Chapter 20 – Confusion

….. Not again... Narla was back in the melting cave, this time with pools of water filling the ground. She knew not what to make out of this place and she could not believe that she was getting used to being drifted here every time she passes out.

"Narla..."

Sighing, Narla didn't know what was worse, being transported to this place, which could possibly be her subconscious or that creepy old man who never answers her questions. She walked familiarly towards the place where he was frozen and was not surprised at what she found. It seems like each time she came, the ice crystal surrounding the old man would diminish slightly, and it now exposed his hands and part of his face. Tired of asking the same questions again and again, Narla spoke sternly,

"Look old man, I am tired of playing games. I want some answers and don't expect to fade out on me before I get them."

The old man's eyes opened, ice powder crumbling away from his lids. His eyes were bright with life despite his physical frailty and it danced when he laughed lightly,

"It has been a long time since these eyes could open and to see such beauty again makes an old man feel young."

Narla was taken aback when his eyes opened and even more shocked at his words, but she resolved herself and spoke,

"Flattery will not get you anywhere. Now tell me, why am I brought here?"

His eyes laughed,

"Ah, still as impatient as ever. That pendant of yours is the reason you were brought here."

"Tell me something I didn't know already..."

"All will be revealed in good time. However, I must warn you child, that pendant may be important, but it will prove a danger to you in the future. You must not carry it beyond Searia."

Narla was satisfied at his willingness to give a longer answer than usual, but she could not understand how her parents' pendant would be dangerous to her.

"This is given to me by my parents. I won't just let go of it just because some old man told me to! I will lend it until Irthal and all find the person they seek, then I will go home. Surely you know the way, and please do not say something like follow your heart or the yellow brick road..."

If the mist was not so thick, Narla would've seen the old man frown slightly before he replied,

"But, child, indeed you would need to follow a certain thing, follow the mark on-"

Thick mist started to fog Narla's view and she knew it was time.

"Narla! Carry not the pendant around you any longer! And beware of one among you!"

For the first time the old man's voice was anxious and as Narla watched the darkness creep in his words of warning repeated inside her.

_________

Irthal locked her gaze at the glowing gem. Shock then confusion ran over her, but suddenly comprehension arrived and her eyes widened with hope.

"L-lady Irthal..."

Mirgom started as he noticed the spark in Irthal's eyes and knew what she planned to do. As in on cue, Narla stirred and blinked around.

"Mirgom...Irthal?"

Shocked that Irthal had suddenly plunged towards her Narla just sat there, wondering why Mirgom had leapt to stop Irthal. She seemed to be reaching for Narla's pendant. Narla's hands automatically reached up and covered the blue gem. Evidently, Irthal is getting the upper hand. Mirgom cried out frantically,

"Lady Irthal please...what do y-you think you are doing?"

By now Legolas and Oriah had turned towards the commotion. Though Vortayn was still in pain the bleeding stopped. Irthal looked at her companion, then turned to Mirgom furiously,

"What do you think anyone would do? You saw what that gem could do to Narla, surely it would heal Vortayn too!"

The others were surprised by this statement, even Narla herself. Her jaw dropped slightly at the ridiculous thought. Her pendant, able to heal? That sounds too magical to believe, yet not completely senseless. Indeed Narla had been lucky to survive so many near-death experiences, but she never thought her pendant would have such power. If indeed it could heal, then maybe Irthal was right. Determined to try despite her lack of knowledge how to use the power, Narla stood up, all fine and well, gem at hand and walked towards Vortayn.

"Irthal is right. I have been extremely fortunate to survive till now and if this pendant has anything to do with it, I am willing to try it on Vortayn."

"Be hasty not, Narla. We do not yet fully understand the power of the Soul Gem," said Legolas cautiously.

As he recalled all the time when Narla's life was in danger, Legolas realized that the gem glowed brighter than usual. Perhaps it was true that the gem contains the power of Alranyam, but it might hold some other power which may be harmful to other than the bearer.

Apparently he was the only one worried while everyone agrees on giving the gem a try. Before he could stop anyone, everyone had crowded around Vortayn and Narla, ignoring his caution, placed her pendant on top of Vortayn's bandaged chest. The pendant started to glow a deep blue and its magic seemed to be working. Everyone's face relaxed with relief to see bruises healing lightly and Vortayn's face calming down. Perhaps Legolas had been too wary about the gem.

Vortayn's body jerked abruptly and he let out a cry of utmost pain. The gem had suddenly dulled and instead turned black, dull as stone, yet traces of red could be seen swirling within the pendant. Vortayn was shaking violently, as if resisting the power of the gem while the girls just stared in shock and horror. The violent quaking caused Vortayn's deep wounds to open, making the bandages redder than they were. Before any more harm could be done, Legolas snatched the pendant by the chain off his body and his body stilled, though Vortayn was groaning in more pain. As horrified as could be, Oriah moved and inspected Vortayn's body. Though small cuts and bruises were healed, the deeper wounds had gotten worse, thus Oriah set back to work.

