“We’re here.” Rann’s voice broke up the monotonous slogging of boots through the mud that had hung as the only sound around for quite some time.
Calling the seeping wound a “stream” is being generous. Its thick, gluggy waters flow so slowly that they produce no discernible noise of running water as it meanders down the hillside. It’s a wonder anything grows at all down here - the only clean water I’ve seen is that which flows from the Crystalfall. Any other source of water, including the rain, is some degree of red, with an unpleasant metallic taste. But, as they say… life finds a way.
Our surroundings had changed twice as we made our way towards the campsite. First, the tall, featureless pine trees gave way to a sparser forest of trees with coarse, charred trunks, scraggly branches growing in every direction, dark red leaves, and deep scratches and gaping wounds that ooze a glistening red sap the colour of freshly-spilled blood. Johnny said that these were bloodwood trees, and assured me that the trees aren’t literally bleeding, it’s just their sap looks like blood. I’d heard of such trees before, but these certainly don’t look out of place in the Abyss.
The sparser forest made up of these bloodwood trees was more unnerving, however. It was the first time I could see around for some distance, and see just how eerily still this place is. Nothing moved. No critters moved through the underbrush, and no wind blew amongst the trees. It didn’t feel like we were being watched, though. It just felt like we were the only living things for miles around.
We’d only been moving through the bloodwood forest for an hour or so before it abruptly stopped, and all that lay before us was a barren, stony field, littered with giant grey boulders that looked eerily similar to tombstones. The stonefields. Not a word was said when we got there. We simply turned to the left and carried on, following along the edge of the stonefields for a while before heading back into the bloodwood forest. A thick, heavy fog hung like a curse over the stonefields, imposing a dreadful silence upon the land. We had all silently agreed that there was definitely something watching us out in the fog, but whatever it was, it didn’t seem to follow us back into the forest.
Rann’s words had affirmed that we’d arrived at our destination; a small clearing amongst the bloodwood trees. Nothing looked out of the ordinary… for what passes as ordinary here, anyway.
“Han, Einar, move the sled over to those trees. Johnny, twins, unload the sled and get the mats down. Rob, Marina, you two come with me to gather firewood. We set up camp, then we’ll scout the bloodbeast’s den.” Rann gives out his orders, and the expedition team sets into motion.
Rann grabs a pair of axes, handing one to Rob… but not to me?
“Gather twigs and dry leaves for kindling, Marina. Rob and I will chop the firewood.” Rann glances back at me.
“Okay…”
No axe for me I guess. Although…
Finding dry leaves in this muddy hellhole is easier said than done.
The twigs are easy enough to find. Oddly, the twigs are as charred as the bloodwood trees’ trunks, and touching them leaves black soot on my fingers. As for the leaves, that feels more like an exercise in futility. The closest to “dry” I can find is the leaves on the very top of the occasional pile laying on the ground; anything else is either slimy and wet or caked in dirt. A handful of dry leaves and an armful of twigs should be more than enough to get a decent fire going.
Shortly after, Rann and Rob come back with a few logs in hand, and the three of us return to the campsite.
At least, where the campsite is supposed to be. We weren’t gone that long, but the rest of the party are standing around the sled, rifling through the supplies loaded on it rather than setting up camp like they were told to.
“I didn’t give them that hard a job, did I?” Rann asks Rob, the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice. Rob just shrugs.
“Rann, what the hell did you throw on the sled last night? Spiked bolas, golden caltrops and a giant net, but no tents? Only barley bread as rations? No bait?” Johnny turns to question Rann, holding one of the spiked bolas in question.
“Last minute additions by the Chief. She said it won’t rain, and we need space to take everything back once the bloodbeast’s on the sled. The fewer things we bring, the fewer we have to take back.” Rann answers bluntly, placing the wood he was carrying on the ground.
“The Chief can predict the weather…?” Han asks.
“I trust her judgement.” Rann states, moving through the crowd around the sled to grab a wooden frame and a rough fabric sheet from it.
