The following morning looks to be another sunny, summer day. Above stretches an expanse of crystal blue only broken by a few high clouds. Coming out of the east, a breath of wind helps to ease the heat of the day.
Corbin informs Mary about his plans to take James into town to see about the reward money. He tells her not to wait lunch for them as they will eat at the Squawking Goose.
At the barn, Corbin grabs a saddle and tosses it upon his horse’s back. As he cinches the underbelly straps, he happens to glance toward James who was looking very confused at a Gordian knot of straps held in his hand. Turning it every which way, he seemed at a loss as what to do next.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I’m sort of embarrassed to admit it but…,” Then his face turned a shade red “I’ve never saddled a horse before. In fact, I’ve never even been on one. They kind of scare me.”
Laughing, Corbin says “That’s hard to believe.” Seeing the redness of James’ embarrassment, he sobers and comes over, taking the tangled mass of straps and buckles. “Here, let me show you what to do. If you’re going to own one, you’d better learn what to do and how to care for it.”
Embarrassment turned to relief. “Thank you.”
Corbin starts by having James become acquainted with his horse. First, he has James gently stroke the face and the neck, letting the horse know that he’s a friend. Corbin then retrieves a carrot from a nearby bin and hands it to James.
Taking the carrot, James offers it to the horse that readily eats it out of his hand. Smiling, he continues petting the horse on the side of the face as it eats and soon isn’t quite as nervous around the beast as he had been.
Corbin then proceeds to instruct James in the proper placement of saddle and tack. He allows James to do the work so he will better learn what to do. When James finishes, Corbin rechecks the tightness and placement of every piece until he’s satisfied that it was done properly and will not loosen.
Once James’ horse is ready, he has him do it all over again with his. This time, James manages to do it a little faster with fewer mistakes. Once Corbin is again satisfied that everything was either done right or had been corrected, he instructs James on the proper mounting technique. Despite his stiff and sore leg, James manages to mount his horse in only two attempts. When he is up and not in immediate danger of falling off, Corbin mounts his horse and starts showing James the various nuances necessary in guiding a horse. He shows him how to use the reins and his knees to move in the desired direction. James is a quick study and soon has a basic understanding of controlling his horse. Corbin has him take the lead as they exit the barn.
In front of the house stand Corbin’s wife and Cyanna who are there to see them off. Corbin waves goodbye and begins making his way down the lane. After several feet, he realizes that James hasn’t followed. He glances back and finds him trying to get the horse to move.
James flicks the reins but the horse merely stands there. “C’mon, boy.”
The horse merely snorts and turns its head to look back at James.
Feeling slightly embarrassed with everyone watching his ineptitude, he continues his efforts, but with little success.
“Kick him gently in the sides.”
He glances to where Corbin has stopped.
“You have to show him that you are in charge.”
James nods, then gives a gentle kick. The horse snorts, but otherwise remains still. He looks to Corbin.
“Harder.”
“All right.” Then to his horse, he says, “Sorry to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.”
Bringing his feet outward from the horse, he jerks them back into its sides. The horse lurches forward.
“There you go,” Corbin praises as James flies by.
Barking erupts behind him as the dogs give chase; which only makes the horse go faster. Terrified and holding on for dear life, James feels himself slipping to the side. His scream of terror echoes across the fields.
“Tor! Cyne!” Corbin yells as his horse bolts forward to catch up with James. “Back home! NOW!”
The dogs break off their chase and glance toward their master with tails between their legs.
“Home!”
Ahead, he sees James tip even more precariously to the side. At the speed James is going, it’s likely he will suffer serious injury if he should fall. Kicking his horse in the sides, he races forward.
“James!” he hollers as the distance narrows. “Hang on!”
Just as James begins losing his balance altogether, a hand reaches out to snag his backpack. Giving out with an incoherent scream, he falls. But instead of slamming to the ground, he’s pulled to the side of Corbin’s horse. Corbin brings them to a halt and lowers a shaky and trembling James to the ground. The aftereffects of terror turn his knees to jelly and he drops in a most undignified manner to the ground.
Corbin pulls up next to him. “Are you okay?”
He looks up, face filled with embarrassment. “Yes.”
“You really weren’t lying about never having been on a horse before.”
James shakes his head. “No, I wasn’t.”
