Only an hour had passed when they exited the northernmost gate of Port Blefcynn. Elana’s men had been chatting incessantly since their departure, but the conversations had grown more boisterous over time.
Everyone had been riding in a staggered formation up until Elana’s mount started nosing past Kalos' own. The high-strung steed shook its head defiantly before trying to pick up the pace in order to overtake them even more before Elana gently reined the creature back, curtailing its efforts.
“Da Sea’o Palms be cursed ground I tell ya,” one of the pirates announced loudly to his mates. He sounded anxious, but excited at the same time.
“Aye,” replied Lugor, his voice easily differentiated form the others by the thickness of its accent and the depth of its tone, which easily carried over everyone else's all at once, “But tink'o da treasure what could be found’ere. All the gold’n jewels of Sultra n' Norlan could be waitin’ just beyond that brink fer all we know! I say, bony hands of the ole lords are holdin it out for us to take all around!”
A ripple of excitement ran through the group as Lugor waved his hand over the panoramic view of the forest ahead. They started chattering with renewed vigor, sharing all the legends and ghost stories they could recant about the various treasures rumored to have been lost at Folmsae over the years.
Kalos glanced over at Elana, who appeared to be ignoring the entire conversation with minimal effort. She looked even more beautiful in the daylight than he remembered.
“Think the rumors are true?”
Elana didn’t bother to look over at him as she gave her curt reply, “I believe Folmsae’ll kill ever'one of us if we don’t focus on the path ahead rather than the pretty faces next to us.”
Her cold and harsh tone made it seem as though she were chastising him for addressing her at all in front of everyone.
“Yeah, I guess it’ll take more than a fancy horse and a comely dagger to survive this journey.”
Kalos’ words were sharp and insulting. He roughly kicked his horse in the side and refused to look back as he pulled away at a brisk trot. His eyes fell unexpectedly on his father, who happened be listening to every word that was spoken between them.
Grimm held fast to him with a sidelong gaze of disapproval that was hard to bear. The crease in his brow made Kalos feel like a failure for what had just happened.
“Keep your eyes open and your mouths shut!” Elana snapped from somewhere behind. Kalos hadn't noticed when she fell back to join her own crew in the rear as far away from him as possible.
Everyone had agreed to travel together for the sake of hunting a rogue group of pirates that retreated into the wilderness after the previous nights’ ambush on Port Blefcynn. Now there seemed to be two distinct groups separated by at least twenty paces of toxic air, all traveling together to reach the same goal in the most disharmonious way possible. A foul, cold breeze wafted past them like a bad omen for the trip ahead.
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The first day ended uneventfully other than the awkward atmosphere that had come as a result of Kalos and Elana’s thorny exchange. What originally started out as a promising partnerships now seemed more like an uncomfortable truce between enemies working together only as a necessity for the greater good.
Despite the tension permeating the air, a few members from both groups had eventually given in to bantering with one another again, which was originally initiated by Lugor and Avestus at some point as they drifted closer together over time.
Eventually, the groups settled down for the night near one of two fires that’d been constructed at opposite ends of a small encampment to get some rest. Everyone was still nervous about being in the middle of the cursed forest of palms known as Folmsae, but the fire at least helped keep them warm while the drinks lightened their spirits.
Grimm was resting alone near one of the campfires while the others, including Elana, had situated themselves at the opposite end of camp. Kalos, after watching his dad sit by himself for quite some time, slowly made his way over.
The old warrior simply stared into the darkness with an empty, tranquil expression. He couldn’t imagine Grimm being able to see anything at all so far into the night, but he was still concerned.
“You alright, da?” The title of endearment he often used as a child slipped out unexpectedly. Grimm looked over with a faint smile.
“Care to sit?” He didn’t appear to be overly-invested in his son's decision, but Kalos could tell something was weighing heavily on his mind that he wanted to share with him.
Kalos took a seat and leaned back against a palm tree that’d been warming up near the fire. Soon, he began watching the same general direction his father had been studying for over an hour.
