EverBright: The Darkness Pool

Interlude: Poppy

Poppy knew these woods. The house his parents had raised him in was just in front of them. He’d been exploring these woods since he could walk. Even if his legs were slightly bowed now, and his hair was graying, he still knew these woods better than anyone else he'd met. When he heard about the reward, he figured there was no one better equipped than him to claim it.

According to the poster, some nobleman’s son went missing traveling between Everbright and Sea Cray. Seemed like that was happening a lot these days. Poppy was sure, though, that people just weren’t being careful. Lucky for him that one of the missing came from a wealthy family because he certainly could use the money.

Poppy had made his living leading hunting expeditions into the woods for years. He was the best tracker Sea Cray had ever known. He first learned his skill at his father’s side. The hunting business was a family tradition that Poppy proudly continued. But these disappearances were bad for business, and Poppy hadn’t had a paying client in months now. Even his last client had gotten spooked and quit the trip halfway through. So Poppy took his bow and quiver and headed for the woods to search for some trace of the nobleman’s lost son.

The man he was looking for was younger, eighteen to be exact. Poppy had spent the previous afternoon talking to the boy’s family. The boy’s name was Willem, and he’d taken off for EverBright after an argument with his father. They had relatives there. That was a month ago. Willem’s parents sent word via ship courier only to discover that he’d never arrived. It wasn’t much. It didn’t mean the answer was in the woods at all, but Poppy was determined to track him down.

He was two days into his search. He’d stuck around close to the road, slowly making his way toward EverBright. At a steady pace, the trip would take a caravan three days. Poppy’s methodical searching meant that he wasn’t even halfway through the journey when he caught sight of a lead.

Off the side of the road, he found the torn remnants of clothing, stained with a spot of black ichor. As he picked it up, he noticed a powerful stench that made his stomach roil. He was sure now that the boy’s family wasn’t going to like the way this ended. As he studied the cloth, a strange thing started happening. The black spot started moving. He stared in fascination as the pattern shifted and undulated. He was so transfixed that by the time he heard the noises, it was far too late.

They moved like liquid through the trees. Small shapes by the dozens, all made of the black, tar-like stuff on the cloth. They all resembled woodland creatures, deformed by rot. Rabbits missing ears or with heads caved in. Squirrels, skulls partially bare and skin flapping as they bounded toward him. Streaks of blackness, hideous and craven, coming toward him, as predators and not prey. The details were vivid, but he couldn’t be sure if they were covered in black goo or made of the stuff. That is, until he tried to run.

He found himself surrounded on all sides by them, so he chose to head toward the road believing that would give him the best chance of escape. As he attempted to run through the things, one of them, shaped like a badger oozing intestines from a hole in its abdomen, dove beneath the spot where Poppy’s foot was landing and changed. It flattened itself into a black pile of goo, and when Poppy’s foot landed it stuck. He almost lost his balance, but just kept himself upright, wobbling.

Now the things circled him. No matter how he pulled, he couldn’t get his foot free. The best he could do was pivot. He saw then that the number of creatures surrounding him were growing. As he stood there helpless, one of them charged him. When it came close enough, Poppy, using his stuck foot for leverage, kicked the rushing beast as hard as he could. He felt the satisfying weight of the well-placed kick connecting, but instead of watching it fly back, he was horrified to see that it stuck.

Thunk! Poppy felt another of the creatures stick to his back. Then the rush was on. They all dove for him. The air was filled with the wet, smacking sounds of them hitting him and clinging to his body. Even though he struggled against them, there was simply nothing he could do but cry out as he toppled to the ground. Once he was prone, the creatures all began to meld into one big pile of the gooey blackness. Poppy’s face submerged and surfaced in the rhythms of a drowning man as the black goo carried him off, deeper into the woods.

Ch. 4 Tiernan’s First Hunt

On the day he turned fourteen, Tiernan’s mother presented him with a traveling satchel. It was made of supple leather, and a large, decorative letter “T” was branded onto the front of the flap that covered the opening. It was nice enough, but the feature that made it especially suited to his purposes was the pair of straps on one side designed to attach a bolt quiver, and also the straps specially commissioned by his mother across its broad back to hold his encased yuke.

Once he had prepared the bag with the burdens he expected it to carry, he bounded out the door in search of Clockwise and Widdershins. It was not much of a search, though, because he knew just where they’d be. For over a year now, the twins had followed in Tiernan’s footsteps and found a hunter to apprentice themselves to as well. The man, Jocnal, was a master with slings. He and Narlix were friends and rivals, though Narlix focused on fowl while Jocnal stuck mainly to rabbit and squirrel, so even when they would meet, they never really competed for quarry.

In fact, they had told the boys only a couple of days ago that they were planning a joint expedition as a first hunt for the three of them. The woods were becoming ever more dangerous, and larger parties were considered safer these days. Since that news came down, Clockwise and Widdershins had spent most of their mornings on a remote part of the beach with makeshift targets and a virtually unlimited supply of practice ammunition at their feet.

