A sphere of immaculate rite. Although Harlam disagreed with the Everstone’s title, he couldn’t deny that there was power within it to give credibility to whoever coined the label. Instead of ambiguous phrases like that, however, Harlam preferred a more direct approach. He could say it was perfectly round and felt smooth to the touch, but the surface hid many bumps and deformities. Though there were a few bumps, he couldn’t say it was rough. Harlam could feel the stone’s imperfections, but his hand glided across the surface as smoothly as it would when stroking the sleekness of a snail’s slime. His hand even felt moist after setting the thing down. It was somehow both sleek and smooth while being coarse and unrefined. A curious contradiction.
The stone was one of the only possessions Harlam still owned. It gave him comfort holding it, knowing that it wasn’t in anyone else's hands. He won it fair and square after all, so everyone that said it didn’t belong to him could eat a chunk of red coal. The thought of anyone else snatching it sent a shiver along his spine.
A branch cracked nearby. Harlam jumped and looked in the direction the sound came from. Right behind him. Everstone clenched in his fists, heart pounding against his chest, he waited for the arrival of whatever snapped the twig.
Leaves rustled. More twigs and branches snapped. A Qrowbit bounced into view from behind a tree and scratched an ear with its massive feet. Its jet-black fur was matted to its skin, wet from rainfall the day prior. When it finished scratching itself, it yawned through its stony beak and hopped along, ignoring Harlam entirely.
He wasn’t too surprised it didn’t notice him. He was holding the Everstone after all. Harlam relaxed his fists and stared at the stone for a few more seconds. It rolled along his palm and nearly fell from the edges of his hands. He cuffed it back into his fist then placed it into the sturdy leather patch attached to his hogskin belt.
The sounds of the forest quieted. It had been raining most of the day, but the downpour stopped hours ago. Still, Harlam remained under his shelter just in case it poured full force once again. When he proved to be worrying for nothing as no rain fell, he exited the tent and took his dagger and bag with him. He removed the tent’s supports and folded it sloppily yet tight enough to latch onto his bag without wasting space. Looking up in the sky, Harlam could tell evening was just upon him. The sun had already begun setting westward, the sky turning more yellow and orange as time passed.
With everything now in order and packed, Harlam looked at his trusty map. The map depicted the entire continent of Yenevear. Split between five countries–all of them hating one another for various unremarkable reasons–Yenevear persisted despite the world seemingly wanting the continent to burn. Currently, Harlam found himself in Teffer, the country furthest south of Yenevear. The forest he rested in was the Yellowbark Rainforest, the largest forest in Yenevear and second largest in the world.
As the name suggested, the trees’ bark was colored a bright yellow. The younger and healthier the tree, the shinier the bark. Some even bordered on glowing pure gold. It was that very reason why yellowbark trees sold a fortune. At least the younger ones did, and it would need to be covered in a clear plastic to keep the coloring fresh. The moment a tree’s cut down, the yellow would immediately show signs of fading. The longer it took to apply the plastic to contain the golden shimmer the less value the wood would sell for.
Harlam’s destination was just one town away. He’d been on this journey for nearly a year. Crossing the country and running from threats day and night just to reach his end goal. All he’d need to do is go into the next town, stay for the night, then leave the following day. Then it’d take another hour to get to where he needed to be. From there, he honestly didn’t know what would happen.
Still, despite the unknown future of his journey, he smiled. His goal was within reach. He could practically feel its breath caressing his neck. Just a bit longer and he’d get everything he wanted.
Harlam trekked further into the forest, the nearby town just a few hours away. By the time he got there, there’d be stars in the sky and chill in the air. Wind swayed the tree’s leaves and branches. The thick smell of moist air dug into his nose. The smell of rain was so strong that it forced a sneeze out of him. He rubbed at his nose, and unfortunately, with his sinuses a bit more vacant, he could smell the humidity with even more clarity. Fortunately for him, he could smell something he couldn’t moments ago.
Harlam jumped behind a tree and peeked around the corner. He could smell it but just barely. It was the scent of an ewlbear. They’re known for their smell which heavily resembled the scent of rotting corpses. Since the smell was just barely present, Harlam could assume that it wasn’t nearby. However, it was close enough for his nose to pick up and that was too close for many. Not even the power of the Everstone could hide him from its wrath.
The smell gradually grew stronger. Not good. Harlam removed his dagger from its sheath, but such a puny weapon couldn’t do much against the beast. The dagger really only provided false comfort.
There. The sound of a large foot stomping onto the forest floor. Breaking branches and scattering leaves with every step. There wasn’t much reason for it to stalk silently like most predators. Its immense strength and speed could outmatch anything in its habitat.
Harlam took a deep breath and dared himself to peek out from behind the tree and find the predator. Reluctantly, he did so and spotted it almost instantly. The ewlbear walked into an open space between four trees. It sniffed at the air with its white blood-stained fur waving in the wind. Reeking of death, the bear looked for more prey to add to its ever-enlarging body count.
