Content Warning: Coarse language

It was not quite morning yet when Astatine jolted awake.  Although it had already been cold before they fell asleep on the temple floor, there was an eerie chill that shook him to the core.  He looked up.  A ghostly face stared down at him.  Multiple ghostly faces actually.  They wore pale gossamer robes that flowed with the wind.  Like their faces, their limbs were translucent.  They were wraiths.

“Shit!” he cried.  “Eskil, wake up!”

Eskil stirred underneath Astatine's cloak.  He opened his bluish-gray eyes and gasped.

The wraiths opened their mouths and emitted a sound that was an amalgamation of a hiss and a shriek.

“The undead army?” Eskil asked.

“No, they look different.  Fewer bones.”

“What should we do?”

“Dunno.  They could have killed us in our sleep but they haven’t.  Maybe they want something?”

One of the wraiths extended a translucent bony finger and pointed at Eskil.  Eskil's eyes widened.  

Astatine’s brows furrowed and he wrapped his arms protectively around Eskil.  “Don’t you dare lay a hand on him!”  Eskil’s breath hitched.

The wraiths opened their mouths again and blew out a cloud of mist.  The mist swept through the entire temple.  Astatine lifted Eskil from the floor and helped him stand.

“Shit, it’s hard to see anything now,” Astatine said.  “Stay close to me.”  He wrapped his arms more tightly around Eskil.  Eskil trembled and clutched his dragon’s egg.  The sounds of the wraiths seemed to come from all directions.  It was disorienting.

“What the fuck do you all want?” Astatine demanded.

“Despair…” the wraiths whispered.

“Despair?  What the hell?”

“There is no goddess left…”

“Huh?”

“Only despair…”

“Astatine,” Eskil whispered.  “Do they think we destroyed the temple?”

“Ah shit,” Astatine cursed.  “Hey!  It wasn’t us!  We didn’t wreck your temple!  It was the other soldiers.  We’re just staying here because it was too late to keep traveling.”

“When there is no goddess, there is only despair…”

Astatine frowned.  He did not want to waste time with a bunch of wraiths who spoke so cryptically.

“Do you want us to leave?” he asked.  “We’ll get out of here, if that’s all you want.  It’s almost morning anyway.”

“Despair…”

“Argh, can’t you say anything else?”  He turned to Eskil.  “Come on, let’s just go.  If they make a fuss, then we’ll fight back.”  He grabbed Eskil's hand and led him through the mist.  Eskil clutched the egg with his other hand.

As the mist began to thin, they could see the outline of the temple’s entrance.  They walked towards it and were about to exit when a wraith suddenly flew in front of Eskil and snatched the egg from his hand.

“No!” Eskil cried.

The wraith flew into the air, clutching the egg in its translucent bony fingers.  It was joined by the other wraiths.

“Oh hell no!” Astatine shouted.  “Fucking thief!”  He leapt into the air and unsheathed his daggers.

“Astatine, be careful!” Eskil called out.  “Don’t break the egg!”

Astatine grit his teeth.  He waved his hand and disappeared in a curl of smoke, reappearing before the egg-snatching wraith.  He grabbed the egg back and was about to teleport away when another wraith plunged his translucent hand into Astatine’s chest and clenched his heart with a vice-like grip.  Astatine gasped as he felt his heart stop.  He plummeted through the air and crashed onto the ground.

“Astatine!” Eskil cried.  He sprinted over to Astatine's motionless body.  Astatine's hazel eyes were wide with shock and he had stopped breathing.  Eskil placed his trembling hands on Astatine's chest and could not feel any pulsation.  “No!”  He pressed down on Astatine's  chest and his eyes glowed an electric blue.  “Come back!”  His palms illuminated and he channeled a surge of healing magic into Astatine’s body.  Astatine’s body convulsed and erupted in spasms of coughing.

“Astatine,” Eskil whispered.  “You’re okay…”

Astatine looked up at him.  His vision was still hazy and his chest heaved up and down with erratic breaths.

The wraiths descended from the air.  One of them had grabbed the egg in mid-air before Astatine fell to the ground.  He clutched it in his bony fingers.

“Please,” Eskil said to the wraith.  “Can we have it back?  We won’t fight you anymore.”

“Despair…” the wraith replied, clutching the egg tighter.

“Please,” Eskil begged.  “It’s very important to me.”  He felt terrible that Astatine had gotten hurt trying to get it back for him.  “We’ll leave you alone after this.  Can we please just have it back?”