“Hey!” Tiernan shouted from a safe distance behind them, so as not to become an accidental target of their practice shots. As he called, Widdershins was in the middle of a release. As he was letting go, he turned toward the sound of Tiernan’s voice, causing his stone to fly wide. It hit the edge of the target, bounced off perpendicular to it and into the shell of a nearby turtle with a loud “thunk.” By the time it had reached the turtle, though, it had lost most of its momentum, so the turtle just pulled into its shell, presumably frightened and annoyed.

“Ha! That’s the first thing you’ve hit all day!” Clockwise jibed at his brother, who was standing there staring at the turtle with a look of simultaneous embarrassment and pride.

“Oh, yeah, like you’ve been so great a marksman yourself,” Widdershins snapped back at his brother even though he knew Clockwise was the stronger hunter.

Clockwise responded with a shake of his head and turned toward Tiernan. “Are you all ready?”

“I am. I’ve got everything I need.” Tiernan lifted his new bag enough to make sure it was noticed.

“Hey, that’s pretty great,” Widdershins responded. “Birthday gift?”

“It was,” Tiernen replied. “I got it this morning just in time for the hunt. It’s funny, you know, we’ve been working toward this hunt so long, and now that it’s here, I can hardly believe it.”

“It’s going to be amazing!” Widdershins assured him. “Of course, the danger makes it all the more exciting.”

“Widdy, seriously? Is that how you’d respond if someone you knew had disappeared? It’s no cause for excitement. It’s cause for caution and attention to our surroundings.”

Widdershins was not easily dissuaded from his excitement, though. “Come on. I’m not trying to be cruel, but what if we saw something? What if we were the ones to bring back the news of what was causing the disappearances? That would be amazing! We could be heroes!”

Clockwise responded with his typical measured tone. “I’ve no interest in being a hero. I want to be a useful part of a successful hunt. That’s all. If I’m going to hunt for the rest of my life, it starts here. That’s what's important. You’d see that too if you weren’t focused on nonsense like becoming a hero.”

Tiernan interjected. “Why does it have to be one or the other? We could do both, you know. I certainly want to make hunting my future, but if we happened to see something useful while we were hunting, I would be pleased to become a hero too. Anyway, are you ready to go?”

“Almost,” Clockwise said. “We just have to clean this up and pick up our packs from home. Come on, walk with us.”

Though he was reluctant, Tiernan joined his two friends on their trek home. By now, the differences between them were stark. Both of the twins were much taller than Tiernan, to the point that his head didn’t even reach their shoulders. The years of hauling produce for their master has made them thickly muscled as well while Tiernan remained short and slight. He wasn’t overly thin for his height, but there was nothing impressive about his physique. He felt fortunate that his human half had given him enough height now to forestall most of the casual ridicule he endured before he finished growing.

No matter that she had known him for many years at this point, the twins’ mother still treated him with disdain. Anytime he saw her, she would scrunch her face at him as if the sight of him caused her physical pain. She almost never spoke to him. Instead, she would just speak to Clockwise about him even though he was standing there. Things like, “You’re still dallying with that sort, I see,” or “Did he follow you again?” It was like she believed Tiernan was a stray dog that was tagging along in search of scraps. On the best of visits, she pretended not to notice him at all.

This particular visit worked out even better for him because they arrived to find that she wasn’t home at all. So Clockwise and Widdershins ran in while Tiernan waited in the yard. That was where he was expected to stay. He had gotten over this humiliation long ago and had come to prefer it to the inevitable discomfort that would accompany being inside with the woman who detested him so thoroughly. It was funny, though. To this day, Clockwise and Widdershins didn’t seem to notice the way their mother treated Tiernan. It was as if there was an invisible curtain in their minds that hid the truth and could not be lifted. Soon enough, the twins bounded from the house, and the three were off to meet their mentors and begin their journey.

As they entered the market, they found themselves stopping and staring along with most of the other citizens out and about at that time. Marching from the docks was a long procession of soldiers clad in blue uniforms. Their left breasts bore the seal of the king, meaning they had traveled all the way from the capital, Malinet. Typically, each town in the kingdom mustered a militia of laymen and women to defend their borders as the need arose. However, when the situation was dire, the royal troops were sent out. This must have meant that the capital was taking the danger in the woods seriously.

The troops famously stayed home most of the time. In Tiernan’s lifetime, he’d only heard of one other such march. A dragon had come down from the Clanset Mountains to accost the mining town of East Eld. That campaign had ended in the lost lives of many soldiers before the beast was dispatched. They say, though, that in East Eld’s town center, a statue was erected featuring the beast’s skull beneath the boot of a bronze soldier.

