Thirteen

Being an unplanned stop in their route, there was no clearing big enough for their entire caravan to set up camp comfortably. So, they found the largest one they could, then handed the attendants axes before setting them upon the nearby forest. It was a lot of work to clear a space big enough for them, but Franklin refused to split the group up. Marcus could understand the reasoning behind it, but he still couldn’t get over just how much work it was for just a night or two.

Hopefully, someone would come along and use up all the timber they left behind.

A few dozen fires burned around him, casting Lady Alissa’s large canvas tent in a flickering, orange glow. The moon was high in the sky, the stars out in full force, bathing the world below in silver light. The thwacking of the axes had stopped nearly an hour ago, and most of the attendants in their group had gone to bed. Only a few of the accompanying soldiers still marched around the edges of their camp, the torches in their hands marking their routes.

Although it was late, Marcus skulked around the entrance to Alissa’s tent, a dark cloak draped over his polished armor. He scanned the immediate area around him, listening to the rustling leaves as the cool breeze filtered through them.

“It’s clear,” Marcus whispered into the thick fabric, hoping his voice would carry through it without anyone else hearing.

The flap trembled slightly just before a petite, hooded figure slipped quietly through the gap. They quickly found the towering Marcus, his huge frame impossible to hide even in the subdued, flickering light. The hooded figure floated towards him and removed the fabric that hid their face, revealing Lady Alissa’s golden locks that burned in the firelight.

“Ready to go?” Marcus asked as he ducked down closer to the woman.

“Is this really such a good idea?” Lady Alissa asked, concealing any concern about breaking the rules with her wide smile and the excited look in her eyes that glimmered in the moonlight. “If Sir Franklin hears word of this, he will be very upset.”

“Technically, you’re his boss, right?” Marcus stated rhetorically as he took Alissa by the hand and started towards the road. He hadn’t worn his gauntlets during their clandestine foray and was very glad he didn’t. “He might get mad, but I doubt he would even raise his voice at you.”

The warmth from her fingers, intertwined with his own, radiated up his arm and seeped into his body. It felt just like it did when he handled a mana stone, only warmer , and that fact not only brought a smile to his face but made him insanely curious as to why.

“I am not concerned about myself,” She whispered breathily from behind him as she was dragged along. “You could be punished severely for this.”

Marcus didn’t answer right away as their route brought them close to a pair of wondering soldiers, but once they had successfully snuck past them, he slowed his pace to allow Alissa a moment to catch her breath. “I think it’ll be worth it. You said yourself that this brae thing is almost extinct, when will you get another chance to see one?”

“Still, if he punishes you… I just do not wish to witness such a thing.” Her words were punctuated by her hand gripping his tighter, but she still didn’t pull away as they traveled down the moonlit road.

They walked in companionable silence after that, neither one of them willing to risk one of the scouts or soldiers overhearing them as they walked. Marcus didn’t mind; the warmth from Alissa’s hand filled him with a feeling he knew was dangerous, but even as he tried to release his hand from hers, she refused to let go. It was most likely because it was dark out, and they were in the middle of a strange forest, but there was still a feeling in her touch that hinted at something more.

“How much further?” Alissa asked.

“I’m not sure. Nobody said how far up the road… Hey, is that it?” Marcus perked up as he used his free hand to point further ahead.

Alissa squinted her eyes but ended up shaking her head. “I do not see anything. It is much too dark. I am impressed you are able to see anything at all.”

“You really can’t see that? It’s huge.”

The road straightened out in front of them, creating a long valley of ancient, towering trees. Even in the bright moonlight, it was difficult to see, but even so, Marcus could clearly make out a huge, dark mass draped over the entire width of the road.

It looked like a small mountain had decided to take up residence between the trees.

They slowed their steps to a crawl as they approached the unmoving shape. Alissa squeezed his hand tighter as she let out a sharp gasp , letting Marcus know that she had finally seen what they had come to see.

It was as large as four of their wagons tied together, and its back was round like a dome that reached up twice as tall as Marcus was. Instead of soft flesh, plates as large as his head covered its body, and thick, bristly hairs stood straight out to catch the silver moonlight. Four stubby legs were splayed out in different directions as it lay there, the pads on its feet reminding Marcus of an elephant’s foot. He wasn’t able to see its head from where they were, but the closest thing he could think of from Earth that it looked like was if God mixed an armadillo with a turtle, grew it to the size of a small house, and then called it a day.

“Can we get closer to it?” Alissa asked him as they stood there observing the creature. They were still over a hundred feet from it, but as it hadn’t reacted to their presence in any way, Alissa felt comfortable enough to try and get a better look.

“Sure, that’s why we’re here. Just… Stay behind me, ok?”

Giving Marcus a sharp nod, Alissa let out an excited little squeal just before they both tiptoed down the road. Marcus made sure to stay slightly in front of her as they walked but hadn’t felt any sense of danger from the giant beast, and even if it did turn out to be hostile to them, he felt confident in his ability to outrun it even if he had to carry Alissa to do so.

As they drew within thirty feet of it, they started to feel the ground beneath their feet rumble. This caused both of them to stop, straining their senses to try and locate where the vibrations were coming from. As they listened, Marcus picked up a deep, shaking bass moving through the air. It was such a low tone that he felt it more than heard it, but as he did, he instantly knew what it was.

“That thing is snoring.” Marcus snickered, “it’s asleep. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a flute on you, would you?”

“A flute?” Alissa asked, the joke completely lost on her. “Why would I carry a flute around with me?”

Still laughing to himself, Marcus waved her off. “Never mind, it was just a joke. C’mon, I think we can get a lot closer if you want to.”

