Chapter 36 - A Childhood of Scars

Standing on top of the pyramid’s grand plateau, Adam leaned on a pedestal with the hieroglyph of some employee within the Starwing Order. Judging by the strange, unfamiliar emotions that welled up inside Adam, Caine probably thought of her as intensely annoying. Vague frustration about a horse-like laugh, constant interruptions, and unending complaints over coworkers welled up. Although Caine did seem to like her—

Adam scrunched up his face, jerked his arm away and looked for another place to lean on. Dirty bastard.

Adam, Oliver, and Emily had discussed where to go next for a while now. The main options were to visit Ziecherhein’s Node or the one of the Queen of Glass. Oliver really wanted to visit the first one, considering the possibility the disaster of Ziecherhein had been caused by an Invocation of the memory powers. Things would get dangerous indeed if Caine had gotten his hands on something like that. And by going there they would find out what Caine knew about the disaster at least.

Adam and Emily preferred to visit the Queen of Glass’ one first. In there, they could most probably find out more about the Penduli’s plans of action. Maybe they could even learn about the Penduli’s plans in spreading the Taint and how the Taint was applied. In the end, the group decided to visit the Queen of Glass’ Node first. Although Adam secretly hoped he’d be able to avoid the Ziecherhein Node altogether.

Before the group left, they filled their water bags in the streams and restocked food by hunting and preparing several wild birds. They followed the glowing goldish-green trail in the ground which corresponded with the Queen of Glass’ pedestal into a wide tunnel, lushly grown with trees and plants. Familiar faceless, wooden statues lined the walls, which gave the impression the whole network of tunnels was dug into the wood of a gigantic tree. A calm breeze rustled the pink and blue blossoms of great willow-like trees.

However, strange sounds began to echo through the tunnel. Barely audible whispers could be heard amongst the wind. “After all we’ve done for you…” Vera’s voice cried.

Adam snuck a glance at Emily, but she held her head high despite the disturbing whispers of her parents. As if nothing was wrong, she chatted about her work at the Starwing Order, and how she felt more and more alienated from the totalitarian rule by Zachalynn.

As they walked, the whispers were joined by vague screams that echoed from far away in the tunnel. The shrieks of metal on metal followed, as well as the thumps of great objects that fell onto the ground: a battle.

Emily halted and peered into the distance of the winding tunnel. “Hmm, could the Thalers be fighting the Roots over there?”

Oliver frowned in the distance. “I doubt it, there’s no sign of the Overgrowth anywhere.”

Adam closed his eyes and focused on his hearing for a while. “There are a lot of those whispers, more than I’ve encountered here before. And many eerie, chaotic sounds I can’t really place. I do hear battle cries of the Thalers, but nothing that sounds like the Roots.” He cocked his head to the side and frowned at the pattern in the ground. While its colour used to be a bright goldish-green, it was gradually changing into red as they progressed through the tunnel. “Yeah, there’s something different going on.”

Emily raised an eyebrow at Oliver. “Maybe the Thalers are fighting a Thuraum?”

A new whisper echoed through the tunnel. “…you’ll shame your father, while he’s done so much for you…” Emily shivered and moved a couple of steps away.

Oliver moved away as well. “Plausible. The Thalers described how those spread through tunnels and how whole battalions of warriors were needed to push one Thuraum back. So, let’s be safe and go to Ziecherhein!”

Adam held up a hand. “Wait, if that thing is distracted, it may be the perfect opportunity to observe one. Furthermore, we haven’t seen a lot of Thalers lately, maybe we can ask them some questions.”

Emily’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh! True, that would be really helpful! Hmm, maybe we should let me do the talking, though. Before you guys get caught, again.” She stuck out her tongue and Adam snickered.

Oliver immediately stopped walking and turned on the spot with a reddened face. “They had an absolute advantage of numbers over me!” His lips quivered in utter indignation.

“Indeed, so, who was it again Adam had to rescue from a cellar?” Emily said sweetly. The left corner of her mouth curled upwards in a mischievous smile.

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A blue vein bulged on Oliver’s reddened forehead. “This is insufferable!” he sputtered.

Adam waved his hand as if to brush his arguments away. “Relax, you weren’t the only one tied up like an oversized sausage. But it is true that Emily didn’t need to do a ‘strategic retreat’ from the Thalers like we had to.”

“If we step in there, it might be both the Thalers and the Thuraum coming for us!” Oliver hissed with a high pitch in his voice. “As our old captain used to say: ‘If you go looking for trouble, feeling brave, you’ll book a one-way ticket to your grave!’ ”

“True,” Emily admitted. “But the Thaler’s knowledge about the Realm is too valuable to ignore.”

“And we should know how the Thuraum fight so we can devise a strategy before we get attacked ourselves,” Adam said.