At the head of the procession, two men marched alongside the main contingent in uniforms, indicating them as couriers. There were sacks filled with sheets of parchment slung over their shoulders, and they were handing them to shopkeepers along with instructions that the announcements were to be posted on every shop door. And sure enough, Tiernan heard the arhythmic knocking of various hammers on doors up and down the street.

“Come on,” Widdershins whispered, because even though they were in the middle of the market street, it felt like a moment that demanded silence. Following his lead, the boys made their way toward Narlix’s shop. The scene in the shop stood in sharp contrast to the street’s quiet reverence.

“This is unthinkable!” They heard Narlix shouting as they entered the front. “How is a man supposed to work under such conditions? It’s just absurd. How do they expect us to find an income with this bureaucratic nonsense getting in the way?” It was the volume of the tirade that shocked the boys. Narlix was a generally soft spoken man. It was clear that the issue was a serious one.

If Narlix saw the boys enter, it did not phase him, and as he continued his rant, Jocnal showed the boys the announcement which was now decorating every shop in town.

By order of the king,

Any business being conducted which would require citizens to travel through that portion of the king’s forest which lies between EverBright and Sea Cray must immediately desist. If the matter is of some urgency, an appeal can be made to Admiral Nassar, the head of this contingent. He will determine whether the trip ought to be attempted and what manner of guard will be dispatched for its protection. Failure to comply will result in a heavily leveled fine and potential imprisonment at the discretion of Admiral Nassar.

Cordially,

Your King

The bottom of the announcement had been stamped with the royal seal, a lion encircled by fire. That stamp carried with it the weight of the kingdom.

“Well, no wonder there’s a parade of soldiers working their way through the market. They’re going to need an army if they intend to enforce this.” Widdershins’ words blanketed the group with resignation.

“You mean, they’re still in the market?” Narlix asked, abruptly ending his tirade. “We may just have a shot! If we can get into the woods farther on before the soldiers have worked their way that far then we can’t be faulted, can we? Jocnal, are you and yours ready to travel? I see that Tiernan is packed and prepared.”

Jocnal grinned at this turn in the plan. “Yes I am. Let’s go. Do you plan to slip in behind the tannery, then?”

“Clearly, I’m not the only one who can think quick on his feet. Let’s get there before they do. We can cut through the alley behind Butcher’s Row.”

Like that, the party snapped up the burdens they had at hand and made quick work of navigating the alley in question. The nausea-inducing scent of the tannery hit them even before it was in sight. However, when they smelled it, they were heartened rather than repulsed. They could hear the faint cries of the courier soldiers at their backs as they slipped into the trees behind the pit of sludge filled with the nearest tanner’s detritus.

“Careful where you step, lad.” As usual, Widdershins had been watching everything except where he was going. Narlix’s gentle reminder allowed him to avoid sinking his boot into the sludge they were filing past. “Wet boots are no way to start a week’s hunt. You’ll likely be miserable enough by the time we’re through without adding that.” Widdershins nodded gratefully and made a show of turning his head to the front and his eyes to the ground.

As they delved deeper into the woods, the light became a misshapen lattice-work on the ground as it fought through the dense canopy far from any road. Narlix knew the woods, though, and there was never any doubt in Tiernan’s mind that the man would lead them rightly.

The notion of their first camping trip, coupled with the clandestine means of departure from town, had all the boys so excited that each step was practically a leap. However, after an hour of walking, the enthusiasm began to pall. The lively steps deteriorated to a trudge before Narlix stopped to set up camp. When they did stop, the boys slumped down on a fallen log that was close at hand.

“Get up, boys! There’s work to be done before we rest. You see this area?” Narlix motioned in a circle, outlining the perimeter of the campsite, and the boys nodded in recognition. “You don’t step more than ten paces alone beyond here. Even to relieve yourself. Take someone with you. Now, I want the three of you to go about collecting sticks we can use for the fire while Jocnal and I prepare the fire pit.”

As the boys walked off in search of kindling and bigger logs, they heard Jocnal say, “You know, my Pa always used to say that when it comes to work, a boy is a boy, two boys is half a boys, and three boys is no boy at all.”

Narlix chuckled in response, but was quick to explain his reasoning. “I believe it. I’d rather have them together, though. We may not know what’s out in these woods, but I do know that it’s always safer to go in a group. Besides, I’ve got a hunch that you were much more unruly in your youth than these boys.” With that, laughing at his own jest, Narlix got to the work of preparing the pit for the fire. By the time the boys returned with their burdens, Narlix was ready to begin the fire. “Jocnal, why don’t you take your lads and find us some meat for supper? I expect by the time you return, we will all be quite hungry.”

“I don’t plan for it to take all that long," Jocnal smiled, returning Narlix’s jibe with confidence. “Come on, boys. Follow quiet as you can, and we’ll have squirrel or rabbit in no time.” With that, he led the boys off, leaving Tiernan and Narlix alone, staring into the small, but growing, fire.

