We woke up that morning warmly against each other. I felt a little sore from the fight yesterday but I was thankful Parkik was safe. He woke up with me and we both got up and went about our morning duties. I handled the food and cooking the serpent meat while he began the early tear-down of the tent. We ate together and talked as we ate. I learned that his village had a tribunal of the wealthiest merchant families. Their circle was run by material possessions and trade routes. His family owned the longest trade route in the village by going from the Tempest hills all the way down to the flooded lands. I shared with him the importance of our mystics and how Ithella and Racha ran the entirety of Steadfast and that wealth wasn’t important. I remember toying with the iron ring and him eyeing it. I told him of the unusual properties of iron for the mystics and of my wish to find out more about the use of iron in magic, or at least it’s connections to the pillars.
I threw my
scraps to the marsh rats that circled near the campsite and they came over and
squeeked a few thanks. I smiled and said, “We’re close to the body. Just past
the Knarrled tree, according to the swamp rats.”
“Thank goodness.
I wanna get back to the village.” Parkik said.
This was a
hard day. The flooded lands were exceptionally swollen, and the dry land was scarce.
Most of the day was spent trudging through water and silt. None of the beasts
came near us though. I kept vigilant for the most part. Unfortunately, during
the trek, a rival Marsh Rat got into my rucksack and ate some of the meats I
had brought to eat. So, we lost some of the supplies on that trip. We came onto
the knarled tree at the mid-day mark. Our progress was steady and we stood at
the base of the tree, a small rodent looked up at me then looked around. The
body was around here somewhere. The Marsh Rat lead us directly to the bloated
white body. I kneeled down beside it into the mud. I touched it and my ring became
chilled cold. I looked at Parkik.
“This is
him. I’m sure of it.” I said.
I took a
breath and returned my gaze to the body. I am sure I looked over the body with
careful precision, learned from old Racha. She taught me how to analyze a death,
death was similar to the body freezing in time. I notices a broken skull. The
most disturbing thing about this body was the fact that it was just laid out
here without any marks of a proper death ceremony. No wonder he came back as a
haunt. I looked at Parkik.
“Alright. I’m
going to perform the death ceremony for this guy. I may not be able to commune
with him but, I can at least respect his death.”
So with
that I went up to the roots of the tree and meditated for a few minutes. Then I
went back to the body with a clear mind. I touched its head. And whispered into
his ear.
“You have been
found dead. May your spirit find rest in this fact.” I said.
The lands
around us hushed. Like all the animals and waters began to be still for this
moment. I touched the bodies head and spoke skyward.
“By the Iron pillars who watch over
the lands, I release you from life and promise to bring your memory home with
me back to steadfast.”
As I moved
my hand down to his heart I felt a lump in his shirt. I was so concerned with
the body that I didn’t think to check his pockets. Over his breast was a locket.
I looked at it and opened it up. It said two names. Maura and Bevin. My mouth
went dry and I finished the prayer.
“May your
spirit find piece, when I return home, I will commune with it and may you be reunified
at the pillar in the end.”
The flooded
lands became noisy again and a swarm of marsh rats began to come around us.
They had done their job for us, now they decided to take their reward. The body
of the dead man. I sighed and looked at Parkik, away from the carnage.
“Let’s get
home!”
We left the
area that day and began traveling back. Going the same way back home was going
to be easy and we finished it with only one night of camping, rather than two.
I spent the night treating my wounds. Parkik regaled me with legends of Magic
from his lands. I learned that it wasn’t common for mystics to remain in their villages.
According to him many mystics make their living as hermits in the mountains.
Learning the ways of the firstborn giants, elves, or dragon. I thought dragons sounded
crazy and he laughed.
We ended
that night with a special bond made over magic. In the shadow of the pillar, I
had another terrifying nightmare. I was standing atop a pillar again, facing a
corrupted version of myself shroud in darkness. I saw myself blink from one
place to another getting ever more corrupted. I felt the shadows whisper my
name. Then suddenly the pillar under me crumbled again and a light shot out,
cleansing my shadow self, but also revealing a terrifying being encased in the
iron.
I woke up
soaked with sweat. During the travel that day I clutched the locket and was very
quiet. We arrived home just before evening. We said our goodbye’s and Parkik
went to his home, probably to get cleaned up and show off his Basilisk scales
and various other gains from the Basilisk. I debated on finishing my task or
going to the healers hut and resting for the night. Letting Racha take care of
my shoulder and Ithella to give me a hard time about going out while a basilisk
was on the prowel. I decided to face my fates with my two mothers.
I walked
towards the healers hut, gripping my new staff, preparing to face the two who’d
worry about me the most in this village. When I entered the hut, I noticed Maura and Bevin
both were gone. But then I remembered it had been 5 days. They would be back at
home resting. There was no one in the main room and I accidently ran into the
bones. Racha spoke up from the back.
“If that’s
you again Honnian! I will give you something worse than a splinter!”
She came
out and looked at me. Then she looked at my staff then back down to my face. I
saw her facial featured move from a shocked expression to a smile to tears. She
jumped forward faster than I thought possible and then embraced me. She was
crying and hugging me. I hugged her back dropping my staff. She just embraced
me hard. Her grey hair curtained down her back and I couldn’t help but feel the
love she wanted to radiate. I felt it in her small body. I then heard a noise from
behind me. Racha looked up and then broke apart from me.
Ithella had
walked in. Her hands covered in blood and her face tight. I noticed a twitch of
a smile on play across it. Then she broke and came close to me. She embraced me
hard and said.
“Don’t you
ever.” She broke away and looked me in the eyes at this moment. “Ever! Do this to
us again. The winds were being stubborn. I nearly went after you two nights ago…I
only knew that you were hurt.”
“Oh yeah.”
I said. “Snake bite. No venom, just a lucky bite.”
I pulled my
shirt down and showed. Racha perked up and began to work fast. Ithella told me
take off my shirt and she put me on a bed. She then turned her attention to my
staff. Noting the shard of the old staff hanging from it. She closed her eyes
and felt the magic in it. She nodded then set it down next to me.
“I’ll never
take this one from you. It’s yours truly. It’ll grow with you and become
stronger if you let it.”
I smiled
and nodded. Racha approached the bed and began working on healing the snake
wound. I leaned against the wall.
Racha spoke.
“I don’t think this is a horrible injury. Did the Basilisk flee from you?”
I looked at
the women, “No, Parkik and I killed it.”
Racha
smiled then said, “That’s a good boy. Too bad you didn’t bring back it’s poison
glans. I could have made a strong antidote with those.”
“Parkik may
have it. He cleaned the beast. He collected a lot of things.”
“I’ll talk
with the boy.” Ithella said.
We caught
up that night, talking until the moon was high in the sky. But they made me go
to bed and rest so that I could have the energy to finish my task. I would confront
the Haunt early in the morning. Cleansing it from the village, hopefully for good.
But that’s it for now. I am home safe. Next up is getting rid of that Haunt and
hopefully that will be the end of my Trial of Spirit. Then begins the true
mystic training…my first ritual.
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