Over the next day Eliza soon found that Luna wasn’t the most chatty traveling companion. They had walked all night and all morning, with frequent breaks due to Eliza’s foot, and Luna never brought up a topic, or even answered Eliza in anything longer than a single sentence. Often her answers were just grunts or other random sounds. The only thing Eliza had learned from Luna was that they were walking towards Brushby, a small village near the edge of the forest on the Roudmarkian side. The silence was otherwise enough to drive anyone insane with boredom. Eliza would have also really liked a distraction from the pain of moving, since the scenery didn’t change much. It was just tree-trunks and brushes. Sometimes a squirrel scampered up a tree, or a fox dashed across the road, but those were the most exciting events. In the end Eliza just found herself asking more and more questions on random nonsensical topics, until Luna snapped at her.
“Will you be quiet!” she exclaimed. “I’m trying to concentrate on the road ahead so we don’t fall in a trap, or are ambushed. If you’re bored, why don’t you keep an eye behind us in case Keron is following us?”
That shut Eliza up, and she began to shoot frequent looks at the road behind them, in terror of last night’s assailant returning to finish the job. She also tried to listen for odd sounds, but all she heard was that loud chirping which had been charming at first, but now it was just obnoxious.
----------------------------------------
As she was walking, looking more behind her than ahead, she bumped right into Luna’s back. Due to the breastplate, it was like walking straight into an iron wall.
“Sshh…” Luna motioned for Eliza to be quiet and stand still. She stood there listening for a bit, then began whistling. It sounded much like birdsong, though a bit more shrill and piercing. Luna appeared to listen for something, then Eliza heard rustling in the bushes, as a group of about a dozen men came wading out.
“See, I told you it was Luna.” a guy with a shaved head said to a huge, broad shouldered man walking beside him. Eliza looked nervously around at the men as they encircled them, but Luna smiled and cried:
“Brom, you big oaf! You scared me! I thought we might have run into Kirk’s men!” She walked over to the man with the broad shoulders and shook his hand vigorously. Luna was quite tall, but as she stood beside Brom she would have looked almost small, if only the men beside Brom hadn't been about her size or shorter.
“We didn’t think we would see you here.” Brom said. “We thought you would accompany Keron back from that 'oh so important' job of his.” He then looked behind her at Eliza. “I see the aforementioned job didn’t go to plan. Where’s Keron?”
“Ah, about that…” Luna said, shifting her feet. “I might have knocked him out and left him behind.”
Brom sighed and massaged his temples.
“I know Keron can be rash, and that this job was a bit.. how should I put it… unsavory, but that doesn’t justify infighting. Well, it is what it is... We’ll have to go get him then. How bad was it?”
“He was unconscious for at least a few hours, but I left him food and water.”
“He’d better be alive for your own sake, Luna.” Brom said. His voice was a deep and menacing growl, as he stared down at her.
“He will be.” Luna stated quickly.
“And what of that?” Brom asked while gesturing at Eliza.
“I’m going to get her out of our hair, and she has paid me good coin to bring her to safety.”
“I see. You know the rules, out of every penny earned, half goes to the group. Since you’ve also harmed a family member, you can give three parts of the money she gave you.” Brom ordered.
“What?!” Luna exclaimed. “That’s not the traditional punishment!”
“I’m aware, but you’re not going home any time soon, I gather from your little escort mission, so I’ll punish you now.”
Luna grumbled some protests, but complied, and handed Brom the bigger part of the money Eliza had given her. He nodded, apparently satisfied with the amount.
“Good.” Brom said. “I’ll send a message up and down the road to leave you alone, so as long as Kirk doesn’t want a fight, he’ll stay away.” Brom patted Luna’s shoulder. "I'll see you at home whenever you're done." Then he shouted for everyone to come along, and so the group disappeared back into the forest as quickly as they had appeared. Through it all Eliza had just stood there, stunned, not just by the sudden appearance of what looked like heavily armed bandits, but also by a specific one of its members. This specific man had skin in a hue that bordered on green, with sharp pointy teeth. He had been leaning casually on a longspear in his left hand, while whispering things to the shaved guy next to him. He had noticed Eliza gawking and rolled his eyes at her. Eliza had never seen anyone like him, and hadn’t been able to tear her eyes away until he was gone, and even then she continued to stare at the place he had been.
Luna turned to her.
“Well, that was a big help. We should have no trouble with bandits at least, unless Kirk is as big of a fool as he looks.”