“We have barley bread…?”
“We call it that so it’s more palatable.” Rann shrugs.
“But isn’t bread made from barley kinda…” I hesitantly sniff the small, round, hard loaf of bread before me. It smells like some kind of grain, sure, but not a pleasant one. “Not good…?”
“It also means it won’t get your hopes up.” He chuckles to himself.
“Did anyone tell the two newbies the rules of the expedition team?” Arshak says, arms crossed and shooting a look at me.
“You just volunteered to.” Rann says, patting Arshak on the shoulder as he passes him.
“Tch… fine.” Arshak sighs. “We leave nothing behind. Every arrow you shoot, you pick up. Every meal you eat, you finish. Before we leave we cover our tracks and destroy the campsite. Not a trace left. Which means Han, watch where you shoot and don’t waste arrows.”
“Good job.” Rann pats Arshak’s shoulder again as he walks back to the sled. “We’re using metal arrowheads. If we lose even one, Ingrid’s going to hang someone by their ankles.”
“I-Ingrid…” Han shudders at the mention of her name. “I hit a nail wrong and bent it… Ingrid made me hammer it back until it was perfectly straight. It took three days…”
“Then you know what she’s capable of.” Rann nods solemnly. “Marina, your spear. Keep it close.”
Rann hands me the bear spear. Knowing what to expect, I take it in both hands and hold it upright. It’s easier to handle now that I know how heavy it is.
The rest of the expedition team gawk up at the massive spear I’m holding. Most of them wouldn’t have actually seen someone holding this yet, and it’s longer than any of us are tall, even taller than Rob.
“Er, question, sir…” Han asks hesitantly.
“Answer.” Rann responds.
“If we need something that big to kill this bloodbeast… will our arrows even do anything?” Han continues. It’s a good question, actually. If this giant spear is what’s needed for the job, what will arrows do?
“You, along with the twins and Einar, will aim for its throat, eyes, and joints. You’re there to annoy it, not kill it. John and Rob will throw bolas at its legs and be ready with the nets. I’ll be in front of it, either getting my spear in its neck or down its throat. Marina jumps on top of it, driving her spear through its neck. All goes well, it’ll die on the spot.” Rann rehashes the plan, each person nodding as they’re mentioned.
“Is that why someone stuck spikes on these perfectly good bolas?” Johnny asks, twirling one around lightly.
“Its legs are too thick to bind with bolas. Those are to get on its joints or paws and hinder its movement.” Rann answers.
“And these shiny golden crows’ feet are the Chief’s handiwork, I take it? How do we even hide these?” Johnny holds up one of the caltrops in question, its clean golden edges shining in the dull light.
“We don’t. When it goes for the bait, we throw them behind it.” Rann says.
“What, it’ll just let us toss these behind it?” Johnny questions, and a couple others mutter in agreement on how this bloodbeast will just let us throw things behind it.
“I’ve encountered bloodbeasts a few times in my life. There’s one thing they all have in common.” Rann starts.
“They all have a taste for human flesh?” Johnny cuts in sarcastically.
“They don’t give a damn what goes on around them. The only thing that can threaten a bloodbeast is another bloodbeast, and they never move quietly. So long as it doesn’t see us, it won’t pay us a moment’s notice.” He finishes.
“Now I have a question, captain… What bait?” Arshak asks, peering over the contents of the sled. The only thing “edible” there is the barley bread.
“You’ve seen the jackhorn tracks around. You two can hunt one for us.” Rann nods towards Arshak and Arshiya.
“Ey, hunt us a couple more. Fatten us up a bit before the bloodbeast eats us.” Johnny quips.
“The twins and I will find one.” Einar states in his usual blunt manner, slinging his bow over his shoulder.
“As… can’t I help hunt one?” Han asks, hopefully grabbing his bow. Einar just gives him a look, and he backs down.
“You’ve never seen a live one, boy.” He says, adding insult to injury.
