On the evening of the second day of the voyage, Meyriv walked to the ship’s bow and looked out at the waves.
A new settlement in the north. Why? Something to do with Sanae’s captors, perhaps?
For the past few days he had begun to feel a growing ‘itch’ in his mind. He couldn’t discern the source.
I fear I'm forgetting something important...
Soft footsteps fell behind him.
A tall, muscular man was approaching.
Who is this, again? The first mate. Captain’s cousin. Quiet man…Can’t recall his name.
He reached over and placed a hand on Meyriv’s shoulder. Not in a friendly way.
“The Captain doesn’t like you.”
“Really? What gave it away?” Meyriv couldn’t resist the bait.
“Don’t get smart with me, land snake! I know your type.”
‘Land snake’? What kind of insult is that supposed to be?
Meyriv struggled to keep from laughing. He turned his chuckle into a cough and looked out at the waves again, resting his palms against the rail.
“Hmm, and what type is that, I wonder?” Meyriv said neutrally
The hand on his shoulder gripped like a vice. He could almost hear the proverbial steam coming out of the man’s ears.
The man whipped out a gutting-knife and deftly rested it on Meyriv’s wrist.
“The type that likes having two hands.”
Ooh, decent recovery. I’ll rate it a ‘6’. Meyriv kept up his mental commentary.
“Cute. But I bet you won’t.”
The grip on his shoulder loosened a bit.
“Huh?”
“I’m calling your bluff. You don’t actually intend to sever my hand. Your goal is to intimidate me a bit, encourage me to ‘behave’, et cetera.”
“I don’t know what you think this will prove—” He growled
“If you’re not bluffing, cut it off.” Meyriv challenged.
The grip tightened again, and the hand holding the knife twitched.
“Sounds like I understand your type a great deal more than you know mine. Allow me to demonstrate.” Meyriv said, and used his other hand to push down sharply on the knife’s handle.
The man gaped in disbelief, staring at the severed hand. He then looked back at his now-bloody knife.
“What…? Why would you?”
“See? Still think you understand?”
Meyriv grabbed a coil of rope and managed to tie it around his waist. He tied the other end to the rail and threw himself over the edge.
As he fell, he heard faint shouting from the ship.
He hit the frigid water and his lungs gasped from shock. He shook it off, then gave extra energy to the enchantments sustaining his body. His hand began to reform.
He waited a minute or two for the regeneration to complete before climbing back up the rope. His mind ached from straining the limits of his magic and his limbs trembled.
That little stunt was costly. But was it worth it? I think so.
He neared the rail. He could now make out a few voices.
The first mate was talking.
“—and then he leaped into the bloody water!”
He reached the rail and pulled himself up. The Captain had her back to him, but the First Mate and Sanae both saw him.
He waved with his freshly reformed hand.
Sanae simply sighed and rolled her eyes.
The first mate sputtered “The Captain forbade you to—”
“—Use magic on her ship. Was I on the ship just now?”
The Captain turned around. She looked only mildly surprised to see he had both hands firmly attached.
He hopped over the rail and began to squeeze the water out of his clothes.
She turned to walk away, then paused.
“Please clean up after yourself, passenger.” The captain said in an exasperated tone
“Huh? Oh.” Meyriv replied
Meyriv kicked his discarded hand off the deck and let it disappear into the waves.
---
The next day, they approached the settlement.
Sanae was talking to the Captain. They seemed to get along quite well.
“What sort of goods do they have to offer?”
“Besides money? They specialize in farming. Their crop selection is wide, and they often have fresh produce available, even out of season.
“How do they manage that?”
“They won’t tell me, and I know better than to pry. I’m sure it’s some sort of clever magic.”
The Captain looked up.
“Meyriv, would you be so kind as to accompany the party going to shore?”
“No.”
“It wasn’t a choice.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Then why phrase it as a question?”
“I prefer to be polite when I can.”
He sighed in resignation.
The dinghies bound for shore contained Sanae, Meyriv, The Captain, and four crewmates.
Meyriv stepped off the dock. The itching in his mind became stronger.
The crewmen strode by, carrying crates of wares from the ship.
He walked with the others through the settlement. Everything looked like a standard port town. Normal houses. Normal people. But he knew he was missing something.
In the marketplace, a few people stared at him. Some of the children pointed and whispered.
“There are more than a few people nearby. Yet no significant pain. That isn’t normal.”
A middle-aged man tapped his shoulder. “Excuse me.”
He turned around.
“The Messenger would like to speak with you.” The man nodded towards a small boy standing by his side. He appeared to be only seven or eight years old.
“Hi! You are the silver-eyed man?”
“What does it look like? Who’s messenger are you anyway?”
“Haha! She said you might be grumpy. I have a message for you!”
The kid cleared his throat and puffed out his chest, trying his best to look official.
“The message is: ‘Speak with me in the forest of stone.’ ”
- - -
Out of the corner of her eye, Sanae saw Meyriv talking to some townspeople.
A little boy waved to Sanae. “You’re invited too, if you want to go with him!”
“Go with...what do you mean?”
The boy ran off, giggling.
A man was leading Meyriv towards a cart. He looked wary.
“I’m not going anywhere until you explain where we will be going and why.” He insisted.
Sanae watched from a distance, not wanting to get involved.
She jumped as the little boy from before grabbed her hand.
“Can you help me convince him to go? He’s being stubborn, like my siblings when it’s bedtime and they don't want to sleep.”