Eliza snapped out of it and shook her head.
“Who were they? Who is Kirk?” Eliza asked, as Luna began to walk.
“They were some close family members, and let’s just call Kirk an estranged cousin.”
“You say family, but what do you mean by that? Aren’t you just in the same gang?”
“That would be a gross simplification.” Luna corrected. “But this isn’t what you should be worrying about. You should worry about walking for the next two days at least.”
Eliza saw that as an attempt to close the topic, and let it lie. She didn’t dare ask about the green-skinned man. Maybe it had been a trick of the light? The light here was rather green. But the others had looked normal to her eyes, and those pointy teeth were no trick. Maybe he sharpened them? Thoughts of this man occupied her thoughts for a good many hours as they walked, giving her that welcome distraction from the pain she had previously craved.
----------------------------------------
They walked in silence for hours, until it was time to camp. Luna made Eliza sit on a fallen tree trunk in a small inlet on the roadside. It was clear that people had camped here before, since a fireplace had been clearly marked by a circle of rocks, though a few weeds had begun to grow through the ashes, so it probably wasn’t a recent thing. Luna gathered some dry wood and lit a fire. Then she looked through their provisions.
“I don’t think this is going to be enough for a few days…” she said, before grabbing some thin rope from her pack and walking towards the forest.
“I’ll set up some snares a while away. It might be an hour or so. You can cook in the meantime, and if a wild animal comes, scare it away with fire.” Then she walked into the forest before Eliza could intervene to tell Luna that she couldn’t cook. Eliza shrugged. Well, as long as she didn’t put in anything weird, it should at least be edible, and so she heated up some water from their waterskins, and began to throw in random things that looked like they could be eaten together. They had some jerky and some carrots from Luna’s pack, but there was also some cheese and jam from her own satchel. It all went in the pot. She liked cheese and jerky together, cheese with jam also tasted good, and carrots were often in stew. So that combination should work. Probably.
As she had said, Luna returned after about an hour when the sun had begun to set, and the forest was slowly turning dark. At that point Eliza had just been stirring the pot of jerky, carrot, jam, and cheese for about forty minutes, because she didn’t know what else to do. Luna looked in the pot.
“What’s that? Some Tyrwald recipe?”
Eliza shook her head while looking down into the pot.
“I have no idea what this is. I’ve never cooked in my life.”
Luna cocked an eyebrow and sat.
“Well, maybe you’re a natural. Let's try it.” Luna then took out two small wooden bowls that she handed to Eliza who filled them both. When Eliza put the first spoonful in her mouth, she realized she wasn’t a natural. The water tasted mostly of water and a little of jam, the cheese was melted but hadn’t mixed with the water, the jerky just tasted like wet jerky, and the carrots weren’t cooked at all.
“Well…” Luna said after her first bite. “You really are a natural. Naturally shit at cooking.”
Eliza laughed.
“I suppose it could be worse. I could have added poisonous mushrooms.”
“At least then the food would put me out of my misery.” Luna joked, as she continued to shovel in food. “But I’m definitely cooking from now on.”
“You really don’t have to eat it. It’s disgusting.” Eliza said apologetically.
“I absolutely have to eat it, and you do too. We have limited food, and while going a few days without food won’t kill us, it will weaken and slow us. You also need energy for recovery.”
Eliza nodded. She had eaten food that wasn’t to her taste before, but never gross food. It was certainly an experience.
“I shall probably be asked to cook at the monastery. Maybe luck will strike and they chase me out after eating my terrible food.”
Luna laughed. It was the first time Eliza had heard it. It was a deep and hearty laugh, like a hot soup on a winter’s eve, which somehow contrasted Luna’s cool and crude persona. But Eliza supposed Luna had a caring side from the way she had helped her.
“Won’t you tell me more about yourself?” Eliza asked, leaning towards Luna. “I am ever so curious about you. It can just be some superficial things, if you wish.”
Luna stopped laughing, then sighed in reluctance.
“I suppose. You’ve been asking about me all day, and if it buys me some peace, so be it. What do you want to know?”
Eliza didn’t really know if she agreed with her having asked questions all day, but she didn’t argue.
“Great, then let’s see, something superficial… hmm… How old are you? Your face looks young, but the gray hair is a little misleading, so I can't really tell.”
Luna smiled in an odd way.
“Well, I’m definitely younger than I look.”
Eliza nodded sarcastically.
