Cassian awoke with a gasp. His body felt weak and sore while his mind felt hazy. He opened his eyes as the sun was just starting to rise in the mountains. The incredible amber light trickling through the trees kissed his face. A mouthwatering smell made its way to his nostrils, and he noticed Luna was roasting a rabbit over a campfire nearby. They were in a rocky clearing surrounded by gigantic redwood trees and Cassian wasn’t sure he had ever been more delighted to be outside. Stretching his arms high above his head he sat up and filled his lungs with a deep breath of the frigid morning air.
Luna rotated the skewered rabbit over the fire and looked over at Cassian. “Look who finally decided to get up. I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to wake up to be honest. I’m glad you did though. How much do you remember from last night?” She asked.
Cassian ran his hand through his hair deep in thought. “I remember chasing after a little boy. He said he needed my help, but when I finally caught up to him, I ended up in a creepy cave. There was some freaky stuff going on in there. Effigies and severed body parts.” Cassian shuddered as he tried to remember the details. “I tried to run but I couldn’t remember which door I came through. That’s when some scary old woman blew this nasty black smoke in my face, and I passed out. And that’s the last thing I can solidly remember before waking up here.”
A dirty bearded man came walking out from the woods carrying a tall stack of wood. His face and clothing were stained with soot. He put the logs down next to the fire before scratching his head and looking down at Cassian. “Well, I’ll be, he’s alive! I’m glad we didn’t go through all that extra work for nothing! What’s wrong with his eyes though?” He asked with his raspy and booming voice.
Cassian looked at the stranger and then over at Luna before rubbing his eyes. “Who is he? And…is something wrong with my eyes?” Cassian asked, blinking self-consciously.
“This is Reinhold,” Luna said, pointing at the bearded man. “I was lucky enough to stumble across his camp last night. We’ll get to your eyes in a minute. First, let me get you up to speed. I woke up and you were nowhere to be found, that’s when I noticed your footprints and followed them to that cavern of horrors.”
Reinhold sauntered over and handed Cassian a cup of hot tea. It smelled heavenly, Cassian breathed in the steam then nodded his head in appreciation. He sipped the hot peppermint tea as Luna recounted the night's events to him and Reinhold. A few cups of tea later and Luna had painted a picture of the unbelievable encounter in the cave. Cassian and Reinhold sat stunned by her depiction of the previous night.
Words eluded him as if he were attempting to speak a foreign language without first learning it. With a deep breath he accepted that it wasn’t all just a bad dream. “Thank you for saving me, Luna. What do you think the witch wanted with me?”
“I can’t be certain, but I think she was trying to perform some form of ritual. Perhaps she meant to sacrifice you? I thought a lot about it last night and I can’t help but think she might have been trying to use your body as a vessel for her son. But what do I know? Maybe she just wanted to eat us or something pleasant like that.”
The burly bearded man gasped. “Who’d have thought? A real life witch, ay? I work in the amethite mines, and we tell scary stories from time to time, but I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that happening. When I tell the boys this story, they’re gonna be so scared they’ll pee their pants!” Reinhold shouted laughing.
Cassian and Luna both shot him looks of disbelief. His reaction to the most horrific thing either of them had ever encountered was tough to swallow.
This guy might have the loudest speaking voice I’ve ever heard, Luna thought.
“Sorry now. Sometimes my manners aren’t so good. You keep catching up and I’ll check on the rabbit. Breakfast ought to be ready here real soon,” Reinhold said with a big grin that showed off his two front teeth, or at least the space where they would have been if they weren’t absent from his mouth.
“I have to know, how did you think to destroy the burnt skull?” Cassian asked.
Luna stood up pacing around the fire. “Well, I smacked my head pretty hard on the floor when the creature slammed me. As I felt my pounding head the story of Esmerelda came to mind. Specifically, when she took the skull of her son into the tunnels. I was pretty desperate and it just kinda clicked.”
“How did we get out of the tunnels after the witch escaped?” Cassian asked.
“Well when the pieces of the ceiling collapsed in the cave, I was able to use my rope and climb out. I tried to pull you up, but I wasn’t strong enough. That’s when I saw the smoke from Reinhold’s campfire, and he helped me pull you out of the cave.” Luna explained.
The prince looked into Luna’s eyes with deep admiration. “You’re really incredible. Thank you again for saving my life. And thank you for your aid, Reinhold. Now, what was Reinhold saying about my eyes?”
“See…I think the witch did something to you Cassian. I’m not entirely sure what yet, but hearing your recollection, I think when she breathed that dark smoke into you something happened. You should probably see for yourself.” Luna said.
Cassian held up his metal mug in the sunlight and looked at his reflection. What he saw made him gasp and drop the mug. His eyes were entirely black—iris, pupils, and even the whites of his eyes. “What is wrong with me?!” He asked as panic began to pull him into the deep waters of endless anxiety.
Reinhold came over with a plate of roast rabbit and handed it to Cassian patting him gently on the back. “Hey it’s gonna be okay, buddy. Here, eating something will help you calm down and feel a bit better. I always feel better after I get some breakfast in me.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this Cassian. I’ve always heard legends about the magi of the Blue Tower. Perhaps they will be able to help you. Do you feel okay?” Luna said while she poked at her breakfast.
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“I feel sore and tired, but I don’t feel noticeably different aside from that.”
“Just keep an eye out for any unusual changes and here, you might need this. I don’t imagine folks will be the most welcoming while your eyes are like that. Plus, you’ve got what is likely the most recognizable face in all the realms.” Luna said, handing Cassian her white mask.
Cassian held it out for a moment, looking at the mask like it was a poisonous snake. Eventually, he shrugged and nodded, placing the mask in his bag.