“Why do you need him to go?” Sanae asked.
“The Lady invited him to go talk to her. She’s very nice! She saved me when I was a baby.” The boy chattered excitedly
“Nobody’s ever been invited before! Please, can you ask him to go?” The kid asked sweetly and looked up at her with big brown eyes.
Sanae smiled “Alright, I’ll try.”
“Yay! You’re my favorite old person!”
Sanae walked over to where Meyriv was still arguing with the cart-driver.
“What’s the harm in going to see what this is about?” Sanae interjected reasonably.
“I think I know who is behind it, it’s probably a trap!” Meyriv insisted, trembling slightly.
“Who?”
“The same people who cursed me!”
“Wait. If it is those same people, wouldn’t they have have the power to make you go whether you wanted to or not?”
“Not—well…uh……possibly. But not necessarily.” He said, somewhat deflated.
“Let me get this straight. If it is those people, wouldn’t it be best to try to talk it over with them rather than ignore their summons? Lest they resort to more forceful measures? And if it’s not them, then you’re worried over nothing.”
A few seconds past,
“Fine.” Meyriv said coldly
They climbed into the cart and the man flicked at the reins. They began to roll along the road towards the nearby mountains.
The man chatted as he rode, talking about the weather and exotic fruits he was planning to grow in his fields.
As they continued on, she noticed strange plants along the road. They looked like young trees, except instead of leaves they had colorful glowing...frills? She couldn’t tell exactly what they were.
Definitely not natural. Certainly pretty, though.
“How far are we going? She asked Iwan, the cart-driver.
“To yonder mountain.” He pointed vaguely in front of him.
“Only a few hours more.” Iwan assured them
“Great.” Meyriv droned
“If nobody’s ever been summoned before, how do you know the way?”
“We go this way to make our offerings.”
“Offerings?” Sanae said nervously, thinking of human sacrifice and other grotesque rituals she had read about.
“Those with magic go to the base of the mountain every week to offer some power to the forest. In exchange, the patron enriches our crops.”
She relaxed.
“That sounds interesting.”
The man nodded. “I used to work a farm on the mainland. What I used to grow is pathetic in comparison to my crops now.”
“Who is this patron?” Meyriv asked with suspicion.
“Some sort of forest spirit. She speaks through messenger children’s dreams.”
"She speaks…through dreams?"
Meyriv looked troubled.
"That's what I said, Silver-eyes. You know, you have the look of a fawn trapped between fence posts. Where are the wolves you’re fearing, eh?" The man said with a chuckle
Meyriv ignored him.
Sanae lay down in the cart. Rolling over the dirt path was slightly better than the constant rocking of the boat.
She closed her eyes.
---
She found herself in some sort of massive chamber, surrounded by colossal stone pillars.
She looked up at the ceiling. Colorful lights flickered and glowed in a transfixing pattern. The pillars had beams jutting out from them at ascending angles.
No, not beams. Branches. Those pillars were trees wider than a small house. He eyes grew wide as she comprehended the vast scale of the place.
She heard a voice beside her; “Do you like my garden?”
It was the green-eyed woman from her previous dream.
“This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!”
The woman beamed. “I’m glad you like it.”
They both stood silent for a few moments, soaking in the tapestry of kaleidoscopic light.
Sanae spoke:
“You are the patron Iwan spoke of?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want with Meyriv?”
“That depends on him. For the moment, I just want to talk. We have some...eventful history between us.”
“Was it you who cursed him?”
“No. But I was present.”
“What did he do to deserve it?”
“He killed some petty criminals and hurt others, including myself. However...he did not deserve the magnitude of that curse. Not nearly. I don’t fully understand the purpose behind it.”
“But you let it happen to him anyway?”
“Those who did it were far wiser and more powerful than myself. I trust their judgment, even if I don’t know all their reasons.”
“What does the curse do, exactly?”
“That’s a question for him. It’s not my place to tell.
Can I request a favor, Sanae? In exchange for breaking you out of your cell?”
“Wait. How much of that was you?”
“I appeared in your dream. I broke the wall of your cell. I guided you to Meyriv’s sanctuary.”
“You broke the wall? That’s kilometers away!”
She laughed and turned, gesturing to the mountainous trees surrounding them.
“My garden’s roots grow deep.”
Something occurred to Sanae,
“Did you know I would shatter my legs falling?!”
“I knew you would become injured somehow. I’m sincerely sorry for that. It was unavoidable. Nothing short of a painful shock would have been sufficient to wake him. So, how about the favor? I did get you out of there.”
“Painfully.”
“Would you rather be rotting in a cell?”
She glared at the woman’s unblinking emerald eyes.
“Fine. What’s the favor?”
“Simple: stop him if he tries to run away.”
“You can knock down walls kilometers away but not prevent one guy from running away from your doorstep?”
“It’s not that I’m unable to bring him here by force. I’m simply trying to avoid antagonizing him any more than necessary.”
“Why not just appear in his dreams and talk to him like this?”
“He shields his mind against this kind of intrusion. I could tear through his barriers if I so chose, but again…I do not wish to provoke further enmity.”
“Fine…How exactly should I try to stop him?”
“Try talking to him. He may listen to you.”
“And if he decides I’m his enemy and attacks?”
She laughed at a joke only she could hear. “I can guarantee your safety while you are in my forest. You have little to fear from him either way.”