“That tells me all I need to know. It really nails it down to something specific. Different question then. What’s your favorite…” Eliza looked around for inspiration. “...food?”
“Rabbit.” Luna said.
"Right. Any specific type of rabbit? Maybe in a stew or a roast?"
"Just rabbit". Luna said again, this time in a curt tone
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“You really don’t seem into this. Is talking about yourself with me so distasteful? I merely wish to get to know you”
“It’s not that…” Luna replied. “I just don’t talk about myself in general. Nothing personal. Besides, you’re a customer. I don’t owe you my life story.”
“I see…” Eliza said, putting on her polite smile. “My apologies, it seems my curiosity got the better of me and made me discourteous. I should sleep anyhow, so it’s probably for the best.” She wrapped herself in her blanket and laid down. Luna got up and walked over to her, then placed a thick branch under her sprained ankle.
“You should place your foot on this while you sleep. Holding it up will help it heal.”
“I truly do not understand you Luna. You treat me coldly one moment, then warmly the next.” Eliza said as she looked up at her.
“Maybe I’m supposed to stay a mystery.” Luna answered with a slight smile.
“Only if you remain determined to be one. But I really should sleep, and you probably should as well. None of us slept much last night.”
“Don’t worry.” Luna said. “I’ll make sure to get as much as I need. Now just worry about yourself.”
“As you wish…” It didn’t take long for Eliza to drift away. The last thing she remembered before slumber took her, was Luna humming a quiet tune.
----------------------------------------
Eliza woke early the next morning, shivering from the cold. It hadn’t rained, but the dew had been enough to soak her to the bone, and a mosquito had left a bite on her cheek, which itched incessantly. It wasn’t exactly light out yet, but Eliza could see a few things. The fire had burned out, and Luna was leaned up against the fallen trunk beside her, fast asleep. Eliza sat up, and instantly groaned from the pain. Her muscles ached, and her back was sore from lying on the hard ground all night. She thought that it was amazing she had slept at all. She pushed herself closer to the firepit, rummaging through the ashes with a stick to find embers, then added some tinder to get a fire going. As she did, she noticed a faint glow under a bush only a few feet away from their camp. Eliza added a few small sticks to the weak flame, and slowly crawled over to have a look. Under the bush, she found a small sapling, no more than an inch tall, with two small crescent shaped leaves growing from the top. It glowed faintly silver.
“It’s a sickle tree.” Luna said from behind her. “Also known as crescent leaf.”
Eliza looked back. Luna hadn’t moved, but was looking at her from a distance.
“I’ve heard of those. They are supposed to be cursed and bring bad luck. At least our local vicar says so.” Eliza commented.
“They are definitely mysterious and magical plants.” Luna answered. “The church usually cuts them down or burns them whenever they are found. Now they pretty much only grow in any significant number here in the forest.”
“It’s beautiful…” Eliza whispered, as she looked at the sapling.
“You should see a fully grown one then. They aren’t the biggest trees, but the glow is quite enchanting.”
“You’ve seen one?” Eliza exclaimed. “That’s incredible. Is it far? Could we go there now?”
Luna looked taken aback.
“I don’t think you could make the trip.” Luna said, gesturing to Eliza’s swollen foot.
“Oh, I had forgotten for a moment.” She was disappointed. “I suppose just walking to the monastery will be difficult enough without also trekking through a forest.”
“Maybe next time, yeah?” Luna said, without really looking for an answer.
Eliza just nodded, knowing that after she reached the monastery, she would likely never leave it again.
----------------------------------------
The rest of the morning was spent in relative silence. Luna went to look at her snares, as well as refill their waterskins, and came back with a hare that she skinned and cooked immediately. They each ate a leg for breakfast, but the rest was saved for later. Eliza had spent that time working on her walking stick, so she could place it in her armpit, making the whole process of moving less taxing. She had never worked with wood before, but she succeeded somewhat, though the stick was a tad too tall for her. Luna fixed that by taking a bit off the end with the dagger she had “borrowed” from Keron. Then they stomped out the embers of the fire and were off.
Luna still preferred to walk in silence, listening to the birdsong around her to discern enemies or allies, but at times, when Luna felt safe, they would exchange some words about the weather, the scenery, or the names of certain plants and trees. The conversations never lasted more than a few sentences, but it was more than yesterday. Besides, Luna seemed willing to talk whenever they rested, so Eliza didn’t feel quite as rejected as she had before.