“One will do. We’d attract too much attention cooking something out here.” Rann shoots down the idea of catching a few extra jackhorns for dinner. “Before you three head off, come with me. We’ll scout the den. The rest of you, get the fire going and finish setting up camp.”
Rann, the twins and Einar take their leave, heading northeast from the campsite, leaving Rob, Johnny, Han and I to finish setting everything up by the time they get back.
“Well, you heard him. Let’s get to it.” Johnny shrugs, grabbing another wooden frame from the sled.
Instead of tents, we had wooden frames with a taut fabric sheet covering one size, nailed along the sides of the frame, long enough to sleep on, like a cot of sorts. Its purpose is to keep your body and most of the fabric off the ever-muddy earth so you stay dry. Apparently such a frame is needed for this part of the Abyss - it rarely rains here, but the ground is always sodden and wet. It’s neither hot nor cold, but it’s certainly humid. It made finding dry leaves for the fire a pain. But as reward for my effort, I set up the campfire while the others got out the bed frames and supplies. I’d set up a nice little log cabin fire, now I just needed to find the fire striker to light it. It should be somewhere on the sled.
The flint stick is where it should be. The fire starter to strike the flint is… it should be… um.
“Ey, Feathers, what’s taking so long with the fire?” Johnny pipes up.
“I’ve got the flint, I just can’t find the fire starter…”
“Fire starters’ with the flint.” Johnny calls back.
“It isn’t.”
“What? It’s with-”
“The fire starter isn’t here!”
“It… what?” Johnny gets up, walking over to the sled beside me and rifling through the small wooden boxes lining one side of the sled. “The hell… I packed it, where the hell is it?”
“What’s wrong?” Han asks, walking up to the sled. Rob takes note of what we’re doing and comes over too.
“Where… Falian’s brass balls. We can’t find the fire striker.” Johnny huffs, standing back up.
“Then how are we supposed to light the fire with no fire starter?” Han says, peering down at the boxes himself.
“Any of you wanna whip out your secret fire magic? Those wings of yours got any neat tricks, Marina?” Johnny inquires.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I’ve never tried any magic, and I don’t think right now is a good time to start.”
“We’ve got other metal bits all over the place. Can’t we just use one of them?” Rob asks glumly. He doesn’t talk much, and when he does, he sounds slightly bothered by the fact that he had to talk.
“We can’t just use any random bit of steel. It’s gotta be high quality, thin, and something sharp. An arrow head wouldn’t cut it.” Johnny says, annoyed at Rob’s dumb suggestion.
High quality, thin and sharp metal, hmm… You’re thinking what I’m thinking, hmm?
“Like this?”
Right on cue, one of my wings pops out from under my cloak, keeping itself furled against my side as the outermost blade-feather flicks out to full length, slightly startling everyone present.
“... Yeah that might just do it, Feathers.” Johnny says, scratching his head.
Taking the flint in hand, I walk over and kneel by the kindling prepared on the fire, the choicest dry leaves in all of the Abyss. Now, uh… wings. How do I explain this? I hold the flint stick above the fire, and then you strike downwards along it to spark. Hold the flint, strike down…
With their usual swift movement, the extended blade-feather swipes downward, a shower of sparks falling over kindling. Smoke quickly begins to rise amidst the leaves and twigs, as licks of flame reach out to grasp at the stacked logs and branches.
A small round of applause is made as the fire catches, and the campsite is illuminated by a pale orange glow.
“Well. Next best thing to magic, ey.” Johnny nods.
With the campsite set up, the four of us stand around the campfire, idling away the time until Rann and the others return.
“So, um… Rob, John, how many expeditions have you two gone on?” Han asks, breaking the silence.
“Dunno.” Rob shrugs indifferently.
“More than a few, yeah. Been doin’ this for… probably ten years or so now? Been all over the Abyss.” Johnny shrugs, but actually answers compared to Rob.
