Chapter 16 - Masterwork: Moonshadow

The fire dancing on the ground cast a gentle light across the old man’s face. His final expression upon death was one of release, of having found a long sought peace.

It was a stark contrast to Skyle’s own expression, which stood frozen in a rictus of loathing and contempt, both aimed squarely at himself. Kneeling before the old man’s corpse, the boy’s hands clutched the bow which had been a final parting gift.

Skyle’s small hands unconsciously stroked the smooth curve of the bow, feeling the complex grain through the tips of his fingers. This action was completely involuntary, as his mind was still trying to process what had just happened and its aftermath. His hand unconsciously curled around the grip of the bow and tightened its hold of its own accord while his other hand gripped its upper limb and tugged gently but firmly. It was a maneuver that had long become as much of a habit for Skyle as nibbling the nails or biting the lips was for other people.

This simple move immediately sent a shiver down Skyle’s spine and shocked him out of his reverie. Through his hands, he could distinctly feel a shocking burst of tightly contained power quietly waiting for an explosive release from the bow. This instantly caused the vacant-eyed stare to disappear, giving way instead to astonishment. Skyle involuntarily moved his gaze to truly look at the bow in his hands for the first time.

It was a simple, unadorned recurve with a matte black finish. The only accessory was a band of leather that had been wrapped around the center of the bow to aid the grip. No other decorations had been added, because truly, none were needed.

It was the most beautiful bow Skyle had ever seen.

Even his father’s prized bow, the one Kendric Farrow half-jokingly compared favorably to his own eldest son, paled in comparison. The simple elegance of the bow’s curves, the smooth finish of its limbs, the complex grain on its sides, they all spoke of uncompromising devotion to ultimate craftsmanship.

It was a tribute to perfection.

It was made of a solid, yet flexible material that felt like metal yet was lighter than most wooden materials Skyle knew of. The grain spoke of a complex pattern of layers, but they were so smoothly integrated together Skyle was sure the grain was there simply as a further testament to the excellence of this bow, and for no other reason.

This was not a bow made for parades, or to hang on a wall. It was one made for striking its target with unerring accuracy and shocking power.

It was the ultimate killing weapon.

In fact, at both ends of the bow dark metal tips flared out. They were shaped like wings, simple like the rest of the bow, but wickedly sharp. A swift slash from either edge would guarantee a deep, potentially fatal wound even if any would be attacker were to miraculously close the distance on the bow’s wielder.

The strung bow drew a beautiful, complex half circle. The dark finish of the material prevented any light from reflecting off its surface, and instead seemed to absorb it. Most likely, only the violent impact of an arrowhead piercing flesh would warn any victims to its lethal presence.

Moonshadow was aptly named.

“That is a superb bow,” Leon whispered quietly next to him.

Skyle closed his eyes and nodded his head solemnly, holding Moonshadow reverently in his hands.

“Worthy of a master of the art,” Skyle said quietly, once again looking at the old man’s body lying on the ground before him.

Leon coughed uncomfortably.

“What was that all about? I thought.. I thought that, ah, that monster was attacking you, so I only tried to help-” Leon began hesitantly.

“It’s fine,” Skyle cut in gently, though tears glimmered in his eyes. “You did your best with what you could see before you, and that will have to be good enough. It has to. You.. you have my thanks.”

Leon stood uncomprehending, glancing between the corpse of the hideous monster he had just slain, and his obviously grieving companion.

“It’s fine,” Skyle repeated, this time with a little more conviction, though his voice was still low and muted. “After all, he chose his own ending. Whatever the demons haunting him, I can only hope he has found peace at last.”

After a final bow of his head, Skyle vowed in a low, determined voice, “I will let Moonshadow honor your memory. Rest well, old man.”

Leon shook his head slowly, but his hands twitched at his sides as he glanced at the axe that was still buried in the old man’s shoulder.

Skyle caught the look and sighed deeply, before nodding to Leon.

It was a messy affair, but they needed all the resources they could get. Skyle knelt before the old man, hesitating as his hands hovered over the old man’s body.

Leon lay a hand on his shoulder and quietly said, “You don’t have to do this. I can-”

Skyle shook his head firmly. “No, it’s fine. It’s my responsibility.”

With a firm, resolute nod, Skyle began to search the old man. He did so with surprising thoroughness, but the only things they found was a ring with a complex pattern hanging from his neck by a golden chain and a key that was suspended from the same chain.

Skyle pursed his lips, but then took both the ring and the key but chose to leave the golden chain behind.

“You can retrieve your axe now,” Skyle got to his feet and gestured to Leon.

Leon glanced wonderingly at Skyle before stepping forward to do just that. In the meantime, Skyle began to search the tents in the vicinity.

“What are you looking for?” Leon asked, grunting with the effort of pulling the axe free.

“This,” Skyle replied, dragging a tiny chest out from within one of the tents.

