Darkness surrounded Halius. He opened his eyes wide and waved his hands around, trying to find something. Yet, he was lost. There was nothing around him. He was nowhere. There was only the darkness that surrounded him.
Halius tried to yell out for help but his voice was silent. The silence came to an end with the laugh of a woman.
"So, your great 'quest' begins. Off to become a hero, are you?"
Without his voice, all Halius could do is nod.
Then, Halius saw a light. He ran towards the light, his feet finding solid ground to tread on. Yet, when he saw the light, he realized what it was, his house was on fire. His mother was on the ground, dying. This wasn't the first time Halius saw this but he still screamed out in agony at the sight, although he still couldn't hear himself. He ran towards his mother, trying to say anything, but whatever force kept him from speaking.
"You've brought this upon your mother, a pathetic woman pining for a man who would never share a life with her."
A shadow covered Halius and his mother. He looked up to see a giant woman, covered in darkness and holding a scythe. Her three eyes focused on the dying woman at her feet.
"Your mother is gone. Her soul has long left her physical form. Yet, have you ever wondered what happened to her soul?"
The woman swung down her scythe upon Halius' mother. Although she was dead, she screamed out loudly in agony, piercing through the silence.
"MOM!
Halius sat up from his bedroll, drenched in sweat. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and placed a hand to feel his fast-beating heart slow down. It hadn't been too long since the death of his mother, something that still haunted him. Yet, he knew that it wasn't a scythe that killed her, it was the fire. He knew because it was there at her side when she took her last breath.
Recovering from the nightmare, embarrassment came to Halius' mind. This would be the second time he had woken up the entire camp, and this time, it was him screaming for his mother. He nervously glanced over to the other side of the tent he stayed in. Since there weren't enough tents for everyone, they had to share, with Mantes and Halius volunteering to have one together. Yet, the half-elf was missing from his bedroll. It shouldn't surprise Halius that he was awake but it was strange at how silent the camp was with no one checking on him after his scream.
What Halius saw next was unlike anything he saw before.
Everyone else was awake, although out of their minds. Phoebe laughed loudly on the ground, unable to get up, while Iraster cried by a tree. Other members of the group held themselves, and while some shook and made noises without words, others were frozen completely. Duris and Ferrous stood back to back, swinging their maces out wildly toward the air. Yet, Halius saw no enemy that they were fighting. At the very least, Mantes and Leira were around, not taken aback by the chaos. Halius dashed forward to them, hoping to find answers.
"What's going on?" Halius asked his friends, worried. "What's wrong with everyone?"
Mantes looked at Halius with wide eyes. "Stay back!"
"Huh?" Halius blinked.
Leira gasped out of fear. "Please, don't hurt us!"
"You're my friends," Halius said, taking a step toward them. "I wouldn't ever hurt any of you."
When Halius moved closer, Leira and Mantes both screamed in terror. While Mantes ran away, Leira flew away in the opposite direction. Whatever madness had overcome the others had also overcome those two as well. Halius thought it would be best to chase after Mantes as he was fast enough to catch the half-elf rather than try to go after Leira. However, when he started to chase after the half-elf, he noticed the shadow of someone standing behind him. Halius turned and found himself looking at Tellek, whose eyes showed a bloodlust that wasn't normal for the centaur.
"Tellek," Halius cautiously took a step back. "It's me."
"I shall destroy you, puny human!" Tellek roared out.
First, Mantes and Leira were afraid of him, and now, Tellek wanted to kill him. Why did it feel like everyone was against him now? Halius carefully avoided Tellek's hooves and rolled away. He was thankful that the centaur's bloodlust drove him to use physical attacks as memories of alchemical fire burning their enemies came to mind. This wasn't the first time Halius had fought centaurs, who were actually his first real enemy. However, it was the first time he had to fight a centaur without his weapons or armor.
Halius jumped back when Tellek charged forward to trample him under his hooves. While the centaur wasn't a warrior, he was still part horse, and could easily kill a man with his hooves if he wanted. Halius knew better than to try to wrestle or defeat a centaur with his bare hands. He knew that he needed his weapons to win this fight, and while dodging, he constantly moved back toward his tent. At the same time, he had to be careful with guiding Tellek. The last thing he wanted to happen was for one of his companions to be injured from the centaur's rampage.
Eventually, Halius made it to position to grab his arms. He rolled into his tent, grabbing and unsheathing his kopis. When he grabbed his shield, Tellek ran into the tent, trampling it down to the ground. Halius grunted in pain, enduring the hooves, and eventually crawled out. He stood back up, banging his kopis against his shield to get Tellek's attention. The centaur turned to where Halius stood, battered from his last attack.
"Stand down, Tellek!" Halius ordered. "I don't want to fight you but I will."
"You will fall before me!" Tellek shouted.
There was no reasoning with Tellek, not in the violent state he was in now. The only option was to fight. Halius charged forward, swinging his kopis to scratch Tellek's right forward leg. When he fought, he meant to hinder the centaur rather than go for the outright kill. Whatever was happening would surely pass. Tellek gritted his teeth in pain and tried to kick out at Halius. Yet, he moved to the side with ease, slashing at his other leg. Tellek tried to charge forward but Halius blocked his charge with his shield, standing his ground.
Tellek collapsed onto his knees, still caught in his bloodlust but his legs were injured. With his kopis, Halius swung out with the pommel, catching the centaur across the chin. The centaur collapsed onto the ground, out cold. Halius took several deep breaths, still surrounded by the chaos that was present in his camp. Something was responsible for the fate that befell the group and they were in desperate need of help. If they were going to continue on, they would need someone to help out with whatever fate fell upon the group.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kyrah asked when she came out of her tent, her arms crossed. "This isn't going to make for a good story."