“Now that we’ve made it out of the city, I have business I need to take care of. We should split up from here. Reinhold has agreed to take you back to his village, Deadwood. It’s on the way to the Blue Tower.” Luna explained.
Cassian looked like he just got punched in the stomach. “Wait, what? No, we should travel together, it’s safer that way.”
“I wish we could. But I have matters that need to be seen to in the forests of Nisse. You need to seek out the magi. Our paths are in entirely different directions. Don’t fret Prince Cassian, my instincts tell me we’ll cross paths again. On that day you can return my mask to me.” Luna said as she packed her bags.
Tongue-tied yet again, Cassian searched desperately for the right words to say, but his mental farming proved fruitless. He could’ve told her that he cared about her, and they should stay together. He could’ve told her that she was the most thoughtful and caring girl he had ever met. He even could’ve told her that he liked her more than the third night of each week, and he loved the third night of each week because that was always shepherd’s pie night at the palace. He sighed and his posture slumped. “You’re right. This is necessary. Be safe out there. And I look forward to seeing you again one day, my friend.”
Luna threw her bags over her shoulder and thanked Reinhold for his kindness. She walked up to Cassian and embraced him in a long hug. “I’m proud to call you my friend, your highness. I can confidently say you're nothing like I thought you were when I first saw you. You may be a topsider, but you don’t seem half as rotten as the rest of them.”
Cassian held her there in the clearing and wished the embrace could last forever. “Safe travels, Luna.” He said, then she marched off and disappeared into the trees.
Reinhold was packing up the camp and he looked over at Cassian who was still staring off into the trees. “You almost ready to start the trip to my town, your highness? If we leave soon, we should be to Lonshire by nightfall. I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready to sleep in a warm bed again. Good strong ale at the tavern as well. Not the ugliest women in Enthamere either.” He said with a wink. “For you, not me. I’m a married man.”
Cassian started packing up his belongings and he slid the white mask on. “You can just call me Cassian. And I think I’m ready. Pretty sure drowning myself in ale tonight might be exactly what I need after this bloody week I’ve had.”
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Reinhold and Cassian had been hiking through the redwoods for hours when they reached a long wooden suspension bridge that connected two mountains. Hundreds of yards below was a coursing river. As they began to cross the bridge a plank came loose and plummeted down into the water. Cassian looked down like a fool and was rewarded with a healthy dose of vertigo.
Looking back and noticing the thousand mile stare, Reinhold put a bear claw of a hand on Cassian's shoulder, steadying him. “You okay with heights?” He asked.
Cassian took a few deep breaths and kept moving towards the other side of the bridge. “Yeah, I’m normally just fine with heights. I spent most of my life high up in the palace towers. I loved to climb. I think I’m still just a bit off from the encounter with the witch.”
“No worries kid. Mountain air is just what the doctor ordered to help clear out the cobwebs. I’m no magi though, that’s just what my old man always said.” Reinhold said laughing. Cassian smiled back but was distracted by the spires of Cloudreach poking through the mountains in the distance, and he wondered how his own father was doing. He hoped that things were starting to calm down in the capital. He might not understand yet, but once I find mother’s killer, he’ll have no choice but to respect me.
“So what’s the deal with you and the little lass, if you don’t mind me asking?” Reinhold asked, nudging his elbow playfully into Cassian’s shoulder and flashing his goofy smile.
Cassian shrugged. “I only just met her. But truthfully, she might be the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. Unfortunately, we’re just too different to ever be compatible.”
Reinhold thought about the prince's words for a second. “Lad you’re the damned prince of Enthamere. Good luck finding anyone who is exactly the same as you. Me and my wife are as different as can be and we’ve been married over twenty years! I work in the mines, she runs the tavern. I’m big and tall, she’s tiny and short. I don’t have all of my teeth, well…she doesn’t either, but you get the point kid!”
The broad-shouldered and goofy man's words finally penetrated Cassian's wall of doom and gloom and the prince smiled. “Thank you, Reinhold. I appreciate your kind words. How’s life in the mines if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Oh it’s hard work and it doesn’t pay particularly well. But it is the backbone of our town. The mine employs many men and women and the rest of Deadwood popped up to cater to the miners. My dream is to save up enough to open my own lumber mill. On my salary, if I live a few hundred years I may actually see it through!” Said Reinhold with a ridiculously loud chuckle.
“But amethite is likely the most valuable commodity in the world. Why don’t you miners get paid well?”
“I’m not an expert but the way it's been told to me, is that assigned to each mine is an officially sanctioned auditor. They’re appointed by the king himself to keep a tight watch over how much amethite comes out of the mines and where it goes after. The boys in the mines talk of the auditor, Ingram, skimming crystal for himself and pinning the theft on miners. Course none of us has any solid proof — Ingram is a crafty lil’ man.” Reinhold explained.
“That auditor sounds awful to take advantage of all of you. Why did you say if you live long enough? Is working in the mines dangerous?”
Reinhold pulled a handful of dried and salted venison jerky from his pack and handed the prince a strip. After chewing on one for a minute he looked down at Cassian. “Well swinging a pickaxe isn’t all that dangerous, though I suppose the occasional accident does tend to happen. The real danger is the way people near the mines sometimes get real sick.” Reinhold said, shaking his head slowly.
Cassian stopped in the woods and looked up at the bearded man. “Wait a minute. This is the first I’ve heard of this. You’re saying the mines make people sick?”
“Sure. Everyone knows that around my town. Every week, it seems like someone new falls ill. Some are luckier than others. The lucky ones are just bedridden and throwing up for a week.”
“And the not so lucky ones?”
“The not so lucky ones don’t usually make it. On occasion we take them to the Blue Tower and the magi fix some of them with surgeries and strange potions. But not all of them, that’s for sure.” Reinhold whispered, speaking in a soft voice for the first time since Cassian met him that morning.