The Forest of Nightmare

Everyone had nightmares that night, everyone except Dunnford.

Whilst everyone was asleep, Dunnford was awake to conduct a night watch. He sat on a rock near the campfire with a warm drink beside him on the ground. The moon up above had reached its peak and was starting its descent, the stars, loyal companions of the moon, would follow it to the horizon.

Breezes flew by occasionally, rustling the leaves of trees and flickering the fire, reminding Dunnford that the night was a cold one. Everyone who were sleeping had their own approach to fight against the cold; initially however, everyone (including the horses) had the same approach, and that was to sleep near the campfire.

Elaine was asleep at the edge seat of the carriage, she had the comfort of being shielded from harsh nature; the walls protected her from the wind and the roof would protect her from water should there be rain. The carriage was near the campfire, but even with all the warmth, Elaine still covered her legs with her blanket. Is it that cold? Dunnford asked himself.

He turned his head toward Ray, who slept with his back on a tree to protect himself from the chill wind; he wore no blanket. Then Dunnford glanced at Kuiper, the coachman, who was sleeping on the soft grass with his belly uncovered. Maybe men have more resistance to the cold, Dunnford continued his train of thought.

That last thought of his, was reinforced when he saw Freya. She slept on the soft grass like Kuiper, but she had made sure to spread her blanket, avoiding direct contact with the grass and possibly dirt. Because she had used her blanket in such a manner, she took her spare clothes and used them as blanket replacement. Her way of sleeping made Dunnford wonder if the grass was that comfortable; for all he knew, Elaine’s method of sleeping was the best in his opinion.

Solo night watch had always been… dull. There wasn’t much a person could do during night watch and more often than not, the true challenge was to resist the boredom to sleep. In the past, Dunnford had seen new knights asleep during their night watch because they were bored. The inactivity could cause the mind to shut and soon the watcher would start making Zs despite not wanting to. Thus, Dunnford searched for trivial things that could keep himself occupied.

The crackling of the campfire wood was soothing to listen to. At times, a howling could be heard from afar and that sound went well with the crackle. Only those who kept watch at night would understand how soothing the sound of nature was at night. There was then a rustling of grass, even though no breeze blew. Dunnford went alert and looked at the source of sound. To which, it was Freya rising and waking up from her sleep with her eyes wide.

Cold sweat dripped on her forehead and she was breathing rapidly. The swordswoman glanced left and right with her amethyst eyes, assessing the situation she was in. Once she realized that she was inside the forest with the others sleeping around the campfire, she calmed her breathing and her tense body loosened.

‘Had a bad dream?’ Dunnford asked.

Freya looked at him. ‘Yeah,’ she replied. Her hands reached for the water pouch beside her and she took a few gulps. ‘The dream was—distasteful.’ Freya set the water pouch aside.

‘What did you dream?’

‘I dreamt of a woman,’ Freya said with a palm on her forehead. ‘This woman—she approached me and touched her knees to the ground, holding my shirt, begging me with tears. The woman felt familiar to me, even though I failed to recognize her.’ Freya’s expression showed her struggle to remember the woman in her dream.

‘What did she beg?’

‘She begged me—to kill her.’

To that, there were silence between them. Dunnford was growing to understand why Freya would call it a distasteful dream. ‘Was the woman dying?’ Dunnford pursued. Normally, such a situation where a person would beg to be killed, was because of mercy killing. Fallen comrades in battlefield would suffer a mortal wound and would beg other comrades to kill him and spare him out of his misery. Maybe the woman in Freya’s dream was the same.

Freya shook her head. ‘She was as alive as you and I, yet she begged me to kill her. To slash her… To finish her…’

Dunnford blinked. ‘Did you?’

‘I woke up before I took any action.’ Freya shrugged. ‘Maybe I would slash her, maybe I would spare her, I would never know.’

Talking with Freya about her dream, Dunnford recalled the arguments for and against mercy killing. The topic was often discussed during breaks and there were lots of perspective to it. Some would say that it was right, since one’s ally could be relieved of the suffering, and that it would be inhumane to prolong that said suffering. Another would say that it would be more human to spare them, to let them live even seconds longer, and that mercy killing would weigh the mind of the person who would deliver the killing blow. When Dunnford was in battles, mercy killing was never banned nor reinforced. It was all up to the person on the scene.

