I woke up and had to blink my blurry eyes several times in the dim light of the clearing. Once I could finally see, I saw Franz pacing impatiently behind Liz. Liz for her part, looked to be drawing something in the sticky clay, all the while doing her best to ignore the dwarf. I could just barely make out Franz muttering something in a language that I didn’t understand.
Gilana was the only one who was unchanged since I had fallen asleep, so she was still seated by Kiyara’s side. Gilana was combing the elf’s hair and paid no attention to the other two. Having finally had enough of the dwarf and his distracting behaviour, Liz growled.
“Will you please stop?!” She glared at the dwarf.
“What?” Franz snapped back.
“If you can’t stay still and keep your mouth shut, please. Go somewhere else!” Liz spoke angrily and got back to whatever she was doing. Franz looked almost ready to explode but Gilana forestalled him.
“I understand Franz, but you are not making things better.” Gilana said tiredly.
“You too?..” Franz looked at Gilana then he took a deep breath. “I just hate this, all of it!” Franz walked away from Liz and plopped himself down and took a swig from his flask. “Just standing around and laying our hopes at the feet of some child we just met is just insanity!”
“I’m NOT a child!” Liz growled. “And I would like to remind you that you CHOOSE to stay. I didn’t force you.”
“What choice?!” Franz growled at her. “Leave a friend behind or hope that some child can ward off abominations?” Franz laughed mockingly. “Maybe you ‘clergy’ will leave your comrades behind at the drop of a hat, but don’t think I’m anything like you.” Franz snorted and Liz ground her teeth.
I almost wanted to pretend that I was still sleeping, but my seated sleeping position couldn’t be described as comfortable even as an exaggeration. “At least I’m not cold…” I thought and was thankful for whoever had placed my blanked around my shoulders as I slept. “Also Franz is being an arse.”
“You know, I can’t believe that I’m the one saying this. But for the love of god, could you stop whining Franz?” I stretched and was unable to let out a half groan/whimper as I attempted to straighten my abused back.
The others just looked at me shocked. They had not even been aware that I was awake and my words hadn’t been something they had expected. To be fair, I can’t remember ever speaking so harshly to anyone before. “I suppose that everyone has a breaking point… even I.” I thought bitterly as I tried to move my aching body.
The blanket fell off my shoulders as I clumsily got to my feet. I forced my body through some familiar stretches and winced every time I tried to move a new muscle. I did this while ignoring the looks I got from the others and when my body eventually felt like it was at least slightly responsive to me, I looked up and noticed Liz still drawing something in the dirt while snickering. Franz was glaring at her angrily and huffed when I gave him a flat look.
“I was not whining.” Franz said in a hushed voice.
“Yes you were.” I said and gave him a look. “If you argue or disagree with someone who is working on something without working yourself, or even giving any constructive feedback, it will only come off as whining.” I walked over on unsteady legs to the amused looking Gilana and pulled out one of the remaining water skins and some rations. “Here, I’m guessing you haven’t eaten anything.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at me. “We did lose access to our supplies so I’m a bit famished.”
“Eh… umm… yeah. Sorry about that.” I blushed a bit and Gilana laughed. A rather normal moment passed between us as Gilana laughed at me, but we were sadly not in a position were we could indulge in such things for long. “How is Kiyara?” I asked cautiously.
“She will recover.” Gilana said with utmost confidence. “She is strong.” She looked down and petted the elf’s hair gently. I nodded and walked over to Liz.
I was both curious about what she was doing and wondering if there was anything that I could do to help. I quickly realized that whatever she was doing, it was well outside of my limited knowledge.
Flowing interconnected script spanned around almost the entire clearing at this point. I was honestly extremely impressed by how flawlessly Liz had drawn the beautiful and complex script. I crouched down and tried to see if there were any symbols I could understand.
There was a simple answer to my question ‘NO’. It looked almost like Sanskrit, but upside down and written in a way where the pen (or in this case dagger) never left the paper (mud). It was extraordinary, no questions about it.
“Can you read Celestial script?” Liz asked without looking away from her work.
“No, not at all.” I said and stood back up with a grunt. “I’m turning into an old man.” I thought with amusement. “But it is similar to Sanskrit from back home. Although I’m hardly well versed in Sanskrit either so I might be misremembering things.” I thought back, but I had only ever seen Sanskrit in passing during religion studies in school, so I might well be misremembering it. “Still, your writing is truly beautiful. I’m glad if I can make my name legible in writing.” I chuckled as I looked at what must have been at least 10 meters of perfect script.
“Eh… um, thank you…” Liz stammered shyly. “Uh… what?” I looked over at Gilana not understanding Liz’s reaction.