Looking back toward the house, Corbin sees Mary and Cyanna running down the lane toward them. Waving that everything is okay, he hollers, “He’s fine. Get on back.”
James’ horse had continued quite a ways before coming to a stop. Corbin leaves James on the ground to get his nerves under control while he goes to fetch the errant steed. Returning, he dismounts and extends a hand to help James to his feet.
“Now, let’s get you back on and we’ll work on those commands again,”
James takes the hand and comes to his feet. His legs have stopped their trembling and he manages to return to the saddle. Corbin remains next to him while he practices the commands for getting the horse to move without bolting into a run.
Again, James has a hard time getting his horse to go, but after a little coaching from Corbin, manages to get it moving without breaking into a mad, terrifying gallop.
Once he feels confident James will not face another wild ride, Corbin mounts and they head into town. Throughout the ride, he continues instructing James in the finer nuances of controlling his horse and also the proper care and feeding of it.
Hoping to retain at least most of the wisdom Corbin imparts, James pays close attention while at the same time concentrating on keeping his balance so he won’t fall off. He rides as close to Corbin as he can, scared to death that the horse will take off for some unknown reason leaving James in the dirt.
After what seems a very long time, though in fact wasn’t long at all, they arrive at the outskirts of town. Townsfolk out in the early morning offer greetings to Corbin or wave as they pass by.
They follow the road through the center of town until reaching a two-story building bearing a sign by the door depicting three stacks of coins sitting upon a table. Corbin rides to the front where he brings his horse to a halt and dismounts.
He glances to James. “This is Alexander’s place. He’s the local money lender and the one to see about your reward.” He moves to James’ side and offers a hand with dismounting.
James nods then swings down from the saddle. Dismounting, as James learns, is far easier than mounting. They secure their steeds to the hitching post and head for the door.
Alexander’s place is a single, modest-sized room with three armed guards. Two stand on either side of the entrance while the third is positioned next to a door at the opposite end of the room. Along the same wall as the door is an opening with a counter.
Upon seeing them enter, the guard positioned next to the door across the room says, “Good day, sirs. If you will wait just a moment, I shall let him know that you are here.” With that, he opens the door and disappears into the back. A short time later, a man dressed in fine clothes appears followed closely by the guard who closes the door behind them.
The man’s demeanor is warm and friendly. He crosses the room and extends his hand. “Corbin, how are you doing? Are your little ones doing well?”
Taking the hand, Corbin shakes it. “They’re doing well, as am I.” Gesturing to James he adds, “This is James. He is the one that’s here to see you.”
His attention turns to the farmer’s companion and appraises him with a cursory glance. “How may I be of service?”
James hands him the letter from the mayor.
Alexander scans the missive then nods. “Ah, yes, the reward for Garrett the Snake and his men. Heard the story last night at the Squawking Goose. The mayor said you would be coming by. What would you like to do about it?”
“What do you mean, ‘do about it’?”
“Well, I could give it all to you now, but that would be far too much for you to carry. Or, you could set up an account and I would keep it safe and secure for you until such time as you need to withdraw it.”
“Sort of like a bank?”
“Bank?” Alexander asks in confusion.
James nods. “You know, a place where you deposit money, get loans, stuff like that.”
“Uh, yes. Just like that.” Alexander glances questioningly toward Corbin who shrugs and mouths, He’s not from around here.
Oh, he replies in the same silent, discreet manner.
James considers what he might need and realizes he doesn’t have the faintest idea. Whenever he ran characters during role playing, he always liked to have fifty gold pieces. It was a tidy sum and wouldn’t impact his encumbrance too severely, and should more than suffice for his immediate needs.
“I think I’ll take fifty gold pieces and set the rest up in an account.”
“Very good, sir. If you will but wait a moment, I shall return with your coins and the papers to set up your account.” With that he turns and makes for the door. The guard opens it for him and closes it once again after he passes through.
James and Corbin wait only a few moments before the money lender appears at the opening in the wall with a leather pouch, along with three papers. He motions James to the window and opens the pouch. Spilling gold coins onto the counter, Alexander proceeds to count them with James, ensuring they are in agreement that the count is accurate. Once satisfied the number of coins is correct, he has James place the coins back into the pouch. Alexander then takes the papers and points to a line. “You need to make your mark here. This says you are entrusting us with your money, until such time you request it to be withdrawn.”
