"Ensnare templars, plague archons. Zerg magic at its finest"
-WilliamWC3
|
| Chapter 4: Through the Beast | | | Author: | | | IP: | ip68-230XXXX | | Date: | 10/17/04 06:10 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Keanu_Reaver: 7.9200 |  | Through the Beast
The air seemed to be swallowed up by the smoke from the fire creating a miasma searing through the forest. The two boys found it increasingly difficult to breathe in deep or even hold their eyes open as the acrid vapors assaulted them mercilessly.
Jarius was still very much confused about what had transpired between his younger brother and the necromancer just minutes before, but he had resigned himself to ignorance, realizing his main use will be found at the blade of his sword. Zacharim, on the other side of the spectrum, could hardly concentrate on moving as he sifted through not only his thoughts, but oddly enough, the thoughts of that man; somehow, some way, he was able to peer into the mind of that man, and somehow he had been able to decipher a single very prevalent thought, he requires this book...unharmed. The two had but one common place--like one single fiber of comradeship holding them together--to run, that all around them were creatures hungering for their demise, all they can do is run.
A cold shiver ran up and down Zacharim's spine, causing him to stumble slightly and force his thoughts to the present. As the shiver wore off, he stopped and began looking around nervously, causing his brother to stop a few feet ahead of him.
"Is there something wrong?" Jarius asked, his hand had already found the hilt of his sword.
"Did you feel that?" Zacharim asked.
"Feel what?"
"It felt like...an icy cold wind had found its way underneath my robes...it felt just like what happened three days ago."
"This is a very bad time for you to pass out like you did before, if you do I'm taking that book and leaving you behind."
"No...relax Jarius...I'm very much in control of my body...but it got me thinking."
"Now is not the time to think Zacharim, we need to keep moving."
"Hear me out...I think those shivers are used by that man to help him find us, beacons you know? I think I’ve felt them before…just before I went unconscious, from the villagers I think. He already had control of them, those may signal a force of some sort, or something else he controls."
"That's all the more reason to run!"
"We should know where we're running before blindly running towards nothing."
"Ok, where do you suggest we go?"
"Let's go...left."
"What? How did you come up with left?"
"We just need to change direction, that’s all…"
"Well...let's hurry up and go then, we don't need to stay in one position for any amount of time at all."
The two darted off blindly but no sooner had they begun getting accustomed to this direction than Jarius felt a cold shiver ricochet through his body. He stopped, motioned to Zacharim, and they both silently changed their direction, this time towards the north.
They ran eventless for close to an hour until, like a bad omen, a sudden burst of wind surrounded them and put out the fire on the log Zacharim still wielded. Jarius' hand quickly drew his sword as the sound of crunching leaves could be heard in the not so distant distance.
"I don't think there are that many of them, I'm pretty sure I can handle it, but if I can't, get out of here with the book while I stall them," Jarius said taking a defensive posture in front of his little brother.
Zacharim silently agreed as he stared deep into the forest at the sound drawing closer and closer. Soon, out of the smoky mist, came a single silhouette of an average sized human with long hair, perhaps a female.
"You still don't understand...you are in the belly of the beast, we know where you are at all times. The nhiems are our eyes, not our bodies," the human called out in a matter-of-fact tone, long before any distinguishing features were visible.
The voice was smooth and oddly warm, much different than the sinister sound of the necromancers voice. Soon it's rather tall body was visible, silky fire red hair dropping midway down his back with eyes to match. His skin was as pale as any undead zombie, but the smile painted across his face and his fiery red eyes left a stern reminder he was certainly much more. He walked nonchalantly toward the boys, occasionally switching his glare from one boy to the other.
"Who are you...what do you want?" Zacharim said.
"Looking for a weapon against that aged old book?" He said, not failing to notice Zacharim fumbling around in the pockets of his robe. "Allow me to put your mind at rest, I care not for that book at all, my cares lie in something much larger."
"Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it!" Jarius said fiercely, tightening his grip on his sword.
"Oh let's not be ill mannered, we haven't yet introduced ourselves. My name is Saelen, a consort of sorts to Daaman. Yet while we want the same thing, we have much different ways of getting it."