“Despair!” the wraith hissed.  He held the egg above his head.  

“No!” Eskil gasped.

The wraith threw the egg on the ground and placed his translucent skeletal feet over it.  Fine cracks began to form on the smooth shell.

“Don’t!” Eskil begged.  “Please don’t!”

The wraith lifted his foot high above the egg and brought it down with a crushing force.  The shell shattered into many pieces and scattered into the dust.

Eskil screamed.  The sound was so ear-piercing that Astatine nearly jumped, even though he was still lying down.  After Eskil’s scream died down, he made a sound like a wounded animal.  He stumbled over to the broken egg shell and ran his hands through the shards.  Tears ran down his cheeks.  As he dug through the dirt, he noticed something even more shocking.  At the center of all the shards was a collection of tiny bones.  It was shaped like a lizard, but had extra thin bones protruding from its spine.  His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

It was the skeleton of the unborn baby dragon.  It had been dead the whole time.

Eskil broke into a sob and held the fragile skeleton in his hands.  All the dreams he had about watching the dragon hatch and raising it were now shattered.

“Despair…” the wraiths hissed in unison, as if they were taunting him.

Eskil’s eyes flashed with rage and he screamed again.  Lightning spiraled around him and shot up skywards. The wraiths were struck by the bolts and shrieked.  They disintegrated into thin air.

“Despair…” the word reverberated into the distance.

Eskil collapsed onto the ground, still clutching the dragon skeleton.  His hands were trembling.

“Eskil!” Astatine ran over to him.  “Are you all right?”

Eskil looked up at him, eyes wide.  Tears streamed down his cheeks.  “I…I lost control…”

“Hey, it’s all right,” Astatine said.  “At least you got rid of them.”

“I told them we wouldn’t fight them…and then I just did that…”

“Well, they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain either.  They broke your egg.”

“The dragon…” Eskil sobbed.  “It was dead this whole time.”

Astatine looked at the tiny skeleton in Eskil’s hands.  “Oh…shit…I’m so sorry…”

“I didn’t take good care of it…” Eskil’s voice shook.  “I tried to keep it warm and safe, but it wasn’t enough.”

“Hey,” Astatine’s voice softened.  “Don’t be so hard on yourself.  I mean, you were carrying that egg around for years and it wasn’t hatching.  Don’t you think that was a sign that it wasn’t meant to be?”

“I-I just wanted...to believe…”

Astatine put his arms around Eskil and held him close.  “Shhh, it’s all right.”  Eskil buried his face into Astatine’s robes and wept.

***

After Eskil calmed down, he decided to bury the egg shell pieces and the dragon skeleton.  There was no longer any point in carrying them around.  He dug a hole in the ground and arranged the egg shell pieces first.  Then he gently placed the dragon skeleton on top of the shell pieces and covered everything with dirt.  Clasping his hands together, he murmured some words in a language Astatine could not understand.

They quietly walked back to where they had left the horse last night.  It was munching on grass as if it had not a care in the world.  Astatine mounted the horse and pulled Eskil up.  Eskil wrapped his arms around Astatine’s waist and held on tighter than usual.  He rested his head on Astatine’s back.

They rode on the rural road for hours.  Eskil usually didn’t talk much during these long horse rides, but he seemed even quieter now.  Astatine turned around a few times to make sure he was still awake.  Eskil’s eyes were open, but they were staring into the distance.

“Hey, do you want to stop somewhere?” Astatine asked.  “We haven’t actually eaten yet and there doesn’t seem to be a city anywhere in sight.  We might have to camp out in the wilderness if we don’t find something by nightfall.”

“Mm.”

Astatine frowned.  “Are you all right?”

“No.”

Astatine sighed.  “Okay, we’ll stop soon.  I’ll try to find a river so the horse can drink.”

There were many trees up ahead.  They were approaching another forest.  Astatine spotted something else in the distance.

“Hey, I think I see a building,” he said.  They went closer.  Nestled within a copse of trees was a small cottage with a stone well in front.  The cottage’s wooden walls were worn with age and covered with patches of lichen.  Wildflowers dotted the grass.  A faded wooden bucket sat next to the well.

“Does anyone live there?” Astatine wondered aloud.  He pulled on the reins until the horse stopped.  He dismounted and helped Eskil down.  He walked up to the door and knocked.  No sound came from the inside.  He opened the door and looked in.