‘Thankfully it was a dream,’ Dunnford remarked. He understood how hard a choice it would be in such scenario.

Freya didn’t give any response despite hearing him. She stared at the forest in a daze, her silence to Dunnford’s remark implied that she didn’t just consider the dream as a dream, but something more. She did mention that the woman felt familiar to her, even though she failed to recognize her.

‘Do you think that the dream is a vision?’ Dunnford asked.

‘Maybe?’ Freya said. ‘It felt… distant, both to the future and past. There and then, it was most likely just a dream.’ She tossed the matter aside, but Dunnford knew from her wording that she still questioned the dream. Most likely just a dream, she had said.

Freya stood up and her fists attempted to reach the sky, she stretched her body as much as she could, then spun the shoulder of her bandaged right arm. She would then open and close her right fist a few times, this movement of hers, Dunnford observed, was unobstructed.

‘It’s a good night,’ she said as she looked up to the sky.

‘I agree.’

‘I’m going to take a walk.’

‘I wouldn’t advise that,’ Dunnford warned her, the forest during the night might have surprises and it would be unsafe; especially since Freya’s wounds hadn’t fully healed. But as Dunnford warned her, Freya walked to the carriage and grabbed her sword.

‘I appreciate the concern, but it’s unneeded.’ Freya set the sword on her waist.

‘You’ve seen the beasts we encountered during the day.’ The forest was a forest, and just like any, they were home to animals and creatures and beasts.

‘Yes. That’s why I don’t mind taking a walk.’

During the day they had encountered beasts. While Dunnford had to admit that the beasts posed no threats to the carriage with Dunnford around, and that in comparison to the Cerberus they were nothing, Dunnford still couldn’t get rid of his insecurities about the forest at night.

‘The beasts at night could be more dangerous than the ones we encounter at day.’

‘Perhaps.’ Freya admitted, but that wasn’t enough to discourage her from taking a walk.

Then, as if the forest was on Dunnford’s side, both he and Freya could hear a beast’s howling from afar. And they both knew that it sounded hungry.

‘I’ll be careful,’ Freya said to reassure Dunnford. She then walked away from the campfire and went for a walk. When she was gone, he let out a sigh.

Had it been Ray instead of Freya, would Dunnford had agreed to the idea of taking a walk? He wondered the question, only to immediately answer his own question with a yes. Had it been his master, he would have argued the idea and shut it down as hard as he could. The swordswoman was… different.

She was able to defeat Dunnford.

He stared at the fire, contemplating about his loss when he had fought her. She had dared stood in front of him with a wooden sword, and she was able to hit him in such a way that bypassed his invulnerability.

That defeat wasn’t caused because of Dunnford’s lack of understanding of his Special Magic, but because he had failed to understand how Freya had made that attack. Ray had questioned her about it and gotten answers for them, but as Dunnford tried replicating the scenario with a large hammer, he found that his invulnerability withstood it just fine. This, Dunnford had confided with Freya during one of her spars with Ray and it wasn’t that she wouldn’t explain how she did it, but rather she couldn’t explain it.

She has tricks, he thought. Tricks that she herself doesn’t know, but have.

Beside him, inside the carriage, Elaine twitched to a wake and she was falling from her seat. Dunnford rose from where he sat and opened his arm to stop her fall, but she hanged on the railing of the carriage and stopped her fall by herself.

‘Thank goodness,’ Dunnford said and breathed relieve.

Elaine’s eyes however trailed to where Ray was sleeping, she then muttered a few insults under her breath. Dunnford could only assume that Elaine just had a dream where she had argued with Ray. Even in dreams she would argue with him.

Only after throwing the insults did Elaine fix her position and remain seated inside the carriage. Her blanket however had fallen to the ground. She looked at the night sky, realizing that it wasn’t morning yet, and she jolted at her seat when she saw Dunnford nearby.

‘You scared me…’ she said. He had surprised her.

‘Sorry, thought you were falling.’

‘Almost.’ She understood that he was there because he wanted to stop her fall. ‘Thank you. You weren’t asleep?’

‘I was taking a night watch.’

‘What for? You do know I already set up a barrier right?’

‘Yes, but—’I don’t feel safe without someone taking watch, was what Dunnford about to say, but he refrained. He saw Elaine’s sullen expression and he could tell that she was taking his night watch with the wrong implication. ‘I couldn’t sleep,’ he continued. Technically that wasn’t a lie.