“Is everywhere around here like… This?” Han continues, directing his questions more at Johnny than Rob.
“There’s all kindsa places down here, kid. We’re pretty far down south here, it doesn’t rain much. You saw the stonefields. Creepy, fog-covered place. Rann could tell you more than I can, he’s been everywhere. You think the trees here are creepy, oozin’ sap like blood with charred black trunks. There’s worse. Pits of fire that never stop burnin’. Mushrooms that look like skulls that suck the life out of the trees. Rusted-over swords as big as trees, surrounded by piles of human skulls. The Ghostwood. I’ve been near the Ghostwood once. I’d never go back there again if I had a choice. Everythin’ round here’s brown, red, or reddy brown. Those trees, white as snow, the ground cracked, dry, and stained grey. If you set one foot in there, you’d be dead in seconds… As I said. All kindsa places.” Johnny’s answer hangs in the air for a time.
I’ve seen one or two of the things he mentioned. The pits of fire that burn ceaselessly, and the piles of human skulls. Rusted swords as big as trees? Mushrooms that look like skulls? The ghost woods that kill you within seconds after setting foot in there? That’s the kind of thing you’d hear in bed time stories, to keep children away from places they shouldn’t be, but… Johnny wasn’t lying when he talked about them. He’s more laid back and relaxed than most here, but the look in his eyes as he spoke of those places tell of the horrors he’s seen.
“South, huh… how far south from Have-mmmph?!” Han goes to ask, before Rob’s giant hand covers half his face, as he puts his other finger to his lips.
“We don’t talk about how far town is. Never.” Rob warns, his voice stern and hard.
Han nods quickly, before Rob finally takes his hand away.
“Probably shoulda told you two. First rule of the expedition team.” Johnny sighs, crossing his arms.
“... The first rule is…?”
“Never talk about where the town is. Never.” Rob answers.
“You mean… Are there really like, whole other entire groups down here… groups as big as everyone from Have- I mean, town?” Han corrects himself before he draws Rob’s ire.
“All kindsa people out here, kid. Never know when someone else is listenin’.” Johnny says, quickly scanning the treeline around camp.
“Mmhm. Or when someone’s sneaking up.” Rann says, appearing behind Johnny and patting him on the shoulder.
“What the- Falian’s brass balls!! The hell you doin’ sneakin’ up on me, Rann!?” Johnny nearly jumps out his skin, as Rann stands beside him.
“Here for you three. Marina, watch the camp. Einar and the twins will be back soon.” Rann nods towards the other three.
“What? We leaving her alone?” Rob questions, shooting a look towards me.
“Yes. We are. Get a move on.” Rann responds, turning back towards the bloodbeast’s den.
With Rob’s protest shot down, he and the two others take their leave from the camp.
Well, uh.
Guess I have the camp to myself for a bit.
Just me, the lovely fire I lit, and a prepared campsite ready for the night. Sitting alone in the dank, dark woods. No one but me and my wings to keep me company. Clearly, this is where I sit and reflect upon myself, the night before the big hunt.
Rann didn’t mention anything about the bloodbeast. He just told Johnny, Rob and Han to come with him. I assume that means everything is going as planned, but it does make one wonder.
Wonder what I’m supposed to do to pass the time. Practice with the spear?
Aside from getting used to its weight, my job with it is to jump and stab down. There isn’t much to learn.
At least I have the time to admire this weapon, my first… second, second proper weapon in the Abyss. Yes, wings, you’re the first weapon. Maybe if you didn’t carry so much jealousy you might have known how to fly, huh- Ow! Knock it off, already! I’m kidding! Gods…
Speaking of, my second weapon. The bear spear. Taller than me, with a shaft of black wood as smooth and heavy as polished stone. Its spearhead is longer than my hand, sharp and wide, bound, no… nailed and fastened to the wood, strong and secure. Hopefully strong enough that I can stick it in a bloodbeast without it breaking. It’s well made, well weighted. It’s a good spear.
