Chapter 11: Of Treacherous Intent
Somehow, both Guts and Wander were able to fall asleep atop the soaring behemoth. In fact, Guts seemed to not mind it at all, falling asleep just as fast as he did when they were on the ground. Wander fell asleep before too long, as well.
Strider sat on the fur of the colossus, watching the the stars shine in the water below. There wasn't a cloud to be seen this night, giving the moonlight no obstacle on it's path down to them. With the moonlight enchanting the area, Strider remembered how it seemed to fill his sword with it's aura a few nights ago. What had that been about? Something about the orb he had seemed to call power onto his weapon, as if it knew the situation. The orb had a strange power, and powerful it was. An old enemy of Guts' was sent to retieve the object from all this way. It reminded Strider of his own world, with the ring, and the wraiths who hunt it tirelessly. Perhaps Guts' world isn't so different from his own, Strider thought. And Wander's world... well, Wander wasn't much of a talker, so no one knew anything about his homeland. Perhaps it was for the best.
"Ever been out to sea?" Guts suddenly asked, to Strider's surprise.
"No, I've never left land."
"You ain't missing anything, believe me. It's slow, boring, and smells. Some people love it, but I can't stand it."
"Mmm, I think I understand. It's much like our journey right now, then. We must wait for far too long with nothing to do."
"That's it exactly. But I understand if it must be done to get somewhere, and we've for sure gotta get somewhere," Guts spoke in a quiet-enough voice as to not wake Wander.
"What roused you?" Strider asked him.
"Look here," Guts said, pointing to his neck. It bled, but not as bad as Strider had seen.
"Demons?!" he said as he got to his feet, hand on his sword.
"Yeah, it is demons, but they must be far." Guts said. "It doesn't hurt that much."
He looked around briefly, then rolled over to an edge, looking downwards.
"Yep, there they are."
Strider joined him, and saw something far below in the water. It was too far to see clearly, but it looked ethereal, like it wasn't tangible.
"See that foggy spot? Yeah, that's a ship. A ghost ship, you could say."
"It is able to detect your mark from this distance?"
"I guess so."
"Well, it would appear they aren't going to be an issue for us."
"Nope. I'm going back to sleep."
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Within two minutes, Guts was fast asleep again. It sure was handy to have an indicator of danger as powerful as Guts' mark, even being able to rouse the burly man from a deep sleep. What was troubling was the power of attraction the mark has on demons. For them to sense it from this far must mean Guts will never be safe anywhere he goes, but then why haven't demons attacked very often since they've been together? It's only been three times they were attacked by demons since he joined up with Guts.
Then Strider remembered his amulet, and it's ability to repel demons. Ah, yes, that's right. With this amulet, the demons can't come near them, thank the gods. The elves always seem to have the right tools for every situation.
Strider watched the moon sail overhead for hours. It's light made him feel rested, despite not sleeping for nearly 24 hours. The moon had helped him once again. Strider thought back to when he had visited Rivendell many years ago. During the night, he walked up to the shrine to Isildur, an ancestor of his that wielded the blade that cut the ring from Sauron, Narsil. On the strike, Narsil was shattered to pieces that were later recovered from the battlefield. Now, all these years later, it's pieces rested atop a stone slab in memoriam of that great triumph. Strider looked upon the legendary weapon, and found that it was glowing a light blue. He looked up to see a hole built high on the wall ahead, which, at this specific time of night, caused the moonlight to beam onto the blade. It's power could be felt all around the room. Now, all these years later, Strider felt the power of the night around him again, more powerful than ever, as he sailed through the sky under a blanket of stars.
...
Guts was awakened by Wander giving him a tap with his foot.
"Huzznn... eh?" he snorted.
"It is time. Prepare yourself for landing."
The sun was shining in a beautiful dawn, full and warm upon them. Guts blinked the sleep from his eye and stretched away the night's toils. Wander pointed towards the helm of the colossus.
"Strider is there. We spotted land some time ago, so I came back to wake you. We must prepare our strike." he said.
"Finally!" Guts yawned. "I'm gettin' sick of this wind blowin' everything. Let's kill the bastard."
Guts made his way over to the edge of the beast to peer forward, and sure enough he saw land ahead. Green forests and rocky mountains as far as the eye could see. Best of all, no more desert, but worst of all, nowhere near where they had been yesterday. Their intentions of returning to Canas at the camp were now far and gone.
Far below, land passed underneath them. They were above land again, and could finally finish the task they set out to do over a week ago.
Strider made the troublesome trek back to Wander and Guts to see if they were ready. He could see Guts shouldering his sword, obviously antsy to kill something. They gathered in front of the flap farthest from the head.