‘I’m useless, aren’t I?’ she asked in a low tone, lower than that of the crackling burning woods, making her difficult to hear. ‘You couldn’t sleep because you couldn’t trust the barrier I set.’

‘I couldn’t sleep because of my habit as a knight, Miss Elaine,’ he tried steering the conversation to a right direction. ‘With us being inside the forest, I thought that it would be even safer if I also contribute in safeguarding us all by taking a night watch. By no means did I stay awake because I doubted your barrier, but because the habit of being wary to my surroundings has been ingrained in me.’

Elaine looked at her without saying a word, mayhap she was doubting his words, mayhap she was trying to process it.

‘Sorry… for doubting you,’ she said with her head down. Dunnford had always known Elaine as a lively person as proven from her arguments with Ray. Seeing her in a down spirited manner was honestly an odd sight for Dunnford.

‘Is anything wrong, Miss Elaine?’ Dunnford stepped into the carriage and sat opposite to where Elaine was sitting. He sat with his posture straight and both hands resting on his knees, indicating that he was ready to listen to what she would say. ‘You can tell me about it and I swear on my honor that I’ll keep it to myself.’

Elaine looked outside the carriage, checking if everyone was asleep. She scanned the surrounding to see that Ray and Kuiper were still sound asleep. Her eyes lingered at the spot where Freya had slept, bothered by her disappearance, but she kept her calm. This wasn’t the first time Freya had gone missing when Elaine woke up, and she was getting used to it.

‘I—had a bad dream,’ Elaine said. As she told this to Dunnford, she grabbed her staff resting on the seat beside her. ‘One where I was useless. Not because my magic was useless, but because I’m just useless as a person. Something related… to the past.’

She stood up and jumped out of the carriage, she did not speak of the detail of her dream nor her past, and Dunnford decided not to pry for he felt it was a tough matter for her.

‘Freya is taking a walk isn’t she?’

‘Yes.’

‘Which direction did she go to?’ Elaine stretched her arms upwards.

‘She went through there.’ Dunnford pointed at the direction where Freya had left.

‘Next time, you should prevent her from doing things like this. The forest at night is not safe. And she’s still recovering her wounds.’

‘I tried.’

‘You didn’t try hard enough.’

Elaine then walked to the direction Dunnford had pointed. Her forlorn gait was very uncharacteristic of her and his concern increased. ‘Miss Elaine,’ he called her before she disappeared through the bushes. ‘You’re not useless.’

…

Elaine responded with a nod.

And disappeared as she went for Freya.

Dunnford sat inside the carriage instead of going back to the rock he had sat. There, he wondered what kind of dream Elaine had had and what kind of past she had for her to feel useless. For one, she never seemed to be completely discouraged when Ray insulted her magic as useless. Initially she would be frustrated, but she was the type that would bounce back and prove her worth. He felt that this was just one of her phases and when morning comes she wouldn’t be too bothered by the dream she just had.

If anything, Dunnford personally felt that he was the most useless among the crew. He barely contributed during the battle in Arkef because of the magic that had sealed his Elemental Magic. Also, if Elaine wasn’t there to evacuate innocent passersby when they were chased by Cerberus, then Dunnford’s plan wouldn’t have came to fruition. Well, it still would, but at the cost of many lives.

Part of the reason as to why Dunnford conducted the night watch, other than being wary and his knight discipline, was because he wanted to make himself useful. To catch up with the others who had played a big part in Arkef. They had all improved greatly during their visit to Arkef, while Dunnford wasn’t progressing as much as the rest were. Ray and Elaine had experienced real battles and was improving on that area, not to mention that they had gotten a knowledge or two from the books they had read in the library; and Freya being the one who had read the most book. Meanwhile, what had Dunnford done? He simply read Adventure of Girome and that was it!

I can’t continue like this, lest I want to be left behind by their growth. Dunnford the knight had to make sure that he kept improving along with the others.

Dunnford stepped out of the carriage and grabbed his sword which was near the campfire. It would be unwise to distract oneself with light practice swing during night watch, but Elaine did mention to him that she had set up a barrier. A slight leniency to practice and improve shouldn’t pose a threat. This would also serve as a way for him to put more trust to Elaine’s barrier.