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Without waiting for her reply, Marcus confidently strode forward closer to the brae. The massive creature was dead to the world, its intimidating size giving it a level of confidence where it felt comfortable sleeping out in the open and ignoring everything around it. Marcus reached out with his hand before pausing for just a moment. He was a little hesitant to touch it, but his curiosity overrode any lingering fear of waking the beast.

It was warm, hot even. Much more heat radiated off of it than he would have thought the beast capable of producing itself. It must have chosen the open space of the road in order to soak up the sun as it slept. The plates covering its body were not just bone but had a thin layer of mud-brown skin stretched over them , and the short, bristly hairs that gave the creature a fuzzy appearance were course and thick, like little stalks of straw. As it filled its lungs with each breath, the mountain of flesh swelled underneath his open palm before deflating with a gravelly rumble that vibrated his arm and entire body.

A childish giggle came from beside him, breaking Marcus out of his own entranced wonder. Alissa was right next to him, her own dainty hand placed on the hot, fleshy plates. A wide smile was on her face and Marcus could almost feel the excitement radiating off of her.

“Pretty great, huh?” Marcus asked her, keeping his voice low as he started to pet the sleeping brae. “Did you see its little tail?”

Twisting her head, Alissa looked towards the animal’s rear end, where a short and stubby tail slowly flicked back and forth. “My goodness, it is adorable!”

“That’s not the word I would use,” Marcus chuckled.

“You know, I have always adored animals.” She told him as she patted a chunky leg sticking out from under the brae’s massive body. “Between my lessons, I would sit in the garden and feed the birds. They would chirp and sing and hop all about. It was wonderful. Sometimes, I thought I could feel their excitement as I held the seeds out in my hand.”

“Did you have any pets growing up? I had a cat named Paul. He was a big tabby cat that hated the cheap cat food and would yell at me until I got him the good, wet stuff.” He said offhandedly as he moved toward where the brae’s head would be.

“Marcus, you kept a cat?” Alissa asked, seemingly shocked by his admission.

Stopping, he turned to face her, the brae letting out a wet snort as it shifted slightly. “Yeah, I’ve always liked cats. Dogs are all right, but I never had enough space to have one. Not having a yard for it to run around in is just cruel.”

“I’ve never heard of a man keeping an animal. Fath- Duke Dresden always told me that pets are for lonely spinsters who cannot find husbands.” Alissa told him, her voice making a poor mockery of her father’s tone. “He would never allow me to have any animal, no matter how much I pleaded with him.”

“Well, maybe you can throw a leash on this thing?” He joked, giving her a wide smile. “I’m sure Franklin wouldn’t mind.”

“Perhaps I will?” Alissa giggled. “I think it would make a fine companion…”

Just then, as if reacting to her words, the gigantic brae began to stir. The plates covering its round back shuddered, rattling against each other as it shifted to its feet. Its tree-trunk-like legs retracted into its body before shifting somehow underneath its girth, sticking back out, and lifting it until its belly was only a foot off the ground.

Marcus had already taken Alissa a dozen feet away from the rousing beast and kept his body between her and it. If it had moved any faster, he would have gone much further, but it had taken it a full minute just to stand, so he figured that was enough.

A small earthquake disturbed the forest as the brae shook itself like a wet dog, its leathery plates rippling in the argent moonlight. With thunderous steps, it reoriented itself to face Marcus and Alissa , who were standing behind him. It took half a minute, but finally , its low-down , blocky head came into view.

It had no neck, at least not at first glance, but as it trundled towards them at a glacial pace, Marcus saw that its interlinked plates hid all of that vulnerable area. Its head was wide and short but still comically small compared to the rest of its colossal body. Two stubby horns stuck out at angles over its pronounced brows, and two gentle, brown eyes stared at them with innocent curiosity.

“It’s like a huge cow…” Marcus muttered as he watched the brae plod ever closer. Its huge eyes were set far apart on its head, and they reminded Marcus of the cows he had seen during a field trip to a local farm when he was little. He was about seven when he went to that dairy farm, and those beasts seemed to be just as large to him then as what the brae was to him now.

Instead of backing away, Marcus moved forward. He reached out once again, but this time putting his open palm on the creature’s wide and wet nose. He laughed openly as it went cross-eyed, trying to follow his hand, then let out a groan of disgust as a huge tongue slipped out of its mouth to coat his hand in sticky slobber.

“It likes you,” Alissa said as she came up next to him to scratch the beast behind its small ear.

“The way I taste?” Marcus teased as he shook the drool from his hand.

“No,” She tittered, crouching down to look into the brae’s eyes. “…it feels safe with you. It was afraid of… something, but near you, it feels protected.”

Marcus listened to Alissa as her tone became more distant like she was listening to something only she could hear. She and the brae stared into each other’s eyes, their breathing slowing as they entered a light trance. Marcus was beginning to grow concerned the longer it went on, but just as quickly as it started, it ended, Alissa blinking her big doe eyes as she cleared her throat. “We should return to the camp soon. It is growing late.”

“…are you ok?” Marcus asked, his eyes going from her to the brae standing next to them. “I lost you for a little bit there.”

“Yes, I am fine.” She said, her tone regaining its usual youthful vigor. “It was… strange. It was as if I could feel what it was thinking, its emotions. I have never experienced anything like it before.”

“What about the birds?” Marcus asked, remembering her tale of feeding the birds inside her garden. “Didn’t you say that you felt their excitement?”

Alissa cocked her head in a charming way, “I suppose so, but it was very different from what I felt just now. This was much, much deeper…”

“Hmmm. Well, we can talk about it later if you want. But for now, we should head back like you said.” Marcus spoke to her before crouching down in front of the beast’s head. “See you later, big guy.”

Marcus and Alissa patted the brae’s head before it let out a low bellow , oriented its body towards the forest, and started waddling through the woods, the cracking of the shattering trees echoing across the landscape.