Ewlbears would roll around in their food before eating. Blood and gore would mix in with its fur, turning its white coat red. They would do it in order to lure in scavengers that feasted on the corpses of long-dead animals. The scavenger would smell death and chase towards it only to get mauled by the ewlbear. An unfortunate fate for an animal that only wanted to avoid starvation. Because of the ewlbear’s massive strength, it didn’t need to worry about stronger predators approaching.
Harlam’s plan was short and simple. Run. Run and don’t look back. However, the bear’s snout was so precise that it could bypass its own stench and sniff out prey from half a mile away. Once it locked onto its prey, nothing could stop the barreling wall of mass from chasing its target down. All the prey could do was curse their Gods for putting them in the situation, to begin with.
With the ewlbear being so close, Harlam doubted it had no idea he was nearby. It was merely trying to find out why it could smell him but not detect him. If Harlam walked out in front of the ewlbear, it wouldn’t see him. That was thanks to the first ability of the Everstone. It could hide him from the eyesight of any living organism. It’s a passive ability that’s granted to the bearer of the Everstone. However, just because he was invisible to the eyes of the living didn’t mean that he wasn’t present. Touch, taste, smell, and sound. He could be found out from all the other senses, and the ewlbear was sniffing him out.
The ewlbear couldn’t see him but it could smell him. That contradiction put it on edge. Harlam could use that to get a head start. Anything that happened after his escape would lie in the hands of luck’s discrimination.
Harlam tightened his legs and took a deep breath. He dashed in the direction of the town, the ewlbear turning its head toward his scent. Harlam was quick on his feet. His slim build was fit for a runner instead of a fighter. He wouldn’t risk death by getting into fights, so instead of strengthening his arms, he kept his legs in top shape. Thanks to his training and the year of constant movement he had to endure, his initial burst of speed put some distance between him and the beast.
That didn’t mean much to the hulking monster. It roared, and the vibrations from its roar shook the trees around it. Leaves broke off branches and drifted to the ground. The tree’s shaking reminded him of the Hymnia people’s instruments where they would shake around a stick filled with broken animal bones to create sound.
The ewlbear didn’t know what Harlam was, but it knew where to find him. The chase was on. The ewlbear ran after Harlam, closing the distance in mere seconds. Harlam hoped that he could have stuck in the lead for longer, but it looked like hope wasn’t going to be enough. He’d have to draw out every tool he had to get away from the beast, though he hated to do so. He grabbed the pouch containing the Everstone and clutched it tight. The second ability of the Everstone needed it to be held directly to be of any effect.
The ewlbear came closer, its jaw hanging open and tongue flapping wildly about, saliva droplets flying off the tongue, creating a wet trail behind them. Harlam could smell the stench of death growing more potent the closer the beast came. He wanted to release the power right away, but it wouldn’t work unless the ewlbear was close enough to attack. He just needed to run until it lunged at him.
A few seconds passed and the ewlbear saw its opportunity. It roared and leaped, claws sharp and extended toward Harlam’s spine. All or nothing. One of them wasn’t making it out of this forest.
Harlam shouted and dragged a fingernail along the Everstone. The ability activated. A small spherical barrier surrounded Harlam on all sides. The ewlbear’s claws touched the barrier only slightly, but slightly was enough. Upon contact, the barrier glowed a bright white. Harlam shielded his eyes from the flash. He wasn’t immune to it just because he activated the barrier. He made the mistake of leaving his eyes open once and had to stay in an inn for three days until he could see again. Even when his eyes fully healed, he couldn’t see as far off as he used to. The flash had permanently damaged his eyes.
The light faded away after five seconds. Harlam uncovered his eyes, the barrier long gone. He looked behind him and saw what he had expected. The ewlbear lay on the ground, dead. Its body covered in blood seeping from every orifice. A pool of the crimson liquid quickly formed beneath the beast, drawing in smaller animals and insects to feast on the corpse.
Harlam let loose a long-held breath and walked away. The second ability of the Everstone was the barrier. It had two primary effects. First off, it would unleash an invisible miasma around it that forcefully placed fear of the Everstone user in every living thing in its radius. Secondly, if the barrier were to be attacked, it would unleash the light and then something happened which led to the deaths of the attacker. Harlam wasn’t sure what, but he swore something moved in the light. He caught a brief glimpse of whatever it was that one time he kept his eyes open, but the image quickly faded the moment he went blind for three days.
There were a few drawbacks to the barrier despite its strength. For one, it could only be used against one attacker. The moment someone attacked it, the light appeared and the barrier vanished. The attacker would die, but if it were a two-on-one scenario, and the second person reacted quickly enough and shielded their eyes, Harlam would still have to deal with the second attacker. The barrier only lasted a minute, so if the attacker didn’t directly strike the barrier and waited out the miasma, he could freely strike at Harlam once the barrier disappeared. That wouldn’t be so bad if he could instantly resummon the barrier, but he had to wait for the amount of time equivalent to how long he kept it out. In the worst-case scenario, he wouldn’t have the barrier for a full minute.
With the ewlbear taken care of Harlam shouldn’t find as many issues further down the line. At least that’s what he hoped. Sighing, he left the ewlbear’s corpse behind and headed toward the town.