"Wander, what is your plan?" Strider asked the boy.
"This part is movable," he showed them by sticking his foot underneath. "We just have to lift each flap, then I can deliver the blow."
"Let me guess," Guts said, "Your sword's got some kinda enchantment that kills these things better than ours?"
"Yes, exactly. How did you..."
"I'm used to weird weapons with fancy spells on 'em. And it makes sense, seeing as your planning on using a tiny blade to kill a massive thing, y'know. It better have some kinda power if its gonna kill this guy."
"It will, fear not." Wander said, inspecting his black blade.
"Alright, Guts, let's lift this flap," Strider told him.
"Yeah, yeah, I always gotta do the liftin', never the stabbin'..."
The men gripped under the bottom of the flap and pulled it up with relative ease, revealing the bright glowing green markings underneath, just as they'd hoped would be there.
"Ah, good, it's there. Now stab it!" Guts yelled over the wind to Wander.
"I suggest holding on tight, as we have no idea how the colossus will react," Wander warned them.
"Yeah, we'll handle it, probably," Guts answered confidently.
Wander moved under the flap and raised his sword over the marking. With a small grunt, he thrust the blade deep into the colossi's weak spot. The bright-green quickly faded to nothing. All three held on tightly in anticipation of a reaction, but none came. No sounds, no movements, until the flap they were holding up began to lower with incredible force.
"Get outta there!" Guts yelled to Wander. Wander rolled out, just as Strider and Guts could hold on no longer. The flap shot a gust of wind at them as it slammed close, knocking them back slightly. Guts and Strider had to take a breath after that short burst of weight.
"I-I guess this things got some muscles somewhere, huh," Guts huffed.
"It knows our plan now. The next two will not be so easy, I believe," Strider estimated.
"I think you are correct," agreed Wander. "But we mustn't halt. To the next!"
They did the same plan as before, but this time the flap would not budge, even with all three of them lifting. Guts had an idea to use himself and his sword as a lever to hoist the flap. He lay down in front of the flap, then Strider and Wander pushed Guts' sword as far as they could over him and under the flap. With it as far in as it could go, the two pushed down on the handle as hard as they could, but could only get it a few inches up. Guts looked like he was being crushed under the weight, also, so they gave up on this plan.
They stood thinking for a minute, then Guts thought of the obvious.
"What the hell are we doin'? Stand back, boys."
He grabbed his sword in his good hand and raised it high into the air. He angled it forward in a stabbing position, then, with a small leap, drove the blade straight through the flap, tearing more as he pulled it out. Now, there was a massive tear in the flap, allowing Wander to land a hit. As the second green marking faded away, the colossus, began to alter it's course. The three felt the floor under them begin to tilt forward, the wind blowing harder.
"It's diving!" Wander yelled. "Grab onto the fur!"
He was right, the colossus was finally reacting to the attack. It must have been trying to use the wind to blow it's tiny assailants away, but they held on firm. The wind was too strong to see clearly, but the ground was definitely fast-approaching. The speed was so great, the three started to get windburn on their exposed skin, but fortunately the colossus reared back to a horizontal level just as it was nearing the ground. While still moving at tremendous speed, Guts was able to get to his feet and move in the direction of the final weak point. All he could muster was a slow walk, however, and the flap was quite a walk away.
The colossus seemed to be slowing down to a normal speed again. Perhaps it thought the enemies had fallen off.
Guts trudged up to the flap, shut tightly. He got to work slashing and tearing away the tough material guarding the precious markings. Wander and Strider joined him.
"Alright! Let's land this thing already!" he yelled to them.
Wander took position among the tattered remains of the guarding flap. He raised his sword in one hand, holding it upside-down. It shone brightly in the sun, and with the stab, carried the sunlight into the colossus.
They watched silently. Nothing changed right away, but soon enough the colossi's wings fell to the sides, causing the whole thing to fall. It wasn't very high off the ground, making the impact less severe than it could've been, but nonetheless all three companions were launched off the sides and into the surrounding forest.
After a bit of tumbling, Strider found himself in a soft bush. How lucky. He rose out, surprised to find himself completely free from damage, although covered in dirt. He quickly found the black swordsman, who's landing wasn't so peaceful. He lay sprawled over a fallen tree that looked healthy enough to have been felled recently.
Strider jogged to the man.
"Guts, are you well? Guts?"
He looked a little battered, but he responded.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm still alive. Sadly enough."
He slid off the tree and smacked onto the dirt and leaves with a thud.
"How did you hold onto your sword through that?" Strider asked him.
It was true, Guts was still holding the ludicrously large sword in just one hand.