“Okay, Tier, we won’t begin to hunt until tonight, but I want to talk to you about the animals. I’ve spent a long time teaching you to respect your weapon, and I know that you treat it as it should be. You fire at a target as well as any I’ve ever taught, but targets don’t move. You need to learn how animals move, so you can anticipate them, and that begins with respecting them. We respect the animals because they are our means of sustenance, given to us by the Holy One to keep us sustained. If you disrespect the animal, you disrespect the animal’s creator, and I’ll not have that.”

This was the first time that Tiernan could remember Narlix talking about religion at all. It threw him off. The idea of the Holy One hadn’t really occurred to him. Human churches tended to ignore halflings, and Tiernan, in turn, had mostly ignored them. He’d asked his mother about a church building once as they passed it. She was quick to dismiss it. “It’s a worry for others more than us, son. It’s a human thing, and we halflings don’t have time for such things.”

Of course, he knew that was ridiculous. Everything humans did was also done by halflings. She didn’t seem eager to talk about this, however, so he had let it go. Now, though, as Narlix brought it up, questions swirled in his mind again. He didn’t respond with a question, though. He responded with a retort.

“Halflings don’t worry over such things. We leave religion and churches to humans.” He tried to pass it off as a nonchalant comment, but Narlix’s face soured.

“Listen here, boy. You knew from the first that there were things I would demand of you. You agreed to do them in exchange for learning to hunt, for giving you footsteps to follow in. This is one of those things. You will revere the Holy One when you are around me, and I’ll hear no talk otherwise. Do you understand?” Narlix’s tone was severe, and Tiernan couldn’t help being a little frightened.

“I do understand, sir. I never meant any disrespect.” Tiernan wasn’t really sure why it mattered what he agreed to on this score since religion has had next to nothing to do with hunting as far as he was concerned. “I will learn reverence as you teach it, sir.” Tiernan dipped his head in a sign of respect to his old mentor.

“Well, enough then. Let’s talk about how these animals move.” With that, the old man launched into a lecture the style of which Tiernan was used to hearing. He talked of squirrels, rabbits, deer, wild chickens, turkeys, and pheasant. By the time he was finished, the hunters had returned, standing quietly and listening to the exhortation. Tiernan was overwhelmed with the depth and breadth of the information he received. As usual after one of Narlix’s lectures, Tiernan’s head was spinning, and he feared forgetting everything.

“If your lesson is done, we’ve brought fresh game and even gathered a fair number of mushrooms.” Jocnal pulled from his pack a metal rod and two sturdy sticks which split on one end. From these, he fashioned a spit while Narlix skinned the rabbits. Once skinned, he stuffed each rabbit’s chest cavity with a handful of mushrooms, showing the boys just how to pack them so they wouldn’t slip out on the spit. Once the meat was spitted and on the fire, Jocnal took the lead and told the boys stories of his early hunting days. He intimated to them that he and Narlix had both been trained by the same man, though years apart, as Jocnal was many years junior to Narlix. Apparently, their mentor, whose name was never given, was gifted in the use of many different weapons. He also had a knack for pairing weapons with apprentices, which is how Jocnal and Narlix came to use different weapons though they shared a teacher.

The campfire was ringed with laughter and awe amidst stories of triumph and failure. Each, of course, holds lessons for the boys to keep in mind for the morning to come. As the night cooled, the campfire dimmed. It was warm enough that the loss of heat was refreshing as they drifted to sleep. The night was not restful for Tiernen, though. Again, he had dreams as he had had in the past, but now they were more vivid, more visceral. He was being chased, and the loose ground beneath him continually gave way, making his escape impossible. The thing had pitch-black claws and the face of his father, only misshapen and drooping, like black candle wax slowly melted by the heat of the chase. As usual, when the claws were near to seizing him, Tiernan woke with a start.

His cry woke everyone except Widdershins who was still snoring noticeably. Tiernan could see Narlix rise in the pale gray light coming from the East. He had thought about going back to sleep, but his mentor’s movements made it clear that he had inadvertently signaled the time to wake. He rose as well, though his body was reluctant. Clockwise kicked his brother’s foot, which was enough to rouse him as well.

“We’ll camp here again tonight, so you only need your weapons and the gear necessary to bring back our prey. With luck, we’ll be able to sneak back into town with what we catch. If not, there’s a cave nearby where I’ve dried meat in the past. It won’t sell as well as the fresh, but it’ll still bring us some money.” With that, Narlix began gathering his things, and the others did likewise.

While Tiernan was still considering his pack, Narlix approached. “Don’t carry so many bolts on a hunt that they’re a burden, nor so few that you run out too soon.” Narlix showed Tiernan his own quiver to give him an idea of the proper number. “Now, I’ve had years of experience, so I don’t intend to need as many bolts as you do. Take a handful more than what I’ve got, and you should be set.” There was a strange stilted cadence to Narlix’s voice that told Tiernan he wanted to talk about something else.

