***

Although Tao wasn't sure how far the town was from the village, from what his mother and others had said, it seemed that Indres and the others would be away for at least two weeks, if not longer. This meant that the boy had plenty of time to meet the forest spirit before father returned. The two usually met once a week unless otherwise arranged, so on the day in question Tao insistently asked his mother for permission to be out earlier than usual and waited impatiently for the familiar child-like voice outside the house to sound in his ear.

When Eleya made her presence known Tao wasted no time and pointed out that there was a more important subject than the regular progress of his abilities.

"Do you know anything about a cursed tower two days south of here?" He asked.

"Indeed. But I don't go there, that place is full of death." The spirit confirmed.

"What does that really mean? What kind of place is it?" The boy wanted to know more.

"I don't really know, except that it's been that way for a long time. Sucking the life out of everything around it, not letting anyone else come near. All the spirits are throwing a curve at the place."

"And you've come to terms with that?"

"I'm too weak to do anything. That place is isolated from the rest of the forest and doesn't bother others as long as they don't touch it."

"There was... undead. Walking skeletons, from what I understand." The boy didn't feel comfortable talking about it.

Although he had encountered spawn before, they generally resembled repulsive predatory animals, while the dead seemed much more... supernatural, so to speak. And scarier.

"Yes, that power is clearly linked to the Death domain. Abomination!" The forest spirit's voice held a clear contempt.

Tao waited a moment to see if Eleya would add anything, but the spirit had fallen silent.

"Why didn't you say about that before?" The boy decided to ask.

"You said yourself that you weren't allowed to leave the village. Why bother speaking for something irreverent right now?"

"My father went there and got into a dangerous situation."

"Isn't he a hunter who regularly encounters monsters?" Eleya didn't seem to see the problem.

"From what I heard, this situation was more dangerous, he and the others even had to flee."

"And that's why you're so worried? Because your father was in danger?" It seemed that the forest spirit was curious.

Tao feared he had made a blunder, so he thought carefully about his next words.

"Eleya, if my father dies, what do you think will happen to me?" he asked.

"Your mother would continue to rule over you, from what I understand." There was an answer that certainly would not have come from a human.

"Yes, but she would have no reason to stay here. Her homeland is elsewhere. She would probably return there, with all her children, including me. I wouldn't be able to help you then." Tao tried to speak in a calm, neutral voice.

In fact, he had no idea what Sofra would do in such a situation. But Eleya did not hide her indifference to people's problems and difficulties. Tao reasoned that she didn't care about their lives either, so boy wanted to motivate the forest spirit to help.

"I understand... then it’s good that he came back unharmed." she replied with a note of relief in her voice.

As far as Tao could tell, the tactic was working.

"Yes, but he will probably have to go back to the tower. That means his life will be in danger again." The boy pointed out.

"I see... That's not good."

"Can't you help somehow?"

"I'm too weak to fight what dwells in the tower."

"Is... is that the enemy?" Tao asked cautiously.

Eleya didn't answer right away, probably mulling the question over in her mind.

"You don't know?" The boy urged the spirit to speak.

"It's hard to say, maybe it came from the tower, but... no, our enemy is an ancient power, while this... thing is something else." The forest spirit's voice was thoughtful at first, but eventually expressed confidence.

"You're sure?" Tao wanted to clarify.

"A true spirit from the ancient times would not be bound to some tower. It's more like a concentrated will left over from something that happened there."

"Will?"

"Yes, even if the body dies and the life drains away, some of the spirits power, whether through desperation, hatred, or black magic, can remain and spew forth a new existence. I think your kin often call that a ghost or a specter. Usually something like that is quite weak, but this looks different."

Tao could neither confirm nor deny these judgments. He decided to ask the question from a different point of view.

"My father said there were spawns. Perhaps the tower and this ghost do have a connection to this ancient evil."

"Maybe. I don't know anything about that, though." Eleya's answer was in the negative.

Tao judged that he would not learn much more, so changed the course of the conversation again.

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"Well, do you have any ideas on how to defeat that evil in the tower?"

"I don't have power for that. But I don't think it would be beyond the abilities of mortals. Those who summon spirits of light can shatter curses and drive out evil spirits. Perhaps it is worth to ask for help them?"

This is what father and the others want to do, Tao saw that the ideas of the village elders and the spirit of the forest coincide.

"Still, the problem remains that the tower is dangerous. And my father plans to return there." He returned to the original subject.

"Can't you ask him not to go there?"

"I'm too young to talk about such things. Besides, he won't even listen to my mother, so he won't listen to me either."

"I've already told you that I don't have the power to protect him from what's in there." Eleya seemed to not understand what Tao wanted from her.

"Then at least warn him? You can see the invisible and the spirits. That which is hidden." Tao pointed out.

"I can't talk to another human! What if he gets scared and hostile? What if he decides to strengthen his defenses against the spirits not only around him, but around you? Then we won't be able to talk at all!" The forest spirit didn't seem thrilled by the idea, her voice conveyed determination not to give in.

"The same will happen if he dies, Eleya." Tao reminded.

There was silence for a moment. The boy almost believed the spirit was just gone, but before he could be sure, he heard the voice again.

"Maybe I can help after all... without revealing myself." The forest spirit sounded thoughtful.

"Really? How?" Tao wished he knew.

"How does this sound to you?"

Tao was startled and looked around in panic. Instead of the voice of a child or a young girl, he heard a grown man with a low bass speaking in his ear, but no one was around.

"Eleya?" The boy uncertainly asked.

***

The day Indres and the others returned became almost a special occasion.

"They're back! They brought the knights!" one boy shouted in the village streets.

At last! Tao felt his heart begin to beat faster.

