“These are not the friendliest of folk so don’t say or do much.” Roko said.
“Great, my middle name is, not do very much.” Eli said turning to me with a wink, I smiled trying not to give him the satisfaction of making me laugh. He’s going to have to try harder than that! We reached the inn, tired and hungry. It wasn’t far from the abandoned house, but I haven’t eaten for what feels like a lifetime. There was a sign swinging from the white walled inn, which simply read ‘Galloping Gazelle’. There was a man sitting on a rocking chair outside the inn. He was smoking a pipe and had a big brown knotted beard, which was grubby and overgrown. The foul stench exuding from his body was unbearable, as if he’d never bathed in his life. I had the urge to grab him by the head and dunk him in the nearest river. I held back the urge.
Eli and I kept silent not wanting to attract any attention to us, while Roko and Farro sorted out the room. The room was quite busy and buzzing with life. We dissolved into the background, even though our clothes were so different. The entire room was wearing all sorts of variations of leather armour. Straps and belts along the chest, small pockets and satchels, some were wearing dark brown and others had golden yellow. Not all of them were wearing such exquisite attire; a few had basic linens on and normal thread shirts. They all carried some sort of weapon, be it a bow or a sword.
It felt as though the mirror transported us back three hundred years to the past, where the sword overruled the pen and kings ruled the land. I was scared at first glance but it soon passed, I had always imagined what it would be like to live in this time, I might as well make the most of it. For all I know the next town over could be filled with Egyptians or Vikings.
The room we had for the night was small and dinghy. There were four single beds crammed into the room, with only enough space to squeeze into the tight space of the bed. The gang rested well, knowing we had quite a hike in the morning. I could see in Eli’s eyes that he wanted to chat all night about what has happened but he could see my eyelids closing and unintentionally ignoring him, so he gave up and went to bed as well. I was too exhausted to worry about the nightmare that was inevitably going to befall my dream, but I couldn’t hold out and collapsed, drifting off to sleep.
I awoke to the hot fires of the crash and the shill screams of the lady in the mirror. Both nightmares haunting me together, both against me, it’s still in the middle of the night, and not wanting to endure more sleep, I decide to take a stroll in the town to get fresh air. I throw on some clothes and sneak past Roko, whose bed was closest to the door. Drunks and passed out regulars littered the tables and chairs, most of who were slumped over snoring. I past the stinking man in the rocking chair, who was asleep too with his pipe still lit and resting on his chest. The chair he was sat in still rocked back and forth. I stood there and watched him for a while. His eyes were closed and he was breathing softly. I leaned in closer to examine the stranger’s tattoos on his face and could just make them out under his beard and hat.
“What you lookin’ at boy?” He said with a deep, rough voice, opening his eyes. He startled me and I jumped back slightly, trying not to fall over.
“Nothing. Sorry.” I said, sputtering away from him. I carried on walking quickly down the road. Off to the side there was a thick forest. The sight of something familiar gave me comfort in this strange environment. I strolled through the darkness, guided by the moonlight creeping through the tree branches. It was blissful. I caressed the leaves of the trees and plants around me as I strolled through their home. I was quite far from the inn now; if I got lost Eli would not be very happy with me. As I took in one last long, deep breath I saw something in the corner of my eye. I focused on the shape; and could hear whimpering ahead of me. I moved in closer to get a better look, the dark shadow becoming clearer. The whimpering stopped; it was replaced by snarling and the sound of tearing. I slowed down, the noises disturbing the bliss. There was a man crouched over a dead animal.
I wanted to believe that it was just an ordinary poacher but when did poachers start eating their kill? The dark crimson red blood of the lifeless creature poured over him, following chunks of flesh. The man ravaged the inside of the animal; I stood there frozen in place, not able to take my eyes off the man. I realised that I was now out of sight of the inn, away from any quick help. I stepped backward, cautiously, trying not to crinkle any dead leaves on the ground. I hold on to the thought that it is an animal carcass and nothing else. The more I gaze at the horror, the more the man becomes beast. He was hunched over, not fully standing up, his clothes ripped and worn. Blood soaked into the seams.