… That’s all I have to say on it, really. I’m not an expert on spears. It lets you poke things beyond arm's length, that’s good enough for me.
Still, even an amateur can appreciate solid craftsmanship-
<
Without a second’s hesitation, I hoist my spear and swing it around behind me at shoulder level, wings spread wide and blades bared like fangs.
Arshiya and Arshak have recoiled back in shock, while Einar just stares at me as he always does, holding a dead jackhorn by the scruff.
“Oh. It’s you three.”
“You noticed us, girl.” Einar says, very slightly raising his voice and just barely cocking an eyebrow, as if asking just how I sensed their sudden presence.
“I, uh… You know, when someone’s close, like a metre- I mean, tal or less behind you, you can usually tell…”
Einar glances down at the ground between us.
“More than a couple tals away, girl.” Einar says with, perhaps, a hint of… I don’t know. I don’t get how he talks. He still hasn’t called me by my actual name.
But, Einar just shrugs slightly, walking past me into the campsite.
I did sense him. I could sense two others, but mainly it was Einar’s presence I felt. It felt like something shouted “Behind” in my head. Did I hear that? Was that my imagination? Are you talking to me, wings?
The lack of a sudden voice in my head accompanied by a brisk shake of my wings answers that question. Okay. Maybe it was just my spatial awareness acting up. Einar does kinda unnerve me.
“... Can you put the spear down now, Marina?” Arshak requests, still slightly tense, given I’m pointing a spear and a whole bunch of blade-feathers in his direction.
“A-ah… right. Sorry.”
My wings slink down to rest close on my back, and I relax the spear.
“Did Rann leave you here alone to take the other three to scout the bloodbeast den?” Arshak asks, walking over and sitting on his designated bed frame.
“He did, although he hasn’t been gone long… what’s the bloodbeast’s den like?”
“You’ll see.” Arshak says, giving me a look as he grabs a bit of bread from his pouch.
Arshiya sits down quietly beside her brother, pulling out her own rations for dinner. Einar stands by the sled, wrapping the dead jackhorn in some cloth before sitting by his bed, settling in for a quiet, awkward meal as Einar stares at me the whole time he’s eating.
Einar’s just… staring at me. As he always does. Does he want something? Is he curious about something? Does he hate me?
“Einar?”
“You’re not eating, girl.” He answers briskly.
“... I’ll eat once I get back with Rann.”
Einar shrugs, finally looking away from me and giving me a moment to breathe. Thank the gods…
“Speaking of.” Einar nods his head slightly in the direction he’s looking.
Johnny, Han and Rob march back into camp with Rann behind them, the three of them slumping down on their respective beds, looking some level of shocked, concerned, or outright defeated.
“I swear, Rann. We die, I’m hauntin’ you for the rest of time.” Johnny grumbles, glaring at Rann.
“We’ll be fine. Marina. Let’s go.” Rann brushes off Johnny’s groaning, motioning for me to get up and follow him.
“Yeah yeah, have fun you two. Feathers, see if you can convince him outta this nonsense. There’s no way we’re gettin’ outta this alive.” Johnny yells, as I get up and turn to follow Rann back into the trees towards the bloodbeast’s den.
We’ve been walking for about ten minutes, with no bloodbeast den in sight.
“Johnny, uh… didn’t sound very confident back there.”
“We’ll be fine.” is Rann’s only answer.
After another five minutes of silently walking through the sparse bloodwood forest, Rann finally speaks up.
“We’ll be at your point soon. Yours is further away than the rest.” Rann says.
I guess it would be, given my role is to jump “off the top of the cave” to drive the spear through the back of its neck. Simultaneously the most and least dangerous job of them all.
“Here.” Rann stops, putting his arm out in front of me to stop me.
Ah.
The ground beneath us abruptly drops about a metre ahead. Before us lies a sizable clearing among the trees, littered with fallen trees and large, broken and gnawed-on bones. We’re standing on a ledge about ten metres up, with presumably the den’s entrance gaping below us.