Sofra and the other adults had been waiting for Indresh and the others to return in about two weeks. It was not only in the conversations. Mother took Tao and Safia for a walk outside the village a couple of times to a place where they could easily see the southern road when the time of return was coming. Unfortunately, the travelers lingered longer. When Safia asked, "Where is daddy?", mother could only reply, "He will be back soon." When it had been three weeks since they had left, Tao also started to worry. After all, the road to the city led through a forest where spawns and undead crept.

It was evening, and most people were already at home, having returned from work, but the windows were open, allowing a clear cry to herald the return of the travelers. Given this, it was not surprising that many people came out to see what was going on. Many also headed towards the gates to get a better view of the arrivals.

When Tao came out of the bedroom, he found mother standing at the open front door, looking towards the gate. Sofra noticed her son and went over and stroked his head.

"Dad's back, but we'll wait for him here, yes?" she said with a smile.

Tao remembered that Indres had left when there had been a little tension between the parents. He didn't think that was the reason why Sofra didn't want to go with the others to meet the travelers at the gate. The boy's two sisters were already asleep. Waking them up to take them with them or leaving them unattended didn't seem like a good idea in Tao's eyes either. He also assumed that Indres would not delay and would come straight home. True, this meant that the boy would not get to see these 'knights' with his own eyes today.

Sofra, however, walked out in front of the house with her son. They could see people walking towards the gate and vague noises coming from there later, when, as far as they could tell, the expected guests arrived. Soon a familiar figure appeared at the end of the street. A burly man with a black beard and a confident gait. Noticing his wife and son waiting for him, Indres' pace quickened, despite the fact that he was carrying a heavy-looking bag on his shoulder. Sofra was holding son's hand, so the boy felt her handshake getting tighter.

"Welcome ba-"

"I'm home-"

Tao's parents spoke at the same time, then fell silent. They seemed to feel a bit awkward and didn't know what to say next.

"Dad, hi!" The boy decided to speak up and waved his hand.

He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he felt quite happy about Indres's return.

"Tao... I hope you're behaving well?" The man kneeled down and ruffled son's hair.

He smiled, which didn't happen often.

"Yes..." Tao felt embarrassed.

What is it? Am I not mentally older than him? The boy couldn't really understand his feelings.

He decided to blame his child's body.

Indres stood up, put bag on the ground and turned attention back to wife.

"Sorry, it took us longer to find volunteers." He said in a slightly guilty tone.

"No, I understand... I'm glad you're home... safe and sound." Sofra smiled.

Indres looked at his wife for a moment, looking a little confused. Tao didn't really know what to think. He knew mother was pretty, but...

C’mon, man! She's your wife... the boy almost shook his head; father's behavior was a bit silly.

Fortunately, Indres recovered quickly.

"While I was in town..." he opened his bag and took something out.

"...I went into a bookshop and... found these." The man handed his wife two leather-bound books.

"Oh!" She looked surprised by this gift.

"One is for children, a story book with lots of pictures. The other is about mountain plants. You said that your books don't have much about the ones that grow here, so... " Indres explained a little awkwardly.

Sofra let go of her son's hand, opened one of the books and began to flip through the pages.

"Wasn't it expensive? You said you wanted to save..." she muttered.

"Well, they're not new, some of the pages are torn, but overall, the text seemed intact, so... "

"No, that's wonderful! Thank you very much!" Sofra looked delighted.

"Then... good." Indres smiled too.

Tao hadn't seen his parents or other adult couples in the village publicly show emotional affection with hugs or kisses, so he wasn't expecting anything like that now. It was actually a good thing, just the way parents were looking at each other now made him feel uncomfortable and think about quietly backing away.

Good to be young, huh? thought the two-and-a-half-year-old kid with 40 years of memories.

***

Two days later, the villagers gathered again at the gate, this time to watch a group of travelers leaving. Not to the city, but deep into the forest, where there was a cursed tower and undead soldiers. This time, Sofra was in the middle of the group with all the children to send off her husband.

Indres was not dressed in his usual hunter's outfit, but in an armored shirt covered with a sturdy beast skin, his boots and gloves were also of a thicker material, and the man wore a sort of armored cap on head, albeit covered with a beast skin. The other hunter from the village, Erwan, Arwain's father, was similarly dressed. The third villager who went on this expedition was one of the gate keepers, a strong-looking man who had run a fighting tournament for young ones and could easily split several wooden logs in a row. The fourth was a fire magic user. He too was dressed for battle, and without a smug grin, even though so many were watching him. The skinny man did not walk, but rode on horseback, most probably to avoid being delayed by his bad leg. Tao didn't know if it was wise to send someone who had mobility problems, but perhaps fire magic was a more important factor. All in all, it looked like the village was sending its mightiest fighters.

True, even though the boy cared for his father, it was not easy for him to ignore the last three people leaving the village. All three rode on large animals that looked like a mix of horses and oxen, dangerous beasts. Tao saw the clean-shaven faces of the men with stern features, who ignored the stares of the villagers, they seemed purposeful and calm. The men wore metal plate armor, similar to medieval European style, but not quite. This armor was more in keeping with the natural shape of the body, apart from the shoulders and chest. The helmets were also different, with an open face. Tao also noticed on their chests and in other decorative ornaments the same star-like symbol as that of the healer Neter.

Two were younger, armed with spears and swords at their sides, and they followed a third man, about 40 years old, with darker skin and unnaturally violet eyes. He was not carrying a spear, but what looked like a long staff with a crystal or jewel on the end. Of all the people Tao had met so far, this man looked the most magical, if he could put it that way.

Two hunters/rangers, a warrior, a magic user and three Temple guards were on a mission to free a lonely tower from the Curse of Death.

Well, there was an eighth, but no one knew about it except Tao.

He hoped he made the right decision.

***