“What is it?” he asked, offering his mentor an opening.

“It’s not really my place, I know, but I wondered if you wanted to talk about what’s been haunting your sleep. I saw it first hand tonight, but your mother had mentioned it to me before now.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s much of anything.” Tiernan wasn’t able to pull off the lie, though. Not this early in the morning or this soon after the nightmare awakened him. Even as the words left his lips, the ghostly gray of morning showed him enough of Narlix’s face to make it clear that he wasn’t going to get out of the conversation that easily. “I’m always being chased. No matter how I run, I barely advance, and it always catches me.”

“It?”

“It’s a beast. It’s shaped like a man, but larger than any man. Its skin is like melted tallow, and black like roof pitch. I always wake up before it catches me.”

Narlix nodded in understanding. “That’s certainly the sort of dream that can unnerve any man.” It did not escape Tiernan’s notice that Narlix spoke of him as a man. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever done that before. It calmed and encouraged him, offering him the sense of relief he needed to confess the worst part of the dream.

“Narlix, the beast doesn’t always come close enough for me to see its face. I often wake before that. When I do see it, those dreams are the worst because the face belongs to my father. I know that makes no sense. I’ve never even met him, though I’ve seen him several times. He was even in the audience at one of my performances. I don’t know if I ever told you that. Anyway, I’ve seen him enough to know that it’s his face in my dream. It’s black like the rest of the skin, distorted and melting, but it’s still him, and it’s always horrible.” His rambling was arrested then by an onslaught of quick, short breaths as he tried not to cry.

Narlix rested his hand on the boy’s shoulder then, and that was all it took to open the floodgates, as he buried his face in the man’s shirt and sobbed. Jocnal was keenly aware of the need to keep the other boys occupied at this time, and he was regaling them with a tale of his first hunt, promising them that they would return to camp this night with tales of their own.

Tiernan was able to compose himself quickly by making himself busy counting off his bolts and comparing the number to that of Narlix. Once he was back under control, he declared that he was ready to go, fairly certain that it was still too dark to see the tear streaks on his cheeks. When he joined the tight knot of hunters that were waiting for him, he walked in on Narlix giving instructions.

“...and none of that jouncing around you like to do. You must step lightly and deliberately. Heel down first, then toe. Make each step purposeful. Game has been getting more and more scarce in recent years, and piling through the trees like a farrow of boar will send what’s left off running before we ever lay eyes on them.

"Now, we’ll stay together until we get to the cave we spoke about last night. At that point, Tiernan and I will head North up the hill and over the cave while you three head east down toward the valley at the center of the wood. You won’t see the valley, that’s much farther than we dare go these days, but you’ll find your squirrel and rabbit in that direction. Tiernan and I will be looking for turkey mostly and pheasant. When we get enough birds, we’ll scout the outskirts of town. We’ll be near enough to head that way and see if we can sneak back in tonight. Afterward, we’ll meet back at the cave and decide what’s next from there.”

The cave wasn’t far from where they’d camped, and they walked past at a steady pace as the boys practiced walking quietly. Luckily for them, there wasn’t much ground cover as the leaves were still on the trees, and the canopy overhead discouraged vegetation beyond short grasses and moss. They kept an eye out for game as well. Jocnal pointed out thorny trees and bushes that were likely homes for rabbits. Of course, the squirrels were easier to spot, but their near constant movement made them tricky prey.

Narlix talked to Tiernan very little. Instead, he had him practicing turkey calls. One of Narlix’s greatest tools was his calls. He had learned the art of crafting turkey calls from the bones of deer or cattle. According to the story he had told to Tiernan, Narlix had acquired the skill from his grandfather who had learned it from his father, on and on, in a progression that began in the days when this area was all wild, and EverBright wasn’t even a fledgling settlement. He hadn’t taught Tiernan to do it yet. He insisted that the secret to the calls would be his final lesson because, “I don’t want the art and craft of it known by someone who wouldn’t use it to earn his place in the world. If you’re just playing at being a hunter, I’d just as soon give you one I’d made rather than see that secret shrivel and die, unused in your head."

When they reached the cave and parted ways, Tiernan looked back at his friends and envied them a bit. He would never know what it was like to have a sibling, and the closeness of the twins was a marvel to him. Even different as they were, they could act as one when they were of a mind to do it. He could see it in the way they scanned the forest as they walked, each taking half, sharing the burden and easing their work as no single person could.

It was no surprise to him that Clockwise took to the mannerisms and methods necessary for the hunt, but Widdershins displayed no less skill than his brother. When he was on the hunt, it was like he shed everything in him that was goofy and silly and irreverent. It was something to behold. While they were still in sight, Tiernan saw Jocnal gesture towards a tree and then watched both brothers loose stones. Their first squirrel fell just that quickly, and no one who saw it could be sure which brother had gotten the kill.

