The Journal of Renault, Bishop of Valor

Chapter 12

Happy New Year everyone! It's time to finally head back into this series after many months hiatus. I hope you enjoy Chapter 12 of this series and be sure to follow for more chapters!

"Why do you resist still?"

Nergal's voice echoed in the blank darkness of my dream. All around me I could see nothing. It felt like I was dead. The air in the dream was cold and sinister, almost like Nergal's soul (granted that he had one to begin with). I looked down at my hands, but could not see them either. Nor my clothes or my legs. It occurred to me that even in my own nightmare, I did not exist. I shook my head and tried to walk, but I could not move. What hex did that blackheart place on me, I thought.

"You know you cannot defeat me, Renault. You're weak, impatient…"

What I would give for Nergal's voice to shut up right now…

"I feel anger in your heart, Renault…put that anger to use and join me in the world's destruction."

I tried speaking, but nothing would come out. What devilish nightmare is this, I thought. As I forced myself to wake up, I began to see a figure in the eternal darkness. A decayed figure, one corrupted by Nergal's evil magic. But it looked so familiar.

"Briar…"

Suddenly, the darkness around me was bathed in a bright light, and a muffled voice called to me: "Renault? Renault!" The light faded and I slowly opened my eyes, my ears suddenly perverted by the sounds of blades clashing.

"Get up Renault!" a voice next to me ordered. "And get into cover! We're being ambushed!"

I shot up faster than humanly possible. To one side was one of the soldiers escorting me to Caledonia. To the other side were the rest, holding back a gang of bandits that had ambushed the convoy. I jumped from the caravan and hid behind it, fumbling through my rucksack for my tome. I looked up to find more bandits pouring down from the hillside in front of me. Acting with haste, I quickly casted a Divine spell towards the new wave of bandits, blinding them temporarily. The guard who awoke me took cover beside me. "There's too many of them," I called out over the noise of the fray. "We'll have to make a run for it."

"It's too risky," replied the soldier before firing an arrow off at a charging bandit.

"I must get to Caledonia with haste."

The soldier huffed and turned his attention to three guards. "You there! Get the priest to Caledonia, and quickly!"

"What about you?"

"Forget us. We'll hold off these bandits as much as possible. Now go damn it!"

Having waited for an opportunity to escape, I jumped out of cover and ran as fast as my legs would let me towards the three guards. As the four of us ran from battle, I turned back to see if the others would make it out okay, but one of the other soldiers grabbed my arm and urged me to keep running. Very soon we made it away from the battle, unaware if anyone survived.

The remaining journey to Caledonia felt like an eternity on foot. Day and night rose and fell quicker than the tides of the sea. I had tried to stop for a rest, but according to one of the guards we had to continue moving quickly in order to avoid any more ambushes. Unlike a pilgrimage, we were always on the run, eating and drinking very scarcely to avoid exhausting our food supplies, and always looking from one shoulder to the other in search of impending danger. It is something that I had not done in a long, long time, and my body was giving every sign of giving up. But I could not stop now. I had come too far to simply lie down and give up.

"Here priest!" one of the guards called and pointed forward. "Caledonia lies ahead." In front of us was a long stone bridge, with a tame horse leashed around a post on the other side. It seemed like someone had left it for me, but at the same time it felt too much like a trap.

"Follow the road further south and you'll arrive at Edina. From there you should be able to charter a boat to Arcadia."

I nodded and slowly made my way across the bridge, careful not to accidentally step into a weak spot and fall through. However, as it became clear to me that the bridge was structurally sound I quickened my pace. Very soon I found myself halfway across the bridge. It was at this moment I heard a loud BANG and felt the bridge rumble. I turned back and realized that the three guards, who brought me this far, were now trying to kill me by destroying the bridge. I decided that now would be the appropriate time to start running towards the end of the bridge, but as I ran I heard the whooshing and whizzing of arrows flying towards me. The horse whined and snorted, but as I managed to reach the end of the bridge I quickly casted Divine at the soldiers and frantically untangled the knot keeping the horse tied to the post. I scrambled aboard the steed, cracked the reins, and rode south towards Edina, the arrows still flying towards me as I escaped. So Roartz was right, I thought to myself.

Very soon, nightfall came and I realized I'd been traveling all day without so much as a little rest. My stomach growled as it demanded food, but oddly enough not a single settlement nor a single fort could be found for miles. In my mind I grew anxious that I would starve to death before reaching Arcadia, but then, over the treetops, smoke rose slowly into the air. A house I would imagine, I thought to myself, and steered my steed into its direction. Picking a path through the forest of trees and brush, I came across a small cabin. From the outside it looked dreadful, as if it had seen better days. I hitched the horse's reins to a fence outside the cabin and knocked on the wooden door. A voice behind it grumbled. "No visitors," it said crankily. Somehow I could recognize the voice.