James takes the papers and to his surprise, can read them. He looks them over and finding nothing that he disagrees with, signs on the line.
Alexander takes the papers. “Thank you, sir. I am certain that you will be pleased with the level of service that my establishment will accord you and your money.”
“Thanks to you as well, Alexander,” James replies, then turns to Corbin, “Shall we go?”
He nods. “Goodbye, Alexander.”
“Goodbye, Corbin. Hope to see you again soon.” Alexander then leaves the window and disappears to the back.
Corbin turns to lead the way out the door to where the horses are waiting outside. James manages to mount without aid on the first attempt and gives Corbin a smile of triumph.
“Now, to Hern’s farm.”
James nods. “Lead on.”
They head their horses back through town and leave by a road other than the one they came in on. James finds that this time, he doesn’t feel in danger of tipping to the side. His horse also responds well to his directions and the difficulty he experienced earlier fails to return.
Once they leave the outskirts of Trendle, Corbin asks what he plans to do once they reach Hern’s place.
“I’m not really sure,” James admits. “It’s likely there will be nothing I can do.”
Hern’s farm lies several miles from town; and with his fear of riding gradually diminishing, James is able to enjoy the ride through the farmland. There’s a certain sense of freedom being on a horse gives that he never felt before. He figures it to be what driving a car for the first time must be like. His grandparents had never felt comfortable with him driving and had somehow managed to forestall any attempt he made to get his license. He wondered what they would think of him now. A touch of homesickness returned, but the sun on his face and the freedom a horse brings soon had him cheerful once more.
From the main road, they take a small lane leading toward a line of trees in the distance. Soon, a small home with a barn out back and corral to the side came into view.
“Is this it?”
Corbin nods
James slows and gives the vicinity a once over. Everything appears normal. He makes a quick loop around the house with Corbin following and fails to discover anything that might indicate the fate of Hern. Returning to the front of the house, James brings his horse to a halt and sits for a moment staring at the open front door. He then closes his eyes to see if can feel anything weird, like a residual trace of evil or magic. He doesn’t.
Yeah, like I’d know what that would feel like even if it was here, he muses to himself as he opens his eyes and dismounts.
“What do you think?”
James shrugs. “Don’t know. Let’s check out the inside.”
He and Corbin dismount and approach the front door and enter. They find the insides just as Corbin had described with dinner still on the table, though by now it was pretty ripe. There was no sign of a struggle or anything. It looked like he just up and walked away.
Returning outside, James considers the problem;
Corbin wants me to find where Hern is. How can I locate him? How did they do it in all those books I read? Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Esp., not sure how to go about those. When you need to find something you use…you use…a compass? Could I fashion a magical compass to point out the direction of Hern’s whereabouts? The image of a tracker having his hound sniff an article of clothing worn by the one he sought sprang to mind. That might just work.
“I think I may have an idea. Let’s go to the barn and see if I can find material to fashion a compass.”
“What’s a compass?”
“It’s an object one uses to find things,” James replies. “Back where I come from, they would use it to always point north. That type of compass doesn’t require magic.”
“Why would you care where north is?”
“It’s mainly used by sailors when they have no sun or stars to steer by.”
“That would make sense.”
Reaching the door to the barn Corbin opens it and steps back, allowing James to enter first.
Once within, James scans the interior to see what materials are available. Over in one corner are a dozen narrow posts neatly stacked. Crossing over to them, he spies one with a diameter measuring roughly three inches and takes it. Motioning for Corbin to come over, he asks, “Could you cut me a smooth, half inch section off of this one?”
“Sure,” he says and takes the post. He then carries it to a workbench near where a rack of tools hangs on the wall. Taking down a saw, Corbin positions the end of the post so it extends over the edge of the workbench. “Do you want it off the end or should I remove the end first, then cut a section?”
Rubbing his finger over the end, he finds it rough and cracked. “Maybe you should take the end off first. I’ll need it smoother than that.”
“All right.” He then proceeds to remove the unusable portion. Once it drops to the ground, he starts on the piece James requested.
While Corbin works on the post, James continues to look through the post pile and finds another that has a slightly wider diameter than the first. When Corbin finishes removing the desired section from the first post, he has him saw a similar piece from the second.