"And what is it you want Saelen?" Zacharim said.
"You'll see soon enough...well, probably not in your present state," Saelen said with a chuckle.
Almost instantly, Zacharim felt an unbearably sharp burst of pain explode through his back. Jarius gasped as he turned, seeing Daaman standing behind his little brother, pulling out the dagger that had cleaved through Zacharim's tender torso. Daaman, without once acknowledging Jarius' presence, grabbed the book, nodded to Saelen and, like an all too real dream, faded away into nothingness.
Zacharim's vision began blurring as he slumped to the ground, his hands tensed around his wound and covered in blood. His robes began soaking up the blood but soon it started trickling out and covering the brown leaves surrounding him. Jarius dropped his sword and rushed over to his side, falling on his knees and wrapping his arms around his brother in grief.
"Zacharim! Come on! Say you're alright," tears began flowing freely from Jarius' eyes as he layed his younger brother down.
Zacharim breathed heavily as a small pool of blood began forming around him. Jarius felt of Zacharim's increasingly pale lips only to find they were ice cold. He immediately tore open his little brothers robes to get a good look at the wound while Zacharim sighed from the pain.
"It's not that bad...he missed...I should be fine I'm just...so tired..." Zacharim could barely choke the words out from the pain now completely engulfing his entire body.
Jarius, ignoring his brother, began administering all he knew of first aide to Zacharim. He quickly tore off a piece of his own robe and pressed it into Zacharim’s wound, causing his little brother to grunt from the pressure. Jarius held it there for a few seconds, every second seemed to be an hour to both of them.
"I think you'll be alright...but I need to flip you over on your stomach...be strong," Jarius said, wiping away the tears.
Zacharim nodded slightly as he moved one of his blood-drenched hands over to the wound, weakly pushing Jarius hand away and holding it in place himself. Jarius bent over just a bit for leverage, then in one quick action, he flipped Zacharim over onto his stomach. Instantly, he plunged another torn piece of cloth onto Zacharim's entrance wound, despite Zacharim shaking violently from the pain. Zacharim grunted loudly with tears flowing freely from his eyes as he tried as hard as he could to muster up enough courage to handle the pain.
Jarius held the cloth on Zacharim's back for what seemed like an eternity, and when Zacharim had passed out from the pain, he held it on both ends. After what could have been well over an hour, Jarius finally pulled the drenched cloth off of Zacharim’s stomach and started to work on sewing it up. Having been a competent Night Elf captain, he had much experience in administering this sort of medical aide and always carried a spare needle on him, often times having to sew up his own comrades in the heat of battle. But this time it was different...it wasn't a simple comrade, it was his brother, the only family he had left was lying motionless in his arms as he did all he could to save his life...not with the blade of his sword as he thought, but with a needle and thread.
When he finally finished mending the stomach wound, he once again flipped his still unconscious brother onto his back to sew up the much larger exit wound. Before Jarius could even begin, Zacharim woke up with a strained grunt.
"Oh, you're awake..." Jarius said, happy that Zacharim had the energy to become conscious yet sad that his brother would now have to endure the needle and thread.
"Y...yeah..." Zacharim said weakly.
"Zach, here," Jarius said, handing him the sheath to his sword. “Bite down, it’ll help.”
"Thank you..."
Without another word, Jarius unthreaded another section of his robe and, with nerves of the most tempered steel, threaded the needle. Pulling off the cloth soaking up the blood, he used the last of his water to clean the wound before gently sticking the needle through Zacharim's tender flesh and started work on sewing his seven-year-old brother up.
Every time the needle penetrated Zacharim, every painful moan and grunt Zacharim let out, Jarius could feel himself falling deeper and deeper into grief. He knew what it would mean though, what both of them had to endure to save Zacharim's life, and he would do everything in his power to ensure that.
Zacharim passed out once again, long before Jarius had finished. But soon, Jarius was finished, the wound had been tended to and, while Zacharim had lost much blood and was still deep in unconsciousness, he would be alright.