Under the moonlight, he swung his sheathed sword vertically. Lifting the sword up in a slow momentum and slashing it down like a crashing waterfall. Both quality and quantity were important for practice, and he counted his swings. 52… 53… That night, he just wanted to focus on one basic swing. His instructor used to tell him that a swing practiced thousand of times was more fearsome than a thousand different swing practiced a time. 178… 179… 180… Right now his slashes were making sounds as he swung. He wondered if Adventure of Girome had some truth in it. The book had said that a weak swing made no sound, a good one would slice the wind, and a perfect one would be as silent as death. Mayhap the book had truth in it, mayhap not. 266… 267… 268… 2—

‘Practice swinging, Dunnford?’ A drowsy voice asked.

Dunnford stopped his swing and turned to the voice to see Ray, awake and rubbing his eyes. He then covered his yawn with his hand.

‘Sorry,’ Dunnford apologized. ‘Did I wake you up?’ His swing did make swooshing sounds.

‘No, had a bad dream.’ He stood up and went close to the campfire. Again? Dunnford thought. That made a total of 3 bad dreams that night. Why was everyone getting a bad dream? He sat on another big rock that Dunnford had placed near the fireplace. ‘Come and help me arrange my thoughts.’

Dunnford held his sword down and sat opposite to Ray near the campfire. He offered him water, but he declined.

‘Am I weak?’ Ray began. Dunnford felt that he had gone through this, only to realize that previously it was Elaine who had asked a similar question. Only, in her case, she had asked whether she was useless. Ray on the other hand asked Dunnford whether he was weak. Similar questions, but different.

‘Strength comes in different forms, Master Ray,’ he answered.

‘Spare me the nonsense, Dunnford. Am I weak or not?’

‘My answer will be the same, Master Ray: strength comes in different forms.’

Ray shook his head, not in disapproval, but in disappointment. ‘Fine. Elaborate.’

‘Take Freya for example,’ he was secretly grateful that he had a good; known example to give, ‘say that we were to challenge her in arm wrestling. Undoubtedly, we would win since we have more build. But when we fight against her using the sword, she would win with her techniques. Strength comes in many forms.’

Ray placed a hand on his chin, processing what Dunnford had just said. It was good that Ray was thinking about himself; since self-evaluation is crucial to improve oneself. A breeze passed and made the campfire flame dance.

‘Then let’s take the situation from my dream,’ Ray continued. ‘In my dream I was given the crown by my father.’

‘Congratulations.’

‘That’s not all. So I become King. And a threat in the form of… looming darkness comes and threatens the kingdom. I do not know what that darkness was, but it had a sinister feel to it and was killing the people. Resisting the darkness, I used my Bloodline Magic, burning the darkness—along with the people in the kingdom. I was given the crown, but I crumbled under its weight. I couldn’t protect the people… Am I weak, Dunnford?’

Dunnford considered the dream Ray had experienced and spent a while thinking of the best response for what he had confided to him. He knew that pain could either destroy a person completely or support growth. ‘You’re weak.’

Ray twitched. That must have felt like a stab to the heart.

‘The reason for that, is because you can’t control your Bloodline Magic. If you could, then you could’ve killed that darkness without dragging the people. Master Ray, in this case you’re weak not because you are, but because you can’t control your strength.’

‘So my weakness is because I can’t handle my Bloodline Magic? That although it’s my strength, it’s a glaring weakness.’

Dunnford nodded. ‘I would say so.’

‘Right. I can’t become a king and carry the weight of a kingdom if I can’t even carry myself. Along with learning the sword, I should also figure how to take reign of my Bloodline Magic. This makes sense. Yes. Thank you, Dunnford.’

‘You’re welcome. I would always lend an ear should you need it.’

Ray nodded. He then looked at the carriage where Elaine should had been sleeping, only to notice that she was gone; along with her, so was Freya. ‘Where are they?’

‘Freya woke up and took a walk. Miss Elaine also woke up and noticing Freya gone, went for her.’ Dunnford decided to elude the fact that they had bad dreams. He believed that there should be no need to discu—

‘AAAAAAAAAA,’ a sudden scream blasted through the air. Immediately, Dunnford and Ray leapt backward, grabbing their swords as they did and were ready to unsheathe those blades. The scream was loud enough that it felt as if it almost burst Dunnford’s eardrum, and even the forest seemed to tremble. With the intensity of that scream, something terrible must have happened. A beast attack? Monsters? Living plants? Dunnford could only guess until he managed to see what caused the scream. To which, he looked at the source of the scream. It was Kuiper, the coachman, screaming at the top of his lungs.