The gem had returned to its sea blue color as suddenly as it had turned black. Legolas dared not touch the magical gem lest it did something to him as well, thus he returned it to the still petrified Narla,

"Take my heed and try this not next time. This is a source far more powerful than we imagined, play with it not."

Legolas had never looked so fierce. The poor girl took her pendant back with shaking hands, waves of horror and guilt sweeping over her like a tsunami. She suddenly felt small, like a naughty kid who had caused his friend to fall off a tree. Her previous surge of pride turned to guilt. Instead of healing Vortayn, the gem seemed to have done something worse. Her attempt to be useful was smashed, leaving her with nothing but horror. If Vortayn did not get better it would be all her fault!

Mirgom was silent throughout the ordeal. The gem had, for a minute, healed Vortayn's wounds, yet something altered the process, reversing the healing. Narla was not at fault, she was just trying to help even though she did not know the true power of the gem. Indeed, Mirgom saw her wounds close and the light that surrounded him. The gem's power was to heal. In fact, Mirgom could smell something odd in the air. How did Vortayn escape with such mortal wounds? And where was Calegris who had accompanied him?

The day was leaving and the moon had shyly appeared. The trees gloomed dark around the party and the fallen emitted a horrendous stench. As much as the company would like to move to somewhere safer and perhaps, cleaner, Vortayn was still not stable enough to be moved. Oriah worked at closing all his wounds, her hands filled with blood. Irthal would not move an inch away from Vortayn again, regardless of Mirgom's suggestion to rest. Legolas had gone surveying the surrounding, every now and then picking up arrows which could be reused. Narla could not bear to see Vortayn's state, but she didn't dare to wander far from the group, thus she sat by the fire, which Mirgom had lit, and tried to rest. In fact, all of them should rest even for a moment, for tomorrow they would need to travel away from this place as much as possible. Those creatures may have retreated, but the stench of the corpses could easily lure other dangerous beasts. However, every time Narla closed her eyes she could see the look on Vortayn's face as he cried in pain. She did not believe that the pendant her parents left her could do harm. Just then she remembered the old man's words it will prove a danger to you in the future, but Narla shook her head and placed the necklace around her neck again. The slight prick on her skin appeared again. This time, Narla did not dismiss it, but before she could ponder over it longer Mirgom interrupted her.

"Narla, you should e-eat and rest up."

Narla looked at her portion of bread in front of her. She had left it there, her appetite had fled since what happened and had not yet returned. She picked it up and forced herself to chew a bit of it. As much as she felt that she deserved to die, she had to face another day, although she would rather not face Legolas again.

"Be not too hard on yourself," Mirgom comforted. "It is n-not your fault and pardon Young Master for his-"

"Oh Mirgom, I deserve it! I don't think anyone is going to forgive me for what I've done. I was so naïve! I mean, I thought I could finally be of some help to the company and do good here, but, but..."

Narla burst out what she had held inside, feeling rotten, miserable, just name it. She was close to tears, but whatever was left of her ego prevented her from crying. Mirgom was astonished at Narla's show of emotions and instantly sympathized this poor girl from another world.

"Narla, neither of us is holding a g-grudge, I hope. You see, I too, have made a horrible mistake of shooting my comrade and I see no way to redeem myself for it. We are all praying for Vortayn's recovery. And think not that you are of no h-help to us, for you bear the responsibility of carrying that powerful gem. This is your role and you have done it well. Now rest, my dear. We shall need to travel long when the sun rises."

Mirgom's words worked like magic. Narla had never heard Mirgom talk so long so smoothly and she felt comforted, as though some of her misery had evaporated. She felt better letting out and miraculously, she felt sleepy. She knew not all felt the same way as Mirgom and she had made Legolas mad, but right now she just wished Vortayn would get well. Sitting there with her head on her knees, Narla felt herself drawn to that dark cool cave, leaving the putrid reality behind.

Legolas had been nearby when he heard Narla's outburst. Never in his life had he felt so rotten so many times, but this brunette seemed to have enriched his selection of emotions. Planning to apologize, Legolas drew near the fire, only to see Narla fast asleep. Sighing softly, he turned to Oriah and Vortayn.

Mirgom had finally managed to persuade Irthal to freshen up and rest as soon as Vortayn had become stable. Mirgom had apologized profusely to Irthal for his mistake and Irthal told him to forget about it. It was just an accident. Now Mirgom was passing Irthal her portion of bread, their faces filled with relief after a full day of tension. Irthal had almost fainted when she saw the pain the gem was causing Vortayn. When Legolas scolded Narla, she made herself think that it was Narla's fault for taking such a big risk. However, now that she was eating by the fire looking at Narla's little bundled up body, she knew that she too, was at fault. She had intended to use the gem, whether Narla liked it or not. Irthal was filled with regret, and she felt she owed the lass an apology.