“Your father was a very important man, Kalos.” Grimm took a long, slow breath before continuing.
“I raised you as he would’ve wanted. With courage of heart and the truest of spirit. Your ability to stand against the tides of darkness that will soon sweep over Ceirlan. You are wise in the ways of combat and have, rightfully so, been entrusted with some of the oldest, most forbidden fighting secrets your ancestors possessed. I believe they will serve you well. I know he would be proud if he could see you now.”
Grimm’s expression never changed. Neither sorrow nor satisfaction was present in his eyes. Kalos saw nothing but a cold, steady, entirely unnerving sense of calm.
Kalos’ eyes were different. He was breathing heavily. He listened to every word with difficulty while adrenaline coursed through his veins. He had no desire to fight or flee, though, he just wanted to know more. His mind raced with countless thoughts and questions. Though it was strange hearing such things from Grimm's mouth, he felt like he had always known that something was unusual about his life. Somehow what he was hearing made sense though he had never really expected to hear it in the first place.
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“Your family was slain as a result of their ancient ties to the old way when the Black King took control. It was a very dark time for Ceirlan. A season of unfathomable sorrow and suffering. As we speak, evil forces lie in wait to cover the land once again like they did before Ceirlan was even a dream in your great grandfather's mind. It’ll begin again very soon. You must do everything you can to stop what arises from the ashes of your ancestors.” Grimm shifted slightly in his seat. His words were completely devoid of feeling, almost like he was talking in a trance.
Suddenly, something felt wrong. A chill prickled the back of Kalos' neck. Toward the darkness, an odd glimmer drew his attention. A long, deep shadow snaked between the trees just beyond the edge of the fire's light. Suddenly it shifted with the breeze. Grimm slowly stood to his feet while Kalos could only stare in panic.
He realized Grimm was still fully equipped from the day's journey. On his hip hung the same blade he had so expertly wielded during their onslaught through the narrows, but now there was something unusual on his opposite hip. A smaller sword had been fastened there at some point. The end of its hilt was embedded with an ominous, black stone that displayed a long, thin vein of orange across the middle. Kalos had never seen his father carry anything like it before.
Grimm looked completely comfortable as he stood and waited for some unknown thing to occure. What seemed like an eternity later which had only happened in a few short breaths, he turned to look down upon his son with an eerie, unnaturally calm expression.
“Be still...”
From the black came a low, deep growl that completely drowned out the crackling of the fire for several seconds. Conversations ceased as the entire group quickly leapt to their feet and began staring toward it from across the way.
The small garrison stretched twenty paces from one end to the other. As a matter of safety, the horses had been tied at various places between the campfires to keep them confined to the light so that they could be protected and quickly retrieved if anything went wrong. No one had expected danger of such magnitude, though. No one other than Grimm, at least.
Elana’s steed snorted and stamped viciously against the ground as it struggled in vain to pull free of its bindings. A wave of panic rolled through the entire herd.
Grimm boldly turned to faced the forest and took a deep breath, placing one hand on each weapon while staring toward the direction of the terrifying roar had arrived from.
“Whatever happens,” the man growled at Kalos, “Remember the things I have taught you. It’ll be more difficult for you from now on, but you will survive, and we will meet again. Until then, remember the hunt.”
Grimm’s eyes narrowed as he marched right into the darkness without another word.
While Kalos sat stunned and the others stared past him, a blistering crackle of heat pierced the night sky. Crickets fell silent and even the wind seemed to bow before the ferocity of the creature’s might.
Suddenly, a few palm trees snapped as a powerful blast of lightning exploded through the forest, momentarily blinding everyone in the camp. Another roar as loud as the first vibrated Kalos’ chest. Without warning a gust of wind struck the ground right in front of him, causing items to burst away in every direction.
“Kalos! Get back!” Elana’s voice echoed through another roar that came directly from over his head. The third had been so close that everyone trembled while the horses began to whinny and rear against their bindings in terror.
Fortunately none pulled free, but they looked like they were about to kick the trees down around them as they tried to stampede away. Kalos simply sat frozen in place, staring up at the sky.