"Kyrah!" Halius called out and dashed over to her. "Something's wrong. I don't know what happened but everyone's just out of it. Tellek tried to kill me! Can you help them?"
"Although I am a goddess, I don't think I have a way to heal them," Kyrah shook her head. "I might know what happened to them but I need to hear what happened from everyone first."
"How are we going to do that when they're all crazy?"
Kyrah snapped her fingers. "We're still near enough to the Temple of the Oracle."
"Of course!" Halius exclaimed. "I can run over right now and see if one of the Oracle's attendants can help us."
"I'll stay here and see what I can do," Kyrah nodded. "Maybe there's a song that can help calm them down…"
Halius didn't stick around to wait now that he had a plan. Without wasting any time, he bursted off into a sprint. He found the river that led toward the Temple of the Oracle and followed it as fast as he could. Halius wasn't one for boasting but he always knew that he was the fastest from his village. There wasn't a race he hadn't lost back before it was attacked. Although he was fast, stamina was always an issue. He was more likely to run out of breath the longer and faster he ran since he did not control his speed. Halius didn't care for a steady pace though, not when his friends were in danger.
After several minutes, Halius saw the familiar entrance of the Temple of the Oracle. Nearly out of breath, he was glad to see Proteus outside, digging graves for the fallen with a shovel. It saved him the time of running into the temple to find someone to help since he was running out of breath. Halius stopped by Proteus, and although he wanted to say what was wrong, he nearly collapsed. His hands held him up on his knees and he took rapid breaths of air. Proteus set his shovel down and turned to look at the boy, concerned.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Did something happen?"
Halius wheezed out what few words he could. "The others… went mad… they need… help…"
"Say no more. Catch your breath. I'll get some potions from inside."
Proteus walked inside, leaving Halius by himself. The boy fell down on his knees by the water. He was thankful that it had cooled down since they have defeated the steam mephits and sea hag coven. Halius cupped his hand in the now cool water and started to drink from it. He sighed in relief, slowly recovering from the long run. He took several more drinks from the river while waiting for Proteus.
Eventually, Proteus emerged from the temple with a backpack that contained the potions he collected. Halius stood up and the two traveled back to the campsite together. He told the older attendant what had happened, and although Proteus wasn't sure what had happened, agreed to do what he could. The two remained silent afterwards. Although Halius had thought of offering to take the potions to run back, he knew that he needed a break from running. His companions weren't in mortal danger so he could walk at Proteus' pace.
The two arrived back in camp and Halius was glad to see that his companions were already recovering. They were walking about, recovering from their sudden bout of madness. Even Mantes and Leira returned, and based on how they looked at Halius, they were no longer afraid of him. Tellek was still unconscious but was tended to by Zyfon, who bandaged the centaur's injuries with cloth wrappings. Halius and Proteus approached a circle of several members of their fellowship gathered by Kyrah.
"It's good to see that everyone's alright," Halius sighed in relief. "Kyrah, did your music actually help?"
"As much as I want to take credit for it, they recovered on their own," Kyrah answered. "Although they went mad, they recovered quickly."
"Halius, did a nightmare wake you up as well?" Duris asked.
Halius nodded. "It did."
"So we all had nightmares last night," Duris noted. "And then we went mad."
"I'm an elf though," Yesleth pointed out. "I don't fall asleep. I shouldn't even be capable of having nightmares."
"The same goes for Ferrous," Semestra pointed towards the construct.
"I would imagine that Lutheria is capable of forcing her nightmares on us even if we're not asleep," Iraster told the group, tapping his foot on the ground. "She is the Titan of Dreams. It would certainly fit with what she is capable of."
"And we are her enemies now," Duris nodded in agreement.
"But wouldn't giving us nightmares go against the Oath of Peace?" Halius asked, blinking in confusion.
"That's not how it goes, I'm afraid," Kyrah explained. "Since dreams and nightmares fall under her domain, Lutheria can give mortals whatever she deems fit. How the dreamers react is up to them."
"Between this and the Order of Sydon's presence back in the Temple of the Oracle, we can safely say we no longer have the element of surprise against our enemies," Duris sighed. "We'll wait until Zyfon gets Tellek back on his feet before we begin traveling to Estoria."
"You may have recovered on your own but I will pass out Potions of Healing," Proteus told the group. "I have my doubts on if you can complete your great labors but the Oracle has faith in you. It is only fitting that I aid you however I can. There should be one for each member of your group."
"Thank you, old friend," Duris said and accepted the backpack.
The group parted ways to help take down camp and prepare to hit the road. Halius took a glance towards the unconscious Tellek, telling himself that he'll find a way to make up for fighting the centaur. It was scary, knowing that Lutheria was an enemy to the group just as Sydon was. He knew that he was going to be a hero but that didn't make the prospect of going against the Twin Titans any better. The Fellowship of Thylea would find a way to win though, that he was confident of. They just needed to overcome Sydon's minions and Lutheria's madness to do so.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. That's just how the holidays can be sometimes.
It is my intention to continue writing this story even though NaNoWriMo is over. At the same time, I'm hoping to get back to some of my other projects that are in desperate need of updates. If you haven't checked my profile, you can see that I updated my profile, dividing what stories I'll update by month. I intend to work on The Great Labors more throughout January but I thought it would be alright if I had an early start with the last few days of December. If you like the story, feel free to like it and leave a review if you feel compelled to.
Until next time.