Oriah was exhausted. Never had she seen so many deep wounds on a body. What amazed her was that Vortayn could actually survive all this. Apart from the fresh wound made by Mirgom, all his wounds were old and deep. In fact, he should have died of over bleeding or infections. Yet now Vortayn was alive, though it would take time before he could walk again, which meant a stretcher had to be made. Oriah was drained physically and mentally as too many things had happened that day. Legolas approached and she stood up and smiled. After going through the details with him, Legolas asked her to revitalize herself. The stretcher would be built tomorrow dawn, but Oriah had done enough for her part. So off she went, cleaning up and eating away in exhaustion. Oriah never thought of accusing Narla for what happened. She knew Narla meant no harm, but she did know that Narla blamed herself. So she cuddled up next to Narla to rest, hoping to provide some comfort if needed.

Legolas looked at Oriah's childish nature. Sometimes things are not so complicated for younger ones. How he wished things between Narla and him could be as simple as cuddling next to her and sleep over it.  

_________

By dawn the Elves were hard at work, making steady stretcher made of wood, cloaks and leaves. When morning came Irthal had helped moved Vortayn onto the stretcher and it fitted him comfortably. His face was still pale, but his breathing was steady. Oriah went to gather some herbs before setting out and she took Narla with her, as staying there would do Narla no good.

It was a cloudy morning, with rays of sunlight shining through the spaces between clouds. It was hard to tell if it was going to rain or the clouds would just move on. Not far from where they camp, Oriah found a ledge by a small waterfall, which she guessed flowed to River Carnen, and around it grew some herbs which may be useful for Vortayn. Bringing Narla was a good thing. Oriah taught Narla which herb to pick and what part was useful, and it seemed to have cheered Narla quite a bit. The fact was, Narla had felt much better when she woke up that morning, but everyone was so busy that she felt rather useless. Finding Oriah sleeping beside her was a great comfort and joy, for she was afraid Oriah might have blamed her as well. Looking at Oriah right now, Narla's face frowned in concern. Oriah was absentmindedly picking herbs as though she was in deep thought when Narla interrupted,

"What's wrong Oriah?"

"Huh? What? Nothing is wrong, Narla," Oriah replied, laughing nervously.

Narla did not buy that one bit. Giving the I-know-something's-wrong look, Narla insisted that Oriah tell her. Of course Oriah relented.

"Oh Narla, it is nothing really. I was just thinking of Vortayn's wounds."

With that Narla's face paled. Oriah quickly continued,

"No no, it is not as you think. He is recovering rapidly, in fact, too rapidly..."

Confused, Narla raised her eyebrows. Oriah sighed,

"Yes, I know that is good news for all, but for a healer like me, I find this an odd matter. For example, many of his bones were cracked and that would take at least one full moon cycle. Yet this morning all his bones have healed! What puzzles me most is the amount of blood lost. I know not how much blood was lost before Vortayn appeared, but it could be no less than that over the bank. A mortal man could not withstand such loss of blood, yet Vortayn..."

Narla understood what Oriah was saying, but she did not think that was odd. Vortayn looked bulkier than any man she saw, so perhaps he had enough blood to support a hospital. He had, in fact, came in contact with her pendant, thus his speedy recovery was perhaps caused by the power of the gem. Before she could tell Oriah that she was worrying too much, Oriah stated something else,

"I also found something queer in Vortayn's deeper wounds. It may escape the eyes of a commoner, but I could tell that most wounds were older than the rest. In fact, those old wounds looked as though they had unnaturally closed, by some sort of medication that I know not of. After being exposed to the power of the Soul Gem, the old wounds had darkened swelled, as though it was poisoned or such. Yet I found none of this now! I am deeply puzzled. It all seems as though someone has cast a spell on him!"

_________

The Elves had gone off to scout the area before they begin their journey. Irthal was glad to see Vortayn sleeping peacefully in his stretcher while she packed up everything for travel. A sudden wind blew pass, as though giving a warning that rain would soon follow. Irthal took out her blanket to cover it over Vortayn. The blanket dropped to the ground.

He was gone.

Author's Notes: I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE! I have just moved and did not have internet access until - nevermind...I should have found an internet cafe and uploaded my chapters anyway...sorry folks, for taking ages to upload a new chapter. I hope I haven't lost my touch. If I have, please do so and please pardon me if I have made some grammatical mistakes here and there...Thank you for all the reviews, comments and criticism. I really appreciate them and it helps me improve my writing. Keep them coming! Anyway, up next: Where had Vortayn go? How could he get up in the first place? Anyone wondered where Calegris went? Bonus chapter coming up!