Apparently, the spectacle didn’t thrill Narlix nearly as much because when Tiernan turned around, he saw his master thirty paces farther than he’d been when they’d stopped. As he began to follow along, he put a bit of speed into his gait to catch up, seeing as he did that Narlix was readying his call. Even though he was trying to make his way quietly, the rush in his step made him noisier than he would normally have been. Narlix pulled the call down from his mouth to scowl at Tiernen as he finally came to a halt beside the old hunter.

“How long have I been training you, boy? You know better than to behave that way.” Tiernan returned the rebuke with an abashed frown and ducked his head in apology. He knew that silence was his best response at the moment. Seeing his point was well made, Narlix nodded and once again lifted the call to his lips, this time sounding it into the stillness that had fallen in the wake of Tiernan’s arrival. At first, there was no response. Narlix called again. After this, he looked down at Tiernan, and commanded in a whispering hiss, “Ready your bolts. It won’t be long.” Immediately, he gave a third call. This time, he held it out longer and gave it more of a flourish at the end so that it sounded almost musical.

When he cut off, he held perfectly still. Tiernan, ready with his crossbows, likewise, made no movement whatsoever. The tension in the silence pounded in Tiernan’s ear like a drum beating in time to the rhythm of his excitement. Suddenly, to the southeast of their location, a call came back. Narlix called again. This one was short, staccato, a bursting response to the birds that had called back. Again, the birds responded, closer. Several more calls and responses sounded while the hunters stared out, waiting, expecting their prey to burst over the ridge, riding the sky on the waves of the wind.

It was thanks to the constant training he’d received that Tiernan didn’t lock his elbows, causing his arms to shake from the sheer exertion of holding the crossbows at the ready for so long. He knew better, though, and he kept his elbows soft. Even so, his arms were on fire and his head was full to bursting with anticipation when the birds finally made themselves known. Even ready as he was, he hadn’t been ready to compensate for the way the anticipation coursed through him from head to toe. His aim was good, but he didn’t lead his quarry like he should have, and both of his shots were off the mark.

Though he feared seeing Narlix scowl again, he still looked to his mentor. Narlix nodded, “Not too bad for your first shots. Did you see what you did wrong?”

“I didn’t lead them enough. I let my excitement override my patience.”

“Just so.” Narlix replied. “Let’s walk on a bit before we try again. Give ‘em time to settle.”

As they walked along, Tiernan felt himself growing jealous of his friends and their immediate success. Narlix wouldn’t let him brood for long though. “Let’s try again here.” Again, the pattern repeated, with Narlix calling and Tiernan at the ready. This time, though, Narlix didn’t just call. While he was calling with his left hand, he held one of his own crossbows ready in his right hand. When the birds appeared this time, both Tiernan and Narlix fired. Three bolts flew into the air, and two birds fell.

“Ah, I missed.” Narlix sighed. Then, he looked down at Tiernan and winked. “Let’s go find our birds.” With that, Narlix led the way to the spot where they had seen the birds fall. “Now, if you want the best meal you can get out of these, you’ve got to dress them as soon as you find them.” Narlix then went about the task of teaching Tiernan how to dress the birds. He showed him how to fill the cavities with dry grass and squeeze to remove the blood. Finally, he taught him how to use the hanging apparatus he’d fashioned around his waist, so the birds would arrive at the market as fresh as possible.

By the end of that first day, when they made it to the cave where they were to meet the others, they did so with over twenty birds. “When you’re alone, Tier, I would recommend that you stop at no more than a dozen. Beyond that, the weight of them isn’t worth the encumbrance to your ability to hunt. A dozen will bring plenty of money for one day’s work. It’s also important to remember that those birds have to keep on living and making new birds. If everyone came out to these woods and killed as much as they could, we’d run out of birds in this area eventually. You see, there has to be give and take with the woods. You have to respect the Creator’s world, even as you borrow from it to survive.”

Even though it wasn’t intentional, Tiernan’s mind wandered as Narlix talked about the Creator. He didn’t understand the old hunter’s sudden fixation. It simply didn’t interest him. He had far too many immediate things to occupy his mind to waste time thinking about something that didn’t seem to affect his life. Narlix's diatribe was cut short, though, by the sound of voices and the rustle of feet as the other three hunters found their way to the cave.

“...last shot was incredible, though,” Jocnal was saying to Clockwise.

“Incredibly lucky,” smirked Widdershins. Both boys laughed at that. Even Jocnal joined in with a smile.

A pack full to bursting burdened Widdershin’s shoulder. It was evidence enough that the day had been successful for them. The broad smiles were further proof. The overall joy of the moment ended when they caught sight on Narlix’s face. “It’s too much,” he said.