His head jittered from left to right in an unnatural way. The beast was now sniffing the air around him, sniffing my scent I probably smelt like a full English breakfast compared to the rotting carcass of flesh in front of him. I tread back faster now hoping to get out of the woods before he spots me. But his head swivelled in paranoia, catching me in his sights. It was hunched over, his head tilted at me. It had bright yellow eyes that were fixed on its next meal. It looked more monster than man; its teeth were sharp and looked more like fangs. Its hands were brandished with ugly claws, covered with the entrails of the innocent victim. I stopped moving, assuming it wouldn’t bother chasing me and would run off. It didn’t. Its attention didn’t waver from me; it was moving closer and closer waiting to pounce on me. Its eyes widened, drool slobbering from its mouth. It pounced and ran full speed at me, it ran on two legs even though it was an animal. Instinctively I kicked my right leg forward, burying my foot into its chest, knocking it to the ground. I turned and tried to sprint to safety, moving as fast as I possibly could, but it was faster. The beast recovered from the minor attack which only floored it, continuing with the chase. I swivelled my head to see the raging black figure catching up with me. It was bounding on its hands now like a lion hunting its prey. It jumped and tackled me, and I plunged to the ground falling on my back. It was now on top of me. I kicked and screamed for help, holding its arms stopping it from slashing my throat for an easy kill. Black slime frothed from its mouth.
The smell of the creature was unbearable. I was concentrating too much on the deadly claws of the creature that it changed its mind and decided to bury its fangs into my left shoulder. I wail in agony, shaking on the ground trying to wriggle out of its grip. Its mouth was fiery hot, burning my heart and soul away with each second. I focused and tried to ignore the pain, grabbing its head, to pull it off my body. I looked it straight in the eyes. It had its fix and wanted more. I placed one hand on its neck and in a burst of rage punched it in the rib cage. A burst of blue flames flickered off my hand. I lunged it forwards, my hand breaking through its ribcage, the creatures heart exploding in its chest. The beast blasted back, smashing into a tree. It laid there as lifeless as the animal next to him. Blood gushed from my wound, my skin turning deathly white. I tilted my head back. I could see a patch of sky, the stars above me clouded over as I fall unconscious.
9 –TOTEM-
“He better be alright, because if he’s not you’ve got hell to pay.”
“Why was he out in the dark anyway?”
“He gets nightmares. He doesn’t sleep a lot so sometimes he walks them off.” The voices became clearer; I opened my eyes to see Eli and Roko arguing over me, while Farro sat there at my bedside ignoring them.
“Anyone for a game of kerplunk?” I asked sitting up from the bed. There was a makeshift bandage over my shoulder. Sitting up made it burn with an almost unbearable intensity. I didn’t moan or groan. By the sounds of things Eli was doing that for me and I didn’t want to add any more stress to the situation.
“You’re alright.” Eli sighed with relief, smiling at me. “And no we can’t, we only have Monopoly.” He said, his mood settling now that he knew I was alive.
“Ok if we have to, but I’m the top hat.” I said. Roko and Farro’s faces scrunched up, oblivious to the references.
“What the hell were you doing out that far?” Roko cried out. It’s the first time she has showed any interest in me this entire trip.
“Now now Roko, let Atlas rest.” Farro said, calming the situation. He turned to me. “I have used a healing spell that should relieve some of the pain; I can’t do more to help until I get some ingredients.” Relieve some of the pain? It feels like someone is jamming a screwdriver into my shoulder, twisting it, hard.
“What was it that attacked him?” Eli asked Farro.
“It was a hunter.”
“A what?” I said.
“A hunter is a creature of pure rage and darkness. They will stop at nothing for the chance to feast on flesh and blood.” Farro explained lighting his pipe. “They were once men but they were corrupted and changed by a being we call Cain.”
