Entry 7- Travels and Fights

 (This is a longer post because so much happened.) 

            Parkik and I were sitting on the storehouse steps and he repeated, “So. You need to grab this body to help finish your trial of spirit. The fact that this body is west of the town means that it will cross the path of that Basilisk. Sounds like you’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone here. You and I can go handle the Basilisk and then recover this dead body.”

            I looked at this guy. “So, we’re going to do this? Together?”

            “Yes! Basilisk and body. It can’t be too hard!” Parkik said.

            “Alright, it’s going to be a small journey… prepare yourself. I need to talk to Ithella and Racha…apologize and get my staff back.”

            I got up at that point and Parkik was on his way to prepare the supplies for the journey.

            Before we parted, Parkik said, “We’ll meet beside the iron pillar on the road out of the town.”

            I nodded without looking at him and then headed to the healer’s hut. Nearly all the hurt hunters were released back to their homes. In fact, only Hidden-Bevin and his mother were here. I stopped in my tracks. Bevin was showing his mother a new charcoal drawing. I rubbed my eyes and then Racha and Ithella walked out. Ithella held a stern face, Racha had a hand on her back, I looked at them and shook my head.

            “You both shouldn’t have gotten in the way…You gave me a vague trial. Something without any direction and I followed the path laid out from my hunts.”

            Racha looked at me, “I appreciate your help…you did what was right by these hunters.”

            “Thank you Mother Racha, I learned from you…”

            I looked at Ithella, “I’m sorry I broke into the house…”

            I then hung my head.

            She said, “Your penalty has been paid…but…it was in your staff…”

            She held out two broken halves of my staff. I looked at her. Then to Racha, who began tending to Bevin and his mother. My heart was racing and I walked up to my staff. I took it from her. Then turned away.

            “I’m going into the flooded lands. I will be back.”

            “No you’re not.” She said.

            “That wasn’t a request.”

            I took my staff and left. In her anger, she had broken my staff. How dare she think that would be okay. I was livid and she knew it. I got to the pillar with my two staff halves. It loomed over me with its black iron sheen. It had always been here, it was the reason steadfast existed. The sheen of the surface reflected my face. My hair was matted. Something was off about my reflection though. My eyes. They looked like a rats eyes. I blinked and rubbed them then they came back to normal. I can’t explain it but I also can’t explain a lot about the pillars of this land.

Parkik arrived with a pack. His daggers were holstered. I showed him my staff and he just shook his head. He walked over to the pillar and put his hand on it.

“To the ancients before me, I ask for a safe journey into unknown lands searching for the way to bring this Haunt his rest. May Tallyden also find solace in the trials he will face. And May my blades strike true into the basalisk.”

The pillar stood, stoic and strong. Parkik sat in silence touching the pillar with his eyes closed. Something splashed into a pool in the distance. Then he turned to me. “A merchant tradition. We pray to the pillars before we leave.”

“Interesting. Our traditions have it, that if one swears on the pillars, that swear is destined to go wrong. I have heard of people getting lost to the swamp and getting attacked by sodden as they come home after such swears. The pillars are interesting to me.”

“Why so?”

“I think whoever my real mom is. Was trying to sacrifice me to the pillars when I was younger. I was surrounded in Marsh Rats when Ithella found me at the base of one. Oddly enough, they didn’t eat me and in fact…an ender rat rested on my head until it was certain I was safe with Ithella. This raised a lot of alarm for the village when she came back with child from her Pilgrimage, a day after she had set out.”

Parkik laughed, “You guys are so weird.”

“Hey! I’m going to be taking a longer pilgrimage than her. I’m walking you home for mine, in the spring!”

“Y-You are?”

“Yeah. The Trials began with you. It’s only reasonable to think they’ll end with you too.”

Parkik turned as red as his hair and I smiled at him. Then began trekking down the hill that steadfast rested on. The hill sloped gradually to the flooded lands proper. The village retreated into a fog. I looked forward without worrying. I heard the wind rustle and Parkik was trudging behind me. Not saying anything. Focusing on his prize.

We made great distance for the first day. My feet hurt, it had been a while since I journeyed but we didn’t use more than we needed and Parkik kept really good pace. Even through the murky waters. We weren’t stopped by any beasts or animals either. We saw the Pillar. The one that I was supposedly found next to.

We walked up to it and parkik leaned on it, “Can we make camp? I’m beat.”

“Yes, this is a good distance away from the village. We won’t be followed by anyone from the village. Let’s make camp.”

We spent the next hour working on getting the camp up. There was a small fire glowing in front of the tent. I sat by it to get warm. Parkik sat next to me.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to prepare. As I was collecting things for the fire. I found a fallen tree.”

I pulled a small whittling knife out of the pack and began working on a gnarled branch. I began cutting and carving it into the shape. This was going to be a staff to rival the old broken one. I put the pieces of the old staff next to me. I began working and preparing and getting lost in the work. Parkik rested next to me looking at the stars and humming a soft tune.

We both went to bed with plenty of time to rest and I got up early to finish the staff. I looked it over. A soft black wood staff with carved symbols. I took the old staff and carved a wooden totem from it then found some twine and tied it to the new staff so that the old spirit can move into it, as per tradition.