The look Gilana gave me was both judgemental and harsh. “What the fuck? What kind of damn bear trap did I stick my foot into now?” I looked over at Franz who snorted.
“Human’s and their strange ways…” Franz shook his head. “I’m going to collect some firewood.” He added and just walked off muttering. “PLEASE EXPLAIN BEFORE YOU LEAVE!” I screamed internally.
“Um, you see Victor.” Liz spoke slowly. “High script such as this Celestial script, is considered an extension of the soul…” Liz trailed off, embarrassed.
“Basically, you just said that the Priestess had a beautiful soul.” Gilana said flatly.
“Oh, um…” I trailed off, they made it sound like I had some massive cultural blunder but I figured it wasn’t that bad so I said as much. “I mean, that was not what I meant… but, if you are capable of devoting your life to something greater than yourself and don’t shirk hard work. Especially if that hard work is for others, then I don’t regret my words even with your interpretation.”
Gilana gave me a disgusted look and Liz was silent. When I looked over at the Priestess she was blushing furiously and Gilana muttered ‘pedo’ under her breath.
“I’m not a child.” Liz said a bit less forcefully than when she had been speaking to Franz. “I’m fifteen. I came of age half a year ago.” Liz said with a pout. I didn’t want to tell her that fifteen in my world meant that you were very much a child so I changed the topic by clearing my throat.
“I forgot to ask, is there anything I can help out with?”
“No, the ritual needs to be very precise so there is no way you can assist me with this. But we will need a lot of firewood for the night so if you could collect some that would be great.” Liz said without looking up from her work.
“Didn’t Franz go to collect firewood?” I thought for a moment then consented and trudged off to try and find some reasonably dry firewood.
***
When Victor left a rather oppressive silence came descended on the clearing. Gilana sat by the still motionless Kiyara’s side and Liz toiled away steadily with her ritual. Gilana looked at the young girl with mixed emotions as she worked. After a few moments she was unable to stay silent anymore.
“Will you make it in time?” Gilana asked, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.
“I will.” Liz responded curtly. Gilana really did not like leaving her fate in the hands of another. Even more so when it was one of the clergy, and a child at that. So she had to fight hard to keep her cool.
“Will it work?” She asked, trying to sound unconcerned.
“I have done it before.” Liz said and paused for a brief moment as she looked off into the darkness. “Every clergy is required to not only set up and maintain this barrier for a full night to even attain their rank.” She sighed and got back to work. “Still, that trial is done under supervision and after a full day of rest.” She glanced over tiredly at Gilana. “In other words, I have done this only once before, in the safety of the church and with a full day of rest before… So, if it will work? Yes. It will work. Will it last for the full night? I can’t tell. I am exhausted from all the healing you four have put me through and that is before I had to carve out the ritual.”
Liz stopped talking after that and focused on her work. Gilana looked at her small back and bit her lip. Had her leg not been so badly damaged, they could easily have made it back to town before nightfall. However with Victor’s condition, along with her own injuries and Kiyara’s. She knew that it would have been impossible to get back to Yallow before nightfall. She knew it, but that did not mean that she liked it.
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Gilana looked up at the cloudy sky and judged that they had about a half hour of ‘daytime’ left. She was trembling slightly, and she hugged herself. She had never been outside at night since that day. She had not only avoided wilderness outside the cities, but she had even avoided going out of whatever inn the group had been staying at.
Now, without the solid walls of a city, without the comfort of a warm bed, without even a ceiling above her head, she would have to face the night once more. She was starting to slowly fall into panic.
“We will be fine.” Liz said and stood with a groan that was unbefitting of her tender age. “Amoria will see us through.” She spoke with such conviction that Gilana couldn’t help but pay attention to the young Priestess as she tried to relax her back that was aching after two hours of scribbling in the dirt on all fours. “I’m a ranked Priestess of Amoria and her Champion is here. Even if an abomination should appear we will make it through.” Liz might have looked tired and bedraggled in her filthy robes but her voice was filled with confidence. Looking at her Gilana could not help but laugh, mostly at how pathetic she was acting.
“Had my younger self seen me now, she would have been ashamed and would likely even have cursed me.” Gilana laughed with more than a little self loathing.
***
When I returned with far less firewood then I believe that my effort should have been rewarded with, I saw that Liz had once more disappeared into my bedroll and Gilana was standing awkwardly while peering into the darkness.
“Are you sure you should be up?” I asked Gilana and dumped the firewood on to the pile that Franz had made.
“Probably not.” Gilana said bitterly and rubbed her leg. “But I simply couldn’t keep sitting around any longer.” I nodded at her and looked around for Franz. I found him building a small fire pit close to the centre of the clearing.