"They got what they wanted...they have no more use for us..." Jarius said to himself as he stood up, looking around for any signs of Daaman or Saelen. "But still...Zach needs more medical attention...we should go..."
Jarius Bent down and, as gently as he could, lifted his brother from the puddle of blood and into his arms. Zacharim was quite light, but Jarius was already weary from the tumultuous journey thus far, and the added weight only proved to strain his limp arms further.
After a couple hours, Jarius' mouth became like cotton and his legs like wet leather. He began analyzing the surrounding trees, trying with all of his might to find a place to rest. Soon, he happened upon a large, though very much dead, pine tree, and with all of the energy left in his weary body, he stumbled over to the tall pine and collapsed in a heap, with his brother now cradled in his lap.
The traveling had proven to be much more difficult than at first imagined, Jarius began to wonder if they would ever escape. He didn't know where he was, he hadn't the energy to travel even one more step holding his brother, and he no longer even had so much as a drop of water. All of this gazed balefully at Jarius, clouding his mind and sapping what little traces of hope could be found in his body. Jarius laid his head back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes, hoping to maybe get a small token bit of a rest before once again continuing on what would very well prove to be a days journey at the least. It was too much for the weary Night Elf to handle and before he knew it, sleep engulfed him as he sat motionless against the strong base of the tree.
"It would be most unwise for you to betray your most powerful ally, Saelen," Daaman's voice came out as a sinister hiss, wrapping itself around and choking the minds of all those in his direct vicinity.
"Betray? Hah...I retrieved the book just as you asked, there is no need to concern yourself with my loyalties, friend," an underlying tone of animosity guised itself under Saelen's ever-silky voice.
"What you said though, that we have different means to the same end...this does not please me."
"But it should, for me to retrieve the book I had to get them to let their guard down, what better way than making them believe they were actually figuring something out."
"I see. We have much work to do, now that the book is in our possession it is just a matter of time before we are, in all respects, an unstoppable force."
A slight smile crossed Saelen’s ruby red lips. Clenching his fists, he imagined the power that would soon be at his able disposal.
"Yes? You are...not awake...yes. No! Yes...not awake..." a spastic little creature said as he examined Jarius and Zacharim.
Jarius slowly opened his eyes as he awoke to the creature’s not so melodious voice. He stumbled slightly, forgetting for just a second his brother lie vulnerable on his lap, attempting to draw his sword. The creature, who appeared to be no more than three feet tall with the outer appearance of a hairless wart without a stitch of clothing on, stumbled back terrified at the sight of Jarius' sudden movements.
"No. No! Awake? No! Sleep! Yes...no! You not asleep!" His voice changed inflection often, as if he was having a most voracious argument with himself.
Jarius finally nudged Zacharim off his lap as gently as possible, then drew his sword and stood up all in one nimble motion. Realizing this creature wasn't a big danger to him, he approached it courageously, though with sword still drawn.
"Who...or what are you, and what do you want?" He asked the trembling little creature now lying flat on his back.
"Me? Me...me want...no! Me want you, come! Yes! No? Yes! Me...help? Yes...me cure? No! Me mend," he replied as he slowly stood up, with every change in inflection he became increasingly calm.
Jarius, not one to ever be fooled, concerned himself deeply for the motives of this peculiar creature. He kept his sword drawn even as the creature began jumping up and down in excitement.
"Please! Please? You come? Yes! Me...I? I know way...I know way out! Yes!"
Jarius, upon hearing that, let his sword arm, with sword in hand, drop to his side with renewed hope. ‘Maybe this...thing, can really help out, and get us out of here’, he thought to himself as he sheathed his sword.
"Yes! Good! No? Yes! You come!"
Jarius calmly lifted Zacharim off of his bed of dried leaves and followed the little creature, still unsure of his intentions. The creature, on the other hand, seemed to take a special sort of delight in his new found guests as he hopped around gleefully making his way to his house.
It was no more than just a few minutes before they had reached what appeared to be a fairly well designed house. Though it was quite small, probably no more than one small room, and made out of simple pine, it seemed to be made with a certain kind of care not found in any house Jarius had ever seen, not even a single crack could be found lining the house. The little creature quickly opened the door for Jarius and ran in motioning to a bed for Jarius to lay his fallen brother.