Gathering a few more items that he feels might be useful in compass construction, James returns to the workbench and waits for Corbin to finish. When Corbin is done, he returns the saw to its hook on the wall, then removes the unused portions of the posts from the workbench. After brushing away the sawdust from the surface of the workbench, he lays the two freshly-cut pieces down upon it. Stepping away, he makes room for James.
James picks up the smaller of the two and shows it to Corbin. “Is there a way you can drill a hole through this one? It needs to be slightly bigger than one of these nails?” He gestures to a pile of nails lying on the workbench.
Corbin searches the tools on the wall above the workbench, nods and takes one down. The tool reminds James of a screwdriver but the end is fashioned like a drill. Taking the piece of wood, Corbin uses the tool to bore a hole. When he has the hole the size James requires, he blows off the excess wood debris before handing it back.
James examines it. “Perfect. This will do fine. Placing both pieces of wood on the workbench, he creates a vision of what he wants to accomplish, then releases the magic as he says:
Can’t have even one little groove,
Make both sides perfectly smooth.
At the completion of the spell, he watches the surfaces of the two pieces shift and become smooth as glass.
“Unbelievable,” Corbin exclaim from behind his shoulder. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” Seeing James glance at him, he continues. “Sure, I’ve heard of magic but have never seen it done before.”
“It’s not as easy as it looks.” Turning back to the workbench, he checks to ensure both sides of both pieces are smooth, then sets the smaller piece upon the larger and centers it. A nail is placed in the hole that Corbin had bored in the smaller piece. Removing a hammer from the rack on the wall, he gently taps the nail until the head is almost touching the wood. Satisfied, he flicks the outer edge of the smaller piece and watches as it spins on its axis. There is some momentum lost due to friction as it rubs along the bottom piece, but it should be serviceable.
Using a piece of charcoal, he draws a radial arrow on the surface of the top piece. “It’s finished,” he announces and shows it to Corbin.
The farmer looks at it skeptically. “It is? What’s it going to do?”
“Just watch.” Hoping this works, he holds the bottom piece securely and as he releases the magic says:
Near or far, dead or alive,
Finding Hern, do I strive.
Compass mine, this I say,
The shortest path, point the way.
The intense surge of power at the completion of the spell takes James’ breath away. Before it subsides, he fears that he had made a deadly underestimation of his abilities. But the drawing of power came to an end. Ever so slowly, the top piece rotates until the charcoal arrow points in the general direction of the forest.
“Hern’s that way.”
There is still a minute drawing of power being taken from him. James figures that like the orb back in the cave, such a drawing must be needful to maintain the spell.
“Are you sure?” Corbin asks, uncertainly.
“Pretty sure. Only one way to find out.” He gets up from the workbench and makes his way from the barn. Outside, the charcoal indicator still points toward the forest. Whenever James turns the compass, the charcoal arrow always indicates the same direction; toward the forest.
Moving toward the forest, they reach the forest’s edge and come to a stop. James glances to Corbin. “Shall we go find him?”
Corbin has the look of one who would rather be somewhere else. Eyes lingering for a moment on the forest, he licks his lips, glances to James and nods. “Yes, though let’s be careful.”
“Oh, you can bet on that.”
Following the compass, they make their way into the forest.
An hour of tangled underbrush, fallen trees, and uneven ground later, they arrive at a break in the forest wherein stands an old, abandoned house nestled in the middle of a clearing. It had once been a finely crafted two-story dwelling, though now, one side had partially collapsed. The yard and surrounding area was severely overgrown with brush and small trees. The arrow of the compass points toward the house.
James didn’t relish the idea of entering the house. There was something about it that made his skin crawl whenever he looked at it. Hoping the compass might be pointing to a destination somewhere in the forest beyond, he walks around to the other side. The compass swivels as he moves, the arrow always aiming at the house.
“It says Hern’s in there.”
Corbin makes no reply.
Glancing at his companion, James is surprised to discover a worried look on his face.
“Something wrong?”
Returning his gaze to the building, he says, “If this is the place I’m thinking of, it has a bad history.”
“What do you mean?”