We packed up the camp in a hurry. Ready to get back on the road and make it to the location of the body. The trip was rough. We were slogging through the brackish swamp water. We heard the slithering of creatures and the skittering of rats. The flooded lands let down a torrential rain around mid-day. Our pack got sodden and we had to unload some food. I noticed some Marsh Rats attacking the left-out food and eating it.

The next milestone for this journey came with a surprise. We came across the Basilisk sleeping. This day wasn’t going according to plan. I crouched down behind a bush and Parkik joined me looking at the beast. It’s body was slick black and covered in mud. I watched it’s breathing as it was coiled around itself. It looked like it had a full gut and was just sleeping off its meal.  Along its back it had grey diamond patterns. It’s scales looked like some had flaked off in the battle.

I looked at Parkik and put my fingers up to my lips. We were going to have to sneak past the Basilisk in order to get to the body. Parkik readied his daggers. Then we began walking around the area the Basilisk called it’s home. We were trying to be sneaky but…Parkik snapped a twig by stepping on it and I tripped over a rock at the same time and yelled out. The basilisk woke up!

It coiled and whipped its forked tongue out. I saw its white serpentine eyes and quickly scrambled to my feet. It immediately turned towards Parkik and I and I readied my staff. Even though it was injured and full from food, making its movements sluggish, it was still going to be a formidable fight. Parkik would help me, but my vow to protect him would have to come first. I thought through the tactics before I entered the fray but it wasn’t enough. I had never faced a basalisk before and so I jumped forward to try and strike with my staff.

Doing so. I began the battle surrounded by the muscular body of the Basilisk. Parkik looked at me with fear in his eyes. I kept my eyes moving watching the head and the tail. The beast’s eyes were locked onto me. It struck forward and I took a false bite to my shoulder. It didn’t have teeth. The beast was just warning me. I fell onto the ground and felt some pain shoot up my spine. But the pain framed my mind into the battle. I quickly rallied and got to my feet with my staff in hand. I remembered how deadly my staff could be and this new one would be better than the first because from the splinters of the first my new staff shall move forward with me. So I went to strike the beast with a hard blow. As the staff connected, some more scales cascaded off of the snake, revealing the underlayer of skin. Parkik joined this attack and stabbed the beast causing it to recoil. I looked at him and he had a smile plastered on his face. He jumped back and I stayed inside the coil. Keeping my footing on the compacted ground caused by the snake. The muscles on the beast tensed and a hiss sounded around me.

I looked at the serpent’s eyes and their white gleam burned into me. I met its stare and I lashed out with my staff toward the creature’s face. A direct hit dazed the creature again! It fell down and Parkik used his daggers to hit the scaleless places as I distracted the beast again. His hit and my hits were causing massive damage. The snakes muscles began relaxing and I quickly moved to join Parkik outside of the coil. The beast got back up. It coiled it’s body more and opened its mouth, hissing. I got close and struck it one last time with my staff before it could hit me with its fangs.

I ended up recoiling from the last attack and staggering backwards into Parkik. The basilisk looked at me and opened it mouth and it struck me. Teeth and all. I could feel the teeth clutch and then it pulled away. Not latching onto me because Parkik slashed at its face. Not hurting it but scaring it. I felt a burning happening within the bite. I took a breath and moved to finish this fight. I spun my staff a few times around and as it was going for another strike I hit it with the staff. Parkik joined in and this time, slashed along the scaleless sections and began to cut and disembowel the snake. From its protruding gut a large horse slumped out at odd angles. I turned away from the scene. I sat down and felt the wound from the snake burn my shoulder.

“We’ll make camp here…” Parkik said.

I nodded and closed my eyes. I imagined the toxin from the bite and then got up. As Parkik began working on the Basilisk, I decided to gather herbs from the swamp surrounding us. The particular anti-venom herb was nearby and I went over to the beasts head and took a bit of the venom out as well. I mixed them together and boiled some water. Added that to the mixture and repeated a prayer I had heard from Racha. The water glowed and then I drunk it. I recouperated a little bit and the wound didn’t hurt as much. Parkik set up the rest of the camp.

That night we sat around a small fire eating some grilled horse meat. Parkik was rank with the smell of swamp, blood, and bile but I didn’t mind.

“Are we cool?” I ask him.

“Yeah.” He said, “But, I want you to travel with me in spring.”

“To your hometown?”

“Yes. I want you to meet Ma, she’ll love you. I think it would also be a good growing experience.”

“Sounds good to me!” I said.

“Swear on it. Please.”

I held up my iron ring. Which used to be his fathers. My only piece of iron. It began to glow lightly in the darkness. It matched the firelight with a pulsating orange and red light. I looked at Parkik, who’s face was half illuminated and half shadowed. It shined brightly from the iron and Parkik shook my hand, lingering slightly. I felt emboldened by the power of the vow I just made. I needed to prepare some things for the spring trip, but we’d leave the flooded lands together and move across the Havens, always together hopefully.

That night we both grew closer, next to the snake corpse, after a hard battle…Tomorrow I face the dead body of the man haunting the abandoned house. I had to prepare the cleansing ritual and the Rites to the Final Pillar. Hoping to cleanse the troubles found in the village and help it prepare my practically and spiritually for the upcoming winter. That night I heard the winds whispering. They were so faint.