A glimpse of two shadows under the light of the moon appeared several paced above as they circled around one another in the dark. Accompanied by the sound of clashing steel at various intervals, they curved and collided multiple times without slowing down at all.
“Swords!” Avestus yelled after the reality of what was happening finally sank in. Both groups scrambled to find their weapons with little success. Doogin and Elana simply remained where they stood, waiting to see what would happen next, just like Kalos.
Finally, just as the men found their weapons and stood at attention as a single unit ready for battle, all sound from Grimm's engagement ceased and the forest fell silent once again.
No one knew what to say for they were all equally unprepared to help when Grimm disappeared into the forest to face the challenge of whatever was waiting for him.
Kalos suddenly leapt to his feet and shouted at the moon, “Da?”
In the great distance another shriek echoed forth. The creature was so far away that it could’ve easily been mistaken for the hoot of an owl or the call of a coyote by one who didn’t know the sounds of the wild.
Kalos turned toward the others, “Get the horses! We must hurry!"
Just as Avestus was about to run over to his horse with Lugor and the others tagging close behind, Doogin’s voice disrupted their efforts.
“Sadly, you’ll ne’er be able to catch up.” He poured what was left of his drink on the ground and dropped the empty mug beside the fire.
“What’re you talking about? We just heard the filthy beast only a moment ago! They were right over there.” Avestus was livid, and sounded as though he were ready to chase the creature to the ends of the earth and back if necessary.
“He’s right! We must go now if there’s any hope to save'im!” Even Elana was ready to take off after Grimm and the unknown beast, having taken several steps toward the horses herself to join her men as they insinctively started preparing to take chase.
“No, t’werent what ya thought, comrades.” Doogin slowly pointed toward the direction the roar came from. “T’was an echo ya’eard. Dat animal’s voice carried all da way to the mountains’n back. We’ve no way of knowin’ where dey really were when it hapn't.” He shook his head, staring into the flames with a deeply troubled gaze.
Kalos nearly broke into a run as he rushed over, “I can track it! I used to do it all the time in the forest.” Avestus and the others perked up before quickly looking back to Doogin with a spark of hope in their eyes.
“Nay, boy,” Doogin responded sharply, “Dat creature didn’t leave any tracks from the sky.” He gave a hard stare to each and every person standing around him, pinning them where they stood.
“Everything leaves tracks,” Kalos said bitterly, “I could go out there right now and find…”
“Belay dat!” Doogin nearly spat in frustration.
“Ya can’ay track a dragon, boy, no matter’ow good ya are wit'out already knowing where it sleeps.” Doogin’s words hit like a hammer against the anvil of Kalos’ heart.
It was Elana’s turn to protest, “Even if t’were a dragon, it can’t fly forever!” She was now standing only a few paces away, staring intensely at Doogin.
“Aye, tis a dragon I can assure you, lass. Also, of everyon’ere, that warrior has da greatest chance’o comin’back alive. None here could even hope to stand a chance aginst't. He did what he must to keep the rest of us safe.”
Doogin turned to look toward the left when a third echo rang through the camp just as loud as the last had, but from a completely different direction.
The wise old blacksmith shoved one finger into the air, “If we were ta go after that creature, we may very well miss him all together’n be slain fer our troubles by something else entirely. I don’t imagine Grimm’d be too keen to find our corpses tomorrow after felling the beast on his own for our sakes!”
Doogin shook his head before turning to face them again, “We should continue the hunt, like he said fer us ta do before taking that beast on'iself!”
Kalos mulled over Grimm's final words again and again, growing more frustrated by the second as he came to the same conclusion each time. Doogin was right.
“It’s true. He wanted us to continue the hunt... That’s all we can do now.” Kalos sat hard on the ground as he stared up into the night with silent tears streaming down his cheeks while everyone bitterly returned to the fire in silence. The journey had suddenly grown far more difficult than any of them could've imagined.
"What are we even doing here, now?" Kalos' voice trembled as he hung his head in defeat.
?2024, K. M. Plum, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