“It happened three score years ago. One day a stranger arrives in Trendle and purchases a claim for a parcel of land within the forest. Said he wanted to get away from city life and find peace and quiet. He contracted several of the townspeople to build his house, this house perhaps. The construction took nearly a year and once the construction was finished he moved in. After that, no one saw much of him. He kept mostly to himself, rarely coming to town and then only to buy supplies.
“It didn’t take long before rumors began surfacing about this man.” He cast a glance to James. “Stranger, especially ones that keep to themselves, are grist for the rumor mill.”
James nodded. From what he had already experienced in his short time in Trendle, he knew exactly what Corbin meant.
“Anyway, one afternoon several boys decided to come and spy on him, to see what he was about. When they arrived, they crept up close to the house and peered through a ground floor window. One climbed a tree to better see inside. The boys claimed that when they looked through the window, they saw the man sitting cross-legged on the floor. A circle encompassing a five pointed star, a pentagram as the townsfolk later discovered, was drawn on the floor not five feet in front of him. At each point of the pentagram burned a candle. The boys said it looked as if the man was in some kind of a trance, and that he was chanting.
“They watched as the man chanted unfamiliar words. Then suddenly, the air above the pentagram began to flux and swirl. At that point, the man’s chanting changed, becoming more intense. From out of the flux and swirl appeared the shape of an inhuman creature not of this world. It slowly began to take shape, growing more solid with every word the man uttered.
“The boy on the branch clung transfixed as he watched the unfolding events. When the creature was almost completely formed, the branch upon which he lay gave out with a loud crack and broke, throwing him to the ground. The end of the branch smashed through the window to the room wherein the man sat.
“The boys claimed that just after the window shattered, they heard a monstrous roar from the other side. The man shrieked in terror before being abruptly silenced. The boys ran as if demons were after them, which was probably not far from the truth. When they returned to town, they went straightaway to the Town Hall and told their story to the mayor, who immediately dispatched a party of armed townsfolk along with a priest to investigate.
“When they arrived, no trace of the man could be found. They did find the pentagram on the floor however, with four of the candles having burned down to nothing. The fifth candle laid on its side, shards from the broken window lay around it. It is believed that when the window shattered, the glass flew and knocked over the candle, which broke the holding spell, allowing the demon, that’s what the priest said was most likely being summoned, to break free and take the man. The priest stated that there didn’t seem to be any traces of evil remaining in the house. But just to be sure, he cleansed the house from top to bottom before they departed.”
Glancing at James to gauge his reaction, Corbin continues. “The people hereabouts avoid this house, they think it’s haunted. Whether by the spirit of the man or by the demon he summoned, no one is sure. Every once in a while, some hunter comes across this place and tells of feelings of foreboding, or of hearing strange noises. If Hern is in there, I would hate to guess what that would mean.”
“I agree, but we need to see if we can find him. That missing boy may be in there as well. We can’t just leave them,” James says with surprising determination. “Should they still be alive, they are going to need our help. If we’re careful, maybe we could get in and out real fast. See if we can find them.”
“Quickly then,” Corbin agrees uneasily. As James leads the way into the house, he follows close behind.
The front room is dark and shadowed with narrow streams of light making their way through the windows. A fine layer of dust covers everything. Grass and small plants have sprouted through the myriad cracks marring the floor. Spider webs fill the corners and drape between bits of old furniture.
As they press ahead, a sense of foreboding settles over James. He tries to shakes it off, but it only grows as they follow the compass toward a hallway leading deeper into the house.
The left side of the hallway has partially collapsed, the debris making for treacherous going. In one place they have to stoop quite a bit in order to make it past where a section of the ceiling had caved in. As they make their way through the rubble, a small amount of light filters through the broken and cracked areas above creating an eerie atmosphere.
Not far past the caved-in ceiling, they come to an opening on their right. It’s a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. Though rubble chokes the stairwell, James figures that they could make it through should the need arise. Looking up into the darkness, he definitely hopes the need does not arise!
Moving past the stairwell they reach another doorway, the last one accessible before the hallway becomes impassable due to the collapsing of the second floor. Peering cautiously around the corner, James looks into a room, one that has somewhat been spared the ravages of time that the rest of the house has suffered. Light filtering in through the room’s broken windows falls upon a five pointed star inscribed on the floor. That must have been where the demon was summoned. Doing a quick scan about the rest of the room, he fails to find anything unusual so steps through the doorway and enters the room. Corbin follows close behind.
