pressed on through the forest. Their speed was steadily slowing, as Targ's limp returned and the forest began to darken.
I wonder how much longer I can go on? Not much... He frowned softly. Maybe we could take a break...
"Alena, this is ridiculous. I'm telling you we've been by this tree before." Gailen growled.
"Are you sure?" She whimpered, "they all look the same to me."
"Trust me, with Feral I can tell."
"Oh, very well. We're lost until the sun comes up!" She huffed, stomping her foot.
"So, now what?" Targ asked, as he slid against a tree to the ground. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he stretched out his legs and began to rub them.
"We need a defensible shelter for the night." Gailen replied, "Barring that, some place we can all hide to keep things from seeing us."
Targ laughed. "Oh that's easy, all we need is someone to point the way to one!"
A snap of a twig on the ground silenced the trio. Gailen turned and crouched with an audible growl. To Targ's surprise, an auburn skinned man dressed in crude tanned hides sewn together stood in the woods near them. Feathers stuck out of the pony tail in his hair, and as soon as he had their attention, he pointed off into the woods. Only a moment later, he dashed in that direction.
"What the hell was that?" Gailen growled.
"Don't you mean who?" Alena asked.
"Did he just point a finger in the direction he ran?" Targ cut in.
"I think he did..." Alena responded hesitantly. "Do you think we should follow?"
"No!" Gailen barked, "We don't know who he is!"
"Well, he's not one of 'Them'," she responded.
"Yeah, but did you see how he was dressed?" Gailen asked, "Who dresses like that?"
"I've read about clans in the North that wear animal hides for warmth."
"This isn't the North, Alena. I don't like it, and how did he sneak up on my Feral?"
"The way I see it," Targ said, "We can sit here in the forest and do nothing, or we can follow him and see where he leads us."
"I vote to follow." Alena responded.
"I'm with you." Targ said as he pulled himself up with the aid of the tree.
"Fine. I think I can track him, but be ready to run if I say so." Gailen followed after the stranger without another word. Minutes passed as the three of them attempted to catch up to their new guide, and once or twice Gailen caught glimpses of him. The elusive stranger never stayed visible long enough for Targ or Alena to spot a thing.
Suspicion that they might have lost their guide was just beginning to creep into Targ's thoughts when Gailen came to a stop.
"What is it?" Alena whispered.
"The trail ends here." Gailen said.
Targ glanced around in the dark. Strange shapes transformed into hulking brutes in his minds eye, turning every shadow into a potential enemy. Stop being silly...they're just trees and bushes.
"Wait a minute." Gailen whispered. "Stay put."
Targ watched as Gailen disappeared in the shadows, as if they had simply swallowed the man whole. The entire idea of it made Targ want to bolt for it, but as his legs tensed, the pain reminded him that this was one trap he wasn't going to be able to run away from.
"Okay, guys, there's a village right over here." Gailen said, as he reappeared out of the darkness, and Targ nearly gave a shout of surprise at his suddenness.
"A what?" Alena asked.
"A village, or at least what looks like one."
"What do you mean 'looks like one'?" Targ asked, recovering.
"Just come and see." Gailen replied, turning and heading back into the darkness.
Alena looked at Targ and seemed to take stock in him. "Are you all right? Can you make it a bit more?"
"Yeah." Targ responded. "Maybe there's an Inn there. I sure could use a bed and food."
Alena smiled. "We all could."
"Are you two coming?" Gailen called out from the darkness.
Alena glanced in Gailen's direction, then back to Targ. "Come on, I'll help if you need it."
"I can make it, Alena."
After the short rest and then this break, Targ's legs were starting to feel a bit better. The trees only continued a short distance before they opened into a large clearing. In the center of it, Targ could make out the dark forms of dozens of small houses and buildings. It seemed like a village to him, but as far as he could see there were no lights anywhere, and the silence was much too complete for any village.
"What do you think?" Gailen queried.
"I think they're all dead." Targ answered.
"No, I went up to the edge of the village. I would have smelled death if they were dead. It's simply deserted."
"Are you sure, Gailen?" Alena asked.
"My Feral nose does not lie, Alena."
"I say we move on." Targ said with a frown.
"It's safe, I tell you." Gailen insisted. "Trust me, there's shelter and who knows, maybe even rats or birds that I can catch so we can eat."
Alena scrunched her nose at his latter sentence. "Very well...but Gailen, you've been Feral too long. Rats, for pity's sake?"
"Then it is settled." Gailen said resolutely, and headed into the silent village.
Comments (0)
See all