The inside of the house displayed the same sort of care as the outside, while nothing was extraordinary, everything was amazingly well maintained and had an endearing sort of order to it. Jarius admired it for a few short seconds before lying Zacharim down on the oddly very soft bed. Jarius took a seat in one of the larger chairs the creature owned, while the creature sat in the smaller seat near what was probably a dining table.
"Me...very happy! You welcome! Yes! No? Yes! You...guest!" the little creature, despite its horrid features, warmed Jarius' heart with his visible joy.
"Thank you for your hospitality, and I don't even know your name..." Jarius responded.
"Name? Yes? No...no name. Name dead? Yes....no? Yes. Call me...friend? Yes...me friend."
"Ok, friend," Jarius said in a very melancholy tone. "Do you know a way out of the Windy Wood? We are in great peril."
The creature, as if approached with one of life’s most difficult problems, hunched both feet onto his chair and grimaced as he thought deeply about what his guest had said.
"Hmm...Yes? No. No, I do not know a way out."
"What? You said you did!" Jarius tone rose slightly, scaring the little creature, but soon he shown himself as calm once again, despite the feeling of his hopes being torn once again.
"Friend sorry. Friend no mean to make you upset? Yes. For one to get out of a place, one would have to be in that place to begin with? Yes? Yes."
"I don't understand..."
"Windy Wood dead like Friend old name dead. Windy Wood must be alive for friend of Friend to be in it see? This no longer Windy Wood…Friend know not what this is but it very bad. Yes. Very bad, no?"
"Yes it is Friend, so I need to know a way out of here, please can you help me?"
"Friend help? Friend help! Yes! Friend know!" Once again, the creature became just as jovial as before. "A path of one star! Yes...Yes! Largest star for smallest path! Yes, very magical? Yes, stars quite magical!"
"I don't understand...stop these riddles."
Suddenly Zacharim shifted slightly in the bed so he was facing the two, his eyes began to slowly and strenuously open, as if it was a great and miraculous feet to even so much as become aware. Jarius and Zacharim locked eyes for a small second before Zacharim's mouth began moving in a feeble attempt to speak.
"I know...what he means Jarius...we have to go...I'm strong now..."
Jarius smiled at his brother before looking over to where Friend was sitting, only to see he had gotten up. Friend had already began filling canteens for the two brothers and preparing them a small snack of leaf berry sandwiches which the two brothers accepted gratefully without hesitation.
"Thank you...Friend," Zacharim said, the nourishment of both the water and the food had increased his strength many fold.
"Yes! Yes Friend is thanked! Off you go now! No? Yes! Off you go! Must escape!" Friend, if at all possible, seemed even more jovial than before.
The two brothers quickly packed all the water and food they could in a small leaf sack before waving goodbye to their mysterious friend before walking out the door. They were no more than ten feet from the house, though, before Friend ran up to them with a stern, serious demeanor the likes of which Jarius has never seen before on this small creature.
"The book...It is not what it seems? Yes...More is written on it than what can be read...Yes! You must retrieve it," he said, with his head down so as to avoid eye contact.
The creature, after having said that, scampered back to his cottage and shut the door. The two brothers eyebrows curled in confusion at what he had said, but soon once again began their travels with renewed hope.
Jarius quickly scampered up a tree and, to his dismay, realized it was daytime. He jumped down to give Zacharim the bad news and was instead greeted by the meaning behind Friend’s riddles. Zacharim explained of a legend of a single bright star in the sky that would illuminate a path for adventurers when they seek it, and that should they follow it they would arrive where they intended. Zacharim was positive it was what Friend meant, and he was just as sure it would lead to their escape from this mangled forest.
The two decided upon resting for the time being, that any waste of energy would be futile in this state. Zacharim, even after the food and water, already limped about finding it difficult to hold his feet. After a few minor precautions, Jarius slumped down beside the trunk of the tree, and Zacharim soon joined him. Together, the two fell asleep. |
|
|
|
|
Home
Forum
Starcraft Tournaments