Walking to the pentagram, James indicates the broken glass near one of its point. “This must be where the shattered window broke the spell of holding.” Scanning the area for bloodstains, he fails to find any. Reaching down, he picks up one of the broken shards. It’s cool, but doesn’t feel odd or strange. He tosses it back to the spot where it had lain.
“Maybe we shouldn’t stay here any longer,” Corbin says nervously. There’s a definite tremble indicating fear in his voice. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to find them here.”
“Perhaps.” Glancing at his compass, James is surprised to see the pointer going round and round in a clockwise direction. “That’s weird,” he says as he shows it to Corbin.
“What does it mean?”
Shrugging, James replies “Haven’t a clue. I told you I was new to magic.” Discontinuing the spell, he places the compass back in his backpack. He then looks to Corbin and is about to suggest they search elsewhere, when a slight flicker from the pentagram is caught from the corner of his eye. He quickly turns his head, but it’s gone.
Corbin notices his sudden movement. “What?” His eyes dart around the room.
“Thought I saw something,” James replies. Turning his head so the pentagram is again just at the edge of his peripheral vision, the flickering reappears. This time he holds his head steady and continues looking at the pentagram out of the corner of his eye. After a few moments, he begins to realize what he originally took as a flash is actually a steady, slow pulse; barely discernable in the shadows.
“Curious.”
“What is?” Corbin glances agitatedly between James and the pentagram.
“I can see a slight pulsing coming from the pentagram. Though I can only see it when it’s in my peripheral vision.”
“Pulsing?” fear is evermore apparent in the farmer’s voice. “Let’s get out of here.” He edges toward the exit.
His feeling of foreboding is quite strong now. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”
Corbin leads the way, and enters the hallway. James follows closely. The foreboding is growing worse. They pass the stairway leading to the second floor, then come to where the hallway ends at the outer room.
Just before Corbin passes from the hallway into the outer room, James grabs his arm and jerks him back.
“Look.” Whispering softly, he directs the farmer’s attention out the front door.
Two silhouettes approach the door. Unable to make out any distinct features, they can only tell that one is adult size while the other is smaller. Moving his mouth next to Corbin’s ear, he whispers, “Let’s return to the stairs and hide.”
Corbin nods and starts backing down the hallway.
Being as quiet as they can, they return to the stairs and ascend a short ways until they can no longer see the hallway. Holding still, they await the approach of whoever it may be.
James is sure that the sound of his heart, which feels like it’s trying to beat out of his chest, will surely give them away. They don’t have long to wait before two sets of footsteps enter the hallway from the outer room. He holds his breath, his heart beating wildly in fear as the footsteps draw closer, and pass by, the front of the stairwell. They then continue to the room at the end of the hallway wherein the pentagram lies.
James whispers to Corbin as they return to the hallway, “Stay here, I’m going to see what they’re doing.”
“Are you crazy? I’m getting out of here. If you’re smart, you will too.” With that he brushes past James, quickly moves down the hallway and exits through the front door. Once outside, he breaks into a mad dash as he races away from the house.
Knowing logically that he should leave too, James has an undeniable need to know what is going on in there. Slowly and quietly, he makes his way through the rubble to the entrance of the room. As he approaches, a subtle, pulsing, dark blue glow begins emanating from the room. Steeling himself, he peers around the corner.
Two individuals stand motionless before the pentagram. A small vortex pulsates with a dark blue radiance in the air above it. A feeling of horror washes over James, yet he’s unable to turn away.
The taller of the two begins to chant; the unfamiliar words painful to the ears. The smaller one, which looks to be a young girl, snaps out of her lethargic trance at the utterance of the first word. With a scream, she tries to flee and is only able to take a step before the taller one seizes her by the hair, holding her fast. At the touch of the taller one, the ability to run seems to drain from the girl. Unable to run or even move, the girl stands there and cries.
From the vortex, a shimmering wave stretches forth and makes contact with the girl. A soul wrenching scream tears from her throat. Her body spasms traumatically as pulses travel along the wave from the girl to the vortex.