He opened his eyes all of a sudden and the screaming stopped. He then wriggled on the soft grass in panic, only calming down when he realized he was resting on the ground. One hand went to his heart and he breathed relief.

‘What happened, Sir Kuiper?’ Dunnford asked with a firm tone, one hand on the hilt of his sword, still wary.

Kuiper looked at both Dunnford and Ray, then to the sky to see the night sky. ‘Sorry,’ he huffed as he said that, still gaining his breath. ‘I-I dreamt of—of falling off a cliff. Absurdly realistic.’

That’s the fourth, Dunnford thought. The fourth bad dream of the night. Now he was considering whether all those bad dreams had been a coincidence. I’ll ask Miss Elaine about it later. Now that they knew the scream was caused by a bad dream, both Dunnford and Ray lowered their guards and the tension dropped. The scream was false alarm and Ray, who was beside him, laughed it off. ‘You’ve a healthy pair of lungs, Kuiper,’ he said.

‘Used to be an announcer before I was a coachman. ‘Twas long ago though. I apologize for waking you up.’ He bowed his head.

‘Don’t be. We were all awake.’

‘Oh. Phew. I don’t want to disturb everyone’s sleep because of my bad dream. Thank goodness. Say, where are the others?’

Dunnford then gave Kuiper a brief explanation. Not long after that, the leaves of the bushes near the campfire rustled and Elaine and Freya appeared. Elaine with a panicked look on her face and Freya with a composed calmness.

‘What happened? We heard a loud scream,’ Elaine asked, worried.

‘Sir Kuiper had a nightmare,’ Dunnford answered.

‘Just that?’

‘Just that.’

‘I apologize,’ Kuiper said.

Noticing that the situation wasn’t as dire as whatever she had in mind, Elaine breathed relief.

‘Miss Elaine, I need to ask something,’ Dunnford said. He could conclude that the night was a peaceful night, but the consecutive nightmares was still bugging his mind. ‘Everyone had gotten bad dreams tonight, and I’m wondering if this is all a coincidence or not. Do you have any idea about it?’

‘Everyone?’ Ray asked, alert.

‘There were a pack 3 eyed wolves outside my barrier.’ Elaine pulled beast’s horns out of her pocket. ‘They could cause nightmares to anyone who’s sleeping in their range. It’s why everyone got nightmares. Freya was surrounded by a dozen of them when I got to her.’ She glared at Freya.

‘They were smart enough to run away,’ Freya remarked.

‘Only after I arrived. Consider beasts and staying inside the barrier the next time you want to take a walk in a forest at midnight.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

‘Why did you think going outside the barrier was a good idea anyway?’

‘I wanted to check on things.’

‘On what?’

‘Well,’ Freya smiled, ‘since everyone is awake; and our destination is within reach, why not continue our ride now?’ That idea, proposed at midnight, had some absurdness in it. And before Elaine or Ray was able to go against the idea, Freya continued talking, ‘The moon is shining above, I checked the forest road just now and I could navigate my way without any torch or lamp. Not to mention, the sky is clear and cloud-free. Not like any of use could go back to sleep anyway. What about it, Sir Kuiper?’ She turned to him.

‘Honestly, I’m still too scared to go to sleep,’ he said.

‘It’s a go then?’

Kuiper looked toward the sky, agreeing that the shining moon would provide the light they need and that the sky was free of clouds. ‘We could go if everyone wants to,’ he said.

‘Perfect! Let’s pack!’

Dunnford could hear Ray beside him sighing, knowing that there was no going against her. Elaine, who was beside Freya, clearly wanted to open her mouth and let her protest out, but refrained as Freya had delivered good points as to why they would rather continue their journey.

Everyone then packed their belongings and stuffed them inside the carriage. The horses were hesitant to wake up at first, but were compliant after Kuiper gave them some carrots. Freya always seemed to know her way around to move the crew according to her will.

Truth be told, her success in convincing the others to start the journey again at such time was also because she knew that none of them was able to sleep after having their nightmares.

None except Dunnford, who would be sleeping soundly during the carriage ride.