I walked over to the dwarf and was about to speak when the dwarf beat me to it.
“You know…” He said placing the last stone and taking a deep breath. “I never imagined that I would be in a situation like this again…” Franz’s voice sounded tired and a bit hollow.
“Are you referring to that other time?” I asked without mentioning any specifics.
“No.” He said and started stacking firewood in the pit. “When I was younger, we used to go patrol the borders during night time.” Franz’s gaze was distant. “Back then we would often find ourselves stranded in desolate and monster infested areas at night.” He peered at the shadows surrounding the clearing. “Back then, I was afraid of all the monsters that are said to be stalking the night, not to mention how terrifying I was at the mere thought of Alphas.” Franz chuckled. “But in time, I started to get used to it, then I got stronger and finally I got this armour.” He tapped his armour with his fingers. “Then one day, I had stopped fearing the night.” He sneered then. It was an expression solely directed at himself, his past self to be specific. “Not long after that the world taught me to fear the night once more…” There was a long pause in the conversation and there was a strained silence as we finished the fire pit.
I was sure that Gilana had been listening in but she stood away from us resolutely facing the deepening darkness. I was beginning to believe that Franz would not speak anymore when he grunted and began speaking once more.
“There were almost 40 people in the camp that night. 2 merchants, their 4 servants, 9 regular mercenaries, and three Guild groups including our Fortuitous.” Franz wore a sad expression and took a swig from his flask. “Back then there were six of us in Fortuitous. Me, Gil, Kiyara, Baren our leader, Kian an excellent archer and Hubert, the most inept healer you could ever ask for.” Franz smiled sadly at the memory. “Together with the other two parties our group could only have been described as overkill considering our mission… but, even then, you know the result.” Franz looked at me, his face an expressionless mask. “If an abomination shows up tonight and may the gods shield us from such a fate. You must run. Don’t stay behind like you did with that troll. Those things cannot compare to anything you have ever seen or even imagined. If the ‘girl’ is unable to keep it away all you can hope for is that the thing won’t choose to chase you.” Franz looked me dead in the eye with a hard expression until I nodded.
There were no conversations after that, only a hard, oppressive mood and the soft crackling of the fire. After what must have been an hour or so Liz got up. “I don’t understand how people are able to keep track of time without watches.” I grumbled in my mind as Liz took her place at the centre of the ritual circles next to the fire. She looked tired, but determined and I once more felt more than a little impressed by the young Priestess.
“I will begin the ritual now.” Liz said as she sat down cross legged. “This barrier will only keep abominations out and I can’t move while maintaining it. So, I will be in your hands if anything else appears.” She said and gave a short seated bow to Franz who snorted but nodded. “Okay, here I go.”
Liz took a deep breath and then began to sing a hymn in a language that sounded extremely familiar to me. Yet, I was unable to put my finger on it and my mind started to feel both oddly clear and distant as I listened to the beautiful song.
I felt like I was standing solidly within a dream and in but a few moments, all of the script had begun shining with silvery green light and as I watched a thin transparent film rose from the script to form a dome around us. It was a truly magical experience by any definition of the word.
I could not help myself and spun around to be able to take in all of the majesty of the silvery dome. I was so lost in the moment that I did not notice the expressions the others made at my childlike actions. This was probably good for my mental health though.
The hours that followed were some of the worst in my life. They were filled with nerve-wracking silence that was only occasionally shattered by the crackling of the fire. I felt like I was going insane after only a short time, but the others had no interest in engaging me in conversation as they simply stood there, stock still. If I had not known better I would have believed that the two were statues, they were that preternaturally still and quiet.
I personally wanted nothing more than to drive away the silence with conversation, but was instead forced to stay silent as I watched the shadows of the trees dance in the firelight. But I suppose that even with the disturbing silence I shouldn’t have been complaining, even in my head. As without warning the silence was suddenly shattered and the disturbingly silent night was filled with noise.
Birds erupted into the distant night sky with cacophonous cawing and screeching. It was followed by the sound of snapping trees and a monstrous roar.
“Alpha.” Franz said softly and I felt sweat pour down my back. Then there was the sound of distant fighting between what must have been massive creatures, and they must have been massive since we could hear it from this far away.
The sounds did not last for long however and within a few moments a pained wail pierced the night and once it died out it was followed by a horrible and inhuman scream, filled with both joy and hatred.
“Fuck…” Franz breathed.
“No…” Gilana moaned and sank to her knees.
I shivered. Even at this distance I could feel the wrongness of the thing through its scream. It was a thing that did not belong even in this strange world and I fervently prayed that the thing would stay far away from us. But like with most prayers, mine was not answered.