----------------------------------------
That night Eliza got Luna to chat a little about herself. Nothing major, but she found out that Luna and her family lived in the forest for the most part, but sometimes traveled outside it to sell or buy things they needed and couldn’t produce or steal.
“Have you traveled far then?” Eliza asked as they were sat by the fire that next night.
“Not really. Just to the settlements near the forest, and normally I'm never alone like this. People aren’t exactly welcoming to a mudskin like me, and being a woman in armour doesn’t help.”
Mudskin. Eliza knew that word to describe people with dark or brown skin tones, and never in a flattering manner, though it was far from the most offensive slur she had heard. Eliza never really thought much of it before, since she had never herself encountered someone who might be called as such.
“I suppose I shall do the talking when we get out of the forest then. People aren’t usually crass around nobility, so I don’t think you will need to endure too much unpleasantness.”
“I suppose…” Luna muttered in an unconvinced tone, which marked the end of that conversation.
They ate the rest of the hare, and Eliza fell asleep first in front of the fire. This time, when she woke the next day, Luna was awake and tending to the fire. Eliza asked if she had slept at all, but Luna just said that she had slept enough, and soon they set off again.
----------------------------------------
That day went much like the day before, but even though Luna didn’t talk much more than she had previously, Eliza never felt like Luna was annoyed at her for talking. When they set up camp that night Luna said:
“This is probably the last night outside. Tomorrow we should reach Brushby at around dusk. It’s a pretty small village, but it sees a lot of traffic, so there is a decently sized inn.”
“Perfect,” Eliza sighed happily. “I could really use a bath and some clean clothes.”
“I expect noble ladies aren’t used to dirt.”
“We definitely have less experience with it, yes.” Eliza smiled.
They sat for a while in the firelight, drinking the last of Luna’s tea leaves. Eliza had learned to enjoy just sitting in silence, listening to the rustling of leaves in the wind, the skittering of small critters through the underbrush, and the birdsong which slowly turned to hooting owls and the flapping of batwings. She always tried not to look into the forest at night though. It turned black as pitch, and sometimes it felt like the darkness would suck you into a strange world not your own, just like it was tonight. The light danced across the brush at the forest’s edge, and then she heard it. “Crack!” a branch was broken nearby, then a loud rustle was heard. Luna gripped her sword scanning the brush, while Eliza tensed up. She saw it before Luna, as its head slowly emerged from the brush. It looked like the face of an emaciated bear, with eyes that glinted orange and sickly yellow in the firelight. She couldn’t see the body clearly in the dark, but it was more than two meters tall. It just stood there, completely still, looking at them. Eliza was on the verge of panic.
“Luna…” She whispered, pointing at it.
Luna nodded.
“I see it.”
“What should we do? Run?” Eliza tried to get up slowly, but Luna gripped her arm tightly before she could.
“No, we should act like it isn’t there.” She said calmly.
“What?” Eliza whispered, her body going stiff. “Why?”
“It’s a Bugge.” Luna explained.
The bear-like creature began to bare its fangs, now staring only at Eliza. The sharp teeth were shades of ochre, but some were more brown and looked to be rotting.
“It can sense your fear. Eliza, you need to calm down, it’s just trying to scare you.”
Eliza couldn’t tear her eyes away, scared that if she did, the creature would lunge. She could already feel its rotten breath on her face as if it had come to rip out her throat.
“Eliza…” Luna said softly. “It’s not dangerous. Bugges just enjoy frightening people. it will continue to harass you if it thinks you’re fun.”
It didn’t help. Eliza was transfixed, as its long tongue slowly lolled out between rotting fangs. Luna gripped Eliza’s face, and forcefully turned it towards herself.
“Don’t look at it, just look at me.”
Eliza almost instinctively tried to turn her eyes back towards the creature, but Luna covered them swiftly with a hand, and pulled her closer.
“Just listen to my voice then.” she whispered. “It’s just a trickster, a fairy of mischief. It will leave if it finds us boring. Breathe in deeply… And breathe out…”
Eliza did as she was told, trying to get her shivering under control, but then she heard more loud rustling in the brush, like something large was coming closer to them.
“Now, it sees me trying to help you by covering your eyes and calming you. It’s coming around to the other side where it can reach you, to try and rile you up more.”
Eliza almost lashed out at Luna to make her let go so she could run, but Luna gripped her tightly.