Oliver glared at Adam specifically. Eventually, he sighed in deep frustration with wide-open eyes. “Mark my words, you two will be the end of me.”

Carefully, the three of them continued through the tunnel. However, their surroundings gradually changed. Broken old toys of Caine, like the red rocking horse and tin soldiers, lay lonely beside the ferns or in puddles, next to study books and empty bottles that reeked of alcohol. There were reflections on the smooth surfaces of stalagmites that pictured Louis, Vera, and Caine. One showed how Louis happily introduced a young Caine to officials within the Starwing Order. The sturdily built man with his red-brown moustache had proudly laid both hands on Caine’s shoulders. The boy bravely shook hands with all the strange people. However, another one showed how Louis dragged a young Caine away from his toys and pushed him towards the study room.

Adam shot worried glances at Emily, who walked forward with a tightened jaw, apparently determined not to show a hint of emotion.

Gradually, more and louder whispers appeared. Ranging from laughter at the dinner table, with the clinking of cutlery, to Vera giving instructions on how to ride moose, to screaming insults between Louis and Vera.

Adam’s eyes widened when they rounded a corner. The tunnel ended in a replica of Vera’s room. It was strangely enlarged as if seen through the eyes of a little child. Vera lay on her four-poster bed, which was merely lit by the red, leaf-vein-like pattern in the ground and the candles on the nightstand. Her gaunt body, dressed in a filthy nightgown, shook as she cried. Her face was hidden by the long, wild mass of her usually tidy black hair. The sour stench of vomit and alcohol burned in Adam’s nose. The expensive colourful carpets were covered with bottles and filth.

“After all I did for you…” Vera howled, with an unnatural, loud echo in her drunk voice. “Get out then! Leave me to rot! It’s not like you’ve ever cared about your own damn mother!”

Adam gaped around him. He knew Vera, at least, he thought he did. She had always been so kind and supportive of him. Why had he never noticed what was really going on?

As the pattern in the ground continued to redden, Vera screamed louder and louder. Visible behind the black locks of hair was a disturbing, stretched-out version of her face. “GET OUT!” she howled, throwing a bottle which splintered against the wall behind Adam.

“She’s not real!” Emily hissed, urging Adam and Oliver to move. “Come on!”

They rushed along the trail, which led into a wide wardrobe, while the corrupted version of Vera tried to stand up with jerking, drunk movements.

As if they’d suddenly ended up in a fever dream, their environments changed again after they walked through the wardrobe’s doors. Now, they were at a family party in the wide gardens outside Caine’s house. Relatives of the Roosenburg family, dressed in expensive garments, sat on chic benches and watched Caine perform. Cheered on by Vera and Louis, the ten-year-old Caine stood on a small stage and showed his Novaseering stances. With sweat beading on his forehead, he conjured a crude Ironglass statue of an owl between his hands. The crowd clapped, but their smiles didn’t reach their hard, judging eyes.

Vera’s appearance could hardly have been more different from the broken shell they’d just seen. Clad in feathered robes and silver jewellery befitting her high station within the Starwing Order, she seemed like an epitome of elegance. Smiling warmly, she shook hands, cheered for her ‘little boy,’ and hosted the party with style. It was hard to believe the same person would once willingly join the Pure.

Louis pointed at Caine and undoubtedly bragged to the elderly gentlemen who sat beside him. Meanwhile, a pale version of little Emily lay in a folding bed, almost forgotten among the family’s other children who were way younger than her. She glared at the young Caine with hard eyes of jealousy.

Although the people laughed and cheered, there was a strange sense of pressure all around, comparable to the emotions pressed onto Adam by Schultora and Osaehin. This time, it was an overwhelming necessity to succeed, to achieve results no matter what, out of fear of punishment.

“It’s not real!” Emily stiffly bit off the words as she paced on, following the pattern to an opening amidst the bushes.

When the three of them got out of the bushes, they entered a dark and strangely enlarged version of Caine’s childhood bedroom. With sweat beading on his forehead, Adam wildly glanced around, trying to make sense of whatever he’d ended up in. On a bed just beside him, a young Caine trembled and hid underneath the blankets, covered in jolly, brightly coloured animal motifs. Judging by the smell, the boy was wetting the bed. The screaming voices of Louis and Vera sounded from behind the long oaken door.

“How could you let this happen, you worthless wench!” Louis’ enhanced voice roared.

Vera’s screaming insults were cut short by the sharp snap of a belt.

Caine whimpered beneath his blankets, curled up into a foetal position when Louis’ heavy footsteps neared his door.

Adam pushed through the sickening, overwhelming fear that hung in the room and moved on, following the blood-red pattern in the ground towards the glass doors that should lead to the balcony.

After Adam, Emily, and Oliver practically ran through the doors, they found themselves on the edge of a cave the size of a small Node.