“I know.” Jocnal agreed, all the mirth dissipating. “They were doing so well, and I wanted them to practice. I thought we could sneak in and make a sale tonight. We don’t even have to take it all.”

“If you weren’t so affable, you’d constantly be in hot water,” Narlix laughed, shaking his head. He sighed, “We’ve got a couple of choices then, we can try to sneak back into town or we can walk in pretending we were out when the King’s soldiers started all this uproar. Either way, there’s risk. Jocnal, what say you?”

“Feigning ignorance is one of my most finely-tuned skills.” Jocnal replied. “Plus, the stupidity of such a move should help mask the deception.” Narlix nodded, but it was clear he was uneasy at the notion. “If that doesn’t suit you,” Jocnal continued, “we could try to sneak, but I think if we’re caught in that case it will go much worse for us.”

“True. At this point though, it doesn’t matter because you’ve no longer got a choice.” A new voice broke into the conversation, causing all the men to look up. Their eyes fell on a man in uniform. The insignia on his collar marking him as a Major, and the five men behind him standing at attention assured everyone there that he was completely in control of the situation.

Narlix’s shoulders sagged, and he nodded his head in resignation. Then, after only a moment, he stood up straight and faced the soldiers. Jocnal’s posture mirrored that of Narlix, but all three of the boys stood there, mouths open, in a mixture of fear and shock.

“I’m Major Druse. You have admitted that you willfully denied the orders of the king. You will come with us, and you will answer for this.”

Suddenly, Narlix saluted, crisp and proper, an old habit recalled perfectly. “Major, sir, I am Captain Andrus Narlix, his Majesty’s order of Archers, 54th division, retired, and I take full responsibility. None with me are culpable in this deed.”

The Major’s eyebrows rose, “Very well. Men, take the Captain into custody, and he will accompany us as we escort these others to their homes. Captain, I respect a man willing to take the burden of responsibility on himself.” He paused, considering. “You’ve taken up hunting game as a career after the military?”

Narlix acquiesced with a single nod. “It’s a common move,” the Major continued. “Gives you an outlet for the skills you gained. Which do you prefer?”

“Well, sir, I’m glad to be killing animals for food. I’ve had enough of killing men.” This was more information about the hunter’s past than Tiernan had ever heard. He hoped the shock and surprise wasn’t too evident on his face. “It seems, though,” Narlix continued, “that I overstepped in the pursuit of the hunt, sir. I was just preparing this boy,” here he motioned to Tiernan, “to take my place. This is his first hunt, you see, and it’s apt to be my last. He’s ready, though.”

Tiernan’s stomach twisted. His last hunt? Tiernan knew he wasn’t ready, but apparently that didn’t matter. He forced himself to listen to Narlix rather than dwell on the implications of what he had just said.

“I had planned to give him the shop when we got back. I was going to retire to my grandfather’s farm outside of Northbridge. Now, I suppose, I’m leaving EverBright in chains. Well, there’s nothing for it but to face it.”

Northbridge? Tiernan was sure that it was at least a two week ride from EverBright. It was farther than he’d traveled in his whole life. It seemed clear that Narlix had never intended to see him again.

“Well, Captain, your cooperation may go a long way in…”

“Ungh!” The Major’s words were cut off by the started cry of one of his men as he thunked to the ground. It was the man farthest back in the line, but he was close enough for them all to see and hear him being dragged away by something into the thicker parts of the forest. In reaction to the cry, his comrades unsheathed their sabers and took to chasing him, using the swords as machetes to widen the path made by the fallen soldier’s dragged body.

“Captain, it’s time to regain some good will,” the Major shouted. “Follow with your crossbows.”

“Yes, sir,” Narlix responded. “Jocnal, stay with the boys.” It was no use, though. Tiernan, Clockwise, and Widdershins were already preparing their weapons for the chase. Unfortunately, their adrenaline was stymied by the fact that hacking through thick undergrowth, even as though it had been tamped down by the soldier’s body, is not a fast process. Their minds and bodies wanted to race, but the terrain slowed them considerably. They moved at barely a brisk walk, though the work of the sabers was systematic and precise enough that they were never standing still.

The progress was both steady and furious. Tiernan could feel his heart pounding in his ears. He wasn’t certain what he could do, but he was sure he was willing to help. Later, he couldn’t say just how long they followed the trail, but he did know that it felt like forever while they were trailing and yet ended with a surprising abruptness when they came to a halt.”

The clearing was death. The foliage all around was gone. The canopy of the trees above was black. The sun, still shining on their backs, died at the edge of this emptiness. There were shouts for the fallen man when the search party got there, but by the time Tiernen found his way to the front, all he could see was an arm being swallowed by blackness. He couldn’t get over how slowly it sank, yet the pool of blackness was so wide there was nothing they could do. The soldiers at the front were forced to busy themselves slashing with their swords at black tendrils that probed their ranks looking for weakness and the next meal.

