6 | Hearic Village

A tender hand pressed down on Nito’s forehead, and he struggled to pull his eyelids open. A young girl came into focus, leaning over him in her tattered cloth garments, concern swam in her stormy grey eyes. The familiar red canvas of the Burning Lance medical tent wrapped around them. The girl stooped down and drew a dripping rag from a wooden bucket.

“Thanks, Tari, for taking care of me,” the young boy said weakly.

“Don’t talk! You need to hurry up and recover before they throw you out to die,” the girl warned.

“They can do that if they want. I hate it here. It’s been more than a star-cycle, and all I’ve done is learn how to use a spear to kill parents and orphan their kids. Just like what happened to me,” Nito complained, not heeding Tari’s advice.

“You know, just because you learn to fight doesn’t mean you have to kill. Become strong enough that you can make people submit without killing them.”

“But I already killed someone… His sandy hair and green eyes, the blood that bubbled through his yellow teeth, I can’t get it out of my head! I only stuck my lance out at the right time, and he ran onto it...” Tears welled up in frustration.

“It’s already happened, so you can’t change it. Look, once we’re a bit older, we can demand our own cut. Let’s save up enough and leave this mercenary shithole as soon as possible. Until then, cut legs off if we have to, but don’t kill.

“Yeah, let’s do that… But where would we even go afterward? What’s the point?”

“I’m gonna go as far east as I can. I heard there’s a magical forest somewhere east.”

“You mean the Everwood?” He asked. “That’s not even real, is it?”

“Hey, why are you still talking? None of this matters now, you just need to shut up and get better!” She slapped the damp rag on his forehead.

◈◈◈

The sun radiated warm light from overhead, its rays refracting off the thin mist that hung over the landscape. Nito and Rivana hopped from one patch of ground to the next around the pools of murky marsh water, their feet squelching on the moss. They had taken off from their rest camp at first light and were already deep into the Faron Fens by midday. Running through the open wetlands had proven to be much easier than zigzagging through the dense thicket from the day prior.

“Hey, do you see that?” Nito asked as they jumped in unison over a clump of bushes. “Is that smoke or something?”

“Where?” Rivana followed Nito’s line of sight to a small line of trees on their left. She saw a wispy trail of grey fumes wafting over the treetops and into the sky.

“That means someone must be using real fire over there, right? We should go check it out,” Nito said, splitting off leftward without waiting for an answer.

“Wait, it could be dangerous over there! Fire won’t spread in these wetlands, so we should just keep moving north,” Rivana cautioned as she dashed after him.

As he made it to the treeline, Nito brazenly pushed through the branches and disappeared to the other side.

“You should at least look from the cover of the trees!” She called after him, but with no response she was forced to duck through herself.

Standing on the other side, they were met with a tiny village spread out on a piece of solid, flat ground just below the ridge they stood on. It was small enough to take it all in with their current field of view. Three rings of huts circled a grassy square with a slightly larger house at its end. A path bisected the whole arrangement, so one could easily walk to the center from the outside. The path led through the village to an odd stone structure sitting further to the west.

“Well, I didn’t expect a village to be in this place, but maybe we can make sure we’re headed in the right direction,” Nito said before he leaped down from the ridge and started towards the path.

Rivana followed suit, and they both casually entered the village. “They’ve got pretty low security. I guess they’re confident in their ability to defend themselves,” she voiced her thoughts as they passed between the thatch-roofed huts and made their way to the center, where the smoke seemed to emanate from.

After walking through the innermost ring of houses, the square opened up before them. A group of villagers was gathered around a blazing fire pit above which roasted a fat, sapphire-scaled lizard. One villager took notice of the two approaching and alerted his group members.

Following a bout of incoherent whispers, a man clothed in stitched plant fiber with a pointed hat strolled up to them and said in a quizzical tone, “Dhacor fotshan ruig bhearichei Hearicai. Ta golc firichdo fotshan?”

“What the hells is that supposed to mean?”

“I think it might be Grael, a language often spoken in the northern Everwood, at least based on what Father taught me. Oh, right!” Rivana fished out a palm-sized brown box from her pocket.

“Devrik told me this explorer compass could translate some languages for you if you powered it with ethereal energy,” she explained and flipped it open, engulfing the compass with an orange wave of light.

“Well, what’s the business of ya both?” The man blinked at them patiently awaiting a response, seemingly unalarmed by the strangers in his village.

“Ah, well, we were passing by and saw the smoke so…” Nito said to him.

“Come to join us in our feast of this brigo, have ya? Then warm ya selves by the fire and fill ya bellies. What nature provides is for all to share!” The man bellowed joyously. “Journeying from where might ya be?”

“We’ve come from south of here, but we’re trying to get to Mistvall. Could you tell us if we’re heading in the right direction?” Rivana asked.

“Oh, the big city? Yes, continue northward from Hearic and ya will find it. Hard to miss, it is.”

“Excuse me, but why are you guys using real fire? Do you not know how to use etherea?” Nito interjected.

“Of course we know how to utilize ethereal energy, that’s not the problem ya see. A day ago, all the etherea in the area got sucked up it did! And about the same time, we found a strange man in our monument. Injured he seemed to be, so we left him. But he may be the crux of our issue, ya see?”

“Wait, didn’t you use ethereal energy just now though?” Nito turned to question Rivana.

“Sure, but I drew from a supply of etherea that was already in my veins. You try absorbing some, and see if it’s really gone. Since I’m powering the compass, I can’t right now.”