“You need to stay still, no matter what. Remember, breathe…”
Eliza could hear a low growl right behind her. She began to feel warm, foul breath tickling her neck, and Eliza spasmed at the sense. Luna began to hum a low tune while stroking Eliza’s hair, still covering her eyes. Eliza’s breath stuttered, but she inhaled and exhaled slowly. The she heard loud thumps, as something big walked into camp. It sniffed around, then she felt it sniffing her hands and arms, then her face. She almost vomited from a mixture of fear and disgust, but forced herself to slowly exhale instead. Then there was a loud snort followed by the snapping of branches, as the creature slowly thumped out through the brush once more. Eliza tried to break free so she could get her bearings, but Luna didn’t let go.
“Stay down. It might try to startle us next.”
Eliza tensed up to prevent herself from jerking or jumping, should she be overwhelmed by fear. And sure enough, after Eliza’s muscles had begun to ache from holding the tension too long, the brush cracked loudly behind them, then an otherworldly howl sounded from mere feet away. Eliza balled up in Luna’s grip and endured, but Luna stayed unmoved and motionless as a marble pillar. Then it was over. The creature left into the dark. Eliza began to hyperventilate and thrashed around for proper air. Luna held her as she slowly calmed down, humming and stroking her hair.
That night Eliza barely slept. First it took her ages to regain some semblance of composure, and whenever she closed her eyes, the picture of the bugge peering out from the brush haunted her mind. When finally she did sleep, she saw nightmares of Keron with the bugge’s bear-like features stabbing her repeatedly in the chest before she jerked awake, bathed in sweat despite the cold night air. Luna didn’t seem to sleep at all that night, since everytime Eliza woke, she was sitting right across from her, staring into the fire. Still, the night eventually passed, and Eliza finally felt the fear leave her body as the first rays of sun were sifted into dim green forest light by the dense foliage above.
----------------------------------------
Eliza was uncharacteristically quiet that entire day, as her eyes darted nervously between the trees, but she never saw signs of the bugge or all the other frightening creatures she now imagined to be watching her every second. She now remembered that she had heard of bugges before, though her parents had called them bugbears. They followed naughty little children who had entered the forest alone, and frightened them. The thought that these creatures were real had never really crossed her mind, and she had never really cared to be honest. At least until now. Now she cared deeply.
“Luna, are bugges really harmless?” she asked, as she found it difficult to imagine a creature like that as peaceful.
“Hmm, in essence, yes.” Luna answered. “But it’s not uncommon for people to get hurt as a result of their constant harassment. Sometimes they chase people through the forest until they are lost or fall, sometimes they scare horses which either run away or kick those around them, and other times people faint or die of fright.”
“That doesn’t sound harmless…” Eliza commented.
“I guess not, but bugges really don’t intend harm. They’re just like children who jump out from behind a corner or hide beneath beds to frighten their parents. They just find it fun.”
Eliza looked at Luna in disbelief.
“That looked more like a monster than a child.”
Luna looked at her in a way that made Eliza feel somewhat bad about her statement, but when she answered Luna didn’t sound angry or even sad.
“I suppose that’s a reasonable reaction. Bugges exist to frighten people. It could be said that fear is what defines them. Every part of their appearance, every sound and smell they produce, is there to instill fear.”
“You say that as if they can change the way they appear.”
“Not quite, but every bugge looks different. However, most forest ones look like some twisted version of a predatory animal. They all act much like our friend from yesterday evening though. Easy to recognize that way.”
“I see…” Eliza mumbled while looking at the forest. There was so much she didn’t know about the world and all the horrible things in it. She supposed she would be safe from bugges and the like at the monastery. The church absolutely despised all fey, so even if one appeared she would be well protected, especially as a noble. Her stomach tightened and churned. Maybe the food from yesterday had been off?
----------------------------------------
That evening the pair finally stepped out of the forest, just as the sun had begun to set in the east, and ahead of them thin pillars of smoke rose lazily towards the blushing sky from behind rolling hills.
“Brushby should be straight ahead.” Luna said, and continued down the road. Eliza looked back at the forest. Even though she had spent a week there, it still looked mysterious as ever. She turned, and continued to walk with Luna towards the village.
----------------------------------------
The Road So Far
The Road So Far [https://i.imgur.com/Pm7UlSQ.png]
The trip has gone from Egelhoch Manor in the nation of Tyrwald, through the Fathomless Forest, and on to the small village of Brushby in the nation of Roudmark.