"Mother Niime," I said, "is that you in there? Surely you aren't prepared to turn away an old friend?"

There was a pause and a brief silence. Suddenly the door creaked open loudly, revealing a small old lady in a cloak. In one hand she held a wooden staff, which she preferably used as her walking stick. A special charm hung by a chain around her neck and dangled freely as she walked. Her elderly eyes gazed into mine and she smiled a wrinkled and toothy smile.
"Renault," she chuckled. "You haven't aged a day since I last saw you. Come in, come in. I've just started dinner in the cooking spit. Canas, be a dear and grab the extra chair would you?"

The man Niime mentioned was a younger gentleman dressed in a slightly darker cloak than her's. Unlike Niime's gray hair, which hung down to her shoulders and was badly kept, the young man's violet hair was short and well groomed. Telling by the monocle in his right eye, I deduced he was a scholar of sorts, perhaps even a shaman. It would make sense given Niime studied black magic for a long time. Niime confessed to me that Canas was her son, and that he had stopped by on his way to Aquelia to visit his mother.

"Aquelia?" I asked. "That's quite a way from Caledonia young man."

"I have been studying in Jutes for the past two months," Canas replied. "I am hoping to charter a boat from Edina to Aquelia on my way back to Port Badon in Lycia."

"I imagine you were studying forgotten magic, telling by that tome you carry."

"Ah this?" Canas held up the spellbook. "A simple dark tome, this is. Flux, as it is called normally. The ebb and flow of dark mana, harnessed into offensive form. Dangerous should you misuse it. But no, that isn't what I was studying. I have actually been studying the advancement of civilization and technology here in the Western Isles. Strange as it might seem, some of the mining factions here use fairly outdated equipment. Why, some of it I reckon dates back nearly 230 years, give or take. Just take a look at this for example." From his cloak, Canas produced an instrument made of metal. I could not recognize it at first glance because of how badly rusted it was until I realized what it looked like.

"A metal chisel?" I asked.

Canas nodded. "Before miners in the Western Isles started using pickaxes and blasting away at the mountains with magic, they used a hammer and chisel, almost like a sculptor. Primitive method of mining, eh?" The two of us paused for a moment to take a seat at Niime's table, the soothing feeling of sitting down finally rushing through my legs. Niime soon joined us with a pot of stew freshly made for all of us, and we began to dig in. "You would not believe how far behind the people of the Western Isles are compared to the rest of the Elibean civilizations. Why, in the south of Fibernia some civilians still wear clothing made of rags!"

Niime interrupted. "So Renault, you've come all this way from the Church of Saint Elimine. Pray tell, why?"

"I'm just on my way to Edina to charter a passage by boat," I replied, spooning a bit of hot stew into my mouth.

"Oh?" Canas cut in. "Are you also heading to Aquelia?"

"On the contrary, I'm heading to the city of Arcadia."

"Arcadia!" Niime chirped. "Now that is a name I have not heard for a long time. You seek the Archsage Athos, do you?"

"How could you tell?"

"There is only one reason why anyone would trek to the village of the Divine Dragons nowadays," Canas added. "Though very few are granted an audience with the Archsage."

"Nevertheless I must go. It is of vital importance that I speak with the Archsage."

Canas turned to Niime. "I shall go with him, Mother. At least, as far as the village of Edina. After all, I cannot guarantee that he will face any less danger than he might have already faced in his travels thus far."

Niime sighed and nodded. "Very well, my boy. But beware of Calahadra Pass. Even for one as intelligent and clever as you, Canas, it is still very dangerous. Do not attempt to go through it unless you absolutely must."

"Calahadra Pass?" I asked. "What's so dangerous about it?"

"Spirits of warriors long past," Canas explained. "At least, that's what the locals seem to claim. They say those who enter Calahadra Pass never make it out. Some have even joined the army of spirits there."

"It is an unwise decision to attempt to cross the Pass, despite it being a much quicker route to Edina," Niime added. She paused and looked outside the window. "It is dark already. Rest here tonight and gather your strength before you set off tomorrow. And remember, stay away from Calahadra Pass at all costs."

I nodded and thanked Niime and Canas for the hospitality. When we had finished our dinner, Canas showed me the spare cot in the room next door. I dropped all my belongings next to it and crawled into the bed, ready to fall asleep. The trouble was, all I could do was stare at the ceiling blankly. It was as if I closed my eyes, I would see Nergal again, taunting and tormenting me through my dreams. I could not get rid of him from my mind, no matter how hard I tried.

Finally, my eyes began to close, and sleep enveloped me.

Thank you for reading yet another chapter of my Journal of Renault series! I hope you're enjoying it thus far! The next chapter will hopefully come soon, but until then follow for more content!