Out in the darkness 'it' appeared. Its form was amorphous and huge. Its skin, if you could even call it that, was like an oily black film covering the veiny muscles. The thing moved almost noiselessly and had reached us far too soon in my opinion.
There was a heartbeat of absolute calmness before it was broken by the quiet sobs of Gilana and the creaking of metal as Franz squeezed his axe hard enough that the metal shaft began contorting. I was unconsciously holding my breath as I watched every move the thing made. Still I couldn’t see how or even when the thing had reached the barrier.
The thing was just suddenly next to the barrier, its fingers, uneven and grotesque extended towards the barrier as it drew closer. The face that pushed itself out of the disgusting body was like that of a human. Well, if said human had been horribly malformed.
The slow liquid movements of the thing as it closed in on the barrier was revolting and without even looking I could sense Gilana and Franz freeze up next to me. The thing's face twisted into a terrible mockery of a smile and Franz swore under his breath.
Then the thing reached out towards the barrier and the twisted smile widened on its distorted face. For a moment the wormlike fingers hovered just a few centimetres from the barrier, then slowly the thing touched the barrier with its malformed hand.
I heard a sharp intake behind me and turned to see Lizzandra with her eyes closed and with sweat beading at her forehead. She was taking deep breaths and focusing fully on the barrier. "Shit…" I could literally see the strain the barrier caused the tiny priestess, yet there was nothing I could do. I turned back and could hear a hissing sound as the thing pushed its squishy body against the barrier.
The thing's face distorted into displeasure as it failed to enter the barrier and then it pulled back. As it did, it left behind tiny globlike pieces of itself that sizzled on the barrier and released a sickly green smoke. The thing pulled back into darkness, melting into the murky forest perfectly. The inhuman pressure the thing had exuded only lessened somewhat even as it hid in the shadows.
“It is still out there.” I said to no one in particular as I tracked the thing while it circled the barrier from outside visual range. It took me a moment until I understood how I was able to accurately track something I was unable to see. It was actually Simon who somehow helped me track the thing with supernatural precision.
“Of course it is.” Lizzandra snorted. “It has marked us… Ughh…” The thing interrupted Lizzandra by slamming itself against the barrier. Lizzandra groaned and gritted her teeth. The almost shapeless body of the thing deformed around the barrier. Yet the face retained its shape as it pressed itself against the barrier. It almost looked like the most disturbing child imaginable as it peered into the barrier as if it was the window of a candy shop.
The thing did not pull back this time and the sizzling sound was far louder as the body of the thing enveloped a good third of the ten meter wide barrier. However, even with the effect the barrier had on it, the thing did not seem to care about the barrier this time. No, it was worse. This time, it just smiled a horrid and twisted smile that showed off perfectly white human teeth.
"Will the barrier hold?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the thing. I felt like those fish-like eyes looked back into mine and I felt revulsion unlike anything before. But I also felt a hatred for the thing, a deep, almost bottomless hatred that couldn’t possibly be my own. Yet, unlike with the witch, I did feel any sense of rejection towards the foreign emotion. No, if anything it fell right. Like my hatred for the thing was natural, as if I SHOULD hate this thing, just like this thing hated me, I should hate this thing with all of my being.
Hot rage burned in my chest and a sense of disappointment and shame welled up within me as I calmly concluded that I was not a match for this thing. “No, I’m not only not a match for this thing, I’m not even worth consideration at all for this thing.” I ground my teeth and for the first time, maybe ever, I felt a burning wish to become stronger, strong enough where I could rip this thing to shreds. It was an almost animalistic urge that I could feel being echoed from Simon as the two of us glared at the thing through my eyes.
I did not want to take my eyes off the thing even for a moment, but as I realised that Lizzandra had yet to respond to my question I forced myself to turn around to the now very pale priestess.
Lizzandra was sweating profusely and her breaths were turning ragged and shallow. "Fuck!" I screamed in my mind and walked over to Lizzandra. "Franz and Gilana won't be able to do anything…" I noted as I looked over at the kneeling and shaking Gilana and the frozen in place Franz.
"Lizzandra." I wanted to know what I could do, if anything. So I walked over to the Priestess. But she was starting to slump over as I made my way over to her so in alarm I reached towards her to at least keep her from collapsing. However as my hand touched the priestess tiny shoulder I felt something rush out of me and I collapsed to my knees. The world flashed silver and my ear began ringing like the bells of a cathedral.
I was conscious for another moment and the world swam around me, then I was embraced by the darkness. The last thing I remember was an inhuman scream of pain and rage.