Similar to the abandoned cottage they found before, there was a thick layer of dust and cobwebs in the corners.  This cottage had more furniture than the previous one.

“Wonder why we keep finding these abandoned places,” Astatine said.  “Where did all the people go?”

Astatine entered the cottage with Eskil following behind him.  There was a fireplace in the back with a cooking pot hanging over old charred logs.  A bed frame stood in the corner with a mattress and dusty sheets.  At the opposite corner was a small kitchen and dining table with chairs.

“We could just stay here tonight,” Astatine said.  “I don’t think we’ll find anything else for hours.”  Eskil nodded silently.

“You’re not feeling ill, are you?” Astatine asked.  “You healed me earlier when that wraith made my heart stop and then you did all that lightning magic.  Maybe you’re low on energy now?”

“Mm.  I just want to sleep…”

“Oh…hang in there.  You should eat and drink something first.”

“Just want to lie down.”

Astatine frowned.  He went over to the bed, took the sheet off, and shook it.  A cloud of dust emerged and he coughed.  He placed the sheet back on the mattress.  “This thing needs washing, but it’ll do for now.”  Eskil walked over and lowered himself onto the mattress.  “Hey, you don’t want to eat first?”

“Tired…”

“Um…okay…” Astatine took out his water flask and one of the bread rolls from the inn in Orkent.  It had become stale but he did not have anything else at the moment.  “Do you mind if I…feed you?”

“Mm.  Go ahead.”

Astatine broke the roll in half and placed it in Eskil’s hand.  When Eskil didn’t move, he took the half roll back and placed it up against Eskil’s mouth.  Eskil opened his mouth and bit down on the bread slowly.

“You’re really that tired, huh?” Astatine said.  “We can stay here for a while so you can rest.  I doubt the owners are coming back.”  Eskil swallowed the bread.  “Do you want water?”  Eskil nodded.

Astatine took the cap off his flask.  He placed one hand under Eskil’s head and lifted it up.  He put the flask near Eskil’s lips.  Eskil opened his mouth and Astatine tipped the bottom of the flask upward so the water would run down.  The liquid soothed Eskil's parched throat and he coughed.  Water dribbled down his chin.  Astatine put the flask on the floor and wiped Eskil’s chin with his fingers.

Hmm, this is like that dream I had with little prince, he thought.

Eskil closed his eyes.  Astatine lowered Eskil’s head back down on the mattress.  He gazed over him and sighed.  He looks so fragile right now.

Astatine sat on the floor and leaned his head against the mattress.  He ate the other half of the roll and took a sip from his flask.  He heard soft breathing behind him and turned.  Eskil had fallen asleep.

***

When Eskil woke up, it was already dark.  There was a flame roaring away in the fireplace.  He saw Astatine stir the cooking pot above the fire.  He got off the bed and slowly approached him.

“Hey, you’re awake!” Astatine said.  “Just in time.  I caught a squirrel and I’m making stew.  Don’t worry, I cleaned the pot before I started cooking.”

“Mm, how long was I asleep?”

“Pretty much half the day.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t worry about it.  Just rest up and eat.  I think this should be done.”

There were two empty bowls on the ground.  Astatine took one and ladled squirrel stew into it.  He handed it to Eskil.

“Thank you,” Eskil said as he took the bowl.  He blew on the soup and took a sip.  “It’s good.”

Astatine ladled soup into his own bowl.  “You’re welcome.  I’m not much of a cook, but I can get by.”

Eskil slowly drank the rest of the soup and placed the bowl on the floor.  He drew his knees up and rested his head on them.  He stared at the flame.  It danced on the logs like a wild spirit.

“Are you still sad about losing the dragon’s egg?” Astatine asked.

“Mm.”

“It’s okay, I know what it feels like to be really attached to something.”

Eskil turned to him.  “What were you attached to?”

“Um…” Astatine hesitated.  “It’s a little hard to explain…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me if you’d rather not.”  Eskil returned his gaze to the flame.  An awkward silence hung in the air.

“Astatine,” Eskil said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“I think the egg represented a connection to my past since it was the only thing I took from home.”

“Oh?”

“My lute too, but that’s not a living thing.  Well, neither was the egg, as we found out today.”

“I see.”

Eskil sighed.  “Astatine, you know how you used to ask me about my past and where I came from?”

“Yes.  I’m sorry that I was prying so much.”

“It’s okay.  I think…”

Astatine turned to look at him.

“I think I want to tell you now.”