Nito took a breath and focused his mind, trying to draw on the etherea around him. But he felt no rushing current, everything was still. “Yeah, I’m not getting anything.”

“It’s true ya see! And the worst of it is we can’t communicate with the guy to see what’s wrong since he keeps speaking gibberish. Ya were speaking another language a moment ago, yeah? Mayhaps ya can lend us a hand and talk to the guy? If ya help, we’ll give ya an extra serving of juicy brigo meat for the trouble.”

“By monument do you mean that stone complex over there?” Nito pointed westward.

“Indeed, that is our monument to honor nature’s great bounties. Make an offering while ya talk to the man if ya like.”

With or without incentive from the villagers, Nito already made up his mind to discover whoever was in that monument. Someone who could absorb the area’s etherea faster than it could naturally replenish was bound to be a monstrous being. The curiosity that fact generated was too much for him to ignore. So, he assured the villager they would assist and marched down the central path to the monument’s entrance.

They stepped in and were immediately shrouded in darkness. Faint gusts blew through the cave-like structure, and the drip of water echoed off the cold stone. Rivana extended her hand and generated a sphere of ethereal energy to light their way. The warm glow illuminated shelves carved out from the stone walls. They were lined with small cups carefully placed in rows, and reached from ceiling to floor on either side. An archway was also chiseled from the rock a few paces ahead.

“Shouldn’t you conserve your activated etherea if we can’t absorb any right now?” Nito asked with a tinge of concern.

“Well, you certainly should. But this light orb isn’t too taxing on me, don’t worry. How else would we see otherwise?”

“Is someone there? Please, I’m injured! J-Just let me rest here a bit, then I’ll be gone. I promise,” a voice resonated from deeper in the cave.

“Should we trust him, or do you think it’s a trap?” Nito asked, his foot hesitating to take the next step.

“What do you mean? You were the one who waltzed in here without a second thought until now. Besides, if he’s seriously injured then we should help,” she said resolutely.

They walked through the archway and entered a spacious triangular chamber. A beam of light descended from an opening in the roof at the endpoint, enshrouding a stone table directly below. Moving closer, they saw the man stretched out on it, dressed in all white.

“Are you alright? You don’t look injured,” Rivana said to him.

“Oh, you don’t look like the villagers from earlier,” He responded. “And poisoned might be a more accurate statement than- damn that hurts!” He winced at a sudden flux of pain.

“Hey, don’t talk if you’re in pain,” Nito advised as they rushed to the man’s side.

“It’s quite alright. I only ate a bunch of pink berries that apparently have some nasty side effects. Luckily, I stumbled across this place with a high concentration of etherea after I made it out of the woods. So, I can heal myself as the poison tries to eat me away fairly easily. It’s just a game of stamina at this point, and I won’t lose,” He gazed through the hole in the ceiling as if finishing a valiant speech.

“Who exactly are you?” Nito asked him.

“Right, I’m Laharis of the family- Ah, you don’t need to know that actually.”

“Nice to meet you, Laris, I’m Rivana and this guy’s Nito.”

“It’s Laharis. Guess you guys don’t really speak Grael, but nice to meet you.”

“And you do?” Nito questioned.

“Of course, I’m from Frostmoor after all.”

“Wait, if you can speak Grael too, then why didn’t you just explain your situation to the villagers? They were nice enough to us,” Rivana said.

“Yeah, only because they were trying to make you fix their problem. You guys don’t know the north well do you, and this is barely north at that. You’re a midlander,” he indicated to Rivana. “And you… You feel like a midlander too, but you’re from farther away.”

“What makes you say that?” Nito asked, surprised at his accurate claim.

“Well, everyone’s got their tells. The way you hold yourself, the way you speak, it says it all. Anyway, I know you’re here to run me out. So, come on, one of you spin around so I can crawl on your back.”

“What! You want us to carry you around? We’re just traveling through, you know.”

“Great! Then take me with you. I’ll probably get killed if I stay here much longer, and I need to use all my energy to fight off this poison. I was only wondering around too, so it works out. You wouldn’t leave me to die, right?”

“I guess you’re right... Then,” Nito took off his bag, handing it and his spear to Rivana. “Hop on.”

With Laharis riding on Nito’s back, the now trio exited the monument. Once they were breathing fresh air again, Nito stopped with his human backpack and gazed at the ground pensively. After a breath, he decidedly faced the direction Mistvall was in.

Noticing Nito’s intention, Rivana said, “What about the food they offered us? Shouldn’t we at least let them know we’ve done what they asked?”

“If they were just pretending to be nice, maybe it’s better we simply leave and not see what they’re like without a reason to be kind,” Nito responded.

“Ah, there’s a good thought! Look! If you hadn’t met me, you’d never have learned this valuable lesson. Now, onwards! Just don’t drop me please.”

____

Explorer Log:

Saranog

Danger Level - [Elfin] ★★

Appearance - A four-legged beast with black fur; typically, adults can grow up to two nanoleagues tall and 3 nanometers in length; they have six eyes, three on either side of its narrow head; their snout and maw are the only parts of their body not protected by fur; the snout and maw shift from a blue hue to a more greenish one as they mature; they have sharp fangs and claws, as well as a tail about a third of their body length

Behavior - Carnivore; they are very territorial and will attack anything that comes too close to their den; they have an incredibly keen sense of smell but poor hearing; their six eyes work in conjunction to provide a wide field of view and better vision at night, though their small blind spot is their tail region; they have corrosive saliva to help dissolve bones that may damage their teeth; they use their sharp fangs and claws to cleave their prey

Habitat - Jabber Garden and Faron Fens