As more screams are wrenched from the poor girl, James reacts without thought. From a campaign wherein he played a druid, words of a spell issue forth:
Forces of Good, forces of nature,
Give me your aid this day
Sever the bond, free the girl
Course of evil to stay!
Tendrils of power spring to life and converge from all directions at a point somewhere deep within him. From there it surges outward from his outstretched hand and arcs toward the shimmering wave. A blinding explosion like a mini-super nova flares when the two powers meet. Once the dots cease dancing before his eyes, he finds the wave from the vortex gone and the girl sags unconscious in the grip of the evil’s minion.
Hatred and malice erupts from the vortex. As it washes over him, James senses that the evil in the vortex is now focused upon him.
The evil’s minion turns toward James, letting go of the young girl who collapses to the floor.
Wariness turns to shock as he discovers the evil’s minion to be a girl that looked a little younger than himself. Dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt, he’s further dumbfounded when he spies the words San Francisco written across the front. She’s from home!
Her eyes glow with an inhuman intelligence; her face twists in an expression of pure evil. Wielding a dagger in one hand, she chants words whose very utterance set James’ skin acrawl.
“I’m from Earth, too,” he shouts.
But her expression fails to change.
“We can help each other.”
Unresponsive, she continues toward him and the chanting continues.
Out of the corner of his eye he catches sight of a change in the swirling of the vortex. Taking his eyes from her for a moment, he glances quickly over to it. A shiver goes through him when he finds the vortex beginning to coalesce and take shape.
The chanting from the girl suddenly stops and a dark cloud exudes outward toward him. The sight of the miasmic cloud causes him to dart backward out of the room but the cloud moves faster. He holds out his arm as if to ward it off, but instead feels excruciating pain.
It engulfs his arm; welts form and fire races along his nerve endings. A scream escapes him as more of his body comes in contact. Somewhere amidst all this agony, he finds the strength to cry:
Soothe and heal
No pain to feel
Power courses through his body and reduces the pain to a dull throbbing. The black cloud dissipates when the power behind the spell is exhausted. The features of the girl are contorted, misshapen and twisted by the evil which controls her. She continues advancing toward him.
Thinking fast, James glances at the floor as an idea comes and casts:
Stone like pudding
Soft and slick
Entrap her feet
Then harden quick.
As her foot descends to the floor during her next step, it sinks beneath the surface. Then as she moves forward with the other, it too passes within the stone of the floor. Once both have sunk into the stone floor a little past the ankles, the stone solidifies around them, encasing her feet. Her legs continue trying to bring her toward him, as if she does not realize what has happened. She starts chanting another spell.
Taking a small stone fragment from the rubble littering the floor, he casts the same spell used when he killed the wolf and throws. Ping! The stone ricochets off an invisible shield surrounding the girl.
Her chanting raises an octave and there’s a disconcerting prickling of his skin. He reaches down for another stone. Then borrowing from his druid’s repertoire of spells, he draws his arm back and says:
Forces of Good, forces of nature,
More aid do I need.
Pierce the shield, through the heart
The power of good, succeed.
Again a multitude of power tendrils flow into him, meet in the center, and surging outward as he hurls the stone at the girl. This time when the stone connects with her protective shield, there’s an intense flash of light and the stone passes through to strike her in the chest. It then explodes out her back and she slumps lifelessly forward to the floor, settling at an awkward angle due to her legs still being encased within the stone floor.
Tired, exhausted and drained, James turns toward the pentagram and the evil coalescing above it. The swirling vortex has now almost completely formed into something inhuman in aspect and malignant in nature. The glowing red eyes of the creature are fixed upon him and he can feel hatred roll over him like a filthy tide. Somehow, he knows that he must find a way to close this portal between worlds before the creature is able to manifest completely. He modifies another of his druid’s spells:
Forces of Good, forces of nature,
Hearken to me one last time.
Seal the rift, the passage to close,
And let victory at last be mine!
One last time he feels the influx of multiple tendrils as they suffuse him with more power than ever before. So intense is the power as it passes through, that it feels as his nerve endings are being seared raw as it flows outward. In his mind’s eye he visualizes the portal and the power of the evil fighting to keep it open. Such malignant hate and evil; even in his worst nightmares he never could have imagined such to exist. His mind’s eye concentrates on the portal, directing the magic in drawing it close. The power continues flowing to, and then out through him, toward the portal.