"I'll die before I let go of this sword, and it seems like death doesn't want me, so I'll hold onto this for the rest of time. I guess." he answered miserably.
"Life is a gift, my friend. You may not always want it, but you must always be thankful to those who would care to give you a gift. You wouldn't toss away a gift, would you?"
"Okay, cut this lesson crap out, you're reminding me of someone," Guts shot.
"Hopefully someone wise," Strider joked.
"He was somethin', alright. Where's Wander?"
The men looked around, but couldn't find the boy.
"He must've held on during the fall. We must find the beast." Strider led.
It didn't take long to find the path of destruction left from the colossus crashing through the forest. Torn-up dirt and mangled trees were strewn about a broken valley, and at the end of it, the colossi's body. Wander was standing on the ground in front of it.
"There he is! Looks like he's ok," Guts figured.
They took their time walking through the destroyed scenery that led to Wander. He remained motionless, which was odd. They arrived with greetings.
"You made it! You're made of some tough stuff, boy," Guts complimented.
Wander turned to them, his sword still in his hand.
"We've finished our task, my companions. You two have been a crucial asset to my success."
"OUR success, you mean," Guts corrected.
"No, my success. You see, now is where we part ways."
As Wander spoke, the massive body of the colossus behind him began to fade into physical shadow. It was a lot to take in.
"Guts, Strider, I brought you along and told you this monster was the cause of our problems. That was a lie."
Guts and Strider didn't speak, but Guts started gritting his teeth.
"I've fooled you into helping me complete a task that I could not complete alone. For this, I am honestly thankful, and I apologize for my deception. The colossus will now be absorbed into me, and I will be sent back to where I came."
"You mean this won't help us get back home?! This was all a trick just to help yourself!?" Guts shouted.
"As much as I hate to say it, yes, it is true. You probably can't understand, but I do it for the love of my life. I have to do this to save her. I'm sorry, but I'll do anything for her. I hope you can understand."
"Oh, I understand plenty," Guts bellowed as he raised his sword in both hands. "Understand this!"
But before he could swing, black tendrils shot forth from the body of the colossus. They sped to Wander, filling into his chest, and forcing him to his knees.
"What the hell?" Guts gawked.
"I'm sorry, my friends... I-I hope you find your answers soon. I'm s-sorry it had to end this way..."
"Bastard!" Guts roared, but Strider's hand held him back.
"Peace, Guts. Violence won't help now." he said calmly.
"That kid tricked us! We've wasted a week hunting this thing, and now only he gets to go home?!"
"That is how it appears. We can do nothing to stop it now."
The two watched as Wander's body was overtaken by shadow. Flakes of his being began to break off and float into the sky until there was nothing left of him or the colossus. The flakes flew high into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds.
"Well! We just wasted a week of our miserable lives helping that little creep! And on top of that, we haven't gotten a single clue on how we're supposed to get out of this world, and on top of even that, now we're across the ocean in a completely foreign land! We're screwed!"
Strider took it all in. The deceit. The battles. Their current position. This was a heavy blow to them. They still had no idea how they could start working towards getting home. All their hopes rested on Wander's directions, but he had lied in favor of himself.
"That treacherous mule..." Guts muttered to himself. "Why am I cursed to be betrayed by friends?! Can I trust no one!?"
Guts saw Strider looking off into the horizon.
"Ah, shit. I don't know what to think, Strider. I can trust you, can't I?"
"Guts, I don't know how I can prove myself after the terrible betrayal we've just witnessed, so you will have to have faith in my words: You can trust me, through life and through death, I shall honor my word."
Guts took a deep breath.
"Alright. Okay, I'm calm. Damn."
Both men stood silently for a while, each having a thousand thoughts racing through their heads. Now they would have to figure out a new course of action. The endless forest surrounding them was daunting and looming.
"Hey, thanks, man," Guts broke the silence. "Thanks for being trustworthy. It's put me at ease. I hope you trust me as well."
"Yes, I do. Thank you, also."
"Strider?"
"Yes?"
"You think we'll get outta this place?"
"Most certainly, with enough time."
"Yeah, I think so too. Just needed to hear someone else say it, ya know?"
They both laughed, briefly forgetting their predicament.
"So, uh, what now?" Guts asked.
"We keep moving forward until we find our answer," Strider decided.
"Sounds good. I'm right there with ya'."
They set off walking down the destroyed valley, heading in the opposite direction as the ocean. They were both eager to escape the saltwater scent.
Strider touched the orb in the sack around his waist, ensuring it was still there. It reacted to his touch, or so it seemed like it. There was something to this orb, Strider knew it. Somehow it would help them escape. But for now, all they could do was press on into the wilderness in hope of finding others and answers.