It was quiet too. Tiernan assumed that everyone else was feeling the same sense of foreboding that was overwhelming him. The whole surface seemed placid, and the stillness was complete once the soldier was gone. There was no peace in the stillness, though. It was rapt with the tension of everyone waiting for something to happen.

Major Druse broke the silence, barking a command. “Everyone! Give this thing clearance. Do not approach it. You,” here he pointed to a cluster of three of his men, “walk that way around this thing. You,” pointing at the other group of men, “Follow in the other direction. Both of you count your paces. I want some idea of how big this thing is right now. I have a hunch it’s been growing, and I want to know how quickly that’s happening.” Even as he shouted the orders, the surface of the black pool bubbled briefly where the soldier had gone down. Tiernan couldn’t have prevented the shiver that ran down his spine if he’d wanted to.

The pool of darkness was not so large. From where they stood, they could see the soldiers as they came together on the opposite side. However, it was far enough that their shouts were muffled when the darkness rose and overtook them. All Tiernan and the others could do was watch.

It was as if a wave crashing to the shore rose up in the midst of the pool. It roiled and undulated as it grew to a height over the heads of the men. When it hit, they were swept from their feet, and their legs were completely consumed. They were pulled, just like the soldier they’d followed, into the midst of the pool and devoured. Though they scrabbled for a hold amidst the patchy grass and dust that lay beyond the pool’s edge, they could do nothing to save themselves.

Even as the hunters and Major Druse watched in silent horror, a tendril on their side of the pool stretched to probe toward them. It was near to seizing the Major’s foot when Clockwise caught sight of it and lunged to save the Major. His instinct was to bat the tendril away, but in doing so, he knocked the Major from his feet. At the same time, the tendril coiled itself around Clockwise’s wrist and began the slow pull into the pool. Tiernan, Narlix, Widdershins, and Jocnal all at once grabbed hold of Clockwise and one another in an attempt to anchor him to the ground. Even still, the pull was irresistible, though slowed. The group dug in their heels, pulling against the tendril to no avail.

Seeing the situation, Major Druse unsheathed his sword and tried to hack at the tendril. It gave way easily. The sword slid right through, and the tendril’s grip on Clockwise remained unchanged, reforming immediately on the other side of the blade. Perhaps what happened next was only possible because Major Druse had made hard choices in battle before. Perhaps it’s what anyone would have done to save the boy’s life. With a look of apology on his face, Major Druse again raised his sword. This time, though, he brought it down on Clockwise’s forearm just above the wrist. The whole group stumbled backwards at the sudden release of the tension, and even before he hit the ground, Clockwise’s arm began to bleed freely.

He clutched the stump to his chest, as he breathed heavily through gritted teeth. As soon as he gained his feet again, Narlix tore the sleeve from his shirt. “Let me see it, boy.” Putting on a brave face, Clockwise tried to extend the arm and winced, pulling it back. By this time, Jocnal had made it over and was behind Clockwise, supporting his weight. Once Jocnal was in place, Narlix grabbed the arm with a roughness born of the moment’s adrenaline. Widdershins was there then, putting his hand over Clockwise’s eyes. Narlix slowed the flow of blood by tying the shirt sleeve tightly around the stump and then raising it over the boy’s head. “Clockwise, are you with us?” he asked. The lolling of the boy’s head was just controlled enough for Narlix to believe he was still conscious. “That was not the worst part. I’m sorry. The worst is still to come. We’ve got to get you back to the camp.”

“Major,” Narlix now turned his attention to the only remaining soldier, “I know enough field medicine to save him, but we’ve got to get away from this thing and back to our camp. Can you help us?”

“I can,” the Major said, panting breathlessly from the exertion of a moment before. “I’ll watch our rear. Let’s make our way back.” At this, Jocnal hoisted Clockwise onto his back, fairly running back through down the path so recently hacked away with Widdershins beside him holding Clockwise’s arm in the air by the elbow.

It was a much faster trip back to the camp and to the fire waiting there. Narlix began to root around in the glowing embers as soon as they got back. Grabbing the longest stick he could take in one hand, he knocked the burning end on a nearby rock, exposing the burning, cherry-red end. “Hold him still, Jocnal. Widdershins and Tiernan, keep his arms steady.” Until that point, Clockwise had not cried about. However, when the ember seared the gaping wound and at the end of his arm, a scream was ripped from him. It was followed by open weeping as Jocnal held him still and his brother cradled his arm.

When the emergency had passed, Major Druse spoke up. “Considering how I owe you my life, I think we can agree to go back to EverBright together. I can escort you safely back. How does that sound?”

Narlix knew how generous the Major was being in this and nodded. “Thank you, sir.” Narlix saluted him then, and Major Druse returned the gesture. Then, they gathered their prey and headed back to town.