“We’re…”
“About ten tals up.” Rann answers before I ask.
“The bloodbeast’s wounded, too wounded to hunt. It’s had nothing but bones to chew for weeks. Even the scent of a dead jackhorn would lure it out.” Rann points to the middle of the clearing. “The bait will be there.” He then points to two spots either side of the bait’s location. “There’s enough litter for us to hide behind. Once it’s taken the bait, John and Rob will toss caltrops behind it, then hit its front legs with the bolas. Einar, Han and the twins will hit its face and neck with arrows. I keep its attention on me with the bear spear, aiming for its neck, or better still, right down its throat. John and Rob throw the net up over its head. Once it’s immobilised, I give you the signal, and you strike from above to put it out of its misery.”
Rann turns to look at me. “Any questions?”
“... just how big is this bloodbeast if it’s in a cave ten tals tall?”
“5 tals, maybe 6. On its hind legs it reaches double that height.” Rann shrugs lightly.
“So a five tal tall bloodbeast, from a ten tal tall cave, about…”
“Ten tals out from the cave entrance.” Rann clarifies.
“That is… way, way further than I’ve ever jumped.”
“You’re aiming for a bigger target this time. You’ll be fine.” Rann pats me on the shoulder, turning to head back to camp.
“Wh- This time the target’s a godsdamned 6-tal-tall murder-bear!!”
Rann just chuckles dryly, as I quickly follow behind him back to the camp. Despite my worries, I am hungry, and I haven’t eaten yet…
Fortunately, we got back to camp soon enough. The rest of the expedition team is gathered around the campfire, trying to keep themselves warm as the last faint light of day fades.
“So. Any luck?” Johnny asks, sitting up to look at me.
“It… well, if everyone does their parts, it should work…” I respond, sitting down on the edge of my cot, finally getting a chance to eat the barley bread rations I have for dinner.
Johnny looks at Rob in disbelief, who sighs and shrugs.
“I would have thought the one told to jump off a cliff like some kinda crazy would be the one to take issue with Rann’s plan here.” Johnny shrugs.
“Well… it’s…”
Everyone in the camp is looking across at me. No one looks particularly hopeful or glad about this situation, and in their eyes, I should be the least happy of all.
“A bloodbeast’s a bigger target than a sack of sand.” Is my answer.
Everyone just sighs, groans, or looks down. Rann chuckles to himself.
“Shoulda known better than askin’ for common sense from the girl that jumped on the back of a carrion hawk first time she saw one…” Johnny grumbles.
“But if someone didn’t-”
“Why did you act, girl.” Einar stares directly at me, cutting Johnny off before he can speak.
“Why…”
Because it was the right thing to do, is what I wanted to say.
But that didn’t sit right.
There were plenty of guards there. Vann was there. The Chief was there. They lost Nate, but they had the numbers to take it down. It was already wounded and screaming, I more or less just finished it off. There were better skilled people, more capable, who could have killed it, avenging Nate. I could have gotten myself killed. I could have ended up like Nate, too. I knew all that then, as I know it now.
But I still moved. I still acted. I still grabbed that spear, leapt through the air, and threw myself into a dangerous situation without a second thought. Maybe not even a first thought; I didn’t think, I just acted. I just… saw people in trouble, and knew, somehow, I could help. And thankfully, it worked out.
“Hmm.” Einar grunts. “Seems you understand.”
“Right. Get to sleep, the lot of you. We’ll move before dawn. We set out in groups I took you in. Arshak, Arshiya, Einar, you go first, scout the clearing. Han, Rob, John, you bring the sled up near the clearing. Marina and I will come last; Marina goes up atop the cave, I set the bait to draw it out. We go as planned from there.” Rann orders, and the expedition team all half-heartedly sound off, laying down to get as much sleep as they can.
Normally, the anticipation would be keeping me up all night, but half a day of dragging a sled helped me get right to sleep.