Taras blinked open his eyes. Faint light filtered through the gaps in the leaves from above. How long had it been since he had passed out? Looking over at Minerva, he saw she still asleep as well, her chest rising and falling in rhythmic motions.
Taras sat up. He looked at the pile of ash that was once his master, teacher, and perhaps, his replacement father. Well, he was there no longer, his soul long departed. Therefore, a grave would be useless, he thought despairingly. He kicked the ash, sending clumps everywhere and creating a small cloud. A small chunk of steel from his armor was also kicked aside. Taras looked closer. It was a small clasp for a fastening belt, most likely from his chainmail. It had a crest of some sort of sea creature on it.
He hurriedly opened his pocket, bring out the seals he had been given. It matched the smaller, bronze one. Actually, last night he had never given them a once-over. He looked closer again. The larger one was silver, and bore the crest of what looked to be a bear, along with four items behind it. The only one he could recognize though, was the form of a dagger. He thought about it for a moment, his mind drifting to that story. “No, it couldn’t be,” he contemplated out loud.
He put the two seals, and for some reason, the belt clasp back into his pocket. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. They had no supplies, and most likely couldn’t go back the way they came.
Finding some unused branches from the night before, along with cloth torn from his vest and shirt, he managed to painstakingly make a brace for his broken arm. Or at least he assumed it was. Thankfully the only two things he had to carry were Minerva and the small rune-bag. He gently cradled her in one arm, the bag now in his pants pocket.
******
His mouth felt unbearably dry. No food and only a small amount of water left…it had been almost two days since he had set out with Minerva in tow. Taras thought that if he would just walk in a straight line that he would reach the end of the forest somehow. No such luck. There was a heavy fog in some places, and once he came out on the other side, he would lose his bearings. He had decided to mark his way by using a sharp stone to cut grooves in trees along the way, but that only showed he was going around in circles.
Taras sat down, laying his sister against a tree. Dribbling the remains of the waterskin down Minerva’s throat, he thought of the sand storm he had experienced when he was young. This was not even a fraction as horrible as then. He went on.
******
Maybe it was, he thought. His vision hazy, his head wanted to split in two, and he felt nauseous as well. He would have thrown up if he had had anything in his stomach. Minerva’s body crashed into the soft ground as Taras collapsed from exhaustion. It was worse at this point, than the sandstorm years ago. Then he didn’t know whether he was going to die or not. But this time it was certain. His throat was dry and cracked, and he looked up enviously at the trees, with their roots reaching down in the depths to gain access to underground springs. They seemed to laugh back at them, jeering at his misfortune. Their shapes whipped out and around the edges of his failing vision, like a group of wolves ganging up on a goat; Their trunks contorted into gaping faces. Suddenly, before him, the trees separated as if afraid of something. In came what could only be described as demonic. A creature with the upper body of a woman, along with cloven hooves, meandered toward him. Every time she stepped; tongues of fire would spread across the forest floor. The once laughing trees screamed, their voices fading into the fiery inferno reaching up into the starry heavens. Though, what stood out the most to Taras was the creature’s billowing white hair, along with eyes like red-hot coals. It smiled at him, and then opening its mouth of sharp teeth, its breath came out as blue flames, whipping the raging firestorm into a white, glowing tower. The light seared into his eyes, but just as quickly faded to black.
******
A woman stood over two collapsed humans in the misty forest. Pushing her ivory hair out of her face, she sighed deeply. Kneeling on the soft forest floor, she quickly searched the boy’s pockets. Her eyes widened at the two seals, but she returned them when she found what she was looking for. Holding a small, orange orb in the palm of her hand, she let out another sigh, this time of relief. So, he had kept it safe, she thought, smiling.
“Uuuuuh.”
The woman jumped.
“Unngh.”
The woman then looked over to the left of her and the boy. The other human, a girl, lay on the ground. The girl’s face was gaunt, her eyes bloodshot. Drool came out of her mouth as she tried to make a sound. She looked directly at the woman as if wanting to talk, but she could only groan like an undead. In fact, the woman surmised, she would be an undead within the next few hours if something wasn’t done. The woman walked over, standing over the struggling girl.
“Since the boy did me a favor, I’m in a generous mood today. Your brain is badly damaged. I suspect I know who did it too. So along with feeling generous, I also acknowledge that my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”
Plus it was the sin of my own kind, she thought to herself. She bent down; her face close to the girl’s.
“You won’t last much longer. I can heal you if you want, but there may be some side effects. Do you want to continue with the boy, or die here?
******
A girl stood on a vast plain. Cracks in the earth filled with flowing magma surrounded her. Dark, almost black clouds hung overhead. The air crackled with electricity.
“You won’t last much longer.” A faint voice caught her ear.
“I can heal you, but there may be side effects.”
The girl looked around for the source of the voice, but all she could see was windswept rocks along with lava
“Do you want to continue with the boy? Or die here?”
The girl couldn’t remember what had happened, but death? What was wrong with her? Wait, she couldn’t remember who she was either.
The wind picked up, blowing hot air and dust into her face.
“Do you want to continue with the boy?” the voice echoed.
What boy? What did the voice mean by continue? She curled into a ball on the ground, shielding her face with two hands. She just wanted to be with her big brother…wait…her big brother? Did she have one? She thought to herself. Then the voice continued.
“It seems like he really cared for you, he walked all this way with you being unable to move. He’s on the verge of death because of that, because he cares for you so much. He must be a wonderful older sibling. He would probably be sad if you leave him alone…I will give you a little bit to decide…I know you can hear me by the way, so give a sign when you choose.”
Ahh. The ‘boy’ must be her brother… Her kind brother…she knew he was so…even if she couldn’t remember how…she wanted to stay with him…
“Time’s up.” The voice sounded.
The girl felt the presence of the voice slowly disappear. NO, she couldn’t let it get away… Rising from her spot, she battled the hot gusts all the way to the edge of a chasm.
“I AGREE! I AGREE! LET ME BE WITH MY BIG BROTHER!” She screamed as loud as she could.
“I’ll take that as a yes…” the voice faded away. The air crackled once more, this time hundreds of thousands of bolts of lightning swallowed the terrain, and the magma rose to meet them, creating massive explosions…A bolt came upon the girl straight from above, and searing hot pain enveloped her whole body as she fell down into the molten rock below.
******
The “woman” finished, wrapping the dripping cut on her arm just as the girl on the ground started convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
“Hey, hey…don’t spit it back out, that stuff is precious ya ’know, and I gave you nearly a gallon…Ah well you probably can’t hear me anymore anyway…I forgot to mention how it would be painful…but the state you’re in you probably lost consciousness pretty quick…” she knelt down again, holding the small girl’s mouth closed until she stopped seizing.
The woman then took out a canteen, walking over the boy. She poured some water down his throat, making sure it went down right.
She was gone as soon as she had come. Though, as she was leaving, she noticed another fleeting figure out of the corner of her eye, watching her from a distance.
“I leave them to you, Forest Witch…”