It was a solid wooden chest, worn by age but with a very solid looking lock. Skyle produced the key and the lock turned with a smooth click.

Skyle and Leon immediately craned their heads forward while opening the chest.

The inside of the chest was lined by a fine velvety material. Within were three thumb sized crystals, a tattered book and a small, flat oval disk.

Both boys glanced at each other before studying the crystals with a closer look. They were smooth hexagonal crystals that gleamed with a crimson hue. Upon closer inspection, in the center it almost seemed as though a mist was constantly swirling.

“Just what is this?” Leon muttered, frowning.

Skyle narrowed his eyes, thinking carefully while studying the crystals with his True Sight. A fierce vortex of scarlet energy seemed to be spinning madly around a central core. This core was made of countless hair-thin strings of different colors.

As he focused his gaze on these strings, abruptly a sickening feeling rose from his stomatch, and Skyle involuntarily retched while turning pale as a ghost.

“You alright?” Leon asked worriedly.

“Fine. Fine. I think I saw one of their commanders crush this in his hand before unleashing a powerful elemental attack against the beast,” Skyle turned to Leon. “In fact, it’s the only time I’ve seen anyone wield the power of the elements in here.”

Leon stared at Skyle wide-eyed.

“You don’t mean that crimson energy projection I saw come through the rift?”

“Yeah, that one. You saw it as well?”

“Saw it? Impossible to miss it. It knocked the beast right out of the rift and just kept on going. It must have incinerated a fifty foot wide swathe of forest all the way to the edge of my vision, where I lost track of it.”

Skyle frowned in thought. “It seems that regular elemental power is unusable in this place, but these crystals could help you.”

“Worth a shot,” Leon nodded passionately, reaching towards the crystals with a hungry glimmer in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, Skyle placed a restraining hand on his arm to stop him.

“Wait.”

“What now?”

“I.. I think it's best you don’t use it unless its an emergency,” Skyle said haltingly, still recoiling from the crystals’ aura. “That stuff makes me feel sick.”

Leon frowned as he heard the words, but he seemed to take the warning seriously and nodded slowly.

“Fine, we’ll do that then.”

Carefully storing the crystals into his shoulder slung pouch, Leon closed the flap and looked up with a happy expression. Even his shoulders relaxed slightly, and he even seemed to stand taller, as though his confidence was slowly trickling back in.

Skyle shook his head ruefully, then returned his gaze to the book he had retrieved from the box. Its cover was scorched and many of its pages were either missing or had been partially burned. Carefully flipping the pages and skimming its contents, Skyle’s eyes seemed to brighten up momentarily before a more somber mood descended upon him.

“Looks like it’s the old man’s journal,” Skyle murmured softly, glancing towards the body lying not far away. “It could have useful information, but here is neither the time nor the place.”

Leon nodded his agreement, then quirked his eyebrow at the oval disk still lying in the box.

“What about that?”

The disk was about three inches in diameter and only as thin as a coin. Its surface was plain without any details or patterns. Skyle used the True Sight to examine the disk, but found nothing remarkable about it. It seemed to be a simple disk.

Shrugging, Skyle picked up the disk and placed it in his own pouch.

“Can we risk the time to search the tents around here?” Leon asked in a low, worried tone. Without quite knowing when, he had become used to letting Skyle make the decisions.

Skyle furrowed his brows as he studied his surroundings with the True Sight.

“Coast is clear for now, but we should hurry,” Skyle began, then suddenly swayed on his feet as he brought a hand to his temple, his expression contorting with pain.

“You can’t keep using that thing all the time,” Leon muttered worriedly.

Skyle took a deep breath and waved him off. “Beats getting killed.”

“Yes, but it's too important to squander away. We need to move,” Leon countered.

“Fine, just give me a second then.”

Skyle rushed back into the tent, and within moments walked out with a quiver of arrows on his back and a small sack in one hand.

“Supplies,” Skyle answered the other boy’s unspoken question shortly, before decisively striding off in the direction of the walls.

Within a couple minutes, they had returned to the wagon where they had been hiding before. The seven foot wall stood a stone’s throw away. Torches placed at regular intervals illuminated the perimeter, and a pair of guards could be seen slowly patrolling by the light.

“Damn,” Skyle cursed softly under his breath.

“What?”

“Wall's too high, I’ll need help to climb it,” Skyle muttered, pointing at his leg.

Leon shrugged and noted, “I’m more worried about the fact that they have so many soldiers, thousands, and yet they still need a wall that big. Takes a lot of work to build a wall like that, especially around a camp this size.”

“Your point?”

“Just what are they trying to keep out?” Leon answered in a low tone.

A short silence ensued, during which both boys exchanged a meaningful glance. Then another explosion rocked the entire encampment and a hair-rising roar shook the night.

“At least it can’t be any worse than that thing,” Leon pointed out while tilting his head in the direction of the roar.

“Guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Skyle sighed.