Wave after wave of malignant hate strike him like physical blows, each nearly causing him to falter. Somehow though, he manages to remain focused and continues directing the magic in closing the portal.
Just before the portal is no more, a final surge of unbelievable malignancy blasts into him and knocks him back several steps. With the closing of the portal, he ends the spell and the magic tendrils cease flowing into him. He has little time to enjoy his victory. Completely drained and exhausted, his eyes roll up into the back of his head, and he collapses to the floor passing out.
When consciousness returns, he comes awake disoriented and with a headache threatening to split his skull wide open. Others are in the room, but he’s having a hard time getting his eyes to focus properly so couldn’t make them out.
“James, are you all right?” a familiar voice asks.
He knows it’s familiar, but his mind can’t quite put a name to it. Unable to utter more than an incoherent grunt, he shakes his head. Water is poured into his mouth and after a couple swallows, his vision clears. He manages a weak smile as his eyes finally focus on the one addressing him; Ceryn.
“Thought…you…home,” he manages to get out.
“Thought I went home?” When James nods, Ceryn shakes his head. “No. I was visiting a friend and happened to be at the Squawking Goose when Corbin came running through the front doors screaming of demons.”
“When he finally told us what was going on, we hurried out here.” He then gestures to a man by the pentagram and continues, “I dragged our priest along just in case. When we saw the devastation, we thought for sure to find you dead. Imagine our surprise that you weren’t.”
His mind couldn’t make sense of what the Warden was saying. “Devastation?”
“Devastation like I never would have believed. Trees shriveled in a massive swath with this house at the center; plenty of the animals, too.”
“How?”
“We thought you might be able to tell us.”
James just shakes his head.
Another man kneels by the pentagram, the little girl in his arms. Sobs come from the man. James thought at first she was dead, but then the man notices him looking their way, wipes tears from his eyes, smiles and says, “Thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for saving my little girl.” His sobs were those of gladness, not sorrow.
The priest walks over and addresses Ceryn. “The girl is fine, if very weak. She will be fine after a few days rest I would think.” Turning to James, he adds, “You could do with a little rest yourself, young man” With that, he returns to the girl and her father and talks quietly with them.
Another man enters the room and walks to Ceryn. “We found Hern and Joshua upstairs, they’re both dead. Looks like they were sucked dry somehow, their bodies are being loaded on the wagon as we speak and then we’re taking them back to town.”
“Very well. Thank you for your help.” The man shakes Ceryn’s hand and then turns to walk out the door.
The man by the pentagram helps his daughter to her feet and with the priest lending an arm, they manage to get her moving. They make their way slowly out the door and disappear down the hallway.
Ceryn and Corbin help James to his feet. He glances at the older girl whose feet are still encased in the stone floor. “What are you going to do with her?”
“Leave her for now,” Ceryn replies. “We plan to return tomorrow and the priest will thoroughly cleanse the house. Then we’re going to raze it to the ground.”
They help him across the room and out to the narrow hallway, but not before he takes one last look at the girl and the words San Francisco on her shirt. She must have been that girl the news had said went missing the night before he left for the interview. He couldn’t help but wonder how she had come to such a state. Will his fate be similar? Shuddering at the thought, he leaves the room.
Out front, he pauses to survey the devastation of which Ceryn had spoken. Mouth agape in horrified shock, he took in the trees shattered and twisted remnants of trees that stretched a far distance before the forest resumed its natural appearance. Some had even been blasted apart; for where the forest had been closest to the house lay a carpet of splintered wood. And from what Ceryn had said, it had not only been trees and undergrowth, but animals as well.
Thinking back to the battle and the myriad tendrils of power that had answered his call, he understands. Forces of Good, Forces of nature. I did this. My spell called on nature and nature responded.
Keeping such thoughts to himself, he allows Ceryn to bring him to a roan mare and assist him in mounting. He rides in silence while they lead him through what once had been a living and thriving ecosystem. His mind has a hard time coming to grips with what he has done.
Upon reaching Trendle, Ceryn parts company as he plans to confer with the town council about what happened at the old abandoned estate.
James is in a daze, has been since shortly after they left the devastated area. He merely nods as the Warden takes his leave.
Corbin takes him home where James goes right to bed.