“Who the hell is Cain?” Eli interrupted.
“Cain is a very dangerous individual and he is the reason I have brought you here. Atlas, I need your help to stop him.” Farro said not taking his eyes off mine. Stop him? I don’t even know who he is.
“When we got there, the hunter was dead.” Roko interjected. “How did you kill it?” I paused for a moment, trying to remember what happened.
“All I remember is it being on top of me, biting me. Then I pushed it away.” I said trying to decipher the left over fragments of the night.
“It was more than twenty feet away and its chest was blown open.” She said questioning my answer.
“I was scared and so angry, I hit it with all my strength, and there was a blue light. Like flames were bursting through my knuckles and then it was dead.” I said examining my hand to find no trace of burns. Roko and Farro looked at each other, mouths wide open their gaze quickly turned back to me.
“Atlas my boy, in great peril and near certain death, the shear emotion being expelled from your body is like a magic powerhouse. You have just experienced your first magical feat.” He said, smiling. Near death experience? My shoulder is worse than he is telling me. First night out in a new place and I wind up almost dying. Typical. Farro leaned over and grabbed my hand. “Atlas, all magicians have magical potential to cast spells and enchantments. To harness this power we use Totems.” He said, picking up his staff. “Without which we would be weak and defenceless. The only reason you managed to use magic was because of the mirror. It radiates magical energy, and you were still close enough to it for you to tap into its energy.”
“Totem? What the hell is a Totem?” Eli asked confused by the new word that had now entered his vocabulary.
“A Totem is our life force, our saviour, our shield. It manifests as an object, a weapon or a walking stick.” He explained holding up his staff.
“This is mine.” Roko said, showing us her pendant.
“It’s not an easy task obtaining your Totem, especially in your condition,” Farro said, letting go of my hand, distancing himself from me. I have a feeling that I am not going to like the next part.
“We must travel to the cave of lost souls; there you will find the Elder Runes.”
“Why the cave of lost souls?” I asked, not wanting to hear the answer. Farro fidgeted in his seat, hoping that someone would ask another question so that he would be free of answering mine. No question came only the sound of silence filled the room. He sighed.
“Not all magicians survive the ritual.” He said biting his lip, “The raw energy passing through them is sometimes too great and the ritual kills them. Their soul and body wash away into the air becoming one with the surroundings.” Eli looked as if he was about to blurt out obscenities about Farro trying to kill me but I waved a hand at him, stopping him. As much as I would hate the idea of being disintegrated and scattered into the world like a bad air freshener, I had to do it. If I come up against another creature like the hunter I want to be prepared. “We have to leave now, I don’t know if that hunter was a stray or part of a pack.” Farro said helping me up from the bed. I shooed him away. If I am going to make it all the way to the caves I have to be able to stand up for myself. As everyone was packing their things Farro helped me reapply the bandage. “You must choose your Totem, and present it to the stones.” Farro said. “Choose wisely, for the ritual is a bonding. Your soul will become a part of the Totem, both of you will be one.” I nodded to him, I knew what I was going to choose and it was something that is close to my heart.
It was still dark when we left the tavern, a couple of hours and the sun will be creeping in through the clouds to greet us after a long night’s sleep. Eli was standing close to me as we walked out of town. I think he knew that I was hiding how painful my shoulder was, and he was guarding me, keeping me safe. We travelled far out of the town, up a long straight dirt road with the blue ocean in the distance on the right and the woods on the other. The path was sloping, getting higher and higher, but you wouldn’t notice until you looked back. Farro put his hand up to stop us. He surveyed the area carefully.
“It’s this way.” He said walking towards the forest expecting us to follow blindly.
“How do you know it’s this way?” I grunted, noticing that there were no landmarks or a trodden pathway through. Farro turned around and walked up to me.
“You are going to have to start trusting me, Altas.” He said, focusing on me now.